William Dixon Boulton Stroud ’39

Gus died of pneumonia April 21, 2005, at home in West Grove, Pa.

Widely known as a nature preserver, he and his wife, Joan, were co-founders of the Stroud Water Research Center on farmland they donated, and through which a branch of the White Clay Creek flowed. The center, in Avondale, Pa., has made profound contributions to the world's understanding of streams, rivers, and their watersheds, championing the restoration of forests along stream banks and on steep slopes. On his dairy farm, Landhope, he also became an innovator in land management.

During World War II, Gus survived the sinking of a destroyer in the Mediterranean and was rescued from a sinking destroyer at Okinawa. He became president of Nelson Rockefeller's International Basic Economy Corp., establishing, among other enterprises, a cattle operation in Colombia, where he and Joan helped start a school and cottage industries. He retired to devote time to his farm, later serving on the committee for modern and contemporary art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and on the board of trustees of Delaware Art Museum. Joan died in 1985.

Gus is survived by Ann Percy, whom he married in 1989; seven children; 16 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. We offer them our sincere sympathy.

The Class of 1939