William Merrell Hedgepeth

William "Will" Merrell Hedgepeth was born on May 13, 1970 in Fairfax, Virginia, to Charles and Jane Hedgepeth. The family of five—sisters Debbie (d. 1975), Christine, and brother Phillip—lived in Brevard, North Carolina. During Will's formative years, the family lived briefly in Silt and then Buena Vista, Colorado, before returning to North Carolina.

Will graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He often said his favorite job of all time was during high school, working as a caddy and pro shop assistant at The Olde Point Golf and Country Club in Hampstead, NC. On the golf course was where Will felt most at home. He also made great tips, and management eventually had to convince him to leave Olde Point to continue his schooling and pursue a “real” career. His first job out of college was at IBM. He later worked at Cisco Systems, Dell/EMC, Nutanix, and other businesses, including OpenText in cybersecurity in Colorado.

Will was a loving and caring father, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, son, colleague, and friend to many. In the later years of his life, Will met his true soulmate, Karen Biderman of Denver, Colorado, through E-Harmony—a surprise to them both. The two made up for lost time, blending their family with two dogs (Winston and Walter) in Denver before buying a home together in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

Aside from golf, Will was a history buff and quite the self-taught expert on both World War I and World War II. On a lighter note, Will and Karen became experts on every film version of A Christmas Carol ever made. Will preferred the George C. Scott version, while Karen favored Mr. Magoo’s. Another favorite pastime was watching cooking shows together (Will loved to cook. Karen loved to watch him cook.) They named their anniversary spruce tree, planted by Will in their backyard, “Alvin,” after their favorite MasterChef Canada judge, Chef Alvin Leung. Alvin continues to grow healthy and tall.

Will loved his children, Kailey and Zachary of Raleigh, North Carolina (from a previous marriage), more than life itself. Karen extends heartfelt gratitude to Will's friend and former colleague, Gary Fleming, of Kansas, and to her closest friends Keyla Galindo and Donna McLaughlin, for their continued love and support during this very difficult year.

Will was loving and loyal, wise, handsome beyond words, funny, and brilliant—a true one of a kind. Winston, their 70-pound mixed Doodle, deeply misses his daddy. The family takes comfort in knowing that their much beloved Walter (who passed on April 23 at age 16+) is now reunited with Will in Heaven, watching over them until they are all together again.

Will is deeply missed every day, forever loved, and will never ever be forgotten.