William Schoonover Decker II ’45

Bill died Aug. 9, 2007.

Bill prepared for Princeton at Montclair Academy in New Jersey. He joined Dial Lodge, but also joined the V-12 program and was commissioned in the Navy. He saw combat as navigation officer on an LST in the Pacific theater.

He returned to Princeton to receive a degree in economics and then took a law degree from Rutgers. He practiced law with his father in Jersey City. After the death of his father, the firm bore Bill's name and became the oldest continuous family law firm in Jersey City until Bill's retirement in 2004. Bill served on several boards in his community, including Stevens Academy, where he became president of the Board of Trustees. He was the attorney for Provident Bank and served on its board and executive committee for many years.

Bill is survived by his brother, Eugene Shaw Decker, and by his partner of 53 years, Laurence Gantt Taber of Madison, N.J. The class expresses its sympathy to the family.