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FORMER RECTOR
William Armstrong Oates
William Armstrong Oates of Westwood,
Mass., died peacefully at home on Janu-
ary 10, 2015. He was 98 years old.
For 40 years, from 1942 to 1982, Mr.
Oates served on the faculty of St. Paul’s
School, first as a teacher of history and
mathematics, progressing to posts as
registrar, director of admissions, and vice
rector. In 1970, Mr. Oates was appointed
the School’s Eighth Rector, serving in that
role as head of school until his retirement.
As Rector, Mr. Oates oversaw an aggres-
sive fundraising campaign to increase the
School’s endowment and construct build-
ings dedicated to the arts. The perform-
ing arts center, built in 1980 and including
buildings for music and dance, was named
in his honor. During his time at St. Paul’s,
Mr. Oates also presided over the School’s
1971 transition to coeducation, worked to
modernize the curriculum, and promoted
the use of computer technology in the class-
room. Longtime friend and fellow St. Paul’s
trustee Amory Houghton Jr. ’45 called him
“simply the best headmaster in the busi-
ness.” On his retirement, he was named a
George Cheyne Shattuck Fellow for exemp-
lary service to St. Paul’s.
Mr. Oates was born on September 22,
1916, in Aberdeen, South Dakota, the son
of William M. Oates and Idah Armstrong
Oates. He graduated from Central High
School in Aberdeen and from Harvard
College in 1938. He also earned a master’s,
a certificate of advanced study, and a doc-
torate in education from Harvard.
During his four decades in New Hamp-
shire, Mr. Oates was active in the commu-
nity, serving on numerous boards, includ-
ing those of New Hampshire Public Tele-
vision, Concord Hospital, and Bank of
New Hampshire. In 1968, New Hampshire
Governor John King appointed him to the
Legislative Education Study Commission.
Mr. Oates also was appointed by the gover-
nor as chairman of the state’s Citizens’ Task
Force Subcommittee on Primary and Sec-
ondary Education. He served many regional
and national educational associations, in-
cluding the New England Association of
Schools and Colleges, the Educational Test-
ing Service, and the National Association
of Secondary School Principals.
After retirement from St. Paul’s School
in 1982, Mr. Oates moved to Kennebunkport,
Maine, and continued his involvement in
public service. He was a member of Harv-
ard’s Board of Overseers, chaired his class
committee for the Harvard College Fund,
and served on the Dean’s Leadership
Council at Harvard School of Public Health.
In 1995, Harvard President Neil Rudenstine
presented Mr. Oates with the Harvard
Medal, awarded by the Harvard Alumni
Association for “faithful and distinguished
service” to the university. He also was a
member of the boards of the Dartmouth-
Hitchcock Clinic, Mary Hitchcock Memorial
Hospital, Chubb Life America, Steuben
Partners, the Lauholm Trust, Partners for
Democratic Change, the Wolf Trap Founda-
tion for the Performing Arts, and Mary-
land’s Windsor School, among others.
Throughout his life, Mr. Oates main-
tained a deep interest in international
travel, beginning with study at Germany’s
University of Freiburg immediately prior
to World War II. He subsequently served
as an analyst and translator for the U.S.
Strategic Bombing Survey in 1945. He
was an avid gardener, skier, and an Eagle
Scout. He wrote several articles about the
intersection of politics and education. In
2013, Mr. Oates published a collection of
selected talks, essays, and other writings,
entitled
Views from the Rector’s Porch:
Lessons of a Headmaster
.
Mr. Oates was married to Margaret Eavey
Nichols of Fort Wayne, Ind., from 1940
until her death in 1965, and to Jean Matson
of Concord, N.H., from 1976 until her death
in 2004. He is survived by his brother,
James F. Oates of Chicago, Ill.; his sons,
William A. Oates Jr., of Dedham, Mass.,
James M. Oates, of Elkins, N.H., and Thomas
N. Oates of Greenwich, Conn.; nine grand-
children; and 13 great-grandchildren.
A private burial held in January will
be followed by a memorial service on
May 30, at St. Paul’s School.
DECEASED
