William J "Bill" Buford

BURLESON -- William "Bill" J. Buford, 84, a retired customer service manager, died Thursday, Oct. 19, 2006, at his residence. Funeral: 11 a.m. Monday in Mountain Valley Funeral Home Chapel. Burial: Laurel Land Memorial Park, Fort Worth. Visitation: 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Mountain Valley Funeral Home. Bill was born Nov. 2, 1921, in Utica, Miss., to I.H. and Thelma Hammond Buford. He married Claudene Hodges on March 6, 1982, in Joshua. Bill was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He loved to hunt. Bill was on the board of directors for Bethesda Water for 20 years. He was a Mason for 58 years and was a 32nd-degree Mason and a Scottish Rite Mason. Bill was the past master of Burleson Blue Lodge #649 and was a Shriner for many years. Bill served in the U.S. Air Force and was a World War II veteran. Survivors: Wife, Claudene Buford of Burleson; son, Vince Shilling and wife, Jane Ellen, of Dallas; daughters, Kathryn Shilling of Coppell and Carole Porterfield Kunkel and husband, Marvin, of Cranfills Gap; sister, Madeline Mendrop of Vicksburg, Miss.; six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.