William J. (Bill) Linn, 92, died on Tuesday, March 3, at Shipley Manor in Wilmington, with loved ones by his side. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease, first diagnosed in 2016. Bill will be remembered fondly for his great love of his extended family, his many friends, and his deep concern for others.
Bill was born in 1927 to Charles and Virgie (Starnes) Linn, in Crawfordsville, Ind. He graduated from Crawfordsville High School in 1945 and enlisted in the US Navy during the waning days of WWII. Returning to Crawfordsville after his discharge, Bill enrolled in Wabash College, where he graduated in 1950 with a bachelor's degree in Chemistry and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He went on to earn a Ph.D. at the University of Rochester and then moved to Wilmington, DE to join the DuPont Company, where he worked for almost 39 years until his retirement in 1992.
Bill met and married his first wife, Ruth, in Wilmington and the two of them lived happily for many years in Brandywine Hundred until Ruth's death in 1989. Bill and Ruth were active members of Second Baptist Church - later Silverside Church - and enjoyed singing in the church choir, horseback riding, traveling, and playing bridge with friends. In 1991, Bill married Beverly Wheatley, and they relocated from Wilmington to Chadds Ford. Bill and Beverly remained active in Silverside Church and devoted a great deal of their time to the church's Meals-On-Wheels program and the Clothing Bank of Delaware, a Friendship House Ministry. They enjoyed hiking and were members of the Wilmington Trail Club, and they traveled extensively, visiting locales in the US, France, Italy, Ireland, Austria, Germany, and Canada before Beverly's death in 2008.
Bill was a man of many talents. He was an avid musician, playing trombone in his younger days with the Rhythm Doctors big band, and after retirement with several different ensembles. He also took up the piano and organ in his later years. Bill enjoyed fine (but not expensive) wines and was an amateur winemaker himself, with some impressive results. He had a dry sense of humor but was a deeply reflective person, and participated regularly in discussion groups devoted to ethical, scientific, and social issues. He also maintained his connection to the scientific community after leaving DuPont by keeping up with current research literature in chemistry and serving for a number of years as the editor of the Catalysis Society Newsletter.
In addition to Ruth and Beverly, Beverly's son Edward Wheatley preceded Bill in death. Bill is survived by his brother James R. Linn of Milford, Ohio, and by Steve and Saundra Linn of Chicago; Andy Linn of Rehoboth Beach; Bill and Julie Wheatley of Newark, Del.; Bonnie and Robert Zickefoose of Wilmington; Peg Linn of Wilmington; grandchildren Emily Linn (partner Cali); Michael and Megan Linn, Tori, Richard (wife Shavani), and Katy Wheatley, Eli Zickefoose, and Kate Maxwell (husband Lachlan); and great-grandchildren Annalivia and Nora Maxwell.
A memorial gathering to celebrate Bill's life will be held at later date.
The family requests no flowers. Instead, contributions in Bill's memory to the Dr. William J. Linn '50 Fund for Student Research in Chemistry at Wabash College (www.wabash.edu/give) or The Music School of Delaware (www.musicschoolofdelaware.org) are suggested.
For online condolences and updated service information, please visit Chandlerfuneralhome.com
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