Wilfred M. Kincaid

Wilfred Macdonald Kincaid, born Friday, September 13, 1918, died Saturday, December 12, 2015. He succumbed after a brief illness at age 97 in the University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Born in Cornhill, Scotland, the only child of William Abraham Kincaid and Mary Christina Macdonald Kincaid who married after both served in France during WWI. His father was one of the Harvard volunteers who went overseas before America entered the war. He drove an ambulance. In 1917, he became an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. His mother served as a British nurse while stationed in France. She was the daughter of the Reverend George Grant Macdonald of Cornhill, Scotland, Church of Scotland (Presbyterian, US). After the war, his father gave up the practice of law and became a professor of Spanish at the University of California. After his infancy in Scotland, his parents settled in Berkeley, California, where Wilfred was educated in public schools. Upon his high school graduation, he remained in Berkeley while attending University of California, class of 1940, as a mathematics major. He pursued graduate studies at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, where he completed his Ph. D. in applied mathematics. Wilfred's employment career began in Hampton, Virginia, at a government agency which grew into NASA National Aeronautics Space Administration. He achieved veteran status there as WWII proceeded. After WWII service as a commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, US Army, he relocated to Ann Arbor, 1946, for an instructor's position at the University of Michigan Mathematics Department. Wilfred continued his University of Michigan employment as a professor of Mathematics until his retirement in 1984. In the fall of 1950, Wilfred made the momentous decision to join the graduate outing club at the U of M. He met a schoolteacher working on a doctorate in education named Fay Allen and he did not let her get away. Wilfred M. Kincaid and M. Fay Allen of Kansas City, Missouri, were married November 27, 1952, at the First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor. The couple joined First United Methodist Church in 1955 and were members for the rest of their lives. That union gifted him with three sons, William Allen Kincaid, of Ann Arbor; Walter James Kincaid, of San Jose, California, (predeceased), and David Andrew Kincaid, of Ypsilanti. Fay Allen, his wife, preceded him in death in 2004. Other survivors include Deborah Gibson, formerly of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, affianced to William Allen Kincaid. Wilfred pursued many interests in his long post-academic career. Within his church he was a devoted founder and participant in their Memorial Garden. He was also a loyal and lively contributor to their weekly Current Events discussions until his recent illness.He kept his AADL card busy by checking out very up-to-date books until a few weeks ago. In recent years he was an active member of the local chapter of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) attending (and even teaching) lecture series and classes. Other interests included the study of anomalies as an ardent advocate of the Society for Scientific Exploration. He also maintained membership in the American Academy of Mathematics. His family and many others will miss him. Memorial service will be Saturday, January 16, 2016, 1:00 PM at First United Methodist Church. There will be a reception following the service in their social hall. Memorial gifts should be sent to the church or to the University of Michigan Mathematics Department.