William Senior III

William Senior, III, of Columbus NJ, was called to be with the Lord on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. He was born on April 24, 1955, in Detroit, Michigan to the late William Senior, Jr. and Birdie Lee Smith. Bill was the second out of four sons.

Educated in the Detroit Public School System, Bill was a proud graduate of Cass Technical High School. He graduated from Wayne State University while working various jobs.

In high school, he worked at Whaling’s Men’s Clothing Store; he often talked fondly of the various celebrities that he met. Prior to moving to NJ, he retired from General Dynamics where he worked on military tanks. He also retired from Educational Testing Service (ETS) where he held several titles, the last being an Area Financial Analyst.

Bill loved sports and was an avid fan of all the Detroit pro sports teams: Tigers, Lions, Pistons, and Red Wings. Most of all, he loved the University of Michigan Wolverines (Let’s Go Blue). In addition to rooting for his favorite teams, Bill was a member of the ETS mixed bowling team, PinFalls and participated in various softball leagues. He also enjoyed playing basketball and tennis.

Bill was a man of faith and integrity. All who met him knew that he loved the Lord. Bill was ordained as a Deacon under the leadership of the late Bishop Jerome S. Wilcox. As a Deacon, he was part of several church projects and initiatives including Dial-A-Prayer phone ministry. He documented the building of the new Grace Cathedral sanctuary. In addition, Bill sang with several church choirs. He was also a member of the Covenant Partners in Trenton, NJ. One of his favorite scriptures was, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place (2 Corinthians 2:14)”.

Bill participated in several plays, Give Me Jesus, and the Great White Throne of Judgment. He gave it all he had! He enjoyed going out to eat and watching movies. He was a fan of action-oriented and superhero movies, but his favorite movie was Rocky!

Although Bill had several health challenges, his faith in the Lord remained strong and steadfast. Always an optimist, he became a patient advocate for all End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients. His goal was to help other patients and people in general to thrive, not just survive. As a result, he diligently served on several national kidney affinity groups and was an advocate for kidney patients on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. He willingly served as a panelist or speaker to share his dialysis journey with others. Bill eventually became a paid patient advisor, providing valuable input on projects related to creating a model for geriatric dialysis care and marketing a new medication for use by ERSD patients. Bill often participated in annual Kidney Walks as well as other health walks.

He leaves to cherish his memory his loving wife of 38 years, Ann Marie Senior, Ph.D.; three brothers: Kevin, Dr. Duane Senior, and Jeffrey (Vickie); aunts: Marion Watkins, Betty Senior and Barbara (Smith) Gibson; sisters-in-law: Carol DeBritto, Deborah Andrews (Edward); brother-in-law, Mark DeBritto; nieces: Charlotte Nichole, Nicole, `Symone, Debryonna, and Tichelle; nephews: Arthur (Candace), Josephson (Elizabeth), Evan, Mark Jr. (Stephanie), and Cayes; 16 great nieces and nephews; godchildren: Evan Delpeche, Gabriel McPherson, Candace Ames, Justin Cox, and Matthew Coe; longtime special friends: Alvin Mitchell, Jr., Dr. Otis R. Washington, Jr., Lawrence Cox, Michael Nevels, Elder Roger and Denese Brown.

Deacon Senior was predeceased by his parents; grandmother, Thomasine Colquitt; aunts Olivia Gilkie, and Dorothy Harville; uncles Virgil Senior, Ernest Smith, Joseph Smith, and niece Kristen DeBritto.

Funeral service will be at 11am on Tuesday, June 2, 2026 at Hughes Funeral Home, 324 Bellevue Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618. Calling hours will be 9am until the start of the service. Interment will be in Rhode Island. Details to follow.

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