Willaim August Gooch

William August Gooch Sr. was born on 26 August 1922 to Leon and Marcella Gasser Gooch in Cambridge, MA. The family was large with brothers John, Harry, Mike, Frank and sister Bertha. Settling and growing up in rural Maine, the family was broken up by World War II where four brothers and the father served their country in the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. William served three years in the US Navy on the USS Denver light cruiser as a gunners mate on an antiaircraft gun and participated in many intense Pacific battles. While all survived the war, the family was spread from coast to coast and William settled in Milford, Connecticut where he worked at the Chance Vought Aircraft Factory. He was fortunate to meet and then marry Ruth Marion Taylor on 1 December 1945. William A. Gooch Jr. was born on January 31, 1947 and the family had homes in Stratford, Milford, Bridgeport and Monroe. Having entered the construction business, winters were spent working in Sarasota and Dunedin. William Sr. was the last of his family, preceded by the death of his wife of 58 years. William Sr., age 91, died on 31 May 2014 at the Maria Manor Nursing home of Bon Secours after a short failure of health. The last eleven years were spent living with his son in Aberdeen, MD and finally at Bon Secours in Saint Petersburg, FL. He is survived by William Jr. and Daughter-in-Law Susan of Palm Harbor, FL and grandson, Mark of Saint Petersburg, FL. William Sr. was a self-made man with the work ethic and personality of rural Maine and joins the many veterans of the greatest generation who gave up a large part of their youth and have now passed on. William will be interned at the C.W. Young (Bay Pines) Military Cemetery, Bay Pines, FL with many of his fellow generation. He is gone, but not forgotten. Contributions may be made in his honor to: Friends of Strays 2911 47th Avenue North, St. Petersburg, FL 33714 $(document).ready(function(){ });