William Russell "Bill" Earnhart, M.D., age 90, died peacefully on August 30, 2020.

Born to Don and Bernice Brady Earnhart of Marion, Indiana on October 27, 1929, his life was bookended by history. He was born the week of the Great Stock Market Crash and died of complications from COVID-19.

Bill ("Red Top") graduated from Marion High School, where he started on the Marion Giants' basketball team, getting the thrill of competing in the Finals of the Indiana High School Boys Basketball Tournament at Butler Field House in Indianapolis. At the time it was the largest indoor basketball arena in the world.

He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in marketing in 1951. He was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity where he made lifelong friends. Bill served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1954, the year he married his college sweetheart, Nancy Schnitzius, of Indianapolis.

Sensing the call to become a doctor, he entered Indiana University School of Medicine, graduating in 1959. The warm climate of Florida beckoning, he enrolled at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami to complete his internship and residency. He and his young family settled in Delray Beach where he was in family practice for six years.

He then returned to the University of Miami to specialize in internal medicine from 1966- 1969. He and Nancy and their three children then lived for a memorable year in Barcelona, Spain, where he did a fellowship in cardiology at Clínica Sant Jordi alongside cardiovascular pioneer Dr. Miguel Puig Massana.

After returning to Delray Beach, Dr. Earnhart was in private practice until he retired in 1995.
He joined the staff at Bethesda Hospital when the hospital was only two years old. He served on numerous committees, and one term as president of the medical staff.

Following retirement, he enjoyed 17 years at Caridad Health Center in Boynton Beach as a volunteer physician.

Dr. Earnhart served several terms as ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church. He served on the original board of directors at the DeVos-Blum Family YMCA. He and Nancy served consecutive years as chairmen of the Bethesda Hospital Ball and later as honorary chairmen.

Bill loved all participant and spectator sports, especially golf, but his first love was being with and traveling with his children and their families. He and Nancy enjoyed hosting exchange students and friends in their home and were happily married for almost 60 years, until her death in 2013.

Dr. Earnhart was a gentle, kind, compassionate, caring physician, father and husband.
He is survived by his children Brady, Becky Martinez (Ralph) and Craig (Mary); grandchildren Rebecca Martinez Hueber (Brandon), Will and Maggie Martinez; Billy, Charlotte, and Russell Earnhart; and great-grandchildren Charlotte, Grant, Cate and Claire Hueber.

A private family memorial service will be held at a later date.

Memorials may be made to Caridad Center, 8645 W. Boynton Beach Blvd., Boynton Beach FL 33472 or First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach, 33 Gleason St., Delray Beach, FL 33483.