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Chester Billings Jr. of Scarborough, Maine, formerly of New Canaan. Connecticut, died on March 25, with his grandson and daughter at his side. He was 93.
Mr. Billings was born on October 19, 1924, in South Orange, New Jersey, to Evelyn VanWie Billings and Chester Billings. He had many fond memories of his childhood in Rumson and Sea Bright, New Jersey, and Pasadena, California. After the divorce of his parents and death of his mother, Mr. Billings was raised by his grandmother, Laura Ross Billings “Gammy” in New York City.
He enrolled in the Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, in 1938 as a second form (eighth grader). The Hill School always held a place of great affection and respect in his heart. He credited the school for giving him the tools that helped turn him into the man he was to become. He remained active in the affairs of The Hill, acting as trustee for many years.
Upon graduating from The Hill School in 1942, he was accepted to and entered Princeton University where upon he enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve and entered the V-12 program. He attended Midshipman School at Cornell University, graduating at the top of his class in December 1942. He was assigned to PT boats and after training in Newport, Rhode Island, and Melbourne, Florida, he was ordered to the Pacific in anticipation of the invasion of Japan. While aboard the USS Passaic midway across the Pacific, he and his fellow sailors and officers learned of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the subsequent ending of the war with Japan. He was ultimately assigned to MTBS Squadron 36 and was stationed in Borneo until being honorably discharged in January 1946 as lieutenant junior grade USNR.
Mr. Billings returned to Princeton, resuming his studies under an accelerated program and graduated with his class of 1946, and went on to attend Columbia Law School, graduating in 1950. He was hired by the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton to work in their trusts and estates division. He remained with the firm until his retirement in 1990 as a senior partner.
It was in Quogue where Mr. Billings met the girl whom he would marry and love for the rest of his days, Ann Jermain Walling. After their marriage in 1948, they spent every summer in Quogue, through 1983, raising their family, playing golf and tennis, sunfish racing, attending beach parties and Saturday night dances at the Quogue Field Club with their many friends. He was a member and president of the Quogue Field Club, member and Commodore of the Shinnecock Yacht Club, and a member of the Quogue Beach Club.
The couple settled in New Canaan in 1952 where Mr. Billings became a devoted civic servant. From 1958 to 1977, he served as chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission tackling many issues including the proposed building of the RCA corporate headquarters on the Hoyt property, the potential commercialization of Route 123 and, most importantly, defending New Canaan’s zoning laws from attack in the early 1970s. He served as police commissioner from 1979 to 1990 where his calm nature and even temper served him and the town well. In addition to his civic contributions in New Canaan, he was an active member of the Congregational Church (1958-1970) and the First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan (1970-present). He was a member of the Country Club of New Canaan, Poinsettia Club, and the Gridiron Club, having been a subject of its infamous roasts in 1974.
In his retirement Mr. Billings enjoyed reading to satisfy his love of history, summers at Fenwick, Connecticut, and on Chebeague Island, Maine, and travelling with his wife and their dear friends, Bill and Jeannie Hart.
Survivors said Mr. Billings will always be remembered as the calm in the eye of the storm, a true gentleman who always favored compromise over confrontation and for his subtle sense of humor. He was in his glory at the helm of a sailboat – from his beloved sunfish to the Blue Chip, Brigadoon, Our Time, Chateau and Godspeed.
He is survived by two half-brothers, Lawrence Brown Woolson and Richard Billings and a half-sister, Suzy Billings; three children, Laura Billings, Katharine Billings and Chester Billings III, all of Maine; six grandchildren, Kate Lussen, Andrew Lussen, Ben Hudson, Will Bunge, Haley Billings, and Elizabeth Tucker; and seven great-grandchildren, the last of whom was born on the day of his death.
His wife of 69 years predeceased him last June.
An interment and gathering of remembrance for Mr. and Mrs. Billings will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan at a date to be determined. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of the Brackett Funeral Home in Brunswick, Maine.
Memorial donations may be made to The Hill School, 717 E. High Street, Pottstown, PA 19464.
on Apr 7, 2018