Captain Bill Bachert, 75, a proud veteran of the United States Army Airborne Division, passed away peacefully on July 14, 2022 at the Albany Medical Center.

Bill was born and raised in Montclair, NJ, and enjoyed many summers on the Jersey Shore at Lavallette. He had an uncanny ability to reach people in deep and positive ways. Bill's charismatic personality, joyful nature, creativity, and compassion for those in hardship easily made him a friend to all. During the 1970s, Bill helped flood, tornado, and other disaster victims find temporary housing and documented the devastation for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was later the photo documentarian of the two-mast square-rigged sailing vessel Young America for Opsail 1980 in Boston, which eventually led him to Key West, Florida. Bill's impressionable experience on the Young America inspired a passion for using traditional sailing equipment and rope to craft hundreds of one-of-a-kind nautical items and creative custom jewelry pieces.

Bill earned his 100-ton US Coast Guard Master's License while in Key West. He used his "ticket" to captain the schooner Western Union , former US Navy World War II motor torpedo boat PT- 728 , catamarans on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, transport boats in Canandaigua, NY and Bar Harbor, ME, and shuttles from Key West to Fort Meyers and Sunset Key. Bill spent nearly 40 years in Key West enjoying lifelong interests in music, photography, geological surveying, boats, and always, the water.

In 1999, Bill met Ann Storandt, his longtime companion and caregiver. In recent years, Bill and Ann have enjoyed Florida life in the winter and Lake George, NY in the summer. Poppy will especially be missed by Ann's five adoring and adored grandchildren.

Bill's military service in the United States and Vietnam was

very important to him. He was grateful for the care he received at the VA Hospitals in Albany, NY, and West Palm Beach, FL. Bill regularly supported his favorite charities for children - St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital and the Shriners' Hospital.

Arrangements have been entrusted with Baker Funeral Home in Queensbury, NY ( www.bakerfuneralhome.com ). Burial with military honors will take place at the Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Saratoga Springs, NY at the family's convenience.