William Frederick Willin's Obituary
William “Bill” Willin, age 64, of Annapolis, MD, and Lewes, DE, passed away on Saturday, November 15, 2025, following a prolonged illness. He was born on July 17, 1961, and raised in Lewes by his father, William Thomas Willin, Jr., and stepmother, Marie Stockley Willin, and was also loved by stepmother Barbara Willin.
A graduate of Cape Henlopen High School and a member of its golf team, Bill was also an Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America program. He loved the outdoors and preferred walking over driving. He was also a member of Groome Church in Lewes.
Bill worked for decades in the hospitality industry, and he managed McGarvey’s in Annapolis, MD; The Rusty Rudder in Dewey Beach, DE; the Horse and Buggy and the Sea Horse restaurants in Rehoboth Beach, DE; and The Lamp Post in Lewes, DE, among others. Although not a professionally trained chef, Bill could famously recreate any dish he tasted. He often took culinary trips across the country to find trends and create new dishes for the restaurants he managed. He also took immense pride in mentoring his teams to success, and he helped many individuals realize their dreams of working in the restaurants at Bill’s favorite happy place—Walt Disney World. Bill traveled to Walt Disney World and Disneyland dozens of times, created countless memories with friends and family members there, and avidly collected Disney memorabilia. Many of those items and memories brought him and those closest to him extraordinary joy and comfort in recent years.
In addition to his parents, William and Marie Willin, Bill was preceded in death by his grandparents, William and Elizabeth Willin; grandparents William and Frances Stockley; his beloved dog, Indy; and several aunts and uncles. He is survived by his stepmother, Barbara Willin, of Solomons, MD; his aunt, Katharine Ritter (Ronnie), of Lewes, DE; his uncle, John Willin (Carol), of Laurel, DE; his cousins Lou Anne Banks of Fort Lauderdale, FL, Mark Banks of Georgetown, DE, Keith Banks of Lewes, DE, Kyle Banks (Michele) of Georgetown, DE, Kevin Wright (Heather) of Port Republic, MD, and Pam Willin Yingling (Ed) of Ellendale, DE; his step-siblings Cornelius John DeVries of CA, Diane Marie Salen (Rick) of Calvert Beach, MD, and Kathryn Jean Coursey of Mt. Airy, MD; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, friends, and colleagues from across the restaurant industry.
Per Bill’s wishes, memorial services will be private. The family encourages anyone who loved him or was mentored by him to celebrate his life by sharing memories over a great meal or by donating in his memory to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration at https://www.theaftd.org or to Groome Church at https://groomechurchlewes.org.
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