Obituary of William Fred Ricketts III

William Fred Ricketts III

William Ricketts, 68, of Tucson, passed away on 27 February 2024 after a long courageous battle with cancer.

Bill was born on September 21, 1955 to William Fred Ricketts II and Jeanne Ricketts in Tokyo, Japan. Bill was a military child and traveled the world. After he graduated from Sahuaro High School, he went on to study Physical and Biological Anthropology at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, and got a BS degree in 1978. Bill's father was a pilot, and Bill inherited his passion for the skies, flying gliders and commercial planes. He worked for Marriott for many years and had worked for the City of Tucson since 2000.

In 2007 Bill met the love of his life, Inna, in Russia. Married the next year, Bill and Inna went on to have many adventures together in Canada, Mexico, Panama, Russia and Alaska for 16 years sharing their lives together. He felt incredibly happy to have found Inna, and their life together was filled with joy, laughter, and cherished moments.

In 2021, already battling serious cancer, Bill retired and volunteered for the Community Police Advisory Review Board. He enjoyed fishing, the great outdoors, and going to the shooting range and maintaining his guns and rifles. He liked working with his hands doing various projects around the house. There was never a task he wouldn’t take on himself. 

Bill was a father to fraternal twins Anita and Willy, this role was the most important to him, he had great pride in his children. He was an incredible father, the best in the world, guiding his children, nurturing and loving them. In 2021 Bill became a grandfather to Homer Sachs, who passed,  throught tragedy he continued to love and think of him. 

Bill was predeceased by William Fred Ricketts Jr, William Fred Ricketts II, Jeanne Ricketts. He is survived by his loving wife, Inna Ricketts, his daughter, Anita Sachs, his son, William Ricketts, his stepson, Maxim Rogozyuk, and his cat, Tony Ricketts.