HARPSWELL — William T. Utley Sr., 100, of Harpswell, died May 4, 2014, at the Horizons Living and Rehab Center in Brunswick, Maine.

He was born on July 22, 1913, in Harrell, AR, to Dr. Vernon T. and Sarah Epps Utley. Soon afterward the family moved to Parkin, AR, which became the family’s home for the rest of his parents lives. He graduated from Hendrix College, Conway, AR, with a B.A. in history and political science in 1934. He then received a master’s degree in political science from the University of Arkansas in 1936. He later pursued a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.

He taught high school social studies for three years in Texarkana, AR, before moving to Burlington Junior College, Burlington, IA., to teach history in 1940. While in Burlington, he met and married Beatrice Smith. Their son William Jr. was born in 1943.

He left academia briefly in 1944 to become director of Foreman Training for the R.G. LeTourneau Company in Peoria, IL. When the LeTourneau Company moved to Texas in 1946, he joined staff of Bradley University, Peoria, IL, as associate professor of Political Science.

In 1948 the University of Omaha, now the University of Nebraska at Omaha, recruited him to be professor and chairman of the History and Government Department. He was the youngest professor and department chair on the campus. In 1957 he became chairman of the Political Science Department. In 1963 he became director of Summer Sessions and then dean of the College of Continuing Studies. During this time as dean he was instrumental with the development and expansion of the U.S. Air Force’s “Bootstrapper Program.” Between 1963 and 1976 this program enabled more that 12,000 military personnel to earn degrees at UNO. Following his tenure as dean, he was appointed assistant to the Provost. He retired in 1978 and the university designated him as Professor Emeritus.

During his tenure at the University of Omaha he worked consistently to open the minds of students’ to new ideas. He was one of the first two professors to offer a credit course via television, “TV Classroom,” in 1952. He ran the “Institute of World Affairs” for 20 years, which brought leading U.S., foreign government, and media personalities to the campus. He founded and directed “Our American Heritage,” a lecture series on literature, music, theater and law by nationally known authors, artists, entertainers and personalities.

While he was dean, he helped create and served as president of the Association for Continuing Higher Education, an organization of several hundred colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada which had adult education programs.

Outside of the university he was heavily involved in the community. Some of his civic involvement in local government was as: coordinator of the Home Rule Charter Commission in 1956; as a member of the Charter Review Commission in 1965; organizing the Council of Metropolitan Governments (the forerunner of the Metropolitan Area Planning Authority); created the Good Government Association; and, chairing the Omaha-Douglas County Governmental Efficiency Commission in 1976.

His involvement in the community went far beyond politics. He had leadership roles in the Omaha Kiwanis Club, the Omaha Human Relations Board and the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. He was particularly proud of his role in the creation of the Nebraska Humanities Council, which was formed in 1972. He was one of the founders and first president of Landmark, Inc., which was formed in 1965 to try to save the historic Omaha Port Office from demolition and then went on to save the Union Station and Fort Omaha. He and his wife were also very heavily involved with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

After retiring in 1978, he and wife Bea moved to Hampton, CT. to work on restoring a pre-Revolutionary colonial house and property they had purchased a number of years earlier. Over the next 18 years they restored three 18th century houses in Hampton and Woodstock, CT. One of his major roles in retirement was as chauffeur and full-time support staff for Bea’s activities with the Colonial Dames, the National Trust and the Hartford Antique Show. He also became the driving force behind the restoration of the historic 18th century Tracker organ in the Hampton Congregational Church, which is the second oldest organ in Connecticut. For the past 15 years he sponsored an annual Beatrice Utley Tracker Organ Concert at the Hampton church, which has showcased exceptional young organists from around the country.

In 1996 they moved to Harpswell, Maine, to be close to their son and to a house by the ocean that they had always wanted. Following Bea’s death in 1998, he lived on his own with his two Cairn terriers until 2012, when he was forced by age to move to long-term care.

He is survived by his son, William T. Utley Jr. and his wife Sharon Merrill of Harpswell, ME; Barbara S. Gray, his sister-in-law, of Brunswick, ME, and a nephew Jonathan Gray of Dreshertown, PA.

A private interment will be in the family plot at the North Cemetery, Hampton, CT. Memorials may be directed to the Beatrice S. Utley Tracker Organ Fund, care of The Hampton Congregational Church, P.O. Box 65, Hampton, CT. 06247-0065. Arrangements are under the direction and care of Brackett Funeral Home in Brunswick.