SAMUEL M. TUTHILL ’39
SAMUEL M. TUTHILL, Ph.D., nationally distinguished chemist who served Mallinckrodt, Inc. as director of quality assurance until 1981, died Dec. 6, 2005, after a brief illness.
He was 86 and a longtime resident of Ferguson until he moved to Hidden Lakes Retirement Community in Spanish Lake in 2003.
Dr. Tuthill grew up on a farm in Rocky Point, Long Island, New York, and attended Wesleyan University, where he received his B.A. and M.A. in chemistry. In June, 1941, he married Frances Hallock, also of Rocky Point, and they moved to St. Louis, where he began his career with Mallinckrodt Chemical Works.
During World War II, he worked on the Manhattan Project carried out by Mallinckrodt to purify uranium for use in atomic weapons. Following the war, he earned his Ph.D degree in Analytical Chemistry at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. In 1948, he returned to Mallinckrodt, where he became Director of Quality Standards, serving until his retirement as Corporate Director of Quality Assurance in 1981.
He continued as a Mallinckrodt consultant for 15 years, serving on many national standards committees. Dr. David Fey, a colleague at Mallinckrodt, remembers: ?Dr. Tuthill was a long time member of the Committee of Revision of the United States Pharmacopeia (1975-2004). His almost 30 year career with the Pharmacopeia included a diverse range of service, from Chairman to member on committees such as ?Organic and Inorganic Compounds, Radiopharmaceuticals, Reagents, General Chapters,? and ?Reference Standards?. Dr. Tuthill was also the American Chemical Society delegate to the United States Pharmacopeia which made him a natural conduit for cooperation and communication between these two organizations that strive for scientific integrity, as did Sam.?
His interests included the First Presbyterian Church of Ferguson, where he and his wife have been members for over 50 years. He served the church as President of the Board of Trustees, Elder and Chairman of the Stewardship Committee.
Survivors include his wife, Frances; his children, Arthur Tuthill of Ferguson, Thomas Tuthill 72 (The Rev. Cricket Cooper) of New London, N.H., and Anne Tuthill (John) Polta of Golden Valley, MN; and grandchildren, Andrew and Peggy Polta.