Funeral for William A. "Bill" Birdsong, 91, of Texas City, Texas, will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 9, 2009, at Hanner Funeral Chapel, Atlanta, Texas, with the Rev. Ronnie Raines and the Rev. Arlistel Maxie officiating. Burial will be in Pine Crest Cemetery, Atlanta. Mr. Birdsong died July 3, 2009, in Texas City. He was born November 16, 1917, in Galveston, Texas. During the Great Depression, 7-year-old Bill sold newspapers on street corners after school, in order to help his widowed mother. Bill later had to drop out of high school in order to work, but enrolled in one of the first correspondence courses offered in Texas. He studied accounting and finance, but never forgot his origins. He loved to help deserving young people go to college. Bill always called himself "an Aggie by Proxy," as he sent most of his children and grandchildren to Texas A&M. He also personally funded many local students¹ college educations in the A&M system and elsewhere. He was survived by sons, William A. Birdsong Jr. and wife, Debbie, of Washington and Lucian Bradford Birdsong and wife, Cindy, of Pearland, Texas; daughters, Barbara Hancock Head of Oregon, Margaret Minor Palm and husband, Bob, of Nacogdoches, Texas, and Nancy Wilkens Medlin and husband, John, of Texas City, Texas; a brother, Bob Birdsong of Lufkin, Texas; 14 grandchildren and a number of other relatives. He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Barbara Wilkens Birdsong; and a son, John Birdsong. He was a member of First United Methodist Church, Atlanta, Texas, had been the secretary treasurer of Marine Maintenance Company of Houston and Galveston before retirement, and was a 50-year member of the Masonic Lodge, Harmony Lodge, Galveston, Texas, where he was a 32nd degree Mason. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the college scholarship of your choice, through your local high school. The family will receive friends from 6 until 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 8, 2009. Hanner Funeral Service, Atlanta, Texas.