William Eugene "Bill" Banks

William Eugene ("Bill") Banks went to be with our Lord on May 23, 2016. He is survived by his beloved wife, Margaret Jane, a daughter, Allison Rene Banks Johnson and husband, Daniel, a son Dr. William J. Banks and wife, Dr. Cheryl Sebesta Banks, a son Brian Banks and his wife, Marianne Landers Banks, eight grandchildren including a granddaughter Julie Johnson Hubbard and husband, Danny Hubbard, of Round Rock, Brianna Banks Barksdale and husband, Steven Barksdale, of Raleigh, NC, a granddaughter Dr. Kristen Banks Beaver and husband, Jared Beaver, of Clemmons, NC, a grandson William Austin Banks of Austin, a granddaughter Jessica Johnson Rodriguez and Jose ("Gomer") Rodriguez of Austin, Marissa Beth Banks of Springfield, MO, Emily Frances Banks of Austin, and Aubrey Brooklyn Banks of Springfield, MO, five great-grandchildren, and another great-granddaughter expected in July. He was preceded in death by his parents, Julia Irene Banks and William Arthur Banks, his older brother, Charles Edwin Banks, and a granddaughter, Heather Elise Banks

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Bill was born on November 21, 1932 in Kingsland, Texas. On April 11, 1952, he married his high school sweetheart, Margaret Jane Taylor, who has carried him through life for 64 years. In Bill's words, they were blessed with three 'super' children.

"Billy", as he was known by many friends, attended Baker, Mathews and Pease Elementary Schools, Allen Junior High, and Austin High School, graduating in 1951. He continued his education at U.T. Austin, Schreiner Institute in Kerrville, and graduated from Southwest Texas State Teachers College with a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1957. He graduated from Texas A&I in Kingsville with a Master of Science in Education in 1973.

During his time at Austin High, Bill and his fellow teammates played Lubbock High for the State Championship in 1951, losing by "one" point. At Southwest Texas, the Bobcats tied for the Conference Title, but lost to East Texas State, who went on to win the NAIA championship. Bill was drafted by the Minnesota Lakers in 1955, before giving up his career in professional basketball for a career in education. He spent the next 46 years as a Teacher – Coach – Principal – Superintendent in schools in Calvert, Prairie Lea, Houston-Smiley, McAllen, San Antonio-Churchill, Weslaco, Harlingen, Lampasas, Round Rock-Westwood, and Hitchcock, before returning back to Austin to retire in 2001. Throughout his years in education his motto was always, "'Everybody's worth something 'cause God don't make no junk'".

A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 28th at 2:00 p.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Austin. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the Texas Retired Teachers Foundation Student Scholarship Fund at 313 E. 12th Street, Suite 220. Austin, Tx 78701 (website trtf.org) or the charity of your choice.

The family would like to thank the cardiology, endocrinology, and podiatry teams and the many hospital staffs that provided health care these past years.