William H. “Bill” Powell, age 75 years, of Raritan Township, NJ, died peacefully at home on Friday, January 13, 2023.

Born on July 5, 1947, in Camden, NJ, son of the late William E. Powell and Anna M. Powell (Houser), Bill graduated from Rancocas Valley Regional High School, Mount Holly, NJ, in 1966.

After service to his country in the United States Navy, he had a long career with AT&T, where he retired as part of AT&T Labs. During his tenure with AT&T he was part of the integration of computers into the phone system, was an instructor who developed and taught other employees, and was involved in data and network security. His intelligence and problem-solving skills were always appreciated by his colleagues, and Bill always did his best to pass on his knowledge to others. His treasure chest of information encompassed computers, network security, and radio communications, among many other things as he enjoyed reading and learning about virtually everything.

Bill married Kathleen R. Powell (Blaetz) on August 14, 1971. The couple had two children, William J. Powell, of Frenchtown, NJ, and Edward J. Powell of Shakopee, MN.

With a lifetime of volunteer public service, Bill’s legacy of selflessness and  dedication to others is well known. Among his endeavors were serving in the United States Navy from 1967 – 1973 with the Naval Security Group Activities as a Communications Technician, being honorably discharged with the rank of Petty Officer 2^nd Class; serving as a volunteer firefighter from 1974 to 1984 with the Oak Valley Fire Company in Deptford Township, NJ and later with the Stony Hill Fire Department in Bethel, CT, where served in various leadership positions; and serving as a member of CERT (Community Emergency Response Team).

When young Bill and Ed were old enough, he served as an adult leader with the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 62 in Flemington, NJ, and spent an entire summer volunteering at the Yards Creek Scout Reservation.

One of his major passions in life was being an amateur radio operator, callsign of WB1GOT, first gaining his FCC license in 1966. He was a long-time member of the Cherryville Repeater Association, an amateur radio group whose motto is, “Community Service Through Communication”. This group volunteers their time providing communication at many community events. Bill served in many different leadership positions at CRA, proudly lending his experience and knowledge to the technical committee keeping the repeater network operational. Most recently, Bill volunteered with the ARCC, a group that provides amateur radio frequency coordination for the area where he served as a regional representative.

His radio skills were not limited to those organizations, and Bill was a proud volunteer Deputy Coordinator for RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) within the Hunterdon County Office of Emergency Management. He maintained the amateur radio equipment in the County’s emergency operations center, keeping it ready for use in time of disaster. He was also a life member of the American Radio Relay League.

Bill’s passions for computer technology, radio telecommunications, and public service will continue to live on through his sons who have each followed in their father’s footsteps in their own way, of which Bill was most proud. His eldest son Bill shares the same love for public service and radio communications that he did, and his youngest son Ed is a computer systems administrator and technology  wizard. Both sons also have their amateur radio licenses.

It was once written, “Radio allowed people to act with their hearts and minds.” Bill was a man whose heart and mind will be forever remembered by all who knew him as a mind that was always thinking and learning, and which was guided by a heart of compassion for all people. His legacy will live on through the airwaves for eternity.

Surviving are his wife, Kathleen R. Powell; two sons, William J. Powell and his wife, Katherine E. Powell, and Edward J. Powell; two grandsons, Zachary J. Powell and Matthew M. Powell; his sister, Deborah Searles; two brothers- in-law, Raymond Blaetz and Edward Blaetz; eight nieces and nephews, Robert, Charles, John, Jennifer, Christopher, James, Jared, and Jillian and a grand-niece, Abigail; several extended family members; and many dear friends.

An animal lover, he always had both dogs and cats as part of the family and will be missed by his current dog, Marty, and cat, Sugar.

Bill will lie in repose on Thursday, January 19, 2023, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

Life celebration services followed by burial with United States Navy military honors at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, Newtown, PA, will take place privately.

You are encouraged to visit Bill’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of his life.

Memorial contributions in his honor and memory may be made to the Cherryville Repeater Association II, P.O. Box 623, Pittstown, NJ 08867, or to the Flemington-Raritan First Aid & Rescue Squad, via mail to P.O. Box 686, Flemington, NJ 08822, or online by clicking HERE.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”

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