Rev. William L. "Bill" Guthrie

Rev. William “Bill” Lawrence Guthrie, Sr. 80 of St. Albans went home to be with the Lord on July 30, 2013 (For to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord). He was reunited with Evelyn, his sweetheart of 59 years, who passed away in January of this year. Bill was born May 24, 1933 to the late Andrew Jackson and Maymie Stephenson Guthrie. He was also preceded in death by his brothers, James H., Charles A. and Donald R. Guthrie and sisters, Marie Guthrie and Linda Snyder Cook. Bill proudly served his country, retiring as Senior Master Sergeant from the West Virginia Air National Guard with over 39 years of service. He enlisted on May 24, 1950. He was hired as a Technician with the Air National Guard in 1953, retiring on October 31, 1988 and later discharged on June 19, 1989. Bill was saved in March of 1961 at the age of 28 and was called to preach in January of 1968. He was a devoted member and former pastor of Canaan Missionary Baptist Church in Charleston, Walker Chapel Bible Church in Buffalo and Bethany Baptist Church in St. Albans. He and Evelyn were also charter members of Bethany Baptist Church and faithfully served throughout the Kanawha Valley. Bill is survived by five children, Sharon and Ed Kennedy of Marmet, Karen and Roger Meadows of St. Albans, Larry Guthrie and fiancé Debi Weekley of Little River, SC, Terry and Debbie Guthrie of Raleigh, NC and Steve and Margaret Guthrie of Cross Lanes; brother, Crittenden L. “Crit” and Anna L. of St. Albans. Bill, known as “Papaw G”, was also blessed with nine grandchildren, Jamie and Jeremy Schlatter of Fort Wayne, IN, Danielle and Bill Howell of Eskdale, Roger and Jenny Meadows of Johns Island, SC, Karla and Tim Hermansdorfer of St. Albans, Ryan Meadows of St. Albans, Alec, Andrew, Adam and Austin Guthrie all of Cross Lanes; eleven great-grandchildren, Jordyn, Cody, Joseph, Bill Jr., Cody, Bianca, Mattison, Lauren, Blake, Alayna, and Leila; sister-in-law, Carolyn and Jim Chesson of Wilmington, NC and brother-in-law, Charles and Jerri Buck of Nitro. Visitation will be held from 5-8 pm Saturday, August 3, 2013 at Bartlett-Chapman Funeral Home, 409 Sixth Avenue, St. Albans. Funeral service will be held at 2:00 pm Sunday at the funeral home with Dr. Phil Suiter officiating. Friends may call one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow in Teays Hill Cemetery. The family would like to extend a special thanks to the staff at the Open Heart Recovery Unit at CAMC Memorial Division and Dr. Geoffrey Cousins.

Rev. William L. "Bill" Guthrie

May 24, 1933 - July 30, 2013