William A. Lawliss ’63
William A. Lawliss ’63 died at home in South Burlington, Vermont, on March 26 from complications of dementia, surrounded by his loving family. He was born on August 21, 1941, in Barre, Vermont, and attended Spaulding High School where he was class president and captained three teams: baseball, basketball, and football and earned a spot on the 1959 Shriner’s Maple Sugar Game. More importantly, Bill met his future wife, Maggie, at Spaulding High. At Dartmouth, Bill majored in history, played rugby, was a member of Dragon, and was a brother of Theta Delt where he was vice president and, later, an alumni fraternity agent. Bill received a master’s degree in business administration from Dartmouth in 1973. After Dartmouth, Bill joined IBM in Providence, Rhode Island, where his sports interest led him to sailboat racing on a Herreschoff S-boat which he owned with friends. With his M.B.A. in hand, Bill then took a position with AMF in Colorado which combined business and sports running Head Ski and Tennis. Next stop was Princeton, New Jersey, where Bill became president of Le Coq Sportif. He started a firm called Sports Research which became Sports Marketing Surveys, which serves the Tennis, Ski, and Golf industries today. He also participated in the management of Prince Tennis and Nordica Ski. Semiretirement resulted in a move to Grand Isle, Vermont, on the shores of Lake Champlain, followed by a final move to South Burlington, Vermont. Bill is survived by his wife, Maggie, of 60 years, two children, and three grandchildren.
