GUILDERLAND — William N. Grosch, a doctor, a minister, husband and father, had a kind and gentle spirit. 

He died on April 7, 2026, at home at the age of 81. He died from complications of Alzheimer’s.

“He was born on Oct. 12, 1944 in California during World War II while his father was stationed there,” his family wrote in a tribute. “For the first years of his youth, he lived with his parents, sister, and grandparents in an apartment in the Bronx.

“He started public school by riding the Bronx city bus. At age 8, his immediate family moved to Syosset, New York, on Long Island. He graduated from Syosset High School in 1962.

“In his childhood, he kept a stamp collection, collected baseball cards, and played baseball. He was active in the Boy Scouts and attained the rank of Eagle Scout.

“He went to Albright College, a liberal arts institution, where he studied in their pre-med program majoring in biology, earning his bachelor’s degree in 1966. He had fond memories of running on the college’s track team; while not a top runner, he enjoyed the pursuit of improving his own time and competing against his friend.

“For a few summers, he studied at Union Theological Seminary in New York City starting to work toward his Master of Divinity degree. He went to Albany Medical College for medical school and graduated in the class of 1970.

“He completed his psychiatry residency at Duke University Medical Center and then continued to work for Duke as a psychiatrist. While doing his residency, he also studied at Duke Divinity School and earned his Master of Divinity in 1974.

“He was ordained in the United Church of Christ and pastored the O’Kelly Chapel.

“For his profession, Dr. Grosch worked as a psychiatrist for Albany Medical Center for 31 years.

“He and his beloved wife, Kay Lichy Grosch, met while they both worked at Duke. They got to know each other through a co-worker Bible-study group and co-worker volleyball. They married at Duke Chapel in 1977.

“They moved to Guilderland in 1980 where they raised their two children, Adam and Holly. It was this home where he died, surrounded by his wife and children.

“William, who often went by Bill, worked in the hospital on Albany Med’s inpatient psychiatry floor. Prior to that, he was the director of Albany Med’s outpatient psychiatry clinic. He was a tenured professor at Albany Medical College and retired as Professor Emeritus.

“He co-authored a book, ‘When Helping Starts to Hurt: A New Look at Burnout Among Psychotherapists’ in 1994. He was a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Always interested in the intersection of psychiatry and religion, for many years he served as the director of pastoral services at the Capital District Psychiatric Center.

“Throughout his life, he cherished summer vacations at a family cabin his grandfather built in Sunapee, New Hampshire. He was an avid reader of nonfiction, and enjoyed traveling internationally with his wife.

“His life and vocation were grounded in a deep, abiding and unassuming faith, marked by a lifelong intellectual curiosity, a steady pursuit of the divine within the Christian tradition, a deep concern for those on the margins of society, and a kind and gentle spirit.”

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William N. Grosch is survived by his wife of nearly 49 years, Kay Lichy Grosch; his children, Holly Sociagrosch (Matt) of Rotterdam and Adam Grosch (Alison) of St. Clair Shores, Michigan and their three children, his grandchildren: Natalie, Elijah, and Caleb Grosch.

He is also survived by his sister, Virgina Kowalski, and niece, Lara Richardson, of Huntington Station, New York. He is survived, too, by other nieces and nephews.

His grandniece, Celeste Richardson, died before him, as did his parents, William Anson Grosch and Vivian H. (née Watts) Grosch.

A memorial service will be held at Lynnwood Reformed Church at 3714 Carman Rd. in Guilderland on Saturday, April 25, at 11 a.m. A lunch reception will immediately follow in the church fellowship hall. Burial will be private at Prospect Hill Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Habitat for Humanity, Alzheimer’s Association, or Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania.