Obituaries

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William (Bill) Albert Nevill died at the age of 93 in Plano, Texas on May 20, 2022 from complications following a stroke.  He was born on January 1, 1929 in Indianapolis, Indiana, the only son of Irwin Nevill and Marie Barker Nevill.  Bill’s childhood was defined by the Great Depression and World War II.  He was an excellent student and graduated from Indianapolis Howe High School in 1947, with activities including sports team manager, science club and newsletter.

After High School, Bill entered Butler University in Indianapolis, graduating magna cum laude in 1951 with a B.S.  He was then accepted into the doctoral program of California Institute of Technology (CalTech) and received his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1954, working as a graduate assistance to Dr. Linus Pauling, who later won two Nobel Prizes.

Immediately following college, Bill was drafted into the US Army and served two years, later transitioning to the Army Reserve with many years of active duty in Virginia, retiring as a full Colonel.  He was employed as a research chemist with Proctor & Gamble and worked on the team that invented Crest toothpaste in 1955.

Most of Bill’s career was spent in academia.  He was chairman of the Chemistry department at Grinnell College in Iowa from 1956 to 1967.  Moving back to the Indianapolis area, he taught classes at Indiana-Purdue University (IUPUI) and moved through the administrative ranks, rising to become Dean of the School of Science and Director of Graduate Studies by 1983.  He also was an arbitrator for the Indiana Employment Relations board.  After that, his family moved to Shreveport where he became Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Louisiana State University (LSUS), eventually retiring in 1994.  He was a life-long member of the American Chemical Society and served as section secretary, counselor and chairman at various times.  He served on multiple foundation boards in Indiana and received research grants from the Eli Lilly Foundation, the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research for his Ph.D. dissertation, and National Institute of Health for leukemia research at University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Bill and Nancy retired to Wintergreen, Virginia after leaving Shreveport.  Bill loved working in his garden and caring for various new plantings at the Nature Foundation of Wintergreen.  He also donated his time to provide chemistry demonstrations at local schools and served as a volunteer Guardian Ad Litem for child custody cases in his county, for which he won an outstanding achievement award.

The Presbyterian church was Bill’s home for almost his entire life, including Second Presbyterian in Indianapolis, First Presbyterian in Shreveport, Rockfish Presbyterian in Nellysford, VA, and Canyon Creek Presbyterian in Richardson, TX. Along with his wife, he supported various committees, served as Elder, and was chosen to represent the local Presbytery at a few national General Assembly meetings. 

Most recently, Bill was an active member of the Highland Springs community in Dallas, Texas.  He was a member of the garden club, chess club and supported a number of prayer and Bible study groups.  His legacy there is a beautiful garden plot with gladiolas and roses, his favorite flowers.

Bill was preceded in death by his wife Dorothy (House) in 1978 and his beloved wife of 43 years, Nancy (Neiman) in February 2022.  He is survived by children Paul, John, Steven, Anne, and Deborah, 11 grandchildren, and 3 1/2 great-grandchildren.