William Todd Watlington Jr.

COLUMBIA - Memorial service for William Todd “T. J.” Watlington Jr., 26, will be held at 6 pm Thursday, July 31, 2014, at Dunbar Funeral Home, Dutch Fork Chapel. The family will receive friends at the funeral home following the service. T.J. passed away Thursday, July 24, 2014. He was born in Dothan, Ala. He was a son of William Todd Watlington and DeAnn Kay Niles. He attended Indian River High School in Philadelphia, N.Y. and graduated from Mesa Ridge High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2006. He began playing baseball as soon as he could walk and continued playing throughout middle and high school. His love of sports included the Atlanta Braves, Alabama and University of South Carolina football, and attending NASCAR races. He attended Pikes Peak Junior College and Colorado State University. He had most recently worked as an auto technician for Love Chevrolet and Herndon Chevrolet. His hobbies included all aspects of cars, playing the guitar, skateboarding, and snowboarding. He was a devoted father to his daughter Hannah Grace, as well as a loving and protective brother to his siblings. He is survived by his daughter, Hannah Grace Watlington; his father, William Todd Watlington Sr. of Columbia, SC; his mother, DeAnn and stepfather, Dennis Niles of Colorado Springs, CO; a brother, Evan Watlington of Tampa, Fla.; and sisters, Madison, Heather, and Shelby Niles; paternal grandmother, Gloria Watlington of Columbia; maternal grandmother, Nancy Kay of Atlanta, Texas; grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Donald Niles of Corinth, N.Y.; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. He was predeceased by his paternal grandfather, William Earl Watlington and his maternal grandfather, Harold D. Kay. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested contributions be made to the Hannah Grace Watlington Donation fund at any Wells Fargo bank.