It is with
sadness that we learned of the death of one-time WDRC engineer
Stanley Francis Peer on February 23, 2018; he was 96 years young.
Born in Hartford,
he grew up in Wethersfield, surviving a bout with scarlet fever
that led to his home being quarantined in 1937. Stanley studied
mechanical engineering at the former Hillier College (now University
of Hartford).
Stanley joined
WDRC in July 1941 when he was 20-years-old. He had no prior
radio experience and was assigned as a control operator, supervising
the station's transmitters.
In June 1942,
Stanley joined the U.S. Coast Guard, one of many WDRC
personnel who joined the nation's wartime effort. As a First
Class Petty Officer he spent the war in the South Pacific working
on mobile Loran navigation units.
When he was
discharged from the military he rejoined Franklin
Doolittle's Hartford station in March 1946, staying until
1950. Stanley and his brother, Edward, formed Peer and Peer Insurance
Agency, which they operated until 1985 but his heart remained
with the Coast Guard; he served in the USCG Auxiliary for 47 years!
He also served the community, functioning as civil defense director
in Wethersfield in the 1960s. He also spent 33 years on the local
volunteer fire department.
Read
the complete obituary here.