William LaForest Pike

William L. Pike from Madison, Alabama died peacefully in Huntsville, Alabama on September 30, 2023 surrounded by family.

Bill was born on December 19, 1939 in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, the second child of Thelma Bailey Pike and Kenneth I. Pike. A talented master plumber, Bill owned his own plumbing business in Massachusetts before relocating with his family to Florida in 1976. He then spent the rest of his career as a construction plumber helping to build many of the big properties in Orlando including multiple Disney facilities.

Bill was very proud to be a Veteran.  He served honorably in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1957-1961 as an Engineman on the USCGC Castle Rock and the USCGC General Greene achieving the rank of EN2 (E-5).  On October 4, 1960, while on duty, he helped save two flight attendants from Winthrop Bay in Boston, Massachusetts. They were two of only ten survivors from a plane crash at Logan International Airport.

He was married for 62 years to Judith Elizabeth O’Brien Pike and celebrated his anniversary on September 23, 2023.  He married Judy in 1961 at Holy Family Church in Rockland, Massachusetts.  The couple built a house in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts and spent weekends at their Cottage in Sunset Lake (Alton Bay), New Hampshire. Their three children Billy, Deborah and Derek were born while living there. In 1976 the family relocated to Lantana, Florida and finally settled in Webster, Florida in 1981.  With the help of his son Billy, Bill built the family home himself and they lived there until 2021.  He loved raising cows and living on ten acres of land.  In 2021 Bill and Judy had a home built in Bushnell Florida and lived there until finally joining Deborah, Derek, and their families in Alabama in 2023. 

A prolific storyteller, Bill entertained his family and friends (and even strangers) with stories from his service and from his years as a plumber.  Over the years we laughed as the stories got more embellished.  He loved old trucks and spent many of his last days lovingly looking through car and truck magazines that Judy gave him “picking” out the perfect truck he was going to buy and drive around Madison. He and his son Derek were working on a special car project together.

He is survived by his wife Judy and his children Billy (Pearl), Deborah and Derek (Tanya). He has five grandchildren he adored including Tyler, Logan, Lauren, Katie, and Abi. Nothing was more important to him than his family, and he was incredibly proud of all of them.

He is survived by his brothers and sister Kenny, Janice and Kevin and multiple nieces and nephews. Bill is preceded in death by his parents. 

In lieu of flowers his family requests that you donate to a cause that helps veterans or simply say thank you for your service to the next veteran you see.  That would mean the most to him.

He will be buried at Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo, Alabama with military honors.