William Francis REILLY

REILLY, William Francis William Francis "Bill" Reilly, 78, of Avon, formerly of Simsbury, passed away peacefully of natural causes on Sunday, (March 7, 2010) at UConn Health Center. He was born in New York City on August 7, 1931 to loving parents John J. Reilly and Katherine (Cunningham) Reilly. His father was a member of the New York City Police Department and his mother an integral member of the Christian Brothers community at Manhattan College. Growing up in Riverdale, NY with brothers John "Jack", George, and sister, Ellen, he graduated in 1953 from Manhattan College and went on to pursue his MBA degree at Siena College in Loudonville, NY. He married Joanne Elizabeth Forster on October 16, 1954. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army having served in Germany during the Korean War. In 1967 he moved with his family to Simsbury to begin a capital campaign for The Westledge School. He became a co-founder of Westledge Associates Real Estate and continued to be an active and respected member of the CT real estate community for the duration of his professional career. He took leadership roles in youth baseball and football programs in Simsbury. Throughout his life, he continued to support several religious and non-profit organizations and most notably A Better Chance program and the St. Mary and St. Catherine churches. The love and legacy of his life was his family. He is survived by his wife, Joanne, of 56 years and the joy of his life, their six children, Thomas and wife Kerri of Ridgewood, NJ, Bill Jr. and wife Ellyn of Madison, Lisa and husband Michael Lockhart of Franklin, MA, Megan of Marblehead, MA, Michael and wife Caroline of Litchfield and John of Boston, MA; 15 grandchildren, Kate, Liz, Maggie, Annie, Ben, Courtney, Will, Seamus, Connor, Michael, Kathleen, Sean, Lauren, Owen, and Grafton; brothers, John and wife Claudia Reilly of Sacramento, CA and George and wife Peg Reilly of San Jose, CA, and sister-in-law Frances Reilly; and, many nieces and nephews. In addition to his family, Bill had many lifelong friends whom he deeply cherished as well. He is predeceased by his daughter, Eileen (d. July 1, 1973), sister, Ellen and her husband Thomas Raftery of Glastonbury. Friends may call at the Vincent Funeral Home, 880 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury on Thursday, March 11, from 4 – 7 p.m. The funeral will be Friday, March 12, 9:45 a.m. from the funeral home followed by a Mass of Christian Burial, 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary's Church, Simsbury. Burial will be in St. Bernard's Cemetery, Tariffville. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The University of Connecticut Foundation, Inc., UConn Health Center Development Office, 10 Talcott Notch Road, Suite 100 Farmington, CT 06032 (denoting the Jim and Pat Calhoun Cardiology Research Endowment Fund). For online condolences please visit www.vincentfuneralhome.com. The Reilly family will be forever grateful to Dr. W. David Hager and Dr. Christopher Pickett and the entire UConn Health Center staff who enabled us to have many years of wonderful memories.