William Neely Breeden, Jr.,”Billy” was born September 26, 1935 in Hornsby, Tennessee, the son of the late Neely Breeden and Mary Sanders Breeden.
His family moved to Bolivar when Bill was a young boy and he lived there until he joined the USAF in 1954. He proudly served his country for 28 years beginning as an aircraft mechanic and later joining the Titan missile program. He had a second career as a Test Engineer with Lockheed Martin working primarily on the Titan IV launch vehicle. He retired after 13 years at the age of 60 in 1995 in Littleton, Colorado.
Bill departed this life on March 9, 2019 in Flower Mound, Texas where he lived for the past 11 years with his wife of 62 years, Carmen Breeden, who survives. In addition, he is survived by his four children, Julie Herndon of Sacramento, California, Mary Hook of Flower Mound, Texas, William Breeden III of Castle Rock, Colorado and Jack Breeden of Issaquah, Washington and his sister-in-law, Alice Breeden-Tate of Bolivar, Tennessee.
Bill also leaves behind a legacy of nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren as well as a host of other relatives and friends.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Jamie Breeden.
Charitable contributions made in Mr. Breeden's memory may be sent to The Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org/donate) or to The American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org/donate).