William Boyden Fesperman ’49 died October 9, 2013 at Cambridge Hills Assisted Living in Pittsboro, North Carolina.
He was born to the late John Thomas Boyden Fesperman and Katherine Novella Moose Fesperman, February 18, 1929, in Rocky Mount, NC. Bill graduated from J.W. Cannon High School and received a B.S. from Davidson College and went on to receive a Masters from Springfield College. He entered military service as a Second Lieutenant at Ft. Benning, GA and served in Japan and Korea as First Lieutenant assigned to the Infantry, 8th Calvary Regiment.
Bill followed in his father’s footsteps by making the YMCA his life’s work. He held many positions with the YMCA working in facilities in Atlanta, GA; Wichita, KS; Burlington, NC; Charleston, SC; Asheville, NC, and finally retiring as the Executive Director of the Cannon Memorial YMCA, where his father was the original Executive Director in Kannapolis, NC. After retiring in 1991 he and his wife Jean continued to assist others through the YMCA by making a year- long trip to Thailand and working with the YMCA in Bangkok. Bill also was a master fundraiser and put those skills to good use while on the Boards of the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theater (SART) and Children First to name a few.
Bill is survived by his wife, Jean and their four children: Kathy Brown of Columbia, SC; Jim Fesperman, of Durham, NC; John Fesperman, of Pittsoboro, NC; and Martha Spradley of Oviedo, FL. He also is survived by seven grandchildren.
The Memorial Service washeld at 2 p.m., Saturday, October 19 at Pittsboro Presbyterian Church.