William C. Staley, Jr.

Mr. Staley was born November 5, 1923 in Springfield, Illinois, the son of Jennie May Barnes and William Converse Staley. He attended Springfield High School, The Taft School, and Dartmouth College, receiving a highest distinction for his BA in International Relations. In 1966

Mr. Staley received his Ph.D. in Oriental Studies, Near East Program, from Princeton University.

Mr. Staley worked briefly in the family business, Baker Manufacturing Company, but soon elected to follow his interest in international relations. In 1951-1952 he joined the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City as Assistant to the Director of the Committee on Policy. He then joined the State Department Point Four Mission to Iran, where in 1952-1953 he was instrumental in developing the first United States Technical Assistance Program as Assistant to the Director of Aid Program. While in Iran in 1953-1954, he was acting Provincial Director of the Kermanshah Province, where he managed the Technical Assistance Program as U.S. representative with the Iranian government.

After returning from Iran, he attended the prestigious Princeton University as a National Defense Education Fund fellow from 1961-1963. Having fallen in love with Iranian culture, Mr. Staley returned to Iran to continue his studies under a Ford Foundation grant from 1963-1964. Mr. Staley’s unpublished thesis, “The Intellectual Development of Ahmad Kasravi” detailed the life and philosophies of this leading martyred intellectual Persian social and religious reformer (1890-1947). “Had Kasravi’s criticisms of his countrymen been better known outside Iran, neither the Shah’s nor the Ayatollah’s regime would come as such a surprise to the West.”

Upon returning to the United States, Mr. Staley moved to idyllic Aspen, CO and began work on his philosophical treatise “Star Stuff – A Theory About Man” within which he theorized about the evolution of mankind and exploration of the unconscious.

In 1982-1983 after learning of research Jonas Salk was conducting on the human mind, Mr. Staley accepted an invitation to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA. During this time, he served as a consultant to Jonas Salk on the human condition and ways to set mankind on a biologically safer course for the future.

In addition to “Star Stuff – A Theory About Man,” Mr. Staley authored many philosophical writings continuing the search for the answer about man. “Evolution of the Human Mind,” “The Myth of Civilization,” and “Is Man Perfectible – A Report to the United Nations.”

Mr. Staley is survived by his sister, Elsiejane Staley O’Keefe, brother in law Robert V. O’Keefe, nieces Dianne Simpson, Jennifer Anderson, Pamela Franks and Niana Hill, nine grand nieces and nephews, two great grand nephews, and his dog, Karma.

We celebrate Mr. Staley’s life at home in Santa Fe on Wednesday, December 20, 2006, from 4:00 – 6:00 pm, and at Smith Boardman Funeral Home in Springfield, IL on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 at 10:00 am.

In lieu of flowers the family requests Memorial Donations be made in Mr. Staley’s name to: Ambercare Hospice of Santa Fe, The NM Chapter of The Alzheimers Association and/or The Princeton University Near Eastern Studies Program.