William Baker Weatherford III

WILLIAM “BAKER” WEATHERFORD III
February 9, 2011 – February 11, 2026

William “Baker” Weatherford III, age 15, son of Andrea Margurette Terrill and William “Bill” Baker Weatherford, Jr. passed away on the early morning of Wednesday, February 11, 2026, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Baker was born at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 9, 2011, and was baptized at Peachtree Presbyterian Church on December 4, 2011.

A member of the Osage Nation Tribe of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, Baker has been a fierce warrior in his life-long battle with Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) and Coffin-Lowry Syndrome.

Baker attended school at The Child Development Center and Ogden Elementary School in Wilmington, NC and the following schools in Raleigh,NC: Lacy Elementary School, Oberlin Middle School and Athens Drive High School. He loved horseback riding at The Coastal Therapeutic Riding Program in Wilmington, enjoyed playing baseball for the Cary Miracle League and was an Honorary Junior Tennis Coach at the Raleigh Racquet Club.

Baker is survived by his mother, Andrea, and stepfather Lowell Petty Jr.; his father Bill and stepmother Debbie Vargo Weatherford; stepbrother, Lowell Thomas Petty III; maternal grandmother, Mary Ann Cowgur; paternal grandparents Diane and William Baker Weatherford, Sr., Dennis and Donna Vargo and Vicki and Lowell Petty. Aunts -- Ashley Gettys (Jim), Tracee Terrill, Allison Terrill (Rafa Toro), Jessica Weatherford Clark (Justin), Leslie Petty Driscoll (Bill) and Dawn Vargo Gaylord (Ken); Cousins -- Maggie, Mollie, Mason & Mabry Allen; Riley, Gage and John Houston Gettys; Ella and Oliver Meyer; Grady & Asher Luckadoo and Noah Toro; Sawyer, Oakley and Sienna Driscoll; John “Jack” Baker Clark and Haylee and Braden Gaylord;

Baker was preceded in death by his maternal grandfather, Richard “Rick” Alan Terrill and his aunt, Julie Terrill Allen.

Services will be held at Edenton Street United Methodist Church, 228 W. Edenton Street in Raleigh, NC on Monday, February 16 at 11:00 a.m. A family burial will take place in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Florence, SC at a later date.

Anyone wishing to make a donation in Baker’s name can do so to the “Make A Wish Eastern North Carolina Foundation” or the “MLD (Metachromatic Leukodystrophy ) Foundation.”