William Densmore, a business executive and passionate civic leader, died on January 19, 2013. After earning a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), he was commissioned as a lieutenant (j.g.) in the Naval Reserve. He served as a fire control officer on the first USS Enterprise aircraft carrier, and was discharged as an ensign in 1946. Upon his discharge from the military, William Densmore began work at Norton Company (now Saint Gobain Abrasives), where he rose in the ranks until his early retirement in 1982 as senior vice president. After retirement, his educational and community interests (which dated back to the 1960s) became the focus of his immense energy and dedication. He eventually founded or served on the boards of over twenty-five community, education, and health organizations. He was a trustee for his two alma maters, WPI and the Putney School in Vermont, and served on the University of Massachusetts Medical Center Hospital management board and the Central Massachusetts Health Systems Agency board. He co-founded the Center for Nonviolent Solutions, served as director of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, and as executive director of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium. He had a particular interest in education, which led to his service on the Massachusetts Board of Education from 1970 to 1997 and his instrumental role in providing recommendations for Massachusetts’s education reform in the 1990s. His efforts were gratefully appreciated by the community, which presented him with many awards for his service. In 1997, he was the recipient of the Isaiah Thomas Award for Distinguished Community Service, awarded by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. He was also honored by the Worcester Public Schools Administration Association, the Worcester Area Chamber of Commerce, the WPI Alumni Association, the WPI School of Industrial Management, and the Alliance for Education, among others.
Worcester, MA
United States