William R. Page

The Rev. William R. Page
Rev. Bill page departed the real world due to health complications and dementia. He is now resting in the arms of the God he loved and served as a minister in the United Methodist Church.
Bill was born on December 27, 1928, to parents, Jack and Willesther Page in Harlingen, Texas. He was a 1947 graduate of McAllen High School and joined the United States Marine Corps soon after. After serving his country in the military, he joined the National Security Agency (NSA) as a cryptologist in Russian and retired from that work after 34 years of service. During his tenure with the NSA, he married his first wife, Sally Van Dusen of Watertown, New York, and from this marriage came five children. The marriage ended in divorce after 29 years.
While serving with the NSA, Bill travelled to many countries. At one posting in Scotland, he attended the College of Piping and became a very good player of the bagpipes.
Within time, Bill married Constance J. Hughson, but the marriage ended with her passing after just 10 months later. She was studying for the ministry, so after a time, Bill enrolled at Wesley Theological Seminary where he graduated in 1984. He became an Elder in the United Methodist Church in 1987, and during this time he married again to Laverna Sullivan. They served the church together until his retirement in 1992. However, he was recalled to serve the church three times after that until illness caused him to completely retire.
Bill ended up being a graduate of the University of Maryland, the Georgetown School of Law and Wesley Theological Seminary. He served as an Elder in the Baltimore-Washington, the Southwest Texas and the Peninsula-Delaware Conferences of the United Methodist Church.
When the Rio Grande City became incorporated in 1995, Bill served as the first municipal court judge, but had to retire three years later due to health issues. His slogan was, "If you want mercy, call me Reverend; if you want justice, call me Judge."
Bill Page was surely one of God's chosen ones. He was always there to listen, comfort and lend a hand where needed throughout his lifetime as a brother, father, friend, minister, judge or bag-piper. He is truly missed by his wife and all who knew hima€"especially Lisa, Letty, Brenda, Cynthia and Becky...his care-providers. All of them took excellent care of him during his illness. To the doctors, nurses and staff of Starr County Hospital, Angelical Home Health and Retama Manor, we thank each one of you. And, to Rev. and Mrs. Jon Herrin, we say, "God bless you."
Preceding Rev. Page in death are his parents, a younger brother, Jackie, and his three black Scottie dogs. He is survived by his wife, Laverna, children William R. (Dee Dee), Patricia (Jeff), Susan (David), Julie (Mike), and Martha (Wes). Also, his sister Mary Ann Gray and a sister-in-law Aurora. He has nine grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Rev. Page's life will be held on Monday, November 6th at 11am at the First United Methodist Church, 301 East Canales Bros Street, Rio Grande City, Texas 78582. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the church.