William John Rivers died peacefully at the age of 81 on March 19, 2024, in Middletown, OH. Bill was born in Rockville, CT, on October 31, 1942, to William Berti Rivers and Muriel Gladys (McCaughey) Rivers. The family resided in Manchester, CT. His mother died in 1947 and his father remarried in 1949, to Arline Marion Graff. Sisters Laureen and Janet joined the family in 1950 and 1958.

Bill graduated from Manchester High School in 1960. He enlisted in the US Army and completed the Russian Language course at the Army Language School in Monterey, CA. Following this training, he was stationed as a linguist in West Germany for several years and completed his service in the US Army in 1964. On September 25, 1965, he married Ann Marie Daly, of Bloomfield, CT. Ann preceded him in death on August 27, 2023, after more than 57 years of marriage. She enriched his life and was the joy of it. During their marriage Bill and Ann lived in Connecticut (Manchester), Maryland (Laurel, Arnold, and Severna Park), West Germany (Bad Aibling), Colorado (Aurora), Pennsylvania (Biglerville), and Ohio (Lebanon).

In 1966 Bill began a very interesting, challenging, and rewarding 31-year career in the National Security Agency. Bill and Ann lived in Severna Park when he retired in 1997 from the National Security Agency as a Senior Intelligence Analyst & Team Chief.

After his retirement, Bill and Ann moved to Biglerville, PA, where he worked for 5 years at the Agway store in Gettysburg. He and Ann enjoyed touring south-central Pennsylvania, taking photographs of local historic structures as well as displays in the Biglerville Historical Society’s National Apple Museum, which he used in website he built for the museum. He was a volunteer, Board Member, and Chairman of the Biglerville Historical Society.

Bill and Ann moved to Lebanon, OH, in 2007 to be near their daughter, Marianne. Bill’s third and final career lasted 10 years in Lebanon, where he was a volunteer and Board Member at the Warren County Historical Society and Museum. He and his wife also toured Warren County taking photographs of historic structures for the society’s website.

Bill and Ann enjoyed the company of their grandchildren and friends. Throughout his life, Bill loved reading and word games, and the company of his Shetland Sheepdogs (Sally, Misty, JoJo, and King).

Bill is survived by his children, William Patrick Rivers, Ph.D. and wife Karine G. Jegalian, Ph.D., and grandchildren Arden J. Dombalagian and Nairi J. Rivers, all of Garrett Park, MD; Thomas Daly Rivers and wife Odette Erin Rivers of Newton, MA, and grandchildren Kathleen C. Rivers of Boston and Kyle D. Rivers, of Newton; and Marianne Kathleen (Rivers) Thomas and husband Andrew J. Thomas of Lebanon, OH, and grandchildren Annabelle M. Thomas of Columbus, OH, and Nathaniel J. Thomas, Michael A. Thomas, and Elizabeth T. Thomas, of Lebanon, OH, and his sisters, Laureen Shirley (Rivers) Proulx and husband Francis and family, of Virginia Beach, VA, and Janet Arline Rivers, of Manchester, CT.

A private interment will be held on April 3, 2024 at Saint James Cemetery, Danielson, Connecticut. In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting the caregivers who assisted Bill in his final days with a donation to Day City Hospice, 7601 Paragon Rd, Dayton, OH, 45459.