William Amos

William Amos

AGE: 94 •

William Hopkins (Bill) Amos, age 94, son of Harold Curtice and Ethel Woolsey Hopkins Amos, died June 3 at his home in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in the company of family. He was born on January 31, 1921. Bill developed a lifelong passion for natural history and biology as a child growing up in the Far East, where he attended Brent School in Baguio (Philippines), and the American School in Japan (Tokyo). He graduated from Rutgers University and completed his graduate work at Columbia University and the University of Delaware. During WWII he was an officer in Naval Intelligence (FRUPAC), serving at Pearl Harbor as a cryptologist-translator, helping to break the highest Japanese naval code, JN-25, for which he received two Naval commendations. Following the war, Bill was a curator at the New York Zoological Society before joining the faculty of St. Andrew's School in Delaware. During his 36-year tenure he inspired hundreds of students in his biology and zoology classes and kept in touch with many as they followed in his footsteps and became research scientists or master teachers in their own right. Upon his retirement, the school's science building was dedicated as William H. Amos Hall. A staff member of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, he was a senior author and planner, rewriting the biology curriculum for American high schools, and a member of the team that developed the first Biology Advanced Placement Examination. Bill's professional endeavors included marine biological research at Mt. Desert Marine Biological Laboratory, the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, and the University of Delaware Marine Laboratories. He received the University of Delaware Medal of Distinction in 1986. Author of 15 books, Bill also wrote for the National Park Service, Scientific American and the Audubon Society. His 20-year affiliation with the National Geographic Society included writing and bio-photographic illustration for a number of articles and books, as well as the co-production of a film series. In retirement, Bill's writing and photography focused on subjects near his St. Johnsbury home that he shared with his beloved wife, the late Catherine Janeway Carpender Amos. He was the 2005 recipient of the Fairbanks Museum's Franklin Fairbanks Award for "lifelong creative and dedicated service to Vermont". His Hidden Worlds column appeared for more than 20 years in the Caledonian Record, and he also wrote regularly for The North Star Monthly. All will miss Bill's joyful enthusiasm and infinite curiosity for the world around him.

Left behind to cherish many years of memories are his five deeply loved children and their spouses: Bill (Josephine), Julie (Tim) Sturm, Steve (Carol), Bob (Anne), and Alison (Tom) Muller, 12 grandchildren, 4 great-granddaughters. Also his faithful feline, Monty.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, August 9 at 2:00 p.m. at the North Congregational Church,1325 Main Street, St. Johnsbury, VT. Contributions in Bill's memory may be made to St. Andrew's School, 350 Noxontown Road, Middletown, DE 19709, designated for the William H. Amos Life Science Fund. Sayles Funeral Home is assisting the family with funeral arrangements.