Wilbur “Bill” Hale, Jr. passed away on September 15, 2017 at the Lower Cape Fear Hospice in Bolivia, NC; he had been battling leukemia for several months. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Joanne Rawson Hale.

Born in Blakely, PA in 1930, he was raised in Scranton, PA. After earning his BSc in Pharmacy at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, he joined the U.S. Navy. Upon completion of Officer Candidate School, he served on active duty as a surface warfare officer for six years and then transitioned to the Navy Reserve. He then worked as a pharmacist at various stores in the central PA region.

In 1973, Bill retired from the Navy Reserve as a Commander after 20 years of service and he and his family moved to Chester, VT where he was the owner of the Chester Drug Store. He sold his business in 1992 and retired to their log cabin on Terrible Mountain in Andover, VT.

He enjoyed meeting people in his part-time jobs at Okemo Mountain Ski Resort in Ludlow, VT and at the Vermont Country Store in Weston, VT. He was an active volunteer for the Community Care network in the Chester/Andover, VT area. In 2015, he and Joanne moved to Southport, NC, to be closer to family.
Throughout his life, Bill was active in the Navy, the Rotary Club in PA and VT, the Chamber of Commerce in VT, the community, and his churches in PA, VT, and NC.

In addition to his wife, Joanne, Bill is survived by his daughter, Wendy, and husband Phil of St. Davids, Wales, United Kingdom: he is also survived by his son, Tom, and wife Marybeth of Southport, NC; granddaughter, Nichole, of Manheim, PA; grandson, Chris, and wife Tori of Astoria, OR; and great grandchildren Keira, Chet, and Declan, also of Astoria, OR.

The family will bury his ashes in the future in Andover, VT.

Donations can be made in lieu of flowers in Bill’s name to either the Lower Cape Fear Hospice Foundation at www.lcfhfoundation.org or the Coast Guard Foundation at www.coastguardfoundation.org