Funeral services for Mr. Bill Rodgers, age 89, of Beckville, Texas, will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 18, 2009, at Jimerson-Lipsey Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. Bob Scott and Chaplain Yankton Hatten officiating. Interment will follow in Langley Cemetery near Beckville. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday at the funeral home. Mr. Rodgers passed away on Sunday night, September 13, 2009, in Carthage.

Bill Rodgers was born on September 18, 1919, in Beckville, Texas to John Wiley and Emma Joanna Oxford Rodgers. Mr. Rodgers served his country in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, attaining the rank Sergeant, and was honorably discharged. He married Mattie Sue Neal on December 25, 1945, in Beckville. Mr. Rodgers was a member of Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Pine Tree. He was preceded in death by his parents, an infant son, his wife, and eight siblings.

Mr. Rodgers is survived by his son, Bill H. Rodgers and wife Cathy of Apache Junction, Arizona; two sisters, Icephene Howell of Beckville and Shirley Porter of Carthage; sister-in-law, Daisy Hall of Gladewater; two grandchildren, Michael Ray Plate and wife Christine of Soldotna, Alaska and Dale Allen Plate and wife Kenda of Denver, Colorado; two great-grandchildren, Kellen Theodore Plate and Maureena Cathleen Plate both of Soldotna; one niece, Emma Blakeman of Carthage; and three nephews, Eugene, Wesley, and Wiley Metcalf all of Beckville. Numerous other nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends also survive Mr. Rodgers.

Serving as pallbearers are Eugene Metcalf, Phelix Martin, Roger Porter, Bill Henry Metcalf, Bobby Curry, and Roland Lampin.

Serving as honorary pallbearers are Judy Marry, Adrian Parks, Rosa Parks, and the staff of Care Team Hospice.

If desired, memorials may be made to Care Team Hospice, 362 Highway 259 North, Longview, TX 75605.

A guestbook may be signed online at www.jimerson-lipsey.com.