Whitley County recently lost two pillars of the community with the recent death of former Williamsburg business owner Paul Steely and Corbin Dr. William Briscoe.
Steely died at the age of 95 years old on April 28. He was well known in the Williamsburg community as one of the owners of Paul Steely Ford. He purchased the first Ford Explorer ever sold off the lot of Paul Steely Ford. He also purchased the last Ford Explorer ever sold off the lot on Sept. 11, 2009, right before it closed after more than 28 years in business.
Steely, who was a lifelong Williamsburg resident, was much more than just a successful businessman.
He began his career as a teacher working at Frankfort, Bacon Creek, Barton and Oak Grove schools before serving as principal at Rockholds, Boston and Pleasant View. He later served as assistant principal at Whitley County High School and then assistant superintendent of the Whitley County School District.
In addition, he served on the board of trustees at the University of the Cumberlands.
In January 1979, he started a service station. Then in 1981, he started Paul Steely Ford with his son, Paul David Steely.
I remember meeting Paul and Paul David over at the dealership one week after it closed to interview them about their years in business. You could tell the business was something Paul loved doing.
In addition to being a businessman, Paul was also a man of faith. He was a dedicated member of Main Street Baptist Church for more than 80 years. He served as a deacon during many of those years.
Dr. William Briscoe died on May 2 at the age of 85. I don’t think I ever had the privilege of meeting him, but he was well known to the community.
In 1973, he moved to Southeastern Kentucky with his wife, Marsha. She was from the area.
Dr. Briscoe set out to build something and improve mental healthcare in our region. He started a small inpatient psychiatric unit at the old Southeastern Kentucky Baptist Hospital. It grew into the Trillium Center and Briscoe Clinic at Baptist Health Corbin.
“For more than 50 years, he dedicated his life to caring for others, often focusing on those who were most vulnerable. At a time when behavioral health services were limited in our region, he saw what was needed and worked tirelessly to build something better,” Baptist Health Corbin President Angelia Foster noted in a release.
In addition, Briscoe served as president of the Kentucky Psychiatric Association and spent 24 years on the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure. He was on the medical executive committee at Baptist Health Corbin for 45 years.
His colleagues named him physician of the year in 2024.
Both men will be greatly missed.
Before I conclude this column, let me just remind everyone we have an election coming up Tuesday. I would encourage everyone to get out and vote either on Election Day or during the three days of early voting on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Whitley County Clerk’s Offices in Corbin and Williamsburg.
We have some important contested races on the Whitley County ballot, including sheriff, jailer, county clerk and three of the four magistrate positions.
Several years back, I saw a local election decided by just two votes. Your vote really can make a different so get out and go to the polls.
If you don’t go vote, then do not let me catch you complaining about government.
