William J. Healey, founder and former president of Viking Yacht Company in Gretna, New Jersey, passed away peacefully on August 14, 2025, at age 97, surrounded by his loving family. Healey founded the company with his brother Robert Healey in 1964, and throughout the years built a boat manufacturing empire, driven by the desire to build a boat better every day, and marked by his unwavering commitment to the dedicated boatbuilders who worked with him.
Healey demonstrated a deep value for his team, standing by the door every evening to thank them and wish them a good night. One of four brothers, Healey was born in 1927 and served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the final years of World War II. After, he earned a degree in political science from St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia, working for his father at P.J. Healey Structural Steel in Atco, New Jersey, before taking over failing wooden boatbuilder Peterson-Viking, ultimately building Viking Yachts into one of the world’s largest builders of luxury fiberglass sportfishing and cruising yachts.
Among major honors throughout his life, Healey was awarded the Ernst & Young NJ Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1998, inducted into the National Marine Manufacturers Association Hall of Fame in 2003, and inducted in the Marine Trades Association of NJ Hall of Fame in 2024.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Mary “Sissy” Frances Healey; his daughter, Mary “Missy” Frances Hartdorn and her husband, Gary R. Hartdorn; and brothers Robert T. Healey, Esq., Patrick J. Healey, and Edward R. Healey. Healey is survived by his son, Patrick, and daughter-in-law, Leanne A. Healey; their children, Sean P. Healey; Justin L. Healey; Kaitlyn B. Healey; and his daughter Katherine A. Healey, and her children, Allie K. Parr and husband Brandon Parr; Erin K. MacCausland; and Alexander J. MacCausland.
PHOTO: VIKING YACHT COMPANY FACEBOOK
