William Dayton Carrell, Jr

Dad, Opa, Uncle Bill, and Dr. Carrell, Bill was born in Tucson on April 2, 1935, son of Dr. William Dayton Carrell, Sr, and Lela Townsend Carrell. He passed away peacefully on March 4, 2026, at the age of 90, preceded in death by his parents, his sisters Juanita, Helen, and Nancy Lee, and by his beloved wife of 55 years, Melinda Thomas Carrell. He is survived by children Jennifer Carrell Helenbolt (Johnny) and Ayden Carrell, granddaughter Jasmine Helenbolt and honorary grandson Thomas Mims (Beth) and their daughter Lilianna, as well as by sister-in-law Liz Ogilvy (Dave), nephews John Alexander (John Lipsey), Stephen Alexander (Michelle), and Tom Alexander (Laura), grandniece Catie and grandnephews Ryan (Patri de la Fuente Cruz), Henry, and Grant Alexander. He shared the last decade of his life with companion Nancy Down.

A man of integrity and honor, of warm smiles, rollicking laughter, and rock-solid stability, he was a pillar of his family and the Tucson medical community.

Bill grew up in Tucson at a time when Tucson Boulevard was the last paved road to the east and graduated from Tucson High School in 1953, followed by a bachelor's from Stanford University in 1957, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, and an MD from George Washington University in 1962. Between Stanford and GW, he spent a year at the University of Arizona studying coatimundi; there he met the love of his life, Melinda Ann Thomas of Phoenix, whom he married in 1959. Following residency at Long Beach Memorial and the VA hospitals in Long Beach, California, he volunteered to serve in Vietnam, but the U.S. Air Force sent him home to Davis-Monthan, where he served in the 803rd Medical Group from 1966-68. In 1968, he went into private practice in Internal Medicine, serving Tucson and southern Arizona as a primary care doctor for 32 years, until his retirement in 2000.

Following in his father's footsteps, he was a doctor who cared deeply about his patients, his colleagues at all levels in the medical profession, and about continually building Tucson Medical Center as an independent, local institution of excellence. In addition to practicing medicine as a member of TMC's active medical staff from 1968-2000, he served on the hospital's Board of Trustees from 1982-1995, as Medical Chief of Staff from 1984-85, and on numerous committees, as well as serving as Medical Director of TMC's Transitional Care Unit. He especially enjoyed teaching and mentoring residents, serving as associate instructor at the U of A School of Medicine from 1968-72, and as Instructor and Attending Physician in Internal Medicine with the Tucson Hospitals Medical Education Program (now TMC Health Medical Education Program) from 1970-2000.

He was a leading member of many local organizations and foundations, serving as President of Davis-Monthan 50, the Medical Reserve Corps of Southern Arizona, and the Lester and Roberta Smith Foundation, and as Chair of the Davis-Monthan/Pima County Open Space Advisory Committee. He also served on the board of directors of the Tucson Conquistadores, Arizona Town Hall, the Pima County Medical Society, and the U of A Arthritis Center's Southwestern Clinic and Research Institute (SCARI). He enjoyed membership in the Foothills Forum and the Graduate Club and was a lifelong parishioner of St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church.

Bill was happiest with family and friends in the great outdoors, hunting, fly fishing, camping and hiking in the wilds of Arizona and the Rocky Mountains. He also loved woodworking, gardening - including pruning the desert - and building things from fine furniture to model airplanes. If he wasn't outside under a wide Arizona sky or building something in his garage workshop, he liked to cook up feasts and gather the people he loved around the dinner table.

Bill will be deeply missed by his family and many friends. A private service will be held at St. Philip's in the Hills. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the St. Philip's Preservation & Endowment Foundation, the TMC Health Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, or the nature charity of your choice.