ST. TAMMANY PARISH, LA. 

Obituary for: POWERS, WILLIAM HENRY, SR.

Submitted by: Louis Lavedan. 

Source: E.J. Fielding  Funeral Home, Covington, La.

Died: Saturday, May 9, 2016

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POWERS, WILLIAM HENRY, SR.
February 4, 1924 - May 9, 2016

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William Henry Powers Sr. passed away on May 9, 2016, at the age of 92. 

His passing was preceded by that of his wife of 62 years, Evelyn Barnes Powers, 
who passed away January 28, 2014. Will, as he was known to his friends, is 
survived by 4 children, 9 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren who will 
all miss their beloved "PaPa".

Will was born in Hog Eye, Arkansas, on February 4, 1924. He was the youngest of 
nine children and grew up with the expected chaos that produced. His father 
Henry was a building contractor and landlord which is where Will got the 
foundation for his subsequent building career which became his lifelong 
passion. 
Will married his wife, Evelyn Barnes, before he turned 20. He and “Duder” 
became members of the Church of Christ as teenagers and over the years Will 
became a Bible scholar who often would quote long passages of the scripture 
eloquently. 
Will served in World War II and was a decorated bomber crewman. After the war, 
he and Evelyn moved to California following the post war “building boom”. Will 
initially worked as a carpenter and later became a building contractor. He 
found joy in building things and always had a “shop” at his house. He worked in 
his shop in Covington up until only a few years prior to his death proudly 
producing intricate wood-art until he was no longer physically able to do so.

Will also had other careers including being the owner of a general merchandise 
store, Van Trading Company, near Bakersfield, California. His expertise in the 
building industry made him the go-to person for "do it yourselfers" in that 
area. He also had several house rentals where he spent all of his off hours 
repairing and cleaning to make "ends meet". This led him to write a book 
called, "So you want to be a landlord?" which highlighted all the reasons why 
one might reconsider such an avocation. He always was an avid writer and in 
addition to his landlord book wrote a book called, "Christians and War", in 
which he argued that a Christian's loyalty to God made it impossible for them 
to swear an oath to the military.

Indeed Will was a self-made man. Neither he nor Duder completed high school but 
were quite content with the successes they had enjoyed in their lives. They 
were, however, most proud of the successes of their children who all became 
professionals and were devoted to all of their grandkids and later the great 
grandkids. With all the other achievements in his life, the fact that he raised 
successful children who all had wonderful families was his “pride and joy”. We 
all will miss him.

US Air Force
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