William C. Martel, 59 of Bedford, NH passed away peacefully on January 12, 2015, surrounded by his loving family. Bill was born in Hartford, CT on July 15, 1955, the son of Dr. Cyprien Martel and Mrs. G. Eunice (Coughlin) Martel.
After graduating from St. Anselm College, he earned a Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Bill was an Associate Professor of International Security Studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. In 2014, he was the recipient of the Fletcher School’s James L. Paddock Award for excellence in teaching. Fletcher students loved and admired him for his infectiously positive attitude, gracious kindness, and unparalleled commitment as a teacher and mentor.
Bill was a frequent contributor to print and broadcast media and was active in New Hampshire and national politics. His work in the public policy arena included serving as a Senior Foreign Policy adviser to Governor Mitt Romney during the 2012 Presidential Campaign. Bill also served as an adviser to the National Security Council, was a consultant to Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Office of Secretary of Defense, U.S. Air Force, and served on the Defense Department’s Threat Reduction Advisory Committee. Bill was the Principal Investigator in the joint Fletcher School-MIT Lincoln Laboratory studies formulating cyber codes of conduct and space rules of engagement. He was the Founder and Director of the U.S. Air Force’s Center for Strategy and Technology (CSAT).
Prior to Tufts, Bill was Professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval War College, and had served on the professional staff of the RAND Corporation in Washington.
He is the author of many works including the books, Grand Strategy in Theory and Practice: The Need for an Effective American Foreign Policy (Cambridge UP, 2015) and Victory in War: Foundations of Modern Strategy (Cambridge UP, 2011).
Bill was a loving husband and a devoted and intensely proud father who treasured time with his family. He was a fearless skier, a “Sugarloafer since 1969,” and an avid cyclist. He loved to play tennis, sail and read on the beach in Kennebunkport. Bill’s infectious smile, charisma and quick sense of humor made people want to be around him.
Bill is survived by his beloved wife and best friend, Dianne (Massarelli); his loving children, William Cyprien Martel, Jr. of Manchester, NH and Catherine Martel of Washington, DC; both of his parents of Lewiston, ME; sister Lynne Martel and her husband Jonathan of Lexington, MA; brother Thomas Martel and his wife Dawn of Hingham, MA and brother James Martel and his wife Carolyn of Loudonville, NY; several nieces, nephews, and a large extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Leukemia Fund, 10 Brookline Place West, 6th Floor, Brookline, MA, 02445 or to the Professor William C. Martel Memorial Fund, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University,160 Packard Avenue, Medford, MA 02155.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Monday, January 19, 2015 at St. Elizabeth Seton Church in Bedford, NH, followed by burial at St. Joseph Cemetery, Bedford.