By Staff
Dr. William F. Ambrose, retired minister, age 80, a resident of 3542 Market Street Ext., Washington died at home on Thursday, May 3, 2007.
A funeral service will be held at the Old Ford Church of Christ at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 6, 2007, officiated by Rupert Wallace and Eddie Bowen. Burial will follow in Oakdale Cemetery. Richard Young, Bill Ambrose, Terry Black, Heber Coltrain, Ellis Sawyer, Richard Gerard, Richard Gerard, Jr., and Danny Turner will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be area Church of Christ/Christian ministers and the Williamston Chapter of AMVETS # 227.
Dr. Ambrose, son of the late Martin Luther Ambrose and the late Grace Fenton Ambrose, was born in Newport News, VA on June 9, 1926. The family moved to the Old Ford Community in 1940. He graduated from Washington High School in 1944 and immediately entered the Army Air Corps where he was trained as an aerial photographer. He was assigned to the famous Manhattan Project, serving in Operations Crossroads in the South Pacific, the part of the Manhattan Project assigned to the testing of the atomic and hydrogen bombs. Many of the photographs of those detonations were made by Dr. Ambrose.
Dr. Ambrose was a graduate of Atlanta Christian College in East Point, GA. He also attended East Carolina University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Barton College, the University of Colorado and the Baptist Theological Seminary in Rockford, IL, the Medical College of Virginia and Virginia Tech. He also graduated from the Mendenhall School of Auctioneering. In May 1982, Atlanta Christian College awarded him the Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree for his outstanding service to the church and to his alma mater for which he served many years on the Board of Trustees.
Dr. Ambrose was ordained into the ministry by the Old Ford Church of Christ on January 22, 1950. His ministry began with the East Tenth Street Church of Christ, Roanoke Rapids, NC. He was minister of Pleasant Hill Christian Church in Gasburg, VA for thirty-two years. During his years in Virginia, he was President of the Lake Gaston Chamber of Commerce, and part owner of Thisuldu Golf Course and Ja-Geri Farm Stables where he raised, trained and showed Tennessee Walking Horses. An avid bird hunter, he enjoyed a reputation for raising and training some of the best bird dogs on the eastern seaboard. One of the dogs he trained was on the “Today Show” giving a demonstration of a properly trained bird dog.
His numerous hobbies were his passion. They included fishing, photography, pigeon racing and woodworking for which he was awarded The Golden Hammer Award by Mechanics Illustrated for his construction of a 21-foot cabin cruiser. In later years, he became a custom knife maker and engraver having attended Montgomery County Community College to study under the top engraver in the country.
Because of health concerns, Dr. Ambrose retired in June 1982 and returned to this area in 1984. Even though retired, he served five local churches and one in Virginia as long as his health permitted. Up until his death, he was serving as the Chaplain of the Williamston Chapter of AMVETS # 227.
He is survived by his wife of fifty-eight years, Geraldine (Geri) Woolard Ambrose.
The family will receive friends from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 5, 2007 at Paul Funeral Home of Washington and at other times at the home located at 3542 Market Street Ext., Washington, NC.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Dr. William F. Ambrose Scholarship Fund, Atlanta Christian College, 2605 Ben Hill Road, East Point, GA 30344.
You may send your condolences to the family by visiting www.paulfuneralhome.com.
Paul Funeral Home of Washington is serving the Ambrose Family.
Paid Obituary