William L. Terry ’45

Bill was born at the Pike-Fletcher-Terry House in Little Rock, Ark. He was the fourth child of Rep. David Dickson Terry.

Bill attended St. Albans School, where he received the Thomas Hyde Medal and the Robert Rice Award. At Princeton he rowed on the freshman 150-pound crew, played freshman basketball, and was a member of Cloister Inn. He joined the Army Air Force during World War II and was stationed at Thetford, England, completing 34 missions. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters.

After the war he married Elizabeth Marie Kilbury and earned a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from the University of Arkansas. He clerked for Arkansas Supreme Court Justice George Rose Smith and went to work for the Arkansas state highway department.

He practiced with Mehaffy, Smith & Williams, specializing in commercial-property transactions and real estate. He served as Air Force JAG reservist and was president of the Pulaski County Bar Association. President William Clinton appointed him to the Arkansas Committee of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, advocating for citizen-warriors’ employment and benefits, and he retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Bill served in many community organizations, including the Episcopal Cathedral, the Cathedral School, All Saints Episcopal School, Arkansas Arts Center, Kiwanis Club, United Way, and the Little Rock Historic District Commission.

Bill died Dec. 25, 2016. He is survived by Betty; daughters Beth, Ellen, and Susan; and grandchildren Fletcher, Eliza, and Rachael.