William Cordner

Cordner, William F.
William Francis Cordner died peacefully at his home at Edgehill in Stamford on July 13, 2015. Born in Winnipeg, Canada on August 12, 1918, he moved at an early age to New Jersey and lived in Kenilworth and then Cranford until he joined the US Navy in July of 1941.
He was a graduate of Amherst College (1940), Columbia Business School (1947) and Harvard Advanced Management Program (1965). After World War II he joined National City Bank, now Citigroup, and worked there most of his career, first in the Metropolitan District, then as Vice President and manager of three midtown branches, and finally as Vice President and Senior Credit Officer , managing corporate relationships in the Global Banking Group. After 37 years he retired in 1983. He then became a commercial real estate broker in Stamford and worked for 5 years with Beaudry & Company.
In World War II, he joined the Navy in 1941 and got his indoctrination at Fort Schyler, NY. He became Air Ordnance Officer for Squadron VC-10 on the aircraft carrier, Gambier Bay, CVE-73 which was sunk off Samar, Philippine Islands on October 25, 1944 by Japanese battleships and cruisers during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He and shipmate survivors spent 48 hours in shark infested waters before being rescued.
He was a sports enthusiast as a participant in his youth and as a spectator in his senior years. In both college and high school he was football captain and senior class president and won varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball and track. When he was graduated from Amherst he was awarded the Howard Hill Mossman Cup inscribed "The member of the senior class who has brought the greatest honor in athletics to Amherst College."
He was a former member of the Apawamis Golf Club, (Rye, NY) the Shenarock Shore Club (Rye, NY), the Union League Club (Manhattan), the Innis Arden Golf Club (Old Greenwich), The Retired Men's Association of Greenwich and the Riverside Yacht Club. He was active in volunteerism, and his favorite role was serving as Treasurer of the Greenwich Historical Society. He was also a corporate fund raiser for The Greenwich Symphony and a financial advisor to Greenwich Adult Education. He was a member of First Church in Old Greenwich for 50 years.
He and his wife Marian (they had their 73rd wedding anniversary on July 11) were residents of Riverside, CT for 49 years before moving to Edgehill in 2005. In addition to his beloved wife, he is survived by his son, Bill, and daughter-in-law, Karyn, and his brother, John. He also leaves two granddaughters, Carolyn and Amy and three great granddaughters. He was predeceased by his son, Gerald Cordner.
A service of remembrance will be held at First Congregational Church of Greenwich in Old Greenwich, Ct on Aug 19, 2015 at 3 PM. In lieu of flowers a donation may be made in William F. Cordner's name to First Church as above at 108 Sound Beach Ave., Old Greenwich, Ct 06870.