William H. Webster, an honorary emeritus trustee at Washington University in St. Louis, died Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Warrenton, Va. He was 101.
Born in St. Louis, Webster was raised in Webster Groves. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College in 1947 and a juris doctor from WashU Law in 1949. He also served as an officer in the U.S. Navy in World War II and the Korean War.
President Dwight Eisenhower named Webster U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri after several years of practicing law. President Richard M. Nixon appointed him to the U.S. District Court for Eastern Missouri in 1970 and elevated him to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1973.
In 1978, he became FBI director under President Jimmy Carter. President Ronald Reagan appointed him director of the CIA and of central intelligence in 1987, leading all foreign intelligence agencies of the U.S., until he retired in 1991. Webster is the only person to have held both positions.
“Bill attracted attention in Washington for his reputation for probity and his nonpartisan commitment to the rule of law,” Chancellor Andrew D. Martin said.
He later served for years as chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council. Webster’s honors included the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and the National Security Medal.
A dedicated WashU alumnus, Webster received a Washington University Alumni Citation in 1972; a Founders Day Distinguished Alumni Award from WashU Law in 1977; the Eliot Society Search Award in 1981; and the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore Regional Award in 2015.
Webster joined the WashU Law National Council in 1995 and was founding chair of the Washington-Baltimore Regional Cabinet. He served as a university trustee from 1974-1996, including a term as vice chair; and became an emeritus trustee in 1996, a lifetime honor. WashU Law established the Webster Society of Scholars, which provides full-tuition scholarships for students committed to public service, in his honor in 1999.
Webster is survived by his wife, Lynda (Clugston) Webster; two daughters, Drusilla Patterson and Katherine Roessle; son William H. Webster Jr.; seven grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will take place at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at the National Presbyterian Church, 4101 Nebraska Avenue NW, in Washington, D.C. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the Webster Society Scholarship program.