William “Bill”/“Liam” Phillips Child passed away peacefully on Feb. 28, 2024, after living with cancer for six years.
Bill was born in Mineola, N.Y., on Aug. 4, 1952, to Ernest “Jim” Child Jr. and Elizabeth “Betty” (Lillie) Child. He spent most of his childhood in Smoke Rise, Kinnelon, N.J. with his parents, older brother, Ernest “Jim” Child III, and younger sister, Susan Child. It was here that he would grow his love for nature and spend much of his time exploring and documenting local hiking trails, which he lovingly referred to as his own “Hundred-Acre Wood.” He learned to sail on the lake there and on New York’s Long Island Sound with his dad. During his teen years, Bill took up the guitar and began writing what would become a collection of over 150 original songs throughout his lifetime.
Bill attended Avon Old Farms in Connecticut for his high school education, and always spoke very highly of the experience, the school’s notable architecture, and the lifelong friendships he made there. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Hartwick College and later a Master of Arts from Long Island University. He went on to have a varied and fulfilling career in art, teaching sculpture at Centenary College in New Jersey, showing and selling original artworks at local galleries, and producing numerous commissioned pieces while working as a professional artwork framer in New Jersey.
Bill’s love of sailing brought him to Maine in 1984 for a trip on the schooner Stephen Taber, where he met Kirsten (Zekind) Child. They married soon after and bought a house in Lake Shawnee, Jefferson Township, N.J. They lived there for almost 30 years, raising their two children, Erik and Lora. Bill enjoyed participating in many Lake Shawnee activities and was a proud member of the Jefferson Township Community Chorus. He would often perform his original songs, “My Sweet Home Jefferson,” and, “Lake Shawnee Proud and Pretty,” at local events.
Bill moved to Newcastle in 2016 to be closer to his brother, Jim, and his family. Maine was a place that he fell in love with time and time again. He found an incredible circle of friends through the community and organizations that he was regularly involved with, including the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Inn Along the Way, and Hearts Ever Young choir group in Damariscotta.
Bill spent his lifetime creating, inspiring others, and spreading light and love among all those who met him. Let us always remember the positivity and love that he perpetuated and carry that throughout our lives in his honor … As he would say, “May we all be instruments of peace, love, and hope in the world …”
A celebration of Bill’s life will be held in Maine this summer. To leave a remembrance of Bill or a message for his family, please visit directcremationofmaine.com.
Surviving him with countless loving memories are his son, Erik William Child, his wife, Stephanie (Salle) Child, and their son, Wyatt Vincent Child, of New Jersey; his daughter, Lora Elizabeth Child, of Washington; his brother, Ernest Child III, and his wife, Pamela (Eimicke) Child, of Maine; his sister, Susan (Child) Kerr and her husband, Clifford Dawson Kerr, of Delaware; his nephews, Joshua William Child and Aaron Christopher Child, of Maine, Scott Allan Kerr, of Ohio, and Travis Jennings Kerr, of Vermont; his niece, Hannah Lillie (Child) Parker, of New Hampshire; and their respective families.
