Some days Bill Solomon, EEE ’68, practically lived in his toolshed. There wasn’t anything in his factory that he couldn’t fix. Even at an advanced age, he insisted on buying a fixer-upper.
This kind of engineering focus took Solomon from working on tail-end stabilizers for the B-52 bomber in the Air Force to a career in high-tech connectors and cables. He spent decades as a project engineer in the field, eventually starting his own wiring and cable manufacturing company, Millennium III, of Meriden, CT, in 1987.
The Brockton, MA, native had a knack for remembering important dates. “
He would never forget a birthday or holiday,” says daughter-in-law Carmen Solomon. “He would always—no matter where he was—call to say happy birthday to [his grandchildren].”
Wife Dian Bustillo says he would often combine two of his greatest loves—kids and aviation—entertaining the little tykes with computerized flight simulators.
“He would take my grandson, sit him on his lap, and fly all over the world,” she says.
His son Bill says his father lives on in the traits he inherited. Or at least that’s what Bill’s wife says.
“Sense of humor,” Carmen notes. It’s just harder for Bill to recognize it. “It’s blinding, because you’re so much a part of it.”
Solomon died October 31, 2011. In addition to his wife Dian and son Bill, he is survived by three daughters, Maureen Solomon, Kim Abbott, and Charlotte Eddins, as well as eight grandchildren.
—Dan Morrell
