William Farley Fuller, age 81, of Marion, Massachusetts died unexpectedly on April 26, 2011. He was born February 28, 1930 in New York City to Margaret Elizabeth Farley and Wallace Watt Fuller. He graduated from Portsmouth Priory School and Harvard University with BA and MBA degrees. He played rugby for Harvard and was a founding member of the Wall Street Rugby Club. At Harvard he was a member of the Hasting Pudding Club and the Phoenix Club.
He served on active duty as an enlisted man in the U.S. Marine Corps and later as an artillery lieutenant with U.S. Army in Korea, where he received the Commendation Ribbon. In 1955 he married Barbara Jane MacNeil of Newton, MA and settled in Darien, Connecticut.
In his 35-year business career, he specialized in municipal bonds, becoming Senior Vice President, director, and head of the Municipal Bond and Public Finance Department for White Weld & Co. and later Paine Webber. He retired as Executive Vice President with Rotan Mosle and Co. in Houston, Texas.
In his private life, he excelled in chess as a young man, and in music, playing the violin and later in life the cello. He was an expert sailor, an active member of the Darien Yacht Club, and Commander of the Darien Power Squadron. He restored and conserved antique books, an enthusiasm he shared with his great-uncle, Frank Hogan, a legendary attorney and collector of rare books.
As a resident of Stonington, Connecticut, he was a trustee of the Westerly Library and officer of both the Village Improvement Association and the Historical Society. He moved to Marion, Massachusetts in 1998, where he was again involved with the library and joined the Board of Directors of the Community Nurse Association. He and his wife restored the Elizabeth Taber House and in 1999 received the preservation award from the Waterfront Historic Area League in New Bedford. A granddaughter attended Tabor Academy.
In retirement, he pursued studies of favorite subjects, including the poet Emily Dickinson, and the role of Norway in World War II. He wrote and published Reckless Courage, a history of a Norwegian family during the German occupation. The book has been in print for seven years and was recently published in Norway. In 2009 he was named an Honorary Son of Norway. He helped in the management of the award-winning Boom Restaurant in Westbrook, Connecticut founded by his daughter Jean.
He is survived by his wife; by five daughters, Frances Baldwin, Faith Fuller, Abigail Fuller, Ruah Seidel, and Jean Gest; by a sister, Margaret Fuller MacNeil; a half-brother, John Fuller; and nine grandchildren: Jack and Ali Madigan; Elian and Jamesin Seidel; William Baldwin; Leonore, John Patrick, and William Fuller: and Barbara Nell Gest. He was preceded in death by his granddaughter, Josephine Fuller. In celebration of his life, donations may be made to the Elizabeth Taber Library in Marion.