William M. Moody ’46 died on October 4, 2010, in Falmouth, Maine.

(The following was provided by the Portland Press Herald on October 7, 2010)

FALMOUTH — William Milliken Moody Sr., of Falmouth, died on Oct. 4, 2010.

He was the son of Jenny Milliken Moody and Edward Fairfield Moody, both of Portland. Bill, as he was always known, was born in Portland on March 28, 1924, and grew up on Vaughn Street, summering in Cape Elizabeth.

Bill was educated at Deering High School and Deerfield Academy and entered Bowdoin College in the class of 1946. Shortly thereafter, he joined the U.S. Navy and was transferred to the Navy V12 program at Bates College. From there Bill was transferred to Brown University in the Navy ROTC program. As published in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, Bill became known as 3B Moody because he received degrees from Bowdoin, Bates and Brown in just three years. He also earned nine B varsity letters for playing varsity football, hockey, and lacrosse at all three schools.

After his discharge from the Navy, Bill enrolled at the Harvard Business School graduating in 1948. For eight years he worked at the Portland Company on Fore Street (now Portland Yacht Services) as a sales engineer during which time he traveled the country.

In 1950 Bill was called to active service in the Navy to serve in the Korean War. He served as an executive officer on the Destroyer USS Hailey DD 556 and went on the first around- the-world tour since the Great White Fleet of 1907. Stationed out of Norfolk, Va., and Newport, R.I., his destroyer squadron docked on the U.S. west coast, Hawaii, Japan, Wonsan Harbor in Korea, Calcutta, Singapore, the Suez Canal, and Europe on an air search and rescue mission.

As the executive officer, Bill enjoyed his own cabin, a personal steward, room to hide contraband for the rest of the crew, and the privilege of being the first off the ship, and the last to return to the ship when at dock. He loved every one of these privileges.

On a leave from the Navy, in 1951, Bill married Jane McLane Smith of Falmouth. They were married for almost sixty years and raised four children.

In 1955 Bill had the opportunity to buy the Rufus Deering Lumber Company in Portland from Benjamin Lewis from whom he quickly learned the rules of the lumber trade. Rufus Deering remains a family-owned business.

Bill was very active in the Greater Portland community pursuing both his civic and business interests. As a co-founder of Greater Portland Landmarks he participated in the city’s urban design and historical preservation. He provided a variety of volunteer services to many organizations, including the United Way, the Widows’ Wood Society, SCORE, the Independent Transportation Network, Maine Medical Center, and the Portland Chamber of Commerce. Bill served on the board of trustees of the Waynflete School as vice president and later president. Waynflete recognized his dedicated service with the Alumni Award and the first Drake Award.

In the business community, Bill was an active member of the National Regional Lumber Association and the Maine Lumber Dealer’s Association. He was voted the “Lumberman of the Year” by his professional colleagues. He was elected to the board of directors of the Casco Bank and Trust and continued to represent Maine interests when the bank was purchased by the Bank of Boston. Bill also served as a director of the CH Robinson Company for twelve years.

When Bill moved to Falmouth in 1961 he served on the Falmouth Town Council for several terms and served as chairman for two terms. He also served on the Falmouth Charter Study Committee.

Bill was a member of various clubs including the Portland Yacht Club, Portland Country Club, Cumberland Club, Megantic Rod and Game Club, Davy Crockett Club, and the Yeaman’s Hall Club in Charleston, S.C. He served as an officer for the Portland Yacht Club in Falmouth and the Cumberland Club in Portland.

Bill sailed in four Newport-to-Bermuda races with John Robinson on the Diablo, three Marblehead to Halifax races and numerous Monhegan Island races. He was an avid sailor, skier, gardener, fly-fisherman, tennis player, golfer, and bridge player. He loved music, dancing, and travel. He shared all of these passions with his family and friends. Bill also loved Rufus Deering Lumber Company. He worked hard to run a successful family business and to support his employees.

Bill Moody was a kind, generous, and fun-loving man. He was known to be both tough and fair, and was respected by his employees, business associates, and friends. We are grateful for all that he gave to his family, his friends, and his community.

He was predeceased by his sisters, Elizabeth Staples, Alice Wheelwright, and his brother, Edward F. Moody Jr. In addition to his wife, Jane McLane Smith Moody, Bill is survived by William Milliken Moody, Jr., and his wife, Kimberly, and their daughter, Caitlin O’Reilly, of Yarmouth, Susan Hopkins Moody and her husband, Marc Weideman, and their daughter, Elinor Christine Weideman, of Bozeman, Mont., Katharine Fairfield Moody and her husband, Kenneth Ernstoff, of Newmarket, N.H.; his grandsons, Benjamin James Moody and Christopher McLane Moody of Falmouth; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his son, James McLane Moody.