Canaan, New Hampshire

William "Will" David Colao born February 11th, 1958 died August 16th, 2025 as a result of a homicide. He was born in New York City and was the eldest of three children to Rudolph Colao and Camila (McRoberts) Colao.

He attended school at St Hilda's and St Hugh's school in Manhattan until  the family moved to New Hampshire  in 1971 where he completed middle school and high school in Hanover NH.  He briefly attended Boston University then transferred to Columbia University in NYC where he earned a BA in history and was on the Dean's list.

Will moved back to the Upper Valley after college and worked jobs in construction until settling into a career with Richardson Associates, a private wealth management company located in Canaan, NH.  He was very interested in investing and used his knowledge and skills to support himself and help his family in financial matters.

Will enjoyed  playing the guitar and listening to music. He also liked target practice, working on the land and good food but reading was his chief passion.  His world view and personal life were formed by his intellectual studies.  After a family friend introduced him to the Bhagavad Gita, which awoke an interest in understanding the true meaning of life, he began reading Emerson and other Transcendentalist writers. He also devoted a lot of time to studying Zen Buddhism. As a friend noted he was interested in "life's big questions".

Ultimately Thomas Carlyle was the most influential writer in Will's life.  Carlyle's books provided education in history along with wisdom and spiritual guidance.   He provided a model for living and understanding the world, and for working through life's challenges and hardships.

As a collector of books Will had an extensive library and was interested in many writers and scholars. He also had a keen appreciation for excellent quality mechanical things such as cameras, watches, firearms and vehicles.  These things brought him joy in what was a difficult and mostly isolated later life.

In addition to having a brilliant mind, keen intellect, quick wit and goofy sense of humor, he struggled with mental demons that were all too real to him. He was determined to understand and vanquish these forces making his life a quest for understanding reality and the truth.

Will had a special appreciation for and sensitivity to nature and animals. He was a good steward of the land he lived on and he loved his nieces and nephew. He loved to share passages from books he found interesting and music that he liked to listen to. His niece recalls him introducing her to folk and rock music from the 60s and learning about the cultural influences of that time.

Later in his life he spent years assisting and caretaking for his mother until her death.

He is predeceased by his Mother Camila Colao (1929-2012), his Father Rudolph Colao (1927-2014), and a sister Margaret Colao Calvin (Christopher Calvin) (1960-2000).  He is survived by a sister Marta Colao (Jeff Pentland) of Hartland VT and nieces Lilian Pentland of Santa Cruz, CA, Camila Pentland of New York City and a nephew Henry Pentland of Hartland, VT.

There will be a private burial at a later date.