Worthington High Schools Alumni Club - Deceased Classmates
First Name
William George
Maiden Name
Last Name
Earley
Passing Date
6/15/2020
Class Attended
1973
High School
Worthington High School
William George Earley, 63, of Corvallis, Oregon, died suddenly on Saturday, June 15, 2019, a few hours after riding his bicycle up and over McKenzie Pass in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains. The previous day he hiked with his wife and daughter surrounded by wildflowers and snow-covered peaks. He was doing what he loved, in a place he loved, with the people he loved. For that, we will always be grateful. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Bill was the beloved son of Robert W. Earley (who preceded Bill in death by two weeks at age 97), and the late Arlene Webster Earley. Bill loved the outdoors and spent the best moments of his life hiking, bicycling, rock climbing, skiing, running and camping. He summited Mt. Rainier and many other Cascade peaks along with most of New York’s 46 Adirondack High Peaks, and mountaineered in Ecuador and the Alps. He trekked the Annapurna Sanctuary in Nepal and rock-climbed countless routes in the Shawangunks, Rockies, Black Hills and elsewhere. In the late 1980’s Bill was active in the Albany (NY) chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club, leading bike rides and hikes, maintaining trails, and meeting the woman who became the love of his life. With his wife, he canoed Adirondack ponds, kayaked Oregon rivers, explored National Parks, and captained their tandem bicycle while she pedaled behind him as stoker. Bill was an accomplished cross-country runner throughout high school (Worthington, OH) and college (Miami University of Ohio). He earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Vermont in 1984. His 25-year pharmaceutical research career included positions at Sterling Winthrop (Rensselaer NY), Nycomed (Malvern PA) and AMRI (Albany NY). In 2009, he began a new career in nanotechnology at the College of Nanoscale Science & Technology (Albany NY). Bill and his family lived in East Greenbush, NY for 18 years before moving to Corvallis, where Bill enjoyed doing photoresist research for Inpria Corp. Bill is survived by his loving wife of 26 years, Mary Beth (nee Aniano), son Christopher, and daughter Samantha; sister Margaret DeVolt of North Bend, WA; sister Marilyn Renfrew and her husband Roger of Skowhegan, ME; niece Megan Renfrew of Baltimore, MD, nephew Travis DeVolt of North Bend, WA, and nephew Ira Renfrew of Arlington, MA; and by aunts, uncles, cousins and 5 great-nephews and -nieces.
