William Hadley Wilkinson's Obituary
William Hadley Wilkinson passed away with his loving family by his side on Friday, January 19, 2018 following some recent health challenges. He was 90 years old.He was born in Gault, Ontario Canada December 1, 1927, son of Robert Wylie Wilkinson and Miriam (Hadley) Wilkinson. The family relocated to New York City, New York, Lebonon, Ohio and ultimately Rochester, New York where Bill graduated from high school.Bill earned his undergraduate degree (B.S. Engineering, 1949) and Masters (M.S. Mechanical Engineering, 1951) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. He was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, and played on the varsity soccer, tennis and diving teams. During and following completion of his masters’ degree, Bill taught classes as an Associate Professor and served as coach for the soccer team at RPI. During this time he met and married Leona Cone, a graduate of Russell Sage College.In 1956, Bill, Leona and their family relocated to Columbus, Ohio, where Bill joined Battelle Memorial Institute as a Research Engineer. During his 36 year career, Bill advanced to Senior Research Scientist and worked on such notable programs as Sea Lab, NASA and sea water desalination. Finding sponsors’ solutions, research activities led by Bill resulted in more than 40 U.S. patents in his name.Bill was an active member of American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) where he presented numerous papers and served on several committees.Following his retirement from Battelle in 1992, Bill and Leona spent time in Columbus, Ohio and Fort Myers, Florida finally settling full time in Fort Myers last year. He filled his days traveling, playing golf and tennis, racing model sailboats and woodworking.A devoted husband and father, Bill is survived by his wife, Leona C. Wilkinson, and three sons, Fred (Darla) Wilkinson of Mendham, New Jersey, Andrew Wilkinson of Atlanta, Georgia and Charlie (Robyn) Wilkinson of Lexington, Kentucky. He was predeceased by his daughter, Mary Lee (Wilkinson) Ingersoll and his son, William Wilkinson. He is also survived by three granddaughters; Allison Wilkinson, Kelsey Wilkinson and Rachel Wilkinson. He will be dearly missed.There will be a funeral service on Thursday, January 25 at 2 pm at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 9065 Ligon Court, Ft. Myers, Florida 33908 (239-481-2125), preceded by visitation with the family at 1 pm in the Fellowship Hall there.In lieu of flowers the family requests contributions be made to Lee Memorial Health System Foundation, Fort Myers, Florida or Westminster Presbyterian Church. Friends are encouraged to share a memory of Bill and/or your personal condolences with his family by visiting his memorial web page and guestbook at www.fortmyersmemorial.com.
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