WILLIAM STROUD

William Boulton

Dixon Stroud

William Boulton Dixon Stroud, age 88, died Friday, April 15, 2005, at his West Grove, PA home surrounded by his family.

A strong and gentle man, whose unassuming manner, quiet generosity and genuine interest in the lives of all he met, has left a remarkable impact on southern Chester County, his home for the past 50 years, and beyond. Perhaps nowhere is that impact stronger or his influence clearer than in the Stroud Water Research Center, which he, his wife Joan, and Dr. Ruth Patrick of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia founded in 1966 and which in the intervening years has produced some of the world's most innovative research on the ecology of streams, rivers and their watersheds. Born in Villanova, PA, on February 22, 1917, the third of 5 children of Willia Boulton Dixon and Morris W. Stroud, Mr. Stroud graduated from St. Paul's School in Concord, NH in 1935 and from Princeton University in 1939. As a young naval officer in World War II, he served on 2 ships that were sunk in battle - first in the Mediterranean and later in the Pacific, when the USS William D. Porter was hit by a kamikaze pilot during the Battle of Okinawa and went down in 90 minutes. Shortly before the war, he met Joan Milliken, whom he married in 1943 while home on leave and with whom he had 7 children. Mrs. Stroud died in 1985, and in 1989 Mr. Stroud married Ann Percy, Curator of Drawings at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In the mid-1950s Mr. Stroud went to work for Nelson Rockefeller as president of the International Basic Economy Corporation (IBEC), a company that sought to create agricultural and other sustainable businesses in developing countries. His work took him all over the world, and in 1967 he started a cattle operation in a remote part of Colombia, where he and his wife also established a school and introduced cottage industries for the women of the region. In the late 1960s Mr. Stroud retired from IBEC to devote time to his farm, his businesses and his environmental interests. By then his foremost interest was, and remained, the Stroud Center. Begun as a field station of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, the Center's first home was a small attic above the family's garage, but within a year it had moved to its current space along White Clay Creek on land donated by Mr. and Mrs. Stroud. Over the past 40 years, Stroud scientists have done pioneering research on White Clay Creek and in streams and rivers around the world. Among other milestones, their work produced the River Continuum Concept in 1980, which transformed scientific understanding of streams and rivers and which remains to this day the most often cited article on the subject. In 1999 the Stroud Center became an independent non-profit institution. Mr. Stroud took an active interest in the Center's research and sought to incorporate the scientists' findings into his agricultural and land management practices. As a result, he became an early and committed proponent of sound environmental practices and a strong voice in the region for the conservation of open space, the reforestation of denuded landscapes, and the preservation and renovation of historic structures. And he practiced what he preached, as all those who came upon him in the woods uprooting multiflora rose, rescuing trees from invasive vines, and planting seedlings will attest. For his vision, his hands-on work and his principled perseverance, the Brandywine Valley Association named him Conservationist of the Year in 1975, the Chester County Conservation District gave him its Stewardship Award in 1996, and the National Society of Fundraising Executives - Brandywine Chapter gave him its 1999 Philanthropy Award. He was also a competitive tennis player, an accomplished pianist and a lover of the arts.

In addition to his wife, Ann, Mr. Stroud is survived by his 7 children, Anne Hannum, W. B. Dixon Stroud Jr., Joan Blaine and Morris W. Stroud, all of southern Chester County, Agnes Peelle of West Hartford, CT, Cynthia Stroud of Brooklin, ME, and Stephen M. Stroud of San Jose, Cost Rica; 16 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; and 2 sisters, Peggy Wallace of Sparks, NV and Pat Straub of Eugene, OR.

A funeral service will be held Tuesday, April 19, at 3 pm at the Unionville Presbyterian Church, 815 Wollaston Road, Unionville, PA. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Stroud Water Research Center, 970 Spencer Road, Avondale, PA 19311. Family service by

Kuzo & Gofus

Kennett Square, PA

610-444-4116