Leland Doan Dies At 79

Leland I. Doan, 79, retired pdlnt of the Dow Chemical Co., a former U-M regent and a former Ann Arbor resident, died Thursday at his Midland, Mich., home folio wing a long illness. Regent-emeritus Doan was graduated from Ann Arbor High School and attended the U-M for three years before joining the giant chemical firm as a plant worker and rising to its presidency. Running on the Republican ticket, he was elected to the U-M Board of Regents in April, 1951, and served on the board until Dec. 31, 1959. He later served on the board of governors of the U-M 's Horace H. Rackham School of Gradúate Studies. . The former U-M regent had received honorary doctórate degrees from Ypsilanti's Cleary College, Case Institute of Technology, Kalamazoo College, Central Michigan University, Earlham College, Alma College, Findlay College and Northwood Institute. Born on Nov. 9, 1894, in North Bend, Neb., a son of Ira and Hester Doan, he moved with his family to Ann Arbor while a child and lived with his mother at 712 Thayer St„ following his father's death. Mr. Doan married Ruth Alden Dow, daughter of Dow Chemical's founder in 1917, the year he joined the firm. She died in 1950. He then married Mildred Mellus who survives. He was elected president of the firm ón April 4, 1949, after serving as assistant sales manager, general sales manager, and vice president. He retired from the presidency in 1962, but continued to serve as director until ill health forced nis retirement two years ago. He also had served as a director of the Michigan Bell Telephone Co., the National Bank of Detroit and of various Dow subsidiaries and associated firms. During his 13 years as Dow president, the firm experienced its greatest period of growth with employés increasing from 14,000 to 31,000 and annual sales from $200 million to $890 million. He is credited with expanding the firm into a multi-national company. He was a member of various chemical societies, and served as secretary of the Chemical Industry Society, and was a recipiënt of the Chemical Industry Medal. He is survived by his widow, Mildred, two sons, a daughter and eight grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Monday i in Midland.