1930
Billy
2011
Billy Neal Gaddy
January 4, 1930 — January 14, 2011
Henderson, TN: Billy Neal Gaddy, age 81, passed away Friday afternoon at Jackson General Hospital.
Mr. Gaddy was born at Finger, TN, in McNairy County, the son of the late Ambrose Lafayette and Ruby Margaret Smith Gaddy. He graduated from Chester County High School in 1950 and was drafted into the U.S. Army in February 1951 and served in Company A the 9th Infantry Combat Regiment in Korea. He was wounded in combat on October 3, 1951 and captured by the North Koreans and was held as a Prisoner of War in North Korea for 22 months and 23 days. He received a Combat Infantryman Badge, Purple Heart, a Korean Service Medal with 1 Bronze Star, and a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation Badge, POW Medal, and a National Defense Medal.
Billy Neal will be in a documentary film in late 2011 titled “Finnegan’s Warâ€, a documentary about Korean POWs.
He returned to Henderson and married Shirley Kennedy in 1954. He farmed and worked for Brown Shoe Company in Selmer, the Milan Arsenal and Sonoco in Henderson. He also worked as an insurance agent. He was involved in an automobile accident south of Henderson in 1983 and had been disabled since that time. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Henderson.
He was a member of the Henderson VFW Post, the American Legion, the POW and the MIA Associations. He was also a member of the Henderson Masonic Lodge.
He is survived by his wife, Shirley Kennedy Gaddy of Henderson; two daughters, Bonita Kay Keltner and husband Bo of Jackson and Cathy Lou Ferguson and husband Danny of Selmer; four grandchildren: Bradley Keltner, Brian Ferguson, Betsy Keltner Conner, and Becky Ferguson, and four great-grandchildren; a brother, Edward Gaddy of Henderson and two sisters, Mary Lou Smith of Jackson, MS and Alvaretta Fortuna of Forney, TX.
Besides his parents, he was also preceded in death by a brother, Quay Gaddy.
Mr. Gaddy was born at Finger, TN, in McNairy County, the son of the late Ambrose Lafayette and Ruby Margaret Smith Gaddy. He graduated from Chester County High School in 1950 and was drafted into the U.S. Army in February 1951 and served in Company A the 9th Infantry Combat Regiment in Korea. He was wounded in combat on October 3, 1951 and captured by the North Koreans and was held as a Prisoner of War in North Korea for 22 months and 23 days. He received a Combat Infantryman Badge, Purple Heart, a Korean Service Medal with 1 Bronze Star, and a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation Badge, POW Medal, and a National Defense Medal.
Billy Neal will be in a documentary film in late 2011 titled “Finnegan’s Warâ€, a documentary about Korean POWs.
He returned to Henderson and married Shirley Kennedy in 1954. He farmed and worked for Brown Shoe Company in Selmer, the Milan Arsenal and Sonoco in Henderson. He also worked as an insurance agent. He was involved in an automobile accident south of Henderson in 1983 and had been disabled since that time. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Henderson.
He was a member of the Henderson VFW Post, the American Legion, the POW and the MIA Associations. He was also a member of the Henderson Masonic Lodge.
He is survived by his wife, Shirley Kennedy Gaddy of Henderson; two daughters, Bonita Kay Keltner and husband Bo of Jackson and Cathy Lou Ferguson and husband Danny of Selmer; four grandchildren: Bradley Keltner, Brian Ferguson, Betsy Keltner Conner, and Becky Ferguson, and four great-grandchildren; a brother, Edward Gaddy of Henderson and two sisters, Mary Lou Smith of Jackson, MS and Alvaretta Fortuna of Forney, TX.
Besides his parents, he was also preceded in death by a brother, Quay Gaddy.
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