William James Tyrrell II

William James Tyrrell II (10/9/1930 - 4/4/2024)

William James "Bill/Billy" Tyrrell II, aged 93, passed away on April 4, 2024, at home in Gainesville, VA with family by his side. Born on October 9, 1930, in Washington, DC, he grew up in Arlington, VA and family property in the Shenandoah Valley. He devoted his life to raising six kids with his beloved wife of 74 years, Rita.

Bill was a child of the Great Depression and spent his early years collecting scrap metal around Washington DC with his friends for the war effort. Later as an adolescent he would fall for Rita McCormick while in high school. After wooing her with a bag of "good dirt" for her garden they would later marry at the tender age of 19 and begin their journey together. What a journey it was. After living in various areas in the DMV area they settled into a home in Dunn Loring Woods in Vienna, VA in 1963. They would remain there until 2023, providing all six of us with what we needed in a neighborhood that was a blast to grow up in. He spent the majority of his adult life working for IBM as a Federal Government contractor, retiring in ~1995.

Like many brought up during the great depression Bill ended up a frugal person who accumulated a lot of stuff. We siblings can attest to this as we had to remove countless cans of paint, lawn chemicals, clothes etc. going back to at least the 50's. He rarely paid anyone to do anything preferring to do it himself with his children's labor. He was an incredibly hard worker and loved to work outside gardening, working on cars, building things, and demolishing things. He could cut through a 2x4 with a handsaw in two strokes. He also liked beer A LOT...cheap beer. When we weren't part of his labor crew, we were beer runners (or both). He built many sheds and for some reason always installed gutters on them. He loved animals, especially dogs. If there was one around it would usually end up by his side while he took a beer break. He was an avid Redskins fan (no, not the Commanders) and we followed his lead watching countless games with him. More than anything though, he loved his family. He will be missed...a real character.

Bill is survived by his loving wife, Rita; children, William James III, Lynn (Bob) Ballard, John (Pamela) Tyrrell, Margaret Tyrrell, and Stephen (Staci) Tyrrell; and grandchildren, Sara (Denny) Shultz, Megan Davis, Jonathon Ballard, Timothy Ballard, Beth Tyrrell, Leah Tyrrell, and Christopher Tyrrell; and great grandchildren Hannah Godley, Molly Maxwell, and Ian Maxwell; and many nieces, nephews, and extended family. He was preceded in death by his parents, William James Tyrrell and Teresa Orndorff Tyrrell; daughter, Rita (Dick) Tanner; granddaughter, Katie Davis; and sisters, Harriet Daniels, Irene Davis, Mary Biddle, Constance Sullivan, and Sarah Carrol; brothers from another mother Charles Sullivan, and Joseph Gillette.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, October 12, 2024, in "The Country," to honor his memory and legacy and...have a beer.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that individuals go out and do something useful in honor of Bill's work ethic. For those who prefer to make a donation, contributions to Blue Ridge Hospice are encouraged, in gratitude for their care of Bill's sister Sarah and niece Constance at https://brhospice.org or National Children's Cancer Society which he often donated to at https://thenccs.org/.