Print
Comment
Rate
Bill Maner, civic activist, dies
William Maner, well known locally in business, service and the arts, died Tuesday. He was 90.
Mr. Maner served in the Coast Guard as a communications and executive officer during World War II, usually aboard destroyer escorts in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theaters. He retired as a commander after 26 years in the Coast Guard Reserves following the war.
In 1946 Mr. Maner began a six-year stint as an assistant professor of English at the University of Richmond. Simultaneously he was book editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. In the 1950s Mr. Maner joined Virginia Electric & Power Company (now Dominion Resources), holding a number of executive posts before retiring in 1982 as a district manager based in Williamsburg.
Beginning In the 1940s and continuing through the 1970s, Mr. Maner wrote fiction and poetry for The New Yorker, Colliers, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and McCall's, as well as for magazines in Australia and Great Britain. He published five mystery novels in the U.S. and Europe.
The Maners moved to Williamsburg in 1971, where at various times Mr. Maner served on the boards of Williamsburg National Bank and Southern Bank & Trust Company.
In the arts, Mr. Maner was president of An Occasion for the Arts, vice-president and artistic director of the Twentieth Century Gallery (This Century Art Gallery), and an artist-member of the Virginia Watercolor Society. After moving to Williamsburg, Mr. Maner studied watercolor painting, which he exhibited in Virginia and North Carolina galleries. He later taught watercolor classes to inmates at the Lower Peninsula Regional Jail.
In the community, Mr. Maner was campaign chairman and president of United Way of Greater Williamsburg, chairman of the Williamsburg City Planning Commission, and chairman of the Williamsburg Democratic Committee.
In 2001 Mr. Maner told his physician to keep him alive until there was a Democrat in the White House. He lived to achieve this goal. He remained an active gardener until the day before he was stricken, listening to his iPod as he dug.
Mr. Maner is survived by his sons and their wives, two sisters and a brother in Louisville, Georgia, and numerous friends. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Building Fund at This Century Art Gallery, P.O. Box 388, Williamsburg, Virginia 23187.
Mr. Maner served in the Coast Guard as a communications and executive officer during World War II, usually aboard destroyer escorts in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theaters. He retired as a commander after 26 years in the Coast Guard Reserves following the war.
In 1946 Mr. Maner began a six-year stint as an assistant professor of English at the University of Richmond. Simultaneously he was book editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. In the 1950s Mr. Maner joined Virginia Electric & Power Company (now Dominion Resources), holding a number of executive posts before retiring in 1982 as a district manager based in Williamsburg.
Beginning In the 1940s and continuing through the 1970s, Mr. Maner wrote fiction and poetry for The New Yorker, Colliers, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and McCall's, as well as for magazines in Australia and Great Britain. He published five mystery novels in the U.S. and Europe.
The Maners moved to Williamsburg in 1971, where at various times Mr. Maner served on the boards of Williamsburg National Bank and Southern Bank & Trust Company.
In the arts, Mr. Maner was president of An Occasion for the Arts, vice-president and artistic director of the Twentieth Century Gallery (This Century Art Gallery), and an artist-member of the Virginia Watercolor Society. After moving to Williamsburg, Mr. Maner studied watercolor painting, which he exhibited in Virginia and North Carolina galleries. He later taught watercolor classes to inmates at the Lower Peninsula Regional Jail.
In the community, Mr. Maner was campaign chairman and president of United Way of Greater Williamsburg, chairman of the Williamsburg City Planning Commission, and chairman of the Williamsburg Democratic Committee.
In 2001 Mr. Maner told his physician to keep him alive until there was a Democrat in the White House. He lived to achieve this goal. He remained an active gardener until the day before he was stricken, listening to his iPod as he dug.
Mr. Maner is survived by his sons and their wives, two sisters and a brother in Louisville, Georgia, and numerous friends. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Building Fund at This Century Art Gallery, P.O. Box 388, Williamsburg, Virginia 23187.
 |
 |
|
| Lead volunteer in a class all his own | Doctors Hospital okayed |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
Posted comments are for meaningful discussion that is germane to the article. No personal attacks or insults. Submit complaints by clicking Report abuse.
