William H. Booth III ’50

Bill died Nov. 19, 2011, in Lafayette, La.

He was born in Shreveport, La., and graduated from Culver (Ind.) Military Academy. At Princeton, he majored in politics and belonged to Terrace. At graduation, he received his commission as an officer in the Field Artillery Officers’ Reserve Corps.

Bill was called to active duty in 1951 and served as a first lieutenant in Tokyo, Korea, Malaya, and Indochina. After his discharge in 1953, he returned to Shreveport to work for his father (a member of the Class of ’24) for a few years before going to southern Utah to prospect for uranium. After a serious automobile accident interrupted prospecting, he decided on a less rigorous job: oil exploration for Exxon in Illinois and Michigan.

A family tragedy prompted Bill’s return to Louisiana, where he worked as a real-estate developer until he joined the family leather-tanning and manufacturing business. When the business was sold in 1968, he took over management of the family real-estate holdings in Buford.

Bill was passionate about golf and college football.

We extend our condolences to his children, Rosemary and John; his sister, Joan Barton; and six grandchildren.