William Charles McDonough

William Charles McDonough, former Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector (Retired) age 74, a resident of Chincoteague, VA and formerly of Philadelphia, PA, passed away on Wednesday January 27, 2010 after a 10 year fight with cancer. He was the son of the late William C. and Laura Robinson McDonough and was predeceased by his sister, Margaret Barlett and, his son, William Patrick McDonough who died in December 1978. He is survived by his wife of nearly 55 years, Marion Helen Louise Schade; one daughter, Laura McDonough; two grandchildren, Miss Anita M. Howard of Chincoteague, VA and Lisa DiFulvio and her husband Edmond of Chesapeake, VA; and by his two great grandsons, William Alexander "Xander" DiFulvio and Ethan Patrick DiFulvio. He was also predeceased by his great grandson Edmond Nathaniel "Nate" DiFulvio. Bill was proud to have served our country in the Navy aboard the USS Tarawa where he spent two years at sea. On April 15, 1957 he joined the Philadelphia Police Department and his first assignment was to the 14th District until he was promoted to Detective in 1959. From there he transferred to the Central Detective Division at 12th & Pine Sts. In 1961 he was promoted to Sergeant and sent to the 15th District; later he transferred to the 9th District at 20th & Pennsylvania Ave. In 1964 after months of riot duty he was promoted to Lieutenant and returned to the 15th District. In 1967 he transferred to the Major Crimes Division. From there, he was promoted to Captain and assigned to Detective Headquarters. Later he became Commanding Officer of West Detective Division and then moved to the South Detective Division. Upon completion of the 96th session at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA in 1974, he went to the Northwest Detective Division until his promotion to Staff Inspector in 1978. In 1976 he was in charge of the contingent that moved the Liberty bell from Independence Hall to its present location. In 1980 he was promoted to Command Inspection Police Communications Division and Northeast Police Division. In 1986 to 1988 he was the Commander of the Communications Division, where he brought the Police radio unit into the New Enhanced 911 computer assisted dispatch system. He served as President of the Delaware Valley Association of Professional Police Officials, Police Chiefs Association of Southeastern PA, Southeastern NJ & Delaware. He was a member of the Board of Directors of both organizations as well as the Philadelphia Irish Society and the Emerald Society, he was their Man of the Year in 1993. He was very proud of his Irish heritage. He belonged to and was active in many other Police and civic associations, including Mensa, the society of those with an I.Q. in the top 98th percentile on standardized intelligence tests. He became an advocate for Command Officers at contract hearings and appeared for the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) when the Commissioner attempted to oust the Commanders from the FOP. In 1990 he was promoted to Chief Inspector which rank he held until retirement in May 1995. At that time he had 8000+ hours of uncompensated overtime. He never took off a sick day in his life until the last year of his employ and although he could have retired after 20 years, he proudly served 40 years on the Philadelphia Police Force. He personally met and guarded many famous celebrities such as Pope John Paul II, Michael Jackson, the Queen of England, John F. Kennedy and Mayor Frank Rizzo. In 1969, while Neil Armstrong took one small step for mankind, he and his family discovered the peaceful island of Chincoteague. Bill and his wife, Marion later designed and built a castle on the waterfront from which he watched many picture perfect sunsets over the channel and where he enjoyed fishing and relaxing. Furthermore, he wrote the original of this obituary himself to send best wishes to any & all who might remember him. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in his name to the SPCA- Eastern Shore, Inc, PO Box 164, Onley, VA 23418 or Best Friends Animal Society 5001 Angel Canyon Rd. Kanab, UT 84741 www.bestfriends.org .Condolences can be made at WWW.SALYERFH.COM A Memorial Service will be held at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Chincoteague, Va on March 17, 2010 at 11 AM with the Father Paschal Kneip OSB officiating.

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