William V. Broe ’39, a former high-level CIA operations chief and inspector general, died on September 28, 2010, in Hingham, Massachusetts.

He worked for the CIA for the first 25 years of its existence, joining the nascent agency in 1948 after six years as a special agent with the FBI. He began in the Far East Division before being assigned in 1951 as chief of station in Manila, where his work won praise from the Philippine president. His next assignment took him to Japan, where he was deputy chief of the China Mission, then to Washington, D.C., as chief of the China Branch and deputy chief of the Far East Division in 1958. This was followed by tours of duty as chief of station, Tokyo (1961-1965); chief of the Western Hemisphere Division (1965-1972); and ultimately as inspector general of the CIA (1972-1973) during the Watergate affair. He was awarded the CIA’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal for his singular and lasting contributions to national security. He was born on August 24, 1913, in Amesbury, Mass., and prepared for college at Amesbury High School and Governor Dummer Academy (now called The Governor’s Academy). He was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. He served as assistant treasurer and treasurer of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Cohasset, Mass., where he also served on the church’s audit committee and was a long-term member of the vestry. He was a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers and of the Central Intelligence Retirement Association. He is survived by four daughters, Bonnie and Kristine Broe, Susan Parmelee, and Barbara Burk; five grandchildren; and three great-granddaughters. He was predeceased by his wife of 45 years, Jean Barbara Causer Broe, and by a brother, John Joseph Broe ’31.