He was a graduate of The Hill School, where he was president of his class and captain of the track team. His roommate at Hill and Princeton was Walker McKinney. Sam Howell and Tom Lowrie joined them in their sophomore year and they joined Tiger Inn as an “ironbound.”
Bill was captain of the freshman track team and subsequently lettered in track. He majored in public and international affairs and was enrolled in the NROTC. After a tour of duty in the Atlantic and Mediterranean as a deck officer, he became a carrier fighter pilot in the Pacific.
After the Navy, he graduated from the University of Michigan Law School. Deciding to make California his home, he moved to San Diego, where he practiced law for 50 years before retiring to San Marcos. He was 80 years old when he tried his last jury case.
Bill was a soft-spoken, true leader. He was very proud that he once held the world record in bench press for his age group.
Bill was married, divorced, and leaves no children.