William Michael Lennon

Largo, Fla. - CWO 3, USN (Ret.) William Michael Lennon, 92, died peacefully at home, in the quiet morning hours of Dec. 16, 2012. Formerly of Uncasville and Latimer Point, Stonington, Bill or "Red" as he also was known for the great wave of red hair he sported in his youth, moved to Spring Hill, Fla., in 1984, and later to the Tampa/Largo area.

He is survived by his wife, Judi, of Largo, Fla.; his daughter, Susan Lennon and her husband, Nick Merritt, of Hartford; and his son, Will Lennon of Latimer Point, Stonington. He is also survived by the apples of his eye, Will's children, granddaughter, Kathleen, and grandsons, Craig and Kevin.

He was predeceased by his wife, Mary, in 1998, and their son, Michael, in 2007.

Born Sept. 12, 1920, in Long Island City, N.Y., at home, before hospital births were the norm, our dad's story is a familiar one that has been told about many of those in his generation, a story of pride in and commitment to country, community, and family.

This father of ours took his leave of high school during a sophomore English class, when the lines of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, "Water, water every where, nor any drop to drink", were recited just one time too many. He was 15, and it was the height of the Great Depression. He told his father he would find a job or maybe join the Navy. His father told him that he was too young to do either, but understanding well this independent middle child of his, he knew our dad would find his way.

Our dad enlisted in the U.S. Navy on April 5, 1939, a date that was always top of mind for him. Upon completion of basic training in Newport, R.I., Seaman Lennon was assigned to ASR Falcon and was involved with the rescue and salvage of the SS Squalus off Portsmouth, N.H. He served on SS R-10, SS Grenadier, SS Triton, SS Besugo (at age 23, he was at the time the Navy's youngest chief electrician), SS Parche, SS Carbonero, SS Pomfret (serving as Chief of the Boat with a young Ensign, later Lt. j.g. Jimmy Carter, who was two years out of the Naval Academy and on his first submarine assignment), SS Tiru, S/M Base - Pearl Harbor, LSD Epping Forest, CVA Philippine Sea, S/M Base - New London, and USS Fulton. CWO 3 Lennon retired in 1960.

Like many submariners, upon his retirement from the Navy, our dad embarked on a second career at Electric Boat/General Dynamics, where he worked on many of the world's best submarines, including the Lafayette Class, the Thresher Class, the Sturgeon Class, the Narwhal Class, the Los Angeles Class and the Ohio Class (Trident). Throughout his EB career, he worked in many different areas of the company, including planning, ship management, trade management, the program office, and cost engineering. He retired in 1983.

Our dad is the last of the dads in the "village" of parents who had a hand in raising all of us who were connected in one way or another by Uncasville, Latimer Point, St. John's Church, and St. Bernard High School, doing whatever needed to be done, whenever it needed to be done, and with whatever resources they could muster. Without fail, these moms and dads always knew what kind of Dutch we were about to get ourselves into. What we didn't understand then is that it was their hearts full of unconditional love and their guiding hands that created that safe space in which we could take risks, and learn and grow. They trusted in us.

Our dad was a humble man, who didn't talk much about his service record; we've now seen his medals for the first time and better understand his commendations. Like many, our dad did not talk about the sad and painful stories of either World War II or the Korean War. Run silent, run deep: we learned to listen to what our dad did not say. We learned many lessons, especially about what it means to stand watch in everything you do in life. From the bumps along the way, we learned resilience and perseverance.

Our dad loved to tell stories, to hear a good joke, to play a practical joke, to kibitz, to putter, and to tinker. It's anyone's guess how many miles he logged walking behind his mechanical goat (what he called his lawn mower). While he slowed down a bit during the past 15 years as he came through on the other side of some serious illnesses and surgeries, his mind was as sharp as a tack. He was always, as he called it, "cogitating" on how to improve on things, most recently wind power and nuclear submarine design. We found bullet points he had prepared for a presentation on nuclear plants that he made last year at the community in which he and Judi lived. They began: "Continued learning and listening to opposite points of view are essential for good citizenship." Our dad never stopped working to make the world a better place.

Pops will be out at sea one last time when the Navy scatters his ashes. We will gather in celebration of his life and the legacy the village has passed to us sometime in the coming spring/summer. If you would like to make a gift in the memory of our dad, please do so to St. Edmunds Retreat at Enders Island, PO Box 399, Mystic, CT 06355, https://www.endersisland.com