William Lee Crim Sr.

September 5, 1929-January 27, 2019)

On Sunday, January 27, 2019, lifelong Jacksonian William Lee Crim, Sr., joined our Heavenly Father.

A visitation will be held at Northminster Baptist Church on Thursday, January 31, at 12:30, followed by a service at 2:00pm. He will be laid to rest at Parkway Funeral Home in Ridgeland, Mississippi.

Bill’s limitless kindness and compassion for others made it impossible for anyone not to fall in love with and admire him. The love and care he gave his family made him the man he was—the husband, the father, and the grandfather, who we love with all of our hearts.

William Lee “Bill” Crim was born to Clyde Cecil “C.C.” and Sammie Ferrell Crim on September 5, 1929. Bill met Sarah Ruth “Sallie” Lloyd at Bailey Junior High in the 7th grade. After courting Sallie through their time at Central High and during his college years, he married his sweetheart in 1953. In 2018, surrounded by friends and family, Bill and Sallie celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

While an avid fan of the Ole Miss Rebels, Bill is a graduate of Millsaps College, where he majored in history and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order.

Bill and Sallie made their home in Jackson where they raised their three children, Leesa, William Lee, Jr., and John. Bill was a partner with Dan Bottrell Agency for four decades, retiring in 1993 as President and CEO.

Longtime members of First Baptist Church of Jackson, Bill and Sallie later joined Northminster Baptist Church.

Bill and Sallie reveled in spending time with friends through social gatherings like the 21 Club, the Calliope Club, the Holiday Dance Club, and the 75 Club. They enjoyed traveling over the years, and he cherished spending his weekends with family at Lake Cavalier, hunting at Oxberry Bayou, and losing money to his beloved golf group. However, his greatest joy was seeing their five grandchildren grow and succeed.

His friends were countless, his work ethic immeasurable, and his generosity boundless. Bill was admired and loved by those who knew him over the years as a Mississippi Air National Guard pilot, a college-aged Heidelberg Hotel bellhop, President of the B & B Club, aspirational golfer, Mississippi Road Builder's Association board member, Jackson Club President, Country Club of Jackson Board of Directors member, Southern Pine Investment Club President, Jackson’s “Best Dressed,” Century Club Charities Chairman, veteran, husband, father, friend, and most importantly to his grandchildren, “Babo.”

Bill is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Sallie; his daughter Leesa and her husband Silas McCharen; his son William Lee, Jr., and his wife Stacie; his son John; as well as his grandchildren Meg Lake (Andrew), Sarah Lloyd Stevenson (Peter), William Lee Crim, III (Kelly), Rachel Crim, and Balie Crim.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Century Club Charities or to Jackson Preparatory School from where his three children and five grandchildren graduated.