J. William "Bill" Doolittle

J. William "Bill" Doolittle, 95, died on September 24, 2024, at his home, nine days after the death of his wife. Bill was born in Wheaton, Illinois, to Jesse William Doolittle and Selma Schacht Doolittle. He graduated from DePauw University with high distinction and received his law degree magna cum laude from the Harvard Law School.

After serving three years in the Army, Bill was a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter. He was then an associate at the Washington law firm of Covington & Burling until he joined the U.S. Justice Department as an assistant to Solicitor General Archibald Cox in 1961, during the Kennedy administration. Two years later he was appointed First Assistant to Assistant Attorney General John Douglas. In these capacities he represented the government at all levels of the federal judiciary, arguing twelve cases in the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1966 Bill moved to the Pentagon, becoming General Counsel of the Air Force Department. Two years later President Johnson appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Among his accomplishments in the latter post was the expansion of career opportunities for women in the Air Force. Following his executive branch service, Bill returned to private law practice with the firm that became Prather Seeger Doolittle & Farmer. He remained there for 25 years.

Bill served as president of the board of trustees of the National Child Research Center and as chair of the governing board of National Cathedral School. He was a longtime parishioner at St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill, where he had been vestryman and senior warden.

Bill had a lifelong interest in antique cars. In retirement he took up collecting transportation-related stamps and wrote a number of articles on that subject for philatelic journals. He was an avid reader and enjoyed travel. For many years he and his wife took annual walking trips in Europe. In his fifties, Bill took up tap-dancing. For his 60th and his wife's 50th birthdays, they diligently practiced and then performed a tap dance for a large birthday celebration with friends.

Bill is predeceased by his beloved wife of 62 years, Annette Bush Doolittle. He is survived by his son Danforth (Diane) of Arlington, VA and daughter Alice (Tim) of Pittsburgh, PA. A service for Bill and Annette will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 13, at St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the charity of your choice.