RAYMOND — William (Bill) Skinner Burnham, 84, died during open-heart surgery on Thursday, March 27, 2014, in Sarasota, Fla.

William was born in Portland on March 21, 1930, the son of Harold and Margaret Burnham. He graduated from Deering High School in 1948 and from Bowdoin College in 1952 with a degree in chemistry.

Bill married Carolyn Stigman of Westbrook on July 3, 1954. He worked for DuPont in Illinois before serving two years in the Army Research Lab at Fort Knox, Ky. After that, he returned briefly to DuPont in West Virginia before moving to Utah to work for Hercules, Inc. He transferred to Indiana in 1976 and then back to Utah in 1982 where he stayed until retiring from the Hercules aerospace program in 1989.

In 1990, he returned to Raymond to live at Wind in Pines, the Burnham families’ summer resort and went to Florida annually for the winter months.

Throughout his lifetime, Bill enjoyed swimming, boating, playing tennis, bowling, golfing, water and snow skiing and traveling.

William is survived by his wife Carolyn; their two sons, Robert and William Jr.; their daughter Barbara; and a granddaughter.

As per his request, there will be no public memorial service. A memorial for his immediate family only will be held in the summer.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association.