William L. Bergeron

Published in News Times on July 15, 2010

William L. Bergeron, age 84, of Greenwich, passed away on Tuesday, July 13 after a long and courageous battle with Parkinson's disease. He was a humble and dignified man who dealt with life on his own terms.

He was born in New Canaan on November 22, 1925, to the late Louis and Helen (Smith) Bergeron. He lived in Greenwich all his life. Bill was an outstanding athlete at Greenwich High School, lettering in football, basketball and baseball.

After high school, he joined the Marines near the end of World War II. He attended Duke University where he played football and baseball and was the captain of the baseball team in 1951, his senior year, when Duke was the Southern Conference Champion. During his last two years he played along side Hall of Famer Dick Groat.

After college, Bill had a nice career playing in the Philadelphia Athletics' farm system and was a player/manager for several teams in the Carolina League. He was proud of being a part of minor league baseball and cherished his memories of that time.

Bill was a long time history teacher, football coach and baseball coach at St. Mary High School in Greenwich. He taught countless numbers of young men and women and was very dedicated to his students and teams at St. Mary's.

His teams were always competitive, despite the fact that St. Mary's was one of the smallest high schools in the state. He won more than 100 football games and more than 300 baseball games while coaching at St. Mary's.

He was one of the founders of the Greenwich Babe Ruth League and mentored many young men while working at the YMCA and the Dom Bosco Center in Port Chester, NY. He was honored in 1981 by the Greenwich Old Timers Association and was just recently honored again in May by the association as one of "50 People Who Have Made A Difference".

Bill was also a knowledgeable wine connoisseur. He worked for years at Val's Wine Shop and made many trips to the California wine country where he made wonderful friends of some of the local wine makers.

As proud as Bill was of his professional accomplishments, he was more proud of his family. His wife, Joan (Belmont) and daughter, Betsy meant the world to him. His idea of a perfect day was spending time with them.

In addition to his wife and daughter, as well as his "other daughter", Kim Malara, who will celebrate his love and life forever, Bill leaves his sister, Ruth Mahoney, her children Eileen Griffin and Jeff Mahoney; his sisters-in-law, Lillian Costaregni (George), Gloria Hopper, Aurie Tupper (Paul) and over 50 nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his nieces Lori Mahoney, Joy Hirschhorn and Marilyn Santore, his brother-in-law, Gene Mahoney and his sisters-in-law Min Bruno, Carmela Andrea, Evelyn Rousseau, Helen Finocchio and Yolanda Telerico.

Calling Hours will be from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, July 16 at Gallagher's Funeral Parlor on Arch Street in Greenwich. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 am on Saturday, July 17 at St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church on North Street in Greenwich.

In lieu of flowers, and in keeping with Bill's commitment to educating and encouraging young people, please make donations to Off-Beat Players, Inc. 55 Mill Plain Road, #29-5, Danbury, CT. 06811. (Off-Beat Players is a local theatre company dedicated to serving teens and young adults with and without disabilities.)