Bill Wise died peacefully last night at a care facility in North Andover, Massachusetts.

Until the 1970s, a student's yearbook page was written by the staff. When he graduated from Proctor in 1939, "Will" Wise's yearbook page declared, "'Will' is the epitome of punctuality and is highly efficient in his various tasks. We expect to see him on Wall Street before long."

The reference to "punctuality" alludes to Bill's role as mail man for Gannett House. He's pictured front and center in this dorm photo.

While the yearbook staff predicted a career on Wall Street, Bill actually became a successful banker on State Street, in Boston. He had flourished in his four years at Proctor, and began serving as a Trustee in 1992. In the spring of 1998, he informed us of his intention to make a generous gift to the school that included an estate gift. But in 2001, he restructured that gift, so that the school could benefit from his $1,000,000 at once. The result is the Ruby and Bill Wise '39 Community Center, which was dedicated in February, 2004.

Bill was a man of great love for life, for his wife, Ruby, and for his school. His generous contributions to Proctor were the source of great joy. We will miss him, and we extend our condolences to his son, William, and daughter, Cynthia.

Memorial arrangements will be forwarded to Trustees as soon as they become available.