William Harvey Webster III

PORTLAND – William Harvey Webster III passed away peacefully on Wednesday Feb. 25, 2026 at the age of 85, in Portland. He was a fierce friend, proud father, and razor-sharp intellect.

Bill was born June 10, 1940 to William Harvey Webster Jr. and Nancy Lee (Warner) Webster in Bronxville, N.Y. The oldest of four, his siblings will remember him as a loyal and loving brother. As a child he pursued adventures, spent summers at Camp Agawam in Maine, and in Cuttyhunk, Mass. He attended school at Kingswood Oxford School in Connecticut. He made lifelong friends at Deerfield Academy Class of 1958, Amherst College Class of 1962, and Harvard Law School Class of 1965.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1965 and served in the Army National Guard for six years starting in 1966. During his service he was recognized as “Soldier of the Cycle” in Basic Combat Training, an honor awarded by drill sergeants to the top trainee for exceptional leadership, physical fitness, marksmanship, academic achievement, and overall performance. In 1972, he married Mary Clark Webster and they lived in Cape Elizabeth where they raised their four children together.

Professionally, Bill applied his innate skill of connecting people and ideas throughout his career. He served as a trusted aide to Governor John A. Volpe of Massachusetts during the late 1960s, contributing to the administration’s work at a pivotal time in the Commonwealth’s history. He remained active in Maine politics and worked in commercial real estate. For the past 17 years Bill had been director of Scentovation and president of Novia Products. He had a tenacious and admirable perseverance for his inventions that excited him and those around him.

His friendships shaped his life and with them he lived as a true adventurer. He traveled the world, hiking in Chile and Alaska, horseback riding in Greece, living in South Africa for a time, visiting friends in Mexico, traveling through China with the Duke basketball team, watching his son, Chance, graduate high school in Cairo, Egypt, and visiting his daughter, Nancy, in Singapore. He loved bluegrass music, sports, and science fiction novels. On the tennis court, and later on the golf course, he was a determined competitor who played hard and always valued sportsmanship.

Bill was preceded by his brother, Warner Brockway Webster.

He is survived by his four children and their families, Edith Webster Naegele (Douglas Naegele), Nancy Webster Gleason (Alexander Mark Gleason), Mairzy Webster Krulic, (Alexander Krulic) and William Chance Webster. He was very proud of his seven grandchildren, Edith Jane Naegele, Charles Otto Naegele, Theodore Clark Gleason, George Knowles Gleason, and Isabelle Webster Gleason, James Krulic, and Sebastian Krulic. He is also survived by his two sisters, Brenda Lee Webster Canaan, and Nancy Jane Webster Grigsby, their children and grandchildren; and a community of friends he cherished.

A life well lived, and a man deeply loved.

A celebration of Bill’s life will be held on May 29 at the Portland Country Club, 11 Foreside Rd., Falmouth, time to be determined.

Please visit http://www.jonesrichandbarnes.com to view Bill’s tribute page and to sign his online guestbook

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Maine Children’s Home, reflecting Bill’s generosity and care for others.

https://www.mainechildrenshome.org/ or

93 Silver St.

Waterville, ME 04901