A celebration of life for 87-year-old William “Bill” Berry Sholar, of Hopkinsville, will be noon Thursday at Maddux-Fuqua-Hinton Funeral Home.
Visitation will be from 10 AM until the funeral hour.
Survivors include:
His partner and wife of 38 years, Janice Elaine Stone Sholar, of Hopkinsville;
His daughter, Ann Hampton Sholar (Will), of Todd County;
His son, Patrick Allen Sholar, of Todd County;
His stepson, John Michael Clark, of Hopkinsville;
His step-daughters, Amanda Jill Clark Lancaster, of Elizabethtown, and Brandi Laine Clark Abney, of Hopkinsville;
His brother, Steven Gary Sholar (Kim), of Hopkinsville;
His grandchildren, Zoe Michael Clark, Kendall Neal Lancaster, Tanner James Lancaster, and James David Ethan Abney;
And his nieces, Steffany Hofmeister, and Stacey Kintech (Fab) of Louisville.
He died Friday, August 23, 2024, at Jennie Stuart Medical Center.
He was born December 13, 1936, in Hopkinsville, the son of late David Drury and Mary Pauline Berry Sholar.
He was in the KY National Guard during the Berlin Crisis and at one point during his service in the guard he was active duty with the Army.
He began his adult employment career at Pennyrile Rural Electric working in the transportation garage. He transferred to the meter department within a few years where he advanced his education and was given the title as head of the metering department. In this position he served five years as a progressive officer in the Mid-South Metermans Association, completing his term as president in 1969. He then transferred to the engineering department, where after completing more education, he was promoted to chief engineer.
Following 36 years of service with Pennyrile Electric, R.W. Beck Engineering Consultants recruited and hired him to provide power line survey and design to several electric distributors across the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. He retired from R.W. Beck in 1998.
He was a dedicated fan of the SEC and especially UK men’s basketball. He studied the Cats’ Pause so he would know new players to watch that were going to Kentucky. Every year he checked past players as they continued their careers in the NBA or in oversea leagues.
He also enjoyed playing basketball well into his 60’s with a group called “The Wednesday Night Boys” of which he was proud to be known as the elder player.
He took great pride in his houseboats. He was captain of and maintained three different boats over 38 years. He liked to help teach new boaters the pleasure of boating and how to repair their boats. Although they docked on Kentucky Lake, he and Janice traveled the Tennessee, Cumberland, and Ohio Rivers along with their friends. They made trips to Nashville, Golconda, and into the Tombigbee and Intercoastal Waterways.
He was preceded in death by his son, Robert Glenn Sholar.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the charity choice.
