McFARLAND, William W. of Weston passed away Monday, October 3, 2022.
Will was born in Illinois, but grew up in Burlingame, CA. He travelled to the east coast for college, and earned his Bachelors, Masters, and PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He spent most of his career working at the Draper Lab in Cambridge, MA until his retirement in 2002. Will's work centered on guidance, navigation, and control systems, first for the Air Force and Navy ballistic missile systems and later for manned and unmanned undersea vehicle systems. He was not able to discuss his work openly, but that never stopped the extended family from asking about it - if only to see what creative story he would spin that time.
Will was an avid reader and particularly enjoyed histories of the ancient and modern world. He instilled an appreciation of history in his family through frequent travel to sites of historical significance - from Civil War battlefields in Virginia and Pennsylvania to the castles, lochs, and battlefields in the United Kingdom and France, as well as other marvels of the ancient world. When not traveling to historical sites, Will loved to visit sites of great natural beauty. This included many national parks throughout the US, further afield in Europe, and as far as New Zealand and Australia. More recently, he always looked forward to spending time in Naples, Florida (to get away from the cold New England winters!), and visiting grandsons Alexander and Owen outside of Fort Collins, Colorado.
Will loved to be outside, wherever he was. Working on the yard and the house, laying in wood for winter, taking sons William and David on canoe trips, and just going for long walks around the neighborhood were constants throughout his life - as was enjoying time sitting in the backyard after a long day to savor the quiet moments.
After his retirement, Will volunteered around Weston; working the polls, spending countless hours building sets for the Weston Friendly Society, and working to maintain the Golden Ball Tavern Museum. He developed a passion for genealogical research - writing 4 histories for the four branches of his family - and also volunteered to help others at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston. He was never idle for very long, with the possible exception of completing a particularly difficult sudoku puzzle.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 55 years Nancy (Sue) Kelly McFarland, son William and his partner Julie Kerner of Waltham Massachusetts, son David and his wife Brianna and their two children Alexander and Owen of Timnath Colorado, and brother John McFarland of San Mateo California and his two children Scott and Sara.
A memorial service will be held at the First Parish Church in Weston, MA (349 Boston Post Road, Weston, Massachusetts) at 2 PM on Sunday, November 20, 2022. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in Will's memory to the Golden Ball Tavern Museum of Weston, MA (www.goldenballtavern.org/donate/), or to Good Shepherd Community Care of Newton, MA (a Hospice Organization)(www.gscommunitycare.org/Donate/).