William Deering Webster
MYSTIC - William (Bill) Webster, 96, died peacefully on July 20, 2023, in Mystic. He was born June 17, 1927 in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, the son of Fullerton D. and Elizabeth (Robbins) Webster.
Bill graduated from Mountain Lakes High School in 1945, where he played basketball and football. After high school, he served with the US Navy for a brief stint during World War II. He then attended Swarthmore College in PA for 2 years before transferring to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1950, where he graduated with a degree in Naval Architecture.
After college, Bill started his career of over 40 years at Electric Boat, where he was an engineer and involved in the nuclear weapons program.
He met his wife Ruth Ann Gremley on a blind date in 1951. They married on December 27th, 1952 and settled in Mystic, in the house that Bill and his brother John built. Bill and Ruth celebrated 70 years of marriage in December, 2022.
Ruth says that Bill’s “first love” was sailing! Bill was an avid sailor throughout his life, serving as Commodore at the Ram Island Yacht Club and active in the Corinthian Yacht Club. He sailed in many Off Soundings races and took his family on sailing adventures during summer vacations. He also enjoyed tennis and skiing with his family.
In addition to his parents, Bill was predeceased by his brother John. He is survived by Ruth; sons Steven Webster and his wife Barbara Yerrick, of Underhill, VT and James Webster and his wife Julie, of Bellingham, WA; daughters Ann Webster and her husband Christopher Cryder, of Mystic, and Jane Webster Barnes and her husband Jay, of Boxborough, MA; seven grandchildren, Noah Ventola, Cara Cue, Nate Backus, Emily Webster, Jack Barnes, Abigail Webster and Teddy Barnes; one sister, Ruth Vandegriff; and four great-grandchildren.
A service of remembrance will be held at 2:00pm, Saturday, September 23rd at the Mystic Congregational Church, 43 East Main Street, Mystic, CT. In lieu of flowers, donations in Bill's memory may be made to Mystic Congregational Church, 43 East Main Street, Mystic, CT 06355.