William John "Bill" Lawther, III, 74, of Columbia, passed away peacefully on Monday, August 21, 2017. Born February 11, 1943, in Pittsburgh, PA, he was the son of the late William John Lawther, Jr. and Irene Wagner Lawther.

He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Janis Collins Lawther; his children, Jennifer Lawther Ferguson (Chris), Thomas Wagner Lawther, Daniel Hutchinsen Lawther, and Robert William Lawther (Beth), all of the Atlanta area; his grandchildren, Kyle, Kate, Tyler and Thomas Ferguson; his sisters, Cathy Bailow (Steve), of W. Chester, PA, Linda Maraio (Bob), of Winter Park, FL; sister-in-law, Judith Gaskins of Columbia; brother-in-law, Dr. Norman J. Collins, Jr. (Rosemary) of Port Orchard, WA; and niece, Melissa Walker (Dan) of W. Chester, PA, and their daughter, Delaney.
Bill received a BA degree in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina after serving in the United States Marines. He was a member of the Lambda Chi Fraternity. Bill worked in sales and marketing for most of his entire career.

He was an active member of Bethel United Methodist Church, and was a member of the Choir, the Holroyd Sunday School Class and the United Methodist Men.

A memorial service will be held at 11 o'clock, Saturday, August 26th at Bethel United Methodist Church. Inurnment will follow the service in the Church's Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends Friday evening from 5 until 7 o'clock, at Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, 7600 Trenholm Road Ext., Columbia. Memorials may be made to Bethel United Methodist Church, 4600 Daniel Drive, Columbia, SC 29206.