Abbott, William B.

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Part of Abbott, William B.

Title: Abbott, William B.
extracted text: "Bill the Builder"
Retires in June

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Because he has spent s uch a lar ge
share of his time in the ministry as :1
builder and improver of church property
he hus come to be called "Bill the Buildet·" by those who know him. Probably
no title is more justified on the basis
of the record of Rev. William B. Abbott.
He served North Detroit Church for five
yeurs during which time the s anctuary
was raised, an addition built and a full
basement constructed for less than
$2,000.
In 1945 Dr. J. Adolph H a lmhuber who
was then executive secretary of the
JVIethodist Union of Greater Detroit
asked Mr. Abbott if he would consider
being appointed to Simpson Church
a long with some mission work in Dearborn. The work consisted of a preaching service in Henry Ford School, Dearborn, at 10 a .m. and another one in Simpson Church at 11:15.
It was later discovered that Simpson
Church had to be relocated because the
property had been condemned t o make
way for the new Edsel Ford Expressway.
This was done without borrowing any
funds. In 1958 it was decided to enlarge
the facilities, much of the work being
done by men of the church. Some estimated the cost would run as high as
$30,000 but with volun teer efforts and
lots of courage the task was accomplished
fo r $18,000 .
Along with his experiences in building
material structures has gone the thrill
of building Christian character. Mr.
A bbot.t always sought to present the
claims of Christ to his people and has
seen the tt·ansforming power of the
gospel do its work. His retir ement in
June will mark the close of a ministry
of service in the great er Detroit area.
REV. W. B. ABBOTT of Royal Oak, retired member of the Detroit Conference,
died December 27 while perforllUng the
marriage ceremony for his granddaughter,
Patricia Ann Pylkas, and Keith Hirvonen
in the Martha-Mary Chapel in Greenfield
Village, Dearborn. Mr. Abbott, 79, was
born and educated in England, came to
Michigan 54 years ago, and served Methodist churches, retiring in 1963 from De·
trolt Simpson. He is survived by his wife,
Olive; a daughter, Mrs. Werner Pylkas;
three grandchildren and two great-grand.
children. Funeral ser vices were held De.
cember 31 with burial in Evergreen Cemetery./ - ~-7 t:J

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