William C. Preston

William C. Preston, 83, of Rindge, NH died peacefully on March 23, 2022, at the Cheshire Medical Center in Keene after a brief period of declining health.

‘Bill’ was born on February 11, 1939, in Portsmouth, NH, son of the late William and Margaret (Rising) Preston. He was raised in Newton, MA and had attended Bowdoin College and UMass Amherst, where he met and married Shirley DiBenedetto. In 1963, the couple moved to Ann Arbor, MI while he earned his Doctorate Degree in Ornithology from the University of Michigan.

They moved to New Hampshire in 1968, residing in Peterborough, Jaffrey, and Rindge over the next 51 years. During this time, Bill taught as a Biology Professor at Franklin Pierce College in Rindge.

He always enjoyed the outdoors, birdwatching and fly-fishing, and eventually began tying his own flies and began a large collection. Bill had served on the Conservation Committees in both Rindge and in Jaffrey. He was a voracious reader and liked all good science fiction books, he also enjoyed watching British television, but his true love was attending live theater and listening to classical music, which he shared with his family whenever possible.
In addition to his parents, Bill was predeceased by his wife, Shirley Preston, on September 12, 2019, and his sister, Nancy Wisnowski also died earlier.

Bill is survived by his daughter, Jennifer Burpee and her husband, Ellery, his granddaughter, Cameron Light and her husband, Logan, his granddaughter, Ayla McLellan and her husband, Jaimie, his great-granddaughter, Freyja McLellan, and his great-grandson, Milo Light, all of Port Charlotte, FL, and many great friends, including his neighbors, Jean Fowler and Gail Smith, both of Rindge.


In accordance with his wishes, there will be no calling hours or services held at this time.
A Celebration of his life will take place in the summer and will be announced as details become available.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in William’s name to either the World Wildlife fund at https://www.worldwildlife.org or Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Avenue Montgomery, AL 36104