William Martin Eckroade

William “Portugal Bill” Martin Eckroade was born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, on May 29, 1938. His family moved to Virginia when World War II began and Bill was schooled at Cradock and James Hurst Elementary and Cradock High School. Bill was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. After graduation in 1956, Bill was accepted at Virginia Polytechnic and Agriculture College to study Geologic Engineering. Bill graduated with both Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science degrees in Geology, finishing in 1962 when Texaco of Louisiana employed him.

A year later, Bill was transferred to the Texaco laboratory in Bellaire, Texas, where he learned to process seismic data — leading edge technology at that time. After various assignments domestically as well as foreign, Bill was promoted to Chief Geophysicist for the Latin American and West African division when he was required to travel to South America and Africa. In 1988, Bill was promoted to a general manager position for exploration for Angola, headquartered in Cascais, Portugal. In 1990, Bill was transferred to La Paz, Bolivia where he retired in 1992 and returned to Cascais for the next 21 years with his beloved wife Maria Luisa Vicent Simao Portugal Eckroade. Luisa passed away after a long fight with lung cancer in 2011.

Bill returned to the United States in 2013 to live with his daughter Debbie Sebastian and her husband Mark, in Rising Sun, Maryland where he resided until his demise on June 8, 2015 after a long battle with prostate cancer.

Bill is survived by his son William Roland Eckroade and his daughter and son-in-law, Debora Eckroade Sebastian and Mark; his sister, Sandra Wray, brother and life-long friend Bob Eckroade and his wife Carlene; he has seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; cousins Bobby Lee Mann and Melanie Ustick.

Services will be held privately and at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made payable to the American Cancer Society and sent in care to R.T. Foard Funeral Home, P.A., 111 S. Queen St., Rising Sun, MD 21911.