Obituary of William F. McCormack

LAUREL HOLLOW, NY William Francis McCormack, 78, of Laurel Hollow, NY passed away on November 29, 2025, with his family, including his beloved wife Karen, by his side. Bill was born on December 27, 1946, the third of eight children born to the late Michael and Marguerite McCormack. As a young boy growing up in Falls Church, Virginia, Bill could always be found playing basketball on the Oak Street playground or on the baseball field at Lee-Graham. As a defining activity in Bill’s life, he served as an altar boy at St. James Catholic Church which would be the foundation for his devout Catholic faith throughout his life. Bill graduated from Bishop Denis J. O’Connell High School in 1964. He was a standout basketball player known as “Willie the Kid” by his classmates, earning All-State Catholic League honors his senior year. As a legendary shooter, he was known for making 100 free throws in a row. After a game versus O’Connell, legendary Basketball Hall of Fame high school coach Morgan Wooten, of rival DeMatha High School, said we did all we could to stop McCormack from scoring, but he just wouldn’t miss. William continued his education at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. At Virginia Tech, he played basketball on the freshman team where injuries ended his basketball career. He graduated in 1968 with his Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Bill continued his education at The Catholic University of America Law School in Washington, D.C. In 1971, he graduated first in his class and was co-editor of the Law Review. Bill continued his legal education when he was awarded a fellowship to the University of Virginia Law School. He earned his Master of Laws in Taxation in 1972. During his time at Catholic University, Bill still found the time to meet and marry the love of his life Karen Winter of Fairmont, West Virginia. Their first date was the beginning of a 56-year love story. In 1970 and 1971, Bill and Karen were blessed by the birth of their first son and daughter. In 1973, after being admitted to the bar in New York, Bill and Karen left Virginia for New York, where he would begin his long and distinguished legal career at Sullivan & Cromwell. William loved to tell the story that upon their departure on June 6, 1972, his dear mother would exclaim they were off to the big city to make their fame and fortune. In New York, they would complete their family with the births of their youngest daughter and son. After many accomplished years as a tax lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell, Bill left the firm in 1980 to join past colleagues as a partner at the prominent law firm Reboul, MacMurray, Hewitt, Maynard & Kristol, eventually leading the tax practice. Bill remained with the firm when it merged with Ropes & Gray in 2003, eventually becoming the co-head of Ropes & Gray’s Private Investment Funds group. Bill primarily represented domestic and international sponsors of private investment funds. Bill was well recognized for his broad knowledge of industry best practices. He was a frequently invited speaker at private equity conferences, chairing the Financial Research Associates' Annual Tax Practices for Private Equity Funds conference for serval years. Throughout his career, Bill was recognized by Chambers Global as a Leading Lawyer in Business, Euromoney as a leading private equity lawyer, and in 2013, he was named one of International Finance Magazine’s top 500 lawyers globally. In 2014, Bill retired, describing his beloved career as having never worked a day in his life. While Bill’s passion was the law; his life, love, and purpose was his wife Karen, and their proudest accomplishment was raising and educating their four children. As his mother predicted, Bill and Karen had their fortune in their family. Bill was known as Dad and Pop to his four children: Joseph William, Laura Francine, Erin Kathleen, and Christopher William. Bill adored his five grandsons and his numerous nieces and nephews who affectionately referred to him as “Uncle Bill”. Bill’s sense of humor, his brilliant mind, and his incredibly generous heart will be missed by all that know and love him. Bill is survived by his loving wife Karen (nee: Winter); his four children and spouses Joseph and his wife Bernadette McCormack of Norwalk, CT, Laura McCormack of Alexandria, VA , Erin Lizotte and her husband Jeffrey Lizotte of Havertown, PA, and Christopher McCormack of Hollywood, FL; his grandsons William, James, Matthew, and Jameson. He is also survived by brothers and sisters James Patrick McCormack, Robert McCormack, Ann Bedont, Timothy McCormack, Eileen McLane and David McCormack. He also leaves behind several brothers and sisters in-law with whom he shared many memories as well as his many cherished nieces and nephews. Bill was welcomed into heaven by those that went before him including his grandson Thomas Joseph “TJ” McCormack, parents Michael and Marguerite McCormack, brother Michael McCormack, nephew Matthew McCormack, and niece Jaimy Ott. A visitation will be held on Thursday, December 11, 2025, from 4–7 p.m. at M.A. Connell Funeral Home (934 New York Avenue, Huntington Station, NY 11746). A Funeral Mass will take place on Friday, December 12 at 9:45 am at St. Patrick’s Church (400 W. Main Street, Huntington, NY 11743) where he was a long-time parishioner, followed by a reception from 11:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m., at the Harbor Club at Prime (95 New York, Huntington, NY 11743). Interment will be on Saturday, December 13, at 11am at Willowbrook Cemetery (385 Main Street, Westport, CT 06880) where Bill will be laid to rest steps from his beloved grandson Thomas Joseph. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to remember Bill’s legacy by making a donation to a charity of your choice.