William W. “Bill” Mance, Jr.

Born in Darlington S.C., Bill was the son of William W. Mance, Sr. and Ernestine English Mance, and the second of eight children.

After a public school education, he was enrolled at Hampton Institute (now University) for his BA in education and at George Washington University in Washington, DC, where he received his MA in Administration.

Bill served in the US Army for 30 years, retiring as a colonel; he, his wife Diane, and his family then moved to Marion, NC., where he worked at Baxter Health Care. As he would be in Asheville, he was active in the McDowell County community and served on various board and community agencies.

The Mances then moved to Asheville and Bill was appointed Human Resource Officer for Mission Hospital. He served on the National Hospital Association’s Board of Directors for three years, as a representative for the state of North Carolina, as well as on the boards of the local Red Cross, The Community Foundation of WNC, Givens Estates, Pavilion Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Program, the Western Carolina Medical Society, Appalachian Mountain Health, and the Sheriff’s Advisory Board. He was also a navigator at Pisgah Legal Services and a mentor at SCORE, chairperson of the Mountain Area Workforce Development Program, a board member of UNC-TV, and on the advisory board of Self-Help Credit Union.

For more than two decades Bill attended St. Matthias Episcopal Church; during those years he served as both chair and co-chair of WNC Diocese’s Commission to Dismantle Racism, as treasurer of St. Matthias, and on other boards and committees of the Diocese.

Bill is survived by his wife of 52 years, Diane Mance, and their daughters, Stacy Mance-White (Richard) and Candace Mance; by foster daughter Shannon Credle Clark, and five grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, February 22, 2025, at Trinity Episcopal Church at 60 Church Street in downtown Asheville, NC. Visitation with the family will be from 10 to 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to St. Matthias Episcopal Church – Chapel Fund.