William 'Bill' Gordon Edgar IV, 67

Bill Edgar died at Health Center Northwest on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014, after a long battle with heart and kidney disease.  

He was born on March 14, 1946, in San Angelo, Texas, and graduated from San Angelo Central High School. While still in high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and saw service on the USS Vega, and served for 18 months as a gunner’s mate as a member of the “Brown Water Navy” in Vietnam. 

Bill married Catherine Morris in San Angelo in 1971. They had three children, Rebecca, Cassandra and William, but divorced in 1984. In July 1985, he married his best friend, Carol Boetcher Beck, in Dallas.   

Most of Bill's business career was spent in the hospitality industry, serving in various positions in both operations and finance. After moving to Montana in 1997, he served as controller at Marina Cay Resort and at Anderson’s Masonry Hearth and Home where he considered the family atmosphere a welcome change from the corporate world. Following his retirement from Anderson’s, he opened a home office where he continued to provide accounting services.

Bill was a proud member of American Legion Post 86 and of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 4042 in Bigfork. For the past 10 years he and Carol helped coordinate Bigfork’s Memorial Day celebration and the placing of flags on every veteran's grave in the three Bigfork cemeteries. He served as state chairman for the VFW Voice of Democracy and Patriot's Pen programs and was selected as the state VFW Member of the Year for 2011-2012.  

He was welcomed into the Dirt Bags in Bigfork and treasured the grace and camaraderie of that group. He also was active in the Swan Lake Chamber and Community Club, where he was serving as treasurer at the time of his death. He served on the planning committee for the Sliter Park Memorial and was a member of Evergreen Rotary Club.  

He and Carol built a home on the family property at Swan Lake where he loved to take command of the charcoal grill, welcoming family and friends to the lake every summer. He took special joy in introducing his granddaughters to Swan Lake and Montana with trips to Glacier Park, the National Bison Range and hours spent paddling and splashing in Swan Lake. His greatest disappointment was in never catching “the big one” from his dock. 

Bill is survived by his wife, Carol; his father, William G. Edgar III; his children, Rebecca Smith and son-in-law Ryan Smith, Cassie Griffith and her husband Scott Griffith, and William Edgar V and his wife Crystal. He is also survived by five granddaughters, Kieran and Katie Roan, Ashli and Abbi Griffith, and Ellowyn Jean Edgar, born on Jan. 16, 2014. He also leaves behind two sisters, Jan Black and Fanchon Edgar, of Phoenix.  

According to Bill's wishes, there will be no formal memorial service, but the family will welcome friends to Swan Lake for a celebration of life this summer. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Voice of Democracy and Patriot's Pen programs of the VFW or to the Northwest Montana Veterans Stand Down and Food Pantry. 

Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for Bill's family.