William Budding

Mystic - William Alexander Budding,CPT-USN (Ret.) 86, of Mystic, passed away Dec. 15, 2007 at Mary Elizabeth Nursing Home after a brief illness.

Bill graduated in 1942 from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis in the wartime-accelerated class of 1943. During World War II he served aboard the submarine Seahorse in various roles including executive officer. He received the Silver Star for Gallantry and Intrepidity in Action.

After the war he earned a master's degree in naval engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He retired in 1968 as a captain in Portsmouth, Va., after serving 26 years in the Navy. During his Naval career he served as production control officer at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va., and shipbuilding and control superintendent at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, focusing on the construction and repair of naval vessels, primarily submarines. After his retirement from the Navy in 1968, he took a three-day break and began his second career at Electric Boat in Groton as a naval architect, retiring in 1986 as the manager of naval architecture.

Bill's hobbies were golf and sailing. He raced his ensign, Aries, in southeastern Connecticut from the mid-'70s through the early 1980s when he purchased his cruising boat, a Nonsuch named Seahorse. He enjoyed cruising with different clubs in the local area until 1995. Bill was a member of Ram Island Yacht Club, Nauyaug Cruising Club and Masons Island Yacht Club.

Bill participated at Mystic Seaport and volunteered since 1986 with the Gung Ho squad. He was also a member of the Mystic Seaport Pilots.

Bill is survived by his current wife of five years, Molly Griswold Budding. He was married to Viola Stegman Budding for 57 years. For the past five years, Bill has wintered in Redlands, Calif., with Molly and her family. He is also survived by his son, Al Budding of Florida, grandson, Thomas Budding of Florida and daughter, Anne Budding Orzech of Niantic and their spouses, Jennifer Beach and John Orzech. His brothers, Claude Budding and Henry Budding, and his sister Norma Mohr and numerous nieces and nephews also survive him. His extended family of Molly Brenner of California, Kath Chesterman of England, Jimmy Griswold of California, and Gayle Kildebick of California as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren survive him.

A Memorial Service will be conducted at the Mystic Congregational Church on Friday at 2 p.m. Private burial will precede in Elm Grove Cemetery.

The Dinoto Funeral Home, 17 Pearl Street, Historic downtown Mystic is assisting the family.

Donations in his memory may be made to the Mystic Seaport.

To share a note of remembrance/condolence with his family, please visit www.dinotofuneral.com.