William Cathcart, age 78, went home to be with his Lord on March 7, 2023 after a long battle with Parkinsons disease. A life member of the California Landscape Architecture Student Scholarship Fund (CLASS Fund), Bill was born in Los Angeles, California. Bill is preceded in death by his parents Lee and Tom Cathcart and his sister Kerry Kathleen Vogt. He was raised in Palm Desert and graduated from Indio High School. He enlisted in the Navy and had two tours of duty in Viet Nam. He received the American Spirit Award and the Bronze Star.
In between tours he met and married Cassie Arnold from Orange. When his Navy tour was over, they moved to Pomona where Bill graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in Landscape Architecture and moved to the city of Orange to start his business.
Professionally, Bill designed projects for Chapman University’s law school and parking structure, City of Orange Pitcher Park as well as many other projects which spanned a career of 40 years. He was a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Class Fund. He graduated from Chapman University in 1999 with a Juris Doctor degree. Bill was committed to community service in the city of Orange and served as a Planning Commissioner and member of the Design Review Committee. In 2018, Bill was inducted into the Green Industry Hall of Fame. He also was president of the Rams Booster Club, Chapman College Athletic Foundation, Orange Kiwians Club, Lt. Governor for Division 4 of Kiwians, Orange Chamber of Commerce, and the Orange Senior Center. He was a member of the American Legion Post 132 and the BPOE Elks Lodge. Bill was named Citizen of the Year in 2011 by the Orange Chamber of Commerce. He loved the game of golf and played many rounds for charity events.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Cassie, his son Jeffrey, daughter-in-law Judith, and granddaughters Avery and Audrey. The family gives special thanks to ActiveCare Orange nurses and special caregivers for their loving and kind attention to Bill. The family requests donations be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, https//ww.michaeljfox.org. and any of the organizations listed.
