William A. Huff went to be with the Lord on June 15, 2017. He was born in Middlesboro, KY on October 15, 1924, to Jonas A. and Buenna Payne Huff. Mr. Huff was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, where he served as a sonarman on minesweeper YMS-237 in the South Pacific. This minesweeper was one of the escort ships during the invasion of Guam. He was aboard this ship when it was later transferred to the Russians in Cold Bay, Alaska, under the Lend-Lease Program. He then served aboard the USS Cecil J. Doyle until he was discharged in 1946. He graduated from the Tennessee Polytechnic Institute in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering.

He moved to Huntsville in 1951 to work for the Army Ordnance Guided Missile Center and transferred to NASA in 1962. While at NASA, Mr. Huff supported the Saturn 1B and Saturn 5 programs, and was involved in the early phases of the Space Shuttle program when he retired in 1979.

On September 14, 1952, Mr. Huff married his long-time sweetheart, Jacqueline Browning. They made their home in Huntsville and joined First Baptist Church, where he served in various positions. Mr. Huff was an active missions volunteer with the Madison Baptist Association and the Southern Baptist North American and International Mission Boards. Between 1975 and 1995, he led or participated in mission projects in Campinas, Brazil; Seville, Spain; Venezuela, Puerto Rico, New York, Alaska and several other states. Together with Dr. Hugh Chambliss, he established the Mission Volunteer Committee in 1981, and served as Chairman for several years. He served on the Alabama Baptist Convention Committee on Boards and Commissions, and the Board of Aid for Students in Church Related Vocations.

Mr. Huff also supported local community activities. Mr. Huff was one of the leaders in building the first African-American Southern Baptist Church in Huntsville, West Mastin Lake Baptist Church, where Willie L. Hinton, Sr. is pastor. He was also a former member of the Huntsville Building Authority and the Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound (CASA) Board.

Mr. Huff was preceded in death by his parents and brothers J.A. Jr. and John Huff, and sister Francis Lee Deacon. Survivors include his wife, Jackie, of the home; sons David (Vicki) and Tim (Stacia) of Huntsville, one sister, Betty Anne Parks of Middlesboro, KY, and two grandchildren, Jennifer (Charlie) Wilburn of Huntsville and Jordan Huff of Nashville, TN. Visitation will be held Saturday from 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. at Berryhill Funeral Home followed by service at 2:30 with Dr. Max Croft officiating. The service will be followed by a private burial. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to CASA, 701 Andrew Jackson Way, Huntsville, AL 35801, or online at http://casamadisoncty.org/.