William H Baddley

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

William Henry Baddley was born on September 6, 1935 in Water Valley, Mississippi and died peacefully at age 90 surrounded by his family on July 16, 2026.

Bill’s curiosity was ignited early. He received a chemistry set from Santa at age 12 and it set him on a path from which he never wavered. Reading “The Royal Road to Romance” instilled in him a lifelong desire to travel and see the world.

After graduating from Water Valley High School, he enrolled at the University of Mississippi and was named the outstanding freshman Chemistry student. Upon receiving a Naval ROTC scholarship, he transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He loved being a Tar Heel and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BS in Chemistry in 1957. The day after he graduated, he embarked upon three years of naval service as an ASW on the Destroyer USS Benham and as an instructor in Anti-Submarine Warfare at the US Fleet Sonar School in Key West, Florida.

The summer before graduate school, he was introduced by his brother to the love of his life Gwyneth Morgan of Canton, Mississippi. They were married August 19,1962 for 63 years. Bill earned his Ph.D in Inorganic Chemistry from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL in 1964.

A NATO fellowship then took them to Oxford University England for post-doctoral work where he discovered a new class of compounds known as cynocarbons. Gwyn and Bill always called this their honeymoon year which included a nine week tour across Europe.

In 1965 Bill joined the faculty of Louisiana State University arriving in Baton Rouge welcomed by Hurricane Betsy! He rose from assistant to full professor and served three years as Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Chemistry. He also went on sabbatical with his family as a visiting professor at the University of Bristol, England.

Retiring after 21 years at LSU, he and Gwyn founded Baddley Chemicals, supplying specialty chemicals to industrial clients.

Among his proudest achievements was developing Octopol which was an environmentally friendly and sustainable product used to clarify sugar. It was first introduced in Louisiana and is now used in sugar mills around the world. He sold the business in 2022 and fully retired in his mid-eighties.

Bill’s love of travel carried him to roughly 60 countries across six continents. He never lost his adventurous spirt and was still desirous of seeing new places, eating new food and meeting interesting new people. Closer to home, he pursued a wide range of interests; LSU and UNC sports, photography, birding, genealogy and any new and cutting edge technology.

Bill’s life was Christ-centered. He was a deacon and active member of First Baptist Church and had meaningful impact on the young adults through teaching Sunday School.

He loved his family. He was a devoted husband, loving father and the greatest Papa to his grandchildren and very recently a great-grand child. He will be remembered by all who knew him as kind, gentle, curious, patient, focused, intelligent and humble. He was a true life-long learner.

He was abundantly blessed.

Bill is survived by his wife Gwyneth Morgan Baddley, his brother James Baddley of Bartlesville, OK; his children, Cynthia Baddley Kelley of Nashville, TN, John William Baddley of Baltimore, MD (Lorelle), Rebecca Baddley Porch (Todd) of Denver, CO; his grandchildren, Mary Morgan Kelley Kravik (Ryan), Elizabeth Kelley Bresnahan (Michael), Eleanor Baddley Manfredi (Nick), Julia Baddley, Clayton Baddley, Mollie Porch, Anderson Porch, Emma Jane Porch; and great-grandchild, Hayes Kravik.

He was preceded in death by his parents Richard Henry Baddley and Virginia Vaughn Baddley and Gwyn’s parents, Robert Calvin Morgan and Mary Nester Morgan.

A funeral service celebrating Bill’s life will be held on Saturday, July 25, 2026 at 11:00 am with visitation from 9:00–11:00 am at First Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to First Baptist Church or the charity of your choice.