William Guthrie Packard (October 13, 1889 – November 19, 1987) owned Shepard's Citations and served the company for 51 years rising to the position of president and chairman of the board.Hall, Brian H. (1991). Shepard's/McGraw-Hill. In Woxland, Thomas A. (ed.) ''Symposium of law publishers'' Psychology Press, 1992, He is the namesake of Packard Stadium, the former home of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

collegiate baseball.

Life and career

Packard was born in Oxford, New York. He attended the St. Paul's School and graduated from Cornell University in 1911. From 1911 to 1913, Mr. Packard represented the New York Athletic Club as a sprinter, becoming New York City Metropolitan Junior Champion in 1911 and a member of the world record 400m relay team in 1912. Packard entered the United States Navy upon U.S. involvement in World War I, receiving ground school training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was later assigned to flying duty at

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

achieving the rank of ensign and served throughout the war period. Following World War I, Packard returned to The Frank Shepard Company (''Shepard's Citations''). In 1919, he became vice-president, secretary, and managing editor of the organization. Packard married Sabra Anne Merriam Beaumont in 1920. He was named president in 1929 and later served as president of the American Association of Law Book Publishers. The company was removed from New York City following World War II and set up headquarters in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. Following a divorce, he married Helen Theresa Davis in 1944. Mr. Packard had six children: Merriam Sands Packard, Deborah Sands Packard, Karen Beaumont Packard, Sabra Guthrie Packard, William Guthrie Packard Jr., and Peter Davis Packard. Throughout his life, Packard remained active in

Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Delt, ADPhi, A-Delt, or ADP, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. Alpha Delta Phi was originally founded as a literary society by Samuel Eells in 1832 at Hamilton College in Cli ...

, the American Yacht Club, the Bronxville Riding Club, the Cornell Club of New York, as well as in the Leonard Morange Post,

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

, Bronxville, and as a founding member of the Pikes Peak Range Ride and a member of the Desert Caballeros Range Ride. He was affiliated with St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Oxford, New York, as well as with various community organizations in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Colorado, and Arizona. He died of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

on November 19, 1987.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Packard, William Guthrie 1889 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Cornell University alumni Legal citators