William (Bill) H.E. Reid, Columbia

Bill Reid served the University of Missouri and the people of Missouri and the nation as professor of dairy husbandry for 46 years, holding a position on the MU faculty from 1919 to 1964.

During his long tenure at MU, Bill served the dairy industry in many capacities. Among them were secretary of the Missouri Ice Cream and Milk Institute 43 years; secretary-treasurer of the Missouri Butter and Cheese Institute 25 years; secretary of the St. Louis Dairy Technology Society 15 years; secretary of the Kansas City Dairy Technology Society 14 years; and director and secretary for the American Dairy Association of Missouri 10 years.

Bill was exceptionally well known for his outstanding ice cream research. He and Dr. W.S. Arbuckle were the first to study and describe the textural attributes of ice cream. Their pictures taken on a microscopic scale revealed sizes and shapes of the typical frozen emulsion that characterizes ice cream. These pictures still appear in Dr. Arbuckle’s major treatise on ice cream, which has just been revised by Dr. Robert T. Marshall, MU Arbuckle professor of food science.

Because of his strong commitment to education, Bill kept himself current on industry happenings by taking part regularly and actively in the Southern Association of Ice Cream Manufacturers. He attended the Association’s annual convention for 41 consecutive years and inaugurated its annual ice cream clinic.

Bill was a prolific writer for the ice cream industry. His articles appeared in journals in China, England, New Zealand, and Australia as well as the United States. He served as official delegate to World Dairy Congresses held in Rome, London, Copenhagen, Munich, and Sydney. Bill was a member of Sigma Xi and Gamma Sigma Delta, honorary fraternities for scientists and scholars.

Bill was born in Geneva, N.Y., graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1919, and received a master of science degree from MU in 1920. He and his wife Rose had three children, William R. Reid, Viejo, Calif., Virginia Jackson, Parkville; and Marion Bilyea, Overland Park, Kans. Bill retired from MU in 1964 as professor emeritus of dairy husbandry and died in 1976.