Obituary of William Lally, Jr.

LCDR William Kenneth (Bill) Lally passed away September 15, 2014. Born in Scranton, PA on April 13, 1928 he was one of seven children born to William K. Lally, Sr. and Nona T. (Hines) Lally. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1946 and earned his Naval Aviator wings in 1954. Throughout his 24-year career in the Navy he served as a flight instructor at Naval Air Advanced Training Command in Corpus Christi, TX and served in Patrol Squadrons VP-24 and VP-7 flying the P2V Neptune aircraft. While serving onboard the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) he earned the rare distinction of a VP pilot being carrier qualified to take off and land aircraft on a carrier. His last duty station was with COMFAIRJAX, where he retired in 1969. His love of flying never left him and he continued to fly private planes whenever he had an opportunity. After retiring from the Navy, he enrolled in the University of Florida, obtaining his juris doctorate in 1971. He continued to practice law in Jacksonville for 47 years and was thankful for his many loyal clients. His colleagues will remember "Wild Bill" for his zealous advocacy. He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife Joan (Richardson) Lally; his sisters Anne (Lally) Strasburger and Mary Elizabeth (Lally) Rogers and his son William John Lally (Mildred). He is survived by his wife Martha (France) Lally; his children Michael J. Lally (Deborah), Kathleen (Lally) Williams, Patrick Lally (Jessica) , Katherine R. Lally and Matthew J. Lally; his grandchildren Molly Katsma (PJ), Leslie Martin, Elizabeth Griffin (Robert), Erin Cannon (Nick), Murphy Lally, Kelsey Williams, Ross Lally and Ryan Songer; his great-grandchildren Gavin Katsma, Addison Martin and Evan Cannon and his siblings George Lally (Helen), Nona (Lally) Rush (John), Margaret J. Padden and Louise (Lally) Erlich (Ken). Bill touched many lives during his careers and life and will be deeply missed. We wish him fair winds and following seas. A memorial mass will be celebrated at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, September 20, 2014 at Christ the King Catholic Church, 742 Arlington Road, Jacksonville, FL with a private burial afterwards at Arlington Memorial Park.