William Hargreaves

William R. Hargreaves 99, passed away on November 28, 2020 at Saint Antoine’s Residence in North Smithfield.  He was the beloved husband of the late Lillian (Hoyle) Hargreaves to whom he was married for 75 years. Born in Providence, he was the son of the late William and Ellen (Birtwistle) Hargreaves. He was a resident of Cranston for 58 years before moving to Smithfield and North Smithfield. He is survived by his children, Joan Spreyer of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, Linda Cline and her husband Robert of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, William Hargreaves and his wife Diane of North Smithfield, Patricia Abjornson of Thornton, New Hampshire, Thomas Hargreaves of East Providence and Barbara Spencer of Worcester Massachusetts. He is also survived by 14 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. Bill was the father of the late David Hargreaves and great grandfather of the late Zachary Michael Sousa. Bill was a graduate of Mount Pleasant High School  and attended the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.  He was a veteran of the Army Air Corps.  In 1983, after 30 years of employment, he retired from the State of Rhode Island Department of Health.  He also worked for many years at Tony Goodrich Television City in Cranston.  After retiring Bill could be found working alongside Lillian , daughter Joan, and his late son-in-law Bill Spreyer in their garden center greenhouses. He loved sitting on the front porch of his home with Lillian with a cup of tea, and some cookies, holding hands while watching the world go by.  He also loved being surrounded by his children and grandchildren.  Bill was always smiling, and was known for his sense of humor, stories and a positive attitude. No matter how he was feeling, when asked how he was, he would reply “I woke up this morning, it doesn’t get any better than that”.  He will be greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Rhode Island Chapter, 245 Waterman St., #306, Providence, RI 02906.

Due to COVID restrictions,  funeral services and burial will be private.