At Princeton, Bill was in the School of Public and International Affairs. He was a member of Cap and Gown and the Glee Club, and played baseball.
In 1938, Bill found his hometown run-down and in industrial decline. He went into banking and became president of Burritt Mutual Savings Bank, then chairman and later president of New Britain Bank & Trust. Bill was determined to help turn New Britain around. He became a member of the common council, the board of finance and taxation, the redevelopment commission, and the government study commission. When he retired in 1975, he had been instrumental in leading New Britain to a new life of optimism and hope.
Bill also found time to serve on the boards of local business organizations and on the standing committee and as treasurer of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.
Bill and Elsa Frisbee were married in 1939. Elsa died in 1991, and in 2001 Bill lost a son, William E. III. Survivors include his daughters, Suzanne and Polly; four grandchildren; and a great-grandson. We regret the loss of this strong, capable, and gentlemanly classmate, and send our sympathies to his family.