WILLIAM "BILL" CARL BIZZELL
Oct. 6, 1918-March 15, 2014
Mr. William "Bill" Carl Bizzell, 95, of Mount Olive passed away on March 15, 2014, with his family by his side. He was born on Oct. 6, 1918, in Mount Olive, and lived there for most of his life.
A funeral service will be conducted at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 22 at the First United Methodist Church of Mount Olive, with the Rev. Russell Nanney officiating. The family will greet friends at a reception immediately following the service.
Mr. Bizzell was preceded in death by the love of his life for 58 years, Beryl Reams Bizzell; his parents, Bryant Samuel Bizzell and Annie Lula Parker Bizzell McPhail; sister, Gwendolyn Spicer, and brothers, Robert, Waitsol and James.
He is survived by his son, William Robert Bizzell and wife, Suzanne Setzer Bizzell, of Kinston; two granddaughters, Elizabeth Bizzell Saylors and husband, Benjamin Kyle Saylors, of Goldsboro, and Margaret Reams Bizzell of Raleigh; and two great-granddaughters, Caroline Davis Saylors and Eleanor Elizabeth Saylors, both of Goldsboro.
Bill enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the beginning of World War II. After attending OCS in Miami and requesting an assignment, he was sent to the Southwest Pacific with the Fifth Air Force to train as an airplane engine mechanic. He was then assigned to Brisbane, Australia, and then to Port Moresby, New Guinea, where he took command of the squadron headquarters of the Fifth Bomber Command.
After serving in Nadsab, he returned to the United States to attend combat gunnery school, finding time to get married on Aug. 26, 1944. He was then assigned to Mendora, Philippines with the 380th Bomber Group, 531st Squadron, Fifth Air Force as a gunnery instructor, a waist gunner, and flew nine combat missions over Borneo and Tokyo where he was wounded in the line of duty.
He was shipped out with his group to Okinawa to prepare for the invasion when Japan surrendered in August 1945. Bill was then transferred to Tyndall Field, Panama City, Florida. He was relieved from active duty, staying in the reserves for 32 years and achieving the rank of colonel.
Returning home to Mount Olive, he eventually opened his own business, Bizzells' Alignment Service.
Not one to "sit still," he was very active in the community serving as chairman of the Mount Olive School Board, president of the Mount Olive Rotary Club, was graduated from the Air Force War College, was president of the Mount Olive Jaycees, past chairman of the Methodist Men's Club and Church Council of Mount Olive United Methodist Church. He also found time to serve as scoutmaster for Cub Scout Pack 34.
In later years, he continued his volunteer activism, including volunteering with the First United Methodist Church Peanut Crew and with the hospital pharmacy at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base where he received the USAF Volunteer Service Award.
Upon retirement, he and his best friend, Beryl, began traveling all over the world, from Europe, Egypt, China, and across the United States. In addition to time spent with Beryl, his other joys included the times he spent with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was an avid golfer, lifelong Carolina fan, and talented woodworker, making many treasured items for family and friends.
The family has always said, "Grandpa Bill is for loving and for fixing things!" A cross-stitched version of this has hung in his den for over 30 years.
The family would like to express their love and appreciation to the staff at Kinston Medical Specialists; Lenoir Memorial Hospital; the caring and compassionate staff at Kitty Askins Hospice Center, who allowed Bill to go in peace and dignity; and his very special caregivers, Wendy Gautier, Bonnie Farmer, Ginger Price, Denise Outlaw and Jerri Lively, without whom he could not have remained in his home until his last days.
Memorials may be sent to First United Methodist Church of Mount Olive, P.O. Box 420, Mount Olive, N.C., 28365; Kitty Askins Hospice Center, 107 Handley Park Court, Goldsboro, N.C., 27534, www.3hc.org; or in Bill's spirit, you may perform an unexpected act of kindness for a stranger.
Arrangements by Tyndall Funeral Home, Inc.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on March 19, 2014 1:49 PM