Dr. William H. Fee Jr. "Poppers", 83, of Franklin, passed away peacefully at his home on Sunday, March 15, 2026.

Born in East Orange, NJ on September 21, 1942, he was the son of the late William Homer Fee Sr. and Jean Waters Fee.

Dr. Fee was a 1964 graduate of Layfette College where he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree and was a proud graduate of Duke School of Medicine in 1968. He completed a rotating internship at York Hospital from 1968-1969. From 1969-1970, he served as an Internal Medicine Resident at the Indiana University Hospital.In 1970 he enlisted in the United States Army as a General Medical Officer and served for two years before being Honorably Discharged in 1972, achieving the rank of Major.

In 1972 he started a two-year fellowship in pulmonary disease at the Indianapolis University Hospital System. In 1974, he accepted a position at the former Franklin Hospital as a private practice Internal Medicine Physician which started his career in Venango County that lasted until he retired in 2022.

Throughout five decades in the practice of medicine, he served as Chief of Internal Medicine and spent many years as Director of the ICU and Director of Respiratory Therapy; however, nothing was more important than the care of his patients. Patients and families may recall 5:30 A.M. or 11:30 P.M. phone calls for updates, results and "how are you's."

In 2018 he returned to his beloved Duke University for the 50th reunion of his Medical School class. At that time, he was the only member of his class still practicing fulltime.

In 2021, Dr. Fee was inducted into the Franklin High School Hall of Fame for his service to the community, an honor that was one of his proudest moments. On any given Friday night for over 30 years whether home or away he could be seen on the sidelines of the football games or at basketball games.

In addition to 6:00 A.M. Racquet Ball games, Dr. Fee, kept active and in shape by chopping wood for his beloved furnace, Burnace as well as helping Joyce care for his treasured Seldom Rest Farm. He was a longtime member of First United Methodist Church in Franklin, where he sang in the church choir, and was also a member of the Venango Chorus for a number of years. During his four years of Medical School at Duke University, he also sang in the Duke Chapel Choir.

Since retirement, he was a member of the Franklin Kiwanis Club and the Tuesday morning breakfast group at Linda Lou's. For 20 years, he looked forward to his February golf trip to Florida with his golf buddies and recently joined the Tuesday morning Senior League at Sleepy Hollow Golf Course.

On April 1, 1982, he married the former Joyce Sutherland and she survives along with his loving family.

He lived life to its fullest, including the day before he died, having attended his grandson, Noah's basketball game and his granddaughter Adlee's hockey game with Andra and Nick.

Funeral arrangements entrusted to Huff-Guthrie Funeral Home & Cremation Services Inc., 312 West Park St. Franklin where family and friends are welcome from 3:00 - 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday and from 10:00 - 11:00 A.M. Thursday.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 A.M. Thursday in the funeral home chapel with Rev. David Janz, Pastor of First United Methodist Church of Butler, officiating. Dr. Fee will receive full Military Honors rendered by the V.E.T.S Honor Guard at the conclusion of the funeral service.

Memorial donations can be made to First United Methodist Church in Franklin or the Franklin YMCA.

Online condolences may be sent to Dr. Fee's family by visiting huffguthrie.com.