William Arthur Luttrell Jr

William Arthur Luttrell, Jr fought the good fight, finished his race and peacefully went home to be with the Lord on February 1, 2023. A lifelong NASCAR Fan- and lifetime Automotive Aftermarket Professional, Bill, Billy or “Heavy Duty” as he was called was born on October 25th, 1942, to William Arthur Luttrell, Sr and Elizabeth Abernathy in Nashville, TN. He passed away after a long battle with Parkinson’s and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). The oldest of 4 children, Bill went to work at age 9. He ran newspaper routes in the streets of Nashville to help support his mother and 3 siblings when his father left. Bill started his career in the automotive market working full time with Beamon Pontiac through his high school years. Upon graduation, Bill joined the United States Army at 18. During his time in the Army, Bill sent home all his money to his mother to pay for the house that she lived in, although he did keep enough for 2 packs of cigarettes a week. He finished his time in the US Army earning his Sargent Stripes, and then spent 7 years in the Army National Guard. Upon leaving the Army, Bill went to work with the Irwin “Speedy” Spiers Race team out of Jacksonville, Fl and continued his passion in automotive working on pit crews and building racing engines. The team built engines that powered NASCAR greats Cale Yarbourough, Tiny Lund and Fireball Roberts among others. Bill later worked for the Railroad and the Army Corps of Engineers, building jetties on Jacksonville Beach. He took a part-time job with NAPA Auto Parts in 1965 as a machinist and began a 44-year career with Genuine Parts Company. During his time with GPC or NAPA Auto Parts, Billy was a Machinist, Counterman, Assistant Store Manager, Store Manager, Sales Representative, Assistant Local Sales Manager, Local Manager, and founder of one of GPCs most profitable programs, Integrated Business Supply, finishing his career as Director of Integrated Supply. He was a quota maker, profit maker, and business innovator. In 1985, he was honored as Genuine Parts Company’s Man of the Year. Not bad for a guy with a high school diploma. During this time, he also married his wife of 54 years, Carolynn Davis and raised their son, Jon and their daughter Amanda. His career with NAPA took him from Jacksonville to Atlanta to Memphis to Tampa, back to Atlanta, to Richmond and finally back to Atlanta for good. At each of those places he impacted lives and careers of many people that he met and mentored.In each of those cities, Bill and Carolynn made a church their home. Bill was a member at North Jacksonville COG, Doraville COG and South Richmond COG. At each of the churches, Bill continued to serve by volunteering for various tasks and committees. A lifetime civil war buff, Bill loved fast cars, railroads, dogs and his grandchildren, Elizabeth “Betsy” Luttrell and Jonathon “Jack” Luttrell. It was truly through those two that his direction in life and his name changed. “Poppy” as we called him became the best grandfather in the world. Retirement came late for the guy who got up before the sun and often came home when it was down. But once Pop retired, he spent time with his grandkids driving them around in his 1964 Chevy Super Sport Impala playing them 1950’s tunes, or building a massive train layout in his basement, or beginning one of the true great hordes of Big Block Engines and associated high performance parts that this country has ever seen. He continued his love of automotive by building powerful engines that are still on the road powering some of his friends’ cars today. He also loved feral cats, but that’s another story. Bill was predeceased by his father William Arthur Luttrell, Sr. and his beloved mother, Elizabeth Lee.Bill is survived by his wife of 54 years Carolynn. His son Jon (Judy), their children Betsy and Jack (Ely) and his 3 great grandchildren; Thomas, Lucas and Charlotte. His daughter Amanda (Chris). He is also survived by his brother David and his sisters Marcia and Nancy. In Lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to: onecallfoundation.org, operationsmile.org