William Lloyd Birch, 87, of Florence, a retired college professor and ordained Baptist minister who served more than 45 South Carolina churches as interim pastor, died May 29, 2017.

A Louisville, Ky., native, Birch earned degrees from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the University of Kentucky. After serving churches and teaching at Georgetown College, he moved to South Carolina in 1971, where he taught sociology at Francis Marion College (now Francis Marion University) for 27 years and served as a licensed marriage and family therapist. He was active in several professional organizations.

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Jean Smith Birch, two daughters, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son.