William "Bill" James Sheffield

William “Bill” Sheffield of Choctaw Beach, Fl passed away on September 12, 2023, in Gainesville, Fl, where his beloved wife of 25 years, Helene, was minutes before by his side holding his hand.

He was born on April 20, 1947, in Champaign, Il to Harry and Mildred Sheffield. After which the family relocated to and resided in several towns in the New England area. They moved to Nashua, NH in 1963, where he graduated from Nashua High School and attended the University of New Hampshire. Bill then went on to join the U.S. Coast Guard, where he was voted best shipmate, and spent six years in the reserves. His early working years involved construction, logging, and longline fishing in the New England area, he even harpooned a giant tuna at the age of 19.  

Bill’s love of longline fishing brought him to Northwest Florida in 1983 and to the temperate waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where he became the captain of his own fishing boat and crew and was very successful in that endeavor for several years. After that, events caused him to follow a different career path and he decided to start his own business as a builder. As he turned to his construction skills as a breadwinner, he was very successful and his “perfectionism” brought him a long list of clients willing to wait on his work and a client who recently said, “Our house speaks to us through his craftmanship!”  Bill always took pride in his work and in 30 years he never needed to advertise and stayed busy through only word of mouth, enjoying many repeat customers. Even at 76 he was keeping active and enjoying this line of work.

He loved creating and problem solving and was a master of all skills. Bill had numerous interests including history, genealogy, gardening, cooking, woodworking, football, gun collector and he never gave up loving his Boston Red Sox where he and Helene attended a “complete” game in Fenway Park last year. He loved information of all kinds and was considered a walking encyclopedia!

Bill was a devoted husband, father, grandpa, papa, great-grandpa, friend, and mentor. His grandchildren were his pride and joy! He was selfless and was the first to show up to help someone in need. He is a hero to our family and is greatly missed.

As a devoted member of the Choctaw Beach Global Methodist Church, he loved his church family and they in turn loved him. To quote a recent statement from a friend of his “Bill never met a stranger”.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Harry J. Sheffield, Jr. and Mildred V. Sheffield, and his sister Pamela Sheffield.

He is survived by his wife, Helene Harris-Sheffield; children, Brent James Sheffield, Holly Sheffield Cano (Eloy), and Jason “Dennis” Kypros (Rose); brother Robert “Bob” Sheffield (Shelby), sister Nancy Sheffield; grandchildren, Miles Kypros, Stone Kypros, Laurian Sheffield, Ronin Cano; great-grand-daughter Saige Kypros; nephew Tristan & niece Larissa Sheffield; many wonderful cousins who were a large part of his life; ex-wife, Marcia Padgett, and kitties Spicy and Luna.

There will be a memorial service on Monday, September 25, 2023, at 2:00 P.M. The family will receive guests at 1:00 P.M. for a public visitation. Chaplain Lew Wilder to officiate.

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