William C. Waggoner, Memorial;

              William C.Waggoner
by Charles A. Blankenburg
William C. Waggoner, who became a partner in our
firm in 1947 and since his retirement in 1957 has served
in an advisory status, passed away in February of this
year after a brief illness. Those of us who were closely
associated with Bill Waggoner over the years know how
kind and fair he was to those around him. He was loved
and respected by his employees, associates and his many
friends. We find his loss hard to accept.
Bill has been described as a self-made auditor. He was
a practical rather than a theoretical accountant. He was
stubbornly honest. He made few speeches and wrote fewer
articles, but he was enough of a "common sense" auditor
to serve on the American Institute of CPA's committee on
auditing procedures.
He held his first job in an accounting firm in St. Louis
back in 1920 while he was still studying accounting in the
Washington University night school. Henry Mendes, one
of his instructors, who was a partner in Touche, Niven &
Go. at that time, hired him as auditor in the firm's St.
Louis office. There followed in 1924 a three year tenure as
chief accountant for Armour & Co., Chicago, and in 1928
a shorter one as assistant treasurer with Montgomery
Ward. Later in 1928 he became a partner with R. G.
Rankin & Co. in New York and in 1932 became partner in
J U N E , 1966
charge of their Chicago office.
In April of 1944, Bill resigned from the Rankin Co. and
the new firm of W. G. Waggoner & Co. started its practice
with Sears, Roebuck & Co. as its principal client. To many
who had been working in the Chicago office of Rankin,
taking on the responsibility of an audit of this size with
one office and an organization of about fifteen people was
pretty frightening. Bill, however, exhibited two of his out­standing
characteristics — first, confidence in himself and
the people around him and second, affection for the
people around him. Because of these qualities, the entire
Chicago office decided to go along with him on the
venture. Three "Of this original group subsequently became
partners of Bill in our present firm.
In October of 1944, the Waggoner firm merged with
Allen R. Smart & Co., which in turn, in 1947, became a
part of the newly formed accounting firm of Touche,
Niven, Bailey & Smart with Bill Waggoner as Chicago
partner.
Those of us whom Bill hired, counseled, and otherwise
helped in many ways bid him our last farewell. Our
deepest sympathy goes out to his wife, Letha, and to his
sons, Bill, Jr., Al, and Bob and their families in the loss
of a very devoted husband and father.
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