William D. Howard, of Boothbay Harbor, died on July 15 at Maine Medical Center in Portland with his daughter by his side.
He was born in Amarillo, Tex., on Aug. 23, 1924, the son of Warren and Celestine Dodson Howard.
He grew up and attended local schools in Rutherford, N.J., and graduated from St. Mary’s High School in Rutherford, N.J. He attended Harvard University pre-med and St. Peter’s College prior to entering the U.S. Navy.
One of his proudest accomplishments was when he was asked to a try out with the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team.
He joined the Navy in 1943 as a sailor and worked his way to commander in his 20-year career. During his career in the Navy, he served in Shanghai, where he met his wife, Lilly, in 1945. He also served in Korea. Most of his Navy career was spent aboard ships in the 6th and 7th Fleets as an electronics engineer and intelligence officer. He was a member S.A.C.O (Sino American Communication Organization.) After his retirement, he also became a navel architect.
When he retired from the Navy in 1963, the family moved to Boothbay Harbor and he and Lilly started the Howard Marine Electronic Business in 1968, which they operated until he retired in 1993.
He cared for his wife for nine years when she had Alzheimer’s and refused any help. On her passing in 2001, he moved to Wilton to be closer to his daughter and in 2004, returned to Boothbay Harbor.
He enjoyed watching old movies, building model airplanes and watching sports on television. He was self-taught in computer technology, building many computers for friends and family and he is well remembered for his St. Bernard dogs.
Bill was a member of the Charles E. Sherman American Legion Post, and the VFW.
He was predeceased by wife, Lilly, and a grandson, Shane Joseph Kelley.
He is survived by his daughter, Billie D. Howard-Goldsmith and husband Gordon of Wilton; brother, Warren D. Howard and wife Rita of New Mexico; grandchildren, Robert Leeman and wife Claudette of Sydney, Bryan Kelley and fiancée Abigail Plummer of Five Islands, and Danielle Goldsmith of Wilton; and great-grandchildren, Becca, Gabrielle and Faith Leeman, Justin Boucher and Ava Kelley.
Memorial service 2 p.m., Fri., July 27 at the new section of the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Augusta.
In lieu of flowers, friends may make a donation to the Lincoln County Animal Shelter, P.O. Box 7, Edgecomb, ME 04556.
Arrangements are entrusted to Simmons, Harrington & Hall Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 975 Wiscasset Rd., Boothbay.