…Navy veteran, Aerospace engineer; 78
TEWKSBURY - William Francis “Bill” Loughlin, age 78, a retired Aerospace Engineer and resident of the Emerald Court community in Tewksbury, died peacefully Monday morning, December 31, at Lowell General Hospital, surrounded by his beloved family. He was the devoted husband of Marie Camille (Giaramita) Loughlin, with whom he had celebrated a fifty-seventh wedding anniversary this past September 17th.
He was born in Gardner, Maine in 1940, one of eight children of the late Walter J. and Eleanor (Hosmer) Loughlin, and educated in the Augusta school system. Upon graduation, he enlisted into the U.S. Navy, and served aboard the U.S.S. Boston, a Guided Missile Cruiser, and was honorably discharged during the Vietnam War era. Bill was on active duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He and Marie raised their family in Billerica, where they resided for forty years, before moving to Tewksbury in 2012. With complete family support, Bill and Marie provided foster care for seventeen children during their lifetime association with Mass D.S.S.
He worked as an electronic engineer for I.T.E.K. in Lexington and I.T.T. in Woburn, and specialized in space optics. He worked on the N.A.S.A. Viking Lander Program, where the cameras he worked on went to Mars. He was also proud to have worked on a Panoramic Optical Bar Camera, which provided the first Lunar Map of our Moon.
While residing in Billerica, Bill was a faithful communicant of St. Mary’s Parish in Pinehurst, and since moving to Tewksbury a communicant of St. William’s Parish.
In his leisure time, he enjoyed Motorcycle Touring on his Honda Gold Wing, and had served as Treasurer for the Northern Star Motorcycle Association for twenty-five years. Bill was a bowler at Lowell’s Brunswick Lanes, and a member of the Emerald Court Golf League.
Besides his wife, he is survived by two children, William F. Loughlin Jr., and his wife Cindy of Lowell, and Karen M. Maguire of Billerica; four grandchildren, Erica Rosauer and her husband Dan of Chicago, Andrew Loughlin of Chicago, Samantha Marie Maguire-Nugent and her husband Matt of NH, and Miranda Maguire and her fiancée Erin Laduke of AK; two great grandchildren, Wyatt and Arthur; a brother Peter Loughlin and his wife Debra of Waldaboro, ME; a sister, Nancy Fairfield of Waterville, ME; many nieces and nephews; and was predeceased by siblings, Joan Heeney, Thomas Loughlin, Patricia Clark, Timothy Loughlin, and Walter Loughlin Jr.
A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Monday, January 7, at 10:00 a.m. in St. William’s Church, 1351 Main St. (Rte. 38) Tewksbury, followed by burial in Tewksbury Cemetery. At Bill’s wishes, there is no wake. In lieu of flowers, memorials to St. William’s at the address above, will be appreciated. visit: tewksburyfuneralhome.com