William Merrill Tracy, Sr.

MERIDEN - William Merrill Tracy, Sr., 88, of 138 Beverly Drive, died Monday, Oct. 17, 2005, at New Britain General Hospital .He was the husband for sixty-two years of the late Jane Dibble Tracy. He was born in Newton Center, MA on June 2, 1917, the son of the late Reginald Pierce and Elizabeth Merrill Tracy, and lived in Meriden since he was two years old. He attended Meriden Public Schools, Choate School in Walllngford and was a graduate of Yale University in 1939. Bill served as a Major in the U.S. Marine Corps in the South Pacific during World War II, after which he worked his way up to Vice President of Manufacturing at Insilco Corporation. Bill was very active in the Boy Scouts, Y.M.C.A., as chairman of the board of MEDCO, the Board of Public Safety of Meriden, served as City Councilor and Mayor of Meriden. He was a very active member of First Congregational Chuch and was an avid fisherman and hunter. He is survived by three sons and their spouses, William M. and Mary Lou Tracy, Jr. of Standish, ME, Davis C. Tracy and Marty Williams of Gardners, PA and Thomas N. and Mary Tracy of Portland, ME; a sister, Jean Tracy Burrows of Viola, WI; five grandchildren, Scott D. Tracy of Buxton, ME, Mark R. Tracy of Hollis, ME, Jessica L. Cardinale, of Los Angeles, CA, Luke T. Tracy of Cambridge, MA and Ann E. Tracy of Philadelphia, PA; and two great-grandchildren, Isaac B. Tracy of Buxton, ME and Sara Jane Tracy of Hollis, ME. He was predeceased by a sister, Elizabeth Tracy Sommerwerck. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2005, at First Congregational Church, 62 Colony St., Meiden. The Rev. Dr. John W. Clarke will officiate. Arrangements are under the direction of the Beecher amd Bennett Flatow Funeral Home, 48 Cook Ave., Meriden. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in Bill's memory be made to Franciscan Home Care and Hospice Care Program, 267 Finch Ave., Meriden, CT 06451.