William Gale Derry

Mr. Derry was born December 27, 1935, in Bayard, Iowa, to Florence and Clifford Derry.
He and his loving wife, Myra, celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary just 4 days before his passing. Bill played the trombone in high school and won many state contests, and his dream was to join the Marine Corps Band. He achieved that goal in 1954 and played in the band until he was discharged in 1957.
After he and Myra married, they were both cosmetologists and owned a chain of beauty salons in Des Moines, Iowa, and surrounding areas.
Mr. Bill was a man of many talents. Along with the salons he had a boat and camper service center. They lived on a lake in Iowa and enjoyed boating and water skiing. He was an excellent slalom water skier. He was busy all of the time and built several homes in Iowa, one of which was a spectacular round house that was featured on television.
Bill and Myra didn't like the cold weather and snow, so they planned for years to move south and did so when their son, Todd and their daughter, Beth left the state. In November 1979, they headed for Gretna, LA in a 40 ft. 5th wheel camper. Myra got a job at Hibernia Bank and Bill got into commercial construction. He was in charge of the cement work and building the gazebo in Lafreniere Park in Metairie. He also built the First Baptist Church and MS River Bank, both in Belle Chasse, LA, and Christ the King Catholic Church in Terrytown, LA.
In 1984 they moved to Mandeville, LA, and he opened Derry Construction Company where he built homes and did major remodeling while Myra worked at Hibernia Bank. In 1999, Bill built a duplex in Bay St. Louis and their current home in Diamondhead.
Bill and Myra loved camping and were able to travel and see most of the country. When they were home, Mr. Bill sat in his garage and waved to everyone that he saw, and his garage became a little doggie haven. He had treats for all of the pups. Mr. Bill had quite a sense of humor and everyone loved hearing him throw out those dry, off-handed remarks that he made so well and so frequently. He was a good man and will be missed by many.
Survivors are his wife of 57 years, Myra; son, Todd W. Derry of Kiln, MS; daughter, Beth Cooper and her husband, Mark, of Mandeville, LA; his very heart, his only grandchild, Hanna Broadus (Michael Mitchell) of Houston, TX; and his lovable dog, Panora and dog, Sarge, that passed away in 2012. He was also survived by 3 sisters, Joanne, Barb and Ruth who all live in Iowa.
The graveside service will be on Wednesday, July 8, 2015, at 10:00am in Biloxi National Cemetery. There will be a gathering of family and friends following the graveside service at their home in Diamondhead, MS.
RIEAMNN FAMILY FUNERAL HOME, Kiln Delisle Road, is serving the family. An online guestbook may be signed and tributes offered at www.riemannfamily.com.