William Batts
William Carroll Batts, Sr., 79, went to be with the Lord on June 21, 2018.
William was born in Springfield, Tn., on Feb., 26 1939, to Virginia Sanders and Edwin Heim Batts. He graduated from Tullahoma High School in 1957, and served proudly in the Army reserves for six years.
He graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1969 with a BS in Electrical Engineering, and spent 27 years with TVA.
William loved soccer. Although he never played the sport, he became a student and coach of the game. His love for soccer was broad, including local elementary and high school matches, the English Premier League, and World Cup competitions. He was one of the founding members of Middle Valley Soccer and served as its first president. He coached countless boys’ and girls’ soccer teams for nearly 20 years at Middle Valley, St. Jude, and Notre Dame.
William was preceded in death by his brother Edwin, and his sister, Wilola May.
He is survived by his wife, Mary (née Burke), and five children, Will (Curtis), Pam Pike (Alan), Teresa Ward (Derek), Judy Hagerty (Patrick), and Daniel (Chrissie). He is also survived by eight grandchildren, who lovingly referred to him as Pops: James Goodman and Addison Petty, Tanner and Haleigh Ward, Kylie and Dylan Hagerty, Hannah Claire and Charlie Batts.
William loved to sing and was involved in several musical groups over the years. Most recently he was a member of Emmaus at St. Jude Catholic Church.
He was a huge fan of the Tennessee Vols, and could be seen wearing a UT hat proudly most days of his life.
He loved his family dearly and attended as many of his grandchildren’s events as possible. It was not uncommon for him to attend soccer games, art shows, Christmas pageants, and science fair projects as far away as Denver.
A mass of celebration will be held at St. Jude Catholic Church at 11 a.m. on Monday, June 25. The family will gather with friends from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, June 24, At the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Chattanooga Funeral Home, North Chapel.
Please share your thoughts and memories at www.chattanooganorthchapel.com.