James Gordon Grant Willard

James Gordon Grant Willard, of Mystic, Connecticut, died peacefully, surrounded by the love of family and friends, on October 24, 2017. Gordon was born in Bridgeport on January 8,1936, son of Warren H. and Irene Sullivan Willard. Gordon was raised in Milford and was a longtime resident of Guilford. He was a proud and devoted alumnus of Fairfield Prep; he later attended Cornell University and graduated from Fairfield University. Gordon worked in the field of hospital administration for more than 50 years, during which he established himself as a highly respected expert in management information systems. He began his career at Yale New Haven Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He later served as a consultant at hospitals across the United States, and continued to work in the field in New York City until his death. Gordon had great intellectual curiosity and a passion for life, accompanied by an understated but lively sense of humor. He loved film and television of all eras, enjoyed reading mysteries and spy thrillers, and had a passion for music of many genres. He greatly enjoyed model railroading, genealogy and history. He had a lifelong interest in sports; he played many sports himself, served as captain of his high school and college tennis teams, and enjoyed following his favorite high school, college, and professional teams. He loved travel, particularly to Cape Cod, the American West, and Europe, but he was always happiest being anywhere on or around the ocean. His greatest joy by far, however, was spending time with his family and friends, and his happiest moments were spent in the company of the Willard and McKeon families.

Gordon is survived by his wife of 44 years, Judith McKeon Willard; his children Gordon Willard and Elizabeth Sulock, James and Jocelyn Willard, Loraine Willard, and Curtis Willard; his grandchildren Aubrey Willard, Abigail Willard, James Willard and Jillian Tyrrell, Jaclyn and Fabian Segarra, and Curtis Willard; his great-grandchildren Mason Segarra and Greyson Willard; and his sisters-in-law Jeanne McKeon Kades, Claire McKeon Nicholls, Patrician McKeon, and Anne McKeon. He is also survived by his nieces and nephews Mary Lynn McKeon and Linda Bell; Maureen, William, and Maggie Armstrong; Megan, Jonathan, Connor, Sullivan, and Quinn Ulrich; Shannon McKeon and Morgan Dubay; Kevin, Patricia, Marianne Integlia, Madison, and Kailyn McKeon; Julie, Dustin, and Reagan Mundey; Brendan McKeon and Neil Riback; Bethany, Randy and Mikaylah Matos; Michael and Meredith McKeon; Kristen Kades and Ian Sanders; Caitlin and Michael Sutterlin; Ryan, Elizabeth, and Addison Nicholls; and Erin Nicholls.

In addition to his parents, Mr. Willard was predeceased by his mother and father-in law, Marian and James McKeon; brothers-in-law John McKeon, James McKeon, Peter Kades, Gerald Daly, and Harry Nicholls; and his sister-in-law, Trudy McKeon Daly.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Gordon’s close friend, Father Kevin Dillon, at St. Patrick’s Church, 35 East Main Street, Mystic, CT, at 10 a.m. on Monday, November 6. Burial will follow at Elm Grove Cemetery, 197 Greenmanville Avenue, Mystic. Family and friends may call at St. Patrick’s Church on Sunday, November 5, between 4 and 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Gordon’s memory may be made to the Fairfield Prep Fund, 1073 North Benson Rd., Fairfield, CT 06824, http://www.fairfieldprep.org/page.cfm?p=2767 , in support of scholarships and financial aid; or to the National Parks Foundation, 1110 Vermont Ave., NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005, https://donate.nationalparks.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1957&ea.campaign.id=53869 .