- Date Of Birth: June 19, 1920
- Date Of Death: August 30, 2019
- State: Connecticut
William Fairbank Watkins, 99, of Southport, CT, husband for 67 years of the late Helen F. Watkins and son of the late Florence C. and Joseph F. Watkins, passed away on August 30th, 2019.
Bill was born in Boston, MA and was a resident of Bridgeport, Fairfield and Southport, CT since 1924. He graduated from Central High School in Bridgeport and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. As a licensed Professional Engineer, he published a number of papers on marine surveying and was a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, the American Society of Marine Engineers and the U.S. Naval Institute.
Following graduation from MIT, he worked at Gibbs and Cox designing propulsion plants and layouts for destroyers and destroyer escorts until entering the Navy in late 1942. Bill was an officer in Amphibious Ship Repair units in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, last serving on Okinawa as the Officer-in-Charge of the repair base until 1946. After the war, he joined the United States Salvage Association, rising to the position of Vice President and Chief Engineer until starting his own company as a marine surveyor and consultant in 1962. He retired at the age of 89.
Both Bill and Helen were avid sailors. Bill learned to sail in the Pequot Yacht Club Junior Sailing Program, racing Star boats and Atlantics, often competing against his father. Helen was a good sailor in her own right and they spent twenty plus years sailing their cruising boat, “Windseeker”, throughout New England.
