NEEDHAM: Wesley (Wes) W. Marple Jr. (86), formerly of Weston died peacefully on May 24, 2018.
Beloved husband of 61 years of Betty Lou Marple (Nitchie) of Needham. Loving father of three children: Caroline Marple and her husband Aaron Yeater of Weston; Ted Marple of Newton; and Doug Marple and his partner Sarah Hand of Cambridge. Loving grandfather to Wesley Yeater of Weston and Adelaide and Eloise Marple of Newton.
Wes joined the faculty of Northeastern University in 1966 where he was a Professor of Finance and enjoyed serving as faculty Marshal at commencement ceremonies for many years. He retired from the University in 2013. Wes provided outstanding academic leadership to his colleagues, with whom he enjoyed teaching and designing of new educational programs for business people and college administrators around the world. As a finance subject matter expert, he shared his intellect and interests with companies globally, building his practical expertise and breadth of knowledge to encompass areas of finance from business policy and capital resource management, to M&A and investment banking. Revered by his students for his quick wit, diligent class preparation, and thoughtful and sharp critiques of students’ classroom case preparations, he most enjoyed engaging with students in their exploration of the financial problems embedded in the cases he presented. In addition to Northeastern he taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management, Templeton College at Oxford University, Harvard Business School, and the Hult International School of Business, where he helped lay the foundation of faculty governance and administrative structure when he started with its predecessor Arthur D. Little decades ago. As a consultant with Arthur D. Little Inc., Wes was also instrumental in launching the first MBA program in Iran.
Wes has been a member and past chairman of the Financial Advisory Board of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, appointed by Governor Dukakis. He was elected a trustee of Eastern Utilities Associates and of several Scudder mutual funds. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Biddeford Internet Corporation, a director of the Hult International Business School, and a director of the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative. He served as a consultant to many companies in addition to Arthur D. Little, including Sears Roebuck, IBM and Honeywell.
Wes received a DBA and an MBA from Harvard University and an AB in public and international affairs from Princeton University.
Wes was a resident of Weston for nearly 50 years where he was active at First Parish Church in Weston including serving twice as Treasurer. For most of the past 60 years, he and his wife spent as many weeks as possible in New Hampshire, where he seemed most at home maintaining the property of his tree farm, and enjoying with his family such pleasures as the applesauce made by his wife from their own apple trees, watching sunsets behind distant hills, and tracking the seasons as the setting sun moved across the horizon. His other interests included being a founder and original Board member of the Acworth Community Charitable Trust, serving on his Harvard Business School reunion committees, spending time with family and friends, playing racquet sports, sipping martinis and making puns.
A memorial service will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, 2018, at First Parish Church, 349 Boston Post Road, Weston, followed by a reception from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Weston Golf Club.
In lieu of flowers, gifts in his name may be made to First Parish Church in Weston
Beloved husband of 61 years of Betty Lou Marple (Nitchie) of Needham. Loving father of three children: Caroline Marple and her husband Aaron Yeater of Weston; Ted Marple of Newton; and Doug Marple and his partner Sarah Hand of Cambridge. Loving grandfather to Wesley Yeater of Weston and Adelaide and Eloise Marple of Newton.
Wes joined the faculty of Northeastern University in 1966 where he was a Professor of Finance and enjoyed serving as faculty Marshal at commencement ceremonies for many years. He retired from the University in 2013. Wes provided outstanding academic leadership to his colleagues, with whom he enjoyed teaching and designing of new educational programs for business people and college administrators around the world. As a finance subject matter expert, he shared his intellect and interests with companies globally, building his practical expertise and breadth of knowledge to encompass areas of finance from business policy and capital resource management, to M&A and investment banking. Revered by his students for his quick wit, diligent class preparation, and thoughtful and sharp critiques of students’ classroom case preparations, he most enjoyed engaging with students in their exploration of the financial problems embedded in the cases he presented. In addition to Northeastern he taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management, Templeton College at Oxford University, Harvard Business School, and the Hult International School of Business, where he helped lay the foundation of faculty governance and administrative structure when he started with its predecessor Arthur D. Little decades ago. As a consultant with Arthur D. Little Inc., Wes was also instrumental in launching the first MBA program in Iran.
Wes has been a member and past chairman of the Financial Advisory Board of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, appointed by Governor Dukakis. He was elected a trustee of Eastern Utilities Associates and of several Scudder mutual funds. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Biddeford Internet Corporation, a director of the Hult International Business School, and a director of the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative. He served as a consultant to many companies in addition to Arthur D. Little, including Sears Roebuck, IBM and Honeywell.
Wes received a DBA and an MBA from Harvard University and an AB in public and international affairs from Princeton University.
Wes was a resident of Weston for nearly 50 years where he was active at First Parish Church in Weston including serving twice as Treasurer. For most of the past 60 years, he and his wife spent as many weeks as possible in New Hampshire, where he seemed most at home maintaining the property of his tree farm, and enjoying with his family such pleasures as the applesauce made by his wife from their own apple trees, watching sunsets behind distant hills, and tracking the seasons as the setting sun moved across the horizon. His other interests included being a founder and original Board member of the Acworth Community Charitable Trust, serving on his Harvard Business School reunion committees, spending time with family and friends, playing racquet sports, sipping martinis and making puns.
A memorial service will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, 2018, at First Parish Church, 349 Boston Post Road, Weston, followed by a reception from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Weston Golf Club.
In lieu of flowers, gifts in his name may be made to First Parish Church in Weston
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