William John Squires

William John Squires, Hingham, MA, died surrounded by his family on September 9, 2022.  Billy, aka Grumpy, was born February 27, 1944 in Boston, Massachusetts.  He graduated (eventually) from Brighton High School and enlisted in the United States Army in 1963.  After an eventful (there may have been some hijinks and a few demotions along the way) period of service in Germany, Grumpy received an honorable discharge in 1966.  Billy then met his former wife, Kathryn Squires, and very quickly had four children, Patrick J. Squires, Debra A. Squires-Lee, Kenneth R. Squires, and Eric M. Squires.  Life became an adventure.

Grumpy joined the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators, Local 6 in Boston, and became a pipe coverer.  With more than a bit of wanderlust and drive for excitement, Grumpy packed up his wife, four kids, and his dog Zamp (Grumpy was almost never without a dog and every dog that ever met him loved him) and headed West to travel and work around the country.  Having acquired the nickname “Feathers” in Arizona, because he danced with two lead feet, Grumpy and his family lived for the next five years in tents, trailers, and state parks in Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming, and on the bank of the Columbia River in Oregon.  Grumpy loved people and parties and occasionally tried to shoot the Big Dipper out of the night sky.  He also loved to sit and watch the grass grow.  

Grumpy lost neither his accent nor his love for Boston (the Patriots high on that list of loves) and returned to Massachusetts in 1985.  The grandchildren soon began to arrive and did not stop coming for some time.  Grumpy was a proud and devoted grandfather to his twelve grandchildren: Shawn Squires, Chad Squires, Dustin Squires, Kelly Squires, Jesse Lee, Madeleine Squires, Jonah Lee, Lindsey Squires, Hannah Squires, Kylie Squires, Jayden Lee, and Will Squires.  Grumpy stopped drinking in 1997 and got sober for his grandchildren.  This coming December 15 would have been 25 years of sobriety.  He was looking forward to hitting that milestone.  He almost made it.  

Grumpy was fun.  Wherever he went, the jokes and stories followed.  Grumpy was intrepid.  When a blizzard hit Cheyenne, Wyoming before Thanksgiving, Grumpy put on some snowshoes, bundled up, and waded to a local store for some Spam to cut into the shape of turkeys.  Grumpy was a rebel.  He did not care what people thought, he despised arrogance and anyone who thought too much of themselves, and he believed rule-followers were a bit lazy.  Figuring out how to break the rules and get away with it was his joy.  Grumpy was a caregiver.  He took his grandson to Gymboree and his grandchildren for sleepovers, drove his grandchildren to school every day for years, overfed and cared for every animal in the house, and gave his daughter flowers every single year on her birthday and Mother’s Day.

Grumpy loved football.  The Sunday Patriots game was sacred time.  Grumpy (Army veteran) and Patrick (Navy veteran) bet every year on the Army-Navy game.  Inevitably, Patrick had to fork over a lot of dough because Navy could never cover the spread Grumpy demanded.  

Grumpy was a faithful observer of his children’s and grandchildren’s sports games and school plays.  His wry, sarcastic sense of humor often shocked fellow parents, including once when he declared that the middle school basketball team was “terrible” and “a bunch of blind bats could get the ball in the net easier than those kids.”  Grumpy did not believe in unearned praise.

Grumpy was best known for his favorite aphorisms – all of which were well known to his children and grandchildren.  When his four-year-old grandchild was asked who had caused the mess strewn about the house, they answered: “Only God and the bartender know.”  Grumpy taught us that there is a difference between s*** and shinola; that lips should not be loose lest ships sink; that the blind man would, on occasion, see; that whatever can be done today can be done tomorrow; that paying the piper would get you the tune; that ice cream must sometimes be eaten with s***; that measuring twice and cutting once saves heartache; and that whatever will be, will be.

Grumpy is survived by his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren Reagan and Trinity, and his son-and-daughters-in-law.  He is preceded in death by his parents, his brother and sister, and his devoted canine and feline companions: Zamp, Elmo, Tunney, Obama, and Shea. 

A Memorial Service will be held Friday, September 16, 2022, 1:30 PM at Old Ship Church Meeting House, 90 Main Street, Hingham, Massachusetts.  In lieu of flowers please consider donating to Grumpy’s favorite charities: the Disabled American Veterans or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital .

Grumpy was well loved and will be deeply missed.