Thomas E. McGill

1930 - 2017

Thomas E. McGill, 87, of Tiverton, RI., Hales Professor of Psychology at Williams College, died November 26, following a brief illness. Born, 1930 in Sharpesville, Pennsylvania, the eldest son of Emerson, and Margaret McCallen McGill. He graduated from Sharpesville High School, while maintaining the Western Pennsylvania traditions of hunting and fishing, in keeping with those traditions he began work at the local steel mill, and attending Youngstown State University, part time. Preferring the relative comfort of academic life to the blast furnace at Sharon Steel, he continued his studies and received a PhD from Princeton University in 1958, and began his academic career in The Psychology Department at Williams College. While at Princeton, he was involved in sensory deprivation experiments, but his principal research interest was hormones, and how they affect behavior. He was able to obtain numerous government research grants, which, at that time, were usually reserved for larger research oriented universities. He published scores of academic papers, and several texts, making that information available to students. He lectured at various universities throughout the country, and consulted with NASA on the feasibility of various experiments in outer space. He was the author of The Encyclopedia Americana entry on Animal Behavior. In addition to his work in The Psychology Department, he also taught a Winter Study Course in Scottish History, an interest sparked by his sabbaticals at The University of Edinburgh. Another of his activities was the breeding and showing of Newfoundland dogs, together with his wife, Nancy they operated Celtic Kennels, and for most of his life, he was rarely without a dog by his side. He was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy Welch McGill and a brother Robert, of Masury, Ohio. He is survived by his sister Joann Mungai, of San Jose, Ca., his sons, Michael H. McGill of Tiverton, RI., and Steven E. McGill of Brooklyn, NY., five grandchildren, six great grandchildren, three nephews, and a niece. A memorial service is being planned at Williams College in spring. Memorial donations may be made to WGBH in Boston. Arrangements are with the Pocasset Memorial Funeral Home 462 Main Rd, Tiverton, RI. www.almeida-pocasset. com for on line guestbook.