William Douglas Thickitt

Born: August 12, 1944 in St. Louis, Missouri

Died: February 25, 2024 in Lynwood, California

William was born to Arthur James Thickitt and Fern Maxine Thickitt in St, Louis, Missouri. When the family moved out west, they lived in a house on Madison Ave in South Gate, California. After some years they moved to an apartment above a storefront on Firestone Blvd, also in South Gate.

While living there, William showed an interest in learning about the Bible. He began studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses and after becoming convinced that Jehovah’s Witnesses taught the truth from the Bible, he was baptized on March 5, 1960.

For some years as a young adult he rode his bicycle to work as a Shipping/Receiving Clerk and doing Inventory Control. He developed close friendships with several young men in the South Gate Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses and enjoyed sharing in the public ministry with them.

Around the time that Arthur, William’s father died, William and his mother, Fern bought a trailer in the A & A trailer park on Atlantic Ave in Cudahy. William carefully tended his roses and nurtured numerous cats and kittens.

When William’s mother died in 1998, William was comforted by his firm belief in the Bible’s promise of a resurrection to life on a paradise Earth. In 2014, William suffered a series of strokes that limited his mobility. He wanted others to learn about the Bible’s promises of resurrection and restored health, so he would roll out his wheelchair to the sidewalk in front of his trailer to discuss these promises with anyone who passed by.

By early 2013, William’s health had deteriorated so much that he was confined to a skilled nursing facility in Lynwood, California. Even though he could hardly move, William faithfully read his Bible and endeavored to share his hope with the other residents.

One of William’s favorite scriptures was Revelation 21:4: “He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more.” He also loved the expressions of Jehovah’s love in Exodus 3:7: “I have certainly seen the affliction of my people . . . I well know the pains they suffer.” These verses and numerous others helped William endure faithfully to the end. We look forward to seeing him again soon when Jehovah brings an end to pain and death, and restores humankind and this Earth to the Paradise that He originally intended.