Obituary of William Baily Heberton

Mr. William Baily Heberton (Bill), 87 years of age, died on June 6th of congestive heart disease. He was born on March 16, 1931 in Merion, PA. He is survived by his loving wife Helen H. of 64 years having married July 3, 1954 in Bryn Mawr, PA. He was the son of the late Craig Heberton II and Sara Baily Heberton and was predeceased by his brother, Craig Heberton III of Chagrin Falls, OH. In addition to his wife Helen, he is survived by five children, William Baily Heberton, Jr. (Linda) of McLean, VA., George Hewitt Heberton (Susan) of Atlanta, GA, Elizabeth Heberton Cornwell (Frank) of Atlanta, GA, John Craig Heberton (Shari) of Greenville, SC, and Scott Ewing Heberton (Carey Ellen) of Charlotte, NC, eleven grandchildren (4 married) and two great grandchildren. His real devotion was to his family and good friends. A sports enthusiast, he enjoyed playing tennis, golf and sailing. He and Helen sailed their sloop, “The Dog House”, to the Caribbean for many winters. Family and friends enjoyed numerous bareboat sailing trips with Bill in the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, and Lesser Antilles as well as to US mainland waters. A rite of passage for new sons and daughters in law was a week bareboat trip with the in-laws. “Dad” spent unlimited time coaching youth sports teams for his children, taught them how to sail, play golf and tennis. He always had time for another match or round with his family. Unfortunately, he was never able to win the “Big Bill Open”, the family golf tournament he created which was held every couple of years since 1991 during the family vacations he organized and hosted. The most recent had participants from three generations of the family. Bill, Helen and the family first came to Hilton Head Island in 1967 as vacationers while living in Philadelphia. They loaded all five children and the family dog into a station wagon and pulled a sailboat 700 miles to Sea Pines. They came every year thereafter, often multiple times, eventually becoming permanent residents in 1999. The children and their families continue to vacation on the Island, a place that holds special memories for multiple generations. As residents at The Cypress and members of First Presbyterian Church they ushered and Bill helped build a Habitat for Humanity house for First Presbyterian Church. He also was a volunteer and Board Member for the Hilton Head Island Chapter of Volunteers in Medicine. As a member of Dolphin Head Golf Club and chaired the Membership Committee, he was elected to the Board of Directors in 2002 and served as President in the 2005 and 2006 fiscal years. Bill was a graduate of the Haverford School, Haverford, PA (1948) where he participated in multiple varsity sports and the glee club. He graduated from Lafayette College in 1952 with a BS in finance, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and President of the Maroon Club. Upon graduation, he joined the Navy and served during the Korean War from 1952 to 1956 as the engineering officer aboard the Destroyer, Robert K. Huntington DD 781 and discharged with the rank of Lieutenant. Bill then joined the Philadelphia Electric Co. as a financial analyst. In 1958, he moved to the investment banking firm of Drexel & Co. While working at Drexel he completed both his MBA from Drexel University in 1960 and subsequently earned the C.F.A designation. Much of his business at Drexel was involved in advising and working with the utility companies. He was a member of the Merion Cricket Club and Waynesville Golf Club while in the Philadelphia area. In July of 1970, Bill, Helen and their five children moved to Atlanta, Ga after he joined the money management firm, Thorndike, Doran, Paine & Lewis. In 1975, he returned to investment banking as a Managing Director with White Weld & Co. primarily responsible for mergers, acquisitions and financings in the southeast. Subsequent to the merger of White Weld and Merrill Lynch, he was asked by Savannah Foods to consider the purchase of its subsidiary, Jim Dandy Co., a pet food manufacturer. Together with and a friend and partner, John McLeod, Bill negotiated and acquired Jim Dandy, from Savannah Foods in 1981. He served as Chairman and CEO of Jim Dandy until the sale of the company to ALPO in 1987. He was a Director of the Pet Food Institute. After the sale, Bill served as a consultant to the industry, as a board member of NCNB(Georgia) and a volunteer with Atlanta Chapter of Special Olympics in Atlanta. His volunteer work focused on fundraising and the finance committee. Bill started the Atlanta Chapter’s annual golf tournament. In Atlanta, he was a member of Cherokee Town and Country Club where he served as Treasurer and a Board Member. A Memorial Service will be held at First Presbyterian Church, Hilton Head Island, SC on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at 1:30 pm with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Volunteers in Medicine Hilton Head Island, PO Box 23858, Hilton Head Island, SC 29925, or to your favorite charity. islandfuneralhome.com