Bill died of pancreatic cancer April 11, 2006, in Antigua, British West Indies. <!--</P>-->
He prepared for Princeton at Westminster School and was vice president of Elm Club, president of the Bridge Club, and secretary of the Savoyards. <!--</P>-->
After graduation, Bill served in the Army and then began a career with the Speakman Co., which had been founded by his grand- <!--</P>-->
father. He succeeded his father as president and then as chairman, a position he held until his death. Bill also served as president of the Foundation for Economic Education and as a board member of the Independent Institute, organizations established to advance free-market principles and ideas. <!--</P>-->
Bill was a member of the steering committee of the Campaign for Delaware to raise $225 million for the University of Delaware; a trustee of Tower Hill School and of Sweet Briar College; and on the boards of the Wilmington Library, the University of Delaware Library Associates, and the Nantucket Atheneum. <!--</P>-->
Bill's wife, Stephanie du Pont Bredin Speakman; his daughter, Isabella Pearson Speakman Johnson; his sister, Susie Speakman Sutch; his stepson, Samuel Irenée du Pont Hyland; stepdaughter, Octavia du Pont Bredin Jones; a granddaughter; and several nieces survive him. The class extends its deepest sympathy to all his family. <!--</P>-->
The Class of 1960 <!--</P>-->