William Head

William Lloyd Head, age 88, of Asheville passed away peacefully on December 28, 2014. He was a devoted and loving husband and father, and was blessed with a long and healthy life. He was born in Roanoke, Alabama to G. Cleveland and Pearl S. Head. As a small boy his family moved to Mars Hill, NC where he attended school through 9th grade and then completed high school at Warren Wilson Junior College, High School Division in 1943. He served as class and student body president in his senior year and it was here that he met his future wife, Raquel Posada, a Cuban exchange student. Upon his graduation, he volunteered for the Naval Air Corps, receiving training in Newberry, SC and the Miami Naval Air Station. In the summer of 1945 he was attending pre-flight training in Athens, Georgia when World War II ended. With his "mustering out" pay from the Navy, he promptly purchased an engagement ring and he and Raquel were married in Cardenas, Cuba on September 8, 1946. Under the G.I. Bill, he then attended N.C. State University, studying electrical engineering and graduating in 1948. That same year he was employed by IBM and became a career employee, working 40 years in 8 locations. He managed the IBM Field Engineering offices in Winston-Salem and Charlotte, NC receiving much recognition for his achievements. He retired in 1988 from the IBM Software Support Center in Tampa, Florida. After Raquel's passing in 2003, he returned to western North Carolina to live closer to his family. In 2006 he married Alma Thompson in Asheville, NC where they were both members of Beverly Hills Baptist Church. Lloyd was preceded in death by his sister, Lauretta Head, his first wife, Raquel, and his second wife, Alma. Surviving are son, Ken Head of Wesley Chapel, Florida; daughters Vivian Kline of Chapel Hill, NC, Rina Steffel and husband, Tom of Waynesville, NC, and Mary Wagner and husband, Steve of Earlysville, VA. There will be a memorial celebration of his life later in April, 2015 at Beverly Hills Baptist Church in Asheville. Memorials may be made to Beverly Hills Baptist Church, 777 Tunnel Road, Asheville NC 28805 or Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity.