William “BJ” Gifford, 44, of Charles city, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at the Floyd County Medical Center in Charles City.
A funeral service will be held at 11:00a.m. on Friday, December 16, 2022, at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church with Pastor Russ Leeper officiating. Burial will follow at Sunnyside Memory Gardens in rural Charles City.
A visitation will be held at 10:00a.m. until the start of the service on Friday at the church.
William Joseph Gifford, the son of Richard Gifford and Deborah (Kent) Haren Caruth, was born March 22, 1978, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He moved to Charles City from Vinton in 1982. BJ attended school in Charles City, graduating from Charles City High School in 1996.
BJ was a very hard worker. He was a table host at Hardee’s from 1996-2002, worked at Hy-Vee from 1998-2017, and briefly at Comprehensive Systems Recycling in 2003.
BJ enjoyed doing word searches, playing board games by himself or with his dad and aunt, and playing PlayStation video games. He had a large and diverse collection of video games and was a very talented gamer. BJ loved being outdoors playing yard games such as croquet and golf.
Most of all, BJ loved sports. He enjoyed watching all levels- high school, college, and professional. When he was younger, he enjoyed participating in team sports. As his abilities to take part declined, he continued to be involved in other ways. In middle school, he helped by serving as the track and football manager. In high school, he was awarded a varsity letter award after serving as the boys’ basketball manager his senior year. During his high school days, BJ won the gold medal in the softball throw at the Iowa Special Olympics. In 1985, because of his medical problems a couple of organizations stepped up and treated him to two trips. One being courtside with his dad at a Hawkeyes game and the second was a NFL game with his mother in San Francisco.
Living family members include his father, Richard Gifford of Charles City; mother, Deborah (Doug) Haren Caruth of Alden; brother, Ross Haren of Webster City; sister, Kelsey (Zach) Mussman of Webster City; grandfather, Gerald Kent of Stanhope; aunt, Linda Reit of Charles City; aunt, Rebecah (Larry) Thompson of Galveston, Texas; uncle, Al Draeger of Webster City; cousin & friend, Kimberly (Randy) Gerber of Charles City; cousin, Austin (Autumn Rene’) Gerber of Charles City; Autumn Dawn Gerber of Charles City; special cousin, Danielle Edwards of Stanhope; cousins, Haakon Edwards, Kevon Edwards, Avihlon Edwards, and Henley Mussman all of Webster City; cousin, Julia Johnson of Galveston, Texas; and cousin, Jenny (Matthew) Thompson Moreli of Houston, Texas.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Bill and Phyllis Gifford; grandmother, Alveda Kent; aunt, Theresa Draeger; and cousin, Kye Reit.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to the Floyd County Cancer Fund at First Citizens Bank.
