William Edward Vickery

William Edward Vickery passed away at age 91 unexpectedly in his apartment in Ashlar Village on Friday, Dec. 12th, of an apparent heart attack, with his wife of 67 years, Gretchen, by his side. He died suddenly and very quickly despite immediate aid by emergency personnel.
Ed (who went by his middle name due to the many "William"s in his family) was an economist with a long-held interest in economic development. In his first overseas project he served as team leader for the University of Western Ontario (Canada) exchange project with the University of Ghana, teaching economics at the University in Legon, Ghana from 1969-1973. After returning to the US, he continued to work in economic research and then founded and was the Executive Director for 10 years of a consortium of 34 universities located primarily in the southeastern U.S. that performed training and research in economic development for U.S.A.I.D. He also served for nine years as Executive Director of the Electric Power Research Center at North Carolina State University as well as working as a frequent consultant for the World Bank in developing countries. He held degrees in engineering (BE, Vanderbilt), business (MBA, Harvard), and economics (PhD, Univ. of Chicago).
Ed and Gretchen loved to see the world together and his work afforded them the opportunity to live in Indonesia, Canada and Ghana while raising their daughters Jennifer and Katherine, and to travel to Nepal, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Kenya, Brazil, Belize, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and numerous countries in Europe Ed was an avid runner most of his life, after having been on the varsity track team at Vanderbilt, and often took long runs while traveling through the various countries he visited.
Ed also loved music and literature. He met Gretchen when they were each members of a cappella singing groups (he in the Harvard Business School Tycoons, and she in the Wellesley Widows), and he continued to sing at every family opportunity throughout his life, to the great enjoyment of his loved ones. His love of books extended to reading many out-loud to his daughters and then grandchildren, and he was especially good at making all the voices of the characters spring to life, from Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, to the much-anticipated annual reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. His passion for books led him to write his own work of fiction, Power Void, in 2018. It is an action packed tale based upon the very real dynamics of developing and making available transformative new technologies in emerging economies, and was inspired by his work and travels.
Upon retirement in 2000 he and Gretchen built a home in Barkhamsted, CT to be closer to the families of Katherine and Jennifer, who both lived in the Northeast. After being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, he and Gretchen moved to Ashlar Village in 2024 and he immediately loved living here and the warm community around them.
In addition to his wife, Ed is also survived by his daughters, Katherine D'Urso and her spouse Stellario D'Urso, and Jennifer Vickery and her spouse Peg Oliveira; his grandchildren, Rosevan Vickery and their partner Casey Pons, and Flavia D'Urso and her spouse Chelsea Jones, and Willow Oliveira; and his great grandson Elio D'Urso-Jones. Ed is predeceased by his sister Jane Wilson.
All Funeral Services will be private in the care of Wallingford Funeral Home.