E. Shippen Willing

E. Shippen Willing, age 89, died April 1 at his Bainbridge Island home, surrounded by his family.

He was born on April 11, 1915, in Philadelphia, Penn., the son of Edward Shippen Willing Sr. and Edith Rawle Willing.

He graduated from Williams College in 1938.

He was in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War II, serving on minesweepers along the East Coast and at the Normandy landings.

Following the end of the war, he earned a master’s degree in geology at Bryn Mawr College.

He became a school teacher, beginning at the Episcopal Academy and Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Phillips Andover Academy, and, for the last 20 years of his teaching, at the Lakeside School in Seattle.

His area of instruction was biology with specialization in marine biology.

He was active in the founding and development of the advanced placement examinations in biology for the Educational Testing Service.

He and his wife Delight moved to Agate Passage on Bainbridge Island in 1974, where they enjoyed raising horses and boating.

He was devoted to the many animals that shared his life.

He was active in the Bainbridge Saddle Club, served on an early trails committee for the Bainbridge Island Park and Recreation District, and was active with the Marine Science Center in Poulsbo.

He enjoyed traveling, always near the water.

He and his wife made several trips to Norway, cruised extensively with her family in Greece, Turkey, Norway, the Caribbean, the Northeast coast, and in Tonga and New Zealand.

Recently he enjoyed several small cruise trips to Alaska.

A recent project was the development of a five-part series of articles on his experiences with minesweeping in World War II, published by the newsletter of the Undersea Warfare Museum in Keyport.

At the time of his death, he had just celebrated an early 90th birthday party with his family and spent time with his sons, and was looking forward to a trip to the East Coast with his wife.

He is survived by his wife, Delight, of Bainbridge Island; sons Peter (Jan) of Bellingham, Matthew of Port Townsend, Tom (Mary Burgess) of Lake Oswego, Ore., and Steve (Allison) of Marrowstone Island; grandsons Nathaniel Burgess Willing and Charles Shippen Willing, and step-grandchildren Adam Christian and Diana Christian.

A private memorial service is planned in the early summer for family and close friends.

Arrangements are under the direction of Kass Funeral Home, Bainbridge Island.