William “Bill” Frederick Vornkahl III died Friday. He was 93.
Born in Norwalk on August 14, 1930 to William F. Vornkahl, Jr. and Alice Gerrish and a lifelong Westporter, Bill remembered playing his trombone along the Post Road to celebrate the Allies’ victory in Japan in August 1945.
In 1948 he graduated from Staples High School. He worked as a bank teller before joining the Army and serving as a high-speed radio operator in the 1st Cavalry Division, 13th Signal Corps from 1952–54.
Bill spent 14 months on Hokkaido, Japan. He wrote letters to Linnea, his future wife, who he met on a blind date just prior to his overseas service.
Bill Vornkahl at last year’ Memorial Day parade ceremony. It was the 54th, and final one, he organized. (Photo/Ted Horowitz)
After returning to Westport Bill married Linnea on May 15, 1954, and returned to work at Westport Bank & Trust. He retired as a branch manager in 1987. Bill spent the next 30+ years, until spring 2020, driving people to and from airports.
Bill spent countless hours serving Westport and the veteran community. He was a member of American Legion Post 63 and VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399 for over 60 years.
He was a member/treasurer of Westport’s War Monument Committee from 1996–99, and of Westport’s Representative Town Meeting.
He was a Little League coach for both baseball and softball, and a volunteer on the sideline crew for the Staples High School football team for over 20 years.
Bill was secretary/treasurer of the Greens Farms Volunteer Fire Company since 1950, vice president/treasurer of Saugatuck Hose Company #4 since 1999, and president of Westport Volunteer Fire Company from 1973–93.
Bill was inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame in 2013.
Bill Vornkahl, at the 2022 Memorial Day parade. (Photo/Ted Horowitz)
In Westport, Bill is best known for being chair of the Westport Memorial Day Parade since 1970. Westporters who attend the parade remember him walking, then riding, at the end of the parade, in addition to hosting the post-parade ceremony.
Bill also ran the Westport Italian Festival Parade.
Bill and Linnea attended parades and went to national parks across the country. Highlights included the Rose Parade in California and Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. Bill visited all 50 states and drove in 49 of them, missing only Alaska.
He was an avid sports fan, particularly of the New York Giants, Rangers and Mets. Bill also enjoyed car racing, and took his family to the Danbury Fair Race Arena many Saturday nights.
Bill is survived by his children William Vornkahl IV (Diane), Susan Meineke (Richard), Ed Vornkahl, and Diane Malone (Joe), and grandchildren Allison, Kelly, Billy, Jennifer, Karalyn, Brian and Jamie. They will remember summers at Compo Beach, hamburgers on the grill, Super Bowl score prediction cakes, carving the Thanksgiving turkey, cats named Inky, and countless other memories.
Bill was predeceased by his wife of 67 years, Mary Linnea Vornkahl, sister Margaret Troll, and brother George Robert Vornkahl.
Calling hours are Thursday, February 1 (4-8 p.m., Harding Funeral Home). Funeral services will be held at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 41 Easton Road, on Friday, February 2 (11 a.m). Interment will follow at Willowbrook Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Paul Lutheran Church.
Bill Vornkahl talks with a veteran, at the 2018 Memorial Day parade. (Photo/Kat Soren)
My condolences to Bill’s family. Did he work at the bank downtown, or the branch on North Morningside Drive? Also, I used to know a Bill Deegan in the early 1960s and I remember him saying his father, with a different last name which I can’t remember, was the bank’s President.
Bill was truly a wonderful petson. He added so much to our community. Thoughts and prayers are with Bill’s family.
Bill was the heart and soul of Westport’s Veteran Community. He will be greatly missed. His life is inspiring.