ELIZABETHTOWN — William P. Myers Jr., 90, died Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012, at Horace Nye Nursing Home, where he had resided since May. He previously lived at Keene Valley Neighborhood House for six years. He was the former husband of Patsy Myers of Elizabethtown, N.Y.
Born in Dunkirk, N.Y., on Feb. 15, 1922, he was the son of the late Lida (Barbour) and William Peter Myers, Sr. He was predeceased by two sisters and one brother.
Bill received his B.A. degree from the University of Rochester in 1949 and his Master's Degree from Columbia University, both in Psychology. He worked his entire career as a psychiatric social worker. He married the late Mary (Segar) Myers (deceased) in 1949 with whom he had three children.
Bill was an officer in the Air Force during World War II and the Korean Conflict and subsequently served in the Air Force Reserve until 1971.
He moved to upstate New York in 1967 and worked as a social worker for Essex County until his retirement in 1984. After retiring, he traveled extensively helping others, assisting with rebuilding after Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina in 1989, Hurricane Andrew in Florida in 1992, and the Northridge earthquake in California in 1994. In the late 1990's, he was a member of Mercy Ships medical charity organization.
Bill was an avid hiker and outdoorsman, and especially loved the Adirondacks. He became a 46er twice over (the first in 1975), and then went on to climb New England's highest 100 peaks. In his later years, bicycling became his passion - at age 80 he completed the Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) and was noted for riding his recumbent bicycle all around Keene Valley until he was 87.
Bill is survived by his daughter, Lynne and her husband Roger Ver Mulm of Stockton, Calif.; his son, Stephen, his wife Linda, and their sons, Jonathan and Nicholas, of North Attleboro, Mass.; and his son Thomas, his wife Luci, and their children Spencer, Jenna, and Christopher of Pasadena, Calif.
A graveside service will be held in Dunkirk, N.Y., in the spring. Anyone who wishes to honor Bill's memory may make a donation in his name to the Adirondack Mountain Club.
Arrangements have been entrusted to W.M. Marvin's Sons funeral home in Elizabethtown.
