Dr. William P. "Bill" Ambrose

Dr. William P. “Bill” Ambrose, a long-time veterinarian, passed away Sept. 22, 2024, at the age of 66, after a three-month battle with cancer. 

Born in Worcester, Bill was the son of Rita Plamondon Ambrose and William J. Ambrose. He leaves his wife of 29 years, Nancy Jones Ambrose, originally of Sturbridge; his sister, Janice Ambrose, and her companion, Marlene Seltzer, of Gloucester; many nieces and nephews, many cousins on both the Ambrose and Plamondon sides of the family; a dog, Mackenzie, and a cat, Jaxon. Bill was predeceased by his mother in 1983, his older sister, Sharon Ambrose, in 1997 and his father, William J. Ambrose in 2015. He was also predeceased by many dogs and cats, including Sally, Fred, Gracie, Twixie, Kameron, Ava, Maddison, Franklin, Jordan, and Dillon. 

Bill spent his last nine years living with Nancy in the home his mother and father built. He was proud of his Worcester roots.

Bill was born on Nov. 20, 1957. He attended Worcester schools and St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury. He attended Butler University in Indiana and graduated from UMass Amherst with a degree in animal science. Bill received his doctorate in veterinary medicine from Pedro Henrique Ureña National University in the Dominican Republic. He spoke no Spanish when he arrived in the Dominican Republic, but managed to take all his classes in Spanish, present his dissertation in the language and graduate Magna Cum Laude in 1984. 

While studying to pass his veterinary boards, Bill worked as a research technician/specialist/assistant chemist in the blood bank and pathology department at UMass Medical Center. Upon becoming a licensed veterinarian in Massachusetts, Bill began his practice in Framingham. He also worked as a veterinarian in Worcester and New Bedford for many years. 

Bill married Nancy in May of 1995. She worked as his veterinary assistant for many years. Bill was known for his kindness to animals and their owners. In retirement, Bill spent every morning with the guys at McDonald’s or Starbucks. He was always willing to help out the homeless, or anyone who needed help. He loved playing cards, politics and watching football. Bill and Nancy enjoyed spending time together, eating out, watching movies, helping others and taking walks with Mackenzie. He will be deeply missed. 

There will be a Celebration of Life from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, at Athy Memorial Home, 111 Lancaster St., Worcester. At 3 p.m. we will be speaking about Bill's life. If you have a funny or touching story about Bill, please feel free to join in. In lieu of flowers, we ask for donations to Andrew's Helpful Hands (https://www.andrewshelpfulhands.com) or the Pet Rock Festival (https://www.petrockfest.org).