William Erwin “Bill” Meece

 William Erwin “Bill” Meece, age 96, of Newark, DE, passed away on Thursday, August 12, 2021.

Born on March 29, 1925, Bill grew up in the Bronx, NY. He was admitted to Stuyvesant High School at age 12 after skipping grades in elementary school, taking the subway to lower Manhattan by himself for classes. Bill was a proud graduate of Cooper Union in Manhattan, and earned his Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware.

He proudly served in the United States Army during World War II, with tours of duty in the Philippines and Papua, New Guinea. After his Honorable Discharge from the Army, Bill joined DuPont in 1950, at the Chambers Works facility. After multiple promotions, he was transferred to the Wilmington headquarters, becoming Assistant to the Production Manager for Dyes and Chemicals and then Marketing Planning Manager for Aromatics. In 1972, Bill moved to the International Division, where he set up several new corporate initiatives, and which took him to countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

His final position was as a researcher in the Planning and Intelligence Division, which he found amusing as a reader of spy fiction. Upon retirement from DuPont, he formed his own company, Comp-Pat, where he continued to do contract work in patents well into his 80s.

Throughout much of his life, Bill enjoyed outside hobbies.  He was an avid birdwatcher, having travelled with the Audubon Society to add “Life Birds” to his list. He enjoyed fishing, classic mysteries, and solving the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzles up until this year.

In addition to his parents, William was preceded in death by his wife, Rita; and brother, Jack. He is survived by his four children, Claudia Barone (Biagio), Roger (Norma), Gregory (Rosemary) and David; three grandchildren, Emilia, Ursula, and Gregory, Jr.; and four-great grandchildren.

All services will be held privately at the convenience of the family at All Saints Cemetery.