Wilder, Vt. —
In 1952 he married college classmate MaryAnn Hansen in the Bronx, New York. With the Korean War underway, he enlisted in the Air Force and was stationed at Sampson Air Force Base on Seneca Lake (New York) as a Personnel Processor. From Sampson, Bill went on to earn a Master’s Degree from the University at Buffalo’s Graduate School of Education.
Teaching positions then brought Bill and MaryAnn to the Rochester area. They moved to Irondequoit in 1958 with a growing family, and their property became a neighborhood hub for games and skiing. Beginning in 1961, summers were spent on Limekiln Lake in the Adirondacks teaching Driver Training classes, sailing, hiking, and living in a cabin Bill built entirely with hand tools.
In the 1960s Bill became a passionate advocate for civil rights, meeting and protesting with Friends of F.I.G.H.T. (later Metro Justice). He remained devoted to urban education throughout his career, enduring tumultuous times at Franklin High School and never losing sight of the impact one teacher can have on students, especially the disadvantaged. The dedication of Bill and his colleagues to this work yielded enduring friendships.
Retiring in 1986, Bill and MaryAnn continued spending summers in the Adirondacks and seasonally relocating to the longer growing season of Chapel Hill, N.C. Bill volunteered in the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program, and devoted himself to woodworking, concentrating on production of Shaker-style furniture in cherry and maple. Family visits and time on the Outer Banks were eagerly anticipated each spring.
When MaryAnn developed Alzheimer’s, they relocated in July 2008 to the Adirondacks year-round. Bill was fully dedicated to his wife’s care through her three-year struggle, with tremendous support from his daughter and family. Devastated by her loss, his own health began to suffer, and his final move was early in 2014 to the Valley Terrace community in Wilder, Vt. There, despite advancing dementia and blindness, he remained cheerful and unfailingly gracious until the end. The family is grateful for the skilled, compassionate, and loving care provided to him at Valley Terrace, where BAYADA Hospice joined Valley Terrace staff in demonstrating the best attributes of humanity on a daily basis.
Bill was predeceased by his brother Richard in 1995, and his loving wife of 59 years, MaryAnn (2011). He is survived by two children and their spouses: Douglas Hardy (Janet) of Norwich, Vt., and Susan Smith (Ronald) of Old Forge, N.Y, along with adoring grandchildren Dylan, Logan, Mackenzie, Spencer, and Elise. Also surviving him is his aunt Jane Taylor Duerr (N.Y.), sister-in-laws Elizabeth Heffernan Hardy (Calif.), Agnes Hansen Costantini (Calif.), and Frances Steinmetz Hansen (S.C.), and brother-in-law Edmund Costantini (Calif.), along with numerous nieces and nephews.
A private gathering of remembrance will be held by the family in the Adirondacks, Bill’s spiritual home for over 50 years.
Memorial donations in Bill’s name may be made to the Employee Fund at Valley Terrace, 2820 Christian St., White River Junction VT 05001.