TOPSHAM – Willis F. “Bill” Morse, 88, of Topsham, died on Feb. 15, 2024, just days before his 89th birthday, following complications from Covid.
Bill was born in Bath, the son of Herbert and Evelyn Morse. He graduated from Morse High School in 1953. During high school he was a member of the Order of DeMolay and became Master Councilor in 1953. Bill attended Maine Maritime Academy, where he served as a cadet officer. He graduated in 1956 with a B.S. degree in Marine Engineering and an operating engineer’s license from the U.S. Coast Guard, and was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy. Upon graduation, he married Jean Brown of Bath. While in the Navy, he served aboard the U.S.S. Philippine Sea (CVS 47) as an engineering officer, and when not at sea lived with his family in Long Beach, California.
After his Navy service, Bill and his family returned to Bath and Bill began his career as a licensed marine engineering officer in the U.S. Merchant Marine. He served in the Merchant Marine for nine years, during which time he circumnavigated the globe seven times.
In 1967, Bill accepted a job as a Service Engineer for The Babcock and Wilcox Company in New York City, and the family moved to Cortlandt Manor, New York.
In 1979, Bill and his family moved to Topsham, Maine, and Bill began working at Bath Iron Works as a Senior Test Engineer. He retired in 1995, after 42 years in the engineering field, and enjoyed many happy years of retirement traveling south for winter golfing in Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
Bill’s great love was his cottage at Meadowbrook in Phippsburg, where he spent 60 summers with his family enjoying the beautiful sunsets overlooking Winnegance Bay.
Bill was a past member of the Society of Port Engineers of New York City, The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, First Parish Church, UCC, Brunswick, and Bath Golf Club, and volunteered at the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program in Brunswick.
He is survived by his wife, Jean Morse of Topsham; his daughter, Barbara Ollinger and her husband, Martin Ollinger of Brunswick; his grandson, Aaron Morse, granddaughter, Heather Stephens; his brother Herbert Morse; and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Herbert and Evelyn Morse, his son, William (Bill) Morse and his sister, Barbara Morse.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Feb. 29, at David E. Desmond & Son Funeral Home, Bath, Maine.
To share your thoughts and condolences with the family, please visit http://www.desmondfuneralhomes.com
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to:
Topsham Public Library
25 Foreside Road
Topsham, ME
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