William Joseph Viel, Jr

February 18, 1941 ~ January 13, 2023

Dr. William Joseph “Bill” Viel, Jr., age 81, went Home to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Friday, January 13, 2023. His journey began on February 18, 1941 in West Chester, Pennsylvania, as a son born to William Joseph and Mary Garnett Viel. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, James Garrett Viel.

He is survived by his loving wife of almost sixty years, Linda Viel; son, Joseph A. Viel of Portsmouth, Va.; brother, Lawrence Wayne “Larry” Viel and wife, Becky of Swansboro; sisters-in-law, Helen Viel of Springfield, Va. and Judy E. Passmore and husband, Robert of Colorado Springs, CO , along with many family friends, and other extended relatives.

Born with a servant’s heart and with Linda by his side, Bill spent sixty years sharing the Gospel and serving in multiple capacities to further the growth of God’s Kingdom. He graduated from Carson-Newman College in 1963 and later earned his Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1966, and his Doctor of Ministry from Luther Rice Seminary in 1976.

Through years of travels throughout the United States and internationally through the Soviet Union, Kiev, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and beyond, Bill and Linda have had an influence so vast that they’ll only know the impact when they reach Heaven.

As a lifelong missionary and servant, Bill has received many awards and been the subject of several articles and publications.

He spent forty years in Maryland/Delaware pastoring in churches, serving as a missionary, working with disaster relief, serving at Skycroft, with the Baltimore port ministry, and much more.

There are so many ways the Viels served that these listed are but a few. They were missionaries with the Home Mission Board (now the North American Mission Board) and Bill became the vice-president of the board of directors for the Home Mission Board. He also served as chairman of the Southern Baptist Chaplains Commission. One of Bill’s most noted accomplishments in Maryland/Delaware was starting and serving as executive director of the Inner Harbor Ministry (IHM), with over a dozen ministries under the IHM umbrella.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 1:30PM on Friday, January 20, 2023 at First Baptist Church, 200 S Church Street, Rocky Mount, NC 27804. Beginning at 12:00PM the family will receive friends at the church prior to the service.