William Joseph McGrath

1930 - 2022

William Joseph McGrath, 92, of Kingston, Rhode Island, passed away on December 15, 2022, at South County Hospital in Wakefield, surrounded by family and showered in love. The son of William J. McGrath, Sr. and Catherine (Griffin) McGrath, William was born on November 22, 1930, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The youngest of two children, he was known by friends and family simply as "Bill". A proud graduate of both Fairfield Preparatory High School (Class of '48), and Fairfield University (Class of '52) in Fairfield, Connecticut, Bill graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Bill took great pride in his Fairfield experience and often shared his personal story with many that he was part of Fairfield's 2nd graduating class. But his most notable accomplishment was attending a Fairfield University/Albertus Magnus College dance "mixer" in 1948 in New Haven where he met his future bride, Jacqueline Alice (Carroll) McGrath. Bill and Jackie were married on October 2, 1954, in West Haven, Connecticut.
Bill served his country proudly as a Sergeant in the Army from 1952-1954 during the Korean War. Honorably discharged, Bill returned to Connecticut to be married in 1954, and soon began his career as a claims adjuster with Nationwide Insurance out of New Haven. After some promotions, Bill and Jackie bought their first home and raised six kids in Cheshire. As Bill advanced in the company, the family moved to Westwood, Massachusetts (1972-1977) for his promotion to District Sales Manager, and then to Kingston, Rhode Island, where they lived for the next 45 years.
Bill retired from Nationwide Insurance after 38 years of dedicated and distinguished service. During his years in Rhode Island, Bill and Jackie enjoyed a quiet, yet full life together involving frequent and extensive travel throughout Europe. Even in retirement into his late 70s, Bill and Jackie continued to travel abroad extensively with Jackie writing as a freelance travel writer for several outlets (including The New York Times and The Washington Post), with Bill always by her side as her photographer. The duo were published in several travel articles, with Jackie as the writer and Bill's pictures with a photo credit accompanying every story.
Predeceased by his wife Jackie, sharing over 60 loving years of marriage, Bill was a father of six, a grandfather to 13, and a great-grandfather of two. Survived by his children: Carroll Suzanne (McGrath) Hood and husband, Richard Hood, of Amherst, MA; W. Tod McGrath and wife, Maureen (Salazar) McGrath, of Hingham, MA; Katherine Elaine (McGrath) Smith and husband, William L. Smith, of Warwick, RI; Kevin Peter McGrath and wife, Sarah (Connell) McGrath, of Denville, NJ; Patrick Dana McGrath and wife, Christina (Ross) McGrath, of Griswold, CT; and Kristin Ann (McGrath) Pine and husband, John J. Pine of Warwick, RI. Bill is also survived by Mary Elaine (McGrath) Butler (sister) and husband, Eric G. Butler, of Lynnfield, MA; Mark Butler (nephew) and wife, Eileen O'Neill, of Boston, MA; and Lauren Butler (niece) of Salem, MA.
A "Celebration of Life" event will be held privately. For condolences in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of William J. McGrath to: The Tomorrow Fund, c/o Rhode Island Hospital Campus, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02903-4947, and/or to Meeting Street, 1000 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02905.