William G. Izatt, 74, passed away February 21 at home, following a valiant year-long battle with laryngeal cancer. Bill was born in Holyoke on June 24, 1942.  His childhood nickname, "Chick," followed him throughout his life.    Bill grew up on Maple Street in South Hadley, where he spent countless hours hunting deer, golfing, and swimming in the Connecticut River.  Bill graduated from South Hadley High in 1960, and was a callman in the South Hadley Volunteer Fire Department in the early 1960's. During his tenure there, he helped to extinguish much of Holyoke's historic downtown. Bill was drafted in 1964, and completed training at Fort Dix and Fort Devens, where he earned rifle sharpshooter and .45 caliber pistol marksman medals.   He was a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, serving as a medic in the First Infantry Division of the US Army in  the Mekong Delta.  Following his military service, he used the GI bill to study at Western New England College, where he earned a business degree in business management.  Bill built a career in the then-booming paper industry, and retired from Hazen Paper Company in 2004 where he had served as North Plant superintendent for many years. Bill met Patricia Lazarz at Abdow's Big Boy in Chicopee in 1967, and they married in 1977.  Their time together included Springfield Indians hockey games, to which they held season tickets and witnessed many a bench-clearing brawl at the Springfield Coliseum, and visits to Scotland, the Grand Canyon, and Civil War battle sites.   In 1977 Bill traded in his Porsche for a Ford F250 with a plow, and moved to Southampton, where he enjoyed mowing the "lawn," Saturday dump visits, and more recently, visits to the Edwards Library.  After daughter Sarah was born, additional memories included trips to Cape Cod, unsuccessful fishing excursions, and a Hawaii vacation where a run-in with a Man-O-War jellyfish and the Thanksgiving hospital visit it required provided story fodder for years to come. Bill was a military history enthusiast, and possessed a trove of knowledge about the Civil War.   He was a member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Northampton Beagle Club.   He enjoyed Nascar, the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Blackhawks, and arguing politics. Bill is survived by his wife  Patricia Izatt of Southampton, daughter Sarah (Izatt) LaValley and partner Christopher Tilley of Shelburne Falls, sister Kathrine (Izatt) Nowill and husband James Nowill of Northampton, niece Jessica (Nowill) Struble of East Greenbush NY, brother-in-law Thomas Lazarz and wife Laurie of Chicopee, and former son-in-law Michael LaValley of Suffield, CT. He was predeceased by his mother Kathrine (Watson), father William, and many beloved hound dogs, who were acquired for hunting only, but always ended up as best friends instead. In lieu of flowers, donations in Bill's name can be made to the Northampton Russell Beagle Club, c/o Dan Burgieliewicz, 38 Brook Street, Easthampton MA 01027, or the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The funeral home service will be Friday at 11 am at CURRAN-O'BRIEN FUNERAL HOME followed by burial in Village Cemetery. Calling hours are Thursday 4-7 pm and Friday 10-11am. For more details please go to curranobrien.com.