Harold I Williams, 73, died Monday, Dec. 30 under Hospice care at High Pointe House in Haverhill, MA.

Harold, known to his clients in his solo accounting practice as Hal and to family as Bill, was born in Lynn, MA to Harold Williams Jr. and Alice Newtown Howe Williams.

Following his graduation with a BS degree in political science from Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, MI, he served in the Vietnam War in the 11 ^th Armored Cavalry "Blackhorse" Regiment as an artilleryman.  When he dealt with difficulties later in life, he would shrug: "I've been in a war. I can deal with this," recalled his wife, Stephanie Rosen Williams.

Harold and Stephanie met on a blind date in 1971, and by their third date he told her they would marry some day. "No thank you," she said.

He was right, of course, and they married in 1975, and daughter Marissa Faith was born, Dec. 30, 1983, a just-in-time tax deduction, the proud accountant told everyone. He called her "a Yankee with chutzpah," and beamed with pride at her creativity and her work ethic. He would tuck her in the crook of his arm and read her The Wall Street Journal when she was an infant, and later, read ancient mythology for her bedtime stories.

After he completed his MBA at UNH, he and Stephanie found in Hampstead, NH the perfect home, a 150-year-old colonial by the town's only traffic light, just steps from Town Hall.  He was looking for office space, and a small town he could be an integral part of. With his CPA and CFP licenses in hand, he opened his accounting practice in the converted carriage house and ran for town treasurer, an elected post he held for 40 years.

Harold was passionate about American history and his family's place in it, he was a Civil War buff and he visited every battlefield, at one point tracing the steps of a Williams ancestor who was injured in a battle in Spotsylvania. For Hampstead's 250 ^th anniversary he opened the field behind his home for a Revolutionary War reenactment and a Civil War encampment.

He loved the Boston Celtics and the Red Sox hitter he called "Uncle Ted" Williams, the Boston Patriots,  scary roller coasters, bridge, tennis and golf. He considered himself spiritual rather than religious, and Stephanie and Marissa spent Father's Days for years with him at a Joseph Campbell Festival for Myth and Mythology.

Harold's laugh was a wondrous thing: a high-pitched rat-a-tat that was uniquely his own. "If a machine gun could laugh, that was it," said his friend Steve Minaudo.  Harold was kind. He was generous.  He was a terrific dancer who would get invitations to local events.

He was a founding member of the Hampstead Educational Foundation, which provides support to local public schools, and he was on the board of the New Hampshire CPA Society and the National Association of Tax Practitioners. He was a Lions Club member for many years and belonged to the local VFW.

Harold had a special affinity for his elderly clients, born of his love for his grandmother, Elsie Newton, who lived in the family home in Newfane VT, a proper Yankee town where houses were painted white and the shutters were always green.  One client, Harriet Gresch, became a dear friend and they had a standing date for lunch at her nursing home every Sunday.

"You know, dear," she said to Stephanie, "If I was a little younger you would have to worry about me."

Harold, an athlete and weekly golfer into his 60s, discovered in June 2019 that the seemingly unrelated medical problems that had plagued him for almost 10 years were caused by a hereditary form of amyloidosis, which could be traced to a paternal ancestor from Galway, Ireland. Despite the illness, which he was hospitalized for in August, he went to Disneyland in September and rode Splash Mountain with his grandson Levi, who called him Pops and knew he could always find Swedish fish in Pop's pockets.

He leaves behind his wife Stephanie, his daughter Marissa (Asa) McNeely, his grandson Levi Thurston McNeely, sister Mary (Colin) Billings, sister-in-law Marcia (Walter) Rosen Greenberg, and countless dear friends.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, January 2, 2020 at the Hampstead Congregational Church in Hampstead, NH. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Vietnam Veterans of America at VVA.org.or the Hampstead Educational Foundation.