William “Bill” Niles Lovelady, Jr. who passed away on May 3, 2026, was born on May 8,1948, in his beloved hometown of Oxford, MS. The first child of William Niles Lovelady, Sr. and Dorothy Bridwell Lovelady, he attended University High School and graduated from Oxford High School in 1966, a member of the Hall of Fame. Excelling in multiple sports, Bill was selected as OHS Most Outstanding Athlete and received the All Little Ten Conference Award and Most Valuable Player Award in Basketball both his Junior and Senior years. He lettered four years in OHS Varsity Baseball. As a member of the Oxford High School Golf Team for six years, he won the Little Ten Conference Golf Championship and received a four-year scholarship to the University of Mississippi as a member of their Golf Team. Bill was one of the elite few who was a Letterman all four years, and he won the Mississippi Intercollegiate Golf Championship. He was inducted into the Ole Miss M-Club, and was a proud member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 3:00 P.M. at Oxford University-United Methodist Church. Visitation will be held prior the service beginning at 12:30 P.M. Burial will follow in Oxford Memorial Cemetery.
Somehow in that era, it seems everyone had nicknames. Bill, with his thin 6’3” frame, received his from the caddies at the golf course. He had a beautiful, fluid swing at the ball that was often compared to the famous golfer, Byron Nelson. He was so loose with the swing that they began to call him “Tall Jelly.” The name stuck, such that everyone knew him as Jelly. One of his high school friends remembered Bill dominating on the basketball court, and when he got the ball, the stands would yell, “Sink it, Jelly!”
After graduating from Ole Miss in1970 with a BBA Degree in Accounting, he fell in love and married Dianne Hurt from Pontotoc, MS. They moved to Jackson, where Bill was an accountant for the Mississippi Public Service Commission. In 1972, he enrolled in the University of Mississippi Law School, earning a Juris Doctor in 1974. Bill and Dianne then moved to Clinton where they enjoyed raising their two boys, Niles and Brad. After working as a tax attorney for the State Tax Commission for several years, in 1980, he was employed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as Chief Counsel of Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, which later became the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). Bill loved his country and often said he wished he had served in the military. However, as the ERDC attorney, he indeed served his country by traveling all over the world to litigate and advise the brilliant U.S. Army Corps scientists who were licensing their research and inventions. While at ERDC, Bill was awarded the Corps of Engineers National Managing Attorney of the Year Award in addition to being elected to the Gallery of Distinguished Employees for ERDC.
Bill was a member of the Oxford University United Methodist Church, and after his deep faith in God and his Lord Jesus Christ, came an unconditional love of his family. So, after retiring from the Corps of Engineers, Bill and his beloved wife of 55 years, Dianne, moved home to Oxford to join their two sons, William Niles, III and Bradley Benjamin who currently reside there. They have four wonderful grandchildren who loved their Pop and patiently listened to all his stories: Bradley Benjamin, William Niles, IV, Catherine Elise, and Laura Hobbs.
Bill is pre-deceased by his little brother, Tony, and survived by his five sisters: Molissia Swaney (Walker), Peggy Kiamie, Nancy Vick (Billy), Betsy Hollingsworth (Jerry), and CharLee Rodgers (Mike), and sisters-in-law: Betty Gamble and Ruth McMillin (Tommy). Bill adored and had joyous experiences with his nieces and nephews: Walker J. Swaney, Sara Love Rawlings, Mary Linley Davis, A.J. Kiamie, Kim Laperouse, Dorothy Caplenor, Toni Ewing, Jenilyn Bodie, Will Hollingsworth, Mary Calloway Rodgers, Barret Rodgers, Greg Gamble, Amanda Jones, Ben Gamble, Amy Taylor, Molly Gee Webster, Neal McMillin, Ruth Allison Griffin, and Preston McMillin.
Bill Lovelady, 1948-2026, always a man of integrity.
