William Lafferty Jr.

William (Bill) Harrison Lafferty, Jr. (83) went to the Lord November 5, 2021.

Bill was born in Mahan, West Virginia on October 4, 1938 to William and Esther (Morris) Lafferty. He was raised in a coal camp known as Krebs.  Lyrics to Lorretta Lynn’s recording, Coal Miner’s Daughter, is a near perfect description of Bill’s childhood.  Bill’s mother passed away when he was nine years old leaving his father to raise five young children while he labored in the coal mines.

Bill attended the Mahan grade school and graduated from Kingston High School in West Virginia.  He made life-long friends while attending these schools and excelled in playing high school sports. He particularly enjoyed playing baseball and basketball and also loved to hunt and fish in the mountains of West Virginia.

After graduating high school, Bill moved to Michigan and took a job with GM Truck and Coach in Pontiac where he became a foreman while also attending Oakland University.    His career was interrupted in 1961 for two years by the U.S. Military Selective Service Draft. Bill was drafted into the Army.  After his service, Bill became an automobile salesman and eventually became General Manager of Jim Cook Buick dealership in Louisville, Kentucky.

While stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Bill met his first wife, Bonnie Jean Bruner.  Bonnie passed away in 2002.  Bill and Bonnie raised two sons in Clarksville, Indiana.

Bill married Kathryn (Kathie) Severance in 2005.  They made their home in Floyds Knobs, Indiana (summer) and Sahuarita, AZ (winter) until moving to Bellaire, Michigan’s Shanty Creek Resort in 2015.

Bill loved watching basketball, dancing with his wife and playing golf and billiards with the many good friends he made. He loved Jesus Christ, his family and friends. Bill was very proud of his sons.  He will be missed by so many people who loved him.

Survived by wife Kathryn Severance, sister Martha Cranfield, brother Carl (Barbara) Lafferty, sons William (Tammy) Lafferty, III and Jeffery Lafferty, Grandchildren Travis Lafferty, Laken (Lafferty) (Alex) Grim, Chelsea Lafferty and Zachary Lafferty, Great-grandson Ethan Lafferty and many extended family members.

Preceded in death by his first wife, Bonnie Jean Bruner, parents William and Esther (Morris) Lafferty, half siblings Charles and Escella (Sue) Ferrell, sister Hattie Louise (Lafferty) Scarbro, brother John and two Grandsons, Matthew and Gabriel Lafferty.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at the Bellaire Chapel of Mortensen Funeral Homes.  Visitation will take place from 12:00 p.m. until the time of funeral services at 2:00 p.m.  Burial in Eldred Cemetery with military honors immediately following funeral services.

The family asks that memorials be directed to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the American Cancer Society.

Arrangements are in the care of the Bellaire Chapel of Mortensen Funeral Homes.  Please sign his online guestbook at www.mortensenfuneralhomes.com