Charles W “Bill” Kidwell, II, was born to Charles Wm and Martha Kidwell on November 14, 1947, in Bedford, Indiana, passed away Friday, February 20, 2026, at his home. He was 78. Bill was, first and foremost, a servant of Jesus Christ who loved and honored his mom and dad, and cherished his wife of 56 years, Nancy Brooks Kidwell, children, William Christopher Kidwell, Sarah May Kidwell and David Paul Kidwell, and grandchildren, Ariel Kidwell Chandler, Grace Lanikehau Wylie, Jonathan Hunter Kidwell, Elizabeth Kidwell Calicott, Michael Alexander Kidwell and Katherine Kidwell Gibbs.

Visitation will be held at the Searcy Funeral Home and Crematory, Enterprise, Alabama, at 10:00 AM, Saturday, February 28, 2026, followed at 11:00 AM by a memorial services in the chapel officiated by Steve Ellenburg, Care Pastor, HighPointe Church. On June 6, 2026, a final memorial service will be held at the Hindostin Methodist Church where Bill’s ashes will be laid to rest with Military Honors.

Bill graduated from Shoals High School, Shoals, Indiana, in 1965. He attended Vincennes University and in 1966 Bill joined the US Air Force, trained as a Russian linguist at Syracuse University and was assigned to Germany. In 1974 Bill transitioned out of the Air Force, joined the United Methodist Church and began 30 years of ministry. He graduated from Indiana University and entered Asbury Theological Seminary earning an M.Div. In 1992 Bill and Nancy joined One Mission Society where they served as missionaries in Moscow, Russia, until 1999. There his Russian linguist skills served Bill well where he taught theology, hermeneutics, homiletics and supervised ministries in Moscow Evangelical Christian Seminary. While living in Russia, Bill wrote the constitution, by-laws and statement of faith that formed the Balzam Association of Evangelical Churches, now known as Blagovest Association of Evangelical Churches, and established the Zelenograd Balzam Evangelical Church. In 2016 the Kidwells were appointed as Church Multiplication Facilitators “CMFs” and leadership trainers to the Slavic Peoples of Europe and the Middle East. Bill has had a profound influence on many people from all across Europe and the Middle East as well as many parishioners in the Indiana, Kentucky and Alabama/West Florida United Methodist Church. His gentle spirit and kind heart has drawn many to Christ. He will never be forgotten – his legacy will continue for many generations to come.

Bill loved hunting, especially deer, and his trophies now grace the walls of the Van Horn Hunting Lodge, along with his black powder gun. He loved nature and found God was closest when he sat quietly in a hunting blind or tree stand. He enjoyed teaching children how to hunt and especially how to see God’s presence in His handiwork among trees and the hills and dales of wherever he lived.

He was preceded in death by his father, Charles Wm Kidwell.

Survivors include his beloved wife of 56 years, Nancy L. Kidwell, Enterprise, AL; daughter, Sarah May Kidwell, Enterprise, AL; two sons, William Christopher Kidwell, Nicholasville, KY; David Paul Kidwell, Lexington, KY; mother, Martha Allen Kidwell, Odon, IN; sister, Janey Lynn Sanders, Odon, IN; six grandchildren.

We are grateful to Dr Gammil, MCE, Dr Blackmon, Dothan Hematology and Oncology, Dr Brissom, Lyster Army Health Clinic and Gentiva Hospice for their excellent and compassionate care of Bill. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to One Mission Society, 941 Fry Road, PO Box A, Greenwood, IN 46142, Kidwell account 801838 to ensure his legacy in ministry to the Slavic peoples continues.