William Barton Strack , March 18, 1927 to March 6, 2025.
William “Bill” was the first born son of William Augustus Strack and Eleanor Strack of w hom have predeceased him in death as well as his only other sibling , a younger brother , Robert Strack of Sommers Point, New Jersey .
Bill was born in Brooklyn New York then m oved to Queens where he started grade school. A fe w years later he moved to Nassau County in Long Island with his family at about the age of eight before they eventually ended up in New Jersey .
He e ntered the Military as a Marine at the age of seventeen and served from 1945 – 1949. He was s tationed in the West Pacific going to the Philippines, GUAM and six months in Japan one month after the atomic bomb was dropped. He further served eighteen months in the Republic of China where he had many interesting tales to tell . Bill was an expert marksman and tells the tale of winning over a $100, which back then was quite a bit of money. This was a challenge because he was left handed but learned to shoot right handed as well as left handed. He was tasked then with being an instructor and when asked where he learned to do so well, he shared the story of having joined the Connecticut State Guard prior to the military enlistment when he was 16 or 17.
When he returned home after serving four years, he finished High School in Philadelphia then off to college at Washington State and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Biology in 1954 .
Bill began his new career in Montana when he met his first wife, Margaret Arbuckle where s he worked at a restaurant . He asked if she would cook up some fish he had caught and she was happy to oblige . After that initial meeting, dad was a frequent visitor to that restaurant and when Bill was introduced to Margaret’s father Hugh Arbuckle, a well known hunter and guide at the Arbuckle Ranch near Glacier Park , t his must have made for an interesting encounter . “Wildlife hunter and guide meets daughters new beau, the local Fish and Game Officer” . We have heard the “stories”.
Shortly afte r, Bill and Margaret left Montana, married and moved to Homedale Idaho where Bill worked in Owyhee County for Idaho Fish and Game. From that marriage there were five children . Bill Strack of Nampa Idaho, Richard Strack of Homedale Idaho, Donna Strack of Wilmington Delaware, Clayton Strack of Asotin Washington and Gayle Strack of Idaho City Idaho.
From 1954 – 1972 Bill worked for Idaho State Department of Fish and Game as a Conservation Officer and Fish Culturalist , most of which was in Owyhee County. He was transferred to other locations around the State of Idaho after he and Margaret divorced.
He worked at Hayspur fish hatchery in Idaho and eventually the Camas Prairie Railroad of which he loved from 1969 – 1978 . He did remarry and moved with his second wife to Lewiston Idaho where he continued his railroad work for many years.
From 1969 – 1970 he received 18 semester credits in teacher-educational courses at Lewis-Clark State College and then decided he wanted to learn Japanese and went back for an additional 18 semester credits at Washington State University from 1976 – 1977 to learn to speak, read and write the Japanese language.
After his second divorce, Bill moved to Shin- Kemigawa Chiba Japan and worked as a private tutor from 1979 to 1981. Bill had developed a deep love and respect for the Japanese people and culture from the time he was stationed there as an 18 year old Marine in 1945. So it was no surprise to the family when he married his third wife, Kazumi Takamasa and brought her and her young son Naoya , back to the United States and lived in St Anthony Idaho for many years where Naoya his step-son, graduated from high school.
Unfortunately that third marriage did not last so Bill spent his time raising an amazing garden, sh aring the fruits of his harvest, enjoy ing his home and being an active member of the local VFW in Rexburg. One of his favorite pastimes was golf and he was very proud that he had not only got one hole-in- one, but got two of them!
He continued to visit his family who were mostly living in the Boise area and finally decided to make the move to be closer and enjoy his children and grandchildren on a full time basis. He ended up in Notus Idaho for several years and to keep himself engaged and busy, he purchased a book store business in Parma Idaho named D&D books. He enjoyed that business for several years before eventually moving to his final home up in Idaho City to live with his youngest daughter Gayle Strack in 2011 where he lived until his passing .
Bill always enjoyed nature and the outdoors. His career allowed him to take his young children on many fun and interesting outdoor adventures in the Owyhee County Mountains and many campouts and fishing trips along with lots of huckleberry picking adventures.
He also enjoyed living up in the woods of Boise County in the Idaho City area and made lots of new friends at the Boise Basin Senior Center. He joined and had a lifetime membership with the VFW Post 142 where he got to participate in all the activities associated with his fellow veteran’s organization . One of his favorite highlights was being asked to be the “Grand Marshall” in the 4 th of July parade in Idaho City which he thoroughly enjoyed . He was also a featured guest at the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa Idaho after being interviewed and was able to share some of his memories to a roomful of attendees.
Bill peacefully passed away at home in his own bed, which is exactly how he wanted to go . He left behind a large family with five children, twelve grandchildren and too many to count great grandchildren. Wherever he went, Bill easily made friends and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
In lieu of flowers, we request that any donations to be made to the Boise Basin Senior Center or the VFW Post 142 in Idaho City.
The family would welcome anyone wishing to share a story or memory they have about Bill and can do so on the website of Bowman Funeral Home. https://www.bowmanfuneral.com/obituary/william-barton-strack/
A visitation and reception will be held on Friday, March 28, 2025 from 11:00 – 12:30 p.m. at Bowman Funeral Parlor located at 10254 W. Carlton Bay Garden City, Idaho with a committal service to follow at The Idaho State Veterans Cemetery at 1:00 p.m., located at 10100 Horseshoe Bend Road Boise, Idaho.