William M. Driscoll

William M. Driscoll died peacefully at his son’s home on Saturday, November 28, 2020. He was 91. Born in Boston to Katherine Rooney Driscoll and Edgar J. Driscoll Sr., he was the fourth son of their seven children.

After graduating from the Cambridge School of Weston in 1946, Bill entered the Woolworth Management Training Program and became a store manager. He managed stores in Portland, ME, Worchester, MA, Olneyville, RI and finally, Jamaica Plain MA.

From 1955 to 1957 he served in the Transportation Corps of the United States Army in Taegu (now Daegu) Korea.

After Korea, he joined Sales Marketing Executives International (SMEI) a marketing trade association firm in New York City and served as its managing director. He married Catherine Moore on September 12, 1959. They moved to Hastings-on-Hudson, NY and raised five sons.

While in Hastings, Bill was an active member of the Riverview Manor Hose Company, one of four volunteer fire houses in town. Together with a sub-group of Riverview Manor fireman he purchased and restored a 1926 American LaFrance fire engine that now resides in the Boston Fire Museum.

He changed careers in the 1980s and joined Griffin Auto Leasing in Greenwich, Ct. where he worked until he retired in 1990.

Imbued with a fondness for New Hampshire etched by childhood summers spent in Deering, Bill took great joy in returning to the Granite State. He quickly grew to love Jaffrey and its residents.

He devoted his time to many civic organizations, including The Jaffrey Historical Society, The Jaffrey Civic Center, and the Rotary Club of Jaffrey.

He was awarded the Marion Mack Johnson Civic Leadership Award in 2012 and named the Citizen of the Year by the Jaffrey Chamber of Commerce in 2017.

Of his many involvements, Bill took particular delight in the restoration and maintenance of the Historical Society’s Seagrave Fire Engine. He also working with students at the Rotary Club’s Quest program, and talking to Jaffrey Grade School fourth graders during their annual field trip to The Meeting House

In addition to his parents and wife, Bill was predeceased by his brothers John, Edgar, Philip, and Robert, and his sisters Katherine and Sheila.

Bill is survived by five sons and their spouses, Nicholas McMaster, William M. Driscoll, Jr. (William Quigley), Sean M. Driscoll (Judith Avigliano), Geoffrey Driscoll, and David Driscoll (Patricia Boulware) as well as four grandchildren, Mckenna McMaster, William T. M. Driscoll, Sean Driscoll, and Catherine Driscoll.

A private Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Patrick Church in Jaffrey.

An attempt will be made to livestream the Mass at 11:00 am on Thursday, December 3, 2020. Please visit https://vimeo.com/event/520301 to watch from home.

In the event of technical difficulties, a recording of the Mass will be available here on Bill’s obituary page Thursday afternoon.

A public memorial service is being planned for the summer of 2021.