Boyd "Bill" Gandee

Boyd Vairl ”Bill” Gandee, 89 of Hurricane, WV, died at home on December 10, 2018 after a series of illnesses. He was born in Kentuck, Jackson County, WV on February 22, 1929. His father was William Henderson Gandee and his mother was Nancy Alice Raines Gandee. He had five siblings, Tressie Faye Gandee Walker(Orville), Perry Darrell Gandee (Mae), Opal Dolas Gandee Anderson (Herbert), Garnet Blondena Gandee Southall (James) and a younger sister who died in infancy. Genevive Sylvia “Jenny” Surface Gandee was his first wife and the mother of Patricia Gandee Mickel and William Preston “Buddy” Gandee. Jenny and Buddy died within six months of each other in 1996. This was a devastating blow for the family and especially for Bill. He and Jenny grew up together and married very young. He and Buddy spent a lot of time together working on household projects, going to the “Camp” and going hunting. His support system was gone. He missed them terribly and dreamed of them often for several years. His second wife was Betty Stricklin Wheeler Gandee. She was a devoted wife, but unfortunately died of cancer. He and his third wife, Brenda Cheeks Perkins Gandee married in 2016. Brenda is a patient and caring person. She cared for Bill during his many illnesses and stood by him during his last months. Also, standing with him during all these changes has been his daughter Patricia G. Mickel. Bill attended Kentuck Star Elementary School until the 8th grade. He described his teacher, Mrs. Ivy Parsons, as the “Best Teacher I ever had.” Kentuck Star Elementary School was a one room school house with a communal water bucket with one ladle for all students to use. He was the “Janitor” for the school and was responsible for unlocking and locking the door each day. He carried coal for the pot-bellied stove and stared the fire so the school would be warm when the other students arrived. He was also responsible for raising and lowering the flag. For all these chores he received the outstanding salary of $1.00 a year. Bill lived on the farm until he was 15 or 16 years old when his parents moved to “the City.” His family had always lived on a farm, sometimes as sharecroppers, sometimes on their own farm. He firmly believed that everyone should have the experience of living on a farm. He often complained that children today had it easy compared to his childhood. He explained that he had several chores to do before and after school: carrying two buckets of water from the spring to the house and two buckets of coal. He fed the livestock, milked four cows and then cleaned up to go to school. When Bill’s family moved to Charleston he transferred from Ripley High School to Woodrow Wilson Junior High School. As a “country boy” in the city he had some adjusting to do. He found the classes difficult, except for math. He had a lot of fights and earned several hours of detention. On one day his teacher, for some reason, told him: “Gandee you might as well go outside and watch the wind blow” which he promptly did. He and his father met with the Principal the next day. Bill dropped out of school and entered the work force. His first job was a “shell boy” for Fletcher Enamel in Dunbar, WV. He was just 15 and not very big for his age. However, he was responsible for loading and stacking boxes of shells which were deemed too heavy for the women working in the plant to lift. He soon went to work for Gravely Tractor, also in Dunbar and stayed there for 20 years. He began as a Machinist and ended his career there in a supervisory position. He had the knack for machinery and knew Gravely tractor inside and out. He recalled Gravely Tractor as a great place to work; that is was “just like family.” After leaving Gravely Tractor he worked for McJunkin Corporation, Valley Camp Coal and Yerrid Engineering. He described the employees at Valley Camp Coal as the “most accommodating” people he had ever worked with. Bill loved cars and had his own car lot at one time. He loved the thrill of the sale and the profit he made. He joked he might be buried in one. Bill is survived by Patricia Gandee Mickel, daughter; Christopher David Mickel, grandson; Jennie-Anne Gandee Mickel, granddaughter; Elaina Alexandria Mickel, great granddaughter; Alesa Gabrielle Mickel. great granddaughter; Jan Ellen Gandee, daughter-in-law (North Carolina); Erika Gandee (Mitchell Edens), granddaughter (North Carolina); Alec Edens, great grandson; Jack Ryan Edens, great grandson; Angela Beth Gandee Fisher( Ross), granddaughter ( Illinois); Grant Fisher, great grandson; Amelia Fisher, great granddaughter; Caroline Fisher, great granddaughter; Keith Gandee, Nephew (North Carolina); Leo Anderson, nephew (Florida); Imogene Walker Casto, niece and J.R. Lacy, special friend of the family. Children of Brenda Cleek Perkins Gandee; Angela Raines (Jamie), Thomas Perkins, and Dean and Amanda Perkins. Bill never gave up trying to work, despite his man illnesses. He was always interested in learning and doing new things. His strong work ethic and my mother’s emphasis on education laid the foundation for our family to succeed. The family has gone from very poor farmers to college graduates because of Dad and Mom’s determination. Funeral Service will be 1:00 pm Friday, December 14, 2018 at the Waybright Funeral Home, Ripley. Burial will be in the Gandee Cemetery, Kenna. Friends may call from 11 am until the time of service on Friday at the funeral home. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family by visiting www.waybrightfuneralhome.com