William Frederick Fathauer Jr., M.D.

William Frederick Fathauer Jr., M.D. passed away on March 26th, 2018. Born in Bedford, Ohio on July 7th, 1931 to a working-class steel family, he grew up during the worst of the Great Depression. After graduating high school, Bill served honorably in the Marines during the Korean War and received acceptance into one of the country's most prestigious colleges--Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. To pay for his tuition, he worked on ore freighters on the Great Lakes, and rode out a hurricane on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Bill graduated from Rollins and also near the top of his class from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Moving to Arizona to begin his career as a surgeon, he had three daughters and served as both the Chief of Surgery and Chief of Staff at Doctors' Hospital, which is now Phoenix Children's Hospital. In 1981, Bill married the love of his life, Marti, and had his fourth and fifth children. He was a competitive triathlete, loved cycling and flying his sailplane, and was an avid fan of the Arizona Cardinals football team from the time they moved to the Valley in 1988. A serious bicycle accident in 2000 ended his surgical career, but never took away his love of bicycles--he still rode into his 80's. After many years away, Bill was baptized as a Christian and attended both North Ridge Community Church and Arizona Hills Community Church, where he warmed the hearts of those he met. He will be missed dearly by his loved ones and all those lucky enough to consider him a friend. He is survived by his beloved wife of almost 37 years, Marti; children Courtney (James) Battaglia, Daryl White, Megan (Troy) Burnett, Bill Fathauer III and Stacey (Logan) Carton; four grandchildren and one on the way, and one great-grandchild. A celebration of his life will be held at North Ridge Community Church at 6363 East Dynamite Road, Cave Creek, AZ 85331 on Saturday, April 14th at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Phoenix Children's Hospital in Bill's name.