

A son of the late William E. and Florence Kinder Rowell Murphy, and brother of the late Michael Rowell, he was born on September 11, 1936, in Columbia, South Carolina, but lived most of his early years in Toccoa, Georgia. He graduated from Toccoa High School in 1954 and from the University of Georgia (UGA) in 1959 with a degree in Pharmacy. He joined Eli Lilly and Co. in 1962 and retired from Lilly in 1993 as Regional Director of Pharmaceutical Sales.
He was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity at UGA, and was a board member, and presently a member, of the Country Club of the South in Johns Creek. He is a member of St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church in Dunwoody, Georgia.
Bill was passionate about UGA football and golf, and enjoyed a special friendship with his childhood friends from Toccoa, his Eli Lilly associates and his friends from the Country Club of the South. Above all, he cherished the close relationship he had with his daughters and grandsons.
Bill is survived by his wife, Janice, whom he married in 1958 in Toccoa, Georgia. He is also survived by his three daughters: Jennifer R. Colley of Granby, Colorado; Judith Rowell of Vero Beach, Florida; and Jill R. Tench of Vero Beach, Florida; and by his four grandsons: Ben (Trey) Tench, Zachary Tench, William Colley and Sam Colley. Also, he is survived by a brother-in-law, Perry Matheson and his wife, Barbara, of Toccoa, Georgia, and two nieces and two nephews and their families.
The funeral service is scheduled for Friday, December 30, 2016 at 11:00 am at Roswell Funeral Home Chapel (950 Mansell Road, Roswell, GA), with the visitation 1 hour prior. The graveside service will take place at Stephens Memorial Gardens in Toccoa, Georgia immediately following the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bill’s honor to the Emory University Winship Cancer Center, Atlanta, Georgia.
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