I just found out that Billy Ammons, known as Bill the Barber, passed away in February 2021 at the age of 75. The first time we lived in Montgomery, Alabama, Billy was our across-the-street neighbor from 1981 – 1984. Every few weeks he would come over to our house after he got off work and cut our boys’ hair for free. “I just like to cut hair.”

I never saw his barbershop until we went back to Montgomery 2001 – 2006.

You wouldn’t think a non-descript barbershop in an older part of the city would get any attention, but here’s what local station WSFA reported in 2009. I reproduce the transcript in its entirety:

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) –  When the phone rings at Bill’s Barber Shop in Montgomery, you can count on Bill Ammons to answer. He’s been answering the call for more than 40 years.   “I started work here on August 14, 1964,”  Ammons said.

Bill grew up in McKenzie. He was 18 years old and had no idea what he wanted to do. “I didn’t want to farm or pick cotton.” So he learned the trade of cutting hair and got his first job just before his 19th birthday at a barbershop in the Highland Gardens neighborhood, and he’s still there. He’s been cutting his friend Jimmy’s hair for 45 years. “I don’t got clients, I got friends.”

While a lot has changed over the years, the one thing that remains the same, Bill’s low prices.   He charges a whopping $8 for a haircut. “I ain’t got a fancy shop. I’m makin’ a living and these people need to make a living too.”

And don’t plan on Bill putting down the scissors anytime soon. He truly loves his job. “I plan on being here a while, when you retire you don’t last long.”

Bill has already proven he can last a long time, and that’s good news for his long-time customers. – News story from WSFA-TV, Montgomery, AL, August 17, 2009

One Christmas, maybe 2005, my friend Johnny was in a life-threatening auto accident. His first few days in the hospital, he was not expected to live, and the family called me to come and pray. Johnny recovered although he was still in the hospital a long time. Eventually, he needed a haircut. I called Billy, who went to the hospital and cut Johnny’s hair several times, you guessed it, for free.

I write often about how God uses us, and Making Good Work is one of those ways, as well as Ministering Grace and Love. Billy Ammons did both, for a very long time.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4.10, NIV)