William Francis Reifsnider

William Francis ""Bill"" Reifsnider, 44, died Thursday, May 24th, 2012 in Winston Salem, NC. Bill was born in Toledo, Ohio October 5, 1967, the youngest of 5 children of John M. ""Skip"" Reifsnider and Mary Pat (Carter) Reifsnider, also of Winston Salem. Bill was a gentle-man, so kind and humble. His spirituality guided him throughout his life; he was an inspiration to his family and so many friends and colleagues. Bill didn't have a mean bone in his body. He had a great sense of humor, a big smile, and a knack for remembering details about people, never missed a birthday or anniversary. He loved his Atlanta Braves and Georgia Bulldogs and catching up with all of his nieces and nephews. Bill grew up in Toledo, Ohio where he learned solid mid-western values. His childhood was full of relatives and lifetime family friends, cookouts, climbing trees and riding bikes, and playing ballgames with his best buddies, who have remained among his closest friends after all these years. When the family moved to Pensacola in 1984, Bill said that ""rather than worry I decided to focus on doing well in school and sports."" What wonderful friends Bill made in Florida, meeting so many people with the same family values as his Toledo friends, but with the newfound benefit of a beach! Bill joined the Woodham High School football and baseball teams and graduated magna cum laude in 1986. His next move was to Barry University, a small Catholic college in Miami Shores, FL. Bill loved Barry's commitment to a spiritual life and community service; he believed that his experience there helped shape him as a young adult. He was a 4-year starter for the Buccaneers baseball team, named a GTE Academic All-American and won the Woody Hayes National Scholar-Athlete Award in 1990. The same year he led the nation in Division II double hits, topping off a career batting average of .359, a standout in Barry's history. Bill was Barry's first Rhodes Scholar candidate. In 1996, Barry University recognized Bill's accomplishments by including him as a charter inductee into the Barry Athletic Wall of Honor. After graduating from Barry in 1990 with a B.S. in Political Science, Bill took his desire to teach to Czechoslovakia, where the economy was still reeling from the collapse of communism. He taught English and coached club baseball in Brno, visited the sites where students had demonstrated for democracy. It was a sobering experience. ""It made me more conscious having learned how one society had suffered so much economically,"" he said later. Bill returned to the U.S. and in 1992 he began his career in sales, working for Scott Paper Company in Detroit, MI. In 1996 he relocated to the Atlanta, GA area where he lived for 15 years, working first for CompUSA and later in the real estate business. Bill was an Independent Associate for Legal Shield, where he developed a broad network of friends and associates who shared his passion for business development. Bill will be dearly missed by his 2 sisters, Shelley Rider (Rick,) children John and Ellen of Winston Salem, NC, and Patsy Mangas (Rob,) children Meredith, Daniel, Tricia and Robbie of Chantilly, VA, and 2 brothers Bob Reifsnider (Kim,) children Lindsey, Courtney, Bobby and MacKenzie of Parker, CO, and John Reifsnider (Robin,) children Carter, Cole, Jack and Travis of Richmond, VA, as well as his aunt Mary Reynolds Carter of Winston Salem and his beloved little friend Mollee Gillespie of Concord, NC. A funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. Holy Family Catholic Church in Winston Salem, NC, with interment immediately following at the Holy Family Columbarium. Family and friends are invited to gather afterwards for a memorial reception. Bill lived by the Golden Rule. One of his last wishes was that friends and family channel their desire to support him into helping others. ""Paying it forward"" - seeing those in need and helping them out as a ""thank you"" to God from you and Bill for all His blessings. There is a fund set up in memory of Bill, with the goal of assisting scholar/athletes in need at Barry University: The Bill Reifsnider Fund - Barry University, 11300 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami Shores, FL. 33161 Attn: Sara Herald. Online condolences may be made at www.hayworth-miller.com.

Previous Events

Cemetery Details