It is thought that he worked in the cotton mill at Lyman, SC,. farmed, cut wood and ran a sawmill. Later, he graded lumber and did carpentry work. They lived behind Oak Grove Baptist Church until 1953, when they moved to Big Willow, Hendersonville, NC. Later, they moved to Myrtle Beach, SC, but, still later, moved to Mills River, NC. It is believed that Willie died in or near Horse Shoe, NC, and was buried in the cemetery of Emmanuel Baptist Church on N. Mills River Road, near Horse Shoe, but no such cemetery has been found on findagrave.