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alumni, William E. Sisson gives $1 million trust to UNCW William E. Sisson William E. Sisson is a multi-faceted man. A gentleman of the old school, his man ners are exquisite as he welcomes this UNCW Today reporter into his home over looking Banks Channel. His handsome, unlined face and trim figure belie his 79 years. He is a bold and successful business man, having turned part ownership of a service station acquired during the Depres sion into Travelers Oil Company with its numerous service stations in the Southeast ern United States. He is a student of architecture, having graduated from George Washington Uni versity in 1932 with a bachelor’s degree. While he says that he lacked the creative talent to be a great architect, he tried his hand at designing some service stations and did the preliminary drawings for his home on Harbor Island. He is an artist, proudly pointing out his fine watercolor completed in 1929 and now hanging prominently over the fireplace. He is a husband and the father of two daughters and a son. And he is a sailor, a lifelong lover of the sea, as well as an environmental advocate determined to fight the pollution of our sounds and other coastal waters. As a result of his environmental inter ests, Sisson has become a major benefactor to The University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He has established a $I mil lion irrevocable charitable remainder trust. The proceeds, available to UNCW upon his death, will support selected research in the marine sciences, provide graduate student support, assist in purchasing specialized research equipment, and support faculty development. When asked what prompted his contri bution to UNCW’s marine science re search, Sisson explained, “It’s a natural for me because I have been interested in the pollution situation here for years. I remem ber my children, now in their 40s, at one time having to take typhoid shots in order to swim in the sound. So pollution has been with us for some time. “But I also remember when I first came down here in the early 1940s. You could go over in any of these marshes and in 20 minutes have enough oysters for a roast. Now you can only get oysters by going four or five miles north or south, and even that is being threatened. I hope that the gover nor of North Carolina will do something for the ecology down here to prevent the devel opment of every bit of the coastal property which creates the runoff and the pollution that we are having,” Sisson said. In announcing forthcoming funds for ma rine science research. Chancellor William H. Wagoner succinctly summed up Sis son’s intent. “Bill Sisson believes the fu ture of Southeastern North Carolina is closely tied to the ocean and the sea,” said Wagoner. “He has loved the sea all his life, and this investment in marine science re search reflects his concern for our marine resources and their proper utilization and development.” Sisson’s gift will also enable UNCW ma rine scientists to better understand and recommend alternatives to correct the stresses placed on the coastal ecosystem. “With Bill Sisson’s $1 million trust. The University of North Carolina at Wilmington adds another family to its list of leading supporters. This is a major day for the university,” Wagoner said. The trust was announced in January, 1989. A native of Virginia, Sisson entered the business world in 1934 when he started an oil distribution business in Winston-Sa lem, N.C. In 1942, Sisson moved to Wilmington to await his Officers Candidate School exams for the Navy. While here, he took a job in the shipyard and in 1945 reactivated Ter minal City Oil Company. In 1946, he mar ried Alice B. Moore of Wilmington. Sisson’s business interests include past ownership of Terminal City Oil Company, Ltd.; Terminal City Oil Transport, Inc.; Delta Oil Corporation; Capital Petroleum Corporation, Inc.; Sun Oil Company; East ern Petroleum Marketing, Inc.; and Travel ers Oil Company, Inc. In 1968, Sisson retired and sold his oil interests to Sun Oil Company yet continued to serve as a management consultant to Sun Oil until 1973. For more than 20 years, he served on the board of directors of Wacho via Bank and Trust Company and Carolina Savings and Loan in Wilmington. Sisson enjoys hunting, fishing, and boat ing. He and his wife have three children. Dr. William E. Sisson Jr., a Wilmington chiropractor; Penelojje Rushmore, a regis tered nurse in Marysville, Ohio; and Fran ces Gibson Sisson, who lives in San Fran cisco. Dr. F. Douglas Moore, vice chancellor for university advancement, echoed the chancellor’s enthusiasm for Sisson’s gift. “This is a very major investment by an individual in the future of UNCW and our marine science program,” commented Moore. “This gift ranks among the most significant ever made to Wilmington Col lege and UNCW.” Moore also expressed appreciation to Gene Willetts, investment advisor and owner and president of Philanthropic Ser vices, Inc., of Wilmington, for his assis tance in setting up this charitable remain der trust. “Charitable remainder trusts are be coming quite an attractive method for ma jor gifts from individuals,” he noted. Mimi Cunningham
UNCW Today (University of North Carolina Wilmington Alumni Newsletter)
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April 1, 1989, edition 1
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