William G. Tapply, age 69, writer and professor of English at Clark University, died at his Hancock, N.H., home on Tuesday, July 28 following a two-year battle with leukemia.

He was born in Waltham to Muriel and H.G. (Tap) Tapply. He graduated from Lexington High School, with a bachelor of arts degree from Amherst College and an M.A.T. from Harvard University. He was a teacher and administrator at Lexington High School for nearly 25 years before pursuing a career in writing.

In the early 1980s, his articles appeared in Field & Stream, Sports Illustrated and other magazines. In 1984, Bill published his first novel, Death at Charity’s Point. He has since written more than 40 books, including 25 New England-based mystery novels and a dozen fly-fishing, outdoor and writing books. He also wrote nearly one thousand magazine articles on writing, fly-fishing, and the outdoors. He was a contributing editor for Field & Stream, a columnist for American Angler, a member of the editorial board for The Writer magazine, and the writer in residence at Clark University.

He has five fiction and nonfiction books due to published in the upcoming months.

His wife, children, family and friends adored him. His survivors are his wife, Vicki Stiefel, of Hancock; son Michael Tapply, daughters Melissa Tapply and Sarah Tapply; stepsons Blake and Ben Ricciardi; sister Martha Van Drunen and mother Muriel Tapply.

The Jellison Funeral Home (jellisonfh.com) is assisting the family. In lieu of flowers, gifts in Bill’s memory may be made to The Nature Conservancy (nature.org) or Special Olympics (specialolympics.org).

A private family service was held. A celebration of Bill’s life will be held in Hancock, N.H., in September.