Mr. William B. Hoey Jr. of Wilmington formerly of Cambridge passed away suddenly at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington, August 3, 2009. He was the beloved husband of Anna T. (DeFrancisco) with whom he shared 55 years of marriage. Born and raised in Cambridge he was the son of the late Mary (Radley) and William B. Hoey Sr.
Mr. Hoey was a retired collector for the MBTA where he worked for thirty-five years. He was also a member of the Carmen's Union Local 589 of Boston. Prior to his work with the MBTA, Mr. Hoey honorably served as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corp from 1948 to 1952 during the Korean War and was a survivor of the battle at the Chosin Reservoir. " The fighting at the Chosin Reservoir was the most violent small unit fighting in the history of American warfare. No other operation in the American book of war quite compares with the show [the battle of the Chosin Reservoir] by the First Marine Division [and attached U.S. Army and British Royal Marines]." General S.L.A. Marshall, Prominent Army Historian of the Twentieth Century.
Mr. Hoey was mostly devoted to his loving family and he enjoyed and cherished time them. He was also an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox and enjoyed gardening and taking walks with his dogs.
In addition to his late parents, Mr. Hoey is predeceased by his brother, the late Robert Hoey. He is survived by his beloved wife Anna, and their children, Jacqueline Mitza and her husband Lawrence of Wilmington, and James Lamoureux of Waltham. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Heidi Mitza and her husband Michael Robertson, Lawrence Mitza, Amy Schena and her husband Christian, Mathew Lamoureux and his wife Jennifer. He is further survived by his great grandchildren, Ethan, Lauren, Rachel and Haley.
Funeral services will be held from the Dello Russo Funeral Home, 374 Main St., WILMINGTON, Thursday, August 6th, at 9 a.m. followed by a funeral mass celebrated in St. Dorothy Church, Main St., Wilmington, at 10 a.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours at the Dello Russo Funeral Home will be held Wednesday from 4 thru 8. Services will conclude with military honors and burial at Wildwood Cemetery, Wilmington. As an expression of sympathy memorial contributions may be made in William's memory to Dana/Farber's Jimmy Fund, 10 Brookline Place West, 6th floor, Brookline, MA 02445-7226.