Will Whirty

William Whirty signed off from this life to adventure into a new eternity on July 15, 2021. Known to all as Will or Bill, he was just shy of his 68th birthday.

Bill was born August 26,1953 to Clyde and Barbara Whirty in Hartford Connecticut, the oldest of four siblings (David, Diane and Stephen). He was preceded by his parents and his brother David.

He leaves behind his children, Niomi Pfohl (husband Ben), Bethany Whirty-Dyer (husband Steve), Ehren Whirty (wife Karith), Blake Wallin, Nina Roys (husband Scott), and his beloved JJ.

Will had many passions in life, blending them together whenever possible. He loved family gatherings, fly fishing, playing and coaching basketball, and growing tomatoes. Most of all he loved his family, children and grandchildren, always loving to get everybody together for a bike ride or cookout and nothing made him smile broader than interacting with his grandchildren.

Will enjoyed good Scotch, he never hit a driver straight off any tee-box, he loved playing cards especially with his weekly poker friends and would never pass up a good scallop meal. He was becoming a particularly good cook before his accident. In his youth he drove a 1972 Triumph Bonneville from here to Connecticut, complaining about the horrible suspension all the way. And lastly, he had a lifelong addiction to black licorice.

Bill loved wading in the river casting upstream at many spillways to trick wily trout or trolling in his float tube for big Rainbows on high mountain lakes. He enjoyed being a guide for anyone wanting to learn how to fly fish. He fell in love with the canyon country of Utah. After his first visit to Moab and points south, he returned, spending two weeks every fall searching for ancient rock art. Finding the remote sites and imagining who the artist might have been that carved or painted them fascinated him.

He coached JAA recreation basketball for grades 4th, 5th and 6th for many years. He loved supporting children in learning and playing the game he had learned to love so much.

Bill worked for the City of Fort Collins for 39 years, starting as a summer seasonal employee at Grandview Cemetery and retiring as Manager of Parks. He would say that he was fortunate to be in management during the "golden years" of the department's growth. During his career, the City added dozens of parks, started the trail system, and the Parks Department jumped from twenty employees to over a hundred in the summer. He was enormously proud of the camaraderie and pride that the department exhibited, and he would share with others that he had the best job in the city. His innumerable contributions will leave a long-lasting impact to the park system. His legacy remains.

Will had a serious accident in 2015, when he fell and injured his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from chest down. With perseverance and lots of physical therapy with Dr. Nancy Quick at Berkana Rehabilitation he was able to walk again within a year. Although it was only for 5 to 10 minutes at a time it made him feel wonderful and helped him stretch his 6'4" frame a little bit. He never quit trying. Bill had the heart and soul of a poet, and after the accident looked inward and wrote several heartfelt poems.

Will was "Tall Grandpa" to nine grandchildren; Avery, Atticus, Elliott, Welles, Eloria, Cordilla, Liam, Camilla and Felix who will miss him dearly. He was a generous and kind man, a wonderful teacher and mentor to many. He had many friends, touched many lives, was loved and will be missed.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, September 11, 2021 from 3pm – 6pm at City Park Shelter #7. All who knew him are invited. Please bring your own chair or blanket.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cancer Research Institute on Bills behalf.
Online: https://www.cancerresearch.org/join-the-cause/donate/one-time-donation
Or
By mail, please follow instructions at this link:
https://www.cancerresearch.org/join-the-cause/donate/one-time-donation