Willie Grey Thigpen III (Billy), 68, passed away on July 16, 2020, at Hospice of the Golden Isles in Brunswick.
Mr. Thigpen was born Feb. 20, 1952, at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida, to the late Willie Grey Thigpen Jr. and Dorothy Evelyn Gibbs Thigpen.
Billy was a graduate of the first graduating class of Brunswick High School in 1970. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Saratoga CV-60 in Mayport, Florida, (1972–1976). He was a graduate of New York University and received his doctor of jurisprudence from John Marshall Law School in 1981.
Mr. Thigpen owned and operated Thig’s Pig Bar-B-Que Restaurant in Brunswick and Kingsland and managed McDonald’s, Bob’s Big Boy and Waffle House. Billy sold real estate for Drigger’s Realty, worked for SMS & TRW Real Estate Title Services and was the owner of Georgia Documents Retrieval.
Mr. Thigpen was preceded in death by his grandparents, Isaac and Bessie O’Quinn Gibbs and W.G. and Alice Harrison Thigpen; and his parents, Willie Grey Thigpen Jr. and Dorothy Evelyn Gibbs Thigpen.
Billy is survived by his wife, Pearl Frances Cox Thigpen; his children Amanda Thigpen O’Brien (Nate), Terri McClendon (Tony), Tonja Cross (Van), Tami Barnes (Mike) and David Green (Hatty); his siblings, Patsy Ransom (Bobby), James Thigpen, Mary Alice Thigpen and Pam Moody (Gerald); 11 grandchildren, Abaigeal, Brianna, Keith, Megan, Blair, Garrett, Dustin, Tara, Matthew, Stephen and Christian; 15 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Billy also leaves behind his first wife and longtime best friend, Donna Gail Davis Thigpen.
Billy will be remembered for his love of serving people, his great sense of humor, making people laugh and his love of family.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 25, at St. Mary Church in St Marys.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Coastal Georgia Honor Flight Inc., PO Box 20466, St Simons Island, GA 31522.