Obituary

William Richard McCoy (Wild Bill) 76 of Birch Bay WA. passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of June 24 2023. William was born to Richard and Margaret McCoy in Bellingham WA. on September 5th 1946.

Bill and his family lived in Lynden WA. Until 1953 when they moved to Pullman WA., where his father attended school to become an electrician. After that they moved around north Seattle area while his father worked as an electrician in shipyards, eventually settling down in shoreline WA. where his father built a family home. William then graduated from Shorecrest high school. Shortly after, in 1966, the family moved back to Lynden because his father was working in the Arco Cherry Point Refinery and also because interstate 5 was being built, which would have gone right through the living room of their shoreline home!

William then attended Bellingham tech where he took a course in auto mechanics. He then volunteered to join the U.S. army where he was in active service for three years as an auto mechanic and did a tour in Vietnam. After the war he did many different lines of work from logging in Montana to building fiberglass boats in Bellingham, but eventually made a career with the Whatcom County road department where he primarily drove a dump truck. He retired from the road department after 27 years of service.

William started riding motorcycle as a young man. Motorcycles became a huge part of his life. He joined various biker groups such as H.O.G. and A.B.A.T.E. Then in 1998 he became one of the founding members of Combat Veterans International. C.V.I. was of great importance to him and Bill very much enjoyed the brotherhood and support accompanied with the organization.

William enjoyed playing as Santa for C.V.I.’s Christmas parties, riding motorcycle, spending time with his grandchildren, and working on his classic cars.

William is proceeded in death by his parents Margaret and Richard McCoy. He is survived by his sisters, Nancy McCoy, Marilyn McCoy (Pat Jones), and Patty McCoy (Oral Keen). He also leaves behind his four sons, Brandon (Jessica Gilland), Richard, Johnathan, and Randall McCoy (Jennifer Ingham).

Bill was a very kind, caring, and loving man. He was a dear friend to many. Always doing whatever he could to help someone out. He was also part of a close-knit loving family, sometimes acting as a solid foundation to keep the line standing. He will be dearly missed.

A graveside service will be held for Bill on July 20th, at Greenacres memorial park in Ferndale WA, followed by a memorial service in the Greenacres chapel.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Combat Veteran’s International (combatveterans.com)