Obituaries: April 2023

April 1, 2023

William T. Wheeler

William (Bill) Wheeler, 89, of Gig Harbor, Wash., died March 17 from a rare form of lung cancer.

     William, known for his commitment, played with Senior Softball USA for more than 20 years on teams from Washington, Oregon, Utah and Arizona.

     After military service and marrying his wife, they settled in New York where he served 20 years with the NYPD. Upon their move to Washington State, he worked with the Washington State Patrol for another 20 years and drove an ambulance for 17 more years into his retirement.

     “Bill loved good food, good conversation, classic movies, trivia, watching sports (like the M's), oldies music, bowling, and most of all: softball,” according to his online obituary. “He competed for close to 70 years and won over 50 medals as well as six senior softball championship rings.” He was also inducted into his league’s Hall of Fame in 2004.