William “Papa Bill” Deck Obituary – Dec. 31, 1959 – Oct. 12, 2019

William Edwin “Papa Bill” Deck of Henderson passed away Oct. 12, 2019 at home after his battle with cancer. Funeral services were at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Shackelford Funeral Directors Crook Avenue Chapel in Henderson with Brother George Scarbrough officiating. Burial followed at Brown Cemetery in Finger. The family received friends from 5-8 p.m. on Monday at the Crook Avenue Chapel.
He was born Dec. 31, 1959 in Vero Beach, Fla., the son of the late Joseph Edwin Deck and Sylvia Owl Deck. He graduated from McNairy County High in 1978. He was a commercial and residential painter, most recently working for Richard West. He married his loving wife Alice Bickings Deck in 2008, and they made their home in Henderson. 
He attended The Meeting Place Church in Henderson. He was a part of the Cherokee Nations Long Hair Tribe of Cherokee, N.C.  The annual Trail of Tears Ride in 2017 was done in his honor, where he rode with the “Brothers in The Wind.”
He is survived by  his wife, Alice Bickings Deck; children, Logan Tyler Deck of New Tazewell, Alicia (Mark) Long of Henderson, Jay (Lauren) Bickings of Bristol, R.I., Andy (Brandy) Bickings of Henderson and Aaron (Kristine) Bickings of San Diego, Calif.; his bonus son, Kevin Vincent of Henderson; and 10 grandchildren that he loved very much, Mason Long, Madelyn Long, Jayden Bickings, Nora Bickings, Maggie Joe Johnson, Laila Bickings, Graham Bickings, Maddox Johnson, Alaina Sanchez and Jackson Bickings.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Joe and Sylvia; his brother, Jim Deck; and his sister, Wynona Luna.