Deceased September 13, 2010
View alumni profile (log in required)
Read obituary
In Memory
We lost Bill Eckley when he passed away on Sept. 13, 2010, in Spartenburg, S.C., at the age of 90. He is survived by his son, Ross; a daughter-in-law, Debbie; and three grandchildren, all of Geffney, S.C., where Bill also lived.
Bill was the son of Paul Eckley, assistant football coach and very successful baseball coach at Amherst during the time we ’43ers were there at Amherst.
Bill came to us from Amherst High School and left the college at the end of his freshman year. He worked in industry for a couple of years and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy: he served aboard a destroyer, the USS Kidd, seeing action in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Theaters.
After the war, he finished his college career at Furman University, graduating in 1949. He then worked for the Roger Milliken Co. as head of the industrial engineering department, retiring in 1981.
In 1948, he married his Amherst sweetheart, Francesca Kosakowski. They had two sons, Bill Jr. and Ross. Bill endured a lot of tragedy in his life, losing his son Bill (exactly how and when we do not know) and losing Fran to a long illness in 1988.
After retiring, Bill enjoyed his loving family, playing golf and taking long walks with his beloved labs.
Monty Hankin ’43
Debbie Eckley