When Bill Bingham made a commitment, he stuck with it. The Gastonia native joined the Marine Corps and held strong through the Korean War. He exchanged marriage vows, and it was for life. And when he opened a local business, he ran it for nearly 50 years. Owner of Discount TV Service, Bingham died Tuesday at CaroMont Regional Medical Center.
Homegrown entrepreneur
Bingham grew up in Gastonia with his parents, two brothers and a sister. He graduated high school and soon signed on with the Marine Corps. After his time in the service, Bingham returned to Gaston County and got a job as a traveling salesman. Bingham trekked across the country with a team, once stopping in on Billy Graham and making a sale, according to his son, Jay Bingham. During his travels, Bingham met a woman in Oklahoma. She would later become Mrs. Dottie Bingham. The couple built a home in Gastonia and raised four sons. During that time, Bingham decided to keep his skills local instead of using them nationwide. He partnered with two men, and they opened a TV and appliance store. Bingham sold new products, and his partners repaired old ones. After a couple of years, Bingham decided to go solo. He opened a TV repair shop on Gaston Avenue in 1966.
Family business
Bingham learned the repair business and made his fair share of house calls, according to his son, Jay Bingham. His sons were raised knowing their way around the repair business. “I grew up riding to school in a TV repair van. As a teenager I worked around the shop,” Jay Bingham said. The elder Bingham started the repair business just as TVs became color. He saw many changes in the industry through the decades, and he kept going as others in the business closed their doors. Jay Bingham followed in his father’s footsteps, now the owner of five TV repair businesses in the region. Bill Bingham was 78 and still running the shop on New Hope Road — and making house calls. He went into the hospital, diagnosed with emphysema. Bingham was there for less than a week and seemed to be improving when he took a turn for the worse. “He was looking forward to getting out and going back to work as usual,” his son said.
Balancing act
Jay Bingham remembers watching his father with customers. He said his father was personable and that quality kept people coming back. “He had an outgoing personality,” he said. “I’d watch him in the shop talking to customers. He knew people, and he knew customer service. That’s how I learned, being around him.” You might think a small business owner would have little free time to spend with a wife and four kids. You’d be wrong, according to Jay Bingham. “He was real active with the family. He bought a boat. We’d go down to the lake. He enjoyed boating and fishing,” Jay Bingham said. His father also loved to golf. His business connections, golf outings and fishing trips made Bill Bingham quite popular. It was hard to go anywhere that he didn’t run into someone he knew, his son said. Bingham’s wife died two years ago. They’d been married more than 50 years. Bingham kept going — living alone, working and spending time with his family. “He was still working on TVs and running the shop. He stayed active. He didn’t want to slow down,” Jay Bingham said. And he didn’t until days before his death. Bingham’s funeral is set for Sunday. He’ll no longer be able to greet customers or make house calls. But Jay Bingham plans to keep the family tradition alive. He’ll take over the business and strive to provide the kind of service that made his father proud. You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and twitter.com/GazetteDiane.