William Headley, 89, a retired executive with Provident Mutual Life Insurance [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

Dec. 27--William Kenneth Headley, 89, of Paoli, a retired executive with Provident Mutual Life Insurance Co., died of complications from Parkinson's disease Wednesday, Dec. 7, at Bryn Mawr Terrace.

Mr. Headley joined the accounting department at Provident Mutual in 1947.

He became assistant controller in 1957 and eventually was appointed manager of electronic planning. He oversaw the installation of the company's first mainframe computers and helped design innovative business systems.

In 1963, Mr. Headley became director of operational planning. Before colleges were offering computer courses, his department trained employees to be programmers and computer analysts, his wife, Lunetta Forsyth Headley, said.

After retiring as a Provident Mutual vice president in 1982, he continued to work in the computer field for several years and taught courses at Delaware County Community College.

A native of Washington, Pa., Mr. Headley graduated from Washington High School, where he was president of his senior class and shared the valedictorian title with a lifelong friend. In 1942, he earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington and Jefferson College, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

Mr. Headley played the organ in the college chapel, was piano accompanist for the glee club, and played flute in the college band and orchestra. In later life, he played the piano and organ for pleasure.

During World War II, Mr. Headley served in the Navy in the Pacific. When the war ended, he was assigned to survey sites bombed by the Allies in Tokyo. He remained in the Navy Reserve until 1959.

After his active military duty, Mr. Headley earned a master's degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1947.

He and his wife were introduced by a mutual friend. They married in 1948 and raised a daughter in Villanova.

Mr. Headley and his wife traveled all over Europe. Their most exciting journey, she said, was a three-week trip to Turkey with a professor from the University of Istanbul in 1997.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Headley is survived by a daughter, Lisa Guglielmino, and four grandchildren.

A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, at Christ Church Ithan, 536 Conestoga Rd., Villanova, Pa. 19085.

Donations may be made to the church or to Washington and Jefferson College for the W&J Fund, 60 S. Lincoln St., Washington, Pa. 15301.

Contact staff writer Sally A. Downey at 215-854-2913 or [email protected].

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