Obituary of William L. Mayer

William L. Mayer, Sr. 77 (EHFD, ret.) of East Haven passed away at home on April 16, 2020 surrounded by his family. He was born January 3, 1943 in New Haven. William is the beloved husband of 53 years to Judith (Flagge) Mayer of East Haven. He was the loving and dedicated father of Darlene (John) Benoit, William L. Mayer, Jr and Gretchen (Ignacio) Sanchez. William was the proud grandfather to Jacob, Taylor, Sierra, Rachel, Trey, Rocky and Willow and a sibling of Stephen F. Mayer (Georgiann), Valerie Savarese (Alphonse). He is preceded in death by his parents, Stephen and Clara (Chaosky) Mayer and brothers, Robert and Frederick Mayer. Bill was a career firefighter in East Haven for 41 years retiring as Battalion Chief. He cared about and loved the Dept., and his fellow firefighters, which he called his other family. He was a US Navy veteran. Bill had a rare blood type and therefore felt he should be donating blood. He had donated 295 pints of blood until he was diagnosed with cancer. Bill was a Committee Member and Merit Badge Counselor for East Haven Boy Scout Troop 401. He also felt that the Members and Scouts were part of his family. He donated his time and knowledge to the betterment of the life of boys in Troop 401 for 38 years. Bill was also a member of the New Haven Philatelic Society. Bill was very proud of his Hungarian heritage, liked to build things, was an early riser, sudoku lover and had to keep his mind moving at all times. He loved his wife “yes dear” and family dearly, setting the example of what a marriage and family should be. If you asked a favor of him you better be ready for him to do it right then. There will be a hole in many hearts with the passing of Bill. We would like to thank Dr. Jeremy Kortmansky, Virginia, Kelly, Molly, Jeanine (Matilda), Lisa and all those who helped Bill’s journey through cancer. We would also like to thank all the CT Hospital Dr.’s and nurses whose kindness and compassion were amazing. Also CT Hospice Homecare, especially our aide, Amanda and nurse Judy and thank you, Brian. A private graveside service will be held for his family at St. Lawrence Cemetery in West Haven and under the care of the Clancy-Palumbo Funeral Home (Clancy Funeral Home), 43 Kirkham Ave. East Haven. Donations may be made to Boy Scout Troop 401 and sent to Edwin Taylor, Scout Master, 352 Townsend Avenue, New Haven, CT 06512. The donations will become a Memorial Fund in Bill’s name to send a Scout to summer camp in Maine every year, one of his favorite locations.