KIMES, W.R. "Bill" Bill Kimes - Educator, Family Man, Renaissance Man, Raconteur W.R. "Bill" Kimes, 79, of East Point never met a stranger. A retired educator (Cass High School, College Park High School, Tri-Cities High School, Frank McClarin High School), Bill was always interested in other people's stories - and was a genuine Southern raconteur, as quite often the story he skillfully extracted from someone he just met became his latest yarn. Surrounded by family, Bill died peacefully on the morning of May 24, 2015 at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, after suffering a stroke. He is survived by: wife Martha Kimes of East Point; son Chris Kimes and daughter-in-law Amy Kimes, Kingwood, Texas; son Kent Kimes and daughter-in-law Kimberly Raley-Kimes, Burgess, S.C.; nine grandchildren; one great-grandson; Sister-in-law Dorothy Shaw of Snellville; niece Allison Berg and husband Bill Berg and family, Decatur; niece Karen Shaw Moore, Lawrenceville; nephew Keith Shaw and wife Peggy Shaw, Manassas, Va.; two great nieces and two great-nephews. Online condolence may be expressed to the family at www.higginshillcrestchapel.com The consummate family man, Bill was a social animal, hosting dinner parties, spending time with neighbors, dining out and discovering new restaurants, attending events, going to the movies, mingling and trying to satiate his curiosity about the ever-evolving world around him. He was also a music-lover, playing piano by ear, and he loved to travel. He was a fixture at Lunch on Main Street in College Park. Central Presbyterian Church, aka "the Church that stayed," in downtown Atlanta, was also central in Bill's life. He was an active member of Central from 1968 until his death - and this church family always rallied around him in time of need. He had a passion for making things, too, whether it be informational bulletin boards at school or church, or crafting lamps and jewelry and modifying and refurbishing furniture on his basement workbench, and later in life dabbling with desktop publishing. He enjoyed interior design - especially rearranging other people's spaces - gardening, cooking and retail therapy. He will be remembered by many for his (sometimes irreverent) sense of humor, benevolence, sincerity, networking skills and for generally marching to the beat of his own drum. An only child, Bill was born Aug. 14, 1935 to Christine Tipps Kimes and James Ross Kimes of Fayetteville, Tenn. He graduated from Lincoln Central High School in Fayetteville, Tenn. in 1953, and attended Martin Junior College in Pulaski, Tenn. from 1953-55. In 1958, he graduated from George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tenn. with a B.S. in Business Education, and earned a Master's Degree in Business Education from there in 1961. A public school educator for four decades, Bill landed his first teaching job at Cass High in Bartow County, Ga., where he taught for three years, while earning his Master's Degree at Peabody during summer breaks. Craving the bright lights and action of the big city, Bill sought out a teaching position in the Atlanta area, and in the fall of 1961 he was hired by College Park High School in College Park, Ga., where he would stay until the school closed after the 1987-88 academic year and merged into Tri-Cities High School. Also hired by College Park High School in the fall of 1961 was a young English teacher from Mississippi, Martha Sanders. Bill and Martha became fast friends socializing in the same circles and started dating in 1962 - a hot topic in the hallways of College Park High School. They were engaged the following year and married in June 1963. Bill was a member of Georgia Association of Educators, Fulton County Association of Educators, Georgia Business Education Association, Fulton County Retired Teachers Association, Georgia Retired Teachers Association, and sponsor of Key Club and Future Business Leaders of America chapters at College Park High. He was initiated as a Sigma Phi Epsilon Renaissance Brother by the fraternity's Alabama Zeta Chapter (Huntingdon College, Montgomery, Ala.), joining sons Chris (Clemson University, S.C. Beta) and Kent (Huntingdon) as Sig Eps. After a couple of years at Tri-Cities in the late '80s and early '90s, Bill found himself back on familiar ground at McClarin High, an open campus alternative school on-site of the former College Park High, where he headed up the school's vocational education and job-training program to finish out his career on a high note. "He excelled at everything he did," said former McClarin principal Olin Presley. "He was a very talented individual." For most of his career, Bill taught Business Education, including countless typing classes - a skill that has translated to the 21st Century's computer keyboard-dominated society. "He was consistent, interested, and he put the welfare of the student first," said Presley. "He took personal pleasure in seeing them achieve." A memorial service is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, June 7 at Central Presbyterian Church, 201 Washington Street, Atlanta, Ga., 30303. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Central Outreach and Advocacy Center, which aids Atlanta's poor and homeless, and/or the church's resident pastors fund. Donations to the Outreach and Advocacy Center may be made online at https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/CentralOutreach/donateonline.html. Higgins Hillcrest Chapel Funeral Home, Newnan, 770-253-4723

Published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on May 31, 2015