William Richard Mahaffey

William “Bill” Richard Mahaffey was born in Atlanta, Georgia on August 30, 1939, to William Alford and Sarah Barber Mahaffey.  He was the big brother to siblings, Lewis Warren Mahaffey and Sandra Elaine Mahaffey-Rollins.  While growing up in College Park, Georgia, he was known to ride his scooter around town with his best friend, Ven Holland.  After high school, Bill went on to attend Georgia Tech.  He would later continue his education at the University of Dallas’ graduate school.

In 1959, Bill met and married Caryl Ann Harsh.  For 61 years, she stood by his side for better and worse.  They were blessed with two children, William Michael “Mike” and Caryl “DeAnn”, who in turn blessed them with grandchildren, Heather, Tommy, Garrett, and Belle Tyler. The spoiling continued with great grandkids, Colten and Cayden who affectionally called him Pop-Pop.

Bill was very active throughout his life with Boy Scouts.  He earned his Eagle Scout Award in 1954 and earned two Palms.  He was presented the highest adult award of the Silver Beaver.  He trekked Philmont with his son and mentored many other young men along their scouting journey.  He, also, served on the Board of Directors for Boy Scouts in Las Vegas. His love of the outdoors and scouts carried over to his daughter and with her Girl Scout troop, they spent two weeks backpacking across the Continental Divide.

He began his career with Delta Airlines in 1959 as a Ramp Service Agent and progressed through the Operations, Ticket Agent and Passenger Service ranks before entering the Marketing Division in 1966.  He remained in the Dallas Sales Department for 14 years before heading to Las Vegas in 1981 to serve as the District Marketing Manager.  Finally, after almost 35 years with Delta, Bill retired in 1993.

Not one to remain idle following his retirement from Delta, Bill joined the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority where he served as a travel ambassador for the city he loved.  During this time, he and Caryl began Accent Las Vegas where their expertise in the planning and travel flourished with their destination management company servicing clients from all over the world. Bill was, also, active in many civic groups in Nevada and Texas.

He had a wonderful aviation career that took him all over the world from the Great Wall of China to Australia and the South Pacific on to the Irish Isle and all of Europe before and after the Berlin Wall then to South America and the Caribbean. He visited every continent except for one, Antarctica.  He literally knew someone in every airport or country that the family visited on vacation.

When Bill and Caryl finally decided to slow down, they moved back to Texas where they settled in Pecan Plantation near Granbury.  Here they developed many close friendships and became active in the church and community. With his wife by his side, his golden years were spent traveling the United States in their RV coach where they met many wonderful friends from all over the United States.

Bill is survived by his wife, of 61 years, Caryl; Children- Son Mike (Julie) of Godley, Tx, and Daughter DeAnn (Jason) Murdock of Wills Point, Tx; Grandchildren – Heather Bender (Jason), Tommy, Garrett, Belle Tyler; Great-Grandchildren – Colten and Cayden; Siblings – Warren (Sue) Mahaffey and Sandra (Jerry) Rollins

Memorials may be made to the ALS Association Texas Chapter, Boy Scouts of America – Acton Troop 360, or Pecan Plantation EMS.