Captain William (“Billy the Kid”) Gustav Dahlberg died in his home in Franklin, North Carolina on March 19, 2026. Born October 30th, 1951 in Washington D.C., Billy was the son of the late Gustav (“Gus”) Ingemar Dahlberg and Elizabeth (“Betty”) Marion Lundquist Dahlberg, and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland.

Billy studied architecture at Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia; while he never pursued a career as an architect, he designed a dream home that was built in Islamorada, Florida between 1994 and 1996. Billy was a machinist and handy man at his core, which supported other careers and hobbies throughout his life: from building smokers for his catering business Billy Kid’s Barbecues in Maryland (1985-2006) to servicing, maintaining, and repairing his boat in the Florida Keys where Captain Billy Dahlberg owned and operated Finaddict Fishing Charters for many years (1995-2019).

Billy was an adventurer and a lover of the great outdoors. He enjoyed going on camping and canoeing trips up and down the east coast, and did some sky-diving in college. He loved skiing, fishing, boating, and motorcycling. The glorious roads of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains drew Billy from the Florida Keys to Western North Carolina, where he would ultimately retire. Bill’s ashes will be dispersed between two of his favorite locations: one where he rode his Ducati motorcycle in North Carolina, and the other accessed only by boat off the coast of Florida.

Billy is survived by his sister, Marianne Elizabeth Dahlberg Diaz, her children Anna Lisa Diaz, Daniel Carl Diaz, Elizabeth Maria Diaz, and Eric William Diaz, as well as great-nephews Alexander Dominic Diaz, Joseph Augustine Diaz, Nicholas Charles Diaz, and William Xavier Diaz.

Billy’s family would like to extend sincere gratitude to Steve and Brittany McLane of Franklin, North Carolina for their immense love and support of Billy since he relocated to Western North Carolina.