William R. "Bill" Thrasher, Jr.

EWELL COMMUNITY…Mr. William R. “Bill” Thrasher, Jr., a resident of the Ewell Community, near Ozark, died late Friday evening, August 13, 2021, in the emergency room of Dale Medical Center. He was 79.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 P.M. Tuesday, August 17, 2021, in the Fuqua Bankston Funeral Home Chapel with Reverend Dr. Billy Gaither officiating. Graveside services, with military honors, will follow in Ewell Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 1:00 until 2:00 P.M. Tuesday at the funeral home.

Flowers will be accepted.

Mr. Thrasher, son of the late William Robert Thrasher, Sr. and Carolyn Celesta Brooks Thrasher, was a native of Thomasville, Georgia. He moved to the Ozark area at an early age,   where he played on the Carroll High School Basketball team and was a 1960 Graduate of Carroll High School. He immediately joined the United States Navy and was deployed on the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Washington-Carver and recently participated in the 50th reunion celebration in Norfolk, Virginia. Mr. Thrasher also sailed on the USS Harder and on the USS Will Rogers during his service. He received the National Service Defense Medal and also played on the United States Navy Men’s Basketball team. Mr. Thrasher left the Navy after serving nine years and joined Texas Instruments in Houston where he helped pioneer the first program that brought voice to computer. He received his Bachelors’ Degree in Business from Troy University after returning home. He was formerly employed with Hughes Missile Electronics in Eufaula, Sikorsky in Troy and Movie Gallery in Dothan in his long career in logistics. Mr. Thrasher was preceded in death in addition to his parents, by a step-daughter, Nina Gore, mother-in-law, Bessie Moore and father-in-law, Ross Moore.

Surviving relatives include his wife, Jilda Moore Thrasher; children, Chris Thrasher (Jill), John Thrasher (Theresa), Samantha Johnson (Shane), Shannon Schwab (David), and Cecile Thrasher; four brothers, Horace Thrasher (Kaye), Jack Thrasher (Bobbie), Greg Thrasher (Linda), and Ricky Thrasher (Janet); grandchildren, Arron, Cyle (Melissa), Daisha (Lachelle), Elizabeth, Victoria, Jessie (Amerika), Katherine, Walker, and Julianna; great-grandchildren, Patrick, Lane, and Brooklynn; special nieces, Connie Saetang (Aunsorn), and JeJeania Pruehs; many more nieces, nephews, and extended/adopted family.