Francis D. Wetherill

FRANCIS D. WETHERILL Francis Dring Wetherill of Chestnut Hill, Pa., died Sunday, November 16, 2003 at his winter residence in Delray Beach, Fla. of a prolonged illness. He was 87. Born in Merion, Pa. August 13, 1916, Mr. Wetherill was the son of Louise Ridgley Wetherill and John Lawrence Wetherill, who fought in the Spanish American War in 1901 as a member of the First City Troop of Philadelphia. His grandfather, Francis Dring Wetherill, fought in the Civil War as a Captain of the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry. Mr. Wetherill spent his childhood between the Main Line of Philadelphia and Dinard, France, where he developed his affinity for French language and culture. After attending Episcopal Academy, he graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1939. He was an officer in the United States Navy aboard the USS Plunkett during World War II, and served from 1942 to 1947. He married his first wife, Fernanda Wanamaker, and served as Import Manager and a Board Trustee at John Wanamaker Department Stores. They had two children. In 1950, he married Aimee duPont Wickes, who had three sons: Perry Wickes, Bob Wickes, and John Wickes. He founded Neshamany Electronics Corporation and retired in 1986 to enjoy golf and world travel with his beloved wife of 45 years. She died in 1995. Mr. Wetherill was a world class competitive yachtsman. He raced his yachts, Jubilee I - Jubilee V, on the southern ocean racing circuit, always placing well in whatever class he raced. He won his first race, the Miami-Nassau Race, Class B, in 1950. Competing in Class A, he placed second in the Newport-Bermuda Race on Jubilee III in 1960. In the 475-mile biennial Annapolis-Newport Race, Class A, he placed fourth in 1961, third in 1963, and fourth again in the famous 1967 race, which was considered the roughest in the history of any offshore event in the U.S. up to that time. He participated actively in the New York Yacht Club annual cruises, winning the 1963 Vice-Commodore Trophy, the 1963 Una Cup, and the 1964 Annual Regatta in Class I, and placing second in the 1963 Astor Cup on Jubilee III. Later he donated Jubilee IV to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He became a member of the New York Yacht Club in 1955, and was listed this year as Seniority Number 37. He was also a member of the Sunnybrook Golf Club, and the Gulph Mills Club in Philadelphia; and a member of the Gulf Stream Bath and Tennis Club, and the Little Club in Gulf Stream, Fla. As a descendant of Samuel Wetherill the founder, Mr. Wetherill served on the board of the Free Quakers Society. He held a position on the board of the Episcopal Hospital in Philadelphia. He is survived by his son, F. Dring Wetherill, Jr., and granddaughters: Brett Dillon, Ashley Wetherill, and Leason Wetherill in Philadelphia; his daughter Fernanda Niven, and granddaughters: Fernanda Niven and Eugenie Niven in New York; and his stepsons: Bob Wickes, and John Wickes, and grandchildren: W. Forman Wickes, IV, Schuyler C. Wickes., Nicholas R. Wickes, Carol Wickes Marani, and Christopher P. Wickes. A private funeral for family and friends will be held at 12:30 PM Friday, November 21 at the DuPont family cemetery on Buck Road in Wilmington, Delaware. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Radiation Department of the Chestnut Hill Hospital.