At Princeton he joined Charter Club and majored in politics. He played freshman squash and IAA squash and bridge. His senior year roommates were James Chaplin and Paul Charbin.
At Harvard Law School Bill was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He also served in the Army. He specialized in mineral interests as a law partner at Baker & Daniels in Indianapolis for 40 years, and then was an adjunct professor of government at Indiana University-Purdue University for five years.
In 2002 Bill and his wife, Deborah, relocated to Cambridge to be closer to four of their five children. In retirement he was a member of the Massachusetts Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee.
Bill and Deborah loved to hike at their summer home in Maine. His most consuming interest was philosophy. He took every available course at Harvard, then took courses at Harvard Divinity School and Boston College.
Bill is survived by Deborah; their five children, Anne and her husband, Giancarlo, William F. III, Megan, Andrew and his wife, Beth, and Peter; four grandchildren; and sister Lucy.