William L. Church

William L. Church, 88, of Newville and previously of Springfield, PA and Swarthmore, PA was born in Pittsburgh, Pa and was the only child of the late Sheldon Lewis and Catherine Perkins Church. In 1950, he married Constance Brown of Bethlehem, PA who preceded him in death in 1997.
He attended Franklin and Marshall Academy in Lancaster, PA and graduated from Manheim Township High School in 1944. He earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University in 1950. He twice served honorably in Korea as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Bill worked for 29 years for the Industrial Products division of the Sun Shipbuilding Company in Chester, PA. He engineered and project managed the building of large, high precision components for advanced mechanical engineering technologies including nuclear reactors, high pressure testing vessels and the gimbaled work platform of the Glomar Explorer. He was a past member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a licensed Professional Engineer. Bill was a past President of the Swarthmore Lions Club and served a number of years as the treasurer of the Friends of Heinz Refuge in Tinicum, Pa and of Boy Scout Troop 301 in Swarthmore, PA. He was an avid genealogist. In later years, he and his companion Ms. Shirley Robbins were active bird watchers. They travelled widely in North and South America and often enjoyed the company of Shirley's four daughters and their families.
He is survived by his children and their spouses, Victoria (and John) Ceneviva of Lewisville, NC and Sheldon (and Janet) Church of Fort Myers, FL.; five grandchildren, Brian F. (and wife Jeanie) Ceneviva, Matthew J. (and wife Erin) Ceneviva, Gregory W. (and wife Abbie) Ceneviva, Ben R. (and wife Elizabeth) Horner and Jessica D. Horner; and seven great grandchildren.
Memorial services will be Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 1:00 pm at the Green Ridge Village Green Hill Conference Room, 210 Big Spring Road, Newville, PA 17241.
Hoffman-Roth Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc., 219 N. Hanover Street, Carlisle is handling the arrangements.
Memorials should be directed to the Friends of Heinz Refuge (friendsofheinzrefuge.org).