William Prince, III

William Ashford Prince III our dear Bill, died on January 24, 2023 in East Bend, NC. Born in Asheville NC on May 22, 1952, Bill spent 71 years walking this earth as a steward of the natural world. As befitting a curious learner, generous soul, and lover of life, Bill made a graceful transition in his wood shop with his favorite Red Wing boots on. Bill’s friends and family describe him as a master craftsman and designer with a bent toward perfection in everything he did. His skill and ability in creating handsome, elegantly crafted works of art, including furniture, case goods, stone walls, and floors, was unmatched. The name Bill Prince is synonymous with exquisite work. Anyone who ever drank a beer at Winston-Salem’s First Street Bar and marveled at the beauty of the serpentine bar’s craftsmanship may not have known it, but they met Bill up close and personal. If you carved your initials into it, let it be known that you are forgiven.  One could see Bill’s path by studying his early pencil drawings.  As a boy, he would design unique pieces of furniture because it was a natural extension of his humanness, like eating or walking. He grew to see the heart of the wood, and he knew how to protect the spirit of the tree. He could tell you where every piece of lumber in his house came from because he touched each piece, milled each piece, and blessed each piece with respect. Bill knew his wood so well that he might have given each piece a name. If wood was Bill’s religion, Nature was his Divine. Bill met many of his lifelong friends in Scout Troop #722. It was his membership in the Order of the Arrow that honed his deep love of nature and the outdoors, most especially fishing. He was “a thing of the spirit.”  Bill saw many a sunrise with his good dog Trapper and a posse of Riverbend roommates and friends, a string of smallmouth bass from William’s Pond, a filet knife, a hot skillet, and a side of biscuits and gravy. He was a grill master and his chicken, pork, and oysters were legendary. Bill was early to bed and early to rise, so the party for Bill always started in the morning, with purpose. “It is going to be a good day,” he would say upon rising. And the day for Bill would begin. Whether he was building a fire or choosing a tree or teaching a beloved nephew how to fish, Bill stayed busy until his eyes closed.  A sacred magic seemed to dance everywhere around Bill, and his attitude of gratitude, his moments of profound grace, sheltered him. He knew intimately the rabbit holes and the mountain tops, and he lived every day to the fullest. He kept on pushing up the hill no matter how challenging and he never gave up. Bill graduated from Patterson School, a private high school in Lenoir, in 1969. He also graduated from Brevard College, and then attended Saint Andrews College where he learned some things and did some things, but what Bill learned and did mostly happened outside of an indoor classroom. A very giving person, his knowledge, time, and equipment were always available to anyone who needed a hand. Bill was motivated by kindness. He was a natural leader and independent thinker who was headstrong and wanted things his way but was flexible and knew when to give. As he aged, Bill reached a level of vulnerability and softness that smoothed his edges and polished his humor. He carried the burden of his illness with dignity and predictable curiosity. He once told his doctor he would be his best patient. Always, every morning upon awakening, he would thank his beloved wife and partner of 33 years, Mary Anne Yarbrough, for helping him. He watched the birds with utmost attention and thrill and greeted cat Stieglitz and dog Chessie with authentic love and happiness. Bill’s parents, William Ashford Prince, Jr. and Hilary Anne Hamlin Prince, Bill’s brother-in-law, Wayne Yarbrough, and niece Nicole Yarbrough, preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife Mary Anne Yarbrough, brother Scott Prince (Liz), sister Lee Prince Nelson (Van), brother-in-law Buster Yarbrough (Christine), nephews and nieces Scott Prince Jr, Jason Yarbrough (Melissa), David Yarbrough (Katie), Ashley Brown (Matt), Mareena Morris (Jack), Jaxon and Carter Morris, James and Robbie Yarbrough, family friends Walter and Kathy Beroth, and many more adored extended family members and friends. Bill excelled at being human. He will excel at being a super nova of a sacred soul and has probably already found his old pal David Manson sitting at the table with Gram Parsons and John Prine. Bill’s spirit is also sure to be found on Core Banks fishing and sailing and breezing gently through Mary Anne’s heart. There will be a celebration of Bill’s life at a later date.  For memorials, please give as you wish to Forsyth Humane Society or to The Order of the Arrow, Old Hickory Council Boy Scouts.