Carrick family patriarch dies in Johnsburg home

JOHNSBURG – The Carrick family patriarch died early this morning, and news of his death shook the small-town church where Bill Carrick was an active and loyal parishioner, and his large family that already is familiar with tragedy.

Carrick is the father of Brian Carrick, the 17-year-old who went missing a few days before Christmas in 2002 and is presumed dead.

But to those who knew Bill Carrick, there was so much more to the man than the crime that brought his family into the spotlight.

Husband. Father. Grandfather. Friend. Career electrician. A man of deep and unwavering Catholic faith.

Bill Carrick died of natural causes early Tuesday morning at home. He was 67. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

Bill and his wife, Terry Carrick, raised 14 children in a white Johnsburg farmhouse that overlooked the grocery store where Brian Carrick last was seen.

Bill's church friend, Ronald Marulewski, remembers the first time he met the Carricks.

It was a pancake breakfast for the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church Knights of Columbus, of which Bill Carrick was a high-ranking member. In walked Bill and Terry, with a gaggle of Carrick children in tow.

"I said to him, 'Are all those yours?' He said, 'Every last one of 'em,' " Marulewski said. "That was before they were done; they had two or three more [children]."

Although they grew up in a large and at-times chaotic home, Therese Carrick remembers her father's individual attention to each child.

"He really believed in his kids, and he was really proud of all of us," Therese said. "When we were younger, he always made time for us, between work and side jobs. ... He still always found time to spend time with us."
Marulewski affectionately remembered his Irish-Catholic friend to bear a striking resemblance to a leprechaun – friendly and short in stature with "a big smile and sparkle in his eyes."

"He was very slight, but he was big in a lot of people's hearts," Marulewski said. "He's going to be sorely missed."

Bill and Terry Carrick were married for 37 years before her death from leukemia in 2009.

Bill Carrick was no stranger to the media, as he bravely and openly discussed the loss of his child – even at times when it seemed hardest: When Mario Casciaro was charged with his son's murder, during the two long and emotional trials and when Casciaro was sentenced to 26 years in prison for his son's death.

"That whole situation really left him really upset to the point where I don't think he ever quite got over it," Therese Carrick said. "I don't think he accepted or moved on from it. I think he was sort of always dealing with it."

Most recently, Bill Carrick had attended the new pretrial court dates for Shane Lamb, who once said he threw the punch that likely killed Brian Carrick, but since changed that story. Lamb was granted immunity, but faces unrelated weapons charges.

Bill Carrick was neither vengeful nor outwardly angry at those believed to be responsible for Brian's death, but was a stalwart believer in right and wrong.

Bill Carrick did an interview with the Northwest Herald in 2010, when Casciaro was charged with murder.
"I want justice to be served, but that's not what life's about," he said. "Life's not about revenge. I believe in heaven and hell, and you're going to earn one or the other."

To those who knew Bill, he earned his spot.

"I believe Bill's in heaven with Terry and Brian," Marulewski said.