More detail on this person: Columbus, GA-
CWO4 (Ret) William "Bill" P. Zucchelli, Jr., 78,
of Columbus, Georgia passed away at his home
Sunday, November 10, 2013 surrounded by his
family. Funeral services for Bill Zucchelli will
be Saturday, November 16, 2013, 2 p.m. in the
Chapel of Striffler-Hamby, 4071 Macon Rd,
Columbus, with Father Jacob Almeter officiating.
Visitation will be Friday, November 15, 2013 from
6:00 until 8:00 PM at the funeral home.
William P. Zucchelli, Jr. was born August 8, 2013
in Newton, Massachusetts to the late Daria Alice
Pretoni Zucchelli and William P. Zucchelli, Sr.
His mother Daria passed away when William was
2yrs old at which time he went to live with his
grandparents Ernesto and Celimia Zucchelli in
Plymouth, Mass. In 1939 the all went to live with
William's Aunt and Uncle Henry and Erma Garuti.
His Aunt Erma raised him as her son, he felt
fortunate to have had two mothers, Daria and Erma.
He graduated from Plymouth High School Class of
1953, he joined the US Army during his last year
in high school and entered active duty with the
regular Army in Jan. 1954. After basic training at
Camp Picket, VA and truck driver training at Ft.
Dix, NJ he was stationed at White Sands Proving
Ground, NM. While there he attended Aircraft
Mechanics School. In 1958 he was assigned to the
3rd Armored Division in Germany and served as a
helicopter line chief. He saw the opportunity to
apply for helicopter flight training and was
accepted and graduated as Warrant Officer
Helicopter Pilot in 1963. He was then assigned to
Ft. Benning, GA from there he served two tours in
Vietnam 1965-1966 with COA 82nd Aviation
Battalion N attached to the 173rd Airborne Brigade
Bein Woa Vietnam, then 1968-1969, 132nd A&SH
Co. Chinoohs based at Chu Lai, South Vietnam. He
did a tour in Thailand 1971-1972 assigned to the
42nd Special Forces Group Aviation Section. He
retired as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 at Fort
Benning, Georgia in July 1977 with 25 years of
service.
He is survived by his loving wife of 40 years,
Carolyn J. Zucchelli of Columbus; six children,
Brian (Hyun) Zucchelli, Allen (Lawana) Zucchelli,
William P. Zucchelli III, Judith (Gramon, Jr.)
Anderson, Anthony E. Jacobs, Jr, Jo Beth (Steve)
Braddy; 12 grandchildren, Brian Zucchelli, Jr,
John (Laura) Zucchelli, Stevon Zucchelli, Victoria
Zucchelli, Rachel Morgan, Jeremy Zucchelli, W.P.
Zucchelli, IV, Laura (Mark) Smith, Anthony E.
Jacobs, III, Cristen Jacobs, Johanna Braddy (Josh)
Blaylock, and Cole Braddy; 11 great grandchildren;
and one great-great granddaughter. In lieu of
flowers donations may be offered to Columbus
Hospice at www.columbushospice.com or to
PAWS. Condolences may be offered at
www.shcolumbus.com
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 10/13/2025
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