William Cannon “Bill” Mallard of Decatur, Ga., died April 21, 2021 at Emory University Hospital. His survivors include his daughters Agnes C. Mallard (John Cromartie) and Ann H. Mallard, his son William M. Mallard (Yumiko Kado) and five grandchildren: Will Cromartie, Emma Cromartie, Josie Cromartie, Sarah Mallard and Hannah Mallard. His wife, Agnes H. Mallard, died in 2017.
Bill, the son of Mary Louise (Cannon) Mallard and William Henry Mallard of Savannah, Georgia, was born on August 22, 1927. He had two sisters: Jean M. Meehan and Marilyn M. Spradley (both deceased).
He graduated from Savannah High School. His studies at The Citadel in Charleston, SC, were interrupted by service in the Army Air Force. There, he was a lab technician and photographer in the 8th Photo Recon Squadron of the 5th Air Force. After service, he returned to The Citadel as a vet student and received a BS in Physics. Following graduation he was employed by the X-Ray Department of General Electric Company for several years before attending graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned MS and PhD degrees for investigations in infrared spectroscopy and solid-state physics. Later he served on the faculties of Emory University, the University of North Carolina and Georgia State University. His research interests centered on radiation damage and defects in solids. Bill had consultantships at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory and several corporations. He was a member of several scientific societies, including Sigma Xi and Sigma Pi Sigma.
Sailing one- and two-man sailboats and flying brought him great pleasure. He had learned to fly while in high school and after retiring, he and his wife enjoyed “airport Tuesdays” with friends at the Newnan-Coweta airport. There he piloted his Cessna and helped build experimental aircraft, continuing as a pilot into his nineties. In the last two years, he made over 60 glider flights.
Bill served as a volunteer math instructor at the Atlanta Alternative High School, and as a reading tutor at C.W. Hill Elementary School and Literacy Action, and he refurbished computers at Free Bytes.
The family wishes to thank Grace Thorpe, who served as a caregiver for both Agnes and Bill Mallard.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:
Habitat for Humanity; habitat.org
AOPA Air Safety Institute; aopa.org
Experimental Aircraft Association Aviation Foundation; eaa.org
Posted in: Atlanta Journal Constitution
Posted on: 2021-05-03
Link to original obituary: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/atlanta/obituary.aspx?n=william-mallard&pid=198524122