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In Memoriam
William Ray Denslow, FPS
(1916-1993)
by Pruce H. Hunt, FPS

William Ray Denslow, or "Bill," as he
preferred to be called by his many friends
around the world, was born on May 2,
1916, the only child of Ray V. Denslow
and Clara Alice (Merrifield) Denslow.

He went to public school in St. Louis
and Kansas City; he was extremely ac-
tive in the Boy Scouts, attaining the rank
of Eagle Scout (as did his son "Denny"
a generation later). After graduating
from Trenton High School in 1933, he
spent the next two years in Kemper Mil-
itary Academy, Boonville, Missouri.
Then he attended summer school at the
Universidad National de Mexico in
1934, and went on to the University of
Missouri in 1936-38, from which he re-
ceived his A. B. in 1937 and his Bachelor
ofJournalism in 1938. After graduation
he worked as a bank clerk, as a cattle
buyer for Swift and Company, and as a
news writer and assistant to the station
manager for Radio Station WGN in Chi-
cago. During the second World War Bill
Denslow was in the armed forces for one
year and ten months, most of it with the
745th Tank Battalion. He served in the
1st Infantry Division as a Captain
(A.U.S.), and was in the initial waves

that assaulted Omaha "Red" Beach in
Normandy on "D-Day. " He was a char-
ter member of the Missouri Archaeolog-
ical Society, and a Trustee and Past Pres-
ident ofthe Missouri Elistorical Society.
He was listed in Who' s Who in the Mid-
west and World Who's Who in Com-
merce and Industry. He was a long-time
supporter and Trustee of Wesley Meth-
odist Church in Trenton, Missouri.

Bill Denslow became a Mason in Tren-
ton Lodge No. 111, in Trenton, Mis-
souri, in 1937, the fourth generation of
his family to belong; he served as Master
in 1955. He received many Masonic
honors, including the responsibilities of
Grand Master of Masons in Missouri
(1967), and Grand High Priest of Royal
Arch Masons in Missouri (1961). Bill
and his father are the fourth father and
son combination to hold these two of fices
in Missouri. He was a member of C.B.-
C.S., 32 K.C.C.H. of Scottish Rite, a
member of the Red Cross of Constan-
tine, K.Y.C.H., Moila Temple of the
Shrine, and almost every group that
meets in Washington, D.C. in February
eachyear; in 1948hewasachartermem
ber of Kilwinning Council No. 19,
A.M.D., Kansas City.

He was a serious student of Freema-
sonry, and a skilled practitioner of the
written word. He served as editor of the
Royal Arch Magazine (which had been
founded by his father), and as well pro-
duced many papers, and several books
which are widely used. His Freemasonry
and the American Indian (1956) reports
on many of the ceremonies used by the
Original Americans, and in a sense helps
to disprove the theory that some Indian
tribes possessed a form of Freemasonry.
His four-volume set, 10,000 Famous
Freemasons (1957-60) is still an indis-
pensable source for the lives of many of
our famous brethren. In recognition of
these achievements, he was named a Fel-
low of the Philalethes Society on August
31, 1961, and served as its President in
1967. He was proclaimed a member of
the Society of Blue Friars (Masonic au-
thors) in 1962, and at the time of his
death was the senior living member.

Bill Denslow loved the outdoors. The
past few summers he spent at his island
cabin on Lake Saganaga, which this
writer helped him build in 1955. He was
called to higher service onJune 20, 1993.
He is survived by his wife, the former
Juanita Margaret Daly (Whom he mar-
ried onJune 20, 1939), and by two chil-
dren, Willam Ray, Jr. and Judith
(Denslow) Ericson. The wilderness, the
fraternity, and the public have lost a good
friend.

The Editor acknowledges the assistance of Pres-
ident Wallace MacLeod, FPS in editing
Brother Hunt's tribute.
