William M. Doolittle ’28

Bill died Feb. 17, 2004, at Pleasant Valley Manor in Snydersville, Pa.

Born in Pittsburgh, he came to the Salis-bury, Conn., area as a student at Salisbury School, graduating in 1924. After graduation from Princeton, he returned to Salisbury School as a teacher. A year later, he moved back to Sewickley, Pa., where he was an officer of the First National Bank of Pittsburgh. In 1939, Bill became headmaster of Indian Mountain School where, except for the war years, he remained until retirement in 1970.

Trained as a field artillery officer, Bill sailed for the South Pacific in 1944. Heading a forward artillery team, he took part in the landings on Guam and Leyte, and called in naval gunfire from observation posts on shore. During the Leyte assault on Ormoc, his team was responsible for sinking a Japanese troopship, earning Bill, then a captain, a Bronze Star.

Throughout his life Bill was active in many organizations, including the American Legion, Salisbury Winter Sports Assn., and the Rotary Club.

His first marriage, to Mary Jennings Hill, ended in divorce. In 1951 he married Con-stance Jordan Bancroft, who predeceased him.

Bill is survived by a daughter, Patricia Shure; three sons, Jerome, Michael, and William Jr.; 13 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. The class extends sympathy to the family.

The Class of 1928