William Allison McAneny

Bill McAneny, 89, passed away from a short battle with leukemia at home with his family on October 18, 2021.

Born in Brooklyn, NY on March 27, 1932, to Wilbour Kyle McAneny and Francis (Allison) McAneny, Bill and his wife Shirley have been an integral part of the Trumansburg community since retiring to the area from Long Island in 2000.

As a newcomer to Trumansburg and lifelong athlete, Bill met many new friends playing competitive senior softball, tennis and golf. He became involved with the Community Rebuild Project, served nine years on the board of directors of the Ulysses Philomathic Library, five of them as its president, and he enjoyed watching live sports as a volunteer usher at Cornell Big Red football games. Bill was a prolific nature photographer, avid birdwatcher and skilled fine woodworker. He and Shirley made many good friends in Trumansburg, and devoted themselves to community service and events.

In the early years, upon graduating Bay Shore High School, NY in 1949, he attended Stevens Institute of Technology, NJ on a full Grumman scholarship, earning a BS in Mechanical Engineering. Bill was active in college sports and organizations. As co-captain of the soccer team he set a school scoring record. As an active member of Chi Phi fraternity, he served as chapter president his senior year.

Post college, Bill married Shirley Kime, also a graduate of Bay Shore High School, in 1954 and then he joined the U.S. Army and Signal Corps where he served during the Korean conflict and received an honorable discharge in 1956.

The couple settled in Huntington, NY and raised four children, during which time Bill was employed by Sperry Rand/UNISYS for 36 years and retired as department head for technical manuals.

Bill was a consummate public servant serving to set policies, protect open space and conserve wildlife. He was chair of the NY Conservation Board – Huntington, NY; president of the Huntington Audubon Society, Mayor and Trustee of the incorporated village of Lloyd Harbor, NY; board member of Caumsett State Park Foundation; as well as serving on various Huntington Township planning boards, advisory councils, and Long Island wetlands preservation committees.

Bill and Shirley love nature, travel adventure and bird watching. They visited all 50 US states via car, railroad and air with overseas excursions to South Africa, Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, the Galapagos, Iceland, and Mexico – identifying and counting birds all along the routes. On a good day, they would log 50 species.

Bill was predeceased by his parents; his sister Nancy; and his brother Donald. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; their four children: Elizabeth, Margaret, Peter (wife Noriko) and Alice; and five grandsons.

In keeping with Bill’s wishes, there will be no public services.

The family asks those that would like to make a donation in Bill’s memory to kindly consider the Finger Lakes Land Trust, 202 E Court St, Ithaca, NY 14850 or visit www.FLLT.org or the Ulysses Philomathic Library, PO Box 655, Trumansburg. NY 14886 or visit trumansburglibrary.org.

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