William "Wild Bill" Albert Corriher Jr.

Mr. Corriher was born on May 18, 1929 in Rowan County. He was the son of the late William Albert Corriher, Sr. and Mary McLaughlin Corriher. He was a 1949 graduate of Landis High School. Bill married Pauline Goodman on February 9, 1957 and were married for 67 years. Bill was a lifelong member of Mt. Zion United Church of Christ in China Grove. He was a dairy farmer and known for processing pork in the winter months. He was famous for his sausage and liver mush.

Bill’s love for young people got him involved with the South Rowan JROTC in 1983. He began putting away $25 a month to start a scholarship fund. Bill began taking donations in 1990 for the scholarship fund. Holding a banquet the 2nd Tuesday in February, became an annual event to let people know of his desire to raise money for this fund. People from as far away as Raleigh would come to support him.

During the banquet, the cadets would stand and recite Wild Bill’s motto: No Drugs, No Alcohol, No Tobacco. Date, but don’t start a family until you are married. He believed in his motto so strongly that he had it engraved on their tombstone. He’d say that even if one young person would read his motto, it might save their life. Bill made sure that everyone that met him knew his motto and how important it was to him.

Each year, this money is used to give out scholarships to South Rowan JROTC senior cadets to help them further their education.

To build the bathrooms and picnic shelter at the South Rowan JROTC Rifle Range, Bill got $4,000 worth of donated materials and then raised $6,000 to help pay for the rest. He then had 5,000 ft of lumber from trees off his land milled to be used for the construction.

Bill worked with Congressman Bill Hefner in 1990 to save the JROTC program nationwide. Making calls to all levels, even the White House, was done to save this program.

Bill was a Life Member of DAV Chapter 96, American Veteran Post 565 and Freeze-Seymour American Legion Post 185. He was the Commander of Freeze-Seymour American Legion Post 185 for 47 years, 19th District Commander in 1987, 4th Division Commander in 1988, American Legion Legionnaire of the Year in 1987-88 and received a Certificate of Appreciation from Gov. James Martin for his dedication & devotion in providing volunteer services to his community.

Serving on the JROTC Committee on the State Level since 2001 was important to Bill, as he attended the American Legion Conferences in Raleigh three times a year. He was also appointed to the Drug & Alcohol Committee.

In 2008-09, he was nominated “Patron Saint of South Rowan JROTC”, American Legion Service of God & Country award in 2014-15, voted Rowan County Veteran of the Year twice, was recipient of the Superior Civilian Service Award twice from the Dept. of the Army and was Grand Marshall in the 2007 Faith parade and in 2017 Holiday Caravan Parade.

Another important saying of Bill’s was, “To have a friend, you have to be a friend.”

Those left behind to cherish Wild Bill’s memory include his children: Rose Corriher, Dennis Corriher (Barbara) and Randy Corriher (Veronica); grandchildren, Jared Corriher and Kendall Corriher and beloved cat, Whitey.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Pauline Goodman Corriher; brothers, Edd, Henry, Joel Corriher and Clyde Deal; sisters, Christine Corriher, Dora C. Morgan, Mary C. Sloan Flowers, Elberta Deal Fesperman and Beulah C. Holland.

The family will receive friends at Linn-Honeycutt Funeral Home ,1420 N. Main St., China Grove, NC 28023 on Saturday, Oct. 18 from 5 pm – 8 pm. To celebrate Wild Bill’s life, the funeral service will be Sunday, October 19, 2025 at 3 pm at Mt. Zion United Church of Christ, 1415 S. Main St., China Grove, NC 28023. Burial will follow in the church cemetery with military honors. Pallbearers will be South Rowan JROTC cadets and FFA members.

The family requests memorials be made to:

Wild Bill Corriher JROTC Scholarship Fund 459 Wild Bill Lane, China Grove, NC 28023.

Words of comfort and memories may be shared at www.linn-honeycutt.com.

Linn-Honeycutt Funeral Home is honored to be serving the Corriher family.