William “Bill” Shanfield, of Princeton, passed away on April 27, 2022. He was 95.
Born October 16,1926 in Brooklyn, NY to Max and Rachel Shanfeld, Bill grew up in Allentown, NJ on a 75 acre farm with his brother Fred where he worked with his mother and father growing tomatoes for the Campbell Soup Company and raising chickens.
After he married Bessie Saritsky in 1949, he built and took care of a motel on US1 called “The Windsor Tourist Cottages”. While running the motel at night, he also worked full time as a construction worker. Bill was elected Business Manager of Princeton’s union of labors NA. He worked as the Union’s representative on many projects including the Quarter Bridge mall and Bristol Meyers Squibb’s HQ in Lawrenceville. When construction work slowed, he became a successful private building contractor.
Several years after Bessie’s passing, he married Louise Spraque and enjoyed 20 years with her before her passing. During those years they enjoyed traveling, overwintering in Florida, and going to many stage shows.
Bill’s most favorite activity was fluke fishing at the Jersey shore. He loved sharing his knowledge and skills about catching the big ones and created good friendships around that activity. He rose very early on fishing days to secure just the right spot on the party boat.
Bill is survived by his five children Freida Villepontoux, Marilyn McGrath, Bern Shanfield, Wayne and Cheryl Dunfee and Linda Bosse and their families. He was also blessed with 8 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.
Funeral services and burial will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, May 5 at the People of Truth Cemetery, 1001 Cedar Lane, Hamilton Township, NJ.
The family is planning a zoom meeting for those who would like to attend remotely. Please email Bern Shanfield at bshanfield@me.com for the Zoom link. We suggest joining the zoom meeting 10 minutes before the service begins.