William Ogden, age 74 of Wilmington, NC passed away peacefully at sunrise on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013 at Davis Healthcare Center after a long courageous battle with Parkinson’ s Disease.

Bill was born on April 25, 1938 in London, England and came to the United States when he was 13 years old, bringing his love of soccer.

He earned his B.S. Degree at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. After resigning as Captain from U. S. Army, he embarked on a 34 year career with General Electric Company. Following GE Manufacturing Management Program assignments at Hendersonville, N.C., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Evendale, Ohio, Bill joined the Outdoor Lighting Department in 1968 as Foreman-Components Manufacturing. He progressed through a series of management positions in Shop Operations, Production Controls, and Process and Equipment Engineering. In 1976, Bill joined the Meter Business as Superintendent-Single Phase Meter Manufacturing, and was named Manager–Load Management Operations in 1979, Manager-Brazil Facilities Project in 1980, Manager–International Production Resources in 1982, and Manager–Manufacturing Engineering in 1985. Relocating to Wilmington in 1990, Bill joined Nuclear Fuel and Components Manufacturing(NF&CM) as Manager-Manufacturing Systems and Site Services. Starting in March 1991, he spent eleven months as Acting Manager-Nuclear Fuel & Components Manufacturing and on May 1998 Bill retired as Manager/Facilities. Bill was extremely active at St. Mark’s Catholic Church.

Bill is survived by his wife of 51 years, Gloria Anne Ogden and his children: Lisa Joan Ivanovic, Bruce Robert Ogden, Susan Elizabeth Ogden and Brian Michael Ogden and his wife, Nicole Ogden; grandchildren, Wilhelmina Blake Ogden and Katherine Blythe Ogden; brother, Geoffrey Ogden and his wife Janice Ogden.

A gathering of family and friends will be held from 3:00pm to 5:00pm on Sunday April 7, 2013 at Coble Ward-Smith Funeral Home, 3915 Oleander Drive Wilmington, NC 28403.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00am on Monday April 8, 2013 at St. Mark Roman Catholic Church, 1011 Eastwood Rd, Wilmington, NC 28403.

Graveside service will be held at 2:00pm on Monday April 8, 2013 at Oleander Memorial Gardens. Military Honors will be conducted by the American Legion Post 10 Honor Guard.

The family would like to thank the entire staff of Davis Healthcare for their excellent care, love and support of Bill and his family.

Taps Memorial Article:

William Ogden  1961

Cullum No. 23547-1961 | March 31, 2013 | Died in Wilmington, NC

Cremated. Inurned at Oleander Memorial Gardens, Wilmington, NC

William “Bill” Ogden was born in London, the son of Julia Ogden (nee Frauenfelder) and Clifford Ogden, 18 months following the birth of brother Geoffrey. In 1940 all children were evacuated from London due to German bombing. Bill (age 1-and-a-half) and Geoff were sent north to a town called Bedford, where they were fostered to a family who had a small farm and a milk delivery business. Their dad, who neither brother remembers, separated from the family without further contact. Their mother, who was bilingual in French and German, began work in 1943 as an interpreter with the U.S. Army. In 1946 the brothers were sent to boarding school in the south of England. They spent almost two years there. It was a very unhappy experience for both boys, and so they were glad to get back to Bedford to be with the family who had previously fostered them. In the meantime, their mother had married an American (Mark Herrell), and in May 1946 he took her to California, which was his home. In 1948, Julia was naturalized, and in August 1951 both boys (Bill was now 13) and their grandmother flew to Los Angeles to join their mother and her husband. Bill attended junior high and graduated University High School in 1955. He then took college courses while working for two years. In 1957 he was nominated by his congressman for an appointment to the Academy. Brother Geoff stated, “It was a dream come true for Bill and he blossomed after that.”

Bill took his love of soccer to West Point. When the soccer coach found out that Bill’s soccer training was in England, that alone merited his inclusion on the squad as a plebe. His skills steadily improved so that his contributions merited major “A”s his last two years. Soccer got him away from the daily grind and enabled him to loosen up. He was active in the French Club. During his summer vacation in 1960, Bill and classmate Bruce Kovac set out to explore Europe, beginning in London, where Bill explored locations in which he had previously lived. They then proceeded through France, visiting famous battlefields. The destination was Lausanne, Switzerland, where he visited with his grandmother and cousin. His command of French served him well. At West Point he parried all of the many challenges of academics and finished in the top half of his class. Bill was well liked and respected by his comrades. He never talked about the hardships he endured as a child during World War II, but it was obvious to his friends that he was searching for the stability that was denied to him growing up. He wanted to be married and to have a family. Although female companionship was not facilitated at West Point, he persisted in his search until, in his firstie year, he was introduced to Gloria Krawchuk. Bill was hooked, and they became engaged within a few short months and married just three days after his graduation.

Bill chose the Artillery branch and the first of his duty assignments was to a Nike Hercules Missile Battery in Redmond, WA. Gloria gave birth to their daughter Lisa while stationed there. In March 1964 he started a hardship tour in Chung Chon, Korea with an Honest John Rocket Battalion and returned Stateside in April 1965. After four years and seven moves, Bill resigned his commission at Fort Sill, OK in May 1965. He then embarked on a 34-year career with General Electric. He participated in the GE Manufacturing Management Program. This involved spending one year in each of three manufacturing locations: Hendersonville, NC; Oklahoma City, OK (where they adopted Bruce); and Cincinnati, OH, with resulting assignment to Hendersonville (where Susan and Brian were born) and where Bill spent the next eight years. From there he was assigned in 1976 to New Hampshire, where he spent the next 14 years. His area of focus for 15 years was lighting and power development. In 1990 he was assigned to the Nuclear Fuels Business in Wilmington, NC, where the focus was on international business. In 1998 he retired, and he and Gloria stayed in Wilmington.

A cruel fate occurred the year following his retirement. In 1999 Bill was diagnosed with Parkinson plus syndrome, which included the classical features of Parkinson’s disease with additional features of neurodegenerative complications. In July 2011 he entered a nursing home, and, on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013, Bill died at Davis Healthcare Center after a long 14-year battle with Parkinson plus. Mass was held at St. Mark Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, where his son Brian gave an eloquent eulogy. He recalled how his Dad had faced numerous challenges in his lifetime but was always focused on others rather than his own challenges. Brian also remembered that he never once heard his Dad speak ill of another person and did not want his children to do so either. He was dedicated in his support of St. Mark Catholic School, which helped to stimulate rapid student enrollment. Bill was blessed to have Gloria as a wife, mother and grandmother. Bill said that she was the glue that held the family together over his many moves in the military and at GE.

— Bruce Kovac ’61, classmate