William Ling

William “Bill” Halstead Ling, 67,

passed away at home in Whitefish on Sept. 16, 2011.

Bill was born in Albany, N.Y., the son

of Halstead and Dorothy Ling. He grew up in Laurens, near

Cooperstown and graduated with 24 students from Laurens Central

School.

He attended Amherst College, graduating

with a BA in mathematics. He attended the University of

Massachusetts and earned a masters in mathematics. He earned his

PhD. In mathematics (approximation theory) from Rensselaer

Polytechnic Institute.

Bill studied overseas at Uppsala

University in Sweden and the Max Planck institute in Munich,

Germany. He taught mathematics at Union College in Schenectady,

N.Y. He ultimately spent 30 years at Sandia National Laboratory in

Albuquerque, N.M. where he was a supervisor for systems analysis.

His work was classified. He was at the same location as former

President George W. Bush on Sept. 11, 2001, as the president

travelled to a secure site.

Bill was always a gifted and

accomplished athlete. He played golf, squash, racket ball, tennis,

skied, and played football in high school and college. He loved

music and could play the banjo, ukulele, guitar, and had a great

voice. He loved jazz, humor and told the best stories. He also

loved languages, such as German, Spanish and Swedish and he

traveled extensively.

He is survived by his wife, Marguerite

Kaminski of Whitefish; and his five children, Cody, Chance,

Cherstin, Callie, and Casey Ling, all of the family home; his

sister, Sara Ling of Manhattan, N.Y.; and his cousin, Kathy Ling

Mullins of Willard, N.M. He was preceded in death by his

parents.

Bill was the consmmate father, husband,

friend, teacher, son and brother. We will miss him greatly.

Services will be held at a later date. You are invited to go to

www.austinfh.com to offer condolences and view Williams’s tribute

wall.