William C. Lakeland ’44

Bill died Jan. 23, 2015, in Berkeley, Calif.

Bill graduated from Baldwin (N.Y.) High School. He majored in philosophy at Princeton, was vice president of Prospect Club, and roomed with Bob Sands and Lee Martin. He chose to accelerate and got his degree in June 1943. One week later, he was serving in the Marines at the Parris Island boot camp.

In late 1944 he was in the Peleliu Island invasion, where he lost an eye. Bill received a Purple Heart and joined the State Department shortly after the war. His career took him throughout the world — to Quebec, Ankara, Munich, and Cairo, where he served as second secretary. In all, he worked in 15 countries.

Bill once wrote his travels gave him “a feeling for the fragile beauty of the cosmologically insignificant and precious planet Earth.” He noted that he had been on every continent except Antarctica. Notwithstanding his worldwide services, Bill attended six class reunions, including four majors from the 15th to the 50th.

His sons, William R. and John C., predeceased him, as did his wife, Mary Jo. Bill wrote lovingly of his five grandchildren, Dan, Megan, Max, and twins Diana and Fiona. The class sends sympathy to them all.