Obituary of William Bangser, Jr.

WESTPORT, CONN

William Bangser Jr. of Westport died October 11, 2019. He was 92. 

A Westport resident since 1961 active in community affairs, he was born in 1927, the son of William Bangser Sr. and Esther Maimin Bangser of Manhattan. 

After high school, Bill served in the U.S. Navy and then earned degrees from MIT in both mechanical engineering and business administration. 

He was a member of Tau Beta Pi, the national honorary engineering society, and Pi Tau Sigma, the national honorary mechanical engineering society, and an active member of the MIT Educational Council for many years.

Bill spent his career at H. Maimin Company, retiring as chairman in 1992. During those years, he and Janet loved to travel and made lifelong friendships around the world with people they met along the way.

Bill once found an anonymous poem that read:

“Count that day lost whose low descending sun
Views from thy hand no worthy action done.”

That made sense to Bill and led to many years of volunteer work pre- and post-retirement.

Save the Children was a driving force for Bill for nearly 30 years. He started out doing public speaking on behalf of the organization. 

After retiring from his day job, he moved into the Department of Global Health where, until age 91, he worked as a volunteer assistant to an associate director, preparing budgets and tracking results of Save the Children grants. 

Bill was also active with the Westport Library and for eight years was a member of the Board of Trustees. He served as treasurer of The Friends of Westport Library and a was a co-founder of the library’s annual book sales which continue to be an important part of the library budget.

For his volunteer work, Bill received the 1992 award from the Voluntary Action Society of Mid-Fairfield, and in 2001, the Town of Westport and Westport Library honored him for his contributions and commitment to the community. 

In 2013, Bill received the Save the Children Lifetime Achievement Volunteer Award.

Bill is survived by his wife of 67 years, Janet (Rutstein) Bangser. Janet founded and led the Pathfinders Travel Agency in Westport for over 35 years. 

He leaves four children and their families: Andrew and Barbara Bangser of Westport; Paul and Liz Bangser of Bethesda, Maryland; Jill and Jeff Boynton of Newington, New Hampshire; and Dan and Jennifer Bangser of Norwalk, as well as eight grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. He had one brother, Henry, who predeceased him.

Bill’s family and friends will forever remember him for his kindness, his eternally positive attitude, his infectious sense of humor, his keen intellect and analytic mind, and his unflagging curiosity on a vast array of topics.

After a private burial here at Willowbrook Cemetery, the family plans to hold a memorial service on Sunday, November 3, 2019 at 11 a, m. at the Westport Library. 

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Save The Children Foundation in Fairfield Connecticut, or to the Westport Library.

The Collins Funeral Home of Norwalk is directing the arrangements.