Obituary of William F Batts

William F Batts passed away in Winchester on May 23rd at age 88. He had been a resident of Burlington for over 25 years. He was born in New Haven Connecticut as the ninth child of ten children of Frank and Jennie Batts. As an African American, he was proud to be born the same week as Martin Luther King Jr. Bill was born on January 19, 1929. His mother was Native American. His father died when he was four years old and he and his other younger siblings became wards of the state. He eventually was taken in by a family and lived on a farm with several other children. He started hunting with bow and arrow at a young age and sold the pelts of animals to earn money. He proudly said he started paying into Social Security at the age of 13. He was a proud veteran of the US Navy, entering service at age 17 serving in submarines just after the end of WW2. Mr Batts spoke candidly of his experiences as an African American serviceman at that time. His only duties were to serve the officers on board, and he bunked separately from the white sailors. After his service, he attended school in Boston to teach automotive repair, he then taught others this trade for several years. He also drove a cab and was a non-professional boxer. He enjoyed fishing, and listening to jazz music. He leaves one sibling, Dorothy Wilson of New Haven CT. Funeral Arrangements were private.