William Henry (Bill) Critch was born in Alameda, California in 1934 but was raised in Australia. He was a 3rd generation Australian whose forebears had immigrated in the mid 1800s as gold miners. Orphaned in his early teens, Bill returned to the United States in 1955 where in 1958 he was commissioned a pilot in the USAF. Shortly afterward, he married Marlene Prosser and had two daughters, Tammy and Sheila.
Leaving the service, he became an airline pilot until grounded by heart disease. He subsequently graduated from the University of Puget Sound and worked at the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company for 20 years.
He died July 24, 2019 in Burien, Washington.
Bill will be remembered as a professional Australian with an Antipodean sense of humor, his love of the Australian bush, his fighting spirit and 'never look back' attitude.
His motto, adopted from his Jesuit high school, Riverview: "Quantam potes, tantum aude" could be translated in Australian patois to: "Give it a bloody go, mate!"
He leaves his wife Marlene (Bunny) of Burien, and two daughters, Tamara (George) Wilson and Sheila (Hans) Leitzinger.
In his later years Bill enjoyed his home in Burien Town Square, city life and flying his XPlane simulator.
"We are but stardust in a small corner of a user friendly universe."