William Harpham Strong

William Harpham Strong passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 14, 2017 at Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC. Mr. Strong was the son of the late Dr. and Mrs. Artemas Jacob Strong of Santa Paula, California. William, 77, was born in Ventura, California on Oct. 1, 1940. He was born into one of Santa Paula's pioneer families and grew up on a citrus ranch there. He was educated at Thacher School in Ojai, California and received his B.A. from Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont. He attended the University of Madrid for 1 year and was fluent in Spanish. He received his Masters Degree in International Marketing from The Thunderbird School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona in 1965. He leaves behind his loving wife, Linda and two daughters, Abigail, (Brian Hammer) of Arroyo Seco, New Mexico and Elizabeth who resides in Charlotte.

William attended ROTC in college and served in the U.S. Army in Korea in l964-65. He had a deep love of country and life-long respect for the U.S. military. In his professional life William worked in Los Angeles, California for Lockheed International and was Vice President of the International Division of Teledyne, Inc. for 19 years. He and Linda moved to Charlotte in 1989 where William directed international marketing for Teledyne Allvac, located in Monroe, NC for several years. After his retirement from Teledyne, he became a consultant at Ketema Inc. and finally, McCrometer in International Management for several years. He traveled the world for business, especially in South America and Southeast Asia. Mr. Strong retired from McCrometer in 2010 and spent some time with SCORE as a volunteer mentoring small business owners. He loved playing weekly rounds of golf and enjoyed lunch gatherings with his friends.

William loved his family and was always so interested in their lives. They enjoyed skiing and hiking as a family in the Mammoth area in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. He and Linda loved to travel and took many trips, the first being an epic 7-week trip around the world on their honeymoon and later living in Japan for several months while William worked for Lockheed Aircraft. Linda and William took an extended trip to South America in October, 2016, and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 3rd, 2017 with a wonderful party of family and friends at The Ballantyne Hotel in Charlotte. They loved their beautiful home in Providence Plantation in South Charlotte where they lived for 24 years before downsizing to Waxhaw, NC in June, 2013. They have enjoyed this lovely, quiet town for the past 4 years and Will loved their Cureton home saying it was "just perfect for us." Will was strong and vibrant; determined and hardworking; larger than life and a force to be reckoned with. He had a good-natured sense of humor and an enduring love for his wife, Linda, good steak and North Carolina football. Among his endearing traits were loyalty to his friends, fascination and frustration with the stock market and his love for his hometown of Santa Paula, Ventura County, California. He was also a reluctant animal lover, as he eventually grew to love all of the Strong family pets.

A Visitation and a Celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, January 6 at 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. at Palmetto Funeral Home, 2049 Carolina Place, Fort Mill, SC. A graveside service will be held in Santa Paula, California at a later date. Donations can be made to Wounded Warrior Family Support, Canine Companions for Independence, or Misty Meadows Mitey Riders. The family is being assisted by Robertson Funeral and Cremation Services. Friends may offer online condolences at www.throbertson.com.

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