William Hilton Soule ’36

William Hilton Soule ’36 died on October 26, 2007, in South Portland, Maine.

Born on March 14, 1914, in Augusta, he prepared for college at Cony High School there and became a member of Zeta Psi Fraternity at Bowdoin. Following his graduation in 1936, he received a master of education degree from Bates College in 1940 and a doctor of education degree from Boston University in 1967. In 1938-39, he taught history and was a coach at Gould Academy in Bethel and then taught and coached at Foxcroft Academy, Bangor High School, and Lawrence High School before becoming the school superintendent for School Union 36 in Phillips. He was then superintendent of schools for School Union 13 in Falmouth from 1949 to 1957, followed by eight years as superintendent of the Portland School Department from 1957 to 1965. From 1965 to 1977, he was a professor of education at the University of Southern Maine. He was president of the Maine Teachers Association, a director of the National Education Association, and a member of the Executive Committee of the New England School Development Council. He was a member of the evaluation team for all Title III projects for the State of Maine Department of Education and was a consultant for educational programs for the Maine State Museum. He served as president, secretary, and treasurer of the Maine Superintendents Association and represented the Maine Teachers Association on the Board of Trustees of the Maine State Retirement System.The teachers of School Union 13 presented him with a Life Membership in the National Education Association, and the Future Teachers Club of Falmouth High School was renamed the William H. Soule Future Teachers Club in his honor. In 2004, he was inducted into the Bowdoin Athletic Hall of Honor with his four sons. After moving back to the family farm in Woowich in 1967, he was a Woolwich selectman, a founding member of the Woolwich Conservation Commission, and served on the Woolwich Shellfish Committee. He was married in 1940 to June Good, who survives him, as do three sons, Paul W. Soule ’66, Morton G. Soule ’68, and James A. Soule ’77; 13 grandchildren, including Sarah S.Way ’95 and John K. Soule ’97; and 16 great-grandchildren. Another son, Coach Emeritus in the Bowdoin Department of Athletics Philip H. Soule, died in 2006.