William Frederick "Bill" Marscher Ii

William Frederick "Bill" Marscher II of Buckingham Landing died in Hilton Head Regional Medical Center January 18, 2008 after a short illness.He was born in Beaufort, South Carolina on November 3, 1929. He became an Eagle Scout and an acolyte in St. Helena's Episcopal Church before graduating from Beaufort High School. He earned a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Clemson College (now Clemson University) and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After graduation he became a test engineer for General Electric designing fuel control systems for jet engines, for which he obtained a patent. Later, Bill became part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology team responsible for the development and design of the onboard guidance and navigation system of the Apollo command and lunar landing modules and for training the astronauts to use them. He had responsibility for the return of the module to Earth after the 1969 lunar landing.In 1969, Bill returned with his family to Beaufort County. He took a position with the Sea Pines Company as vice president for leisure systems. In that capacity, Bill was involved in the start of Sea Pines Academy (which later became Hilton Head Preparatory School) and directed the successful community campaign to stop proposed construction of a BASF chemical plant at Victoria Bluff on the Colleton River. After leaving Sea Pines in the mid-1970s, he purchased Rose Supply, an electrical and plumbing supply company in Beaufort, and then opened a second outlet on Hilton Head Island. In the mid-1980s, Bill served two terms as mayor pro tempore for the Town of Hilton Head Island. He also served in leadership positions in other public and civic organizations, chairing an Operations Audit Committee for Beaufort County Council, chairing an oversight committee for the Beaufort County School District, and founding with others the Clean Water Task Force and serving on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Wildlife Federation. Recently he served on the board of directors of the South Carolina Conservation League. Currently he served on the board of the South Carolina Environmental Law Project and The Chapel Without Walls.He had a lifelong love for tidal waters, swimming, crabbing, fishing, shrimping, oystering and clamming in Beaufort County from his childhood and lobstering and sailing in New England as a young adult. Surviving members of the family are his wife, Fran Heyward Marscher; his son, William Frederick "Rick" Marscher III, his daughter-in-law, Anne Cote Marscher, grandsons William Frederick Marscher IV and John Christopher Marscher; his daughter, Carolyn Marscher Trenda, his son-in-law, Stuart Trenda, granddaughter, Olivia Suzanne Trenda, and grandson, Stuart Mason Trenda, all of Maryville, TN. Adrienne Kennedy Marscher is mother of his children.In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Friends of the Rivers, P.O. Box 143, 20 Town Drive, Bluffton, SC 29910, or to South Carolina Environmental Law Project, PO Box 1380, Pawley's Island, SC 29585.Sauls Funeral Home of Bluffton, SC is assisting the family with their arrangements. (www.saulsfh.com)