With the passing on June 26, 2024 of William Moore Williamson, known fondly as Bill, the world lost a quietly courageous, generous, and gifted human being.
Born on Jan. 16, 1944 in Chicago, infant Bill was quickly living with his maternal grandparents after the death of his mother from a complicated childbirth and the subsequent deployment of his father on a Navy ship to the Pacific during WWII.
Returning from the war, his father took him to Denver and eventually to Pittsford, N.Y., where Bill grew up the eldest of a tight family of two sisters and a brother from a second marriage.
He also met the love of his life and best friend forever, Susan Tobey Williamson, in high school there in upstate New York. Together they lived in Japan for a year after Bill’s voluntary tour in Vietnam as a radio operator in a classified signals intelligence unit early in the war. When they returned to the states, he completed degrees at Dartmouth College and the business school at the University of Michigan. Susie and Bill had 60 years of marriage and tons of fun raising two boys.
As a father he taught how to have safe adventures by always asking, “What happens next?” He demonstrated by sailing the family around Boston Harbor and across Massachusetts Bay, taking up scuba diving, skydiving, and eventually drone piloting.
All the while, Bill continued to stretch his knowledge and technical skill in the fields of electrical engineering, mechanics, boating, and fine woodwork. Eventually his mastery of these subjects would culminate in the construction (as The Computer Guy) of untold computers for clients in Midcoast Maine, beautiful built-in cabinetry in his homes, and a masterpiece of a classic wooden motorboat he enjoyed on Damariscotta Lake.
Bill retired early from Nynex after a decades-long career with the telephone company (under many different names) during which he worked as a lineman and then an executive and as a lineman again when needed during union strikes. He knew hard work, believed in honest service at an honest price, and to the utter amazement of everyone he ever spoke to, he understood how to make, take apart, fix, and rebuild nearly anything this world offers … and was glad to explain.
A truer patriot-citizen was never created. Bill joined and offered his expertise to many volunteer efforts over the years. Always an animal lover, he helped pave the way for the legalization of ferrets by the Massachusetts Legislature. He also worked tirelessly to create bike and walking trails on abandoned railroad rights of way, starting with the one in the backyard of the family house in Framingham, Mass. His file cabinets, mailbox, and telephone were all overflowing with evidence of the many, many organizations, ballot initiatives, and Democratic candidates he supported. Bill embodied fairness, thought independently, and proved that we are stronger when we work together to solve problems.
Steadfast, strong, and humorous to the very end; kind to everyone; he is missed.
Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main St., Damariscotta, ME 04543. Condolences, and messages for his family, may be expressed by visiting stronghancock.com.
