Clare B. Billing Sr.

Gales Ferry – Clare (Bill) Bertram Billing Sr., 86, of Gales Ferry, passed peacefully Wednesday, July 2, 2014, at Apple Rehab Mystic.

Bill was born March 25, 1928 in Hayden, Arizona, the son of the late Clare L. and Margaret L. (McNeilis) Billing. He was predeceased by his wife of 57 years, Roberta E. Billing.

He enlisted in the Navy in June 1945, and qualified in submarines aboard the USS Blower in 1946. Bill and his family traveled across the US during his 22 year career with the Submarine Force with tours of duty in San Diego, Philadelphia, Groton, Pittsburgh, Honolulu, Newport, Idaho Falls, Key West, and Washington, D.C.

After serving on five submarines and receiving extensive training he was assigned to the USS Nautilus. He was very proud and honored to be a Nautilus “plank owner”, standing topside during its launch into the Thames River on January 21, 1954, as the first Yeoman of the first nuclear powered submarine. He remained on the crew through April 1955, witnessing both her commissioning and her milestone as the first submarine “underway on nuclear power.”

After attending Officer Candidate School, Bill received his commission as an Ensign in September 1955. He served as an officer aboard four submarines, including six patrols on the USS George Washington, the first US ballistic missile-carrying submarine, and as Executive Officer of the USS Picuda.

He retired from the Navy as a Lieutenant Commander in 1967. He and his family settled in Gales Ferry and Bill worked as an Engineering Specialist at Electric Boat in Groton and at Analysis & Technology in North Stonington.

Bill enjoyed spending time with his wife and family and playing golf at their second home in Sunapee, NH. He was an avid Red Sox and UConn Lady Huskies fan. He loved using his World Atlas to show his grandchildren all the places he had been around the world, showing them family pictures and telling stories about growing up in a small town in southern Arizona.

For many years he was actively involved with the Ledyard Republican Town Committee and was a delegate to the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City. He served on a Ledyard Charter Revision Committee and was a Justice of the Peace. He was a Life and Holland Club member of the U.S Submarine Veterans.

Lieutenant Commander Billing devoted his life to his family, his community and his country.

He will be missed by his four sons and their wives: Clare (Bill) Jr. and Natalie Billing of Mystic; Carl and Dona Billing of Londonderry, NH; Paul and Sue Billing of Gales Ferry; and David and Elaine Billing of Gales Ferry.

His nine grandchildren, their spouses, and his four great-grandchildren will remember him with love.

His family thanks the staff at Apple Rehab, as well as the staff and volunteers from Hospice of Southeastern CT, who helped make his final days peaceful and comfortable.

A graveside service with military honors will be held Wednesday, July 9th, noon, at the Gales Ferry Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Gales Ferry Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 144, Gales Ferry, CT 06335, or to the US Submarine Veterans – Groton Base Scholarship Fund, 40 School St, Groton, CT 06340. Please visit www.montvillefuneralhome.com to leave an online tribute or condolence.