Former Trustee Fondly Remembered Frederick Augustus Godley Jr. ’38, P’65, ’73, GP’00, ’03
F
ORMER TRUSTEE FREDERICK A U G U S T U S G O D L E Y J R . died on
June 30, 2016, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., where he resided. He was 96. Fred spoke often of his love for Hotchkiss, and he believed strongly in its mission. He and his wife, Mary, who shared his love for the School, gave generously to Hotchkiss over the years. At Hotchkiss, young Frederick displayed a range of talents and interests. In his four years here, he headed the Misch, played football and hockey, and participated in the glee club and the Hotchkiss Dramatic Association. He also played the piano. He went on to Yale, earning a B.A. in 1942 and B.E. in 1947. He served for three years as a destroyer officer and one year on the staff of the U.S. Navy Atlantic Torpedo School. Afterward, Fred returned to Yale and received a masters in mechanical engineering. He began his professional life working as a mechanical engineer and marketing executive of Sterling, Inc., and the PerkinElmer Corporation. In 1956, he made an important career move. With C. Lawson Reed ’39, his friend and former classmate at Hotchkiss and at Yale, he cofounded XOMOX Corporation, a specialty valve company. Godley and Reed were co- chief executives of the new company, whose principal product appealed to the booming petrochemical industry. Forbes Magazine wrote about XOMOX in an “Up AndComers” feature in the April 30, 1979, issue, noting that its cofounders “owe their success not to repeated scientific breakthroughs — which, after all, are rare in most industries — but rather to painstaking everyday application of engineering, aggressive marketing and common business sense quickly learned and deftly applied. In a highly fragmented commodity business, they took someone else’s new product idea and learned how to exploit its full potential at enormous profit virtually from scratch.” “It was a beautiful product about which to build a small company because it’s a fussy product,” Godley said, adding that there had been a sizable investment in molds
and plastics, as well as the patents obtained for the method used for the Teflon sleeve in their valve. In the late 70s, Fred founded a separate biomedical division called XOMED, which developed microscopic replacement parts for the ear to address issues related to hearing loss. In 1980, Emerson Electric acquired XOMOX Corporation, and in 1999, Medtronic purchased XOMED. Fred served on numerous boards, including as a director of Johnston Mutual Fund, Radio Broadcasting, and J.C. Edwards. After retirement, he went on to create several businesses both in communications (radio station WHOM in Maine) and athletic fitness outlets in Florida, where he finally retired. An active Hotchkiss alumnus, he served on the Class of 1938’s Reunion Social Committee in 1998. When he ran for the Alumni Trustee position in 1973, he won the post and served on the Board until 1978. His statement on the 1973 Alumni Trustee ballot read, in part: “The existence of a private boarding school in the future can be justified only by offering special educational opportunities to its students. Herein lies, I believe, an unprecedented exciting challenge for Hotchkiss not only in continuing and expanding the excellence of its curriculum but also in its ability to develop the individual in an overall sense.” In 1939, Fred and Mary met on a blind date and married in 1942. They lived in New Canaan, Conn., where they raised their four children. Fred was one of the founding members of the First Presbyterian Church, served on the Vestry, and oversaw the construction of its new church. In Pennsylvania, he established the Eagles Mere Conservancy and, together with Mary, founded the Godley House, a residential mental health facility, in Rutland, Vt.. Fred and Mary have generously supported Hotchkiss over the years, funding renovations of the Main Building in the mid-1980s, renovations of the A. Whitney Griswold
Science Building in 1996, and most recently establishing the Godley Family Scholarship. Fred, Mary, and Fred’s brother, Ambassador G. McMurtrie Godley ’35, made their gift supporting the Main Building renovations in memory of their father, Frederick Augustus Godley, Class of 1904, a distinguished architect and professor of architectural design at Yale. Fred counted golf, tennis, fishing, travel, and woodworking among his hobbies. Fred was known for his willingness to help others with challenges they were facing. Both friends and people who worked for him often came to Fred for advice and counsel. Anyone who knew him will remember him with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face. He is survived by his wife of 75 years, Mary McCreath Godley; his sons, Mac Godley ’65 and Rick Godley ’73; his daughter, Elizabeth Godley Spencer; and several grandchildren. He was predeceased by a daughter, Margaretta, and brother, the Hon. G. McMurtrie Godley ’35. Two nephews, a granddaughter, and grandson are also alumni of Hotchkiss.
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