William Ling
William “Bill” Halstead Ling, 67,
passed away at home in Whitefish on Sept. 16, 2011.
Bill was born in Albany, N.Y., the son
of Halstead and Dorothy Ling. He grew up in Laurens, near
Cooperstown and graduated with 24 students from Laurens Central
School.
He attended Amherst College, graduating
with a BA in mathematics. He attended the University of
Massachusetts and earned a masters in mathematics. He earned his
PhD. In mathematics (approximation theory) from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute.
Bill studied overseas at Uppsala
University in Sweden and the Max Planck institute in Munich,
Germany. He taught mathematics at Union College in Schenectady,
N.Y. He ultimately spent 30 years at Sandia National Laboratory in
Albuquerque, N.M. where he was a supervisor for systems analysis.
His work was classified. He was at the same location as former
President George W. Bush on Sept. 11, 2001, as the president
travelled to a secure site.
Bill was always a gifted and
accomplished athlete. He played golf, squash, racket ball, tennis,
skied, and played football in high school and college. He loved
music and could play the banjo, ukulele, guitar, and had a great
voice. He loved jazz, humor and told the best stories. He also
loved languages, such as German, Spanish and Swedish and he
traveled extensively.
He is survived by his wife, Marguerite
Kaminski of Whitefish; and his five children, Cody, Chance,
Cherstin, Callie, and Casey Ling, all of the family home; his
sister, Sara Ling of Manhattan, N.Y.; and his cousin, Kathy Ling
Mullins of Willard, N.M. He was preceded in death by his
parents.
Bill was the consmmate father, husband,
friend, teacher, son and brother. We will miss him greatly.
Services will be held at a later date. You are invited to go to
www.austinfh.com to offer condolences and view Williams’s tribute
wall.