Royal Willis “Bill” Leith Jr. ’50 died on March 13, 2009, in Boston, Massachusetts.

He was born in Boston on March 4, 1929, and prepared for college at Oxford Academy and Milton Academy. He attended Bowdoin for two years, where he was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, before transferring to Boston University. After college, he joined the Boston investment firm founded by his father, Burgess and Leith, where he became senior managing partner. After 25 years there, he took a position with Tucker Anthony and R.L. Day Inc., where he rose to chairman of the board. He retired from RBC Dain Rauscher, Tucker Anthony’s acquiring firm, in 2005. He served as a trustee of the Thoracic Foundation and the Dedham Institution for Savings; was a director of Sage Laboratories and CSPI Inc., served as a board member of the Handel and Haydn Society, and served as chairman of the board and life trustee of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He was a proprietor of the Boston Athenaeum and a member of the Dedham Country and Polo Club, the Tavern Club, the Marshall Street Historical Society, the Dedham Historical Society and the Trollope Society, and had been a member of the Corinthian Yacht Club, the Somerset Club, the Union Club, and the Coral Beach Club in Bermuda. He had a passion for vintage cars, particularly Bugattis, and owned four Bugatti automobiles at various times in his life. He had served as president of the American Bugatti Club and was the last active founding member of the Vintage Sports Car Club of America, which honored him at the club’s 50th anniversary. He is survived by Barbara Bell Leith, his wife of 57 years; three sons Royal W. Leith III, John A. Leith, and Alexander K. Leith; and eight grandchildren.