William L. Sly, age 88, of Hackettstown, NJ, formerly of Pennington, NJ, died Sunday, September 14, 2014 at Heath Village. William was born December 18, 1925, in Nyack, NY. He was the son of the late John Lazear Sly, M.D., and the late Elsie (Leggett) Sly. Bill was preceded in death by his only sister, Shirley Sly Kreitler.
He grew up in Summit, NJ, graduated from the Loomis Institute, and served in the US Navy during World War II. Bill graduated from Cornell University with Bachelor Degrees in Economics and Mechanical Engineering. He was employed by Zero, Princeton, NJ, as a mechanical engineer before retiring. Bill was a Presbyterian Elder and a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Hackettstown. He served as an elder and treasurer at South Salem (New York) Presbyterian Church, and was a past member of the Pennington Presbyterian Church, Pennington, NJ. Bill was an advocate for education; he attended 61 elder hostels and volunteered at the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, Pennington, NJ. He enjoyed sailing and anything to do with boats; he and his wife enjoyed many sailing vacations.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Barbara (Coe) Sly, 3 daughters; Margery Sly, Carol Sly and husband Stephen Marshall, and Patricia Sly and husband Robert Chernow, and 5 grandchildren; Robin, Melissa and James Chernow, John and Neal Marshall.
A private, grave side service will take place at a later date.
Donations may be made to the First Presbyterian Church, 298 Main Street, Hackettstown, NJ 07840, or to Cornell University – Class of 1947,Office of Alumni Affairs, 130 E. Seneca Street, Suite 400, Ithaca, NY 14850.