William Howell Upchurch

William Howell Upchurch, Jr. 66 of Harborside Dr., Nebo, NC died Thursday, March 3, 2011 at Burke Hospice and Palliative Care Center, Valdese, NC. Born in Asheboro, NC on January 2, 1945, he was the son of the late William Howell Upchurch and Minnie Tyner Upchurch. He was a 1963 graduate of Asheboro High School and a 1967 bachelor’s degree graduate of Western Carolina University. Bill was student body President at the university in 1966 and 1967. In 1969 he earned his master’s degree at Western and taught in the Waynesville, NC school system. Mr. Upchurch served as executive director of South East Child Development and for thirty years was first employed by the State of North Carolina Department of Human Resources and later in the N. C. Child Support Department. He retired in 2005. During his tenure with the state he helped develop the Statewide Stop Child Abuse Program and was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by the State of North Carolina. After his retirement he continued to provide consulting services.Bill was a devoted son, husband, father, and brother who cherished every moment of life spent with family and friends. He loved working with and laying stone at his home in Nebo and at his mountain cabin in Virginia. Bill was a traveler of back roads and was happiest when he was at his mountain cabin.Surviving are his loving wife of 43 years, Frances Guffey Upchurch; his daughter, Anna Beth Upchurch of Phoenix, AZ; his sisters and their husbands, Reba Wieters Moffat and William of Sparta, GA and Rena Whitehead and Eddie of Ramseur, NC; three nephews, a niece, and numerous cousins; and a very special friend, Mindy France of Greensboro, NC. Bill always enjoyed his semiannual outings with his Upchurch cousins!!A memorial service will be private. Memorial gifts may be made to Burke Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., 1721 Enon Rd., Valdese, NC 28690. Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center is assisting the family.