Walking horse trainer, William D. "Bill" Carmichael, 59, passed away suddenly on Wednesday morning. He was born on October 13, 1958 to Audria Carmichael and the late William Carmichael. He married his adoring wife Cindy Conyers Carmichael and together they had two wonderful children. Bill was a lifelong member of the Sugar Grove Christian Church and he spent his life as a farmer on his family farm, but was also a longtime employee and former owner of Herald's Men's Wear in Mt. Sterling. He was a longtime sports enthusiasts, playing softball in many leagues but also coaching High School and Middle School Basketball in Montgomery County. He refereed basketball for the Bluegrass Basketball Association long after his coaching tenure ended. Among his many exploits over the years he was a proud former member of the Sons of Liberty gospel group where he drove the group's bus and played some rhythm guitar. In recent years he had the chance to pursue a passion in the Tennessee Walking Horse industry as a Horse Trainer for his beloved Briar Patch Stables. He had been a longtime member and former executive board member of the Kentucky Walking Horse Association and the Eastern Kentucky Walking and Racking Association as well as the Kentucky HIO and he was a licensed walking horse judge. Among his proudest moments in recent years came when he rode Jose's Chatterbox to win the Grand Championship Walking Horse Stake at the Owingsville Lions Club Horse Show in 2017. Bill and Chatterbox went on to win Performance Walking Horse of the Year in multiple associations in 2017 including the KWHA. He will be remembered as an outgoing, fun loving, good hearted man who never met a stranger. He loved to pick and make fun and every story he told always became larger than life. He was a devoted family man and will be sorely missed by his family and his friends too numerous to mention. 

He leaves behind to cherish his memory his wife Cindy Conyers Carmichael; mother, Audria Wingate Carmichael; One Son, Daniel (Dede) Carmichael; One Daughter, Amy (Ray) Crank; Four grandchildren, Bryson Crank, Braylon Crank, Brady Crank, Caden Carmichael.

He was preceded in death by his father William Carmichael.

Friends may visit from 5-8 p.m. on Friday at the Sugar Grove Christian Church. Services will be conducted at 10 a.m. on Saturday by Reverend Francis Nash and Burial will follow in the MacPelah Cemetery in Mount Sterling.