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Waco Tribune, Texas, September 6, 2006
Commander William C. Rivers
Commander William C. Rivers, USN retired, 88, of Dallas and formerly of Mart, passed away on Sunday, Sept 3, 2006, in a Dallas hospital. Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, 2006, at Littlepage Funeral Home with the Rev. Red Sain officiating. Burial with military honors will follow at the Prairie Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, at the funeral home.
William was the youngest of eight children born to the late Will and Maggie Rivers. He was born in Prairie Hill, Texas, where he was reared and educated. In 1939, he enlisted with the U.S. Navy to begin a distinguished career of 28 years. On Dec. 14, 1941, he married Della Faye Bass in Prairie Hill.
During his military service, he was qualified in 31 different aircraft as a pilot or aircraft commander, and he accumulated 6,400 flight hours. He was assigned to 21 Naval organizations and one U.S. Air Force organization (as a Naval officer). In the Pacific Theater, Commander Rivers served two tours of duty aboard two different escort carriers: the USS Natoma Bay and the USS Kitkun Bay. He considered the most significant achievement in his military career to have been that in 1945, during his tour as commanding officer of Aircraft Squadron VC-63, not a single pilot or air crewman was lost while his squadron was deployed in the forward area of the Pacific Theater.
William received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southwestern University and a Master's Degree from Southern Methodist University. He was a member of St. Mark Presbyterian Church of Dallas and Prairie Hill Masonic Lodge 741.
He was preceded in death by his brothers, Jack, Olin, and Henry; and his sisters, Inez, Bartine, Loretta, and Evelyn.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Della Faye Rivers, of Dallas; daughters, Dianne Wells and husband, Robert, of Houston, Claudia Rivers and Douglas Reed, of El Paso, and Bettina Jordan and husband, Ron, of Keller; granddaughters, Katherine Wells and Elizabeth Cabral, both of Houston, and Hillary Jordan, of Keller; a step-granddaughter, Shay Jordan, of Plano; a great-granddaughter, Claire Madeline Cabral, of Houston; goddaughters, Minnie Cornelius and Juliette Buchanan Rutlledge, both of Dallas; nieces and nephew; and many beloved friends and neighbors.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1918 - 2006 (88 years)