William "Bill" Knightly Gay, 77, of Brockton, entered eternal rest surrounded by his family Friday, January 14th, 2022, after an extraordinarily courageous battle with cancer. For 45 years, Bill was the beloved husband of the late Kathleen (Trombly) Gay of Brockton. Born on September 10th in 1944 in Stoughton, he was the son of the late Henry Leland Gay and Ellen Patricia (Tatro) Gay. Raised in Stoughton, he was a graduate of Stoughton High School in 1963. In his earlier years he spent summers with his family and friends in Manomet, where he enjoyed his time at the beach, swimming, sailing, and fishing. He then began his career working for New England Telephone, and later Verizon, in a variety of roles all throughout Southeastern Massachusetts where he faithfully worked for 45 years. While living in Brockton, he was a communicant of Our Lady of Lourdes and served on the Parish Council and as a member of the Finance Committee. Additionally Bill volunteered with My Brother's Keeper to help collect donations and deliver to those in need. Bill was happiest when he spent leisure time with those he loved. Golfing, fishing, parties, dinners out with family and friends, and long drives in his Corvette were some of the things that he enjoyed the most. More recently, Bill loved spending time with his girlfriend Nancy Sullivan of Easton. Bill was the loving father of Kristin M. (Gay) Lightbody and her husband Eric Lightbody of Walpole, Jennifer M. Gay Smith and her husband Neil Smith of Hingham, William P. Gay of Brockton, Kathleen Meaghan Gay and her husband David DeLuca of McLean, Virginia, and Timothy R. Gay and his wife Danielle Petrucci of Beverly. He was a devoted Grandpa to Catherine and Abigail Lightbody; Elinor, Audrey, and Henry Smith; and Kathleen and Charles DeLuca. Bill was the brother of Lawrence and wife Carol Gay, Patricia Jacobs, Margaret Karoblis, Christopher Gay, and Elizabeth 'Betsy' Gay, all of Plymouth; Catherine Gay of Oklahoma; the late Robert Gay of Plymouth; and was loved by many cousins nieces, and nephews. Calling hours are Monday, January 17th from 3-7 p.m. at the Russell & Pica Funeral Home, 165 Belmont St. (Rte. 123), Brockton. A funeral Mass for the repose of his soul will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m on January 18th at Our Lady of Lourdes, 439 West Street, Brockton. Interment will follow in Pine Hill Cemetery, West Bridgewater. The Gay family would like to warmly thank all of Bill's fabulous caregivers at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital, especially Dr. Suzanne George, for their untiring support, kindness, prayers, and friendship throughout Bill's fight against cancer. Warm thanks are also extended to the caregivers at the Seasons Hospice House in Milton for their care and kindness to Bill and his family. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to My Brother's Keeper (mybrotherskeeper.org).