William R. Orthwein Jr.

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William Robert Orthwein Jr.
OrthweinWilliamRobertJr..png
BornFebruary 12, 1917 [1]
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
DiedJune 1, 2011(2011-06-01) (aged 94)
Clayton, Missouri, US
Alma mater Yale University
Occupation(s)Businessman, philanthropist
Known forPresident, founder
McConnell Douglas Automation
SpouseLaura Rand
Children3, including Laura X
Parent(s) William R. Orthwein
Nina Kent Baldwin
Relatives William D. Orthwein (greatfather)
Frederick C. Orthwein (uncle)
Frank C. Rand (father-in-law)

William R. Orthwein Jr. (February 12, 1917 - June 1, 2011) was an American businessman and philanthropist.

Contents

Early life

William R. Orthwein Jr. was born February 12, 1917 in St. Louis, Missouri. [1] [2] His father, William R. Orthwein, was a prominent St. Louis attorney and 1948 Missouri candidate for Lieutenant Governor who won a bronze medal in water polo at the 1904 Summer Olympics. His mother Nina Kent Baldwin, was a schoolteacher. [2] He had two brothers, Robert Baldwin Orthwein and David Kent Orthwein. [3] His paternal grandfather, William D. Orthwein (1841–1925), was a German-born grain merchant in St. Louis. [3]

Orthwein was educated at the Rossman School and the St. Louis Country Day School. [2] [3] He graduated from Yale University, where he received a degree in business in 1938. [2] [4]

Business career

Orthwein started his career as a salesman for the General American Life Insurance, [4] now part of MetLife. [2] In 1942, he joined McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing. [3] [4] He served as the president and chairman of one of its subsidiaries, the McDonnell Automation Co., from 1970 to 1982, [2] [3] [5] and served on McDonnell Douglas's board of directors for 36 years from 1975 until his death on June 1, 2011. During his tenure with McDonnell Douglas, the company was considered one of the leading global enterprises in their field. [2] In the 1990's Orthwein was an owner of the New England Patriots professional football franchise. [6]

He served on the boards of directors of the Mercantile Bancorporation and the Microdata Corporation. [2] [3]

Philanthropy

Orthwein was a generous philanthropist in St. Louis, Missouri. [2] [3] Over the years, he and his wife donated millions of dollars to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Science Center, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Saint Louis Zoo, where they established the Orthwein Animal Nutrition Center. [2] [3] Orthwein served on the Boards of Trustees of the Boy Scouts of America, the Missouri Historical Society, the United Fund (now the United Way), and St. Luke's Hospital. [2] [3] He also endowed the William R. Orthwein chair at the Washington University School of Law. [3]

Orthwein and his wife founded the William R. and Laura Rand Orthwein Foundation 2004, which had US$33 million under assets by 2009. [2] [3] Through the foundation, Orthwein donated US$2.5 million to the Yale School of Medicine to support scholarship in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences in 2007. [4] In 2015, posthumously, the foundation donated US$1 million to 'The Muny', an outdoors amphitheater in St. Louis. [7]

Personal life

Orthwein married Laura Hale Rand, [3] the daughter of Frank C. Rand, and the 1938 Queen at the Veiled Prophet Ball. [8] The family resided in Clayton, Missouri. [2] They had three daughters, Nina, Nettie and Laura Orthwein, known later as Laura Shaw Murra and as Laura X, who was 1959 Veiled Prophet Queen. [9] [10]

Death

Orthwein died of pneumonia on June 1, 2011, in Clayton, Missouri. [2] His funeral took place at the Second Presbyterian Church in St. Louis and he was buried at the historic Bellefontaine Cemetery. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 Death notice, Orthwein, William Robert, St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 5, 2011
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "William Orthwein dies, retired exec gave away millions". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. June 3, 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Ross, Gloria S. (June 6, 2011). "William R. Orthwein Jr.: Business and civic leader, humanitarian". St. Louis Beacon. Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Orthwein Endowment Honors a Spirited St. Louis "Symbol of Yale"". Yale University. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "McDonnell Douglas Automation Company Names Orthwein Head". Computerworld. June 3, 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "Olympedia, William R. Orthwein". olympedia.org. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  7. ↑ "1 Million Muny Endowment from William R. and Laura Rand Orthwein Foundation". The Muny. Archived from the original on 5 November 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "Laura Hale Rand "Lollie" Orthwein 1919 - 2014". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 17, 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  9. ↑ Ferriss, Lucy (2005), Unveiling the Prophet: The Misadventures of a Reluctant Debutante, Columbia and London: University of Missouri Press, p. 146, ISBN   9780826264916 , retrieved 9 October 2015
  10. ↑ "Obituaries, Orthwein, William Robert Junior", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Missouri, June 3, 2011, pg. A014
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