William F. Golden, a builder, athlete, sailor, teacher, and therapist, died at his Truro home after a protracted struggle with cancer on Nov. 30, 2024. He was surrounded by family, overlooking his favorite view of the ocean with the rising sun shining on his face. He was 83.
Bill was born on March 1, 1941 to the late Edward J. and Marie L. Golden in Jamaica Plain, where he grew up. He was an accomplished student and star hockey player at Boston Latin School, then went to Harvard where he majored in English and met his future wife, Nancy Hayes. He graduated in 1963.
Bill and Nancy married in 1966 and moved to Burlington, Conn. They had two children, Erik and Alicia, and remained good friends and dedicated parents after their divorce.
Bill taught English at the experimental Westledge School in West Simsbury, Conn. and then, after volunteering in a mental hospital, pursued a master’s degree in family therapy at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, graduating in 1987. His more than 30-year career followed, first at Hartford Hospital and then in private practice.
Bill was a founding member of the “Wackemups,” a group of artists and psychologists and their family, friends, and lovers who played softball and helped each other build their own homes. They constructed more than two dozen homes in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York.
Starting in childhood, the Cape and Islands were Bill’s favorite places. He built his dream home in Truro with the help of the Wackemups in the 1980s and moved in year-round in the late 1990s.
One day he saw Diane Messinger walking on Ballston Beach, approached her, and said, “I see you like to walk.” Diane soon left Philadelphia to live with Bill. While he wasn’t always the easiest person, she says, he was fiercely loyal, proud, and supportive. They were partners and then spouses for 22 years, building a life in Truro, hosting large dinners for family and friends, and serving the community.
Bill was a Truro selectman from 2010 to 2013, and he served on the town’s community preservation committee and planning board. He was a driving force behind the construction of Puma Park, and he was Diane’s groupie as her painting career took off. With the Wackemups, he helped build her studio, and he drove her and her paintings to shows in multiple states.
Bill’s spirit was on display when he played pool with Terry Segal at the Beachcombers Club in Provincetown, and it was this spirit that helped keep him alive after his cancer diagnosis came with an initial prognosis of one year. He beat the odds, living on for four good years.
During those four years, Erik, wife Kara, Alicia, and husband Dave gave much love to Bill and Diane, as did the family’s many friends. At the end, he was surrounded by what he loved most: his wife, his kids, their spouses, his grandkids, and a view of Ballston Beach. The house he built and loved was full.
Bill is survived by his wife, Diane Messinger of Truro; son Erik and wife Kara Golden of Farmington, Conn.; daughter Alicia Golden Warrick Bouska and husband Dave Bouska of Greensboro, N.C.; grandson Aidan Warrick and step-grandchildren Nina Bouska and Mason Bouska, all of Greensboro; sisters Alicia Finnerty and husband Jack of Marston Mills and Jane Soderberg and husband Russ of Roslindale; brother Edward Golden and wife Eilene of Wellfleet; Leslie Golden, widow of his late brother Mark of Glastonbury, Conn.; and many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his youngest brother and best friend, Mark Golden.
The family is grateful to Dr. Burdette at Outer Cape Health, Dr. Wyluda and his staff, especially Esther, and all the workers at Cape Cod Hospital. They extend thanks to the VNA Hospice for the loving and kind care Bill received in his last month.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Bill’s memory can be made to the Lily House in Wellfleet or to the Truro Community Kitchen.
