William “Bill” Stokes, director of missions for Sipsey Association, dies Aug. 25

William “Bill” Stokes, director of missions (DOM) for Sipsey Association, died Aug. 25 in a Tuscaloosa hospital. He was 63.

Prior to his tenure as DOM, Stokes served as pastor of Union Grove Baptist Church in Berry and served for 15 years as associate pastor of Eastern Gate Baptist Church, now Woodland Forrest Baptist Church, in Tuscaloosa.

Stokes served Sipsey Association as DOM for more than three years while managing serious health problems, including renal failure, diabetes and a heart condition.

He was featured recently in The Alabama Baptist in a series on overcoming after suffering severe complications from diabetes during the past five years.

Stokes served full time as DOM of Sipsey, an association of 13 churches, despite the demands of his daily health care, which included dialysis treatments that took 13 hours in a day. He had been a diabetic for the past 26 years.

Even with the constraints placed upon him by illness, Stokes continued to plan and travel to ministerial conferences and personally visit Sipsey Association churches, often performing part of the dialysis treatments in his car.

He operated the DOM office from his home and credited the association’s churches with providing him the flexibility to continue his ministry.

Born in Palmetto, Stokes is survived by his wife, Louise, three daughters and six grandchildren.