Bill Battista was Bronx born first generation Italian American.  His Father was a proud NYC Union Bricklayer.  Bill was the first in his family to attend college, earning his BA in English from Fordham University.   Bill was a Sergeant in the Marine Corps, serving active duty in the Korean War, after which he started his career in Advertising on Madison Avenue.  Bill became top salesman for Family Circle magazine in 1959.  In 1960 he moved his wife and family of 3 children to Athens, Greece.  He wrote two books while in Greece, entitled Chicken In Greece, and The KEFI Machine, respectively.   Bill moved back to New Jersey in 1967 and went back to work for Family Circle, became active in starting a one of its kind Alternative High School in Leonia, NJ and taught Shakespeare at night to intercity youth.  He lived a happy life until his untimely death of cancer at the age of 47 in 1980.