WESTPORT — William “Bill” Frederick Vornkahl III, who for a half-century was the driving force behind veteran events and Memorial Day parades in town, died Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. He was 93.
He was born in Norwalk on Aug. 14, 1930, to parents William F. Vornkahl, Jr. and Alice Gerrish. A lifelong Westporter, Bill remembered playing his trombone along the Post Road to celebrate the victory in Japan in August 1945.
In 1948, he graduated from Staples High School and worked as a bank teller before joining the Army and serving as a high-speed radio operator in the 1st Cavalry Division, 13th Signal Corps, from 1952-54. During his service, Bill spent 14 months on the island of Hokkaido, Japan, where he wrote letters to Linnea, his future wife and the love of his life, who he met on a blind date just prior to his overseas service.
After returning to Westport, Bill married Linnea on May 15, 1954, and returned to work at Westport Bank and Trust. Bill worked in banking until he retired as a branch manager in 1987. After retiring from banking, Bill spent the next 30-plus years, until spring 2020, driving people to and from nearby airports.
Bill spent countless hours serving Westport and the veterans community. He was a member of American Legion Post 63 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 399 for over 60 years. He was a member/treasurer of Westport’s War Monument Committee from 1996-99 and served on the Westport RTM.
He was a Little League coach, coaching both boys baseball and girls softball, and a volunteer on the sideline crew for the Staples High School football team for over 20 years. Bill was the secretary/treasurer of the Greens Farms Volunteer Fire Company since 1950, vice president/treasurer of Saugatuck Hose Co. No. 4 since 1999, and was the president of Westport Volunteer Fire Co. from 1973-93.
In commemoration of his services to veterans and the community, Bill was proudly inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame in 2013.
At last November’s Veterans Day ceremony, the main speaker, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Brien P. Horan, cited Vornkahl for his longtime commitment to recognizing veterans for their national service. Vornkahl served as president of the Westport Veterans Council for years.
In Westport, Bill is best known for being the chairman of the Memorial Day parade since 1970. Westporters who attend the parade may remember him walking, and then riding, at the end of the parade, in addition to hosting the after-parade services. Bill also ran the Westport Italian Festival parade, and was called whenever a parade occurred in Westport, earning him the nickname, “Mr. Parade.”
An avid traveler and parade goer, Bill and Linnea attended parades and visited national parks across the country. Bill’s top highlights were attending the Rose Parade in California and visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, which he called the “most impressive” national park.
Bill proudly visited all 50 states and liked to tell people how he had actually driven in 49 of those states, only missing Alaska. Also a big sports fan, you could always count on him to know the ins and outs of the Giants, Rangers and Mets. Bill also enjoyed car racing and took his family to the Danbury Fair Race arena every Saturday night.
Always a good humored jokester, Bill made friends everywhere he went and was beloved by his friends and family.
He is survived by his four children, William Vornkahl IV (Diane), Susan Meineke (Richard), Ed Vornkahl and Diane Malone (Joe), and seven grandchildren, Allison, Kelly, Billy, Jennifer, Karalyn, Brian and Jamie, who will always remember summers at Compo Beach, hamburgers on the grill, Super Bowl score prediction cakes, carving the Thanksgiving turkey, cats named Inky, and countless other loving memories.
Bill was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Mary Linnea Vornkahl; sister, Margaret Troll, and brother, George Robert Vornkahl.
Calling hours will be on Thursday, Feb. 1, from 4-8 p.m., at Harding Funeral Home, 210 Post Road East. Funeral services will be held at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 41 Easton Road, on Friday, Feb. 2, at 11 a.m. Interment will follow at Willowbrook Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Paul Lutheran Church.
I have known Bill ever since I was old enough to know someone. He was in a sense biblical never once mentioning who he was or what he did but always giving to all and everything around him. A true patriot! his annual reading “it is the soldier” if recorded in his voice anywhere should be played in his honor at every veteran’s day celebration!