In Memoriam

In Memoriam J. Bennet Hifi (1891-4991) The Society regrets to report the death of J. Bennet Hill, honorary president of the Society. Dr. Hill died on 12 December 1991 at age 100 at his home at Kendal-at-Longlivood in Chester County. Dr. Hill was born in Philadelphia, attended Friends Select School, and was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in chemistry and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. He became chief chemist for Atlantic Refining Co. after World War I, later moving to Sun Oil Co., where he was director of research and development at the Marcus Hook refinery. Most of his career was spent on improving techniques for refining gasoline, and in developing the multi-blend gasoline pump and the non-volatile petroleum spirits that replaced gasoline in the dry cleaning process. He was a highly regarded petroleum expert in national and international circles. Upon retirement in 1956, Dr. Hill became actively interested in genealogy and wrote several papers and a book on the Kollock family of Delaware. He joined the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania in 1956, was elected secretary in 1960, and served as president from 1962 to 1965. He was elected honorary president in 1965. Dr. Hill is survived by a daughter, Priscilla Hill Brewer; a son, J. Bennet Hill, Jr.; four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; two nephews; and a niece. Robert E Putney, Jr. (1932-4991) It is with great sadness that the Society reports the death of Robert E. Putney, jr., first vice president of the Society, on 12 November 1991 at his home in Peederwood, Montgomery County. Mr. Putney attended the Meadowbrook School and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and he was a cum laude graduate 195 196 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine of Princeton University with a B.A. in economics in 1955. He served as an air weapons controller in the United States Air Force and, upon leaving the service, became the chief executive of his familys firm, the Philadelphia Felt Co. As the third generation of his family to serve Frankford Hospital, Mr. Putney was a trustee of the Frankford Hospital Foundation and a director and officer of Frankford Health Care Systems and its various affiliates. A member and former officer of several civic organizations, he was also long active in various Montgomery County Republican committees. Mr. Putney most recently served as an Abington Township commissioner. Mr. Putney joined the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania in 1962. He was elected a director in 1965 and secretary in 1967; he served in that position until elected third vice president in 1986. He was elected first vice president in 1990. He is survived by his second wife, Ann Brophy Putney, a son Robert E. Putney, III; a daughter, Christine Putney Mason; a sister; and a brother. William Blake Metheny (1910-1991) William Blake Metheny, a fellow of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania and of the American Society of Genealogists, died on 15 January 1991 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The son of Darius Earl and Lula Ethel ( DeWitt) Metheny, Mr. Metheny was born in Pisgah, Preston County, West Virginia, on 1 June 1910. He was graduated from the Wharton School in 1935 with a B.S. in economics and from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1938. Mr. Metheny served as a captain in the Judge Advocate General's Department during World War IL He was a member of the Sons of the Revolution, the Huguenot Society of Pennsylvania, the Swedish Colonial Society, and various other lineage, legal, and military societies. He is survived by a brother, Herbert DeWitt Metheny; a sister, Mrs. Lillian Whitmore; and four nieces.