William Newell Hosley Jr.

Melinda and I were saddened to hear of Bill´s death. We extend our condolences to Christine and the family. I was of the Connecticut Landmarks board when he was director and valued his insight and hard work for the organization . Melinda was a trustee at The Wadsworth the entire time he was a curator and appreciated his thoughtful guidance in all things relation to the American decorative arts . His enthusiasm for the historical buildings and artifacts was impressive and Connecticut is in...

Dear Christine and family, I am so sorry for your loss. I was fortunate to have attended one of Bill's cemetery talks at Hartford's Old North Cemetery. He knew so much Hartford history! I also was impressed by his Dec 2023 article in the Hartford Courant about the cannons from the Civil War flagship USS Hartford. Who else could teach us about the cannons, and the painting at the Atheneum, and the importance of studying history? He will be missed.

I worked with Bill for five years at the Wadsworth Atheneum- his enthusiasm for Connecticut history was catching! His 1985 exhibition and scholarly catalog on the Connecticut River Valley is a model of what a brilliant curator can do. I treasured Bill´s frequent emails on a wide variety of topics. When he was born they broke the mold. He will be missed. My condolences to Christine, Abagail, and Benjamin. Gregory Hedberg

I was thinking of Bill recently and was shocked and saddened to hear of his untimely passing. I was impressed by his exhibitions at The Wadsworth Atheneum many years ago during his time helming that organization and have long owned several of his books. Many years later I finally got to meet and work with him as he and a team of us worked to save the historic 18th century Olcott House on Main Street in South Windsor. I am so glad that I had the foresight to tell him how impressed I was by...

Dear Christine, Charles, Ben, and Abby, Losing cousin Billy is very sad. Billy was a great guy, and I admired him greatly. A family man, a thinker, creative, fully living life, and of good character. He was never one to be idle, and was often on a diversity of adventures. Encounters with Billy were always engaging and stimulating. I had hoped to see Billy this fall or next spring. He wanted me to see his family history museum in the barn, and make a journey to Boston. I will surely miss...

I knew Bill and Christine before they knew each other, and I'm stunned to hear of his death. He was as gifted at communicating his passion and wealth of information about so many things as he was passionate and well-informed. His death is a loss to everyone he informed or inspired, including those who never had the chance to hear him speak. Decades ago, he somehow talked me into showing him Old North Cemetery on a Saturday in February. He also forgot to check with Christine so see if she...

Truly a force in CT cultural preservation and education for decades. Affected many organizations. Condolences to Christine

Members of the Plainfield (MA) Historical Society are so sorry to learn of this terrible loss. Mr. Hosley had been such a strong and enthusiastic supporter of our local house museum and doctor's office, the Shaw-Hudson House. He will be missed by so many.

Condolences from an old acquaintance