In Memory of William Bayard Heroy, Jr.
William Bayard Heroy, Jr. died on September 25, 2005. He
was 91 years old.
Dr. Heroy was born in Washington, DC on Friday the 13th, August 1915. In 1933, he graduated from White Plains High School where he met his wife of 70 years: Dorothy Marie Meincke. Bill majored in geology, earning a B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1937 and his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1941. He worked in the southwest for Texaco during WWII, and then joined The Geotechnical Corporation in Dallas, where he worked from 1945-1965, advancing to President of the company. When Geotech was purchased by Teledyne, Dr. Heroy took the post of Group Executive Assistant to the President, until lured to academe by Southern Methodist University. For seven years, Bill served as Vice-President Treasurer of SMU; then he presided over the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man until his retirement in 1982.
Among his many professional and civic activities, Dr. Heroy served as Treasurer of the Geological Society of America for many years, as President of the American Geological Institute, and as Treasurer of the Dartmouth Class of 1937. He was awarded the G.S.A. Distinguished Service Award and the A.G.I. Campbell Medal; he was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa and the Cosmos Club. He also served for six years on NASA’s Space Applications Board.
Bill enjoyed hiking and camping and was an avid scout leader in Texas for many years as well as a generous supporter of Greenpeace, The Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund and his alma mater, Dartmouth College. Dr. Heroy traveled extensively during his career and retirement, including the Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, Alaska, China, the Philippines, Antarctica, Australia and New Zealand.
Dr. Heroy is survived by his wife, Dorothy Marie Meincke of Durham, NC; four children [Bayard Page Heroy and his wife Barbara Ellen of Durango, CO; David Bassett Heroy of Dallas, TX; June Heroy Leverett of Pottsboro, TX; and Barbara Heroy John and her husband Richard Stock of Oakwood, OH], seven grandchildren [Kimberly Heroy Rogalski of Martinez, CA; William B. Heroy III of Durango, CO, Catherine Anne Heroy of Anchorage, AK; Eluid John of Atlanta, GA; Shaka Nesta John of Las Vegas, NV; and Micah Isaiah Stock and Rachel Mallory Stock of Oakwood, OH], and four great grandchildren [Cody and Stephen Heroy of Durango, CO and Maya and Theo Rogalski of Martinez, CA]. A member of the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Durham, NC.
Edited Obituary for SMU from James E. Brooks: 26 October 2006