William Bater III

He was born April 29, 1931 at his parents’ home in Margate, New Jersey. His parents, William and Dorothy, were long time residents of Margate.

Bill enjoyed his life at the seashore and spent many happy days on the beach with his family and many friends. Bill eventually became a member of the Margate City Beach Patrol and remained a devoted member of the alumni association.

Bill attended Atlantic City High School where he met and married Elaine Finkenauer. Upon graduating he went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania where he majored in Civil Engineering. Bill was excited to work on ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) at Penn Engineering. ENIAC was the first general purpose electronic computer.

After graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1955, Bill began his career at Honeywell. He worked on the D-1000, a computer that weighed over 25 tons and took up 6,000 square feet. Later in his career he moved to IBM where he proudly brought home a small, handheld printed circuit board, remarking that this is the future of computers!

Making a shift in his career, Bill turned his efforts to real estate and construction development. He built many homes and commercial buildings in and around Philadelphia’s Main Line area. He continued working in both civil and structural engineering until he was 86.

Bill will be remembered for his deep love of mathematics, calculus and trigonometry. His love of building and design, along with Elaine’s love for design has influenced all his children and grandchildren. He was truly an old-fashioned gentleman and liked by everyone who met him.

He is survived by his 5 children, Diana Bater Bantz (Michael), Barbara Bater Conigliaro (Thomas) William Bater IV (Cindy) Jeffery Bater (Marina), Elizabeth Bater Zelov (Scott), his 12 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held in the Spring/Summer of 2024. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.AllevaFuneralHome.com for the Bater family.