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William McCormack
William McCormack
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William McCormack Obituary
William ("Bill) McCormack, age 60, passed away due to heart failure on June 8, 2024, with his adoring wife and two daughters by his side. Bill grew up in Rowley and attended Triton Regional High School in Byfield.
Bill first started playing ice hockey at 6 years old. He graduated from the Westminster School in Westminster, CT in 1983 and was the captain of its hockey team from 1982 to 1983. Upon graduating from preparatory school, Bill was selected in the National Hockey League entry draft, 10th round, by the Philadelphia Flyers. Bill went on to play ice hockey at the division I ECAC level, for the University of Vermont Catamounts from 1983 to 1986. From there, he went on to play international ice hockey (IHL) in Russia, Italy and Japan.
Bill received his BA at UMASS Amherst and later moved to Japan. He immersed himself in the language and culture, and eventually married, settled and raised his family in Japan. He started up and owned The Tree House English Studio in Koganecho Yokohama. He often shared on social media beautiful photos of his garden, the cherry blossom trees and the river that flowed outside The Tree House English Studio. When in Massachusetts visiting family, he enjoyed taking photos of the Rowley and Newbury marshes.
He is sorely missed by his wife Shukuko McCormack and his daughters, Aimi and Elena McCormack of Yokohama Japan; his sisters Kara McCormack of Ludlow, MA, and Kate McCormack Reznicek of New Hampshire; his nephews Christian DiGenova of Ipswich, MA and Henry Resznicek, of New Hampshire; aunts, uncles, and many cousins and friends. Bill was predeceased by his adoring mother, Nancy (Brown) McCormack; by his aunts, Julia Gilligan, Joanne Frahm, Patricia Welch, and Shigeko Brown. Bill predeceased his adoring father, Sylvester William McCormack, who passed away just six days following Bill. His family in Japan held a funeral procession for him in Japan in June. The family plans to hold a ceremony of life in the fall, with some of his remains being buried in the Rowley Cemetery. Contact his family members for more details regarding the burial and Celebration of Life.
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5 Entries
Chris
May 27, 2025
Bill was a real character! I used to work with him back in the day! Always game for a laugh and full of energy. I was shocked to hear of his passing. May he rest in peace.
My sincere condolences to his family.
Chris
Helen and William Sr. Zenon
December 25, 2024
Wonderful man. Rest in beautiful paradise.
Bill Zee
December 25, 2024
Bill was a very complex and difficult person to figure out but he shined on and motivated many people he knew to keep on going no matter what. From the other Bill from mass. I wish the very best to his wife and kids.
Izumi Yamamoto
September 14, 2024
Dear Bill,
It´s hard to believe you are gone. Each time I walk along the river towards Tree House English Studio, like I did almost every week over many years, it feels like I will see you outside watering your small garden or feeding the hungry seagulls flying in from the Port of Yokohama.
Inside, the Studio was small and cozy----just like the treehouse you built as a kid in the forest behind your home, you said----with your special coffee quietly brewing in the corner.
While sitting in the Tree House and looking over the river, we spent countless hours discussing the etymology of funny English idioms, how the pronunciation of the "n" sound is totally different in English and Japanese, why all the jokes from the movie "Airplane!" are incredibly funny and yet incredibly hard to understand for many Japanese people, and why you were not happy with the current American society but still loved your country.
Teaching English might not have been the career you envisioned for yourself as a boy, but you were a great language teacher nonetheless. You were always eager to help me with my challenges while learning English, answered my endless waves of questions in the best possible ways, and never got tired of talking about the language itself (as well as everything involving it).
Thank you for all the lessons, for all the help and inspirations you gave me, and, above all, for sharing the love of the English language. I´m sure that many of your students agree with my feelings of gratitude.
So long, Bill.
May your soul fly back to your beloved forests of New England.
Izumi
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Jonathan Hammond (Jon)
September 7, 2024
Hanging out at the Tree House.
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