Obituary of William R Dias

Bill passed away suddenly on November 19, 2020; born in Framingham, MA he was the eldest of six children. Bill graduated from King Phillip Regional High School in Wrentham and attended Northeastern University in Boston, MA. In 1975 Bill and his brother Steve moved from Wrentham, MA to Fort Lauderdale, FL and started their own business, Dias Landscapes Corp. Their company received numerous awards for major residential and commercial landscape installations throughout the state of Florida. Bill was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in February 2007 and slowly worked his way into retirement in January 2012. All his life Bill loved reading, from magazines to books, and when not reading he was listening to music. Bill was also passionate about sports; he held season tickets to the Miami Hurricanes football team; attended Miami Dolphin and Miami Marlins games and was a big fan of thoroughbred horse racing. Bill enjoyed spending time on the golf course with his brothers and uncle. Over the years Bill collected sports and music memorabilia, in addition to a large library of books, records, and CDs. Bill was a devoted husband, father, son and big brother. He was predeceased by his parents, William and Margaret (Padula) Dias; and brothers Stephen and Robert Dias. Survived by his wife, Rosemary Fricker Dias of Englewood; daughter, Elena Dias of Louisville, KY; son Bradley Dias, stepson, Rob (Sara) Wilga of Louisville, KY; stepson, Richard Wheeler of Winter Haven, FL; granddaughter Catherine Bair, grandsons Aiden and Colin Wilga and James Bair; and his former wife, Marilyn Dias of Louisville, KY. Bill is also survived by his sister, Mary Dias (Jeff) Brown of Lake Worth, FL; Brian (Cindi) Dias of Silver Point, TN; Glenn (Valerie) Dias of Windham, ME; brother-in-law William Proper of Tamarac, FL; Katha Valence of Sebastian, FL; Friend and Caregiver, Vincent Scafuri of Englewood, FL; Uncle Charles (MaryEllen) Padula of North Port, FL and Uncle James Padula of Franklin, MA; eight nieces and nephews and his two fur babies, Xander and Skibbey. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bill's memory to: Parkinson's Place, 5696 Cattleridge Boulevard, Sarasota, FL 34232.