William M. Andersen ’81

Surrounded by his family at their farm near Phoenixville, Pa., Bill died Oct. 31, 2025, after a lengthy illness.

Born in Wilmington, Del., Bill spent summers on the family farm, where he developed a lifelong love of agriculture and land conservation. He grew and sold corn in high school, earning the nickname “Corn” from fellow freshmen in the Princeton Inn annex and other classmates who would reunite as the “Hellhole” throughout his life. At Princeton, Bill majored in geological engineering, joined Tiger Inn, and played freshman football and rugby.

In 1980, while attending geology field camp in Red Lodge, Mont., he met his future wife, Liz Dibble (Amherst ’81). After earning an MBA from Wharton, Bill founded Longview Property Group and built a successful career developing commercial and residential projects.

In 1990, Bill and Liz purchased Broadwater Farm near Phoenixville, where they raised four children and restored the historic property. They revitalized its orchard, planting hundreds of trees, and became pillars of the local sustainability movement, helping to found the Phoenixville Farmers’ Market in 2002.

Bill is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; children Kathryn Keating ’08 (Jared ’05), Charles (Kathleen), Arnold (Nicole), and Eleanor MacGibbon (Douglas); five grandchildren; mother Kathryn; and siblings James, Donald, and Sarah Willig ’83.