William Oly “Bill” Lombard, Sr., 90, of Rockwell, passed peacefully at his residence on Easter morning, April 5, 2015. He was surrounded by his children, grandchildren and friends, who knew him as Bill, Will, and Daddy Bill.
Born April 24, 1924 in Macon County, NC to parents Oly Ernest and Beulah Dillard Lombard. Bill attended Village Creek School in Mountain Rest, SC for grades 1-7, he attended Wallhala High School before moving to Rockwell and graduating from Rockwell High School. Bill served as a Hospital Corpsman in the United States Navy during WWII, most notably landing on Omaha Beach during the Normandy Invasion on D-Day.
His marriage to Mary Gibson “M” Lombard on July 28, 1950 was a love that endured beyond her passing on April 24, 2004. Following graduation from the South Carolina College of Pharmacy at USC, Bill and Mary Gibson founded a Rockwell community landmark, the Crescent Pharmacy, in 1959. Bill was a faithful member of St. James Lutheran Church, Rockwell, active in the Lutheran Men In Mission, and a member of the Keller Memorial Masonic Lodge #657 and the Rowan Shrine Club.
Bill is survived by son William O. Lombard, Jr. and wife Brenda, of Madison, GA, daughter Libby Dunn and husband Roy of Myrtle Beach, SC, daughter Ann Goodman and husband Tony of Rockwell and son Lewis Lombard and Wanda of Rockwell. He is also survived by grandchildren Andy Lombard and wife Stephanie, Ashley Lombard, Jena Lombard, Tanner Dunn, Brenna Goodman, Dylan Goodman, Gibson Lombard and Isabel Lombard. Great granddaughters Emory and Adalyn Lombard brightened Bill's recent years. Bill is also survived by his sister, Dr. Elizabeth Lombard of Rockwell. In addition to his wife, Mary Gibson, Bill was preceded in death by his sister Ruth Oliver, sister Dorothy Yates, brother Jack Lombard, sister Kathryn Vielle, and brother Leon Lombard.
Visitation is scheduled for Tuesday, April 7 at Powles Funeral Home, 913 W Main St, Rockwell, from 6 pm - 7:30 pm. Services for Bill Lombard will be held at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at the St. James Lutheran Church in Rockwell. Burial will follow at Brookhill Memorial Gardens.
Memorials may be made to St. James Lutheran Church, PO Box 486 Rockwell NC 28138 or to the Northeast Foundation – Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at CMC Northeast in honor of William Lombard 920 Church Street Concord NC 28025. The family is proud of “Daddy Bill”...for his services to his family, his business, his community, and to his country.
The number of D-Day Veterans dwindles, with the loss of Bill Lombard.
Powles Funeral Home honored provider of Veterans Funeral Care is assisting the Lombard family..

Published in Salisbury Post on Apr. 7, 2015