William Ring

View Funeral WebcastWilliam "Shine" Ring, 69, well-known race car driver and resident of Country Club Lane, died Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at Maury Regional Hospital. Family and friends will gather Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at Oakes & Nichols to celebrate "Shine's" life. Burial will follow in Polk Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be Friday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Notes of sympathy may be sent to www.oakesandnichols.com. Born in Maury County, he was the son of the late Mahlon Craig Ring and Elsie Pearl Whitley Ring. For a number of years he worked for Railway Express at the Old Columbia Depot. Later he established an independent trucking business for 25 years and owned and operated William Ring Motors. As a child, he was always interested in cars."Shine" began an auto repair business at an early age and did body work and painted one of "Coo Coo" Marlin's first Grand National race cars. He started racing stock cars in 1963, all of which he built himself. He began Dwarf Car racing in 1997 and built every car he and his brothers raced and also built for other racers over the years. The three Ring brothers worked together in Ring Brothers Racing and all were track champions. He was founder of the Maury County Dwarf Car Association and was 1998-1999 Track Champion at Riverview Stadium in Carthage and won numerous other races over the years. He was married January 4, 1960 to Martha "Judy" Woody Ring. He and Judy built their log home on Country Club Lane in 1977 themselves and they would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2010. In addition to his wife he is survived by sons, Joseph Mahlon "Joey" (Cindy) Ring of Hohenwald and William Jeffrey (Gloria) Ring of Goodlettsville; grandson, William Austin "Buckaroo" Ring of Hohenwald; sisters, Charlene Fowler of Union City, Clarice Wales of Lewisburg, Judy (Bill) Cook of Mt. Pleasant, and Kathy Dawn (Joe) Pedrick of Columbia; brothers, David Boyd (Denise) Ring and Allen Craig (Carol) Ring, both of Columbia; special friend, Freeland McMeen of Columbia; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by sisters, Glenda Prince, Nancy Louise Ring, and Betty Hill. Active pallbearers are Warren Barley, Howard White, Virgil White, Mike Jefferson, Josh Woody, Jerry Boles, Aubrey Lee "Strut" Davis, Jimmy Howell, Charlie Hughes, Billy McKennon, Richard McAdams, and Jim Borum. Honorary pallbearers are fellow race car drivers and friends, Tim Lunn, Ricky Webster, Chris Crutcher, Charlie Rial, Derek Ransom, Jimmy Rodgers, Mike Penrod, Robert Whitley, Johnny Cothran, Mark Cole, Don Walls, Greg Gresham, Rick McIllwain, Jimmy Hensley, Bradley Gresham, Mike Woods, Bobby Rhodes, and Ken Joyce.