Byron William "Bill" Gangwer

Visitation will be held at 10:00am on Monday, December 27, 2021, at Pearl Presbyterian Church. Celebration of Remembrance Services will follow at 10:30am at the church.

Bill was born January 31, 1940. He was orphaned as a young child and he and his younger brother spent some of their childhood in an orphanage. They were then adopted and grew up on the rough and tumble streets of Dayton, Ohio.

Bill joined the military at the tender young age of 16. He served in both the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, where he worked at an Airman Survival Camp and in the air control tower. He volunteered to go to Vietnam and was just about to board a helicopter when he was pulled off due to a shortage of air traffic controllers.

Following his military service Bill married the love of his life, Martha Lou Gangwer. For a time he drove a milk truck in the Mississippi Delta and then worked for an airline here in Jackson. He then took a job as a position apprentice, which would light the way for the rest of his working life. He went on to become a public accountant and started his own business, which he maintained until retirement.

Bill impacted many young boys' lives as a Boy Scout leader with many outings to repel off cliffs and to hunt beavers. Bill was an avid outdoorsman who loved to play golf, fish, hunt and ride a tractor. This love he imparted to his sons and grandson.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Martha Lou Gangwer, and brother, Jimmy Gangwer.

He is survived by sons, Will and Ben Gangwer; grandsons, Tyler, Hayden and Ethan Gangwer; and daughter-in-laws, Stephanie and Angel Gangwer.

We are joyful that he able to join his wife, Martha, Naz Rhodes, George Powe, Coleman Bradshaw, and all the hosts of heaven in the presence of our Lord and Savior. He will be missed, but it is only for a short time.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Pearl Presbyterian Church or to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.baldwinleepearl.com for the Gangwer family.