High-performance engine specialist, active in motor sport community
Bill McCurdy. (Courtesy photo)
Surrounded by his family, William “Bill” Niceley McCurdy died Feb. 18, 2023, at Leominster Hospital following a year of failing health. He was 76.
Born in January 1947 in Springfield, Bill moved with his family to Harvard in 1956. Growing up on Harvard’s former Poor Farm with more than 32 acres of wild land to explore was an enchanting delight for a young boy. Already displaying interest in machinery and mechanical things, Bill apprenticed in the repair of a vintage Model A engine and chassis with a White Truck transmission, along with an old abandoned pickup truck found out back. Once up and running, these provided hours and hours of childhood entertainment. The Poor Farm was his home for 57 years and it remained forever in his heart.
In Harvard Bill attended Old Bromfield before he entered St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. His brother “Kip” wrote: “St. Paul’s School nurtured Bill’s abiding curiosity in matters of science and technology. The curriculum gave him a deep foundation for developing his particular interest: the analysis and trouble-shooting of complex mechanical systems.”
After graduating from St. Paul’s School in 1965, Bill attended UMass Amherst for a brief time and then worked at Harvard Auto Body, which led him to a sports car team in nearby Westford. In 1977, with Bill as car chief, the Trojan Tools Division of Parker Manufacturing of Worcester sponsored the race team, which secured the Northeast Division Championship, and then went on to place third at the National Championships held in Atlanta, Georgia, that same year.
In 1983 Bill established William’s Racing Service in Harvard, which he successfully operated for more than 40 years, producing winning engines and amassing a faithful motor sport community and like-minded friends who brought tremendous value to his life.
His brother Alex describes Bill as “someone who will be known, not by shallow highlights, but known rather by the fact that he was a fair and responsible person who did no harm to others for personal gain or notoriety.” His sisters agree that “his glory was not tied to the recognition of success but rather in his unbounding love of his family and friends.”
Bill was predeceased by his parents, William “Coach” and Virginia “Jince” McCurdy. He is survived by James (Anne), Alex (Cathy), Allyson Cruikshank (Rick), Darcy, their families, and especially by his love, Marion Duclos.
No service is scheduled. His ashes will be interred at Bellevue Cemetery in Harvard in the spring.
