WILSON NOLEN Obituary

NOLEN--Wilson "Roly". Professor, Executive, and Philanthropist, died at his home in Manhattan. He was 95 years old. Raised in Columbus, Ohio, he graduated from Columbus Academy in 1944 and Yale University in 1948 with a degree in Philosophy and membership in Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1951 and completed his Doctorate in 1956. A brilliant student, he then joined the faculty of the Business School teaching and researching Marketing. Roly loved his time as a young professor in Cambridge. He soon met his future bride Eliot, who was working as a data analyst in the Harvard political science department. They wed in 1957 and had three children, Christian, Malcolm and Eliot, in quick succession. In 1963, Roly moved his family to New York City where he lived ever since. A renaissance man, Roly pursued his many interests with great enthusiasm and led a life full of accomplishment. Professionally, he had a long, successful career as a corporate executive, first with pharmaceutical distributor McKesson Robbins and then with medical device manufacturer Becton Dickinson, where he worked until his retirement in 1989. Roly served as a Director on the Boards of the Carolina & Northwestern Railroad, Chattem Inc., and several mutual funds for Scudder, Stevens, & Clark. Roly was a talented chef and cooked frequently for his family and friends. A tasty meal at his table was always accompanied by copious amounts of good wine. For nearly 50 years at his home on Cape Cod, he hosted a Labor Day weekend Frutti di Mare, feeding upwards of 75 people with his cauldrons of red and white fish soup. He loved to travel and saw much of the world in his 95 years. He was a life-long fan of the Yale Bulldogs football team. A long-suffering fan of the New York Jets, he made good use of his Sunday afternoons by hooking magnificent rugs while he watched football. Roly collected art and was particularly moved by painter Richard Bosman and sculptor Tom Otterness. He was a voracious reader of non-fiction, especially military history. Roly's philanthropic activities began in college. He started Yale's Quarter Century Fund to inspire future alumni to commit regular gifts to their alma mater before they had even graduated. Roly was President of the Yale Alumni Fund from 1978 to 1980. In 1983, Yale awarded him the Yale Medal for his outstanding service to the university. Roly was also a dedicated Harvard Business School alumnus and was the Class of 1951 Secretary for over 50 years. At their 40th reunion, his classmates established a fund in his honor to support fellowship and mentoring programs for international students attending the Business School. For 28 years, Roly served as a Trustee for the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. In 1991, Roly joined the Board of the New York Botanical Garden and served as Chair from 2000 to 2009. His philanthropy touched every corner of NYBG, from the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections, a place dedicated to studying and sustaining plant life, to the Garden's equipment shed. Roly gave generously and inspired others to do the same. Roly is survived by his wife of 64 years, Eliot C. Nolen; three children, Christian Nolen (Susan Denny) of Cambridge, MA, Malcolm Nolen (Jennifer Nolen) of Brooklyn and Eliot Nolen (Timothy Bradley) of Brooklyn; eight grandchildren, Chace, Graham, Oliver, Henry, Louis, Theodore, Graydon and Chapin; and a brother, Chapin of Santa Barbara, CA. A memorial service will be held at a future date.