William Edward Bausch (1944 - 2024)

Bill's memorial service has been set for June 1, 2024 at 11:00 A.M. It will be held in his church The Second Congregational church UCC in New Castle Maine. The address is 51 Maine Street, New Castle ME. The phone number is 207-563-3379.
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Bill passed away March 14 in Newcastle, ME, near to his home in Damariscotta. Click here for Bill's obituary which describes Bill's life since Princeton, his family, and his many activities in Damariscotta. A celebration of Bill's life will be arranged for late spring; details will be posted on this page when available.

Nassau Herald

Reunion Books

Bill wrote long profiles in the 50th and 55th Reunion Books. The 50th entry is copied below, followed by additional comments from the 55th book.

 

50th Reunion Book

William E. Bausch

156 Lessner Rd., Damariscotta, ME 04543-4124; 207-563-7981; wbausch@gmail.com

 

Spouse: Mary Stephens Bausch; BA, Denison ’66; MSW, Pitt;

 

Children: William, 1967; Jeffrey, 1970; Wendy (Betsey), 1973

 

Grandchildren: Kyan, 2004; Ryan, 2005; Benjamin, 2005; Lila, 2007; Taitym, 2007; Gavin, 2011; Tessa, 2014

 

Community service: volunteer and former board member, Pemaquid Watershed Association; board, Skidompha Library; volunteer, Damariscotta River Association

 

Activities: family, choral singing, photography, hiking, kayak/canoe exploring, bird watching, land and water stewardship, woodworking, woodlot management, puttering

 

Princeton roommates: Bill Sisley, Peter (A.) Wilson, Bill Moyse, Frank Langhammer, Bob Greenlaw, Dick DeCamp, Bill Barrett, Ted Joyce, Bob Chester, Hank Larsen, Al Smith, Joe Greulich

 

Memorable professors: David Hazen, Seymour Bogdonoff (MAE); Howard Menand (engineering dean)

 

Best courses: stability & control (MAE); intro philosophy; senior design project

 

Senior thesis: powered glider design with Mal and Peter

 

This reunion will be different in many ways. My father was Princeton ’41, so our graduation aligned with his 25th. At our 25th I got a peek into the future by visiting him at his 50th — we all seemed to be pretty young then (including the ’41 crew, who were doing just fine). This year at our 50th that connection won’t be there — and I’m going to miss that fortuitous synchronicity!

 

Continuing on the theme of [re]unions and synchronicity, I married “3rd and final” in 1987. Just shy of four years later, Mary and I shared 25ths at Princeton and then at Denison. We’re doing the same with our 50ths this year.

 

Both Mary and I retired in 2005 — it seemed like a reasonable thing to do as we scrambled to move from Greenwich, Conn., to Damariscotta, Me., in five weeks from “why not” to “we’re outta here.” Retirement has proven to be great fun, but moving so quickly after 20 years in the same house with lots of involvement in the community . . . not something I’d like to repeat!

 

We were concerned about the lack of work-related routine and the little issue of no more paychecks, but so far all’s wonderful. Social Security now feels like a paycheck . . . may it continue for a while longer! And as for suffering from a lack of routine or from empty time — not a chance. The real challenge has been to keep time free to enjoy new and different things. Maine has an aging population (aggravated by the influx of retirees — mea culpa), and anyone who has available time and can say “volunteer” is likely to be pounced upon. In this beautiful place there are unlimited opportunities to work (or play) for the environment, sustainable development, energy, affordable housing, social justice, choral singing, mentoring kids, helping geezers (is that paying it forward?), and more.

 

Kids (and grandkids) are scattered about — greater Boston (son Jeff with Jenna and their four kids), greater New York City (son William with Ha My and one kid), and Boulder (daughter Betsey with Paul and two kids). All are doing well. It appears that parenting has not gotten easier since the ’60s-’70s, so I am beyond impressed with the way these families juggle work and play and life.

 

We’ve had some wonderful travel adventures in the last 25 years. We were part of an extended family plus friends group in Kenya and Tanzania in December 2001, spending two weeks on safari. Another family plus friends outing in 2007 was a cruise around Cape Horn that was fun and interesting, but way too much food and drink and feeling trapped in a floating mega-mall for two weeks with more people than live in our town. One of the best trips was our adventure to New Zealand in 2010, driving mostly on our own with a couple of layovers with relatives in Auckland and Dunedin. More recently, in 2013 we spent 10 days in Turkey with a group of 30-odd Mainers from across the state. All our trips were amazing for the glimpses into history and geography and culture they provided, not to mention enjoying such times together. We hope that the current state of world affairs does not permanently transform international tourism into a life- threatening undertaking, and that the wanton destruction of antiquities does not continue unabated.

 

55th Reunion Book

Community Service: Carpenter's Boat Shop Board member; Skidompha Library former Board member; Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust volunteer; Ecumenical Food Pantry volunteer;
 
Activities/Hobbies: family, choral singing, photography, hiking, kayak/canoe exploring, bird watching, land and water stewardship, woodworking, woodlot management, community volunteer
 
We feel fortunate to be "stuck" here in midcoast Maine during the COVID crunch. We enjoy a virtual playground for outdoor recreation. Most everyone is considerate and appropriately cautious. Our community's attitude of "we're all in this together" and actively providing help to people and organizations and businesses is ongoing and heart-warming.
 
It will be wonderful to see family again in person. Odds are that the grand kids will be taller and arguably smarter than we are - at least in their minds! The oldest of the grands a getting close to outta-high-school stage, and that's a bit mind-bending. Youngest (6+ years old) still has a ways to go, but may be a politician before she reaches double-digits in age.
 
Maybe we'll get another crack at a canoe adventure with friends on the Yukon river that was canceled summer 2020. Regardless, we hope to remain physically active and to learn a thing or two as we go along -- including how to remember where we left the car keys.
 
We're active in a local Congregational church that so far is doing OK despite no indoor worship since March 15, 2020. Choir members are pretty cranky about 'virtual music'. Committee members, on the other hand, seem to like the comfort of meeting via Zoom instead of traipsing to meetings in the church or elsewhere. Post-COVID 'normal' will be interesting to figure out both for the church and for the community.
 
Reading my words makes it clear that we're lacking in excitement but feeling OK about how things are going. Lack of commentary about the state of the nation and world does not reflect lack of concern or lack of local efforts to understand issues and attempt to be responsible stewards of society and our planet. That's enough to keep anyone busy.
 

Peace,

 

Memories and Tributes

Peter A. Wilson:

I am very sorry about the news. Bill and I were roommates for our first two years. We both studied under Dr. David Hazen in the aeronautics department. Bill, Mel Branch and I designed a powered glider as part of our sophomore project called "High Flyer". Never built, but the concept was sound. After all, the Predator series UAVs are basically powered gliders. Bill graduated as an aero engineer, and I shifted over to the Political Science Department. I just could not handle the math.  Bill and I stayed in touch for a number of years while he was married to Wendy. After that, we would meet during reunions from time to time. Unfortunately our paths parted, and that was it.


Bill Moyse:

I was fortunate to have Bill as a trusted friend since our graduation in '66. As a result, I also got to know Wendy, having attended their wedding,  and became familiar with their growing family and their kids' educational milestones. Bill Sisley, who our class lost recently, lived closer to Bill and was more consistently in contact with him. Through Bill Sisley I was able to keep abreast of the Bausch family.
 
When my wife died in 2018 I visited Bill at his home in Maine and met his present wife, Mary. It was obvious that they loved living in Damarascotta and were deeply involved in the town's populace throught heir church, the town library, the food bank, and other civic activities. Bill took me to the small library to show me a display of memorbelia about his grandfather which was showcased in half of a canoe that his grandfather had built and which Bill donated to the library.
 
I last saw Bill at the funeral for Bill Sisley in Morristown, NJ. He never aged. I don't think he ever shaved. That angelic face of his, never changed, his smile always apparent. After my visit in Maine, we increased our correspondence somewhat, which resulted in my remembering how quick witted was his sense of humor and how broad were his interests. I also remembered his musical abilities and, as undergraduates, our singing and playing folk songs that were popular at the time. He passed his musical genes on to his oldest son, who I believe majored in music in college.
 
Bill's death is a great loss for our class and for humanity.

 

Frank Langhammer:

I roomed across the hall from Bill our freshman year, and then shared a room with him our sophomore year, so I knew him quite well when we were at Princeton.  Bill was an outstanding individual, and a great roommate. I don’t think there is anyone who met him who did not enjoy his company and friendship. Bill was in aeronautical engineering and I was an English major so our paths did not cross frequently in the academic world, but I do remember one conversation in which he was explaining to me the application of fine engineering principles to the design of a helicopter blade. The net result was he said that you just “take a helicopter blade and you keep bending it and hammering it until it does what you want it to.“ I also remember getting up one morning and seeing that Bill was not there. Of course, I wondered where he had gotten to during the night, and was later informed that he had gotten up on his own, and somehow made it to the hospital and had his appendix out. He later said “well it wasn’t that bad, and I didn’t want to wake you.” I have frequently thought over the years that that probably represents the height of kindness to one’s roommate. 
 

Bill was an outstanding person, a lifelong friend, and even in our post Princeton years we always connected immediately when we saw one another at a reunion, or other Princeton event. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him, and I certainly wish Mary and his entire family, the most sincere condolences.

 

Jack Folts:

I knew Bill (but not well) when we were in college. ... We shared a few holiday rides (cars and trains) from Princeton back to western New York where our respective families lived. I got to know him better through Bill Sisley, who was a good friend of Bill Bausch and a fellow Cannon Club member), during the years (1980's) when we all happened to live in Greenwich, CT.

 

If you have additional photos or memories that you wish to share, please send them to the '66 Memorial Team (66_MemorialTeam@tiger1966.org). We will add them to this page.