William Hardy Eyre Jr.

William (Bill) Hardy Eyre, Jr., beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away peacefully on May 20, 2026. Born on September 6, 1933, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bill lived there until his family moved to Delaware, where he would build a life rich in love, faith, hard work, and an insatiable curiosity about the world.

Bill attended and graduated from Conrad High School.  While in high school he met the love of his life — the beautiful Lucille Gioffre. It was love at first sight. Bill and Lucille married in 1952, beginning a partnership that was the center of gravity for an ever-growing family. In marrying Lucille, Bill also became part of the large and close-knit Gioffre family — eleven siblings — and he embraced them wholeheartedly. The Gioffre family welcomed him as one of their own, and he remained deeply connected to that family throughout his life.

Bill’s unique combination of intellectual gifts and sheer determination enabled him, against all odds, to build a long and successful career at DuPont. From starting off as a mail runner with a only a high school degree, to a highly regarded, degreed, expert in his field of interstate rail logistics. This feat was made possible because, early on, a mentor recognized his considerable gifts and opened the door to the professional ranks in DuPont even before he had his eventual college degree. In order to earn that degree, Bill worked two jobs — at DuPont by day and at A&P by night — all while attending the University of Delaware. His was a quiet, steadfast ambition: not for recognition, but for family.

Those who knew Bill marveled at the extraordinary breadth of his knowledge. With a near-photographic memory, he seemed to know something meaningful about nearly every subject — history, science, politics, current events, sports, and beyond. He loved to learn throughout his entire life, and conversations with him were always an education. He was, in the truest sense, a man who never stopped growing.

Bill also had a passion for cars — especially unique collectible models that he loved to buy and restore.

Bill’s love of life extended to an almost legendary commitment to his physical health. Well into his nineties, he maintained a fitness routine that left people decades younger in awe — performing 400 pushups every other day, lifting weights, and race walking. At the age of 92, he took up running, a feat he was enormously proud of and never shy about sharing. It was quintessentially Bill: curious, determined, and utterly refusing to accept limits that others might have long since surrendered to.

Bill had a gift for bringing joy to everyday life. He loved nothing more than planning a day trip and packing the whole family into the car for an adventure — a tradition that gave his children a love of exploration that endures to this day.

Above all else, Bill was a devoted family man. To his grandchildren he was Grandpop and Pop-pop, and to his great-grandchildren he was simply “Big Pop” — a name that captured perfectly the outsized warmth and presence he brought to every room.

He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Lucille (Gioffre) Eyre, who passed in 2021, and by his son, William (Bill) Hardy Eyre III, who passed in 1976, as well as his parents’ Helene Cavanaugh and William Hardy Eyre, Sr.

He is survived by his sisters: Elizabeth (Betty) Dolan and Joan Faulkner.

He is further survived by Susan Vanella (husband Michael Vanella), and their children Michelle Ciuffetelli (husband Andrew; children Lauren and Liliana) and Nicholas Vanella (wife Christine; children Rocco and Enzo); Elizabeth (Betty) Sweeny (husband Stephen Sweeny), and their children Stephen (Steve) Daniel Sweeny (wife Bess Green) and Christina Sweeny (husband Chris Robbins; children Emma and Hudson); Brian Eyre (wife Angela Eyre), and their children James (Waverly) Eyre (wife Rebekah; children Beatrix and Ambrose), Daniel Eyre (wife Caroline; children Atlas and Iris), and Emily Kieu (husband Robert Kieu); Carolyn Isakoff (husband Doug Isakoff), and their children Alysha Parker (husband Greg Parker; children Ben and Evie), Allison O’Sullivan (husband Chris O’Sullivan; children Tommy and Ava), and Larry Isakoff (wife Kirsten Isakoff); and Amy Eyre (ex-husband John Lindsay) and their children Eyren Lindsay-McRoy (husband Travis McRoy) and Hannah Lindsay.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Holy Rosary Church in Claymont, Delaware on Monday, June 1, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. A viewing will be held at the church beginning at 10:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Lawncroft Cemetery, Linwood, PA. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that charitable contributions be made in Bill’s memory to either the Ronald McDonald House Delaware, or the Epilepsy Foundation.

Bill Eyre lived a life of extraordinary purpose — shaped by love for Lucille, devotion to his children, and an endless wonder at the world around him. He leaves behind not only a family, but a legacy of hard work, intellectual curiosity, and unconditional love that will endure for generations.

“Dad, Grandpop, Pop-Pop, Big Pop” — by any name, he will forever be in our hearts.