William Hugh Bill Caffey Jr

William Hugh Caffey Jr., 83, of Kingsport, died on Wednesday, October 27, at Hospice House of Bristol. He was the son of W.H. Caffey Sr. and Reyna M.Caffey. He is survived by Vivian R. Caffey, his wife of 57 yrs; oldest son, Bill Caffey and wife Debbie, of Bristol, TN, and their daughters, Sarah and Anna; his daughter, Karen and husband Richard Taylor of La Jolla, CA, and their children, Wynne, Maggie, Wes, and Charlotte; middle son, David Caffey of San Diego, CA; and his youngest son, Tom and wife Misty Caffey of Chapel Hill, NC, and their sons, Will and Hayden.

Bill was born in High Point NC, grew up in Decatur, GA, and lived most of his life in Kingsport, TN. He served in the U.S. Navy and graduated from Georgia Tech with a BSEE degree, and was past president of the area GA Tech Alumni Club. He retired from Eastman Chemical as a Senior Electrical Engineer and was past president of the local ISA and IEEE engineering societies. Bill had a life long interest in aviation and was a founding member of Skycrafters Flying Club in 1970, and he served as president and in several other roles. The club grew to own and operate multiple airplanes and is still in operation today.

Bill was a skilled craftsman and made many bird boxes for the Blue Bird Society. His biggest hobby was his 40 year project making a kid friendly 1/8th scale Southern Railway train that gave rides in his yard. He was active in Boy Scout Troop 50, helping all three sons to become Eagle Scouts.

Bill was a long time member of First Broad Street United Methodist Church.

Memorial services will be held in the sanctuary at First Broad Street United Methodist Church at 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 31 with Rev. Jack Weikel officiating. Greeting of friends will follow the service at the church.