The late William R. Chadeayne ’50 is remembered by his law firm colleagues as “Mr. Kenyon,” a man with infectious enthusiasm for, and pride in, his alma mater. Years before his death in 1987, Chadeayne and his wife Joan Marie translated those emotions into a generous planned gift to Kenyon’s general scholarship fund that will benefit students for decades to come. The gift was realized upon Joan Marie’s death in 2006.
Chadeayne was devoted to Kenyon. He was elected president of the Alumni Council twice, served on the board of trustees for seventeen years, and acted as its secretary until his death. He received the Gregg Cup, Kenyon’s highest form of volunteer recognition, in 1969, and an honorary degree in 1982. He spent his career as a lawyer at Bricker & Eckler in Columbus, and served on the board of the Philander Chase Corporation since its inception in 2000.
Fellow trustee Gerald Fields ’62 described Chadeayne as “a consummate Kenyon man and a consummate professional. He had a great reservoir of historical information about Kenyon—you would almost think he studied the history of Kenyon and its people. It was a great part of his life.”