William Deitenbeck Jr.
July 14, 2017
William Deitenbeck, Jr. passed into the arms of Christ on July 13, 2017. He was born in Birmingham, AL to William and Bobbie Deitenbeck, and grew up in Orlando, FL. He attended Rollins College, where he studied philosophy and was active in the Yuppie and anti-war movements.
William was a seeker, always exploring and questioning. His spirituality was always evolving, yet constant and built upon strong faith. During his life, he was Presbyterian, a practitioner of Eastern spiritualities, a disciple of Da Free John, Hare Krishna, Episcopalian, and Roman Catholic.
Despite his love for retail management (he sold books, futons, health food, and more), William always found himself working for social service programs, including The Department of Children and Families, The Welfare Transition Office, and St Francis House. He volunteered for the Gainesville Pride Center, the Republican Party, and with his churches as a lector, chalice-bearer, teacher, and Eucharistic visitor.
William was a poet, life-long learner, and lover of music, art, and literature. He was caring, courageous, and distinguished. Often known as “Big Daddy Will” or “Mr. Williams,” he was, above all, “Dad” who was fiercely devoted to his children, Radhajyoti (Matt), Om Narayana, and Maitreyi; and to his granddaughter, Lilah.
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Our condolences. We loved William and are so sorry for his sudden passing.
Our grandfather, Max Deitenbeck, called Bill "Little Bill" and called me "Billy" since we both had the same name. My father moved us to California and Uncle Bill stayed in Florida, so we only saw my Uncle Bill and Little Bill during visits to Florida. Bill will be missed!
Sorry to hear this holy man will no longer be among us to encourage and uphold us. RIP dear spiritual friend.
Dear Radha and family, You are in our prayers. It is so hard to lose a parent even though you know he is in the hands of our Almighty God. With love, Sarah and Ken Swart
William, William Yet into light. . . Rest now in peace and know bliss perpetual. . . My love to his children and to all who mourn with them.
Thoughts and prayers.
Our deepest sorrow for your loss
You’re still with us , Bill. I will always remember your quick wit and irony and the concern you had for others. You had something special and our memory of it will go on as long as we do.
A great man, faithful to God and seeker of the truth! His presence and friendship will be missed! For sure William is at the heavenly mansion! May eternal rest be granted to his soul, Amen!
I got to know William when we worked for Florida Management Solutions, at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville. William was a great boss and we became good close friends over the years. He will be missed by us.
I just looked again at the photo with the obituary and noticed he is wearing a "Flogging Molly" tee shirt. Aside from sharing our interest in religious thought and spirituality, we also shared a love for the energetic punk sound of the band, Flogging Molly in recent years. In 1970, William introduced me to The Grateful Dead and I have been a lifelong fan ever since. I can still remember the first time I went to his house in Tampa and a record player near the door was playing, "Uncle John’s Band." We can learn a great deal about a person by listening to his choice of music. The Dead’s songs were comfortable, soothing, sweet sounding. melodic, authentic, honest, and genuine. Enough said.