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William R. Healy was born in Lynn, MA, the son of John D. Healy and Gertrude (Ryder) Healy. He grew up in Swapmscott and graduated St. John's Prep in Danvers, MA. After graduating St. John's, he spent 10 months as a novice in the Society of Jesus at Bellarmine College in Plattsburgh, NY. He earned a BS in Biology from Boston College in 1961, an MS in 1963 and a PH.D in 1966 both in Zoology from the University of Michigan. He taught in the Biology Department of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA from 1964 until his retirement as Professor Emeritus in 2001.

Professor Healy served on all the major academic committees of Holy Cross and as Chair or Acting Chair of the Biology Department for ten years. A long time member of the American Society for the Advancement of Science and the American Society of Herpetology and Ichthyology, he published several papers in scientific journals on his studies into the life history of the Eastern Red-Spotted Newt.