Earl Gronlund Wise Jr. ’45

Earl Gronlund Wise Jr. ’45 of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, died June 2. He was born March 9, 1924, in Dallas and came to Dartmouth from Oak Park-River Forest High in Illinois. During WW II he left Dartmouth to join the combat engineers for three and one half years in France and Italy, then returned to his native Texas and in a short time acquired a B.B.A. with high honors and a trainee’s job with Sears, Roebuck & Co. That led to a 40-year career with Sears, where he advanced to be national merchandise manager and a director of strategic planning. His signature is on the top beam of the Sears Tower in Chicago. He was active in the Episcopalian Church, Northwestern University and the Evanston, Illinois, school board. When he retired to Sarasota, Florida, and Elkhart Lake those contributions were continued locally. Earl is survived by his loving wife, Carol, and daughters Sally and Lucinda.