William Theodore Gaudy, 94, of Whitehall Pond died Wednesday at Mystic Manor after a brief illness.
He was born on Oct. 22, 1909, in New York City, where he graduated from Fordham University Schol of Pharmacy in 1930.
A retired U.S. Army Colonel in the Medical Service Corps and a recipient of The Legion of Merit, Mr. Gaudy entered the Army as a first lieutenant in 1942, serving in Europe during World War II.
During his 22-year military career he served as Chief of Medical Supply, U.S.Army Headquarters, Europe, in Heidelberg, Germany, and as executive officer of Walson Army Hospital at Fort Dix, N.J.
He also served as executive officer of the former Army Medical Department Research and Graduate School of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the 98th General Hospital in Munich and the 4th Medical Field Laboratory in Germany, and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C.
Following his retirement from the Army in 1964, Mr. Gaudy became assistant director of Gorgas Hospital in the Panama Canal Zone, serving from 1965 to 1973.
Mr. Gaudy was an avid antiques and arts collector who enjoyed researching unusual items. After leaving the Canal Zone he became a dealer in select objects and gave lectures on the history of British silver. He lived in Columbia, S.C., Biloxi, Miss., and Jackson, Miss., before moving to Mystic is 1996.
He is survived by his wife, Wilhelmina Tupper Gaudy of Mystic; his daughter, Bethe Gaudy Dufresne, a staff writer at The Day, and son-in-law, Marcel P. Dufresne, of Old Mystic, and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 20, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Mystic. For driving directions to the church, please click on "Driving Directions" (to the funeral home) link listed below, as the church is located next door to the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, gifts in his memory may be made to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 15 Pearl St., Mystic, CT 06355.