William B. Whiting

1920 - 2016

William Bradford Whiting, World War II veteran, retired mechanical engineer, and resident of Contoocook, N.H., died Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in hospice care at Presidential Oaks, Concord. He was 95 years old.

Bill was born November 23, 1920, in Mayville, Wis., but moved several times during his childhood, most memorably to Glendale, Ohio, which he remembered fondly all his life. His family started to vacation at Squam Lake in the 1930s, buying a cottage there in the 1940s, and for the next almost 70 years, being there was the highlight of his summers. He attended Cornell University, where he joined ROTC, was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon (Deke), and met his future wife, Jean Warner. Graduating in 1942 with adegree in mechanical engineering, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army andassigned to the 802nd Field Artillery as a survey officer. There he taught his section some basic trigonometry, which improved their accuracy dramatically. He served in Europe from summer 1944 until after Germany's surrender, and he fought successfully with his unit in the Battle of the Bulge, earning a Bronze Star. He had been promoted to the rank of Captain by the end of the war. Bill was proud of hisservice, and he attended a number of reunions of his artillery section in later years.

Returning to civilian life after the war, he became a heating and ventilation engineer and got into the new field of air conditioning. After gaining experience with York and Carrier, in 1958 he and another engineer formed a consulting engineering firm in Bryn Mawr, Pa. He retired in 1981, and in 1988 he and his wife, Jean, moved to Contoocook, where they became enthusiastic fans at the many Hopkinton High sports events of their granddaughters Bethie, Krissie, and Annie Whiting. In retirement Bill consulted on a pro bono basis with the NH Antiquarian Society and the Hopkinton Library, helping to resolve HVAC problems there. Bill joined an informal men's golf group which played regularly at Duston Country Club in season and met weekly for lively breakfasts at a local restaurant during the off-season. Bill was the last surviving member of that group. Jean Whiting died in 1999.

Bill had a quick, dry wit and a quiet sense of humor, which continued to surface even during his last weeks at Presidential Oaks. Beyond his engineering training, he had a mechanical sense that allowed him to fix almost anything and explain cogently how things worked. His family believed that if he couldn't fix something, it simply couldn't be fixed. In the earliest years of personal computers he taught himself how to use one and then kept up with the changing technology sufficiently to email regularly with family until just a few years ago. His most lasting legacy to his family, however, is his example of total honesty and integrity, evident in every part of his life.

Bill Whiting is survived by his daughter Elizabeth Bloomquist and her husband Allan (Contoocook); daughter Anne Rollins and her husband John (Washington, DC); and son John Whiting and his wife Anne (Contoocook). He had five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 354 Main St., Hopkinton. Reception in church hall will follow. Interment for family only at Old Hopkinton Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Catholic Charities in Manchester, N.H., or to AMVETS National Service Foundation, Lanham, Md..

Arrangements are entrusted to the Bennett Funeral Home of Concord.

Messages of condolence may be offered at bennettfuneral.com.