William Whelen Biddle ’52
William Whelen Biddle ’52 of Seattle, Washington, died June 7 in Seattle. Bill was born in 1930 in Philadelphia, graduated from the Haverford School and from Dartmouth with a degree in English literature. He was a member of Casque & Gauntlet, president of the Outing Club and was particularly active in Cabin & Trail. An accident at Dartmouth led him to Mary Hitchcock Hospital, where met Barbara Noyes, daughter of Elliot Noyes ’32, the head coach of track and field. He and Barbara later married, but divorced in 1978. Bill served in the U.S. Army after college and received a master’s in education from Harvard in 1956. He taught English and history at the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts, the Holderness (New Hampshire) School and the Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also worked for the National Forest Service in New Hampshire and the National Park Service (NPS). In his later years he was active as a docent for the Seattle Japanese Garden, taught Nordic skiing, supported the Seattle Center for Wooden Boats with popular fundraising canoe trips, lectured at conferences for the International Byron Society and represented the NPS in the sesquicentennial reenactment of the journey of the Oregon Trail pioneers. He traveled in Japan and Europe, often tracing the footsteps of the poet Byron. Survivors include his second wife, Barbara; children Robert, Edward ’84, Peter and Eleanor; brothers Craig III and David; two stepdaughters; and 12 grandchildren.
