NEW BEDFORD -- William Rotch Frothingham, 83, of Nonquitt, South Dartmouth, died Monday, Feb. 2, 2004, at St. Luke's Hospital after a brief illness. He was the husband of Sheila (Skelly) Frothingham; they were married 49 years.
Born in Boston, he was the son of the late Clara Morgan Rotch Frothingham and Dr. Channing Frothingham, the former president of the Massachusetts Medical Society.
He graduated from St. Marks School in Southborough in 1938, Harvard College in 1942, where he was a member of the tennis and squash teams, and the University of Virginia Law School LLB in 1948.
From 1942 to 1945, he served in the Air Force.
For many years, Mr. Frothingham and his family lived in Needham. An active lawyer, he was a member of the Boston Bar Association and was an attorney for the Department of Defense from 1965 to 1989. He had several articles published in the American Law Review.
He was actively involved with the Charles Hayden Goodwill Inn, Boston, and the Brantwood Camp, and he served as president of the Goodwill Associates of Boston in 1963.
An avid tennis player and golfer, he was a member of the Brookline Country Club and a member of the Congregational Church of South Dartmouth.
Survivors include his widow; a daughter, Pamela Carr Frothingham of Roslindale; two sons, William Rotch Frothingham Jr. and his wife, Mary, of Glenview, Ill., and Anthony Skelly Frothingham of Newport, R.I.; two grandchildren, William Maxwell Frothingham and Emily Louise Frothingham, both of Glenview; a brother, Dr. Eliot Frothingham of South Dartmouth; and a sister, Mary Eliot Jackson of Dover.
His memorial service will be held on Saturday February 7, 2004 at 1:00 p.m. in the South Dartmouth Congregational Church, Middle Street, South Dartmouth, Ma.
Remembrances may be made in his name to the Dartmouth Natural Resourses Trust, 404 Elm Street, So. Dartmouth, Ma. 02748
Arrangements are by Wilson Chapel, 479 County St., New Bedford, Ma.