The Blackburn community mourned the recent loss of emeritus biology professor Dr. William Werner. In a special email announcement, Blackburn community members were notified of Werner’s passing.
For those who knew Werner, he is remembered for having lived a life rich in experience that allowed him to inspire others. He was born June 30, 1925, in Mt. Marion, New York, and graduated Saugerties High School in 1942. From 1943 to 1946, Werner served his country in World War II as a private first class soldier in the Army. He fought in numerous battles, most notably the historic Battle of the Bulge. After his military service, Werner married the love of his life, Grace Gray, on Sept. 6, 1947. Werner went on to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the State University of New York-Albany, and his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1954. Shortly thereafter, Werner accepted his position at Blackburn College and served its community for 35 years before retiring in 1989.
Blackburn chemistry professor Dr. Mark Armstrong is one of few remaining individuals to have worked at Blackburn during Werner’s years of service. Armstrong remembered that he first met Werner at Blackburn in the early 1980s. He commented, “He was very well respected. He was a great teacher [and] a wonderful man, very kind.” He noted that Werner and his wife Grace were also his next door neighbors for a number of years and said, “You can’t really talk about Bill without talking about Grace … she was just a real sweetheart, too.” The couple celebrated 65 years of marriage until she passed in 2012.
Armstrong also reminisced about Werner’s legacy as an outstanding educator. He remembered that Werner had a saying posted in his office: “It said that ‘A student is a light to be lit, not a vessel to be filled.’” He added that Werner “excited his students. He lit the fire within them.” In fact, one of his former students, Dr. Herman Brockman, a recent inductee into the Science Wall of Honor, donated money to create the Werner Lecture Series four years ago. Named after both Werner and his wife Grace, the lecture series brings speakers to Blackburn to talk about current scientific topics.
Dr. William Werner passed on April 16 at the age of 91 and will forever remain a celebrated pillar of the Blackburn community. With the Werner Lecture Series to carry on in his memory, along with the vast number of individuals whose lives he touched, Werner may be gone but he will never be forgotten.