Col. C. William "Bill" Brough

Colonel C. William “Bill” Brough, 83, of Hanover, passed away peacefully on Thursday, January 18, 2018, after a very brief stay at the Hanover Hospital and Homewood at Plum Creek.

Born on April 13, 1934 in Hanover, he was a son of the late Charles Young Brough and Louise Hershey Brough. He was preceded in death by a brother, Henry S. Brough in 1997, and a son, C. William “Billy” Brough, Jr. in 2005. In 1952, Bill graduated from the McDonogh School, a military academy located in Owings Mills, MD, and went on to receive his Bachelor’s degree from the Michigan State University in 1956. Always proud to have served his country, he entered active military duty immediately following graduation from the MSU ROTC program and ultimately retired in 1986 as a full colonel after 30 years of dedicated service to the U.S. Army Reserves.

At a very young age, Bill began working for his father at the Schmuck Lumber Company in Hanover and years later, after returning home from college, first worked for Hoffheins Brothers before beginning a lifelong career at Schmuck’s where he eventually became a proud owner of the business along with his brothers Henry and J. Andrew Brough. After retiring in 1995, Bill continued to visit the business on a daily basis right up until his death. He always talked of his immense pride in the new ownership team, their entire staff and the continued success that they enjoyed with the business.

Bill was a Benefactor Member of the National Rifle Association and the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association and had a lifelong passion as well as a great respect for all firearms. He was also a former pilot, an avid outdoorsman and a traveler for his entire life. Although he loved the opportunity to visit and see the beauty of any location in the USA or Canada, his favorite “home away from home” was a hunting camp in Tioga County, PA known as Devil’s Den that was shared with three generations of close family and friends since its founding in 1958. To those who knew him well, he was known to have a huge zest for life and a relentless sense of humor, even in down times. He never liked to talk about or let any health issue or physical limitation impact his independence and he remained completely self-sufficient up until just prior to his passing. During all of his years in retirement, he always had a trusted German Shepherd as his constant companion.

In addition to his brother J. Andrew Brough of Naples, FL, survivors include three children, Kristin B. Guldin of Hammonton, NJ, Andrew Y. Brough and his wife Sharon of Hanover, and Aimee B. Tibbs and her husband Jeremy of Hanover; and five grandchildren, Casi B. Murren and her husband Nate of Littlestown, Erik A. Brough of Hanover, Heidi L. Guldin of Waterford, NJ, Air Force 1st Lt. Andrew K. Guldin of Luke AFB in Phoenix, Arizona, and Jacob L. Tibbs of Hanover.

In accordance with Bill’s wishes, his ashes will be permanently laid to rest during a private ceremony on his beloved property in the Pigeon Hills with full military honors. A public celebration of his life will be held at the Bay City Restaurant in Hanover, PA on March 10, 2018 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM, where per the Colonel’s specific direction, there will be only smiling, laughing and storytelling with no crying.

The family also wishes to thank the tremendous staff at both Hanover Hospital and Homewood at Plum Creek. Their compassion, politeness and quality of care was outstanding and appreciated by his entire family. As Bill said many times during his brief stay at both locations, “Hanover has no idea how lucky they are to have facilities like this with such great people!”

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Bill’s name to any of the local Veteran’s Associations or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.