William Aldis Doubleday, 92, died peacefully in his sleep May 1, 2017.
He leaves his two sons, William J. Doubleday of Portland OR. and Barry S. Doubleday of Plympton MA.; his two grand daughters, Sydney Doubleday Anzuoni of Plymouth MA. and Hadley M. Doubleday of Jupiter FL.; his sisters Dorothy Doubleday, Natalie Doubleday and Marie Doubleday; and his brother David Doubleday.
Mr. Doubleday was born in Campton New Hampshire on May 7th, 1924. He graduated from Woburn High School in Massachusetts in 1942 and entered into active service with the US Army just days after his 18th birthday and before his high school graduation ceremony.
As a boy, Mr. Doubleday was very interested in electricity and radios due in part to the influence of his maternal grandfather who had installed the first hydro electric generators in the state of Vermont. With this interest and a sharp mind he became the youngest enlistee in the 117th Radio Signal Corp. During the war, Mr. Doubleday spent 31 months in the African and European Theater of Operations where his duties included Signal Intercept of German military communications which took him necessarily close to enemy lines due to the limitations of the available electronic equipment of that time. He took part in battles and campaigns in Tunisia, Naples, Rome, Southern France, the Ardennes and Central Europe.
After Mr. Doubleday’s war time service he returned to the Boston area to marry Theresa Ann Molinaro, his childhood sweetheart. They were married for 70 years until Theresa’s passing in January of 2016. While living in Boston, he attended Boston University’s Engineering School and worked part time at the Massachusetts Department of Health laboratory. In time, he passed the state Professional Engineer exam to become a Certified Professional Engineer (PE) and started his career in the Massachusetts Public Health Department.
In the late 1950s, Mr. Doubleday moved his family to Amherst MA. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s he was the District Engineer for the Massachusetts Division of Water Pollution Control in the Western Massachusetts counties. In that position, he oversaw and approved the construction and operation of waste water treatment plants for both municipalities and industries. His leadership and technical skill in pollution mitigation eventually led to the ecological recovery of many of the streams and rivers in Western Massachusetts including the Connecticut River.
In the early 1980s, Mr. Doubleday and his wife, Theresa, retired and settled in Harwich MA and Fort Myers FL. He enjoyed bicycle riding and scuba diving in Florida as well as an extensive vegetable garden in Harwich. For many years after his retirement, in the summer months he used his Professional Engineers stamp to work as a part-time Town Engineer and health agent for the town of Harwich. He was always an avid reader and student of history, particularly the Revolutionary War and Civil War time periods. His lifelong interest in American history may be traced back to his own wartime experiences as well as his knowledge of ancestors going back to colonial times, including Artemus Ward, the Revolutionary War general who served as second in command to George Washington in the early years of the American Revolution.
Memorial visiting hours will be held Thursday, May 18th at the Shepherd Funeral Home, 216 Main Street, (Rt. 106) Kingston from 4:00-7:00 PM with a Memorial Service set to begin at 7:00.
William will be laid to rest with military honors on Friday, May 19th at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.