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Birth:          22 Sep 1916 Aberdeen, Brown Co., S.D.
Death:          10 Jan 2015 Westwood, Mass.

Notes
Ind Marr on ancestry occ student
in pub rec entries, with Jean M. Oates b 21 Jun 1930. Second wife?
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?pid=173856275
OATES, William Armstrong Sr. Of Westwood, Mass., died peacefully at home on 
January 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 in Concord, N.H., 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 
aggressive fundraising campaign to increase the School's endowment and construct 
buildings dedicated to the arts. The performing 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 
classroom. Longtime friend and fellow St. Paul's trustee Amory Houghton Jr. called him 
"simply the best headmaster in the business." On his retirement, he was named a 
George Cheyne Shattuck Fellow for exemplary 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 doctorate in education from Harvard. During his four decades in New 
Hampshire, Mr. Oates was active in the community, serving on numerous boards, 
including those of New Hampshire Public Television, 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 
governor as chairman of the state's Citizens' Task Force Subcommittee on Primary and 
Secondary Education. He served many regional and national educational associations, 
including the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the Educational 
Testing 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 Harvard'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 Foundation for the 
Performing Arts, and Maryland's Windsor School, among others. Throughout his life, 
Mr. Oates maintained 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 grandchildren; and 13 
great-grandchildren. A private burial this month will be followed by a memorial service 
on May 30 at St. Paul's School. 
Published in The Boston Globe on Jan. 15, 2015

Parents
OATES William Maclay ()
ARMSTRONG Idah Johnston ()

Siblings
OATES William Armstrong (22 Sep 1916 - 10 Jan 2015)

Marriage To NICHOLS Margaret Eavey (19 Nov 1917 - 1965)
    m. 27 Mar 1940 Allen Co., Ind.

Notes

Parents
NICHOLS William Ankeny (1 May 1879 - 1962)
EAVEY Edna Amelia (1878 - 13 Feb 1959)

Children by NICHOLS Margaret Eavey 19 Nov 1917 - 1965
OATES William Armstrong (27 Jul 1942 - 14 Feb 2017)
OATES James Maclay ()
OATES Thomas Nichols ()

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