William Wilson “Ducky” Waller, Jr.

William Wilson (“Ducky”) Waller, Jr.

Age, 87, of Seaford, DE and Vero Beach, FL, born October 14, 1930, beloved father, husband of the late Jane Joseph Waller, and son of the late William Wilson Waller, Sr. and Elizabeth Gertrude Dickerson Waller, died on August 31, 2018 at the VNA Hospice in Vero Beach, Florida.
“Ducky” was given his nickname as a young boy by short-term construction workers who lodged at his parents’ home during World War II. For the rest of his life he always insisted on being called “Ducky,” and if someone referred to him as “Bill” or “William,” he was certain that person could not have known him that well.
Ducky is a graduate of Seaford Senior High School and was employed by the DuPont Company in Seaford from 1948 until he retired in 1985. His last position with DuPont was in their accounting department.
Ducky was an avid sports fan and excellent athlete throughout his life. He played the traditional sports in high school, baseball, football, and basketball, but excelled at every sport he tried. Once he bowled a 267 game in a DuPont Company bowling league; he did not take up golf until his mid-60’s but often shot in the 80’s; and as a young man Ducky once defeated Willie Mosconi, perhaps the greatest pool player who ever lived, in a pick-up game of pool. He was also very active in the Seaford Little League and Senior League baseball programs for many years, volunteering his time both as a coach and as an umpire. Ducky followed and enjoyed all sports but no sport more closely than baseball and no team more devotedly than the Brooklyn and then Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ducky cherished the beach and swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, whether in Bethany Beach, DE or Vero Beach, FL. He also treasured his camping trips with his family and friends at the beach, the Blue Ridge Mountains of Shenandoah National Park, and all around the country.
Ducky savored all of life’s sweet fruits, but his truest and greatest love was his family, especially his loving late wife of 62 years, Jane; his son, Bill Waller and wife Cheryl, of Vero Beach, FL; his daughter, Bonnie Thomas and her husband Tom, of Viera, FL; his three grandchildren, Lauren Wilson and her husband Bryan Wilson, of Middletown, DE; Amber Borgen of Gaithersburg, MD; and Michael Thomas of Newark, DE; and his two great-grandchildren, Liam Wilson and Maddie Wilson, of Middletown, DE.
Ducky is also survived by his sister, Doris Minton, of Seaford, DE; and his brother-in-law, James Joseph of Seaford, DE. Ducky will also be dearly missed by his great friends and neighbors from Seaford, DE and from the Walker’s Glen community and elsewhere in Vero Beach, FL.
Ducky is a member of St. John’s United Methodist Church, in Seaford, DE, where for many years he enjoyed ushering and greeting his many church friends. There will be a small service on September 23, 2018 at 1:00 pm at Odd Fellows Cemetery, 514 3rd Street, Seaford, DE 19973. The family suggests contributions in Ducky’s name to St. John’s United Methodist Church, 300 N. Pine Street, Seaford, DE 19973.