William Naughton, Huntington Town highway superintendent, dies at 89

William Naughton always carried pen and paper to jot down people’s complaints and requests when he was off duty — hallmarks of a dedication that made him Huntington Town’s longest-serving highway superintendent, family and friends said.

During 26 years in elected office, he modernized the department and introduced much of what is in the town today — GPS cameras on highway vehicles to show which roads were plowed and sanded; bigger street name signs; and a map of the underground drainage system.

Colleagues admired him for running an apolitical shop and watching the pennies.

“Although he was a registered Democrat, he didn’t really care who anybody was — he would help everybody,” said Eugene Cook, a friend and a Republican town board member. “He wanted to do the right thing for all of us. He was a very special man that way.”

Naughton died of Alzheimer’s disease Feb. 5 at age 89.

In 2021, before the disease fully took hold, the Huntington resident shed tears during a town ceremony to rename the street leading to highway headquarters after him, William Naughton Way.

Naughton managed budgets of up to $34 million, always focused on maximizing the impact of taxpayers’ dollars, colleagues said. He pared down outside contracts if his department could do the work. When employees lined up ready to leave even six minutes before closing time, Naughton would have them called back. On Saturdays, he would drive around town for hours taking notes, then hand a sheaf of repair orders to his crew Monday morning.

“During snowstorms, when he would go home, they used to get on the radio and say ‘The eagle has landed’ so everybody would breathe a little because the last guy you wanted to catch you having a cup of coffee during the snowstorm was Bill,” said David McLuckie, who was Naughton’s executive assistant.

“He thought being the superintendent of highways was the greatest thing in the world. We’d be riding around and he once in a while would turn to me and say ‘Isn’t this grand?’ ” McLuckie said.

Being elected in his adopted country was an accomplishment for the eldest of 10 growing up on the family farm in Ardnaglug, a rural area of Ireland. It was a tough existence — an outhouse, cold rooms in winter and a bike or horse-drawn cart to get to the next town.

Naughton got his agricultural degree in 1952 from Dublin’s Albert College, where he met his first wife, Nuala. The pair moved to England, where Bill worked as a machinist.

In 1964, the couple emigrated to the United States with two young children and $300, but within a few years, Naughton and a friend set up two landscaping companies on Long Island, said his son, Michael Naughton of Huntington Station.

“He was always striving to be better,” said Naughton, who was a town general services mechanic when he was transferred in 1995 to highways.

When no other Democrat wanted to run against the incumbent highway superintendent in 1985, William Naughton, who was a party zone leader, agreed to run but lost. He won two years later and at one point served as president of the New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways.

In 2012, Naughton successfully fought off an attempt by the town supervisor to have the superintendent be appointed, arguing that it took away voters’ power.

The next year, he lost his reelection bid but friends and family saw this as a blessing because he loved socializing and had time to golf more and travel abroad.

“He loved to party,” said his second wife, Lynn Naughton of Huntington. “If I were to say we’re going to have a group of friends over for dinner, he’d say ‘OK, we’re having a party.’ ”

In 2017, Naughton toured Ireland for three weeks with Michael, meeting family and sightseeing in what was expected to be his last trip home.

“He was very proud of his heritage but he was very proud of being an American citizen,” his wife said. “He very often wore the American flag on his lapel and he thought this was the most wonderful country in the world.”

Besides his wife and son, he is also survived by daughters Margaret Bond of Hampton, New Jersey, Maureen Naughton of Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, and Kathleen Walsh of Fort Collins, Colorado; siblings, John of Leesburg, Virginia, and Tom of Ardnaglug, Agnes Kelly of Portmarnok and Margaret McHugh of Tuam, all in Ireland; and stepchildren, George Beyersdorf of Sound Beach, Donna Beyersdorf of Coram and Brian Beyersdorf of Kings Park. He was predeceased by his first wife.

The wake has been scheduled for from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at M.A. Connell Funeral Home in Huntington Station. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday at St. Patrick Church in Huntington, followed by burial at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Huntington. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association.