William W. Welbon ’50

Bill died Feb. 5, 2008, from cancer. He was 84.

Bill graduated from Riverside (Ga.) Military Academy in 1942. He was a four-year World War II veteran and commanded a motor unit of the 44th Infantry Division in Europe. He participated in the surrender of Dr. Wernher von Braun, who later led NASA’s space program. Bill was discharged as a captain.

At Princeton, he was a member of Dial Lodge and majored in chemistry. He worked as a principal chemist for General Electric for 35 years, retiring in 1987.

Bill settled in Clearwater, Fla., in 1961, where he was a member of the Power Squadron, served as commodore of the Clearwater Yacht Club, ran Snipe Class sailboat races for 30 years, and served on the local Boy Scouts executive committee. However, his true passion was traveling around the world, attending meetings of the Meteoritical Society, to which he belonged for 47 years, and observing 22 total solar eclipses that cumulatively represented more than an hour of total darkness.

Ann Griffin, Bill’s first wife of almost 50 years, predeceased him in 1998. He was separated from Dorothea Smith, whom he married in 1999.

Bill leaves three sons, William, Robert, and Laurence; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. We extend our sympathy to his family.