William J. McCullough, 85, of Lincroft, died peacefully after long illness on Sunday, November 26. He was attended by his children.

Bill was born and raised in Jersey City to the late Carmella Tantulla McCullough and George McCullough as the oldest of five. He graduated high school, and served his country honorably in the U.S. Navy as an ensign.

Bill began life on the “melting pot” streets of Jersey City N.J. When his parents died in their thirties, he and his brothers and sister found themselves in different orphanages. He escaped via the U.S. Navy, and has remained friends with his shipmates from the USS Myles C. Foxx. He had a long and enchanting life with three wonderful women and five awesome children. He climbed “down” several “corporate ladders”, something he loved to poke fun at.

Due to what he called “the family curse”, Lynch Syndrome, Bill experienced many cancers, but through it all maintained an amazing sense of humor and joy for life until his last breath. He had a very broad and long-term set of friendships, and a prayer group that he loved. He worked very hard to be an inspiration to others and to share resilience, determination, and indeed happiness through life’s inevitable difficulties.

As a young man and throughout his life, Bill was deeply concerned about social justice and civil rights. He was able to create relationships with people in all walks of life and never failed to find common ground with them, often with laughter. He was a man of purpose and passion.

Bill enjoyed playing blackjack and cards with all of his friends, and especially enjoyed music and dancing. He was an avid gardener and was lovingly called “Mr. Green Jeans”. He took care of his koi fish pond (The Ponderosa) for many years. William’s favorite koi fish was Bertha, whom he loved for over 25 years. Bill loved animals all his life, and one, his maltipoo, Lilly, was a great support through many hard days.

Most of all, Bill loved spending time with family and friends and sharing stories, memories, and jokes. He was a writer all of his life and had a large following of  people who loved his emails. His deepest hope in his final years was to inspire people (“make you smile-maybe shed a tear or two”). He never failed to say that he was the luckiest man on the planet and had had a wonderful life.

The LORD OF THE RINGS books and movies were very important to Bill, hence, he joked in his last days of going to Gray Havens just like Gandalf. For those who know, it would not be going too far to say Bill, The White has sailed on.

William is predeceased by his parents, his first wife, Helen, his second wife, Bonnie, his son William, and his brother, George.

He is survived by his companion, Sue Bryant and his children, Laura McCullough-Thoms and her husband Vincent Thoms of Lincroft, Steven McCullough of Old Bridge, Amanda “Shimmee” McCullough and her husband Wes Cahill of Absecon, and Zachary McCullough, his siblings Judy Hardman, Frank “Pudgy” McCullough, John “Jack” Sullivan, his sister in law, Adele, and his eight grandchildren, Hunter, Luke, Ethan, Emory, Rutger, Alex, Adam, and Gregory.

A spring celebration of life will be announced at a later date to honor the many friendships and relationships that Bill held dear.

For messages of condolence, or to share a favorite memory of William, please visit his page of tribute at www.HolmdelFuneralHome.com