William George Powney III passed away on October 31, 2024. William was the only boy and the youngest of 3 children born on January 2, 1933, to William George Powney II and Ada Dorothy Powney in Richmond, England. He was known as Sonny by his family and Bill by others. He was a beloved father, father-in-law, grandfather and friend; known for his warmth, kindness, sense of humor and unwavering friendship for the people in his life.

William came to the United States in 1947 after WWII. He has lived and traveled to many places in the U.S. but lived in Torrance California for about 30 years. He worked as a dry cleaner at Marina Del Rey cleaners where they cleaned some of the popular shows/ actors' clothing. Happy Days was one of them and he was invited to the set and met Henry Winkler (Fonzie); he loved it. Bill was a great storyteller, and he always had many stories to tell about the people he has met and the experiences he had over his life (and he had some good ones.)

William married Mary Ellen Tompkins in 1951, and they had 8 children. Gary Wayne Powney, William Geoge Powney IV (wife Kathy), Karen Dawn Counsell (husband Ron), James Michael Powney (wife Louise) and Jeffrey Scott Powney (wife Cindy), Reta Powney, Kevin Holloway (Sue), Rochelle Bratton (husband Donny). He was preceded in death by his parents Bill and Ada Dorothy, his 2 older sisters Joyce and Reta, his second wife Lenore and his two sons Gary and William.

Bill had 9 grandchildren: Jennifer Powney, Gary Powney, Heather Monkus, William Powney V, Misty Nate, Jaymi Powney, WhitLee Powney, Bradley Powney and Hunter Powney. He also had 10 great grandchildren and a great- great grandchild on the way.

Bill married his second wife Lenora Strong in 1972 and he had many happy years with her and their 2 dogs, Heidi and Digger. They enjoyed traveling and spending time in Las Vegas. Lenore passed away in 1991 and some years later he moved to Kennewick, Washington but he maintained his close friendships with the ones who meant so much to him in Southern California. Once Bill moved to Kennewick, he and his dear friend Emma of 65 years began a companionship that was very special and lasted until Emma passed away at the age of 99 in 2019. Bill was a very sentimental guy, and he never stopped loving her, talking about her or missing her; she was one of a kind. Her family welcomed him in and in true Bill fashion continued to cherish them as part of his extended family.

All who knew Bill knew that he loved life and lived it every single minute of the day until the end. You could always find Bill reading, watching the news and listening to whatever sports were on (all at the same time.) He could talk to you about pretty much anything. Even if he wasn't an expert, he knew some about any given topic. He never grew tired of hearing or learning about what was going on in the world.

The family would like to give a very special thank you to Ted Homme, who came into Bill's life and who has been more than just a friend to him. Ted and Bill spent many a Monday (their coffee day) driving around and talking; Bill enjoyed it tremendously and looked forward to it each week. Ted has been such a great friend and blessing to not only Bill, but also to his family. Ted, Kathy and sons, thank you.

First Lutheran Church was not only Bill's church, but his community and a service to honor Bill's life will be held at the First Lutheran Church of Kennewick, Saturday, November 16, 1:00 pm at 418 N. Yelm St., Kennewick, WA 99336.

For those unable to attend but would like to watch from home you can visit: http://www.kennewickfirstlutheran.com/ please scroll down and select the YouTube Channel Icon, look for William Powney's video.