In Memoriam: William Wiley “Bill” Gay

Posted on May 1, 2020 By Joshua Garrett In Memoriam

His doctor described him as “a mountain man, the gold standard,” and when it came to establishing his company, respecting his employees, supporting his family, and giving back to the community, he was all that and more.

October 15, 1926 to March 31, 2020

William Wiley Gay, who built W.W. Gay Mechanical Contractors into the largest HVAC contractor in Northeast Florida, passed away at his Cedar Hills home March 31 while surrounded by the family he dearly loved.

“He was a man who would say money doesn’t buy you happiness,” recalled his daughter, Joy Gay Jones. “He’d say you have to be able to look in the mirror and feel good about the way you lived your life. You need to help other people.”

Known as Bill to those who knew him, Gay was born in West Palm Beach and had “nothing as a child,” said Jones. His father worked for the railroad, and after a brief stint in Pennsylvania, his family made its way to Jacksonville, where they lived on Cherokee Street in Ortega. Gay graduated from Robert E. Lee High School and served in the Merchant Marines during World War II then headed to the University of Florida, where he graduated with an education degree in 1949. It was at UF where he met his wife, Eloise, while working as a graduate assistant for an industrial arts class.

Gay began his career in mechanical contracting as a part-time employee with Henley and Beckwith while he was still an undergraduate at UF. He worked continuously in the field until branching off in 1962 to start his own company with the blessing of his boss. “Mr. Beckwith was like a father to him and endorsed him when he went out to business,” said Jones. It was something Gay would not forget, and when some of his employees started businesses of their own, he always helped them, she said.

Gay built W.W. Gay Mechanical Contractors Inc. into a firm with $160 million in annual revenue – twice the amount of its closest competitor – and 950 employees. His firm did work on nearly every commercial building in Jacksonville, but he was especially proud of work he did at Baptist Hospital. “It used to be when you went over the bridge there was a glass building where the pipe work was,” Jones recalled. “Daddy would take us over there on Sunday, and we would look at the pipe work. Daddy was so proud of that building.”

Gay worked regularly until Oct. 2018, when he cut back his time at the office to only a few hours a week. “He loved to work, and he loved the people that he worked with. He never said people worked for him, instead they always worked with him,” Jones said noting her father also promoted the slogan, “My employees are the best in the business.”

Gay loved Christmas and had a room in his home dedicated to the holiday where he kept his vast collection of Santa Clauses, said Katy Towers, wife of the late Charlie Towers, Gay’s best friend. “He loved to play Santa Claus, and he sponsored the best company Christmas parties,” she said.

And when it came to supporting nonprofits and other civic and business associations, Gay was extremely generous. There were very few organizations that helped people in Jacksonville to which he did not contribute his time, treasure or talents. “You name it, and his finger was probably in it,” said Gay’s grandson, Will Croft. And Towers agreed. “Bill Gay was one of the biggest philanthropists in the city,” she said. “He gave an incredible amount to different causes, and a lot of it went unheralded and was done quietly.”

“He was a very successful man from a financial standpoint, but that didn’t matter to him. He gave all the time and never asked for anything in return,” Jones confirmed. “He never did anything for a thank you or to be acknowledged. He just did. And if people were in need, he helped them. Whatever he was involved in, he gave 150%. Up until his last day, he still wanted to be producing. He saw no reason to be on this earth if he was not giving something back.”

Yet, many who received the benefit of his largesse showed him the recognition he deserved. Gay received many accolades and helped so many civic and philanthropic organizations that the walls at his company headquarters are lined with plaques, saidTowers. “He won every award there was in the book, and yet he was such a low-key, humble person that I didn’t even know he was a bigwig in the city until I saw them. He never brought any attention to himself.”

A small sampling of Gay’s tributes included the 2007 Florida’s Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Real Estate and Construction; Past President and Board Member of the Gator Bowl Association; Co-founder of the Prisoners of Christ; 2010 Honorary Doctorate of Business and Commerce from Jacksonville University; Past President and Charter Member of Westside Rotary Club with 52 years of perfect attendance; 2000 Jacksonville Billy Graham Crusade Co-chairman of Finance; two-time recipient of the First Coast 50 Company of the Year Award; God and Service Recognition Medal presented by the Presbyterian Church and Boy Scouts of America 1996; Past President of North Florida Council Boy Scouts of America, Silver Beaver Award, 1979 and Distinguished Citizen Award 1982; 1999 Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award by the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce; and 2002 Flagler College Outstanding Philanthropist.

Yet above everything else, Gay “loved his Lord” and put his family first. Married for 67 years to his wife, Eloise, who died in 2017, Gay had four children, eight grandchildren, and 20 great grandchildren. “He was an integral part of each one’s life,” Jones said, noting every Sunday 18 to 20 family members would gather with Gay and his wife to do lunch, and after her death, various family members would eat with Gay at his home several days a week. “It was important to Daddy that the family be close,” said Jones. “With his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, he would always try to find something that they liked or that they were good at and help them to develop it.”

Gay and his wife enjoyed traveling and would take all eight of his grandchildren on a two week trip every summer, said Jones. “It was great for the parents because we got a two-week vacation, but it was really wonderful for the grandchildren because they went to places as a group that their parents had never been.” One year, Gay and his wife flew into the Alaskan wilderness on two small planes with the grandchildren divided between them. While flying around the mountains in the fog, the planes collided, and Gay’s plane crashed into a lake. “Momma and Daddy always lovingly argued about who hit who,” said Jones. “It’s a miracle they weren’t hurt, and he walked off the plane. But the next year they did a cruise because we told them we didn’t want them flying.”

“He was one-of-a-kind,” said Croft. “Of course, I’m prejudiced, but I don’t think there will ever be another W.W. Gay.”