William T. Banks

William Thomas Banks (Tommy), 69, of Aurora, Co., passed away on April 5, 2012. Tommy died at home with his family at his side after a lengthy illness.
Tommy was born Feb. 18, 1943 in Little Rock, Ark., to Lucille and Willie Banks. He had four sisters and 2 brothers. He married Carlette Renee Graff on July 17, 1987 in Shreveport, La. They had one son William James (Jayme) Banks. They moved to Colorado in 1993. Tommy worked at Sprint Denver Press for several years until he retired due to illness. Tommy loved to fish, shoot pool, and watch Kung Fu and Western movies. He was a carpenter for many years before he moved to Colorado and was always working on home projects.
His favorite pastime was to take his son and nephew fishing. He taught Jayme and Robbie both to fish before they could walk it seems! He suffered through many fishing rods to the face and fishing lures to the pants as a result of two small boys and their eagerness to find a fish on the end of their line. Nothing was safe when it came to feeding those fish. They would dig for worms; use the artificial baits, the stinky catfish baits and even their lunch! There was always a story at the end of the trip. Who knows how much of it was true when it came to the "ONE THAT GOT AWAY"!
He will be dearly missed by these two boys. They went fishing this past weekend and came home to share their tales with Tommy. He could still give them pointers and advice even if he couldn't accompany them on their adventure.
Tommy is survived by a long list of relatives:
His Wife Carlette Graff Banks, His son William James (Jayme) Banks, His mother in law Betty Graff, Sisters,Anna Osburn, Minnie Sue Banks, Joyce Terry and husband David, Edith Rhodes, Sister in Law Charlotte Banks, brother, Robert Lee Banks and wife Dianne, Sister and brother in law Donna and Jeff Stewart. In Colorado he had niece, Angela Calvin and husband Richard, and nephew Robbie Stewart. He also has numerous nieces and nephews in Arkansas. Also we cannot leave out that Tommy is also survived by his beloved Chihuahua BINGO.
He was preceded in death by his parents Willie and Lucille Banks and Brother Billy Joe Banks.
Tommy has requested a viewing instead of a formal funeral service. The viewing will be held on Monday April 9, 2012 from 5 P.M.-9 P.M. at the Newcomer Funeral Home on Potomac. He wants everyone to come and share their stories with each other. This is a time of joy not a time of sorrow because Tommy has gone home to be with his maker. The time of pain and suffering has ended. When Tommy left this earth he left with a smile on his face and that's how he wants everyone to remember him, with a smile on theirs also.