Arthur D. Voorhis

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death of retiree Arthur D. Voorhis on October 6 at JML Care Center after a brief illness.  He was 90.

The son of Arthur J. Voorhis and Madeline (Chambers) Voorhis, Arthur was born in Leonia, New Jersey. He graduated from Leonia High School in 1942 and attended Cornell University for two years before serving in the Merchant Marine from 1944 to 1946.  He returned to Cornell and earned his bachelor of science degree in physics in 1948.  He received his PhD in physics from Yale University. While at Yale, he met and married Joanne Pumroy, who was in her first year at Yale graduate school.

Arthur and Joanne moved to Pittsburgh, PA, where Arthur worked at Westinghouse Atomic Power.

Arthur had worked at WHOI while completing his doctorate, and when he and Joanne started a family, they decided to return to the area. That is when Arthur began his full-time career at WHOI in 1949 in the Physical Oceanography Department.  He was at WHOI for 41 years and retired as an associate scientist in 1990. During his time at WHOI, he spent much of his career on scientific cruises.  He enjoyed traveling and also did so on land every chance he had.

In retirement, Arthur was a Town Meeting member and a volunteer at Falmouth Hospital.

Arthur leaves his wife Joanne (Pumroy) Voorhis.  He also leaves a daughter Laura R. Johnson of Charlestown, RI; two sons Andrew A. Voorhis of Pocasset, Mass., and Daniel T. Voorhis of Wichita, KS; and four granddaughters, Olivia and Amelia Voorhis of Wichita, KS, and Sophie and Zoe Johnson of Rhode Island.

(Information for this obituary is from the Falmouth Enterprise)