William L Croxton II

March 24, 1951- January 21, 2025

William “Bil” Croxton, II was called home to be with the Lord on January 21, 2025. The family takes great comfort in knowing that he was saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and lived a life that testified to the genuineness of his salvation. During his life Bil was a doting husband to Terri, and a tirelessly loving dad to Amy (Benji) Wood, Melissa (Norman) Taylor, Benjamin (Holly) Croxton, and Rebecca Croxton. In addition to being an outstanding husband and father, Bil was “Poppi” to his six grandchildren, Katie Wood, Olivia Grace (Joshua) Beeson, William Wood, Ryleigh Croxton, Marley Croxton, and Frances Max Croxton.

Bil was the only surviving child of William Sr. and Louise Croxton. He was a graduate of Jones Valley High School class of 1969 where he was a center fielder on the baseball team and running back on the football team while proudly sporting the number 43 on his jerseys. Bil kept that number when he went on to play football as a walk-on for the Samford Bulldogs during college. It was around this time that he offered a “sweet girl” from the neighborhood a ride home from church. After getting her mama's permission to bring her home, he listened to that girl complain about the state of his car for the duration of the drive and decided then and there that he was going to marry her. And he did. They were less than 3 months shy of their 50th wedding anniversary when he passed away from what is believed to have been a heart attack.

After a brief stint pumping gas, and working at Sears, Bil started in the banking industry at Central Bank in his early twenties and stayed in it until his retirement. The majority of those years were spent at SouthTrust Bank in the Birmingham data processing center, but he technically retired from Wells Fargo. Upon retirement he worked for a time at the customer service desk at the Gardendale Publix. He eventually gave up that job and decided to take to the road in a camper with his wife, Terri, and their youngest daughter, Rebecca, who has Down Syndrome.

The three of them met up with Terri’s sister, Tami, and her husband, Curtis (their camping buddies) and took off across the country on the trip of a lifetime. Among the many sights, they saw Mount Rushmore, Yosemite National Park, and the Grand Canyon for a second time. They stopped by Hoover Dam and saw the lights of Las Vegas. As they headed through California via the Pacific Coast Highway, they visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Hollywood sign and the Rose Bowl. During a stopover in San Francisco the group was able to see the Golden Gate Bridge and drove down the Iconic Lombard Rd. Their trek up the coast ended in the Pacific Northwest where they went whale watching, though there wasn’t a whale in sight, and they visited with Chris and Katelyn, a cherished nephew and his family.

Speaking of his nieces and nephews…Bil loved every single one of his, even though he wasn’t technically related to them. You see, when Bil married Terri, he didn’t just get a wife, he also got three sisters (Harolda, Judy, and Tami), brothers-in law, and a heard of cousins, not to mention Harold and Frances, the best father and mother-in-law a man could hope to get. When you’ve been raised as an only child, his brother having died in infancy, marrying into a family as large and as close as the Thompsons--well that would have been daunting to most people. However, Bil took it in stride, and no one would have ever guessed that these people were not his by blood. He treated his nieces and nephews as though they were his own by right taking them fishing, swimming, camping, and playing football with them in the yard on holidays forming bonds with them in childhood that have lasted a lifetime. So to Jay, Rusty, Patrick, Cory, April, Chris, and Ashley, know that Uncle Bil loved you and enjoyed every moment he spent with you. Cherish your memories of him, as he did his of you.

It's so tempting to go on and on, to recount all the wonderful memories we have with the man who meant so much to so many people. He taught the children of family friends, as well as his own children and grandchildren how to ride bikes. He faithfully took his family to church, he taught Sunday school, he served his church as the treasurer, he was honest to a fault, he was humble, never seeking to make himself more important than anyone else. He was content serving others in the background, never seeking praise or accolades, except for maybe when it came to his 1971 Honda K2 CB750 motorcycle.

He was proud of that bike and loved it when people approached him to talk about it, and they did.

Bil made a Facebook profile for the sole purpose of connecting with other men who were passionate about vintage motorcycles. Through this platform he met five friends. He wouldn’t accept Facebook friend requests from his children (they didn’t have any motorcycle parts to sell), but he would drive to Texas to sell and purchase motorcycle parts. Bil and his son-in-law, Norman, took one such trip. On another parts buying excursion he took his son Ben along and they had a wonderful time together. He’d drive all over the southeast to pick up and drop off bike parts. And over several years he lovingly restored the 1971 Honda that was his pride and joy and restoring it gave him a hobby other than his wife.

Bil enjoyed spending time on the road with family. He, Ben, and Wil, the only grandson and namesake, saw two total eclipses together. Traveling to an area of totality both times so they could fully experience the rare celestial event. In between the eclipses Bil and Wil spent some time in Washington DC taking in the sights and sounds of the nation’s capital. He travelled to horseshows, and football games. He loved beach trips, and quiet out-of-the-way campgrounds. While he was always happy to take a trip somewhere, he didn’t have to be travelling to spend quality time with his family. He enjoyed getting into character for a night of murder mystery fun and could frequently be found ruthlessly playing Shanghai with his wife, adult children, their spouses, and grandkids. Although, it should be noted that he wasn’t quite so ruthless when a grandkid was playing. His children weren’t permitted to beat him at Candyland when they were three year olds, but let a grandbaby rummy a card and Bil would demand it not be counted against them. There are many a score sheet with an asterisk because of his need to cheat on their behalf. On Wednesday nights after church, you could most often find him at the local Waffle House having supper with his only biological first cousin, Steve. Family was so incredibly important to Bil and he proved this with his actions, and how he chose to spend his time. His favorite moments were the ones when everyone was together, regardless of the chaos that ensued during those times.

For those who did not have the honor of knowing the man personally, the most important thing to know about Bil, aside from his faith in Christ, was his love for his wife. Never has a man loved a woman so well. He set an impossible standard for the men around him. His children often teased him that he was going to have to let their mom fend for herself on occasion, or she would forget how. He made her coffee every morning, fixed her breakfast, made the bed, and made sure she stayed hydrated. He supported her in all her varying interests but made sure to annoy her with funny animal videos throughout the day. She has described him as her “calm”. No matter what was happening in their world, if she could be close to him, she knew it was going to be okay. He loved her extended family as his own. Together Bil and Terri raised four children who think the world of their father and are devasted by his death.

Yet even in death we can clearly discern the hand of the Lord over the situation. When the time came, we were all providentially near one another and were together within thirty minutes and were able to support each other during the hardest moment of our lives. For that we give all glory and praise to the One True God who even has he does one thing, is doing a thousand other things. We do not mourn without hope. We know that if we know Christ as our Lord we will not be long separated from our husband and dad. He is even now worshiping in the presence of his Savior, and those of us in Christ will join him in the Lord’s time.

Some of you are probably reading this thinking it is the strangest obituary you’ve ever come across, and well, that is entirely on purpose. Due to having family in the area the Croxtons spent a lot of time in New Orleans over the years, and one of their favorite things about the city were the extensive obituaries published in the local newspaper. So, to honor that fun memory, we took a page from the Cajun obituary playbook and wrote an obituary we trust they would be delighted to read.

The Croxton family will be greeting family and friends at East Gardendale Baptist Church, located at 360 Tarrant Rd., Gardendale, Al. 35071, to mourn the loss of our patriarch with laughter and tears on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, from 10 o’clock to 11 o'clock. There will be a service starting at 11, with burial to follow at Valhalla cemetery in Birmingham. We’d love to see you, especially if you have something negative to say about Bil, as we haven’t found a single person who didn’t think he was one of the greatest men they’d ever met. Well, come to think of it, there was that one guy at Six Flags, but that’s in-person kinda story, so come hear it.

In lieu of flowers, the family would love anyone who feels led to make a donation to the Exceptional Foundation in Homewood, AL. They have been such a blessing to our Rebecca, and by extension, our family. Dad greatly appreciated their contribution to the community of special needs adults.