WILLIAM STEPHEN RAFUSE JR.

HOUSTON – William Stephen Rafuse Jr. died peacefully Saturday, May 24, 2008, at Gos-nell Memorial Hospice House, Scarborough, after a valiant battle with cancer. He was born March 12, 1944, in Rumford, son of William S. and Marie (Morgan) Rafuse Sr. He graduated from Mexico High School, in 1962, Wentworth Institute, in 1964 and Lowell Technological Institute, now known as the University of Massachusetts – Lowell, in 1968. Bill worked at Sanders Electronics, Nashua, N.H., for several years and was then recruited to work at Texas Instruments as a test engineer, where he worked for nearly 30 years until his retirement at the age of 56. While at Texas Instrument, Bill worked on several major Texas Instrument projects, including DRAM Memories and Digital Signal Processors. He was responsible for burn-in testing of memory and processor integrated circuits, and he wrote test programs to stress test the operating limits. But he was probably better known for his insights into the financial world, and many of his friends inside and outside of Texas Instrument frequently turned to him for guidance and reassurance on business topics and investment advice. After his retirement, he became very active as a volunteer in the Houston Area League of PC Users -HAL-PC, and for several years was a popular weekly Friday speaker at HAL-PC Com-puter Investing Special Interest Group. As a service to that SIG, he maintained a web page of financial charts and would meet with them to discuss stock and computer technology. While he always wanted to talk about technical and financial subjects, he also always managed to get around to talking about basketball. He loved the sport and could analyze the progress of a game better than almost anybody. He also liked to spend his spare time gardening, building woodworking projects and seeking out the best lunch buffets in the city. He recently returned to Maine with the help of his three nieces, whom he referred to as his angels who’d come to take care of him. The last few weeks of his life were spent at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House, surrounded by loving family and many dedicated and caring hospice employees and volunteers, whom he continued to share financial tips with and watch Celtic basketball games with. Bill was predeceased by his parents; as well as a sister, Margaret “Peggy” McGonagle, in 1985. He is survived by a sister, Jo-Ann Plante of Rumford; a brother-in-law, Daniel J. McGonagle of South Portland; three nieces, Kathleen Carmichael of Hermon, Carol Mor-in of Yarmouth and Karen White of Scarborough; five nephews, Mark Pitts of Arizona, Scott Pitts of Scarborough, Kurt Pitts and Corey Plante, both of Rumford and Ryan Plante of Arizona; several great-nieces and great-nephews. Family and friends are invited to attend a graveside funeral service 11 a.m. Saturday, May 31, at New Calvary Cemetery, Broadway, South Portland. In lieu of flowers, donations in Bill’s name may be made to Gosnell Memorial Hospice House, 11 Hunnewell Road, Scarborough, ME 04074. Arrangements are by Conroy-Tully Crawford – South Portland Chapel, 1024 Broadway, South Portland. Online condolences may be expressed at www.ctcrawford.com.