Wexford native Bill had long career in banking
ORIGINALLY from Wexford town, the life of the late Bill Underwood of Castletown, Leixlip was celebrated July 24, 2017 in Our Lady’s Nativity Church by Fr Karl Fortune CC.
After a short illness Bill passed away July 22 at home with his wife Trish and his children.
Bill was born to Eileen and the late Christopher, where he grew up on John Street, Wexford in a home named after him and his twin sister Irene – ‘Bilrene’.
He attended the Christian Brothers school and spent a lot of his teenage years as a member of the Wexford Harbour Boat Club, where only last year he attended the 40-year reunion with all of his old friends.
Bill had a passion for fishing and spent many happy hours at Killurin Bridge hoping to catch the ‘big one’ that got away. He was also quite artistic and was regularly sketching and doodling and always had a sketchpad at hand.
Bill started his working career with Bank of Ireland in Waterford and was then transferred to Dublin and bought his first house in Castletown, which was to be the family home for the next 17 years.
During this time he worked for Bank of Ireland at various branches around Dublin and quickly worked his way up the ranks and was appointed Assistant Manager in his mid-twenties.
In the late 1980s, he joined the EBS Building Society and was manager in Lucan, before moving back again to set up and manage a new branch in Waterford.
His last move was when he returned and set up a Leixlip branch before retiring in 2014.
Bill was treasurer of Lucan Golf Club for many years and his family would often laugh about this as he was not a great golfer.
He was heavily involved in the local community and was always a very generous sponsor of local charities. He was known for his integrity and discretion in his role at EBS and helped many young people secure their first home.
Bill loved to travel and enjoyed spending time at his holiday home in Spain with friends and family, and also in his native Wexford.
Bill will be very sadly missed. He was much loved by his mother Eileen, who is now resident in Wygram Nursing Home.
He is also survived by his wife Trish, his children Alison, Sharon and David, his grandchildren Steven, Sophie and Luke, son-in-law Jarleth, partners Alan and Christina, twin sister Irene, brother Jim, brothers-in-law Peter and Richard, nephews Conor, Ian, Marc and niece Sarah, cousins, extended family and large circle of friends.
He is predeceased by his father Christopher, youngest sister Mary, niece Aishling and nephew Niall.