William John Keegan, 69, of Whitefield, passed away March 1.
Bill was born in Hartford, Conn. on Aug. 18, 1941. As a young graduate from Fairfield University, Bill joined the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps and went to Vietnam. He achieved the rank of Captain, and received the Combat Medical Badge and the Bronze Star for meritorious service. Though very private about his experiences in Vietnam, Bill was always proud of his military service.
Returning from Vietnam, he completed a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut, and focused on child psychology. Bill tried his hand at administration, working for the Maine Department of Human Services, but soon left to get additional post-doc training. Subsequently he spent two years in Van Buren to get firsthand experience as an elementary teacher before starting his own consulting business as a school psychologist.
For over 20 years, Bill was a school psychologist working with teachers, parents and administrators in the local school districts to help troubled children thrive. As a gifted storyteller, he drew from a rich lifetime of experiences and could instantly connect with people of all ages and backgrounds.
Bill first moved to Maine with his wife, Jean, and a growing family in 1972 to pursue dreams of becoming a gentleman farmer. In the early days, he could often be found chasing errant sheep, pigs, chickens and other livestock when he wasn’t asking his neighbors for advice and counsel. He was constantly experimenting with new projects from beekeeping to winemaking, organic gardening, weaving, hunting, landscaping and construction. In anticipation of his first grandchild, Bill became a crochet expert this winter, drawing from his “back to the land” days of macramé.
Later in life, Bill became an accomplished sailor, completing many voyages up and down the East coast with his wife aboard Callisto, their Cal 38 sailboat. He was happiest underway, and his fondest wish was to repeat his most recent cruise from Nova Scotia to the Bahamas.
Bill is survived by his wife, Jean R. Keegan; sons, Tom and wife Christina of San Francisco, Cal., Matthew of Portland, Ore. and Noah and wife Shannon of Newport Vt.; and sister, Julianne Dutcher of Yachats, Ore.
Visitation 6-8 p.m., Sun., March 6 at Plummer Funeral Home, 983 Ridge Rd., Windsor. Funeral mass 10 a.m., Mon., March 7 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Gardiner.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Bill’s name to one of his favorite charities: Bread of Life Ministries, 157 Water St., Augusta, ME 04330 (http://www.mainebreadoflife.org); or The Apprentice Shop, 643 Main St., Rockland, ME 04841 (http://www.atlanticchallenge.com).
Condolences may be expressed at www.plummerfh.com.
