Obituaries

William “Bill” Charles Crockett, Sr., a long-time resident of Jacksonville, FL departed this life unexpectedly on Sunday, September 19, 2021 after a brief hospital stay.

Bill was the youngest of 3 children born to the late MH and Myrtle Creecy Crockett on July 6, 1943.  Born in Raleigh and a 1961 graduate of Ligon High, he was an all-state, four-sport athlete in varsity football, track, basketball and baseball. He went on to play halfback at the University of Minnesota and was part of its 1962 Rose Bowl team.  While enrolled at Minnesota, he met and married Jacquelyne Moore and from their union, three children were born.

Bill was a quiet giant, and a legend both on and off the field.  He and his family eventually settled in Youngstown, Ohio, where he took what he learned as an outstanding athlete and poured into those whose lives he was divinely assigned to change; not just athletically but as people.  He was a fantastic father, mentor and coach.  More important than any championship he won as a youth football coach, he stepped in to be a father-figure to the fatherless, and changed the lives of countless young men.

Bill is well loved and leaves a legacy that rival many.  The lives of those he touched is often manifested into living testimonies of their accomplishments and feats.  There was no one who met him who was not impacted by his generous smile, words of wisdom, and great sense of humor.  Bill, a faithful member of Restoration Love Center Jacksonville where his daughter Tammy is the Senior Pastor, will be sorely missed. 

Bill is proceeded in death by his parents, MH and Myrtle, and his brother, Manuel Jr.  He is survived by his sister Barbara Dease (William) of Jackson, MS, and sister-in-law, Gloria Crockett, of Raleigh, NC; his children: Carmen Smith (Bill) of Silver Spring MD; Tamara Dukes (Michael) and William Crockett II, both of Jacksonville, FL; 16 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and a host of other family, friends, and loved ones.