Rev. William Wayne Caten

Rev. William W. Caten (Daddy, Beeb, Brother Willie) William Caten was born to Woodie and Tommie Caten in Millry, Alabama. Upon his father’s death, he was raised by his mother and four sisters. After working in Mobile and being in the National Guard, he attended Mississippi College where he met the love of his life, Shelia Caten. When you ask her what she loved most about him, she will answer “his faith and love of life”. He and Shelia had three girls, Leah, Rachel, and Anna which he would say, were his greatest accomplishments. He served as a pastor in several small churches in central Mississippi and worked at UMMC as an accountant for 25 years. Retirement gave him the freedom to do the things he enjoyed most, working in the yard and taking care of his flowers were one of them. In his later years when faced with dementia, we asked him if he could do anything in the world what would it be, he answered “build a flower bed.” His unconventional thinking and nondenominational religious beliefs shaped his family and ministry alike. William preached about how death was a celebration of life. “For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” 2 Corinthians 5:6-10. So please forgive us if we don’t seem overwhelmed with grief; he’s been preparing us for a long time. He wanted us to rejoice for his going home to be with the Father. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4 Even though we will miss him greatly, we will carry on and continue to share the good news. Honestly, he would probably be frustrated with anyone of us taking the time to write this when we could be hanging out, doing something fun together, or going camping as a family. His passion for bringing others to know Christ, his personality and love for people, his ideas on how God created life to be celebrated and enjoyed made him the life of any party and he celebrated this every single day of his life. One of the many ways he celebrated life was through dance. He taught his wife and girls to enjoy it as much as he did. He is survived by his wife Shelia Caten; sisters, Woodie Gibson and Ann Robison; daughters and sons-in-law, Leah and Billy Craft, Rachel and Josh McCleave, Anna and David Hales; grandchildren, Elexis, Wyath, Caten, Cathryn, Cali, John David, and Willa; nieces and nephews, Trisha McCain, Linda Taylor, Mike McCain, Liz Williams, Steve Gibson and James Edward; great nieces and nephews, Justin McCain, Corey Roberts, Tyler Williams, Haley Taylor, and Emily Taylor. “And now, my friends, goodbye! Strive for perfection; listen to my appeals; agree with one another; live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with the kiss of peace. All of God’s people send you their greetings. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 All God’s people say AMEN! Private services will be held in Alabama for his immediate family.