William "Bill" Henry Rankins III

William "Bill" Henry Rankins III, 80, of Huntsville, Alabama passed away Thursday, May 19, 2022. 

Bill was born on September 10, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina to Helen Maree (Caldwell) Rankins and William Henry Rankins, Sr. 

In 1966, Bill earned his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech. He went on to have a lifelong career as a Mechanical Designer in Aerospace Engineering. 

On July 15, 1978, Bill married Patsy Ruth (Byrd) Rankins at Warren Wilson College. They spent 43 beautiful years of marriage together. 

Bill was preceded in death by his parents William Henry Jr. and Helen Maree (Caldwell) Rankins.

Bill is survived by his wife, Patsy Ruth Rankins. Bill is also survived by 3 stepchildren, daughter Lillian Elizabeth (Yepes) Knight (Derrick Guy Knight), son Frederick Anthony "Tony" Yepes (Kamela (Weldon) Yepes), and son Patrick Lonn Yepes (Lytha (Miravalles) Yepes), grandchildren Patricia Anne Ganoe, Alyson Lillian Balls, Katherine Rhiannon Casey, and Parker Ian Yepes, and great-grandchildren Hudson Lehi Ganoe, Rochelle Celestine Ganoe, Lexi Adalyn Ganoe, Oliver Scott Ganoe, and Kian Gene Balls. He is also survived by his brother Frederick Booth Rankins and Sharon (Williams), Linda Maree Tatem, and Susan Rankins Hicks.

A memorial service will be held at the Center of Light in Huntsville, Alabama, on June 25^th at 10:30 am.