William Scharpf

William G. Scharpf Bill Scharpf died at home on Saturday, August 24, 2013, aged 88. Bill was born in Baltimore, MD and attended Forrest Park High School. He served in the US Merchant Marines and graduated from the University of Maryland in Chemistry, later earning an MBA from Rider College. He spent his career as a research chemist, specialising in biologically active compounds such as pharmaceuticals and biodegradable pesticides, primarily at FMC Corporation. While at FMC he earned a number of patents and published several research articles. One of his most notable contributions was the invention of the carbofuran pesticide and nematicide commercially sold as Furadan. Furadan has been widely used to increase food production throughout the world and Bill won an Edison Award recognising his innovations. Bill and his wife, Billie Louese, retired to Lake Monticello in 1991. An avid sailor and golfer for most of his life, Bill could regularly be seen on the lake in his Sunfish and kept up his golfing until just a few weeks before his death. Bill is survived by his wife, two sons, and four grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at the Lake Monticello Club House at 11 a.m. on Thursday, August 29, 2013. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Lake Monticello Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad.

This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.