Billie Bouchillon

Bill Bouchillon was born on a farm near Louisville, Mississippi, on December 6, 1928 but he was not content to remain in that loving agricultural setting, His thirst for knowledge and a growing appreciation for a world beyond the farming community expanded his horizon and led to career of ministry in the secular and religious worlds.
Bill's generous spirit for the healthy well-being of others evolved into a life-long career of spiritual counseling, pastoral ministry, and preparing the next generation as a teacher on the junior high school, high school, and college level.
He shared that love of bettering the lives of others with his wife Pat, with whom he celebrated 72 years of marriage in 2018. Pat, who enjoyed her own marriage counseling career and teaching on the collegiate level, also shared Bill's love of travel.
He received a bachelor's degree from Howard University (now Samford University) in Birmingham, Alabama, and a doctorate degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He completed two years of study at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Bill taught high school in Alabama, served as principal and taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade at three-teacher elementary schools in rural Mississippi, and later taught all eight grades at one- teacher school in Desert Center, California.
Bill's career was closely interwoven with that of Pat's. The couple did post-doctorate study in psychology at the Alfred Adler Institute of Chicago and provided counseling from a Christian perspective; Pat had her own private practice.
Along the way, Bill pastored churches in Mississippi, California, Nevada, Texas as well as interim pastor of more than 25 churches in West Tennessee and North Mississippi. He provided that ministry while serving as head of the Psychology Department at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, where Pat also taught in the Department. Bill earlier served on the faculty at Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar, Missouri and served as Acting Dean of Students at Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
Bill and Pat's shared journey produced two children- daughter Cherie (and her husband Robert Bennett and their two sons, Jonathan, and David) and son Lynn (and wife Kim Bouchillion and their two daughters, Marissa and Morgan). Those marriages resulted in four great grandchildren: Daniel Bennett, Audrey Bennett, Grace Bennett, and Becka Maul.
After their 1991 retirement to Mesa, Arizona, Bill and Pat purchased an RV and continued their love of travel throughout the West, ministering along the way. In 2008 they moved to Brunswick, Georgia, to be near their son Lynn and his wife, Kim. Three years later they relocated to Carlisle Place to remain close to Lynn and Kim who had retired to the Atlanta area, and daughter Cherie and her husband, Robert, who live near Aiken, South Carolina.
On November 6, 2018, Bill and Pat reached a milestone that is shared by few couples: they celebrated 72 years of marriage. Records reveal that only one in 100 couples observe 70 years together.
Bill's hobbies included extensive reading, Bible study, travel, and investments.