William J. McCoy (August 14, 1942 – November 12, 2019) was an American

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

and Democratic

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

Rienzi, Mississippi Rienzi is a town in Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 317 at the 2010 census. History Rienzi was named for Cola di Rienzo, a medieval Italian politician. The original town was settled in 1830 and was located one mile w ...

. He was the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the House of Representatives of the

State of Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mississ ...

Background

McCoy was born August 14, 1942 in Booneville, attended

Northeast Mississippi Junior College Northeast Mississippi Community College (NEMCC) is a public community college in Booneville, Mississippi. History The college was founded in 1948 as ''Northeast Mississippi Junior College,'' and became known primarily as an agricultural school a ...

, and graduated from

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

. He has worked as a

vocational agriculture Agricultural education is the teaching of agriculture, natural resources, and land management. At higher levels, agricultural education is primarily undertaken to prepare students for employment in the agricultural sector. Classes taught in an a ...

teacher and as a

loan officer Loan officers evaluate, authorize, or recommend approval of loan applications for people and businesses. Most loan officers are employed by commercial banks, credit unions, mortgage companies, and related financial institutions. Mortgage loan offi ...

for the

Farmers Home Administration The Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) was a U.S. government agency established in August 1946 to replace the Farm Security Administration. It superseded the Resettlement Administration during the Great Depression and operated until 2006. FmHA mi ...

, as well as a school auditor for the Mississippi State Department of Audit. He also farmed.

House of Representatives

McCoy became a member of the House in 1980, and was elected Speaker in 2004. In 2008, he faced (and beat) a challenge by conservative fellow Democrat, later Republican Jeff Smith of

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, who was supported by the Republicans in the House and by Republican governor

Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as the 63rd governor of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as chairman of the Republican ...

. On May 25, 2011, McCoy announced that he would not seek re-election to the State House.

Personal life

McCoy married Edith Leatherwood. He was a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and a member of the Farm Bureau. He served as a member of the

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of Northeast Mississippi Community College. He died on November 12, 2019 at the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, Mississippi. He was 77 years old.

Sources

Home pageProject VoteSmart: "Representative William J. 'Billy' McCoy (MS)"

References

1942 births 2019 deaths Farmers from Mississippi Baptists from Mississippi Mississippi State University alumni People from Alcorn County, Mississippi People from Booneville, Mississippi Speakers of the Mississippi House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians 20th-century Baptists {{Mississippi-politician-stub