William Yates Bogle III passed away on Jan. 22 at his home at Meadow Ridge in Redding. He was 97.
William Yates Bogle III passed away on Jan. 22. His memorial service will be private.
Known as Bill or Bud, but also Buddy, Budro, “the big Boges” — and BB to his grandchildren. True to his nickname, he was a buddy to everyone. He would talk to anybody at any time and he always wanted to help people who were down on their luck or just needed a friend. In the 1970s, for example, he mentored a man who was in prison in Connecticut.
Bud was born on May 17, 1927 in Montclair, New Jersey. He was a graduate of Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey, where he played soccer. After high school he worked to help support the family and then joined the Marine Corps.
After marrying Florence Andrew in 1956, the couple moved to West Hartford. Three children followed and so did a series of moves: The family moved from West Hartford to Farmington, Connecticut, then for part of the 1970s and 1980s they resided in Woodstock, Vermont before returning to Connecticut. After the marriage ended he moved to Darien, and he spent the last seven years of his life at Meadow Ridge in Redding where he was happy to play the role of an eligible bachelor.
The high point of his business career was founding a company called Bogle Corporation, which manufactured and sold conveyor belts (“Bogle Better Belting”). He was the consummate salesman, and after his business closed, he worked as a manufacturer’s representative, selling such products as rubber edges for snowplows and chain for sand spreaders.
He also dabbled in importing (rubber gloves, wine from Hungary, sweaters from Ecuador). And he helped his son Peter in marketing and selling packets of “O-Liminator,” the world’s greatest household odor eliminator.
Amazingly, he continued working until last year — not only to help pay the bills but also because he loved maintaining the relationships he had built over the years.
He was a dog lover, a squash player, a tennis player, a skier and was a member of the Hartford Golf Club. Later in life he was a beloved member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Darien, where he was a frequent volunteer at Sunday services.
Bud was also known for his pancakes, radical sandwich recipes like peanut butter and mayonnaise, card tricks, impromptu singing, spectacular wipe-outs on the ski slope, tickling the ivories (playing the piano), and speaking in a Scottish brogue — especially during time with his brothers, most likely after a cocktail.
He stayed fit through working out and swimming and he never stopped striving to improve. Until nearly the day he died he would talk about practicing and getting better at something (like golf or croquet) or learning something new (the ukulele). Although he never really mastered his mobile phone!
Bud was predeceased by his younger brothers, the twins Jack and David. He was divorced from his wife Florence, who passed away in 2020. He leaves his three children: William Y. Bogle IV, Elizabeth Bogle Workman and Peter Andrew Bogle. He also leaves five grandchildren: Will (another namesake, William Y. Bogle V) and Jeremy Bogle, along with Katie, P.J. and Harry Bogle.
Services will be held privately. Kane Funeral Home, Ridgefield is in care of arrangements.
— an obituary from Jowdy Kane Funeral Home where online condolences may be left