WILLIAM THOMAS POWELL JR.
Died Friday, May 18, 2007
On Friday, the countless souls touched by William T. Powell Jr. over his 45 years of life lost a wonderful son, husband, father, brother, partner and friend. He is survived by his wife, Mitzi Barnes Powell; two sons, William Thomas Powell III, 12, and Barnes Edward Powell, 9, of the home; mother, Patricia Stanley, and stepfather, Don Stanley, of Riverside Calif.; his father, Dr. William Thomas Powell Sr., and stepmother, Annette Powell, of Durham; a sister, Paige Armstrong; three nieces, Patricia and Christina Gonzales and Ashlynne Armstrong all of Corona, Calif.; father- and mother-in-law, Donald and Jackie Barnes; and brother and sister-in-law, Donald and Nicole Barnes II and their children, Aimee, Langley and Trey, all of Goldsboro.
Bill was president of the Institute for Defense and Business. He created the organization in 1998 and was Executive Director of the IDB’s Center of Excellence in Logistics and Technology (LOGTECH). He maintained a visiting faculty appointment at the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Bill was a Tar Heel through and through.
He as a member of Columbus Lodge No. 102 A.F. and A.M. in Pittsboro, N.C., Greensboro Valley of Scottish Rite and Knights of Andrew in Greensboro. He was a 32nd degree Mason.
He was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church, where he and his family are members and have been heavily involved for years.
Bill served as principal-in-charge of the US-Thailand Trade Information Project, an innovative showcase on how to facilitate international trade through harmonization and electronic interchange of trade data. Highly respected throughout Thailand, members of the government looked to him for advice and council on military, business and development issues. In addition, he was a special adviser to the Royal Thai government on the study of the construction of a canal across the Kra Isthmus in Thailand.
Mr. Powell previously served as Executive Director of the North Carolina Global TransPark Authority and led the effort to site, plan, permit, design, finance and construct an innovative transportation and industrial complex in Eastern North Carolina. He also helped create the Global TransPark Foundation, which raised nearly $20 million to support the project.
Mr. Powell served on the U.S. Department of Defense Advisory Board for Employer Support of Guard and Reserves. He also served on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Board of Directors and the U.S. Chamber’s Homeland Security Task Force. His most recent initiative involved working closely with the U.S. Department of Defense, personally leading business executives on a mission into Iraq to help rebuild its industry, giving the people of that struggling country jobs, new direction and hope for the future.
Bill graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1984, the North Carolina Governor’s Executive Manage-ment Program in 1987 and Harvard University’s Executive in Government program in 1995. Among many other honors, Mr. Powell has been inducted into the State of North Carolina’s Order of the Long Leaf Pine and a member of the Chapel Hill Sports Club.
The family will receive visitors Monday from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at 90109 Hoey in the Governor’s Club in Chapel Hill. The funeral will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church, 800 Market Street at Southern Village in Chapel Hill. Interment will follow at Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to N.C. Masonic Home for Children in Oxford, N.C., c/o Columbus Lodge No. 101, Mitch Mann 422 Chicken Bridge Road, Pittsboro, N.C. 27312.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on May 20, 2007 11:13 AM