William “Billy” Dillon Berghold, resident of Livingston, died May 25. He was 85 years old and passed peacefully. Billy was born and raised in New York, NY. attended Loyola School and graduated from The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. He subsequently spent 35 years working as a Specialist on the Floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Although he retired as a Senior Partner of a Member Firm in 1999, he continued to follow his passion, trading for himself for another two decades. In the 80’s he worked at Covenant House NYC as its first full-time volunteer. In 1987, taking a short-term leave from Wall Street, he lived and worked with mentally disadvantaged adults at Camphill Village, in Copake, NY.
Billy and his wife, Joanne, raised their three children in NYC and Pawling, NY. They both fell in love with Montana and built a small cabin in the foothills of the Crazy Mountains in 1989 only to pull up stakes in NY and move full time to Livingston, MT in 2008. Although Billy always missed the energy and camaraderie of his days on Wall Street, he filled that void with his beloved National Champion Rhodesian Ridgebacks with whom he traveled around the country competing in Lure Coursing events. He also enjoyed playing Bridge with a close circle of Montana friends with whom he generously shared his mastery of what became known informally as “Billy’s Rules”.
Billy is survived by his wife Joanne; son William Mark of Wingdale, NY, his wife Elisabetta and their children Michael and Nicholas; son, David, of Bozeman, MT, his wife Amy, and their children Conner and Brenna; and daughter Kara, of San Francisco, CA, her husband Rob and their children Bruno and Temma. Billy is also survived by his sister Julie Sykes, of New York, NY.
A Mass will be offered at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Livingston, MT on Saturday June 3, at 5:00, followed by a reception at the Shane Center at 6:00. In lieu of flowers, charitable contributions may be made to Counterpoint, which provides services to adults with disabilities (116 East Lewis St. Livingston, MT 59047), or to The Stafford Animal Shelter (3 Business Park Road Livingston, MT 59047).
