WALPOLE, NH– On December 3, 2024, William “Bill” Silverstein passed away surrounded by the love of his family at home in Walpole, NH after a 7-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
Bill grew up on a horse farm in Far Hills, New Jersey, the middle child of five siblings. Raised by the matriarchs in his life, Bill was a confidant to many and an entrepreneur from an early age. In the early 1970s, Bill moved to Putney, Vermont to attend Windham College where he met his best friend and wife of 49 years, Beth. They married in 1975 and welcomed son, Jordan, in 1979 in Rockingham, Vermont. In 1983, their daughter, Greer, was born in Morristown, New Jersey. Bill and Beth moved to Cape Cod in 1987, where they raised their children and found great community in the town of Dennis, Massachusetts.
Bill’s adventurous spirit and relentless drive led him to start a number of businesses; some successful and some less so. He often said, the best thing he’s ever done he had not thought of yet. One of those endeavors started while perfecting a cheesecake recipe at home. Bill worked tirelessly to sell the cheesecakes to local grocery stores. Eventually, what started in his family’s kitchen grew to be one of the largest custom wholesale bakeries servicing grocery chains.
Most recently, Bill revitalized prolific custom home design and manufacturing brands Timberpeg and Real Log Homes in Claremont, New Hampshire. Under Bill’s leadership, his company, WHS Homes, Inc., launched the American Post & Beam brand and acquired competitor Davis Frame Company in Claremont, as well as Jamaica Cottage Shop in Londonderry, Vermont. Bill spent the last 14 years of his life enthusiastically driving between the three business campuses nearly every day. He loved working, speaking to colleagues, learning about their challenges and working to find solutions. He was an active owner, respected leader and the people who worked with him will miss his wit and wisdom dearly. When asked what he did for a living he’d often say, “I manage personalities.”
Bill was not just a businessman, but a chef, baker, mechanic, musician, collector, and fixer of all things broken. He loved the ocean and being by the water. His love of boating was an integral part of his life. Bill was an avid shooter and long time member of Bass River Rod and Gun Club for over 25 years. He had an insatiable curiosity to understand both sides of an argument and never shied away from a spirited debate. This vigor helped fuel his fight throughout his battle with pancreatic cancer, which he did with great strength, grace and resolve to the very end.
Bill was deeply loved by his wife Beth, son Jordan and his wife Christine, daughter Greer and her husband Austin and two grandchildren, Isaiah, and Marlowe.
Bill was and will always be his family’s North Star, and they know he will guide them through this lifetime and beyond.
A traditional Jewish burial took place on December 5, 2024 at Monadnock View Cemetery in Keene, New Hampshire. Bill was lovingly eulogized by Rabbi Daniel Aronson from Congregation Ahavas Achim.
Two memorials are planned for the spring of 2025 to honor Bill; one in Dennis, Massachusetts and one in Walpole, New Hampshire.
Contributions in Bill’s honor may be made to Congregation Ahavas Achim in Keene, New Hampshire
