Obituary of William Gatewood Webb

William Gatewood Webb William Gatewood Webb, 85, died on December 29, 2010 at St. Peter's Hospital Hospice, following a long and courageous battle with declining health. He was employed from 1955 to 1991 by the Sterling-Winthrop Research Institute, Rensselaer , first as a research chemist then as an agent in the Patent Department. Born in Charleston , SC to Emily Moore Webb, he received a B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of the South, Sewanee , Tennessee and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Rochester . He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and saw service in the Pacific Theatre aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lexington as an aviation metalsmith. He was a member of the American Chemical Society, Sigma Xi, Phi Beta Kappa and a member, and two-time Past President, of the Eastern New York Patent Law Association. He enjoyed choral music singing and had sung in several choral groups in the Capital District, including the Capitol Hill Choral Society and the choir of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, where he was a member. He was an avid sailor and golfer and was a former member and Past Commodore of the Saratoga Lake Sailing Club, Malta , NY and a former member of Winding Brook Country Club, Valatie. He also loved woodworking and ship modeling. He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Lois Dressel Webb of Slingerlands, NY; a daughter, Carolyn Webb Rosenzweig and her husband, Mark Rosenzweig of Williamsburg, MA; a son, Peter Christian Webb and his wife Catherine Jean Cronin of Rockport, ME; a son Kevin Moore Webb of Newington, NH; six grandchildren, Benjamin Webb Rosenzweig and David Jacob Rosenzweig, both of New York City, Lee William Webb and Caroline Cronin Webb of Rockport, ME, and Ethan Roy Webb and Eliza Roy Webb of Durham, NH; and his sister, Mrs. Herbert R. Stender of Charleston , SC. He is pre-deceased by a sister, Emily Webb Goldberg formerly of Westchester , IL , and a brother Edward Kirk Webb, formerly of Charleston , SC. A memorial service will be held at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, 405 Washington Avenue , Albany on Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 1:00 PM. Memorial gifts may be sent to the Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Ave. , Montgomery , AL 36104 , or the Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany Endowment Trust.