William C. Battle

Ambassador

William C. Battle

William C. Battle died Saturday night, May 31, 2008, at the University of Virginia Medical Center. Bill was a beloved husband, father, lawyer, diplomat, businessman, outdoorsman, golfer, and friend.

He is survived by his wife, Barry Webb Battle, children, W. Cullen Battle Jr. and his wife Mary Ann of Salt Lake City, Utah, Dr. Robert W. Battle and his wife Martha of Charlottesville, Virginia, and Janie Battle Richards and her husband David of Norfolk, Virginia.

He has six grandchildren - Katie and Wilson Battle, Wesley and Emily Battle and Bond and Alec Richards. Bill was the son of former Virginia Governor John S. Battle and brother of the late John S. Battle Jr.

William C. Battle was born in Charlottesville, Virginia on October 9, 1920. Bill attended the public schools of Charlottesville and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1941.

Battle played for three years on the University of Virginia varsity golf team and in 1941, was awarded one of the first major letters ever given at University of Virginia for golf. He was elected to several honorary societies including Raven and O.D.K. He entered University of Virginia law school in 1941, and would serve the University for the rest of his life.

He volunteered for the Navy in the winter of 1942. After receiving his commission as ensign, he was selected by Commander John D. Bulkeley, for service in the new program for motor torpedo, or PT, boats. Upon completion of his training, he was sent to the South Pacific as a Boat Captain in Squadron 10. He served his country in the South Pacific with extensive campaigns in the Solomon and Philippine Islands. He was awarded the Silver Star for "Gallantry in Action". Bill served in the same squadron with John F. Kennedy and participated in his rescue from the island where Kennedy and his crew were marooned. This would be the beginning of a strong friendship between Bill and the Kennedy family.

After the war, he returned to law school and graduated with an LLB in 1947. He was employed in the legal department of the Columbia Gas System in Charleston, West Virginia where he stayed until 1950 when he returned to Charlottesville to join the family law firm. The firm was originally called Perkins, Battle and Minor and later merged into McGuire, Woods, Battle, and Boothe. In 1958-59 when his war time friend Jack Kennedy was seeking the Democratic nomination of President for the United States, Bill was asked to return to West Virginia to assist in that state's Presidential primary. His knowledge of the state contributed significantly to Kennedy's win which virtually assured him of the nomination. In the general election he was campaign manager for Kennedy in Virginia and coordinator for the Southeastern states.

In 1961, President Kennedy appointed Battle United States Ambassador to Australia. While there he was the principal negotiator of several treaties and government to government agreements. Subsequently, he returned to the practice of law in Virginia and also managed the successful campaign of William B. Spong for the U.S. Senate.

In 1969, he was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia having prevailed in two hard fought primaries. He lost a close general election when the candidate he had defeated in the primaries threw his support to the Republican candidate.

In 1970, he was elected President and CEO of Fieldcrest Mills, Inc. a fortune 500 company where he served until his retirement in 1983. In 1977, he was selected Chief Executive Officer of the Year by both the Wall Street Transcript and the Financial News.

In 1976, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Textile Manufacturers Institute and served as its President in 1980-81. He has served on the following corporate Boards: Black and Decker Corp., Entergy, Corporation in New Orleans, Louisiana, Wayne Tex, Corporation, director and Chairman of the W. Alton Jones Cell Science Center, a nonprofit research center in Lake Placid, NY, and Chairman of Argonex Pharmaceutical Corporation. The Cell Science Center evolved into the Ivy Foundation dedicated to medical research. The University of Virginia Medical Center has been the recipient of over $45 million from that Foundation.

Throughout his career he has been especially interested and active in higher education in Virginia. He was appointed by Governor Mills Godwin and served on the Board of Visitors of University of Virginia and for ten years as member and Chairman (1994-95) of the State Council for Higher Education. This council is a coordinating body for all higher education institutions in Virginia.

He was one of the founders and is Chairman of the University of Virginia Auxiliary Services foundation which owns and operates Birdwood, the University of Virginia Golf Course. Battle was also a member of the Special Senate Committee on the Future of Higher Education in Virginia.

In 1978, Battle was elected to the Executive Committee of the United States Golf Association where he served until 1989. During his tenure he served as chairman of various committees, including the Rules Committee. He established a subcommittee to work with college golf coaches in an effort to bring the USGA and college golf closer. He served as USGA President in 1988-89 and at that time was the principal negotiator for the USGA in the well known suit of Ping vs. USGA on the subject of grooves. After extensive negotiations, Ping withdrew the suit, conformed its clubs to USGA standards, and acknowledged publicly that the USGA and the Royal and Ancient should be the sole rule making bodies for the game of golf. Battle had also been President of the Mid-Atlantic Golf Association in 1953.

Battle was a member of the USGA, the RandA of Saint Andrews Scotland, Farmington Country Club, Seminole Golf Club, Jupiter Island Club of Florida, Augusta national Golf Club, and Jack Nicklaus Captain's Club at Muirfield.

A memorial service will be held 4 p.m., Wednesday, June 11, 2008, at the University of Virginia Chapel. A reception will follow at the Farmington Country Club.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Battle Children's Hospital Building Fund at University of Virginia.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.