William Alexander ‘Billy’ McCormick
WILMINGTON — Mr. William Alexander “Billy” McCormick, 78, passed on to be with his Lord and Savior Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at New Hanover Regional Medical Center.
Born Sept. 16, 1942, in Laurinburg, his family moved to Wilmington, where he grew up his entire childhood. After high school at New Hanover High, Billy was drafted and served two years in the U.S. Army. He was a track commander in mechanized mobile units in Fort Carson, Colorado, and served a year-long deployment in the Republic of Korea, patrolling in and around the demilitarized zone (DMZ).
Returning from service overseas back to Wilmington, Billy worked for many of the local plants as a welder and boilermaker. In 1984, he acquired the ServiceMaster of Wilmington franchise, and, later that year, opened McCormick Auto Sales, running both businesses for five years before going into car sales full time. He operated his car lot in a couple of locations, all on Carolina Beach Road for a total of 37 years. He had many friends associated with the car business, and he grew up with many friends from Wilmington and the surrounding area who were like brothers to him.