Funeral services for William Taft Banks Jr. will be noon Monday, Jan. 23, at Locust Grove M. B. Church with the Rev. Rudolph Walker officiating. Burial will follow at Locust Grove Cemetery under the direction of W. H. Jefferson Funeral Home.

There will be a visitation Monday, Jan. 23, from 11 a.m. to noon at the church.

William Taft Banks Jr. passed away Tuesday, Jan. 17, at University Medical Center following a lengthy illness. He was 83. He had worked as a shuttle driver for Ameristar Casino and was a member of Locust Grove M. B. Church.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William Taft and Mary Tillman Banks Sr.; and his brother Avance Banks.

He is survived by his wife, Vivian S. Banks of Vicksburg; his son, William Taft Banks III of Niagara Falls N.Y.; his three daughters, Venita S. Lowe of Graceland, Ga., Beverly Marzello of Berry Ontario, Canada, and Lenetta Banks of Detroit; his three brothers, Elijah Banks of Grand Island, N.Y., Peter Banks of Bossier City, La., and Rooks Banks of Missouri; his two sisters, Drucilla Burns and Darie Johnson, both of Detroit; seven grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives.