William L. Nolen

WILLIAM L. NOLEN, JR., CLU Bill Nolen was born October 3, 1922, in Austin, Texas, the only child of William L. Nolen and Mary Kate Smith. His father’s career took them from Austin to San Antonio to McAllen, Texas, where he graduated Salutatorian from high school in 1940. After attending Edinburg Junior College, he entered the University of Texas, College of Business Administration in 1942. At the same time he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve and was placed on active duty in July, 1943. He was commissioned Lt. Cmdr. and served his country proudly and well in the South Pacific on the USS LCI 78 where his ship engaged in clearing island beaches prior to marine troop landings. His ship was decommissioned in 1945 after the Japanese surrender and he completed his active duty at the US Naval training center in Memphis, Tennessee, where he met and became engaged to Joy Ingram of Trenton, Tennessee. Bill and Joy were married in August, 1946, and returned to Austin where he completed his BBA degree from the University of Texas. From 1946 to 1956 he worked for the John B. Vaught hardware company as credit manager and then general manager. In 1956 Bill contracted with Southwestern Life Insurance Company as a career agent and continued to build a very successful agency until his retirement in 2002. Throughout his career Bill was an active member of both the Austin and National Association of Life Underwriters; served as legislative Vice President of the Texas Association for 11 years; he received his chartered Life Underwriter designation in 1962 and was an active member of both local and national American Society of CLU and the estate planning council of central Texas. He was a life member of the Million dollar Round Table, Texas Leaders Round Table, Lone Star Leaders; and chair and member of the Southwestern Life President’s Advisory Council. Bill was very thankful for his success and believed that giving back to the community was a very important part of that success. He served in all offices and chair of the Better Business Bureau; director of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, Vice President for Traffic & Transportation, 15 years as chair of the chamber’s Air service committee; member of the city of Austin Airport Advisory Committee; served as Treasurer & President of the Austin Community Foundation; Executive committee and trustee of the Austin Counseling & Pastoral Care Center. Being a caring & compassionate person through his many contacts in the area, Bill assisted many friends and associates in finding employment as well as helping local employers to find competent and qualified employees, a hobby he so enjoyed was working with good people through the years, countless persons have benefited from his help. Bill is survived by his loving wife of sixty years, Joy Ingram Nolen; uncle, Lon A. Smith and wife Betty; cousins Susan Dorsey and Kate Manahan of Austin; brother-in-law Bill Ingram and wife Charlotte of Plano, Texas; sister-in-law June Jones of Jackson, Tennessee; nieces and nephews and many, many friends. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 3, 2006 at Weed-Corley-Fish Chapel with The Reverend Roland Timberlake officiating. Interment will follow at Austin Memorial Park. Pallbearers will be Dr. Ed Poole, Jack Nate, John Campbell, Tom McGaha, Jim Rogers, and Jerry Holder. Honorary Pallbearers will be Lon Smith, Dr. W. E. Sjoberg, Phil Mockford, Jim Hawley, Ben Denman and Bill Ingram. Obituary and guestbook online at wcfish.com