Obituary: William A. Durkin Jr., 85; Construction Engineer Who Volunteered for Many Greenwich Projects

William A. Durkin Jr., passed away peacefully, on July 6, 2013 at Greenwich Hospital with his family by his side. He was 85.

He was born Jan. 29, 1928 to William A. Durkin and Margaret Durkin.

He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1949, with a degree in civil engineering, and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Following his discharge, he joined the Walsh Construction Company, where he spent his entire career building paper mills, tunnels, bridges, nuclear power plants, military bases and other projects throughout the United States and abroad. He was particularly proud of his family's long association with the Walsh Construction Company which his father joined in 1914.

Both prior to and following retirement, Bill volunteered his engineering expertise to many non-profit organizations, guiding projects for St. Michael's Church, Brunswick School, Greenwich Hospital, and Stepping Stones Museum, to name a few. He served on several non-profit boards and chaired the Brunswick School Board of Trustees in the 1980's. In recent years, he enjoyed giving his time to serving residents at the St. Camillus Nursing Home in Stamford. Although he traveled extensively for work, volunteerism and service at home played a large role in his life which he impressed on each of his sons.

An athlete, Bill's interest in team sports, whether as a participant or observer, were exceeded only by his love of golf, fly-fishing and skiing, each of which he excelled at and spent countless hours teaching his sons and grandchildren. He could shoot his age, coax a trout to a dry fly and, as recently as February, was skiing in Vermont. He was a member of the Greenwich Country Club, Ekwanok Country Club and the Beaverkill Trout Club.

A true gentleman, mentor and friend to many, Bill leaves behind his wife of nearly 60 years, Ginny, sons Bill, Patrick, Tim, Tom and Dan; daughters in law Martha, Kristen, Liz, Sue and Susan, and fifteen grandchildren.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Michael's Church, Greenwich, at 1 p.m. July 11. There will not be calling hours.

Bill's family requests, that in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Cancer Research Institute (in memory of William A. Durkin Jr.), 55 Broadway, Suite 1802, New York, NY 10006, or the William B. Nollman Memorial Caddy Scholarship Fund, c/o the Greenwich Country Club.