William "Bill" Lewis Meyers

William Lewis Meyers, age 90, of Buford, Georgia, passed away on Thursday, July 30, 2026. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 61 years, Elaine Bradshaw Meyers (March 5, 2022); his sons, Michael William Meyers (2018) and Mark Austin Meyers (2015); and his parents, Wilheim Lewis Meyers, Sr., and Myrtis Bush Meyers. He is survived by his sister-in-law, Brenda Bradshaw, of Hendersonville, North Carolina, and brother-in-law, Jesse Austin (Brad) Bradshaw (Kathleen), of Buford, Georgia. William was born in Atlanta on March 12, 1936. He graduated from Fulton High School in 1955 and served honorably in the U.S. Navy until 1961—the same year he married Elaine, who had just graduated from the Piedmont Hospital School of Nursing. Soon after marrying, William worked for Cheeley Motors, a Volkswagen dealership in East Point, becoming an accomplished VW mechanic. He later partnered with a friend to operate a Texaco station at I-285 and Forest Parkway in Forest Park. Along with full service, they posted a sign reading, “VWs fixed here.” Business boomed during the U.S. VW surge, prompting them to move to a vacant two-bay station dedicated strictly to VW repairs. Recognizing the demand for foreign auto parts, William, began shifting focus to importing and distribution. During this time he bought out his partner and founded Number One Parts, Inc. (NOPI) in 1966. As owner, he learned much about global importing, positioning the company to capitalize on the incoming Asian import market. Over the years, NOPI expanded from its Forest Park retail store and warehouse to locations across Georgia: Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Conyers, Mableton, Macon, Marietta, Newnan, Norcross, Savannah, and Smyrna. Family teamwork drove much of this success. Elaine worked in the administrative side from the start, and sons Mike and Mark joined when they came of age. The brothers combined their industry expertise with an understanding of the 18–35 demographic and the car culture popularized by movies like The Fast and the Furious. Their vision transformed small strip-mall "Bug-Off" shows they started in 1988 into the massive NOPI Nationals at the Atlanta Motor Speedway by the late 1990s, driving nationwide demand until the sons' untimely deaths. Though Bill and Elaine closed the company in 2018, NOPI re-emerged in 2025, and William spent his final two years encouraging its revival. William was a member of First Baptist Church Buford and American Legion Post 127 in Sugar Hill, Georgia. A milestone he deeply cherished was earning his Eagle Scout rank as young "Billy" Meyers with Troop 26 in Atlanta on September 27, 1951. A funeral service will be held at noon on Thursday, August 6, 2026, in the Chapel of Flanigan Funeral Home, Buford, GA. Visitation will take place at the funeral home on Wednesday, August 5, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, and on Thursday, August 6, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. William will be buried at Broadlawn Memorial Gardens in Buford.

William "Bill" Lewis Meyers

March 12, 1936 - July 30, 2026