William (Bill) Patrick Carr, 77 of Olympia, Washington passed away on March 18, 2023 at the John Charles House in Olympia after long battle with Parkinson's disease.
Bill was born to Floyd and Dorothy Carr in 1946 and spent his entire childhood in Olympia, attending public school with his sisters Judith and Elizabeth and graduating from William Winlock Miller (now Olympia) High School in 1964. Bill attended Washington State University, and graduated in 1969 with a professional bachelor's degree in architecture. At WSU Bill met his wife Shelley, and the two were wed in her hometown of West Seattle the summer following their graduation.
After their wedding, Bill and Shelley relocated back to Olympia where they would be residents of the Westside of Olympia for over 50 years. Bill began his career working for the Washington State Department of Transportation. Bill's employment with WSDOT took him all over the world for trips and conferences throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Through a program offered by the state and National Academy of Sciences, Bill spent two years working in Washington, DC where he met many wonderful colleagues from other state and international transportation departments. Following his return to Olympia, one of the highlights of his career was spearheading the Pacific Rim Transportation Conference, held in Seattle in 1993 and 1995, which included attendees from over 30 countries. Following his retirement from the State of Washington, Bill took a similar position with the District of Columbia Department of Transportation where he worked for another ten years. Bill's career in public service and transportation spanned over four decades.
As a trained architect, Bill enjoyed spending his free time designing multiple additions to the 1921 West Olympia house he and Shelley owned. He also designed a new home for his parents on Henderson Inlet and renovated an old fishing cottage into a vacation home for his family in the North Cascade mountains near Darrington, WA.
One of the professional achievements Bill was most proud of was serving on the design review for the renovation of the old downtown Olympic Theater into the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 1985 and a contribution for which he was awarded a key to the city of Olympia.
Bill was a proud graduate of Washington State University and he and Shelley were very involved in alumni association events for WSU in the South Sound area. Bill was a football season ticket holder for multiple decades and loved attending games whether in Pullman or on the road to support his school. He was an avid supporter of all things Cougar, through and through.
Bill is survived by his sister Judith Bunce (Olympia) and his two sons Maclean Carr (Boston, MA) and Cameron Carr (El Cerrito, CA) along with their wives and his five wonderful grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Shelley in January 2023, and his sister Elizabeth (Betty) Craig in 2012. Bill had many caring cousins, in-laws, nieces, and nephews and their families, along with many wonderful friends that assisted and supported him throughout his life. His family also expresses their gratitude to the owners and staff of the John Charles House, who took loving care of him in the last two years of his life.
A private remembrance will be held by Bill's family on June 25th to honor his and Shelley's lives. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made in his name to the Washington State University School of Architecture or the Friends of The Washington Center.