William Benjamin Van Buren III

William Benjamin Van Buren III, of Austin, Texas, passed away peacefully on February 26, 2016, at the age of 93. William ("Bill") was born on March 25, 1922, in Brooklyn, NY, to William Benjamin Van Buren II and Dorothy Way Van Buren. The family later moved to New Jersey, where Bill and his younger brother Robert ("Bob") grew up. Bill graduated from Plainfield High School in Plainfield, NJ. He was an excellent student, an Eagle Scout, and also a high school baseball player. Bill selected Washington & Lee ("W&L") University in Lexington, VA for his undergraduate education. He loved W&L, played great college baseball there, and was a member of the W&L glee club. After spending three years at W&L, Bill enlisted with the U.S. Naval Service in June 1942. He completed Naval Service schools at University of Richmond; was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School at Northwestern University in March 1944, where he became an officer; and Communications School at Harvard University. In July 1944, Bill received his B.A. in Economics from W&L and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Once graduated, he then served in the U.S. Navy until May 1946. While in active service during World War II, Bill served as a Communications Officer and 1st Lieutenant aboard the USS Simpson, a destroyer, in the Atlantic Ocean. Bill loved his years with the Navy and had the greatest regard for the Navy and his fellow Navy men. After the war, Bill decided to pursue a legal career and attended Yale University Law School. He graduated from Yale Law School with an LLB in June 1949 and began his legal profession in New York. He was admitted to the Bar of NY State in June 1950. Bill married Joan Cottrell Whitford of Plainfield, NJ on September 11, 1947. Bill and Joan were married nearly 50 years at the time of her death in June 1997. They had a very happy marriage and family life, with four children, Susan, Patricia, William and Richard. The family lived in Plainfield, NJ; Wayne, PA; and then Watchung, NJ. They spent glorious summers on Long Beach Island, NJ, mainly in North Beach where Bill and his brother Bob built summer homes. Bill's major career tenure was with Merck & Co., Inc. His career with Merck spanned 35 years, where he held various corporate legal and management positions, from Director of Corporate Development to, eventually, Senior Vice President. Bill was always greatly respected and admired for his exceptional intelligence, discernment, and integrity. He had the utmost respect for Merck and all the great accomplishments, as well as corporate culture and management, of that company over the years. Bill retired from Merck at the end of 1986, and Bill and Joan moved to Keowee Key, SC for their retirement years. Unfortunately Joan passed away in 1997, after which Bill moved to Austin, TX in 1998 to be near two of his children. In 1999, Bill remarried, to Norma Adams Sutton from Atlanta, GA. Bill and Norma enjoyed many pleasant years in the Barton Creek area of Austin, where they met many new friends, did some traveling, and eventually moved into the Querencia-Barton Creek community. All his life, Bill was very athletic and played and enjoyed a wide variety of sports. He especially loved college and professional baseball. There is a rumor Bill was scouted by the NY Yankees, his very favorite team, when he was playing college baseball at Washington & Lee. Bill also loved music, was an amateur trumpet player, and had a very broad taste in music loves. All who knew him will remember his quick wit and enduring sense of humor. Bill was predeceased by his eldest daughter Susan in 1976, and his first wife Joan in 1997. He is survived by his second wife, Norma Adams Van Buren of Duluth, GA; his daughter Patricia Van Buren and her husband John M. Almond of The Hills, TX; son William Stuart Van Buren, his wife Donna Nelson Van Buren and their daughter Kathryn Elizabeth Van Buren, of Seattle, WA; son Richard Whitford Van Buren and wife Leslie Moore Van Buren of Austin, TX and their three sons, Logan Matterson Van Buren, Nicholas Paul Van Buren, and Derek Jackson Van Buren. Bill is also survived by his niece Marcia Van Buren-Brown and her husband Thomas W. Brown of New York City; niece Cynthia Way Rapalje Van Buren of Palm Beach, FL; and nephew Robert Scott Van Buren and his partner Robyn Saros of North Beach, NJ. Bill's family wishes to thank the wonderful staff and administrators of The Plaza at Querencia-Barton Creek for their kind care and helpfulness throughout Bill's residence there. Additionally and especially, the family wishes to thank Bill's personal caregivers from the Halcyon Home agency: in particular Cherlyn Fulton, Gherry ("Jay") Polycarpe, and Albert Kusi, for their outstanding nursing care and loyalty during Bill's final years. A funeral service for Mr. Van Buren will be held at Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 1:00 PM. The service will be followed by visitation with the family. Interment will be at Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains, NJ. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.org or the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org