William V. “Bill” Cawley, 86, a wonderful and loving man to all who knew him, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017 after a brief illness.
William Cawley, 86, passed away on Sunday. His wake will be on Wednesday; his funeral, Thursday.
Born in Cleveland on Jan. 22, 1931, Bill was the seventh and youngest child of Irish immigrants, and lived in Cleveland the first 37 years of his life.
There he met the love of his life, Lois Bruening; they were married in June 1953, with four boys born in the following seven years.
A graduate of Fenn College (now Cleveland State University) and Western Reserve Law School, Bill was a tax attorney for Republic Steel and Carling Brewing before joining Glidden Paint (all in Cleveland).
_______________
— an obituary from Hoyt Funeral Home
_______________
His ascent to vice president and treasurer of SCM Corp. (parent company of Glidden) in 1968 took him to New York, where he later served as president of First Funding Corp. He served on the boards of London-based Shandwick Plc., Woodway Country Club in Darien and the Organ Donor Foundation of Harford.
He and Lois have lived in the same house in New Canaan for over 49 years, and they have spent most of the past 20 winters near Naples, Fl.
Bill loved golf, and played just a month before his death (and made three pars!). But most of all, he loved being with his family and friends. He sought out one-on-one conversations with young and old, and was appreciated for always being “both interesting and interested.”
He was known for sending out photos and articles that he thought others would appreciate, and enjoyed a good joke, football games (live or on TV), and “Barney Miller.” He attended Mass regularly and never swore.
Bill is survived by his wife of 64 years (Lois) and four devoted sons and daughters-in-law (Bill and Pearl of North Merrick, N.Y.; Tim and Carol of Winnetka, Ill.; Jerry and Sue of Old Saybrook; and Tom and Ruthann of Mill Valley, Calif.
He also had 12 grandchildren who thought he hung the moon, and that he could explain how he did that with a couple pieces of fruit.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday Aug. 24, 2017 at 2 p.m. in St Aloysius Church, Cherry St., New Canaan. The family will receive friends on Wednesday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Hoyt Funeral Home, 199 Main St, New Canaan.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Connecticut Coalition for Organ and Tissue Donation.