William P. Powers Sr.

East Lyme - William P. "Bill" Powers, a local educator and civic leader, died peacefully on May 29, 2011, after a short illness.

A Niantic resident for nearly 60 years, he was born on Dec. 23, 1921, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Joseph Leo and Katherine (Blake) Powers, both Connecticut natives.

After his father died in December 1930, Bill and his brother, Richard, were raised in New Haven by his mother and the extended Blake family. Bill graduated from Hillhouse High School in 1939, and went to work at High Standard Manufacturing Co., a maker of pistols and repeating rifles. He worked many other side jobs, a pattern that repeated itself throughout his life. In New Haven, he delivered telegraphs by bicycle for Western Union, worked maintenance on the New Haven Railroad, and was a busboy in the Berkeley College dining hall at Yale. When war broke out, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and was called up in October 1942. He trained as a pilot in Jacksonville, Fla., and Hutchinson, Kan., and flew the PB4Y-2, the "Privateer". Bill was stationed in Kearney, Calif., and left active service when the war ended. He attended Columbia University on the GI Bill and graduated in 1950. During his studies, he was a waiter at the Drake Hotel, where his favorite patrons included Cole Porter and his least favorite patrons included Frank Sinatra.

Bill took a job teaching at the Niantic Center School in 1951. After a stint as principal at the Flanders School, he moved back to Niantic Center as principal. In 1967, he became principal of the Great Neck School in Waterford. Along the way he earned a master of arts and a sixth year degree from the University of Connecticut, and he served as president of the Elementary and Middle School Principals' Association of Connecticut. He took pride in knowing the names as well as something personal about every student in his schools. Former students credit him for nurturing a love of reading; he read aloud to every class, every year, as a teacher and principal. At a ceremony marking the dedication of the new Great Neck School recently, he was recognized as one of its great former leaders.

Bill contributed immensely to the development of life in the Town of East Lyme. He was the first chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission, where he was instrumental in saving the McCook property for public use. He served on the Board of Finance and the Board of Selectmen, and ran for First Selectman in 1976. He was chairman of the Democratic Town Committee. When he retired from education in 1983, he worked for more than 20 subsequent years and stepped up his community activities. Most notably, Bill was for several years the legislative aide for Senator Mark H. Powers, his son. He worked in the state capitol as a much beloved senate messenger and was an investigator in the Public Defender's office in New London. Bill served on the board of the Thames Valley Council for Community Action (TVCCA) and the Metrocast Cable Advisory Council, and was active in the American Legion, Post 128. Countless couples will remember him as a dedicated and eloquent Justice of the Peace. He was a member of St. Agnes Church, and in later years, joined the Muffin Club, which gathered after 7 a.m. Mass.

Although easier to list, Bill's professional contributions pale in comparison to the role he played at home as husband and father. None of what he did at school and in the community would have been possible without the support of his wife of more than 58 years, the former Jane Marshall Healey. They married on April 18, 1953, in Orange. She survives him at home in Niantic.

Their five boys also carry on, William Jr., of Sutton, Mass., Mark, Joseph, and Richard, all of Niantic, and Thomas of Clearwater, Fla. Bill also loved his ten grandchildren, Hailey, Nicole, Katherine, Joseph, Caroline, Jessica, William, Maggy, Benjamin, Alexander; and daughters-in-law, Charlotte, Maura, Susan, and Emilie. Bill is also survived by his brother, Richard Blake Powers of Evergreen, Colo. He will be remembered and missed by all.

Calling hours will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 7, at the Thomas L. Neilan & Sons East Lyme Funeral Home, 48 Grand St., Niantic. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 8, at St. Agnes Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a contribution to the East Lyme Aquatic & Fitness Center Foundation, Inc. or the East Lyme Library Foundation be considered.

Please visit www.neilanfuneralhome.com for directions, to view Mr. Powers' online video tribute, or to send a condolence message to his family.