William B. Holbrook, 68

William "Bill," "Billy," "Will" Holbrook of West Springfield, Massachusetts, passed away at his home, surrounded by loved ones, on Sept. 19, 2026, after a courageous and hard-fought battle with cancer. He was the beloved husband of Brady K. Fahey.

He was born on March 31, 1958, and was the son of the late William F. and Barbara (née Brennan) Holbrook. Bill grew up in Laconia, and was a 1976 graduate of Laconia High School. After graduation, he packed up his Mustang and started his adventure in Florida, where he met his lifelong friend Gene Mason who, eight years ago, donated one of his kidneys to Bill which gave him many more happy years to enjoy his family, friends and playing golf.

Soon after arriving in Florida, Bill entered the restaurant industry where he spent the rest of his working life. He moved from making pizzas in Miami, to running Friendly Ice Cream restaurants in Connecticut and Massachusetts, to being the owner/operator of Jake's Tavern in Turners Falls, Massachusetts, until his retirement in 2015.

Billy was the youngest of five children and the only son, which afforded him a certain “special” status in the family. He quickly became the entertainment at home and easily transitioned to the funniest boy in the classroom. He would continue to make everyone in the room laugh throughout his lifetime. Even during the hard times, Bill would give one of his big smiles or a slightly sarcastic comment and, somehow, even the doctors and nurses thought things looked a little bit brighter. He delighted in the good fortune of others and would do anything to help those who needed a hand. His business model had little focus on the bottom line and gave priority to having the customer enjoy the experience and to donate to those in need. He founded “Kacy’s Kids” in honor of his beloved niece to provide toys to underprivileged children at Christmas. To date, nearly 2,000 toys have been donated throughout Western Massachusetts.

Bill loved spending time with his extended family, and if he could spend that time on the golf course — all the better. Even though he had plenty to worry about, his concern was always how everyone else was doing. He had an unbelievably detailed knowledge of sports, music and cars, and may have, on occasion, wagered a bit on one of those. It was an elite group, but if you were counted as one of Billy’s friends you had a fiercely loyal cohort for life.

In addition to his wife Brady, William is also survived by his son, Jake Holbrook, and his wife Stephanie, parents of Bill’s precious grandchildren William and Emily; and Jake’s mom, Shelagh Holbrook; his daughter, Kelsey Holbrook, and her husband Nick Johnson; and Kelsey’s mother, Cathie Rockoff; sisters Elizabeth Holbrook, Sherry Bunker, Patricia Mercuriano and Kathleen (Thomas) Burdett; as well as nephews Benjamin (Kellen) Bunker and Zack and his son Finley Bunker; his father-in-law, Rich Fahey; brother-in-law Casey Fahey; and nieces Brynna and Tilly Fahey. In addition to his parents, Bill was predeceased by his granddaughter Molly Holbrook, his niece Kacy Burdett, his brother-in-law Bone Mercuriano, and his mother-in-law Kathleen Fahey.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to First Tee – Massachusetts, 300 Arnold Palmer Blvd, Norton, MA 02766, or St. Thomas the Apostle School Annual Fund, 75 Pine St., West Springfield, MA 01089.