William F. Messier

Born in Central Falls, he was the son of the late Hector and Helen (Feeney) Messier; husband of the late Florence Ada (Holgate) Messier; devoted father of Michael Messier and his wife Lorraine; grandfather of Ryan and his wife Angela of Longwood, FL, Eric of North Attleboro, MA and Brett and his wife Celeste of Wake Forest, NC; great-grandfather of Mary-Katharine and James of Longwood, FL.

Bill was in the Navy during the Korean War and while enlisted played baseball in the Philippines. Upon returning to the US he began a long softball career. While working at Wardwell Braiding Machine Co. in Central Falls as a Manager of Foreign Parts, he met Florence and they Wed in September of 1967. They bought a house in Cumberland, RI and he played softball in Central Falls for many years.

When he turned 50 he joined a team in the over 50 league. He retired at 65 and he and Florence moved to the West Coast of Florida, where he was recruited to play for Wayne Goff's Greyhounds in Venice. That team was fortunate enough to win the Senior World Series of softball, receiving Championship rings. His son Mike wears the ring proudly. He called it a softball career at 75 years old, but continued to ride his 2 wheel bicycle until 85.

He and Florence moved back up North in September of 2019 due to declining health. They resided at Brookdale Assisted Living in Attleboro, MA until Florence's passing in February of 2020. Bill's health slowly declined after that and he was at Fore-Most of Sharon, MA when he passed.

Burial with Military Honors in the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery will be private.