William Richard Carson Jr., also known as Bill, age 85, and longtime resident of Madison, passed away on Nov. 29, peacefully with family by his side after a long battle with illness. He was born on July 31, 1937, in Yonkers, New York, to his late parents Catherine McEnroe and William Carson. He previously resided in Yonkers, New York, Tarrytown, New York, and Ridgefield, before settling in Madison, with his devoted late wife Dale de Sauve Carson. He is predeceased by his sisters, Eileen Foti and Linda Carson. He is survived by his sister Delores “Lori” Fernandi; nephew Joseph Fernandi; nephew Lenny Foti; niece Linda; niece Dawn; cousin Susan Kagan; and his children: Christine Purcell, James Carson, Daniel Carson, Rachel Schemmerling, and Gustavo Garcia as well as their current and former spouse(s)/partner(s): Kevin Purcell, Kurt Schemmerling, Liz Carson, Lauren Carson and Thomas Comer; and his nine grandchildren: Mitchell Comer, Tristan Schemmerling, Zoe Schemmerling, Bella Ferraiolo, Haley Carson, Ellie Carson, Zoe Schemmerling, Lane Carson, Daisy Carson, and Mikaela Garcia. Bill was a devoted and loving husband, father, and grandfather who cherished time spent with his family.

He was a master at making holidays magical and giving the perfect toast and blessing at meals. He loved lively gatherings of family and friends and could spend hours talking about everything. As he was a man with many unique interests, his passions, like many of his possessions, reveal his love of the past. He was a craftsman, a historic home lover, a vintage car enthusiast, and a historian and Revolutionary War reenactor. He was wise, self-educated, and very creative. He painstakingly spent the majority of his time restoring his nearly 300-year-old antique Madison home while raising his family and working full-time for Southern New England Telephone and later Bell Atlantic where he started as Switching Systems Technician and Systems Troubleshooter. In his later years, he drove a limousine as side work, really enjoying meeting new people and the conversations they would have driving to airports and various places. Bill was also a lifelong expert in restoring vintage Jaguars and was an active member of the Jaguar Club, winning several awards for his restoration work over the years. He derived much joy from restoring his vintage cars. It all started when he was featured in Hot Rod Magazine for his excellent restoration work on his vintage cars in the mid to late '50s and '60s.

Bill proudly served in the U.S. Navy as Second Class Petty Officer and Engineman Diesel dedicating his time on several destroyer naval ships, most notably the USS Fulton and USS Antietam from 1955 to 1963. Also an avid history buff, he spent many years in muster for the 5th Connecticut Regiment in Ridgefield, reenacting the Revolutionary War battles with Dale at his side, while she was cooking over a fire serving food dressed in full skins regalia. As Dale expanded her knowledge of her indigenous heritage, Bill supported her in all her endeavors setting up at various powwows and festivals selling her art and cookbooks and assisting with her demonstrations on open pit fire cooking and teaching native lifeways. He spent many years pursuing his ancestral lands of Kingston, New York, and Ulster County New York, researching his family lineage that traced back to two forebears that served in the American Revolutionary war of which he was very proud to learn.

Bill Carson was a man in love with life, his cars, and his family and he will be dearly missed. And most of all he loved his late wife of 60 years. They are now reunited.

Private services will be held graveside at Hammonasset Cemetery in Madison. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Friends of Hammonasset https://hammonasset.org/donate/. The Carson Family would like to express their deep gratitude to Connie Goodwin, the family’s longtime caregiver, the staff at the Madison Senior Center, The Whitney Rehabilitation Center, The Madison House, and The Yale Smilow Center for their wonderful care, and to the many friends, family and neighbors for their many acts of kindness and support.