William F. “Bill” Eckman, who served as mayor of La Plata for 22 years — longer than anyone else in the town’s history — and led its recovery after the devastating 2002 tornado, died Sept. 16 at age 96, according to Arehart-Echols Funeral Home, P.A., which is handling his arrangements. He was born Feb. 16, 1930. Funeral services have not yet been announced.
The Town of La Plata and current Mayor Jeannine James both marked his death by lowering the Town Flag in his honor, which James said would fly at half-staff “until his internment.”
A Navy veteran, Eckman came to La Plata in 1966 after AT&T transferred him from Pennsylvania, where he had served as a fire chief. He soon joined the La Plata Volunteer Fire Department, where he was a member for more than a decade, helped develop firefighter training programs, and later wrote a book on fire protection and water supply after retiring from AT&T.
He was elected to the La Plata Town Council in 1969, left office after a 1979 election loss, and returned to the council in 1981. He was elected mayor in 1983 and held the office until 2005 — a 22-year run unmatched by any of the town’s other seven mayors on record dating to 1963.
During his tenure, La Plata’s population grew from under 2,000 residents to nearly 8,000, and town staff expanded from 15 to 50 employees, according to a 2003 Congressional Record tribute marking Eckman’s selection for a community service award. He also served as president of the Maryland Municipal League and later sat on its legislative committee, regularly testifying before the Maryland General Assembly.
Eckman’s leadership was tested most severely on April 28, 2002, when an F4 tornado tore through La Plata, killing three people and injuring 122 across Maryland, and causing more than $100 million in damage. The Town of La Plata said in a statement that “the long-range vision he helped establish before the storm provided a framework for rebuilding and moving the Town forward.” The rebuilt La Plata Town Hall became Southern Maryland’s first LEED-certified public building. Eckman later wrote his own account of the recovery, titled “After the Storm Passed By.”
His involvement didn’t end when he left the mayor’s office in 2005. According to the Town of La Plata, Eckman “continued to lend his knowledge, experience, and time to Town projects, mentor local leaders, and help strengthen La Plata for generations to come.” Mayor James said Eckman kept “sharing his tremendous knowledge of planning, water, sewer, stormwater, and infrastructure with Town staff for many years” after leaving office, and credited him as a mentor who helped lay “the foundation… for those who followed him.”
“Once a Mayor, always a Mayor,” James wrote.
