IN MEMORIAM
EXPANDED EULOGIES
Bill Miesse
Private funeral services will be held for William Burhl Miesse, 99, of Collierville, Tennessee, who passed away April 6.
Bill was born Oct. 25, 1921, to Orville and Clara Miesse of Marion. His memories of growing up in Marion included waking up to snow-covered blankets, camping trips to Colorado, and the daily chore of rising before sunrise to milk the cows, a skill that served him well years later when he won a cow milking contest at the Mid-South Fair.
Bill studied veterinary medicine at Kansas State University and subsequently joined the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps near the end of World War II.
He was stationed in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and later in Le Havre, France. After returning to the United States, he settled in Memphis, Tennessee, and went into veterinary practice at Foote Animal Hospital on Central Avenue.
In 1964, he and his family moved to Germantown, Tennesse, where he set up his own clinic, the Miesse Animal Hospital. He worked there until his retirement in 2003.
Bill was a long-time member of the Memphis/Shelby County Veterinary Medical Association, the Tennessee Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Bill married Norma Jean Bennett of Fordyce, Arkansas, in 1947, with whom he had four children: William Burhl Miesse Jr., Barbara Jean Moss, Marion Rebecca Calloway, and Mark Bennett Miesse. He gained two stepsons in 1981 when he married Mary Patterson of Cordova, Tennessee, both of whom he raised and loved as his own sons: Michael Patterson and David Patterson. Bill and Mary had another son, Christopher Miesse.
Bill and Mary had a deep, abiding love and were never apart for 40 years.
Bill is survived by his wife Mary; his brother James “JB” Miesse; all seven children (now adults); 11 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Due to COVID, services for Bill will be held privately. In lieu of sending flowers, the family requests that donations to the Cordova Presbyterian Church or to a charity of your choice.