Before terms such as “global warming” and “greenhouse gases” entered the common vernacular there was Bill Dunwiddie championing the environment.
A staunch advocate for preserving natural resources, Dunwiddie conveyed those passions and knowledge to his students for 35 years as a Neenah High School social studies teacher. He was an avid reader, photographer, researcher and traveler who visited 30 countries, including 11 on trips with Elderhostel International, which provides learning opportunities for seniors.
A Port Washington native, Dunwiddie attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was a member of the Badgers’ marching band. He spent one year in the U.S. Navy and earned a master’s degree from Ohio State University in 1947. He taught at Reedsburg and Hartford High Schools before coming to Neenah in 1948. Dunwiddie also studied as a John Hay Fellow at Harvard University in 1961-62.
Dunwiddie was named the Wisconsin Teacher of the Year in 1963 and was runner-up for National Teacher of the Year in 1964. He coached debate for 21 years and served as pep club advisor, student council advisor and assistant track and field coach.
A 20-year member of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s social studies curriculum committee, Dunwiddie wrote a textbook titled, Problems with Democracy, that was widely used in all 50 states during the 1960’s. Along with biology teacher John Gundlach, Dunwiddie developed one of the nation’s first Environmental Problems courses in 1971.
Dunwiddie served his local community as a member of the Neenah Parks and Recreation Commission from 1964-94 and the Neenah Planning Commission from 1985-93. He was a founding member of the committee to establish the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra and helped design and site the Neenah pool. In 1993, he authored a book, The Parks of Neenah, that received a local history award of merit from the Wisconsin State Historical Society. Dunwiddie also was a founder of the Fox Valley Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship.
Dunwiddie retired from teaching in 1983 and later moved to Bozeman, Mont., where he died on March 20, 2014 at the age of 94. His wife Mary Jane passed in 2001. They had four children: Alice, Jean, Peter and Tom. The family established a memorial scholarship to a Neenah High School student in his name.
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