William "Bill" Urbon

Bill Urbon, a longtime Trumbull resident, died September 10, 2020, age 98. 

Bill was the youngest of four children born to Lithuanian immigrant parents,  Matas and Elisabetta, in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1922.  Shortly thereafter, his family relocated to Rochester, NY.  During his years at Franklin High School, Bill became a noted academic scholar and well-known multi-sport athlete throughout the city.  

Though drafted to play professional baseball by the St. Louis Cardinals, he instead chose to accept a full scholarship to University of Rochester from which he graduated with Bachelors and Masters degrees of Science in Chemical Engineering.  In addition to his studies, Bill continued to pursue his love of sports, playing soccer, football, and baseball for the Yellowjackets.  

After obtaining his Masters degree, Bill was recruited to join the top-secret Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, TN.  He spent 3 years with other engineers and scientists isolating and purifying fissionable materials used to construct the first atomic bomb, eventually receiving a Science Commendation from the Secretary of War for his contributions to this effort

Following the war, Bill spent much of his career with General Electric Company (GE), starting in Schenectady NY at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, contributing to the launch of the first nuclear-powered submarine for the US Navy.  He then moved to Syracuse where he was manager of employee relations for a GE business there. Eventually moving to GE in Louisville, KY, he held numerous management roles in their major appliance businesses, and at one point directly oversaw the production every single refrigerator manufactured by GE. 

In 1968, Bill left GE to operate Nuclear Fuel Services in West Valley, NY where he was Vice President and General Manager for this business that reprocessed and disposed of spent nuclear fuel.  He then became President of Wollensack, Inc, a manufacturer of precision optical products located back in Rochester, NY.  Eventually, he returned to GE’s Appliances and Housewares division located in Bridgeport, CT.  He worked there until his retirement in 1984, ending a remarkable forty year professional career.

Bill began playing golf during college, when it became a life-long passion and treasured pastime following his retirement.   Bill and Family were members of Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, and later the Patterson Club in Fairfield CT, where he competed, won various senior championships, and frequently even carried his own bag during rounds well into his 80’s. He was also a huge fan of UCONN Lady Huskies basketball as well as the PGA and LPGA Tours. Utilizing his extensive experience in mathematics and engineering, he also excelled at home projects and design, and finance and tax law. 

Bill married his beloved wife, Charlotte, on November 20, 1948, enjoying a marriage of over 60 years, losing Charlotte in 2014.  He is survived by three children, Larry, Karen Thomas (Chuck) and Bill Jr. (Lee) and has two grandchildren, Ryan and Allison, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. 

Bill and his survivors are grateful to have had the compassionate assistance of Jewish Senior Services in-home aides Patrick, Maggie, Michelle, Lenora, Concetta, Julie and Eve; the Senior Choice at Home management staff of Amy, Jeff, Liz, and Miri; Rebecca, Paul, Melia, Lorraine, Grace and many other in-house nurses and aides at JSS who accompanied him to his peaceful end. 

A memorial service will be scheduled at a future date. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Cyril F. Mullins Funeral Home, 399 White Plains Rd. 

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