William "Bill" Daniel

William “Bill” Daniel, 82 of Valdosta, passed away on Saturday, Oct 17th,2020 at SGMC. He was born Dec. 16, 1937 in Atlanta to the late Police Lt. Eustace and Irene Davidson Daniel. Bill graduated from College Park High School in 1955 before joining the US Army. Returning home, he decided to see what California offered. Once there he became paymaster for Union Carbide in Bishop, CA. Two years later, he returned to Georgia once again where he met his future wife, the former Fran Scruggs and they married in August of 1962. Bill had a successful computer career beginning with Delta Air Lines in 1963. He was part of a team that developed the first electronic reservation system for Delta. There were many other computer achievements along the way. In 1977 he was called to Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention where he served for 15 years as their Director of Information System. Bill left the computer world in 1993 to pursue an entrepreneur dream of owning a business and having it in Valdosta. This was the birth of Mail Boxes, Etc. of Valdosta.
Of all his experiences, Bill counted his service with Billy Graham for three weeks in a conference for itinerate evangelists in Amsterdam as the greatest of all. He was also deeply impacted by his time on mission in Mongolia. Locally he was a member of Northside Baptist Church. When Bill was not working, he was either running or hiking on the Appalachian Trail with his son. He participated in running the Peachtree Road Race four times. Other of his enjoyable past times were being a devoted fan of the Valdosta Wildcats and cheering on the Ga. Tech Yellow Jackets.
Bill is survived by his beloved wife, Fran of 58 years, three sons William Todd Daniel, James F. Daniel and wife Candace, and John M. Daniel all of Valdosta. There are six grandchildren as well: Will, Andrew, Michael, Zachary, Aubree, and Luke Daniel. Bill has one sister, Janice Waddle (E. B.) of DeRidder, LA and a sister-in-law, Susan (Davy) Shelton of Valdosta and two nieces and one nephew.
The family is comforted in knowing Bill’s faith in Jesus Christ was real and an unwavering part of his daily life. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Building Fund or the Missions fund Northside Baptist Church 200 Park Ave, Valdosta, GA 31602.
Services for Bill Daniel will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 21, 2020 in the chapel of Carson McLane Funeral Home. Dr. Robby Foster and Pastor Jeffrey Dyson will officiate. Burial will follow at Sunset Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday evening from 5 until 7 p.m. The family also requests that masks be worn, and social distancing be maintained during all the services. The funeral will be livestreamed and remarks may be made to the family on the Tribute Wall section of the obituary page at www.mclanecares.com. Carson McLane Funeral Home