Memorials, 0421 WYBJ, Vol. 44 No. 2. 54
| Position | Vol. 44 2 Pg. 54 |
William M. McKellar
William Mather McKellar, “Wild Bill”, age 70 of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, passed away on Saturday March 6, 2021, surrounded by his loving family and many of his close friends. He was born October 4, 1950, in Dallas, Texas, to Ed and Alice McKellar. Bill grew up in Beaumont, Texas, and Westport, Connecticut, graduating from Staples HS in Westport, in 1969. He attended the University of Texas where he met his wife of nearly 45 years, Michele (King) McKellar. After a few years of living life to the fullest, Bill attended the University of Wyoming Law School, graduating in 1982. At the time of his death, Bill had been a licensed attorney in both Wyoming and Colorado for 39 years.
Bill was a well-respected, successful litigation attorney and mediator in Wyoming and Colorado. He was a true western gentleman who loved the law, helping people and mentoring other lawyers. A colleague recently said: “Bill was a class act all the way. The integrity of our profession and devotion to the Rule of Law took precedence, for Bill, over the issues or interests of any one case. He was firm, compassionate, professional and an accomplished trial lawyer. As a mediator he also was able to understand and evaluate both sides of a case, identify the soft underbelly of each side’s perspective, and work to bring the case to resolution.” Bill enhanced the practice of law by serving as President of the Laramie County Bar Association and President of the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association. He was admitted to the Shoshone and Arapahoe Tribal Court and helped to reestablish Defense Lawyers of Wyoming (DLAW). In 1990, Bill was awarded the rank of Advocate by the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Bill was a practical joker, he loved to make people laugh and was able to laugh at himself in turn. Everyone who has known him has a “Wild Bill Story” that will make them smile whenever they remember him. Bill was not born in Louisiana, but at an early age he adopted the philosophy of “laissez les bon temps roulette” (let the good times roll) which he followed throughout his life. His early life in the marshlands of south Louisiana with his father and grandfather instilled in him a love of the bounty of the earth. As a kid he dreamed of being a cowboy and his favorite book was Brave Cowboy Bill. He appreciated beauty in all its...
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