[Baltimore Sun] Raymond W. Will, former Bethlehem Steel Corp. mechanical engineer, dies
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Raymond W. Will, a mechanical engineer and former general foreman of Bethlehem Steel Corp.’s Rod and Wire Mill at its Sparrows Point works, died Nov. 17 from cancer at Senator Bob Hooper Hospice House in Forest Hill. The Cedarcroft resident was 95.
Raymond William Will, son of William Will, a Commercial Credit Corp. auditor, and Marie Johanna Kleindienst, who managed the family home, was born and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey.
While a student at Teaneck High School, where he played varsity baseball, he also met and fell in love with a fellow student, Cynthia Maud McPherson, whom he married in 1951.
After graduating from high school in 1947, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1951 from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Mr. Will was immediately recruited by Bethlehem Steel Corp. at Sparrows Point after graduating from Stevens and moved to Baltimore.
He spent his entire career in the company’s rod and wire mill, of which he eventually became foreman.
“He took great pride in his work and would proudly share stories of producing the wire for a number of projects such as the cables used in the Delaware Memorial Bridge,” according to a family biographical profile.
He retired in 1989.
A deeply religious man, he and his wife were active congregants of Immanuel Lutheran Church in the city’s Ramblewood neighborhood.
A member for 73 years, Mr. Will had served as president of the congregation, and he and his wife supported numerous church activities such as the annual sour beef dinner and candy-making program.
“In addition to providing a strong religious foundation for his seven children, Raymond encouraged a strong work ethic, valuing family and finding one’s own path in life,” according to his biography.
“He had an amazing memory,” said a daughter, Suzanne Gaudin of Annapolis.
Mr. Will enjoyed sailing aboard his boat, the SeaHawk, and visiting beaches.
His favorite beach destinations were West Dennis Beach on Cape Cod, Avon, North Carolina, on the Outer Banks, Assateague Island and Cozumel, Mexico, family members said.
“Always a family man, he loved baseball, sailing, cocktails at 5 p.m., his Manhattans always had seven ice cubes, reading history books, building and fixing anything,” his daughter wrote in an email. “He was a special dad with a mischievous side to him, and we loved hearing about his childhood antics.”
His wife of 65 years, who managed the family home, died in 2016.
Funeral services were held Thursday at his church.
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Will is survived by three sons, Douglas Will, of Bel Air, Bruce Will, of Forest Hill, and Jefferson Will, of Lutherville; another daughter, Jennifer Ward of Destin, Florida; 21 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by two sons, Gary R. Will, who died in 2017, and Bradley W. Will, who died earlier this year.
Have a news tip? Contact Frederick N. Rasmussen at frasmussen@baltsun.com and 410-332-6536.
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