William E Bechtold

Bill was born on March 9, 1931 in Hoboken, New Jersey, to the late Edward and Mabel Bechtold. He was the youngest of three children, with brothers George and James. He grew up in North Bergen and graduated from Union Hill high school in 1950. After high school he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was a Korean War combat veteran. In September, 1952 Bill was wounded in Korea and was awarded the Purple Heart. He continued to serve in the reserves, and received an honorable discharged from the USMC in March of 1960.

Once Bill recovered from his injuries, he went to work for Union Bag and Paper Company where he met his wife Joan. They married in January 1957 and were married for 65 years before Joan passed away in December 2021. They lived in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, for 33 years where they raised their three children Bill, Robert and Aileen. In 2004, they retired to Orleans, Massachusetts.

Bill worked for New York Telephone for nearly 40 years. He started as a field technician and worked throughout Manhattan. He advanced through the ranks to the management team and was extremely proud of his work on the World Trade Center as he oversaw the cabling and installation of telephone equipment throughout both Tower I and II.

Bill was an avid outdoorsman that enjoyed fishing and boating with his family. His HS yearbook quote was “ Fishing and hunting he likes the best. In this sport he ranks over the rest”. Bill was a true family man, he was the strongest and kindest soul we knew. He taught us the value of hard work and unconditional love. He was and will always be our hero. Anyone who met him, loved him. He will be forever missed especially by his 5 grandchildren, Robert, Jessica, John, David and Michael whom he loved so much.

Rest in peace, dad. We all love you.