The Keyser and Piedmont communities are feeling the loss of one of their great icons, as William “Bill” T. Hood passed away at the age of 81 on Thursday at his residence.

Hood touched the lives of many through The Piedmont Herald, which he and wife, Marg, owned from 1969 until her death in 2000. Hood kept the operation running until 2006,when he retired after suffering a stroke. 

Hood was truly a jack of all trades — he served as Piedmont’s mayor for 13 years while he was working at the paper.

Prior to working at the paper he worked at Westvaco, was a postal carrier for the Piedmont Post Office, and was a bartender in Piedmont. He also worked part-time at the two theaters — the Majestic and the Opera House — and worked as a furniture deliveryman for Wagners.

When Hood worked for Wagners he would deliver furniture late at night around Christmas time so the children wouldn’t see their presents. He also served as a Corporal and mechanic in the United States Army and was stationed in Italy for two years during World War II.

To sum up Hood’s life — if a life can merely be summed up in just words — he was an ambitious, intelligent, caring, and persistent man who loved his friends, wife, family and his job at The Piedmont Herald. He will be missed dearly by all.