William C. Kennard

William C. Kennard of Storrs passed away on Sunday, January 11th 2009. He was a Professor Emeritus at the UCONN, having retired in 1991 from the Departments of Natural Resources and Plant Physiology in the College of Agriculture. He received his doctorate from Pennsylvania State University and his post doctoral diplomate from the Oakridge Institute of Nuclear Science. His life and work were filled with creativity, imagination, and energy. His first love was research on a large scale. He managed the Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Puerto Rico for five years, and served as Principal Investigator and Research Administrator for the Office of Experiment Stations in Washington D.C. for five years before coming to UCONN where he founded the Institute of Water Resources and was involved in the early mapping of the Landsat satellite images. Bill traveled the 50 states and six of the continents. He loved experiencing the new and different-new places, new foods, new clothes. He was proud of his services as a special forces paratrooper in World War II, and carried the discipline and values he learned in the Army with him for the rest of his life. He was a perfectionist, holding himself, his students, and his family to the highest standards. He loved gardening, architecture, sailing, tag sales, and attending the church fairs at the Storrs and Coventry Congregational Churches. He was a voracious reader, a consummate wood carver, and a talented painter. In addition to his devoted wife, Leslie, he leaves his daughter Plum Susan (Gerstein) Kennard and her son Sam Gerstein; his son, Bill and his wife Barbara; his daughter Ali Burlinson, her husband Matt, and their children Delilah and Isaiah; his grandsons Amahl and Rohan Hazelton; his nieces Mary Herdman and Harlanne Roberts, as well as four great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his first wife, Eleanor and his daughter, Lee Hazelton. A memorial service will be held at the Storrs Congregational Church on Jan. 22 at 2:00 p.m., the Rev. Drs. Jay Terbush and Bruce Johnson officiating. Friends are invited to make donations in Bill's memory to the Storrs Congregational Church at 2 North Eagleville Road, Storrs and designated to the "Welcoming All" accessibility campaign or to AmeriCares, 88 Hamilton Ave., Stamford, CT 06902. The Potter Funeral Home, Willimantic, assisted with arrangements. Please visit www.potterfuneralhome.com for online memorial guest book.