Obituary of William Vinson

William Ellis (Bill) Vinson, 66, of Morgantown, WV and formerly of Blacksburg, Va., passed away at home Tuesday, of acute myeloid leukemia. Born in Greensboro, NC on April 4, 1943, he received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from North Carolina State University and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University. In 1971 he began his career at Virginia Tech where he was a professor of Dairy Science and later served as Dairy Science Department Head. Upon his retirement in 2000, he moved to West Virginia University where he served as Associate Dean for Research and Outreach and Associate Director of the West Virginia Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station in the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences.Since moving to West Virginia, he enjoyed gardening and sharing the fruits of his labor. Of course being a scientist, he always had a natural curiosity and that transferred to his garden allowing him to grow different vegetables simply to see how they would grow. Special thanks go to Dr. Stephen Beall, Steve Gnegy and all the nursing staff in Oncology and the Infusion Units at Monongalia General Hospital for all the support given over the course of Billâs illness. He is survived by his wife, Joan son, Tim daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Shawn Stanley step-daughter, Julie Breeding and three grandchildren: John Vinson and Kierstyn and Austin Stanley. Services will be held in Blacksburg, Virginia. A celebration of his life will be held in Morgantown, WV at a later date.In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the charity of your choice.