William Sutton Scarborough, DelDOT engineer
William Sutton Scarborough, 78, of Andrews Lake, Frederica, and Riverdale Beach, Millsboro, died peacefully Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, after a courageous battle with melanoma. He was surrounded by his loving family.
Bill was a lifelong resident of Delaware, and had a long and distinguished career as a civil engineer with DelDOT. Bill followed the footsteps of his father, Stanley Sutton Scarborough, who had a 50-year-long distinguished Materials & Research Engineering career there also.
Bill, who was raised in Cheswold, graduated from Dover High School in 1957 and from the University of Delaware in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Bill was a member of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity. It was at the University of Delaware that he met his beloved wife and best friend Becky, with whom he just celebrated 57 wonderful years of marriage this past Thanksgiving Day.
Bill was happiest in the presence of his family, particularly when they all congregated at Scarborough Fair, their cottage on the Indian River, where boating, fishing, crabbing and clamming were the main activities.
He was quite the handyman and was constantly working on projects to enhance either the Andrews Lake home or the Indian River cottage. He built decks, docks, furniture, and especially excelled at ceramic tile work.
He particularly enjoyed his travels with Becky to Italy, Greece, Morocco, England and Spain, often accompanied by family and friends, but he was partial to vacationing in Mexico and Florida where he could relax in the warmth of the sun near his favorite tree, the palm tree.
Bill was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, served as past president of the Engineering Alumni Association at the University of Delaware, was a proud member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and served as president and secretary of the Bethel Cemetery Association north of Cheswold.
He was humbled to be presented the First State Highway Hall of Fame Award by the American Society of Highway Engineers and felt very honored to having Scarborough Bridge and Scarborough Road in Dover named in honor of both him and his father for their combined 80 years of service to the State of Delaware as engineers for DelDOT. After his official retirement, he went on to work part-time at DelDOT for many additional years to bring that number up to 98 years of combined service.
Bill is preceded in death by his parents, Stanley Sutton and Helen Short Scarborough; his nephew, Thomas W. Murray III; his niece, Molly Joeann Murray (Rob Davis); and his sister-in-law Patricia Hall Brinkley (Barry). He is survived by his wife Becky; their sons Mark Sutton Scarborough (Michelle) and Stephen Emerson Scarborough (Lindy); and grandchildren Hannah Dale, Isaac Sutton, William Emerson, and James Sutton; his sister Nancy Murray (Thomas); his nephew John Murray (Debbie); a grand-niece Halie Murray-Davis; and a host of dear friends.
A visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 14, at Torbert Funeral Chapel, 1145 East Lebanon Road, Dover. A memorial service will take place at 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 15, at Torbert Funeral Chapel, Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Nature Conservancy, 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203, or to the Cancer Research Institute, 29 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10006-3111.
Letters of condolences may be sent and guest book signed at www.torbertfuneral.com.
