William J Diaz Sr.

William Joseph Diaz Sr. of Laurel, MD, son of the late Ferdinand Joseph Diaz and Ramona Maria Rivera, passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of April 29, 2023 in Columbia, Md. William was born on January 23,1936 in New York, NY, as the 4th of five children.

William grew up in New York, NY.  In 1956, he joined the Army and was stationed in New Jersey, New York and eventually Maryland, where he decided to stay. He fought in the Golden Gloves during his service and was honorably discharged in 1960.

William (affectionately called Pop) loved to frequently visit relatives in New York and sometimes bring them to visit Maryland. They would party in both places.  He loved dancing to all types of music. Bruno Mars, Mariah Carey and Celia Cruz were some of his favorite artists. Pop especially loved dancing to salsa music with his wife, daughters, granddaughters and nieces. Pop was also a great black jack and poker player.  You could frequently find him at the casino and participating in local tournaments where he often ranked in the top 10 out of thousands of players.

William’s son-in-law, Ally, and his friends called him Pop but also nicknamed him Bill Gates because he was always rich with life.  He lived a life full of love, family and friends. He shared those blessings with so many people, making all our lives even richer.

William leaves to mourn his loving wife Betty Diaz of over 40 years. He is the devoted father of William Diaz Jr “Big Jr”, Ramonita Diaz McPherson (Shaeed Ali Bharath), Wilson Diaz, William Diaz Jr “Little Jr” (Olena Diaz), Delia Diaz, Michelle Diaz Williams (Christopher Williams), Kimberly Diaz Gregory (Almeaida “Ally” Gregory), Jason Diaz (Valentina Diaz), George Diaz (deceased 1990), Alicia Diaz (deceased 2009), and numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews and a host of relatives and friends.  Services will be live streamed using this link https://my.gather.app/remember/william-diaz-2023