Obituary
Addison Baker Duncan was born on December 29, 1927, in Waco, Texas to Addison Baker Duncan and Frances Higginbotham Duncan. He had two younger brothers, Malcolm P. Duncan of Waco, and Rufus Duncan who passed away in 1998, and one sister, Laura Duncan Trim of Albuquerque, NM.
Baker attended Woodberry Forest School in Virginia and graduated from Yale University and earned his Master's Degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
On January 31, 1953, Baker married Sally Prescott Witt of San Antonio, and they settled in Houston, where Baker was employed by Rotan Mosle & Moreland from 1953-1961, and the first two of three sons were born; Addison Baker Duncan III and Richard Witt Duncan. Baker eagerly answered the call to be Headmaster at his old alma mater, Woodberry Forest in 1962. Baker was Headmaster from 1961–1970, and a third son, Andrew Prescott Duncan, rounded out the family. During his tenure at Woodberry, Baker started a building campaign to improve and increase campus buildings and infrastructure, increased the school's endowment and hired a premier faculty. Baker consulted Sally on her wishes when it was time to leave Woodberry Forest, and they returned to San Antonio in 1970 with their family.
Baker re-joined Rotan Mosle Inc. as Office Manager, where he remained until 1978, when he founded Duncan-Smith Company, where he remained to the present day. Over the years Baker was asked to fill numerous offices, including:
Trustee, Trinity University 1976 – 2000
Trustee, Ray Ellison Grandchildren's Trust
Director, Southwest Research Institute 1973-2016
Chairman, The San Antonio Museum Association 1975 – 1981
Chairman, Development Board, The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas 1998 – 2004
Chairman, Academic Committee, University of Texas Centennial Commission 1993
Chairman, Chancellor's Council, The University of Texas System 1982
Leader of Faith Alive Weekends, Episcopal churches throughout the country
Superintendent of the Sunday School, The Colorado Chautauqua Association 1975 - 2012
Ever driven by his projects and causes, Baker was a leader in San Antonio, belonging to the Order of the Alamo, The Argyle, The San Antonio Country Club and St. David's Episcopal Church. He was also the chairman of Duncan Park in Ward, Colorado, a property of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, and a passionate participant in the development of Pioneer Village in Gonzales, TX. Outgoing and gregarious, he loved entertaining friends and business associates at his favorite booth at the Palm in downtown San Antonio or at one of his clubs. Baker was a member of The Philosophical Society of Texas, serving as Chairman in 2000.
Baker is survived by his wife of 65 years, Sally; three sons and their spouses, Baker III and Susan, Richard and Rose, and Andy and Laurel; ten grandchildren, Sadie, Addison, Adam, Witt, Avery, Nigel, Asher, Lucy, Natalie and Alexander; and three great-grandchildren, Larkin, Ethan and Baker V; his brother, Malcolm Duncan of Waco; his sister, Laura Trim and her husband Jerrold of Albuquerque, NM; and numerous nieces and nephews.
MEMORIAL SERVICE
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2019
11:00 A.M.
ST. DAVID'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
1300 WILTSHIRE AVE
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. David's Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Duncan Park in Ward, Colorado (a property of The Diocese of West Texas), The Diocese of West Texas, or Woodberry Forest.
Woodbury School Memorial
Addison Baker Duncan, Jr. ’45, who led the integration of Woodberry Forest School while headmaster in the 1960s, died Wednesday, January 16, in San Antonio, Texas. He was ninety-one years old.
Baker Duncan was born in Waco, Texas in 1927. He was the son of A. Baker Duncan, Sr., who graduated Woodberry in 1911 and was the school’s senior prefect. At Woodberry he was editor of The Fir Tree and head cheerleader in his sixth form year — the annual bonfire that year was named “Duncan’s Lumber Yard.” He also ran the 440-yard dash, and he coached Woodberry runners in that distance while headmaster.
After Woodberry he went to Yale University, graduating in 1949. Though he hadn’t swum at Woodberry, he made the team at Yale, which helped him land a job after graduation as a history teacher and swimming coach at The Hill School. He earned a master's degree in history at the University of Texas before working for Rotan, Mosle and Co. in Houston.
In 1958 Mr. Duncan was elected to Woodberry’s board of trustees, and three years later he resigned from the board to take a position as assistant headmaster. The next year, 1962, he was appointed headmaster, a post he would hold until 1970.
In 1968 Mr. Duncan submitted a report to the board of trustees that carried several critical suggestions. Among them was the recommendation that Woodberry Forest admit qualified students regardless of race or creed. The first African-American students entered Woodberry in September 1969.
Academic excellence was a priority of Mr. Duncan's, and he hired many faculty, including several directly out of college, who went on to distinguished education careers at Woodberry or other leading schools. And Mr. Duncan was the headmaster when Red and Cathy Caughron founded Sports Camp, an initiative that was very important to him. He also led the school's second capital campaign, the Advance Campaign of 1967 to 1970, which built the J. Carter Walker Fine Arts Center, a large addition to the dining hall in Walker, and eleven faculty houses — in addition to adding significantly to the endowment.
Near the end of his term as headmaster, Mr. Duncan also urged the board to consider a merger with Chatham Hall; he envisioned a dual campus, with boys occupying many of the current dorms and new dorms for girls overlooking the Rapidan River. Ultimately the board of trustees postponed and then dropped any plans for a merger, and Woodberry remained an all-boys school.
As headmaster Mr. Duncan was famous for his Monday night assemblies. He would often call on a student by name and ask suddenly, “What does the honor system mean to you?”
He was also known to turn up in students’ rooms or sit down with boys around campus to inquire about their lives, friendships, and academic progress. Mr. Baker believed that no task should be above the headmaster; students and faculty remember seeing him picking up trash on the lawn or taking out empty soda bottles to the dumpster during a dance.
After Mr. Duncan resigned as headmaster in 1970, he returned to the business world in his home state. He remained an active member of the Woodberry community for the next fifty years, offering advice to his successors and always making time to attend Woodberry events in Texas.
Many other Duncans attended Woodberry, including Baker’s brother, Rufus ’50, and one of his sons, Andrew, a member of the Class of 1980.
Returning in 2017, for what would be his last visit to campus, Mr. Duncan spoke to the reunion class of 1967, sharing his reflections on his time at Woodberry.
Mr. Duncan’s Christian faith was very important to him, and he was very active in his Episcopal church in San Antonio. Mr. Duncan is survived by his wife, Sally, his sons Baker, Richard, and Andrew, and many grandchildren and other relatives.
A funeral for Mr. Duncan will be held at 11 a.m. Central Standard Time on Saturday, January 26, at St. David's Episcopal Church, 1300 Wiltshire Avenue in San Antonio, Texas.
Addison Baker Duncan was born on December 29, 1927, in Waco, Texas to Addison Baker Duncan and Frances Higginbotham Duncan. He had two younger brothers, Malcolm P. Duncan of Waco, and Rufus Duncan who passed away in 1998, and one sister, Laura Duncan Trim of Albuquerque, NM.
Baker attended Woodberry Forest School in Virginia and graduated from Yale University and earned his Master's Degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
On January 31, 1953, Baker married Sally Prescott Witt of San Antonio, and they settled in Houston, where Baker was employed by Rotan Mosle & Moreland from 1953-1961, and the first two of three sons were born; Addison Baker Duncan III and Richard Witt Duncan. Baker eagerly answered the call to be Headmaster at his old alma mater, Woodberry Forest in 1962. Baker was Headmaster from 1961–1970, and a third son, Andrew Prescott Duncan, rounded out the family. During his tenure at Woodberry, Baker started a building campaign to improve and increase campus buildings and infrastructure, increased the school's endowment and hired a premier faculty. Baker consulted Sally on her wishes when it was time to leave Woodberry Forest, and they returned to San Antonio in 1970 with their family.
Baker re-joined Rotan Mosle Inc. as Office Manager, where he remained until 1978, when he founded Duncan-Smith Company, where he remained to the present day. Over the years Baker was asked to fill numerous offices, including:
Trustee, Trinity University 1976 – 2000
Trustee, Ray Ellison Grandchildren's Trust
Director, Southwest Research Institute 1973-2016
Chairman, The San Antonio Museum Association 1975 – 1981
Chairman, Development Board, The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas 1998 – 2004
Chairman, Academic Committee, University of Texas Centennial Commission 1993
Chairman, Chancellor's Council, The University of Texas System 1982
Leader of Faith Alive Weekends, Episcopal churches throughout the country
Superintendent of the Sunday School, The Colorado Chautauqua Association 1975 - 2012
Ever driven by his projects and causes, Baker was a leader in San Antonio, belonging to the Order of the Alamo, The Argyle, The San Antonio Country Club and St. David's Episcopal Church. He was also the chairman of Duncan Park in Ward, Colorado, a property of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, and a passionate participant in the development of Pioneer Village in Gonzales, TX. Outgoing and gregarious, he loved entertaining friends and business associates at his favorite booth at the Palm in downtown San Antonio or at one of his clubs. Baker was a member of The Philosophical Society of Texas, serving as Chairman in 2000.
Baker is survived by his wife of 65 years, Sally; three sons and their spouses, Baker III and Susan, Richard and Rose, and Andy and Laurel; ten grandchildren, Sadie, Addison, Adam, Witt, Avery, Nigel, Asher, Lucy, Natalie and Alexander; and three great-grandchildren, Larkin, Ethan and Baker V; his brother, Malcolm Duncan of Waco; his sister, Laura Trim and her husband Jerrold of Albuquerque, NM; and numerous nieces and nephews.
MEMORIAL SERVICE
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2019
11:00 A.M.
ST. DAVID'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
1300 WILTSHIRE AVE
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. David's Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Duncan Park in Ward, Colorado (a property of The Diocese of West Texas), The Diocese of West Texas, or Woodberry Forest.
Woodbury School Memorial
Addison Baker Duncan, Jr. ’45, who led the integration of Woodberry Forest School while headmaster in the 1960s, died Wednesday, January 16, in San Antonio, Texas. He was ninety-one years old.
Baker Duncan was born in Waco, Texas in 1927. He was the son of A. Baker Duncan, Sr., who graduated Woodberry in 1911 and was the school’s senior prefect. At Woodberry he was editor of The Fir Tree and head cheerleader in his sixth form year — the annual bonfire that year was named “Duncan’s Lumber Yard.” He also ran the 440-yard dash, and he coached Woodberry runners in that distance while headmaster.
After Woodberry he went to Yale University, graduating in 1949. Though he hadn’t swum at Woodberry, he made the team at Yale, which helped him land a job after graduation as a history teacher and swimming coach at The Hill School. He earned a master's degree in history at the University of Texas before working for Rotan, Mosle and Co. in Houston.
In 1958 Mr. Duncan was elected to Woodberry’s board of trustees, and three years later he resigned from the board to take a position as assistant headmaster. The next year, 1962, he was appointed headmaster, a post he would hold until 1970.
In 1968 Mr. Duncan submitted a report to the board of trustees that carried several critical suggestions. Among them was the recommendation that Woodberry Forest admit qualified students regardless of race or creed. The first African-American students entered Woodberry in September 1969.
Academic excellence was a priority of Mr. Duncan's, and he hired many faculty, including several directly out of college, who went on to distinguished education careers at Woodberry or other leading schools. And Mr. Duncan was the headmaster when Red and Cathy Caughron founded Sports Camp, an initiative that was very important to him. He also led the school's second capital campaign, the Advance Campaign of 1967 to 1970, which built the J. Carter Walker Fine Arts Center, a large addition to the dining hall in Walker, and eleven faculty houses — in addition to adding significantly to the endowment.
Near the end of his term as headmaster, Mr. Duncan also urged the board to consider a merger with Chatham Hall; he envisioned a dual campus, with boys occupying many of the current dorms and new dorms for girls overlooking the Rapidan River. Ultimately the board of trustees postponed and then dropped any plans for a merger, and Woodberry remained an all-boys school.
As headmaster Mr. Duncan was famous for his Monday night assemblies. He would often call on a student by name and ask suddenly, “What does the honor system mean to you?”
He was also known to turn up in students’ rooms or sit down with boys around campus to inquire about their lives, friendships, and academic progress. Mr. Baker believed that no task should be above the headmaster; students and faculty remember seeing him picking up trash on the lawn or taking out empty soda bottles to the dumpster during a dance.
After Mr. Duncan resigned as headmaster in 1970, he returned to the business world in his home state. He remained an active member of the Woodberry community for the next fifty years, offering advice to his successors and always making time to attend Woodberry events in Texas.
Many other Duncans attended Woodberry, including Baker’s brother, Rufus ’50, and one of his sons, Andrew, a member of the Class of 1980.
Returning in 2017, for what would be his last visit to campus, Mr. Duncan spoke to the reunion class of 1967, sharing his reflections on his time at Woodberry.
Mr. Duncan’s Christian faith was very important to him, and he was very active in his Episcopal church in San Antonio. Mr. Duncan is survived by his wife, Sally, his sons Baker, Richard, and Andrew, and many grandchildren and other relatives.
A funeral for Mr. Duncan will be held at 11 a.m. Central Standard Time on Saturday, January 26, at St. David's Episcopal Church, 1300 Wiltshire Avenue in San Antonio, Texas.
Obituary
Addison Baker Duncan was born on December 29, 1927, in Waco, Texas to Addison Baker Duncan and Frances Higginbotham Duncan. He had two younger brothers, Malcolm P. Duncan of Waco, and Rufus Duncan who passed away in 1998, and one sister, Laura Duncan Trim of Albuquerque, NM.
Baker attended Woodberry Forest School in Virginia and graduated from Yale University and earned his Master's Degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
On January 31, 1953, Baker married Sally Prescott Witt of San Antonio, and they settled in Houston, where Baker was employed by Rotan Mosle & Moreland from 1953-1961, and the first two of three sons were born; Addison Baker Duncan III and Richard Witt Duncan. Baker eagerly answered the call to be Headmaster at his old alma mater, Woodberry Forest in 1962. Baker was Headmaster from 1961–1970, and a third son, Andrew Prescott Duncan, rounded out the family. During his tenure at Woodberry, Baker started a building campaign to improve and increase campus buildings and infrastructure, increased the school's endowment and hired a premier faculty. Baker consulted Sally on her wishes when it was time to leave Woodberry Forest, and they returned to San Antonio in 1970 with their family.
Baker re-joined Rotan Mosle Inc. as Office Manager, where he remained until 1978, when he founded Duncan-Smith Company, where he remained to the present day. Over the years Baker was asked to fill numerous offices, including:
Trustee, Trinity University 1976 – 2000
Trustee, Ray Ellison Grandchildren's Trust
Director, Southwest Research Institute 1973-2016
Chairman, The San Antonio Museum Association 1975 – 1981
Chairman, Development Board, The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas 1998 – 2004
Chairman, Academic Committee, University of Texas Centennial Commission 1993
Chairman, Chancellor's Council, The University of Texas System 1982
Leader of Faith Alive Weekends, Episcopal churches throughout the country
Superintendent of the Sunday School, The Colorado Chautauqua Association 1975 - 2012
Ever driven by his projects and causes, Baker was a leader in San Antonio, belonging to the Order of the Alamo, The Argyle, The San Antonio Country Club and St. David's Episcopal Church. He was also the chairman of Duncan Park in Ward, Colorado, a property of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, and a passionate participant in the development of Pioneer Village in Gonzales, TX. Outgoing and gregarious, he loved entertaining friends and business associates at his favorite booth at the Palm in downtown San Antonio or at one of his clubs. Baker was a member of The Philosophical Society of Texas, serving as Chairman in 2000.
Baker is survived by his wife of 65 years, Sally; three sons and their spouses, Baker III and Susan, Richard and Rose, and Andy and Laurel; ten grandchildren, Sadie, Addison, Adam, Witt, Avery, Nigel, Asher, Lucy, Natalie and Alexander; and three great-grandchildren, Larkin, Ethan and Baker V; his brother, Malcolm Duncan of Waco; his sister, Laura Trim and her husband Jerrold of Albuquerque, NM; and numerous nieces and nephews.
MEMORIAL SERVICE
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2019
11:00 A.M.
ST. DAVID'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
1300 WILTSHIRE AVE
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. David's Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Duncan Park in Ward, Colorado (a property of The Diocese of West Texas), The Diocese of West Texas, or Woodberry Forest.
Woodbury School Memorial
Addison Baker Duncan, Jr. ’45, who led the integration of Woodberry Forest School while headmaster in the 1960s, died Wednesday, January 16, in San Antonio, Texas. He was ninety-one years old.
Baker Duncan was born in Waco, Texas in 1927. He was the son of A. Baker Duncan, Sr., who graduated Woodberry in 1911 and was the school’s senior prefect. At Woodberry he was editor of The Fir Tree and head cheerleader in his sixth form year — the annual bonfire that year was named “Duncan’s Lumber Yard.” He also ran the 440-yard dash, and he coached Woodberry runners in that distance while headmaster.
After Woodberry he went to Yale University, graduating in 1949. Though he hadn’t swum at Woodberry, he made the team at Yale, which helped him land a job after graduation as a history teacher and swimming coach at The Hill School. He earned a master's degree in history at the University of Texas before working for Rotan, Mosle and Co. in Houston.
In 1958 Mr. Duncan was elected to Woodberry’s board of trustees, and three years later he resigned from the board to take a position as assistant headmaster. The next year, 1962, he was appointed headmaster, a post he would hold until 1970.
In 1968 Mr. Duncan submitted a report to the board of trustees that carried several critical suggestions. Among them was the recommendation that Woodberry Forest admit qualified students regardless of race or creed. The first African-American students entered Woodberry in September 1969.
Academic excellence was a priority of Mr. Duncan's, and he hired many faculty, including several directly out of college, who went on to distinguished education careers at Woodberry or other leading schools. And Mr. Duncan was the headmaster when Red and Cathy Caughron founded Sports Camp, an initiative that was very important to him. He also led the school's second capital campaign, the Advance Campaign of 1967 to 1970, which built the J. Carter Walker Fine Arts Center, a large addition to the dining hall in Walker, and eleven faculty houses — in addition to adding significantly to the endowment.
Near the end of his term as headmaster, Mr. Duncan also urged the board to consider a merger with Chatham Hall; he envisioned a dual campus, with boys occupying many of the current dorms and new dorms for girls overlooking the Rapidan River. Ultimately the board of trustees postponed and then dropped any plans for a merger, and Woodberry remained an all-boys school.
As headmaster Mr. Duncan was famous for his Monday night assemblies. He would often call on a student by name and ask suddenly, “What does the honor system mean to you?”
He was also known to turn up in students’ rooms or sit down with boys around campus to inquire about their lives, friendships, and academic progress. Mr. Baker believed that no task should be above the headmaster; students and faculty remember seeing him picking up trash on the lawn or taking out empty soda bottles to the dumpster during a dance.
After Mr. Duncan resigned as headmaster in 1970, he returned to the business world in his home state. He remained an active member of the Woodberry community for the next fifty years, offering advice to his successors and always making time to attend Woodberry events in Texas.
Many other Duncans attended Woodberry, including Baker’s brother, Rufus ’50, and one of his sons, Andrew, a member of the Class of 1980.
Returning in 2017, for what would be his last visit to campus, Mr. Duncan spoke to the reunion class of 1967, sharing his reflections on his time at Woodberry.
Mr. Duncan’s Christian faith was very important to him, and he was very active in his Episcopal church in San Antonio. Mr. Duncan is survived by his wife, Sally, his sons Baker, Richard, and Andrew, and many grandchildren and other relatives.
A funeral for Mr. Duncan will be held at 11 a.m. Central Standard Time on Saturday, January 26, at St. David's Episcopal Church, 1300 Wiltshire Avenue in San Antonio, Texas.
Addison Baker Duncan was born on December 29, 1927, in Waco, Texas to Addison Baker Duncan and Frances Higginbotham Duncan. He had two younger brothers, Malcolm P. Duncan of Waco, and Rufus Duncan who passed away in 1998, and one sister, Laura Duncan Trim of Albuquerque, NM.
Baker attended Woodberry Forest School in Virginia and graduated from Yale University and earned his Master's Degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
On January 31, 1953, Baker married Sally Prescott Witt of San Antonio, and they settled in Houston, where Baker was employed by Rotan Mosle & Moreland from 1953-1961, and the first two of three sons were born; Addison Baker Duncan III and Richard Witt Duncan. Baker eagerly answered the call to be Headmaster at his old alma mater, Woodberry Forest in 1962. Baker was Headmaster from 1961–1970, and a third son, Andrew Prescott Duncan, rounded out the family. During his tenure at Woodberry, Baker started a building campaign to improve and increase campus buildings and infrastructure, increased the school's endowment and hired a premier faculty. Baker consulted Sally on her wishes when it was time to leave Woodberry Forest, and they returned to San Antonio in 1970 with their family.
Baker re-joined Rotan Mosle Inc. as Office Manager, where he remained until 1978, when he founded Duncan-Smith Company, where he remained to the present day. Over the years Baker was asked to fill numerous offices, including:
Trustee, Trinity University 1976 – 2000
Trustee, Ray Ellison Grandchildren's Trust
Director, Southwest Research Institute 1973-2016
Chairman, The San Antonio Museum Association 1975 – 1981
Chairman, Development Board, The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas 1998 – 2004
Chairman, Academic Committee, University of Texas Centennial Commission 1993
Chairman, Chancellor's Council, The University of Texas System 1982
Leader of Faith Alive Weekends, Episcopal churches throughout the country
Superintendent of the Sunday School, The Colorado Chautauqua Association 1975 - 2012
Ever driven by his projects and causes, Baker was a leader in San Antonio, belonging to the Order of the Alamo, The Argyle, The San Antonio Country Club and St. David's Episcopal Church. He was also the chairman of Duncan Park in Ward, Colorado, a property of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, and a passionate participant in the development of Pioneer Village in Gonzales, TX. Outgoing and gregarious, he loved entertaining friends and business associates at his favorite booth at the Palm in downtown San Antonio or at one of his clubs. Baker was a member of The Philosophical Society of Texas, serving as Chairman in 2000.
Baker is survived by his wife of 65 years, Sally; three sons and their spouses, Baker III and Susan, Richard and Rose, and Andy and Laurel; ten grandchildren, Sadie, Addison, Adam, Witt, Avery, Nigel, Asher, Lucy, Natalie and Alexander; and three great-grandchildren, Larkin, Ethan and Baker V; his brother, Malcolm Duncan of Waco; his sister, Laura Trim and her husband Jerrold of Albuquerque, NM; and numerous nieces and nephews.
MEMORIAL SERVICE
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2019
11:00 A.M.
ST. DAVID'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
1300 WILTSHIRE AVE
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. David's Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Duncan Park in Ward, Colorado (a property of The Diocese of West Texas), The Diocese of West Texas, or Woodberry Forest.
Woodbury School Memorial
Addison Baker Duncan, Jr. ’45, who led the integration of Woodberry Forest School while headmaster in the 1960s, died Wednesday, January 16, in San Antonio, Texas. He was ninety-one years old.
Baker Duncan was born in Waco, Texas in 1927. He was the son of A. Baker Duncan, Sr., who graduated Woodberry in 1911 and was the school’s senior prefect. At Woodberry he was editor of The Fir Tree and head cheerleader in his sixth form year — the annual bonfire that year was named “Duncan’s Lumber Yard.” He also ran the 440-yard dash, and he coached Woodberry runners in that distance while headmaster.
After Woodberry he went to Yale University, graduating in 1949. Though he hadn’t swum at Woodberry, he made the team at Yale, which helped him land a job after graduation as a history teacher and swimming coach at The Hill School. He earned a master's degree in history at the University of Texas before working for Rotan, Mosle and Co. in Houston.
In 1958 Mr. Duncan was elected to Woodberry’s board of trustees, and three years later he resigned from the board to take a position as assistant headmaster. The next year, 1962, he was appointed headmaster, a post he would hold until 1970.
In 1968 Mr. Duncan submitted a report to the board of trustees that carried several critical suggestions. Among them was the recommendation that Woodberry Forest admit qualified students regardless of race or creed. The first African-American students entered Woodberry in September 1969.
Academic excellence was a priority of Mr. Duncan's, and he hired many faculty, including several directly out of college, who went on to distinguished education careers at Woodberry or other leading schools. And Mr. Duncan was the headmaster when Red and Cathy Caughron founded Sports Camp, an initiative that was very important to him. He also led the school's second capital campaign, the Advance Campaign of 1967 to 1970, which built the J. Carter Walker Fine Arts Center, a large addition to the dining hall in Walker, and eleven faculty houses — in addition to adding significantly to the endowment.
Near the end of his term as headmaster, Mr. Duncan also urged the board to consider a merger with Chatham Hall; he envisioned a dual campus, with boys occupying many of the current dorms and new dorms for girls overlooking the Rapidan River. Ultimately the board of trustees postponed and then dropped any plans for a merger, and Woodberry remained an all-boys school.
As headmaster Mr. Duncan was famous for his Monday night assemblies. He would often call on a student by name and ask suddenly, “What does the honor system mean to you?”
He was also known to turn up in students’ rooms or sit down with boys around campus to inquire about their lives, friendships, and academic progress. Mr. Baker believed that no task should be above the headmaster; students and faculty remember seeing him picking up trash on the lawn or taking out empty soda bottles to the dumpster during a dance.
After Mr. Duncan resigned as headmaster in 1970, he returned to the business world in his home state. He remained an active member of the Woodberry community for the next fifty years, offering advice to his successors and always making time to attend Woodberry events in Texas.
Many other Duncans attended Woodberry, including Baker’s brother, Rufus ’50, and one of his sons, Andrew, a member of the Class of 1980.
Returning in 2017, for what would be his last visit to campus, Mr. Duncan spoke to the reunion class of 1967, sharing his reflections on his time at Woodberry.
Mr. Duncan’s Christian faith was very important to him, and he was very active in his Episcopal church in San Antonio. Mr. Duncan is survived by his wife, Sally, his sons Baker, Richard, and Andrew, and many grandchildren and other relatives.
A funeral for Mr. Duncan will be held at 11 a.m. Central Standard Time on Saturday, January 26, at St. David's Episcopal Church, 1300 Wiltshire Avenue in San Antonio, Texas.
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