William Thompson Looney

William Thompson Looney, age 82, passed away at Ascension St. Thomas Hospital on Sunday afternoon, September 6, 2026. Funeral services will be on Friday, September 11, with visitation starting at 10 a.m. until the time of the service at 2 p.m. at McEvoy Funeral Home, with John Dale and Rob Touchstone officiating. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Cemetery. Pallbearers are William Tyler Swafford, Thomas Swafford, Travis Swafford, John Mark Touchstone, Timmy Parker, and Allen McKeel. Honorary pallbearers are Joe Carter Dalton, David King, Duke Gregory, Tommy Thompson, David Rickelton, and the staff of McEvoy Funeral Home. He was born at home on November 21, 1943, in Henry County, TN, to the late William Curtis and Mary Sue Thompson Looney. On August 27, 1966, he married Ann Carol Roberts, who was his beloved wife for 60 years until his passing.

He is survived by his wife and his sister Suzanne Looney Richter, Springville, TN; three children: Tara Looney Swafford, Franklin, TN, Mark Roberts (Stephanie) Looney, San Francisco, CA, and Aimee Looney (Rob) Touchstone, Nolensville, TN; grandchildren: William Tyler, Thomas (Radley), and Travis Swafford, Taylor and Bennett Looney, Anna, John Mark, Mary Ann, and Andrew Touchstone; great-grandchildren: Mary Maclaine, Shepherd, and Vivian Swafford; cousins: Jane Gibson, Tommy Thompson, David Rickleton, John Rickleton, Karen Dargan, Jane Overton, and Baker Kendall; sisters-in-law: Helen (Pat) Deese and Marilyn (Rick) Drake. In addition to his parents, he was preceded by a special aunt, Annie Warren Looney Mills.

Mr. Looney was committed to his family, his church, his work, and his community. Nothing pleased him more than a long day’s work and entertaining friends and family over a meal with stories of his many endeavors. He was an exceptionally hard worker. He practiced law and owned a funeral home and cattle farm in Paris. He began his law practice in Paris in 1970 after graduating from David Lipscomb College in 1966 and Memphis State University Law School in 1969. He helped innumerable individuals and businesses from his office at the corner of North Poplar and West Washington streets. He was a solo practitioner with exceptional expertise in many areas of the law. He was honored to be Paris’s top-voted attorney in the Paris Post-Intelligencer Readers’ Choice Awards. He held numerous leadership positions on local boards and organizations. Mr. Looney was also the proud owner, President, and Funeral Director of McEvoy Funeral Home, a family business serving the Paris and Henry County community since 1901.

Outside of work, he enjoyed following the musical and sporting endeavors of his grandchildren. He was an avid sports fan, serving as the Voice of the Patriots and loyally following the Kentucky Wildcats and St. Louis Cardinals in good seasons and bad. He enjoyed traveling, the outdoors, his many family dogs (especially Sally), mowing his lawn, and working on the family farm in Elkhorn. He was a lifetime servant of the Lord, preaching at small churches in Henry County, leading singing, and teaching classes. He was a member of Glendale Road Church of Christ in Murray, KY, where he served as an elder. He will be dearly missed by his family, employees, and clients. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Paris – Henry County Heritage Center, P.O. Box 822, Paris, TN 38242 or the Glendale Road Church of Christ, 1101 Glendale Road, Murray, KY 42071.