Will Sands, 57, was born to Will Sands Sr. and Marian Holmes Sands. His mother was an excellent seamstress and provided the primary financial support for her family. His father, though he was good-humored and likable, spent more time playing poker and drinking than working. As a result, the family frequently lacked necessities throughout Will's childhood.
Young Will was a C student, but he didn't care. He would rather pick up a ball and get a game going than read a book. In school, he played baseball and football, and his natural athletic abilities served him well. Will loved sports, but he lacked ambition and drive.
After graduating from high school, he didn't attend college or train for a vocational career. One day, Will happened to run into a former high school coach who had always liked him. The coach asked Will if he was available to help younger kids learn how to play baseball and football. Will accepted the job, and it proved beneficial for both him and the kids. He worked with the kids for three years before moving on.
In his early 20s, Will found the woman of his dreams, Candace Woods, who was blonde, beautiful, and sweet but emotionally fragile. Still, Will had his heart set on marrying her. At first, the couple seemed happy, but within a year, the marriage was troubled. Soon after their first anniversary, Candace filed for divorce. Will seemed brokenhearted over the breakup, and people noticed that he never sought the company of any other woman afterward.
After his marriage ended, Will attended bartending school in Tupelo and then began working at The Roadhouse in Oxford. Bartending was the perfect job for Will. He knew how to tell a good joke and didn't mind listening to people's problems. They'd always leave feeling better after a couple of shots and Will's reassurance that everything would work out just fine. Will was probably the only person in town who knew everything that really happened in Oxford, but he kept the secrets his customers had confided.
Over the years, business thrived under Will's bartending skills, and The Roadhouse hired two more bartenders to help him out. Will keeps the customers happy and full of liquor, and they always come back for more. He clearly enjoys his job and is terrific at it. Oxonians all seem to love the town's most popular bartender.