Burford Ancestors - Generation 5 - William Edward 'Bill' Searcy, Jr.

William Edward 'Bill' Searcy, Jr. was born 07 January 1918 in Vanndale, Cross County, Arkansas

PHOTO: Bill Searcy holding son Mike

Bill was the son of Will and Edith Burford Searcy

Bill Searcy married Audrey Estelle Burgess 24 December 1940 in Cross County, Arkansas, daughter of Estel Lee Burgess and Enid Aurora McCarley. She was born 25 April 1925 in Arkansas.

PHOTO: Estelle Burgess Searcy holding son Mike

Children of Bill and Estelle Searcy are:

i. Wanda Ann Searcy, born 20 November 1941 

ii. Linda Ruth Searcy, born 05 January 1943; died 03 January 2000; married Kenneth Davidson.

iii. Donna Sue Searcy, born 16 November 1944. 

iv. Michael Edward 'Mike' Searcy, born 30 May 1948; died 29 September 1975.  

v. Billy Joe Searcy, born 04 August 1957; died 02 March 1993.

PHOTO: Sue, Linda, and Wanda (children of Bill and Estelle) are in the front row left. Estelle is holding Mike. Billy Joe had not been born yet when this picture was taken. 

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Bill Searcy died 18 March 1976, age 58.

Estelle Searcy died 12 October 2005, age 80.

They are buried in Vanndale Cemetery, Vanndale, Cross County, Arkansas. I do not have a picture of their gravestone.

OBIT

Linda Ruth Davidson, age 56, of Colt, died Monday, January 3, 2000, at her home. She was born Jan. 5, 1943, in Wynne, to William and Estelle Searcy. She was a district secretary for the Reliable Life Insurance Company and a member of the Village Creek Missionary Baptist Church. She married Kenneth Davidson in 1965, and he survives her along with three sons, Ken Davidson, Victor Davidson and Kyle Davidson, all of Colt; her mother, Estelle Searcy of Wynne; two sisters, Wanda Johnson of Cherry Valley and Donna McFadden of Blytheville; and three grandchildren. Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2000, at Steven Funeral Home. Services will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2000, at Village Creek MB Church with burial to follow in Loughridge Cemetery. The family asks that memorials be made to the Village Creek MB Church. Stevens Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

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OBIT Wynne Progress April 9, 1993.

Billy Joe Searcy, 35, died April 2, 1993 at Parish Memorial Hospital in Titusville, Fla. He was the son of the late William "Bill" Edward Searcy and Audrey Estelle Burgess Searcy. He was preceded in death by his brother, Michael Edward Searcy in 1975 and his father in 1976.

Searcy graduated from Cross County High School in 1975 and had been the manager of Godfathers Pizza in Lake Charles, La. and the assistant manager of Oliver Garden in Titusville, Fla. He has been a resident of Florida for the past 10 years. He was a member of the Vanndale Baptist Church.

Survivors are his mother, Estelle Searcy of Wynne; and three sisters, Wanda Johnson of Cherry Valley, Linda Davidson of Colt and Donna McFadden of Blytheville. Two nieces and seven nephews also survive.

Funeral services were held graveside at Vanndale Cemetery on April 5, Rev. Jerry Grace officiating. Kernodle Funeral Home of Wynne was in charge of funeral arrangements.