MOREHEAD CITY—An outstanding coach and a member of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame died on Monday.

William “Billy” Benjamin Widgeon, Sr., 78, of Morehead City, passed away at Crystal Coast Hospice House.

A graveside service was held on Wednesday.

Widgeon enjoyed tremendous success as a high school athlete, collegiate athlete and outstanding coach in several sports and was inducted into the NCHSAA Hall of Fame in the class of 2008.

He played on the 1953 NCHSAA state 1-A basketball championship team at Newport High and then was a two-sport standout at Atlantic Christian (now Barton) College, where he is in that school’s hall of fame.

Widgeon was a teacher and coach at Bailey High from 1957 through ’64, where he coached three sports but his women’s basketball team won an amazing 107 games in a row. From 1964 through ’91 he served at West Carteret, winning 342 games in 23 years as head basketball coach and also coaching men’s golf for 27 seasons, winning eight regular-season championships in that sport.      

He was athletic director 10 years at West and is a charter member of the West Carteret Hall of Fame.

He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Sylvia Allsbrook Widgeon; son, Ben Widgeon; grandson, Will Widgeon; sister, Peggy Hackney and husband, Dan; brother, Douglas Howard and wife, Kathie; mother-in-law, SybilAllsbrook; brother-in-law, Lee Allsbrook and wife, Nancy.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Margaret Garner Scholarship Fund, c/o St. James United Methodist Church, P. O. Box 250, Newport, NC 28570 or West Carteret Hall of Fame Scholarship Fund, c/o Steve Chalk, Chalk and Gibbs, Inc., 1006 Arendell Street, Morehead City, NC 28557.