William J. McCann III (Bill) passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on December 11, 2024.

Bill was the second oldest of six children, born on April 17, 1942, in Southbridge, MA, and raised in East Hampton and Middletown, CT. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1960 and joined the Navy shortly after, in 1961, where he served as a submariner on the USS Tang. While stationed in Hawaii, he married Susan on a whim in July 1965. After Bill was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1966, he and Susan drove cross-country to join the McCann family's growing business, Best Cleaners.

Bill was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing, but he was happiest simply "messing around in boats." His love for the sea and adventure took him across many oceans, from New England to Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean, as far south as Venezuela. Susan, his wife and best friend, was always by his side.

In 2005, Bill and Susan built a small house on a beautiful beach on Long Island, a remote island in the Bahamas. They spent many joyful years there, falling in love with the island and forming friendships that grew into family bonds. It was there that Bill honed his bread-making skills—primarily out of necessity, given the limited choices on the tiny island.

Bill's strong values served him well in both his business and personal relationships. He saw the good in everyone and made those he encountered feel capable of achieving anything. With a strong sense of right and wrong, incredible patience, and a habit of performing random acts of kindness long before it became a popular slogan, he touched countless lives. Bill was deeply loved and will be missed dearly.

He was predeceased by his father, William J. McCann Jr.; his mother, Esther McCann-Leopold; his sister, Kathleen Lynch; and his brother, Timothy McCann. He is survived by his wife, Susan; his daughters, Kelly Leighton (John Pacheco) of Rhode Island and Jill Collins (Michael) of Massachusetts; his son, Shawn McCann (Jennifer) of Connecticut; his sister, Margaret Wilcox (Dave); his brothers, Patrick McCann (Polly) and Charlie McCann; and his grandchildren, Lindsey Leighton, Jessica Leighton, Benjamin Collins, Emma Collins, Finn McCann, Theodore Collins, Cassandra Mancini, and Ariana Pacheco.

Friends may call at Biega Funeral Home (3 Silver Street, Middletown, CT) on Wednesday, December 18, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. A Funeral Liturgy will be held at Saint Pius X Catholic Church in Middletown on Thursday, December 19, at 10:30 AM, with burial to follow at Miner Cemetery in Middletown.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Bill's name to Amazing Grace Food Pantry, 16 Stack St, Middletown, CT 06457: https://svdmiddletown.org/donate-to-svd/.