William "Bill" Henry Spinks, Jr.

William Henry (Bill) Spinks, Jr., of Atlanta passed away Thursday, August 1, 2019, at Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta.

Bill served for 10 years on active duty in the United States Navy as a Naval Flight Officer flying F-4 Phantoms and served as a division officer at the USS Coral Sea (CV-43), then completed his uniformed service to our country in the Naval Reserves. After his naval career, he worked in sales of business services in the areas of process management and executive recruiting, and was a senior account service representative at Arkwright Mutual Insurance Company. He also served as a consultant to employee leasing companies, and was the owner and CEO of Paragon Retail Services, Inc.

Bill worked as an administrator in the religious nonprofit sector from 2001-2018. Most recently, he served as the business administrator at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church in Decatur. He also served as a financial administrator at St. Teresa’s Episcopal Church in Acworth, Georgia, and St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta.

For more than a decade, Bill also served as church administrator for aClairmont Presbyterian Church in Decatur. At Clairmont Presbyterian, he was responsible for many aspects of church operation, including financial management, internal control and reporting, risk management, facility management, human resource consulting, and legal relationship management. He oversaw the support staff, and worked with the church elders, officers, lay persons and other professional staff.

“My objective is to be ever ready to assist those I serve with informed administrative knowledge and effort,” he said.

Bill was a voracious reader and self-described lifelong learner. He took a wide variety of classes online, such as “The Data Scientist’s Toolbox” from Johns Hopkins University, “The Bible’s Prehistory, Purpose and Political Future” from Emory University, and “The Brain and Space” from Duke University.

He was also a teacher, generously sharing his wisdom with others around him and teaching the Corbett Haden Sunday School class at Briarcliff Baptist Church for many years. A longtime member of Briarcliff Baptist, Bill also served as an ordained deacon, church council member and church treasurer.

Bill held a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering studies from the J. B. Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville (1972), where he was inducted into Theta Tau, the professional engineering fraternity, and served in Navy ROTC. Later, he earned an MBA with a major in finance from Georgia State University (1995). He also earned a certificate from the National Institute of Church Finance and Administration at Candler School of Theology at Emory University, and taught the property management section of the course for three years.

Bill was born in Hartford, Kentucky. He was predeceased by his father, William Henry Spinks, Sr., and his mother, Virginia Brown Ross Spinks.

Bill is survived by his wife, Elaine Justice, and his daughter, Virginia Carter Spinks, of Atlanta, as well as his sister, Mary Geneva Spinks of Scottsburg, Indiana; brother, G. Thomas Spinks of Evansville, Indiana; aunt, Rebecca Ross Baerveldt of Scottsburg, Indiana; mother-in-law, Alice C. Justice, brother-in-law, Gary S. Justice, and nephew, Jacob S. Justice, all of Newport News, Virginia.

The family will receive friends on Sunday, August 4, from 3 to 5 p.m. at A. S. Turner & Sons, Decatur. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, August 5, at Oak Grove United Methodist Church, Decatur.

Those desiring may send contributions to Emory Rehabilitation Hospital of Emory Healthcare, 1441 Clifton Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30322; Lady T’s Homeless Ministry, 3572 Bramblevine Circle, Lithonia, GA 30038; or the LifeLink Foundation, 2875 Northwoods Parkway, Norcross, GA 30071.