William Ralph “Bill” Whitehouse of Duxbury died Sept. 18 at home surrounded by his family.  He was 79 years old.

Mr. Whitehouse was educated in Duxbury prior to joining the Navy, where he was a submariner from 1947 until 1950.  He was a member of the Duxbury Police Department from 1963 until 1970, after which he went to work for himself in the construction field operating International Excavator until his retirement in 2001.  He spent many hours fishing in Duxbury Bay in one of his many boats.

Mr. Whitehouse leaves his wife of 57 years, Lorraine (April) Whitehouse of Duxbury; his sons, William R. Whitehouse, Jr. of Duxbury, Paul David Whitehouse and his wife Sandrine of Luxembourg; his daughters, Theresa L. Woodward and her husband Thomas, Sally A. Bolster and her husband Jeffrey, Mary Whitehouse-Kramer and her husband, Patrick, Kathleen Whitehouse-Shields and her husband Jack, Karen Elaine MacLeod and her husband Dennis, all of Duxbury, Pamela Susan Habel and her husband Chris of Marshfield, and Jennifer Lynn Tewksbury and her husband Chris of Plymouth; his brothers, Eugene Whitehouse of New Hampshire, Ralph A. Whitehouse of Plymouth; his sisters, Phyllis Ponte of Middleboro, the late Sandra Gruchy and the late Mary Nudd; 24 grandchildren, one great-granddaughter, and his dog, Buddy.

Mr. Whitehouse’s funeral was held Sept. 22 at Shepard Funeral Home in Kingston followed by Mass at Holy Family Church. Burial at Mayflower Cemetery will be private.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in his name may be made to the Duxbury Animal Shelter, 878 Tremont St., Duxbury MA 02332.