William Walter Updegrove

Nov 12, 1945 -

Mar 2, 2026

William Walter Updegrove joined his sister Kathryn and parents Grace and Henry Updegrove of Teaneck, N.J., on Nov. 12, 1945. Marching band and Young Life Club highlighted his Teaneck High years. He studied history, earned a B.A. from University of Michigan, and an M.A. from University of Wisconsin Madison. Will's 1969-1972 Army tour included Chinese-Mandarin language training, then Army Security service as translator-interpreter in Okinawa. With his language training, he taught American history and English at Taiwan's National Cheng-kung University and Tainan Theological College, 1972-1973.

Back in the USA, he entered Christian service: ministerial assistant at Second Reformed Church in Hackensack, N.J.; Kirkland Covenant Church youth leader while at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Mo.; and trail crew cook and leader of Sunday services in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He earned a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Master of Theology from North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, Ill., where he met his future bride, Shari Neth.

Will first pastored at Mead Covenant Church in Nebraska, 1979-1984. He arrived single, and left for Bethel, Alaska, with wife Shari; two adopted teenagers, Troy and Sharon Kelley; and infant son Craig for "two years."

"Two years" became 35, during which son Daniel was born in Bethel. Will held various positions - including foster parent, grandfather and great-grandfather: pastor of both Covenant and Moravian Churches, dean of the Moravian Seminary, instructor at the Kuskokwim Campus of University of Alaska Fairbanks; and member of the Lower Kuskokwim School District Board, helping found Ayaprun Elitnaurvik Yup'ik language immersion program, ongoing since 1995. Health issues required leaving Bethel and moving to Anchorage in 2020. He is remembered for his kindness, great cooking, dry sense of humor and his people-centered, justice-focused political views.

Much-loved, Will died peacefully at home on March 2, 2026.