A native of Clark County, Kentucky, William Savage Duty, Jr. passed away peacefully on June 14, at age 101, with his four children and a grandson at his side. Son of the late Martha Chandler VanMeter and William Savage Duty, Sr; he spent the last several decades in Fort Myers, Florida, most recently at Shell Point Retirement Community.

Active until the end, he went to sittercise class every morning, played bridge many afternoons, went to captioned movies every evening and church every Sunday. He also enjoyed Sudoku, reading large-print books, and sharing jokes with everyone he met.

A favorite biblical injunction was “Be fruitful and multiply.” He and his beloved wife of 72 years, Phyllis Morrison Duty, practiced what they preached, leaving four children, nine grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren. In addition, he is survived by his sister Elizabeth Chandler Duty Snowden (Mrs. Woodford) and a sizable extended family — all of whom are blessed to have known and loved him.

Bill grew up in Winchester, Kentucky, and graduated from Winchester High in 1934, president of his class, and from Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire in 1936, where he was president of the Southern Club.

He graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1940 with a degree in agriculture and began farming the family land on the Van Meter Road. At UK he was president of the student government and Phi Delta Theta.

After serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps for five years during World War II, he returned to Winchester and resumed farming for a total of 66 years.

He was a member of the Winchester Rotary Club, an elder in the First Christian Church, President of the Little League, and a member of Lamplighter’s Club and the Planning and Zoning Commission.

He served as a director of Winchester Federal Savings and Loan and two terms on the Clark County Board of Education, including several years as chair, after the merger of the city and county systems.

He played a vital role in the integration of the schools after Brown v Board of Education.

After his retirement, Bill and Phyllis enjoyed traveling throughout the world.

A memorial service is planned for February 2020 at Shell Point and at an undetermined time at the First Christian Church in Winchester.

Memorials may take the form of contributions to Hope Hospice, 9470 HealthPark Circle, Fort Myers, FL 33908; Sanibel Congregational United Church of Christ, 2050 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, FL 33957; or First Christian Church, 24 East Hickman St., Winchester, KY 40391