William Reagh McCord, Jr. died on Saturday, March 11, 2017, at Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle in Columbus, Mississippi.
Visitation will be Friday, March 17, 2017, from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at Fairview Baptist Church, Columbus, MS.  A funeral service will be Saturday, March 18, 2017, at 1:00 PM at Fairview Baptist Church, Columbus, MS.  A graveside service with military honors will be Saturday, March 18, 2017, at 4:00 PM at Ecru Cemetery, Ecru, MS with Lowndes Funeral Home directing.
Mr. McCord was born on October 21, 1932, in Pontotoc County, Mississippi to the late William Reagh and Mable Sullivan McCord.  He graduated from Ecru High School in 1946 and attended Mississippi State University and California State University at Long Beach where he earned a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering in 1965. After graduation, he was employed as a research engineer in the Autonetics Division of North American Aviation in Anaheim, California.  During his tenure, he was a member of a team responsible for the design of test equipment for the Apollo Moon Mission. He retired from United Technologies in Columbus, Mississippi as a Senior Project Engineer for 24 years.
Mr. McCord was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers where he served on a Standards Committee. He served on the instructional staff at the Eastern Gas Compressors Roundtable at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia and the Gulf Coast Compressors Roundtable at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Mr. McCord served during the Korean War as a Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force and was Honorably Discharged having received the Good Conduct Medal and National Defense Service Medal.
Mr. McCord was a member of Dr. John Wierengo's Sunday School class at Fairview Baptist Church. He was active in the church music ministry for many years, having served as Interim Music Director at Fairview, as well as Mt. Vernon Baptist, Mt. Zion Baptist, Pleasant Hill Baptist and Faith Baptist in Starkville.
Mr. McCord was a founding member of the Lowndes County District 3 Fire Department and served as its Chief for 38 years. He served as Interim Emergency Management Coordinator. The District 3 Fire Station One on Stadium Road in New Hope bears his name.
In addition to his parents, Mr. McCord was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Marcus.
Mr. McCord is survived by his wife of 58 years – Charlotte Wyatt McCord, Columbus, MS; daughter – Lee (Joe) Harvey, Blue Ridge, TX; son – William R "Billy" McCord, Millport, AL; sisters – Pat (Sandy) Ramsey, Miriam (Ronnie) Hallmark, Mary (Marty) Allison; brothers – Bob (Joyce) McCord, Joe (Kathy) McCord, John McCord and Michael (Terri) McCord; grandchildren – Mason McCord, Raegan Harvey and Madison McCord.
Pallbearers will be Jimmy Hildreth, John Cunningham, Sammie Sullivan, Willie Mack Johnson, Sandy Ramsey, Joe Harvey, Billy McCord and Mason McCord.  Honorary pallbearers will be Former and Present Volunteer District 3 Firefighters, Dr. Christy Oswalt, Dr. Doug Hill, Dr. David Gilliland, Dr. James Martin, Dr. Kari Goan and Robin Balthis.
Memorials may be made to American Heart Association, P O Box 16808, Jackson, MS 39236; American Diabetes Association, 200 Office Park Drive, Suite 303, Birmingham, AL 35223 or Lowndes Co. Volunteer Fire Department, 345 Hildreth Road, Columbus, MS  39702.