At Billy Abraham's Temple Avenue Department Store in Newnan, no shoppers ever walked out without something they needed, whether they could pay for it or not.

Many people got their first credit at the department store, a fixture in downtown Newnan from 1960 to 1990.

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"You never did sign for anything. As a matter of fact, I run my business that way today," said pharmacist John Goodrum of Newnan. "You never walked out without something if you needed it. Billy knew you'd pay for it some day, some way."

The funeral for William Albert Abraham Sr., 81, of Newnan, who died of complications from Alzheimer's disease on Saturday at Beaulieu Nursing Home, is 11 a.m. today at McKoon Funeral Home.

Mr. Abraham was proud that his department store took care of his customers from the time they were born until they were buried, said his daughter, June Maxwell of Newnan.

As his store grew from the original three rooms that had been a veterinary hospital, Mr. Abraham made sure he stocked what his customers needed.

"It was the only place Alan Jackson's mama could find bluejeans long enough for him," his son, Al Abraham of Newnan, said of the famous country singer and native son.

The police had to be called in for traffic control during his popular January sale, his son said. The doors never closed for two hours as hundreds of customers streamed in to shop for bargains. "My Daddy didn't believe in carrying over merchandise," he said.

Mr. Abraham and his late wife, Helen Beavers Abraham, lived for 47 years in a house two blocks from where he grew up and two blocks from his store, his son said. Mr. Abraham had rarely been out of Newnan when he spent four years in the Army Air Corps during World War II. "He was never so happy to get home," his son said.

Mr. Abraham's first business was a laundromat and dry cleaners, but he was not skilled at the required equipment maintenance, his son said. When the building next door became available, he bought it and got started with merchandise from a local peddler, Mrs. Maxwell said.

"Judson Smith led him into the rag business," his son said. "He started with irregulars and seconds, but that was not his cup of tea. He kept upgrading until it was kind of like a Belk's type layout."

Mr. Abraham was in his element as a merchant. "He was a brilliant businessman. He knew how to make money and how to handle money," his daughter said. "He enjoyed every aspect of the business. He enjoyed the buying; he enjoyed dealing with the book work; he enjoyed dealing with the bank."

He brought that same fiscal responsibility to more than 20 years on the Newnan City Council, said Mr. Goodrum, who served with him on the council for 15 years.

His customers were his constituency, and Mr. Abraham gave them the same personal service as a councilman that he did as a merchant. "If somebody called with a complaint about the city, Daddy went to people's houses and would spend all the time it took to give them what they wanted, even if he had to work till 10 o'clock that night at the store catching up," his son said.

Survivors include four grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.