Bill was born William Francis James on May 12, 1943, to William Silas James and Leona Podsadlik in Baltimore, Md. He passed away Aug. 14, 2025, in Florida after a long illness.

Bill was born in Baltimore but grew up in Nanticoke.

He graduated from Nanticoke High School in 1961. Through his school years and beyond, Bill was very active in the sports world. He was co-captain of his high school basketball team, placing the Nanticoke Rams on the map, scoring over 1,000 points, and becoming a beloved sports figure in the community.

He was a forward on the 1961 Nanticoke High School state championship team. He was inducted into the Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame and is honored on the Greater Nanticoke Area High School Wall of Fame. Bill continued supporting local sports programs as a basketball and softball coach in New Jersey, tallying victory after victory.

Bill enlisted in the United States Army in November 1966, serving as a military policeman at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for two years. He ended his military service in November 1968 in the rank of Specialist Fourth Class. He moved on to work in private industry for 30 years, and later as a security officer for the city of Wanaque, N.J. He eventually retired in 2013.

Bill met his beloved wife, Anna, in 2004 while serving on jury duty. Bill hadn't taken his eyes off her since that day. They have been married for 21 years. Bill is the middle child of five, with two younger brothers and two older sisters.

Bill grew up in the Catholic faith but was eventually baptized as a Seventh-day Adventist in 2014. Bill continued to grow in Christ with each passing day, grateful for the life and blessings God had given him.

He was preceded in death by his sisters, Patricia James Brown, of Taneytown, Md., Elizabeth James Levandowski, of Nanticoke, and his first wife, Maryann Hrinko James.

He is survived by his wife, Anna; stepsons, Mario and Mitchell; grandkids, Sofia, Lucas, and Brian; and brothers, George, of London Grove Township, and Kenny, of Nanticoke.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, from Dinelli Family Funeral Home, 170 E. Broad St., Nanticoke.

A family visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. until services begin.

Interment will follow in St. Mary's Nativity Cemetery, Plymouth.