William (Bill) Searle Gartrell

William (Bill) Searle Gartrell passed away at home with his beloved wife by his side on Sunday July 14th, 2024.

Bill was born December 31st, 1940, in Portland Oregon to Cecil and Agnes Gartrell. He was raised in the Pacific Northwest and often shared many stories of adventures during his early life including boating on the Columbia and working wildfire watch in the mountains during summer. He first travelled to Alaska as a teen to spend a summer and work on a farm.

Bill attended Lewis and Clark College in Oregon and received his degree in Economics. Before dipping his toes in the financial world, he enlisted in the Army in 1961. Bill was part of the Army’s CID Division and travelled the world in those few years. He saw conflict in Vietnam, South America, and Panama. He was skilled in jungle warfare and survival.

Bill then went on to work as a pension fund administrator—commuting between Los Angeles and New York. He also spent some time as a lobbyist for the Associated General Contractors which put him in Washing DC often.

Then on a whim in 1972 he decided to leave the fast-paced life behind and moved to Alaska. It is in Palmer, Alaska that he met his wife Sharon, and they were married in 1975. The two of them raised a wonderful, combined family. Their four children and spouses, 15 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren have plenty of stories to share and remember him as a humorous and loving “patriarch”. When they were all young and asked how old he was, he always said 106, laughing when they would be incredulous. And count on the fact that if you were telling a story and made a funny noise, he would ask “How’d that go again?” with a twinkle in his eye.

Throughout the years Bill had many interests he loved to participate in. He was a member of the VFW and Moose Lodge. He also was active for many years with the Elks Lodge and is a past Exalted Ruler of the Palmer Lodge. He was able to explore his whimsy in acting in melodramas at the lodge on many occasions.

Summertime in the evenings you would find Bill on the golf course. And just before retirement motorcycles became a very huge interest for him and Sharon. They rode all over Alaska on their Gold Wing for years. When they both retired, they spent a year on the Gold Wing travelling all over the United States, Canada, and Mexico—managing to hit all 50 states! He was a member of the American Motorcycle Association Longriders and was part of a synchronized riding team.

He and Sharon routinely visited Hawaii and had other adventures through the years. But Bill always came back to Alaska, his home.

Bill requested that there not be a memorial or funeral service. The family will gather at a later date for a Celebration of Life and share all of the wonderful stories