William E. Waitt, Jr., long–time resident of
Ipswich, passed away on Friday, January 09, 2009 after a courageous
battle with diabetes. He was 82 years old.
He was born in Lynn to William E. Waitt, Sr.
and Doris (Booth) Waitt on June 19, 1926. He went to school in Lynn
and left high school to join the US Navy in 1944. On June 10, 1944
he enlisted in the USNR as Apprentice Seaman at the Navy Recruiting
Station, Boston to serve for a period of two years. On June 12th,
he was recalled to active duty and to NTC, Sampson, NY. On August
16, 1944, his rating was changed to Seaman Second Class. On
September 5th, he was transferred to Landing Craft School
in San Diego, CA. On November 11th, he was received on
board the USS LaGrange and stationed in the South Pacific. While
there he was involved in the invasion of Leyte Gulf, where the USS
LaGrange was shot out from under them. He came back to California
and was sent home with injuries. After recovering, he was
re-assigned to the Fargo Building in Boston. Then he was sent to
Florida, where he was flown to Panama to go aboard the USS
Missouri. After a trip to New York, and a short leave to go home,
he was assigned a rating of Petty Officer. He then proceeded to
escort the body of the Turkish Ambassador back to Turkey on board
the USS Missouri, where he spent the remainder of his Naval career.
He met the love of his life, Barbara Brown,
also of Lynn, while attending Salem State Teachers College in
Salem. William went on to obtain his Masters Degree in Reading at
Tufts University and then went back to Salem College for a Masters
Degree in Administration. He taught for eight years in the Ipswich
Elementary Schools before becoming principal of the Shatswell and
Burley Schools in 1959. He served as interim principal of the
Junior High School to finish out a year when the current principal
left, then became principal of the Paul F. Doyon Memorial School for
23 years. He retired in 1987 after 36 years of distinguished
service. He was highly regarded by the people with whom he worked
and was lovingly called “The Chief”. During his working years, he
was also very active in Boy Scouts as an Eagle Scout and a leader.
He was President of the Essex County Teachers Association, a member
of the Massachusetts Teachers Board of Directors, a lifetime member
of the Massachusetts Teachers Association and a lifetime member of
the National Education Association.
William and Barbara were married on August 18,
1951 and enjoyed 57 years of love and adventure. William and
Barbara were blessed with 8 children: William of Manchester, NH,
and his wife Claudia; Susan Neal of Brentwood, NH and her husband
Alden (Pat); Nancy Rosemore of Crosby, MN and her husband Jeffrey;
Marian Tatarczuk of Brentwood, NH and her husband Stephen; Douglas
of Ipswich and his wife Christine; John of Gloucester and his wife
Georgia; and Sarah Berry of Barrington, NH and her husband Brandon.
These children produced 18 grandchildren, 8 step-grandchildren, 3
great grandchildren and 5 step great-grandchildren.
William was preceded in death by his parents;
an infant daughter, Martha; brother Alfred Waitt, and sister Carol
Conrad. He is survived by his brothers Norman Waitt of Lynn, David
Waitt of Kittery, ME and his wife Pam; and his brother-in-law,
Douglas Brown.
A memorial service will be held at a later
date. Arrangements by the Whittier-Porter Funeral Home of Ipswich.
In lieu of flowers, those who wish may make contributions in his
name to the charity of one’s choice. Mr. Waitt’s memorial will be
the thousands of children who were a part of his life.
