William Mulroy Survived a Motorcycle Crash That Left Him Partially Paralyzed, Married Tammy Bishop in Las Vegas, Lost His Blessed Wedding Band That Night and Died 5 Days Later
by Jerome London · Thought CatalogUpdated 5 minutes ago, October 31, 2026
When William “Will” Mulroy lost his wedding band hours after marrying Tammy Bishop in Las Vegas, she promised they’d buy another. He died on October 25, 2026, just 5 days after their wedding. He was 48, and the blessed ring was still missing.
The couple met in July 2023 and began their relationship in March 2024. About a week later, Bishop said, Mulroy was in a motorcycle crash. His High Fives Foundation profile describes an L1 burst fracture and an incomplete spinal cord injury after he lost control and struck a pole.
He lived with partial paralysis and used a wheelchair, though Bishop said he could hold handles and walk. The foundation helped fund adaptive mountain-bike equipment. His obituary says he’d recently qualified as a professional paraplegic athlete and was preparing to compete in para and mainstream events.
Mulroy kept asking Bishop to marry him, and she accepted in summer 2026. On her birthday, October 4, he revealed that he’d booked their Las Vegas wedding and arranged for her friends to go.
They married at the Viva Las Vegas Chapel on October 20. He saw her in her dress as she came out to the party bus.
Bishop described him as “on cloud nine.” After the ceremony, they rode along the Strip.
Later, at a bar, Mulroy noticed his blue metal wedding band was gone and began crying. It belonged to a matching set that had been blessed. He told Bishop that weight loss had left it 2 sizes too large.
Bishop thought it might have slipped off on the bus, during a transfer into his wheelchair or as he rolled along the Strip. They retraced their route, alerted the driver and enlisted others to search, without finding it.
The next day, she teased him about losing it within 24 hours and reassured him that they’d replace it. After his death, she explained why finding that particular ring mattered: “Now that I don’t have him, the rings were blessed, and that was our wedding ring, and that was him.”
Bishop said Mulroy was in considerable pain on the journey home to South Dakota and thought he might need emergency care when they arrived. The next morning, he was congested. She urged him to stay home from work, then later couldn’t wake him and called 911.
She said his heart stopped 3 times in the emergency room, doctors declared him brain dead and he spent 24 hours on life support. His obituary records his death at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls on October 25, with family present. No cause of death has been publicly released.
The ring remained missing in coverage through October 29.
For more from Thought Catalog, follow along on Facebook or visit our website anytime.