Monday, January 27, 2014

+William Thomas Banks Jr.

       William Thomas Banks Jr, b: Sept 27, 1924, Chattanooga, TN
                                              d: Oct 20, 2007, Vallejo, CA.
His parents were, William Thomas Banks Sr and Lena M. Key- Banks.
He grew up in Chattanooga, most likely attended Howard High School in Chattanooga. He either joined or was drafted into the Navy, as of this post I don't know when he joined or when he got out of the military. All I have are two photos of him in uniform.

William Thomas Banks Jr.
William Thomas Banks Jr.

 I'm hoping that his family eventually will read this post and share more information about his military years and any photos and stories they might have about him.





Uncle Billy married Aurelia White in 1945 in California, and they had one daughter born 1950 most likely still living. He also has two grand daughters.



Aurelia and William on left and Aurelia White 

Uncle Billy was into photography, I remember my mother telling me that she use to work for him in his studio in Chattanooga, she would develop the pictures, and also she learned how to colorize the photos for him, he apparently taught her how to do all of it.  
Aunt Butch ( Aurelia) I thought was nice, she was the only wife of Uncle Billy's that I met.
Uncle Billy and Aurelia divorced, and around 1969 Uncle Billy married Rozelma H. Jeffery in Vallejo, California.


Rozelma  and William Banks

They were married for 21 years then Rozelma died October 14, 1990.

William married again to Verlady D. Gray on September 26, 1991 in Washoe County, Nevada. They remained married until William's death in 2007.







What I need is information about William's military, school, occupation, and where he's buried. 
Update:
After posting this a friend Bernita Allen from the AAGSAR group found my uncle Billy's obituary, here is what she found listed below:

William T. Banks JR.: Newspaper and Death Notice

Times-Herald ( Vallejo, CA) - Thursday, October 25, 2007
Deceased Name:  William T. Banks Jr.
CA United States
Sept. 27, 1924 - Oct 20, 2007 William " Bill" Thomas Banks Jr., a longtime resident of Vallejo, was summoned by His Heavenly Father on Saturday.  Bill served in the U.S. Navy during W.W 11 and was honorably discharged in 1946.  He worked as a Federal Civil Servant at the Benicia Arsenal and Concord Naval Weapons Station for a total of thirty six years.. He was  Past Master of Firma Lodge No 27, F&AM (Vallejo), a Freemason for more than 50 years, and was a member of various Masonic and social organizations.  Bill is greatly missed by his loving wife of 16 years, Verlady: daughter, Rosalind Banks; five stepdaughters; a sister and a brother -in-law; 11 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.  Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. with a quiet hour from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Stewart Rose Manor Funeral Service, 3331 MacDonald Ave., Richmond.  Funeral service will be held 11 am, Saturday, at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, 1905 Florida St., Vallejo.  Burial to follow at Rolling Hills Memorial Park, Richmond.  Arrangements made under the care of Stewart Rose Manor, ( 510) 235-9143.

Thank you Bernita this is very much appreciated.













18 comments:

  1. Interesting story. I hope you find more information on William.

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    1. Thank you Bernita, and thank you for looking up the Obituary on William I learned so much about him just from that obit alone, that was a very nice gift Bernita. William was really speaking to you.

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  2. BEAUTIFUL Xzanthia! So proud of you getting a memorial for William up! As you can see, he's already sending more information your way to augment his story. Wonderful & such beautiful pictures! :)

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    1. Thank you Luckie, William was working over time yesterday speaking to all of us. He wanted his story out there.

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  3. Great Story Xzanthia! what beautiful pictures. Looking forward to seeing what you find about William.

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    1. Thank you Denise, I really hope someone in his family sees this and is willing to share.

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  4. Thanks for sharing this story with us. So glad that your post prompted more information about your Uncle Billy and his family.

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    1. Thank you M. Dawn, William was on a roll yesterday.

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  5. I hope they see it and send you more information and photographs.

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  6. Loving these pictures, look forward to hearing more about your William:)

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    1. Thank you, I learned so much about William from that obituary that Bernita Allen found, that was so cool.

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  7. This was Beautifully done! He really worked hard all his Life. Love that you found more information. The Arsenal Base where he worked should have plenty of records of his previous time in the Navy. Glad you found out where he is buried as well. Wonderfully Done!

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    1. Thank you True Lewis, it was exciting to find all that new information that Bernita Allen was able to locate..

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  8. I Hope you find out more on your uncle Billy and may i add He was a very handsome man with two beautiful wives.

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    1. Thank you Paula, He did have some beautiful wives, and they were very friendly also.

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