Bill McFatridge was born February 9, 1932 in Durant, Oklahoma and went to be with the Lord Wednesday, November 15, 2023. He is the son of Carl McFatridge and Ola Mae Kerr McFatridge.
In 1948, just three years following the end of World War II, Bill joined the Oklahoma 45th Division National Guard. This was a good way to show his patriotism while earning a little spending money for doing weekend drills. Just after graduating Durant High School in 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea and the 45th was mobilized. Bill was soon on his way to Japan for training and then to Korea. He was in Korea 1951 and 1952, serving with the 2nd Battalion Intelligence 180th Regiment of the 45th Division.
Returning to Durant in 1952, he met and married Wilma Freeman. Bill graduated Southeastern State University and then earned two additional degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1953 and pastored the First Baptist Church in Bennington, Oklahoma; the First Baptist Church in Josephine, Texas; and the First Baptist Church in Idabel, Oklahoma.
In 1968 he left active ministry to become the President and owner of the family business, Carl’s Sausage Company, in Whitewright, Texas. After retirement, his mission became taking groups to the Holy Land. His first trip to the Holy Land was in 1961, shortly followed by his next one in 1964. He and Wilma took more than 50 groups to the Middle East for 54 years. Their final tour was in 2018.
Bill taught Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary extension classes in McCurtain County, Oklahoma. He served on the Seminary Advisory Board and is a Lifetime Member of the Southwestern Baptist Theological President’s Advisory Board. He was a Trustee for the Oklahoma Baptist Convention and was an Oklahoma Senate Chaplain. He was also a Trustee with Grayson Community College for 36 years and is a Lifetime Member of the Association of Community College Trustee Association.
Other organizations include Order of the Arrow with the Boy Scouts; 72 year, 33rd degree member of the Masonic Lodge; Eastern Star; Shriners; Rotary Club; and Meals on Wheels. After retiring from the family business, Bill started a new project. Feeling Whitewright needed more affordable housing, he purchased land and developed the Rose Hill Addition. As a result, there are currently 59 houses, a Dollar General, Fitness Center, Sonic, and Shell Station there.
Bill and Wilma were married for 71 fruitful years. They have three children: Martha McFatridge Bryant, Mari McFatridge, and Carl McFatridge. Their grandchildren are Katie Bryant Moncrief, Elisabeth Bryant Drabkin, Ruth Bryant Bell, Jamie Jones, Nancy Fogleman, Alex Verner, Jasmin James, Bobby Guest, Kaitlin McFatridge, Carl (Buck) McFatridge. Anar and Veeral Rathod and Umang and Anand Shaw are also included among their grandchildren. They have 17 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandchild. They also share sons-in-law Jim Bryant and Bud Scott and daughter-in-law Melanie McFatridge. Bill had one sister, Martha McFatridge Dobson, who pre-deceased him.
As important and substantial as his many earthly accomplishments, Bill’s greatest legacies are how he lived his life, contributed to his community, and loved his family.
Words cannot express our appreciation of the medical and personal care that Dr. Minaxi Rathod and Dr. Tammy Roque have given to Bill during this difficult time.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 2, at 1:30 pm at the First Baptist Church, Whitewright. We request any memorial be given to Grayson College Scholarship Fund in the Bill McFatridge Family Scholarship. https / www.grayson.edu / foundation / make-a-gift Bill McFatridge Family Scholarship.