William "Bill" Harold DeLaVergne Jr., age 87, passed away on Thurs, June 20, 2019 at his home in Port Republic, MD. Bill was born in Philadelphia, PA on Dec. 1, 1931, but lived most of his childhood in Washington D.C. with parents William H. DeLaVergne and Ann McGuinn. After graduating from McKinley Tech high school, he attended Catholic University before enlisting in the Navy for 4 years during the Korean War. After the service he graduated with a BA in Journalism from George Washington University.

Bill worked in private industry in the D.C. metro area before joining the U.S. Postal Service communications group in the late 1970s. He retired to the Northern Neck of Virginia in 1996, before moving to Maryland in 2017. Where ever Bill lived, he was a terrific neighbor; helpful, sociable, and kind hearted to all. He was first married to Elizabeth "Betty" Lacey in 1957. Betty passed away in May 1994, leaving surviving children Marc DeLaVergne and Leslie DeLaVergne. Bill remarried in December 1996 to his high school sweet-heart, H. Collette Brooks Kells. Collette passed away in December 2016.

Family will receive friends on Wednesday, June 26, 2019 from 5:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. with a Memorial Service following at 6:00 p.m. for Bill at the Rausch Funeral Home, 20 American Lane, Lusby, MD. Bill will be buried at Washington National Cemetery at a future date. Bill is survived by son Marc DeLaVergne, daughter in law Cheri DeLaVergne, daughter Leslie DeLaVergne Downs, son in law William Downs, granddaughters Glynnis Downs Jeffrey and Gillian Downs, great grandchildren Alex and Ashlynn Jeffrey, step daughter Paige Kells and her husband Mark Hendricks, sister Helen Ridgeway, niece Christine Ridgeway, sister Patricia DeLaVergne Quinn, brother in law William Quinn, the Quinn family, and the extended DeLaVergne family.