William C. Mccoy

Heaven welcomed home a beloved son, William C. McCoy, on August 14, 2019, while surrounded by his loving family and pastor. Bill fought a valiant battle against a debilitating neurological disease; but his positive attitude, patience and grace were a testament to his unwavering faith in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Bill was born on January 22, 1945, in Akron, OH to Mansel and Margaret Glasgow McCoy. The family moved to Mishawaka, IN after his younger brother Pat was born. Bill loved working on anything mechanical. At a young age, he could take apart his go-cart engine and put it back together while blind folded. He was an honor student and participated in the state math contest. Bill graduated from Penn High School and went on to attend Purdue University earning a degree in Chemical Engineering with honors. Bill used to complain that the math courses at Purdue weren’t challenging enough.

After graduation, Bill married his college sweetheart, Starr Haase, in Indianapolis, IN and moved to Chicago, IL beginning his career in chemical sales with Union Carbide Corp. In 1969, he joined the Army Reserves and became a Motor Sergeant. Bill moved his family to St. Louis, MO, in 1974, after accepting a management position with Raychem Corp. selling high tech plastics. In 1979, Bill was transferred to Zionsville, IN after becoming Raychem’s Eastern Region Manager. By this time the family had grown to include three daughters: Leigh, Christen and Marin.

Bill had a brilliant mind and was an inventor at heart. He helped in the development of a high-performance wire identification system for aircrafts, the early angioplasty balloon, an insulated cap technique which revolutionized outdoor electric motors and the use of high technology heat shrinkable plastics.

In 1983, Bill began the greatest journey of his life. He experienced a spiritual encounter while driving. He pulled over to the side of the road and drew a design for a revolutionary new type of catheter which God described to him in detail. He obtained thirteen patents and developed technology that enabled catheters to better navigate the inner passages of the body using nitinol wire and a remote-controlled tip. He converted the family’s basement into a full laboratory and began making God’s vision a reality. This included writing and obtaining federal grants, raising venture capital and receiving FDA approval. In 1987, Catheter Research Inc. (CRI) moved out of the family’s basement and into a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.

Bill’s life took an unexpected turn when he was severely injured after being struck by a car resulting in multiple skull fractures and a large subdural hematoma. Following extensive rehabilitation, Bill developed a passion for Information Technology. He went back to school and took graduate classes in database engineering. He worked as a contract database engineer for several companies, including Eli Lilly, and ultimately joined Oracle as a Senior Business Analyst where he traveled the U.S. troubleshooting and correcting system problems until he retired in 2011.

Bill and Starr spent 52 years navigating life’s ups and downs always knowing that God was there lifting them up to praise his name. What a precious gift the Lord bestowed upon them to be holding hands when Bill left this Earth.

Bill loved spending time in prayer with the Lord. He was passionate about mentoring teens and absolutely adored coaching girls’ softball. He loved working on projects around the house, his prized rose garden, sailing his sailboat, scuba diving, swimming, skiing, Colts Football, anything Purdue, taking care of his car, negotiating, traveling with Starr, ministering God’s word, spending time with his family, fellowship with friends and fishing with his grandchildren, especially his Grandson, Drew.

Bill is survived by his wife, Starr; three daughters, Leigh Billhymer, Christen (Bryce) Adam and Marin (Brett) Updike; grandchildren, Morgan, Kaitlyn, Reagan, Lauren, Jordan and Ella and brother Pat (Muriel) McCoy. He was preceded in passing by his parents and grandson, Drew William Kinsey.

The family would like to thank the Forum at the Crossing for the exceptional and loving care they provided Bill and his family. They would also like to acknowledge two of his favorite caregivers, Miriam and Barbara, for their humor and affection.

The visitation and Funeral will both be held at Zionsville Fellowship Church: 9090 West Oak Street, Zionsville, IN 46077. The visitation will be on Thursday, August 22, 2019 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm with the funeral service on Friday, August 23, 2019 at 11:00am.