WILLIAM R. "BILL" KARCHER
October 11, 1944 ˜ April 19, 2021

William R. "Bill" Karcher, 76, was born Oct. 11, 1944, in Wallace, ID, to Clifton R Pauley and Marilyn Miller. Clifton died just after Bill's 5th birthday and Marilyn married Carl A. Karcher before Bill turned 7. Carl formally adopted him at Bill's request. Bill died April 19, 2021. Bill is survived by his daughter, Kristen H. He was predeceased by his daughter, Erika, as well as his mother and father. Survivors include Bill's brothers, Jim of Dallas, TX, Kevin of Phoenix, AZ; former wife, Jan B; numerous nieces, one nephew and two grandchildren, Shelby and Evan H, both of Vancouver.

Bill graduated from Grant High School in Portland, class of 1963, and went on to graduate from Oregon College of Education (now Western Oregon University), class of 1968 where he played baseball while getting his teaching degree.

Bill married Jan, moved to Vancouver, then to Ellensburg, Longview, and back to Vancouver over the span of 10 years while working in the financial services industry. While in Ellensburg, Bill joined the Ellensburg Jaycees and discovered his love of volunteering and the internal politics of the organization, as well as getting his nickname, Bear. Bill also belonged to the Kelso and Vancouver Jaycees as he moved around Washington. He earned many honors for his volunteer work, including being awarded JCI Senatorship, the highest honor a Jaycee can receive.

After Bill aged out of Jaycees, he was invited to join the Vancouver Dawn Lions where he continued his volunteering ways, always seeking to improve the community in which he lived. While in Lions he also earned awards and accolades, locally and nationally, as he rose to become District Governor and Zone Chairman.

For many years Bill pitched for slo-pitch softball on a team sponsored by the Vancouver Dawn Lions. The team won their league for many years. Bill was a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan. He attended two games at Lambeau Field and had an entire room devoted to The Pack. He rooted for the team as a whole, staying true to the Packers through their down years as well as their championship years.

Besides Bill's volunteer work, he had a soft spot for rescue dogs. Over the years he rescued Molly, Orie, Matt, Ace, Cruiser, Ginger, and Nikki, all of whom were spoiled and well-loved.

At his request, Bill was cremated. A celebration of his life will be held as an open house at Barberton Grange 9400 NE 72nd Ave, Vancouver, WA 98665 between 1-3 p.m. on August 14, 2021.