William Henry Shehadi, Jr., 66, of Middletown, Connecticut, passed away on April 30, 2025, at his home in Middletown. Born in Bronxville, New York and raised in Greenwich, he was the son of the late William Shehadi, Sr. and Ruth Lambert Shehadi.
Bill grew up in Greenwich and attending public schools, excelling academically at New Lebanon, Western Junior and Greenwich High Schools. He graduated with honors from Greenwich High School in 1976. At Western and Greenwich High, Bill developed a life-passion for photography and regularly could be seen walking around Byram with one of his beloved cameras around his neck. He attended Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA for two and a half years, and received an Associate Degree in 1979.
Bill suffered serious mental illness his entire adult life. He fell into a deep depression his junior year in college and was unable to continue his education. He had the misfortune of spending most of his adult life committed to one of several state psychiatric hospitals, including Fairfield Hills and Whiting Forensic Hospital. The last year and a half of his life he had the blessing of being discharged from Whiting to a home in Middletown where he was taken care of by staff from Continuum of Care. Continuum is a phenomenal nonprofit organization which has completely different ideas about what kind of life is possible for people with serious, life-long developmental and mental health disabilities.
William is survived by his brother Al Shehadi of Byram, who has been his legal conservator and advocate for more than 25 years.
A private memorial will be held by the family. In lieu of flowers, please consider a generous donation to Continuum of Care, to assist them in caring for other individuals with serious disabilities.