WILLIAM M. DeHARDE

DeHARDE WILLIAM MATTHEW DeHARDE William Matthew DeHarde, 81, who shared residency in New Bern, NC and Arlington, VA, passed away peacefully in his sleep on October 27, 2014. He survived lung cancer for over 4 years. Bill was born October 24, 1933 to William A. DeHarde and Mary DeHarde (nee Schmader) of Erie, PA where he attended Sacred Heart Elementary school, Cathedral Prep and Gannon University. Bill is survived by his best friend and loving wife of 25 years Linda Roman-DeHarde (nee Petrinjak), son Edward DeHarde and wife Maggie nee Martel of Derwood, MD, daughter Linda Slattery and companion Richard Sherwood of Monrovia, MD, sister Mary Czarnecki of Erie, PA, brother Mark DeHarde and wife Mary Ann nee Haas of Deer Island, FL and 12 grandchildren, William Sherman, Michael Sherman, Katie Sherman, Matthew Sherman, Caroline Slattery, Melissa Slattery, Joseph Slattery, Christina Sherwood, Mary Sherwood, Sarah DeHarde, Hannah DeHarde and Alice DeHarde. He was married to Peggy DeHarde nee Jennings of Wise, VA but the marriage ended in divorce. The Petrinjak family holds a special place in their hearts and will cherish the memories of the love Bill had for their daughter, sister and Aunt Linda. Bill served 4 years active duty in the US Navy as an aerographer's mate during the Korean Conflict and was stationed at Port Lyautey, Morocco, now called Kenitra and Naples Italy. Subsequently, he received his college degree at Penn State University in Labor Management Relations. During his summer breaks Bill worked on the great lakes as a coal passer on ore boats for several different companies and spent time in Miami, FL driving a taxi cab to help pay for college. Bill started his brilliant career of 38 years with the federal government at the Department of Labor in 1961 as a management intern. In 1975 he moved to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation where his Executive Director, the late Martin Slate said of Bill, "More than any other single employee, Bill had been responsible for creating the infrastructure for pension payments and services to workers and retirees and had always operated at the highest level of excellence". Bill's motto, "work hard, work smart, have fun" was the attitude he imbued for himself and encouraged for his staff. Bill held several titles with the last being Deputy Executive Director and Chief of Staff. Bill was a charter member of the Senior Executive Service, vice-chairman for the Advisory Council to the Federal Retirement Thrift Board, a member of both the Senior Executive Association and National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. After retiring in July of 1994, Bill volunteered his time as a Court Appointed Special Advocate which promotes the rights of children. He was instrumental in fostering the lives of several of those children. He taught chess lessons at Williamsburg Middle school during their after school program. He volunteered in homeless shelters throughout the District of Columbia in the 1980's and volunteered his services with Hospice. He was a life time member of The Knights of Columbus and Thad Dulin. Bill had several interests that he pursued with a great passion. He loved to box in his earlier life and was known to handle a cue stick with great ease. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, boating, motorcycle riding, horseback riding and golf. He played softball and managed and played for the NVSS league for 10 years and came in second in the long ball contest his first season. Bill was a ferocious reader and loved mysteries and non-fiction biographies. Listening to music and singing were his favorite past times, he had a golden voice and loved to sing with his buddy Paul Rhodes, aka "The Awful Brothers". Special memories in his life that he treasured were taking his young grandkids to the beach on his own. They enjoyed ice cream and hot dogs for every meal with pure delight while learning life's lessons through grandpa's eyes. Bill enjoyed life to the fullest and left an impression on everyone he met. His winning smile and blue eyes were only part of his charm. Dynamic, fearless, gregarious, honest, witty, and warmhearted were some of his winning qualities. The family gives special thanks to the wonderful care givers Samrawit, Massey, Muna, Alem and Ester who gave him loving care and support to make his past few months comfortable. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to be made to The Lung Cancer Research Foundation, So Others Might Eat or Central Union Mission. A gathering to celebrate Bills accomplished life will be announced through emails to family and friends, linrmn@aol.com. A private family service and burial will be held at Arlington Cemetery at a later date. Services under direction of Northern Virginia Burial & Cremation Society. www.novacremate.comwww.novacremate.com