William F. Courtney

William F. Courtney, 89, of Punta Gorda, FL passed away February 1, 2013. He was born June 21, 1923 in Little Falls, NY to William and Catherine Courtney. Bill attended Bowling Green University in Ohio where he had enjoyed being on the basketball team. He also attended the University of Geneva, and received his Master's degree from the London School of Economics. He served as a Foreign Service officer until 1980 and his posts included; Gabon, Cameroun and Nigeria. He was the Deputy Chief of Mission in Gabon in 1964 during a coup in which the American embassy was bombed. He was an avid golfer and worked with the Ganonese government to build a golf course when they did not have one. Bill's final position was as US Consul General in Bombay, now Mumbai India. He retired to Punta Gorda in 1981. Bill's first wife, Mary Parkhouse was born in England and he met her while she was working for the UN in Geneva, she passed away in 1985. In 1988, he married Marion Davies and they enjoyed traveling to India, Europe and Egypt together.

He is survived by his wife Marion Courtney of Punta Gorda, FL; daughter Catherine (Frank Morales) Courtney living in San Francisco and two step-children Laraine (Jim) Lawrence and Scott (Janice Aurini) Davies who both reside in Canada; grandchildren, Michael, Cole, Zachary, Tatyana, Elise and Rowan. He was pre deceased by his first wife Mary, and their daughter, Anne Elizabeth Courtney who passed away in 1993.

A Memorial Service will be held at a later date.