William Neil Kettering
December 14, 1944 ~ March 16, 2020
William Neil Kettering, age 75, of Vienna, VA, passed away peacefully at home on March 16, 2020 surrounded by his wife and children. He passed away after a brief battle with metastatic melanoma.
William was born, raised and educated in New York City. Following college, he spent three years in the U.S. Army including a year in Vietnam. After returning home, he met his wife, Marion, to whom he was married for nearly 47 years.
Together with their children, they moved to Vienna for his job with the Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Department of State. He served tours overseas in Caracas, Amman, and Beirut. After 38 years with Diplomatic Security, he retired to play golf, read, and travel.
A beloved husband, father, and grandfather, he is survived by his wife, Marion, his daughters Katie (Mark) Neuville, Maggie (Steve) Pickering, and Maureen (Gabriel) Bayley, and his son, John (Lauren McManus) Kettering, as well as his granddaughters, Maren Neuville, Kristen Bayley, and Hannah Bayley. He will be missed by his siblings, Lois, Patty, and Peter, as well as numerous in-laws, nieces and nephews.
A funeral mass and interment will be held at a later date. Please check back for updated details. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society.
William was born, raised and educated in New York City. Following college, he spent three years in the U.S. Army including a year in Vietnam. After returning home, he met his wife, Marion, to whom he was married for nearly 47 years.
Together with their children, they moved to Vienna for his job with the Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Department of State. He served tours overseas in Caracas, Amman, and Beirut. After 38 years with Diplomatic Security, he retired to play golf, read, and travel.
A beloved husband, father, and grandfather, he is survived by his wife, Marion, his daughters Katie (Mark) Neuville, Maggie (Steve) Pickering, and Maureen (Gabriel) Bayley, and his son, John (Lauren McManus) Kettering, as well as his granddaughters, Maren Neuville, Kristen Bayley, and Hannah Bayley. He will be missed by his siblings, Lois, Patty, and Peter, as well as numerous in-laws, nieces and nephews.
A funeral mass and interment will be held at a later date. Please check back for updated details. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society.
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Bill was a great Agent who served his country with honor and distinction. Smart, highly competent and very resourceful, he was always a voice of reason and calm, even in difficult situations. Our relationship expanded to golf after gov’t Service which he greatly enjoyed, and true to his character, he never complained with an errant shot. Always a smile, always his grace. My heartfelt sympathies to his wife, children and family. He surely will be in my thoughts forever and my prayers to each of you during this difficult time. God bless
We are lucky to have known Bill because our son, Mark, married his beautiful daughter, Katie. The father-daughter dance at Katie and Mark’s wedding erupted in spontaneous laughter and applause when Bill and Katie, wearing sunglasses and dark caps, stealthily waltzed into the room to ” Secret Agent Man!” I always thought Bill was a NYC Irish cop because of his accent, so was surprised to learn he was of Italian and German decent. Bill could entertain us for hours, with the stories of amazing adventures their family shared, serving our country in the State Department. Our favorite story was when Bill told us how he “looked out” for Mother Teresa while on assignment for a State funeral in India. How special is it that Bill opened up the State Department office in Bosnia, and Katie was assigned there in 2008-2010. What a wonderful role model Bill was, as two of his four talented children followed their Father’s path and direction, and were chosen to serve our country in the State Department. That must have made him both honored and proud. Being 6 foot 3 inches, Bill commanded attention the minute he walked into the room. However, his lasting impressions were his friendly, kind, generous and down to earth nature. The love Bill and Marion shared fills every corner of their lovely home, as both are so easy and fun to be with. Bill not only married a smart teacher, but an amazing cook. We cherish all the times were shared with them and their families. This past October was one of the best! After a delicious meal and visit, we walked on the new stone pathway in their back yard. How thankful we are that we captured the memory with a picture, and with Maren between us! It was wonderful to hear that Bill continued to enjoy that pathway and walking in his backyard after his cancer diagnosis. Our hearts grieve for the sudden death of Bill,which is compounded in this “surreal” time. We love you all and pray for you daily. A wonderful man, husband, Father and friend “watches over and protects” us all from the Heavens.