William Franklin Burns

William Franklin Burns, age 55, drifted away forever at 5:08 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at his home in Collierville, Tennessee. He was surrounded by his wife, sister-in-law, and two of his favorite dogs. After battling brain cancer for exactly one year and one day, he hoped to try his hand at “lawyering” upstairs for the Big Man.

William also known as Billy and Bill was born on January 1, 1971 in Memphis, Tennessee. You guessed it. He was a New Year’s baby and actually almost won the prize for being the firstborn of the year. What a way to begin life and what a life he led! In the early years he was known as Billy and couldn’t wait to get home from kindergarten to enjoy his mom’s delicious homemade French fries. Fast forward to sixth grade, where he was introduced to his best friend’s uncle who happened to be a successful lawyer with a cool car. At that point, Bill dreamed of becoming a lawyer. In his high school years, he acquired a love of reading after devouring Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. Despite this controversial book, he always remained a believer in God. He shared the love of reading and writing with his dad who “bled” all over his papers while molding Bill into an incredible writer. He not only used those talents as a lawyer, but he could write one heck of an obit including Alice Lucille Burns and Mary Ann Metts.

During the spring of his senior year in college at Christian Brothers University, Bill had somewhat of a blind date with his future soulmate and another couple. Bill worked nights at the Yacht Club at the time and was able to borrow a pontoon boat for the day. Well, they ended up getting stuck on the riverbank of the Mississippi River for a couple of hours, and the rest is history. They maintained a long-distance relationship that flourished while Kim was a senior in college and Bill was in his first year of law school at the University of Memphis. The couple married on December 30, 1995, and enjoyed thirty years of marriage where he was her north and she his south.

Bill loved practicing the law, and he was quite successful at Watson Burns, PLLC, with his partner, Frank Watson. Bill even had the chance to argue before the Tennessee Supreme Court, and he won. While he happened to be a very talented lawyer, you never would have heard him say it. He was humble, a fantastic listener, and quite charming. During this past year, he even had clients and other lawyers checking on him periodically because they were so fond of him.

Battling brain cancer is beyond rough, especially when you’re given around 13-15 months to live. While Bill willfully received all the treatments to get better, he also used this past year to prepare himself for heaven by deepening his faith even further. He said it best on the day of his first surgery. “My prayer is very simple. Thy will be done.” He stayed positive, listened to God, and noticed all the winks (tiny miracles) from God along the way.

Bill is survived by: his wife, Kimberly Suzanne Burns; his father, John Martin Burns; his brother, John Keith Burns; and a slew of uncles, aunts, in-laws, nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews.

Please join us for celebrating his life on Monday, May 4, 2026. The visitation services will be held at 9 a.m. at St. Michael Catholic Church followed by the Funeral Mass at 10 a.m. A commemorative lunch catered by Central BBQ will be held at Avon Acres.

St. Michael Catholic Church: 3863 Summer Avenue, Memphis, TN 38122

Avon Acres: 4361 Summer Avenue, Memphis, TN 38122

In lieu of flowers, Bill, also hoping to be the keeper of the dogs in Heaven, requested that a donation be made to one of these fantastic dog rescues:

Paws New England, All 4s Rescue, or Tunica Humane Society