William T. Carrithers

William T. Carrithers

Windsor Locks, Conn.

June 20, 1951 – Jan. 19, 2023

William T. (Bill) Carrithers, 71, died Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, in Windsor Locks, Conn. Bill was the fourth child and second son of James and Sue Carrithers. He was intellectual and a superb athlete throughout his life. He earned a Masters in Social Work degree from Portland State University and was ABD in Sociology from Washington State University. He worked in many clinics in his lifetime providing addiction and alcohol counseling. As a therapist, Bill was passionate about group therapy and mindfulness. He volunteered with the Red Cross to counsel victims of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the devastating wildfires in Oregon. He also helped coach men’s soccer at Springfield Technical Community College in Massachusetts.

As a senior at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Class of ’69, Bill was a star on the Boys Basketball team which won the State Championship in 1969. Bill was named to the All-Tournament team. That same year he was half of the WHS Doubles Tennis team that placed second in the State High School Tennis Championship. In 1998, he was inducted into the Washington High School Athletics Hall of Fame. After high school, Bill attended Coe College. There he was Captain of the Basketball Team which, in 1972-73, completed an undefeated regular season. The “Jackson Five” (so-called because of their coach, Marcus Jackson, and their free-wheeling style of play) earned a place in the NCAA Division III Championship tournament, as one of the top eight teams in the country. In 1992, Bill was inducted into the Coe College Athletics Hall of Fame, becoming the third generation of Carrithers’ to be so honored. After college, Bill took up the sport of handball, passed down to him from our grandfather Ira through our father. Much to the consternation of his younger brother, Bill became a top tournament player in the time it takes most players to barely learn the fundamentals of the game. That was Bill: Like a natural musician, who can pick up almost any instrument and play, so it was with him. Besides basketball, tennis and handball, he was excellent at golf, swimming, badminton, lawn darts…. anything.

Bill is survived by a daughter, Angie, and granddaughter Fiona, two sisters, Caroline and Ellie, a brother, David, nieces and nephews, Deirdre, Tracy and Ira. He is also survived by a great-niece, Erin, and a great-nephew, Max.

He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Susan, brother James Jr., and niece, Kimberly.

Bill endured many years tormented by demons. Sadly, he was determined to battle them alone. Without reinforcements on his side, ultimately they won out. We are thankful that he had 71 years of life to share with others. Most of them were wonderful, though too many were tainted by the turmoil from which he suffered.

We don’t know if there is an afterlife. But today we would like to believe there is, so Bill and our brother Jim, who died from the same insidious disease many years before, can take their rightful places there, and be free of the pain that hounded them for so many years.

Donations in Bill’s name may be made to the Coe College Alumni Office, 1220 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402; (319) 399-8555.