William J. McBride72, of Hanover, died peacefully on February 15th, 2011, at Hanover Terrace Healthcare after living for nearly five years with brain cancer.

Bill was born on July 6, 1938 in New Brunswick, NJ to William A. and M. Margaret (Beamish) McBride, and grew up in the towns of Haddonfield and Westfield. He attended secondary school at Pennsylvania Military Academy, earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Electrical Engineering from MIT and an MBA from Babson College.

Bill spent his professional career in computer development and design management, working for Univac, Honeywell, Digital Equipment Corporation, and Stratus Computer, among others. During that time, he and his family lived in Wayland and Sudbury, Massachusetts for 35 years. He worked for Tally Systems in Lebanon, NH after moving full-time to Sharon, VT in 1998.

Above and beyond his busy professional life, Bill spent countless hours sharing his passion for outreach and his interest in computers. He took on a number of leadership roles in Sudbury United Methodist Church, including Lay-leader and Chairman of the Outreach Commission. He mentored at the Concord (MA) Prison Ministry program, helped to establish an after-school tutoring program for children at Greenwood Memorial Church in Dorchester, MA, and organized computer networks and trained people in their use in the United Methodist Church Conference headquarters in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. After retiring in 2002, he worked for several years with fifth graders at Sharon Elementary School helping them create personal web sites.

Bill especially enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, as well as reading, music, travel, and following his beloved (though often cursed) Boston sports teams.

Bill leaves his wife of 49 years, Barbara (Judd); a son, Daniel Judd McBride, his wife, Nichole, and three cherished grandsons, Kelson, Paxton, and Rylen of Schoharie, NY; a son, Jonathan William McBride of Venice, CA; his sisters, Margaret McBride of Greenfield, MA and Clare McBride of New Port Richey, FL; his sister-in-law, Marcia McNeil of Sudbury, MA and two nieces.

A memorial service will be held at Church of Christ at Dartmouth College, Hanover at on Saturday, February 26th at 11:00 am. A scholarship fund has been established in Bill's name to help support tuition for children in the Dorchester community to attend the tutoring program that meant so much to him.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Sudbury United Methodist Church, designated for McBride Scholarship Fund, and mailed to Sudbury United Methodist Church, 249 Old Sudbury Road, Sudbury, MA 01776.