William "Hap" Edward Carty

William Edward "Hap" Carty, of Tempe, Arizona passed away peacefully at his home on Friday, June 24, 2022.  He was know by all as either "Hap," or Grandpa.  Hap was born in Portland, Oregon on March 2, 1927, not far from Ridgefield, Washington, where his family operated a dairy farm after immigrating from Ireland in the 1830's.  His family was among the very first settlers to that area of the Pacific Northwest.

Hap learned to ride a horse by the time he was 5 or 6 years old, and spent much of his childhood on the back of a horse, moving cattle, or in a barn, milking cows.  By the time he was high-school age, he decided that he had milked enough cows.  During his senior year of high-school, he worked full-time as a pipe-fitter at the nearby shipyard where aircraft carriers were being produced as part of the war effort. 

Hap finished U.S. Army basic training just as the war ended, and he returned to the Ridgefield area where his sister Anna Mary Carty-Shoen and her husband L.S. "Sam" Shoen, co-founders of the U-Haul Company, were busy building and renting their first trailers.  Hap went to work for them, and spent the next 75 years of his life working to grow the U-Haul Company "from an idea into and industry," as he used to say.  He was very proud of his years at U-Haul, continued to make contributions toward U-Haul's success, and enjoyed the company of his U-Haul friends until his very last days.  He was also an avid hunter and fisherman.

Hap was preceded in death by his parents, William E Carty and Mary Fitzpatrick Carty, his sisters, Anna Mary Shoen, Margaret Gix, and Helen Lyons, his brothers James and Martin, his sons William and Kevin, and his daughter-in-law Elaine (Martin).

He is survived by his loving wife of 71 years, Mary ("Toni") Carty, his sons, and daughters-in-law, Tim (Linda), Martin, and Patrick (Kelly), his daughters Gail Carson and Katie, and his very special niece Carin Lyons.  In addition, Hap had many grandchildren, whom he loved best of all, and who made him very proud.  A visitation will be held on Thursday, June 30, 2022 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, with a Recitation of the Holy Rosary at 6:00 PM, at Richardson Funeral Home, 2621 South Rural Road, Tempe, Arizona.  Mass of Christian Burial will follow on Friday, July 1, 2022 at 10:00 AM at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, 2121 South Rural Road, Tempe, Arizona.  Interment will immediately follow the funeral mass at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, 1500 East Baseline Road, Mesa, Arizona.  Rest in Peace, "Grandpa Pal."  Richardson Funeral Home, Tempe, Arizona is compassionately serving the Carty family.