William T. "Bill" Prime Jr., a retired crane operator and Vietnam veteran, died Thursday at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson of cancer. He was 73.
The son of William T. Prime Sr., a crane operator, and Stella Catherine Prime, a homemaker, William Thomas Prime Jr. was born in Baltimore and raised in Hamilton.
After graduating in 1959 from Parkville High School, he worked as a crane operator for Operating Engineers Local 37 before being drafted into the Army.
He served in Vietnam in 1966 and 1967, first in ammunition supply, and for the last six months of his tour he was assigned to the mortuary detail in Da Nang.
In 1967, he returned to Operating Engineers Local 37 where he worked as a crane operator until retiring in 2003.
"He worked all over Baltimore and in the surrounding counties," said his wife of 47 years, the former Mary H. Frank Prime. "He also worked in Washington at the White House, and in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia."
A longtime resident of Phoenix, Baltimore County, Mr. Prime enjoyed woodworking, gardening and trap shooting. He was a member of the Carney Rod and Gun Club.
He was a member of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3911 Sweet Air Road, Phoenix, Baltimore County, where services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughter, Amy Rebecca Gumina, a former Baltimore County homicide detective, of Columbus, Ohio; and several nephews.