Dunphy, William Gerard William Gerard Dunphy, 66, passed away in Phoenix, Arizona on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, of complications of ALS. His family, and his loving wife, Janet Traylor, were with him when he passed peacefully. Bill was born on October 4, 1950, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the youngest of four children born to Paul J. Dunphy, Sr. and Margaret Hayes Dunphy. Bill grew up primarily in Needham, Massachusetts, and graduated from Bishop Gibbons High School in Schenectady, New York. He was recruited to play football for Boston College, from which he graduated in 1972 with a degree in Marketing. He went on to receive his MBA from Wake Forest University. While getting his graduate degree, Bill studied for a year at Schiller International University in Paris, which sparked a life-long love of food, wine and travel. He spent 30 years as a sales and marketing executive for companies including Honeywell, APS and Rockford Corporation. His career took him to Belgium, Germany, China and beyond. He enjoyed international business. After this successful corporate career, Bill decided to pursue his true passion - wine. Through diligent study in New York and Los Angeles, he earned respected industry credentials from the Society of Wine Educators, the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and the French Wine Society (now Wine Scholar Guild). Bill and Janet launched Trocadéro Wine School in 2014, providing certified classes to the trade and wine-appreciation classes to consumers. His unpretentious enthusiasm for the subject and his generosity in sharing his knowledge and experiences were infectious. If you knew Bill, it's likely you have received a bottle of wine as a gift; his greatest pleasure was in sharing. Bill had a wide range of interests. He could spend Sunday watching his beloved Patriots, even while orchestrating an elegant meal complete with the perfect spinach soufflé. He was confident in his tastes and comfortable in his skin. He loved the desert Southwest, whether hiking Piestewa Peak at dawn or traversing the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim, an annual birthday tradition in recent years. He hiked all over Arizona and summited Mount Humphreys near Flagstaff and also Mount Whitney in California. Yet he was equally at home taking in a ballet at the Palais Garnier opera house, marveling at Chagall's paintings on the ceiling. He delighted in speaking French and visited Paris, his favorite city in the world, as often as he could. Each time, he renewed his search for the perfect mille-feuille - by sly intention, a never-ending quest. He was immensely proud of his Irish heritage and dedicated much of his time to researching his family's genealogy. He loved life and didn't waste a minute of it. Bill faced the realities of his disease head-on; the hardest challenge of his life brought out the best in him: dignity, grace, strength of spirit, and an unwavering sense of humor. He was and will continue to be an inspiration to his family and friends. Bill was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Paul. He is survived by his wife and partner, Janet Traylor; his children, Kelly Dunphy, Brigid Dunphy (Steve) Cancel and Colin Dunphy; his sister Margaret (Arthur Zinck) and brother Jack (Alice) Dunphy; his grandchildren Margaret, Jacob and Rowan Dunphy and Cecilia Cancel; eight nephews and nieces, many cousins and countless friends. Bill's last wish was to be buried in Ireland. And he will be, at St. Kevin's Church in the village of Carrigeen, where his Dunphy family originated, near Waterford. Bill and Janet visited St. Kevin's cemetery last October. Bill's memorial will be held at 10:00 a.m. Monday, March 27 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic church, 4715 North Central Avenue in Phoenix. Donations may be made in Bill's memory to the ALS Association - Arizona Chapter ( www.alsaz.org) and ( www.hov.org). Or simply enjoy a good meal or lift a glass of your favorite beverage in his honor.