William J McLaughlin III's Obituary
On Saturday December 14, 2019, William J. McLaughlin III “Mac” “Jim”, loving husband and father of four children passed away at age 79, after a heartbreaking five year battle with Alzheimer’s.
Mac was born on October 25, 1940 in Providence, RI to William II and Grace (Maher).
Mac entered a loving marriage with Jennifer Jones on July 11, 1987. She died on February 15, 2012. He was a United States Air Force Veteran having served from 1959-1961.
Mac had a passion for photography and traveling. He was an avid reader, loved crossword puzzles, music, the Miami Dolphins and watching Jeopardy.
Survivors include his daughter, Brande and Darryn Keenan of Lake Worth, Fl; three sons: Douglas McLaughlin of Hamburg, Ny; William IV and Cheryl McLaughlin of Bremerton, WA and Neil Knudson of Shelby, NC. Also surviving are his four grandchildren Dylan and Skylar Keenan, William J. McLaughlin V and Samantha Knudson; his siblings, sister Judy Sanders of Boynton Beach, FL, and brothers Robert McLaughlin (Mary) of Melbourne, FL, and Martin McLaughlin of Daytona, FL, and sister-in-law Jill Engle (Mark) of South Bend, IN. Proceeding him in death were his parents William II and Grace and his wife, Jennifer, and his daughter-in-law Christine.
Mac and his family moved to Delray Beach, Fl in June of 1955. Mac enlisted in the Air Force upon graduating from Seacrest High School in 1959. He was stationed at Patrick Air Force base in Cape Canaveral as a radar technician and served two years before being honorably discharged. He attended Palm Beach Junior College and went to work for RCA AUTEC at Cape Canaveral on the Down Range Missile Tracking Program. This employment took him to the island of Antigua and the country of South Africa, Johannesburg and Pretoria. He then worked for the country of South Africa as a lead radar technician for their program. He came back to the states in 1981 working for the Miami Herald and The Palm Beach Post as circulation manager until he retired in 2005.
A funeral service will be held at South Florida National Cemetery on Monday December 30, 2019 beginning at 9:00 AM. The funeral procession will form in lane #1 upon entering the cemetery.
He was also preceded in death by his nephew Timothy Hochstetler. The family asks that memorial contributions be made in Mac’s memory to: Timothy Hochstetler Scholarship Fund
c/o Marshall County Community Foundation.
http://www.marshallcountycf.org/plymouth/timothy-j-hochstetler-memorial-scholarship-fund
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