William "Bill" Alexander MacFarlane

William “Bill” Alexander MacFarlane, 80, of Austin, Texas passed away on July 6, 2023 from kidney failure resulting from multiple myeloma. Born June 2, 1943 in Meaford, Ontario, Canada he was the son of William Cyrus MacFarlane and Edith Charlotte Reid.

A gifted athlete from a young age, he played hockey and baseball. Bill was raised by his grandparents, the Rileys. His grandfather, who at one time walked a tight rope in the Riley Bros. Circus, was fond of helping Bill practice his baseball. Bill later entered the farm league in hockey with the New York Rangers. He was selected for a special forces division of the Canadian Army and represented the army on the ice as a part of their hockey team.

Bill immigrated with his family from Canada to the United States in 1976. In 1995, he married Jeanne Carol MacFarlane.

Bill began his career in car sales, later moving to airplane and jet sales, and then to land development. He was involved in a broad range of business ventures from ownership of a nurse staffing organization to ownership of a semi-professional hockey team in Tupelo, Mississippi. He had a love for travel and visited most every state in the US and in addition, traveled extensively abroad. He enjoyed telling stories about his travel adventures such as getting to ride on an aircraft carrier and traveling past the demilitarized zone between the Koreas to play golf. He was an avid golfer, winning many awards including the club championship at Barton Creek Country Club.

Bill was a member at Riverbend Church. He served in a local rehabilitation ministry, cooking and delivering turkeys and pies for the group at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Bill is survived by his daughter, Kim Bates (Quinn) of Austin, Texas; son, David MacFarlane (Emily) of Lexington, South Carolina; his grandchildren, Alexander Bates, Elizabeth Bates, Ezekiel MacFarlane and Lucas MacFarlane.

Bill is preceded in death by his wife, Jeanne Carol, who died April, 2014 and his son, William Edward MacFarlane, who died July, 2002

The family will hold a private grave side Celebration of Life at Cook Walden/Forest Oaks Funeral Home and Memorial Park on August 11, 2023.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Houston Methodist Cancer Center Houstonmethodist.org or to the Salvation Army Savationarmusa.org.