William D Maroney

Born on June 22, 1937 to parents Vincent and Mary Maroney, Bill was the eldest of four children. He grew up in a traditional Irish Catholic family in Brooklyn, NY, one that valued education and recited poetry at a moment’s notice. At the age of 11, he lost his father to an unexpected heart attack, an event that marked him profusely. He got his first job as a paperboy that same year delivering the Brooklyn Eagle, and discovered a lifelong work ethic, courage and dedication to family that had no bounds.

He attended Brooklyn’s St. Francis Preparatory School (class of 1955) where he excelled academically and competed in track & field, winning various medals. He earned a scholarship to St. Francis College, where he received a BA in Literature (1959) and was a member of the Duns Scotus Honor Society. In his junior year, he traveled to the University of Vienna, Austria where he studied music, traveled throughout Europe and made lifelong friendships.

Bill earned his L.L.B (1962) and L.L.M (1967) from New York University Law School and studied European organizational law at the Universities of Paris, France and Torino, Italy. He practiced international taxation law for most of his career, first as an associate attorney with the international law firm Coudert Brothers, and then as Senior Tax Counsel with ITT Corporation, ultimately opening his private practice in NYC. His work took him all over the world - Europe, the Far East, Canada and Latin America - and he became fluent in French and German.

While living in Belgium, he won a Gold medal in the men’s 4x4 relay in the 1977 World Masters Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. Soon after, at a friend’s party in Brussels, he met his wife of 46 years, Aimée Sehnaoui, a Lebanese opera singer, falling in love “with her beauty and her voice.” Together they had one daughter, Denise. After retiring, Bill returned to his passion for music and took classes at The Juilliard School in music composition.

Bill was a lifelong benefactor to many institutions, chief among them St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where he attended mass every Sunday and found great comfort in the community. He was also a benefactor to his high school alma mater, St. Francis Prep (Brooklyn); New York University School of Law; the Public Theater (NYC), the Metropolitan Opera House and Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in London.

Whether circumnavigating the Peloponnese on a sailboat with his best friends or swimming in the Atlantic Ocean at his beloved home in Long Island, Bill’s charming blue eyes sparkled every day with excitement for life. Curiosity was his north star, and simplicity was his motto. He loved Mozart and the Bee Gees; he skied until the age of 81, swam until he was 88, and always traveled with a pair of swim trunks…even in the winter. He often quoted the old adage that "nothing is certain but death and taxes," but insisted that almost all of life’s problems could be solved in the lines of Shakespeare. He led with a contagious positivity, never missing an opportunity to celebrate an occasion or a person with a glass of Krug.

William is preceded in death by his sister, Janet Frances Connolly. He is survived by his siblings Vincent Maroney and Frances Magenheimer, and his wife, Aimée Sehnaoui Maroney, his daughter Denise Maroney (m. Ramzi Ghosn), and his grandson, Liam, aka “Hurricane Ike”. The family would like to thank Dina Soracco and Dani Saenz for their extraordinary care in Bill’s final weeks.

Friends are invited to celebrate Bill’s life at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, NYC, on Tues. Jan. 27th, 2026 at 10 AM. Cardinal Dolan will officiate the ceremony. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Catholic Charities NY or NYU School of Law.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Catholic Charities NY, PO Box 25371, Brooklyn, New York, 11202-5371, United States or on their website at: www.ccbq.org/give/#give or to the NYU School of Law at www.givecampus.com/campaigns/21763/donations/new