William 'Willie' Sowder
 

William L. "Willie" Sowder, 81, of Long Branch, died Saturday, Dec. 4, 1999, at his home following a long illness.

Born Aug. 1, 1918, at Smith Mountain Lake, Va., he was the son of the late Luther and Cassie Lou Foster Sowder.

Mr. Sowder was a member of the Packs Branch Baptist Church and the UMWA.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Ethel Sowder; two brothers, Frankie and Albert C. "Buck" Sowder; and a sister, Nellie Stark.

Survivors include his wife, Anna Mae Hammond Sowder of Long Branch; a daughter, Deanise Hubbard of Montgomery, Ala.; stepdaughter, Jeanie Ervin of Buffalo, N.Y.; two sons, Bill Allen Sowder of Beckley and Clyde Alvin Sowder of Long Branch; five sisters, Betty Talley of Staunton, Va., Edna Wingfield of Staunton, Louise Johnson of Staunton, Janet Skeens of Mount Hope, and Helen McClung of Cleveland, Ohio; one stepgrandchild, five grandchildren and five great–grandchildren.

Services will be 1 p.m. Tuesday at Tyree Funeral Home, Mount Hope, with the Rev. Sam Vance officiating. Burial will follow at Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens, Prosperity.

Friends may call 6 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.

Arrangements by Tyree Funeral Home, Mount Hope.