William Hampton

JASPER — William Thomas Hampton, 71, also a resident of Marietta, Ga., died unexpectedly Sunday morning, Dec. 9, 2018, at a Marietta hospital, following a heart attack. Born in Jasper on Aug. 20, 1947, he was the son of the late Keith and Annie Ruth Barker Hampton of Jasper, and his roots in Marion County went back for many generations. Bill was a 1965 graduate of Marion County High School, where he was an outstanding football player and involved in many activities. He was a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and remained a Tennessee Vol fan for all his life. He loved the Vols, even when their season was dismal. He began his career as a corporate trust officer at American National Bank in Chattanooga, but moved to Marietta with the Bank of Cobb County in 1985, later working as a pension plan administrator for Showalter and Associates in Atlanta for many years, until his retirement earlier this year. Bill was a lifelong Democrat, and believed strongly in the principles of his party, from the New Deal of FDR to the present day. He and his wife, Sue, enjoyed traveling to various parts of the United States, and he loved the city of New York and returned there for visits as often as possible. He also loved his family and his friends, returning often to Jasper to enjoy his continuing and lifelong relationship with a group of friends from his childhood and youth. Bill is survived by his beloved wife of 37 years, Sue Walker Hampton, of Marietta; his sister and brother-in-law, Mary Keith and Maurice R. "Bemo" Bowen, of Chattanooga; his niece, Jane Bowen, of Chattanooga; two sisters-in-law, Judy (and John) Rodriguez and Jane (and Pat) Woolsey, both of Nashville; two nephews: Army Major Matthew (and Katherine) Woolsey, of Vicksburg, Miss., and Chris (and Christen) Woolsey, of Mebane, N.C.; and three grandnieces and nephews. He is also survived by his "Band of Brothers": Zach Kelly, Johnny Turner, William Braden, Levoy Gudger, Johnny Grimes, Denny Harris, John Moore, Gil Gilbert, Bill Baker, Jan Forrester, Jimmy Bowen, Mac Bumpus, Les Price, and Ben Harris. Funeral services will be conducted from the Chapel of Rogers Funeral Home in Jasper at 2 p.m. Central Time, on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018, with the Rev. John H. Bonner III officiating. Interment will be in Pine Grove Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 11 a.m. Central time until service time on Thursday. The family suggests that those wishing to make memorial donations direct them to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial and Honor Program,501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-1942 (www.stjude.org/tribute) or to your local humane society.