WILLIAM H. "BILL" LONG

1933 - 2022

LONG, William H. "Bill" Was born at home on January 1, 1933, in Everett, MA, seven of nine children of Elmer and Catherine (nee Peachey) Long. They moved to Rockland, where Bill grew up and attended high school, becoming valedictorian of the class of 1951. There, in math class, he met his future love of over 70 years, Bettylou Ramsey. After graduation, Bill enlisted in the marines, but received a tuberculolsis diagnosis at his induction physical. He spent two years in a sanitorium and was released only after a cure was discovered in 1954. Once freed, he and Bettylou married in 1954, and produced four children, Linda (Shaughnessy), Matthew, Andrew, and Trecia (Wiener-Long), who in turn have produced nine grandchildren, Brian, Keely, Anna, Jenna, Kajsa, Madeline, Jack, Colby, and Carson. Bill attended Northeastern University, graduating cum laude in Electrical Engineering, 1959. He joined MIT's Lincoln Lab as an engineer, and then in 1963 was hired as badge number 659 at Maynard, MA-based Digital Equipment Corporation, a pioneer in early computing. As DEC's fortunes rose, so did Bill's, and he retired in 1987 as a Senior Vice President. At home in Acton, MA he shared his love of computing, hiking, and tennis with his family. He was a die-hard Boston sports fan. After retirement, Bill and Betty retired to Falmouth, where he enjoyed woodworking, acting (Woods Hole Theater), and golfing. As Betty is sight challenged, he co-created a program reading newspapers on the radio. He was a tutor in local schools and, for 20 years, served seniors as a tax preparer for AARP. Bill liked jigsaw puzzles and loved a good pun, and the bad ones too. An avid genealogist, he researched and wrote "It's a Long Story," a genealogy of the branches and generations of the Long family. Bill Long was a dedicated husband, father, and grandfather. He was devastated by the loss, too soon, of precious grandson Brian. Perhaps they are together now contemplating windmills and comparing computer codes. In 2014, Bill and Betty moved to Bourne. In 2017, he was diagnosed with Interstitial Pulmonary Fibrosis. William Howard Long passed on January 9, 2022 in the care of his girls, in his sleep. He is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren, and his brother Thomas of Sanford, Maine. Words cannot express how much he is missed. A Celebration of his Life will be held at a future time. Donations can be made to the Perkins School For The Blind or the American Lung Association.

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