Bill Whitson, career public servant in Nashville and Tennessee, dies at 90

Mariah Timms | The Tennessean

Bill Whitson, who served more than 50 years in Nashville and Tennessee governments, died last night after a brief illness. He was 90 years old.

His son, Rep. Sam Whitson, confirmed his death Saturday morning.

"He was there at the very start of Metropolitan Government and was one of the legendary public servants who assured our success," former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell said. "He was very much aware that he is among the last of a extraordinary cohort of people."

Bill Whitson, a lifelong-Tennessean, was born in 1929 in Hickman County.

"He was born in a house without running water or electricity," son Joe Whitson said. "Little did he know he'd be water and sewer director for all of Nashville."

When his family moved to Nashville in the 1930s, Bill Whitson joined the first-ever first-grade class at the newly-built Art Deco building on the site of a former two-room school house now known as the Sylvan Park Paideia Design Center.

Throughout his long career, colleagues said Whitson made friends everywhere he went, through multiple mayoral administrations and under Tennessee Gov. Ned McWherter.

"He was probably one of the best public servants, the most dedicated, that I've ever known," former Metro finance director Rich Riebling said. "Fifty years, people don't do that anymore. He mad a lot of contributions to make Nashville a great city, and to Nashville's growth."

Reibling worked with Whitson in the late 1970s and early 1980s both under Metro Mayor Richard Fulton and in McWherter's administration. He got his start with then-Davidson County Schools in 1954 after he received his degree from Middle Tennessee State University.

"I think he retired two or three times," Katy Varney, who worked with Whitson multiple times, said. "Everybody who worked with him really loved him. He was truly one of the most all-around nice people you'll ever meet. He treated everybody with courtesy and respect."

Whitson's work helped push through many changes in policy and planning that led the way for the explosive growth of Middle Tennessee and the rest of the state.

In the 1980s, under Fulton's administration, Whitson headed the Metro Water department.

He was able to push a massive, multi-million-dollar sewer infrastructure plan through a "stagnated" Metro Council, his son said. The plan was instrumental in getting sewers and water lines out to part of the county that were outside the old city lines.

"He was so instrumental in making Nashville the city it was and even at 90 he still cared, still wanted to make sure our leaders keep us moving forward," Riebling said.

Later, Whitson sat on McWherter's cabinet and handed the state general services commission, a position he held through the end of that administration. He then led the Nashville Farmer's Market in 2006 and filled in as interim executive director of the Tennessee State Fair for three years in Purcell's administration. He was the Metro Fair Board Director in 2004 and 2010.

Purcell and Whitson met when the latter was working in the McWherter administration and the former mayor said "he was a giant even then."

"It was very clear to me and mayors and governors before me: If you wanted to get the job done, the job done right, and done with integrity and honesty, you called Bill Whitson," Purcell said. "He did just that."

More than his public accomplishments, though, Whitson is remembered by his colleagues for his warmth and the strength of his character.

"It feels trite to keep saying he was nice, but everybody's not a nice guy who hangs around in politics for that long," Varney said. "He walked into a room and made you smile."

"He always got the job done. He always was honest, there was never a question of his integrity. He always smiled. He was the exact combination of things you would want in a civil servant, or in a friend," Purcell said.

Whitson is preceded in death by his wife, Faye Bracey Whitson, who died in 2016. He is survived by his sons — William Joe, Samuel Alan and Randall Kevin — and grandchildren — Brad Whitson, Brian Whitson, Paula Whitson Vann, Ryan Whitson and Will Whitson. He also has nine great grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements have not been finalized.

Emily West contributed to this report.

Reach reporter Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.