William Slone Boyd III

William Slone Boyd III (Bill), a longtime resident of Laurel and Gulfport, Mississippi, died peacefully in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, in his apartment at Kirkwood by the River in Birmingham, Alabama. Bill was kind, caring, intelligent, loved vocabulary and penmanship, and ferociously loved his friends and family. For better or worse, you always knew where you stood with Bill. He was a graduate of R. H. Watkins High School class of 1967. During high school, Bill found his love for debate, which carried him to Ole Miss where he majored in Political Science and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1973. Bill always spoke fondly of his days at Ole Miss and Chi Psi fraternity. It was during this time that Bill met and married Dixie Norman (now deceased), and they shared 24 years of marriage and two children. Highlights of Bill’s law career include: • serving as a law clerk at the United States Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit for U.S Circuit Judge J. P. Coleman in New Orleans, Louisiana • working as a Special Assistant Attorney General with the State of Mississippi as the chief of the Special Litigation Department. Bill always believed John Grisham’s book, The Chamber, mirrored some of his experiences during his time at the AG’s office. • bringing forth and arguing cases in the 1970s and 1980s before the United States Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court, and the Courts of the State of Mississippi • working with the American Gaming Association in the 1990s to help bring casinos to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Always a loving patron of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Bill met his second wife, Suzanne Anderson, at its 1997 Gala, and they shared 13 years of marriage, one child together, 4 his-and-hers children, and a menagerie of pets. At the age of 55, Bill retired from law, returned to his hometown of Laurel, and developed a passion for photography and history. Bill enjoyed traveling across the South with his two sons, taking pictures of pre-Civil War homes and churches. Bill combined his love of Civil War history and photography in a Laurel Leader-Call column where he would feature a picture of an antebellum home and share an interesting or funny story about the home. In 2016, Bill moved to Kirkwood by the River to be closer to his family. While in Birmingham, Bill was a member of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and enjoyed making new friends at the clubhouses and driving ranges. The COVID pandemic was a challenge for Bill, due to the forced isolation. However, he enjoyed finding movies and TV shows to watch and discuss during his nightly family calls. Bill was a relentless survivor. He met every challenge head-on. He lived life on his own terms with endless love for his friends and family. He will be greatly missed. Bill is predeceased by his parents Mary Nell Jones and William Slone Boyd, Junior of Laurel, Mississippi. Bill is survived by his younger sister Ruth (Andy now deceased) Mears, three nieces Katherine (Ross) Beshear, Lillian Mears, and Andie (Corey) Wilson; his three children, Forrest Boyd, William “Slone” Boyd IV, and Mary Alice (Adam) Kline, 2 granddaughters Madeline and Ella Kline; and his dearly loved former stepsons Jacob (Rachel) King and Brian (Pam) King, all living in Birmingham, Alabama. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the First-Trinity Presbyterian Church of Laurel (www.first-trinity.org/give) or the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Comprehensive Diabetes Center (www.uab.edu/medicine/diabetes/giving; click “Give Now”, then click “In Honor / Memory of Someone Special”) as a tribute in honor of William S. Boyd III. Visitation will be held Monday, October 24 at Memory Chapel Funeral Home in Laurel, Mississippi, from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. The funeral will be held on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, at First-Trinity Presbyterian Church beginning at 11:00 a.m. with graveside service to follow at Lake Park Cemetery. To sign the online guest book, visit www.memorychapellaurel.com.

William Slone Boyd III

April 2, 1949 - October 18, 2022