Groton residents shaken by death of local Marine

GROTON — In a small community rattled by the death of a 23-year-old

William Woitowicz

soldier killed Tuesday in Afghanistan, his former teachers remembered him fondly today.

They recalled the charm and selflessness of US Marine Corporal William Woitowicz.

“He got Class Flirt,’’ remembered Marisa Brisson, assistant principal at Groton-Dunstable Regional High School, from which Woitowicz graduated in 2007.

In high school, he was known to help teachers with yardwork and participated well in class, she said.

After high school, Woitowicz knew exactly what he was going to do.

“A lot of kids consider going into the military, but William was very passionate about it,’’ said Tammie Reynolds, a history teacher who corresponded with Woitowicz while he was serving.

“He wasn’t just trying to get out of this little town,’’ she said.

Woitowicz’s family declined to comment through close friends. The friends said his father was en route to Dover Air Force Base “where Billy will be coming home’’ and that the family was still making funeral arrangements.