William T. Prince Jr.

York, ME - William T. “Bill” Prince, Jr., 78, of York, a master plumber who built a marriage, home, family and a list of countless loyal customers over a lifetime of relentless hard work and steadfast values, died suddenly on July 30 after a short illness. Born in Boston on Dec. 3, 1944, Bill moved to York as a toddler and was raised on a farm. He was always working from the time he was a young boy. He installed flooring when he graduated from York High, followed by 15 years at the York Water Department, then decades as a master plumber working for himself. For many years, he handled water turn-ons and shut-offs for more than 100 cottages in York Beach. People trusted Bill, who always felt responsible for those properties. He was quick to help family, friends, relatives and neighbors. It was a large part of who he was. Another was a love that lasted more than six decades. In high school, he met Adelaide, an 18-year-old native of New York who had vacationed in York. When Bill graduated from York High, Addie attended. A year-and-a-half later, six days before Christmas, they were married. He had made her a promise: I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life. They always counted on and looked out for each other. Together, they wove a life - with two sons, Scott and Troy, coming 22 months apart, and eventually a home they built from the ground up. Bill had the boys riding a bulldozer, chopping branches off downed trees with a hatchet, and holding on to the jackhammer. They joined Little League and youth hockey teams (with Dad often an assistant coach or a referee), skated on the backyard pond their father dammed up, slammed hundreds of pucks into a chain-link fence in the side yard, and learned many things from their Dad. Bill worked in town; Addie worked at the telephone company. Their home became Bill’s haven, a place he was proud of, that was proof that all the years of effort had paid off. He loved his house. It is full, inside and out, with things Bill built or objects he intended to create or repair, much of it in his packed basement shop. Bill loved to refinish all kinds of wooden objects. He built furniture, bird houses, wine racks - you name it, and created countless aluminum Christmas ornaments, laboring to get the face of a snowman just right, try after try, until he had it. His son Troy married Mary Morrison and brought two beautiful grandchildren, Maggie and Elliot, into Bill and Addie’s lives. Many happy memories were made. Scott predeceased his Dad in 1991. Bill also spent years sharing his skills with many nieces and nephews – from home repairs to woodworking because he thought the world of all of them. He also leaves two sisters-in-law, Ann Cone of Worcester, MA and Jean Lawrence, and her husband, Ed, of Spring Hill, FL; his brother-in-law, Richard Cavanagh, of Connelly, NY; and many friends and relatives. Bill’s half-brother, Frank J. Moulton II, predeceased him in 2020. In recent years, Bill and Addie spent winters in Naples, FL. They made new friends and Bill couldn’t wait to get out of the car the minute they arrived and walk the beach to collect shells. He was grateful; they both were. Bill and Addie were always on the same page. Always together. Now, Addie will look at the world for both of them. She will laugh and sing, when she finally can again, and pray to the stars, for the both of them. She will remember all the things that gave Bill joy. And she will live as well as he would want her to, for as long as she can.

William T. Prince Jr.

December 3, 1944 - July 30, 2023