William T. Comfort, Sr.
1932 - 2021
Londonderry, NH - William T. (Bill) Comfort, Sr., 88, passed away peacefully at his home on Sunday, November 21, 2021. He was the loving husband of Maureen (Fenelon) Comfort. Born in Cambridge, MA, on December 10, 1932, he grew up there and was a graduate of Cambridge High and Latin School. Following high school, he attended Boston College, and then joined the U.S. Air Force.
After a tour of duty in Korea in the 1950s, Bill was hired by Polaroid Corporation where he spent his entire career working in several distinct roles for nearly three decades. Bill and Maureen were married in 1959 and not long after that they moved to Stoneham, MA, where they raised their three children. In the 1970s, he was very active in the Stoneham Youth Hockey program as a coach and mentor to aspiring local hockey players. During this time, he also built and maintained a backyard skating rink each winter for many years, much to the delight of his children and their friends, relatives, and neighbors.
For more than 30 years, summer vacations for the Comfort family were spent in Friendship, ME, where Bill organized many excursions to islands in Muscongus Bay on the Red Baron, his treasured vintage motorboat. Being on the ocean in Maine with his wife and family formed many of Bill’s fondest memories and the island daytrips included picnics, swimming, and combing the beach for sea glass and shells. And his favorite activity in Maine was digging for clams in the fertile beds that surround the bay.
After retiring, Bill and Maureen moved to Forest Hills of Londonderry in 2004 where they established new and enduring friendships in this welcoming, supportive community. Here, friends and family would often gather for Super Bowl parties, where Bill would organize betting squares and card games in his sports-themed “man cave.” His lifelong enjoyment of playing cards also led to a stint as a poker dealer at Rockingham Casino in Salem, NH.
The Comfort family wishes to extend our thanks to our neighbors and friends for their support during Bill’s illness as well as to the staff at Amedisys Hospice, especially Heidi and Tiffany, who so expertly and lovingly cared for Bill at home.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Agnes (Wood) Comfort, his brothers Charles Comfort Jr. and James Comfort, and his sister Mary “Alice” Rapoza Linehan.
He is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Maureen, his sister Diane Wesson and her husband Wayne Wesson of Ipswich, MA, his sister-in-law Carolyn Comfort of Tewksbury, MA, his daughter, Patricia Comfort and her husband, Jeffrey Calmus of Marblehead, MA, and his sons William Comfort Jr. of Northampton, MA, and Christopher Comfort and his wife, Lisa Comfort of Stoneham, MA. He is also survived by his beloved granddaughter, Nora Comfort Tirrell of Nashville, TN as well as many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews.
Following cremation and a private scattering of his ashes, a celebration of Bill’s life will take place in Spring, 2022. In memory of William T. Comfort, Sr., donations can be made to the Amedisys Foundation, 3854 American Way, Suite A, Baton Rouge, LA, 70816. Amedisys Foundation funds provide aid to home health, hospice, and personal care patients during times of financial difficulty.
Arrangements have been made by the Peabody Funeral Homes of Derry and Londonderry, NH.