William K. Karas Jr. passed on Sept. 19, 2023, after years of negotiating cancer. Born Sept. 17, 1937, Bill was the first child to Hungarian immigrants William Kalman Karas and Nadia Ermalowicz, he learned English at age 5 to attend grammar school.
Being born in Bridgeport, Conn., a heavy manufacturing town for war and post-WWII production, Bill always had a job from setting pins at the bowling alley, working at a nursery, and an ice cream bar. He was always active, including playing center for his high school football team.
Graduating from Warren Hardy High School in 1955, he went on to serve in the Air Force. While on active duty, working days in the payroll department, he worked hotel night clerk. He was honorably discharged in 1959 as an Airman first class and with the GI Bill went on to earn a B.A. in zoology from the University of Connecticut in 1965, with advance studies in political science, sociology, and Spanish, all while working at Mansfield State Training School and Hospital with patients having mental disabilities.
After college he worked as a claims adjuster for Travelers Insurance Co., which transferred him to Maine. He settled in Waldoboro and started a wholesale nursery, Evergreen Farms, in 1975, which expanded into Christmas trees and wreaths in 1982. Over the years hundreds of local families worked for Bill seasonally making Christmas wreaths or harvesting the greenery. Most of the wreaths were sold by nonprofit groups that relied on the proceeds making wreaths sales a major component of their annual fundraising. Bill built two commercial buildings from wood he harvested and had milled, the last being started at age 67. In 2014 at the age 77, he continued to produce Christmas wreaths and other forest novelties such as Tell Tale Twigs until 2022 at the age 85 and had planned to work in a limited role for the 2023 wreath season. Bill was an avid history buff and well-read in particular on the Civil War. He was able to share his knowledge when he took his grandson, Osman, to the battlefields of Gettysburg. He was a former member of Damariscotta Rotary, founding member of Maine Nursery and Landscape Association, and active member of Maine Christmas Tree Association.
A man of modest means, virtuous patience, and a belief that people in general always strive to do their best. He was loved and survived by family from Maine to Florida and will be greatly missed by those that worked with him. A memorial service will be held at the tree farm, Echo Hill Nursery, in Waldoboro on June 22, 2024, at 11 a.m.
Donations in his memory can be made to Trees For Troops, an event that gives Christmas trees to military families with members on active duty. Donations can be made through their website christmasspiritfoundation.org.
Hall’s of Waldoboro has care of the arrangements. To extend online condolences, light a candle for William or to share a picture or story, please visit his book of memories at hallfuneralhomes.com.
