William F. Bowld Jr. ’47

Bill died Feb. 4, 2018, in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

After graduating from Phillips Exeter’s class of 1943, he did his military service with the 94th Infantry Division in Europe. After his service he returned to Princeton, where he graduated in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He had been vice president of Terrace Club.

His entire professional career was with Procter & Gamble in Europe, first in Paris, and then in Geneva. As the division’s manager of marketing services, he traveled the world supervising the production of P&G’s advertising. After 26 years of a happy marriage, his wife, Myrtle Powell, died; they had no children. Taking early retirement in 1986, Bill decided to remain in Geneva. In 1995, he moved to the sunny California desert, while still retaining a small home in Geneva.

In October 1995 he was proud to participate in the dedication ceremony of the Forrestal-Bowld Music Center at Phillips Exeter, where the late Michael Forrestal and he had been friends in the 1940s and shared a common interest in music.

Bill’s final years were spent in Rancho Mirage, where he happily shared a life with his domestic partner, Jerry Sullivan.