William Gene Fallin (September 9, 1932 – January 4, 2025) was an American politician from the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. He served as a Democratic member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

from 1967 to 1971.

Life and career

Fallin was born in

Thomas County, Georgia Thomas County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 45,798. The county seat is Thomasville, Georgia, Thomasville. Thom ...

, on September 9, 1932, the son of Brady Ernestine Fallin. The moved to

Moultrie, Georgia Moultrie is the county seat and largest city of Colquitt County, Georgia, United States. It is the third largest city in Southwest Georgia, behind Thomasville and Albany. As of the 2020 census, Moultrie's population was 14,638. It was origina ...

, when he was a child, and he would spend most of his life there. He attended

Georgia Military College Georgia Military College (GMC) is a Public college, public military junior college in Milledgeville, Georgia. It is divided into the junior college, a military junior college program, high school, middle school, and elementary school. It was ori ...

, then received a B.A. in history from

Mercer University Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...

and a J.D. from its Walter F. George School of Law. He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, then practiced law for over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was solicitor for

Colquitt County, Georgia Colquitt County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 45,898. The county seat is Moultrie, Georgia, Moultrie. The county was ...

, resigning in 1967 to take a seat in the

. After two terms in the legislature, he became member and chair of the Colquitt County board of commissioners in 1971, and he held that position for twelve years. In 1976, he was elected president of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia. A political comeback attempt failed in 1988, with Fallin taking 40.6% in the Democratic primary for state representative against incumbent C. J. Powell. He remained active in Moultrie, promoting education, the arts, and historic preservation. He died on January 4, 2025, at the age of 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fallin, Billy 1932 births 2025 deaths 20th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives People from Thomas County, Georgia