WM W Durham Jr. (Bill Durham) passed away Tuesday March 23, 2021 at his residence.

Mr. Durham was the father of Russell Anthony Durham and LeAnn Durham Lyon. He was the grandfather of Kendra Durham Sulle, Hailey Durham, Brody and Jason Riley Arbogast, and Jacob, Josie (Connor) Brockman, Adam, and Lily Lyon and great-grandfather to Kenzlee Sulle and Grayson Lyon.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Barbara Borders Durham, his parents, WM W (Wickie) Durham and Anna Evelyn (Trump) Durham, sister, Mary Kevin Ball and also brother's Richard Garland Durham and Dr. Charles Joseph (Bubby) Durham. He is survived by sister Ann Simms (Sissy) Ball of Campbellsville, and brother Thomas Milton Durham of Princeton, KY, and John Shelly Durham of Ojai, CA, and friend and companion, Barbara Ryan May.

Mr. Durham's business career was varied. He farmed and was in the poultry business with his father. He was employed in consumer finance supervising offices in several southeastern states. In this business his region of the company grew to 155 employees and over $150 million in receivables and was a model for the rest of the company. He was vice president and loan officer of Farmers National Bank in Lebanon. He created a local retail furniture business that grew to 9 stores in Central Kentucky with 85 employees. His furniture peers named him National Small Retailer of the year in 1986 and he was also named outstanding business man of the year by the Chamber of Commerce in Lebanon. He and his business efforts were the subject of several articles in the Courier Journal Newspaper. He opened and operated a consumer finance office in Lebanon. His furniture stores' credit receivables office employed 10 people and served 20,000 customers. His business grew steadily until the company supplying the funding was purchased by a foreign bank and ceased funding businesses in the United States suddenly which effectively closed businesses as well as many others across the country.

He was an insurance agent, a real estate agent, a real estate broker and Mr. and Mrs. Durham were a top producing team with Coldwell Banker real estate in St. Petersburg, Florida. Later Mr. Durham was a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker in Louisville eventually opening and operating his own brokerage group, Kentucky Real Estate. As a real estate developer, he was instrumental in developing Lebanon's first shopping center. He has been and avid golfer when his health allowed it and he was also a private pilot and he flew his plane to the furniture markets and his various business interests around the state. Mrs. Durham was always an active participant in Mr. Durham's various business interest. In later years he and Mrs. Durham traveled extensively.

Mr. Durham was very active in community affairs serving as president of the Lebanon Rotary Club where he guided the club back into the foreign student exchange program, president of the Lebanon-Marion County Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Lebanon Retail Merchants Committee, member of the Lebanon Planning and Zoning Committee, chairman of the St. Augustine Parish Administration Committee for 10 years, member of the St. Augustine Parish Council, chairman of the St. Augustine Stewardship Committee where his efforts revitalized the stewardship of the parishioners, parish council liaison with the St. Augustine School Board where he was instrumental  in increasing the St. Augustine teachers' salaries to the level of the county teachers, and was mayor's representative to the Lincoln Trail Area Development Committee where he was instrumental in securing the funding for many community projects as well as funding for Lebanon's first downtown renovation project. During his tenure as president of the Chamber of Commerce the first downtown renovation project was carried out to completion. He himself contributed greatly to the downtown renovation purchasing eight old rundown properties on West Main Street and completely renovated them into retail showplace that drew great crowds of shoppers to Lebanon. At 90,000 square feet, the galleries furniture store in Lebanon was at the time the largest furniture under one roof in the state of Kentucky.

Mr. Durham always credited his success locally to the good Lord and the good people of Lebanon and Marion County.

Having lived in many different communities during their lifetime, Mr. and Mrs. Durham were enriched by those experiences. Over time they built and lived in eight different homes in different parts of the country.

Mr. Durham graduated from St. Augustine High School in Lebanon and was valedictorian of his senior class. He graduated from the University of Kentucky during which time he was a member of the University of Kentucky poultry judging team and competed for the university in many exhibitions. He was a member of the University of Kentucky Block and Bridal Club and also a member of the University Poultry Club. He attended the university the first year on a Jesse Jones Scholarship and worked his way through college as an employee of the agriculture department and selling eggs to various fraternities and sororities on campus. He was also a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and served as house manager for the fraternity. He was awarded a Sullivan Medal by the university for academic achievement.

He later enrolled in the Purdue University graduate school with a major in poultry science and genetics and also was appointed a teaching assistant position with the university.

He was a veteran with the Berlin crisis when in 1961 he was called to active duty with the 100 ^th division to train troops at Ft. Chaffee Ark. He served with the US Army Reserve for over six years until his honorable discharge in 1962. He was selected as a candidate for officer's training but declined in order to pursue his civilian career.

Mr. Durham was also named a Kentucky Colonel as well as a Kentucky Admiral.

Mr. Durham was a lifelong Catholic. He and Mrs. Durham were the first couple in Marion County to attend Catholic Marriage Encounter and worked to engage as many couples as they could to attend so that their marriages would be enriched.

Mr. and Mrs. Durham were avid University of Kentucky basketball and football fans and had season tickets for both sports for many years.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 P.M. Saturday March 27, 2021 at St. Augustine Catholic Church. Interment will follow in St. Augustine Church Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4:00-8:00 P.M. Friday March 26, 2021 at Bosley Funeral Home with a prayer service at 7:00 P.M. officiated by Deacon Dennis May.

Due to COVID-19 the funeral home is limited to 60% capacity. Facemasks are required to enter the facilities. There will be no food or drinks allowed at this time.