Obituary of William H. Elder

William H. Elder, 81, of Montville died on May 2, 2015 after a valiant fight with pancreatic cancer. He died at home with his loving family at his side. Visitation will be on Tuesday, May 5 from 4-8pm. Cremation will be private. A memorial service will be held at 11am on Wednesdsay, May 6 at The Church of Our Saviour at 155 Morris Avenue in Denville. Bill was born on May 12, 1933 in Troy, NY where he resided until his graduation from Lansingburgh High School in 1951. Upon graduation he joined the U.S. Air Force for four years. He served as a Staff Sergeant for 3 years at various European postings. Upon completing his four years of duty, Bill was honorably discharged in 1955. That year he returned home and entered Siena College, from which he graduated, with honors, in 1959 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. At Siena, Bill played varsity baseball and was a member of the Vets Club. Also, he was a member of the Alpha Mu Gamma National Honorary Foreign Language Fraternity and was elected, in 1959, to the "Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges from St. Bernadine of Siena College." Upon graduation in 1959 Bill was recruited by and joined the Bendix Corporation at their manufacturing operations in Teterboro, NJ. His business career spanned 35 years, the majority at Bendix Corp. and later Allied Signal in Morristown, NJ. He held posts in various Financial Controller positions, which included Controller of Bendix International Operations in New York City from 1971 to 1979. He also served, from 1979 to 1990, as one of four Assistant Corporate Controllers at Bendix in Southfield, Michigan and Allied Signal in Morristown, NJ. It was during Bill's initial Bendix assignment that he met his beloved wife, Kathryn Sweetman of Lodi, NJ. They married on September 22, 1962. Bill is survived by Kathy and their three children, Karen (Julio) Elder-Velasco of Miami, FL, Joanne (Duane) Keilty of Mansfield, NJ, and William (Michelle) Elder Jr. of Saratoga Springs, NJ…as well as six grandchildren…Kasey and Dillon Keilty, Kirsten and Isabella Velasco and Molly and Katie Elder. Bill was an avid and accomplished golfer for almost 60 years until his passing. In his later years he enjoyed immensely his 9 hole play with his "super senior" friends at Rockaway River Country Club. He will be missed. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Bill's memory to the Lustgarten Foundation (www.lustgarten.org) or the Atlantic Home Care and Hospice, 465 South Street, Morristown, NJ 07960 (http://www.atlantichealth.org/morristown/our+services/hospice/).