William (“Bill”) Airlie, 89, of Seashore Point, Provincetown, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully from pneumonia on March 12, 2015. Teacher – pianist – artist – sculptor – photographer - pilot. Although Bill was born in the Scotia / Schenectady / Saratoga area of New York State and lived most of his life there, his heart belonged to the Cape from the time he first visited, with his sister, brother-in-law and mother, in the 1950s. He came to the Cape almost yearly after that, finally in making Provincetown his home in 2010.The son of William Airlie and Maude Dunn Airlie, both of whom had emigrated from Scotland, he was born on May 16,1925 and raised in Scotia, NY. He began playing piano at the age of 5, and became an impressive classical pianist who played throughout his life. He retained the memory of music in his fingers even into his last years, when he could no longer read sheet music. His interest in and talent for creative expression later extended to sketching, painting, and sculpture.He volunteered for the Navy when WWII came, but, due to the death of his father, he was called away from his unit just before they shipped out to the Pacific. He was sent instead to an airbase in Pensacola, Florida for the duration of his service and began there his lifelong love of flying. Decades later, he earned his private pilot’s license. After the war, with the help of the GI Bill, he became the first member of his family to attend ccollege, graduating from Skidmore College. Hebecame a teacher, initially working in a country school in Greenfield, NY, where his students arrived by horse or on foot, and often barefoot. He later transferred to Lincoln Elementary School in Scotia,where he taught 5th and 6th graders for over 20 years. He was a much-loved teacher who often taught several generations of the same family. He had a special feeling for students who struggled, either academically or socially, and was determined to show each of his students that they could shine. He never married. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, he was often in the company of his sister Jeannette’s young family and took literally thousands of pictures of his two nieces. In his later years, he delighted in watching the children of his nieces grow up, just as he had watched his nieces grow. After retiring from teaching in the 1980’s he allowed himself to travel, visiting his nieces in the Virgin Islands and Alaska and taking cruises on traditional cruise ships, clipper ships, and freighters. Although a shy and quiet man, he consistently made an impression on those he met because of his unassuming, patient, and non-judgmental manner. Never expecting to be particularly noticed, he was always surprised to discover that he was liked.He is survived by two nieces and their husbands: Ann Werth and Dr. Michael Werth, of St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. and Jane Biering and Peter Shepard, of Harvard, Massachusetts; three grand-nieces: Laura Tromben of St Thomas, USVI and Fort Wayne, Indiana, Andrea Tromben of St Thomas, USVI, and Erica Shepard of Holden, Massachusetts; and two grand-nephews: Christopher Shepard and William Shepard, both of Harvard, Massachusetts. He will be remembered by them as well as by many from Seashore Point. A memorial service will be held at Seashore Point on March 21st from 2 to 4. Burial will be in the Provincetown Cemetery in the spring.