Bill served as a Captain in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1970 with one year of service in Vietnam. His decorations include the Army Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star. He was an adjunct professor of estate and gift taxation at St. Mary’s University School of Law for over twenty years, and is the author of numerous articles and a frequent lecturer on taxation, estate planning and trust and estate administration issues at programs such as the Wills & Probate Institute at the Center for American and International Law, the Annual American Institute on Federal Taxation, the University of Texas Annual Taxation Conference, the San Antonio Young Lawyer’s Docket Call in Probate Court, and State Bar of Texas seminars. Bill’s civic activities include service as Trustee of the following: College of Arts & Sciences of the University of Virginia; Oldfields School (Glencoe, Maryland); San Antonio Museum of Art; St. Luke’s Episcopal School; City Centre (San Fernando Cathedral) Foundation; Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital Foundation; St. Andrews-Sewanee School (Sewanee, Tennessee); and Main Plaza Conservancy.
Bill, who is fluent in Spanish, is an aficionado of Oaxacan folk art and a serious collector. He has generously helped FOFA apply for its non-profit status and continues to consult on legal issues as they arise. His son, William Scanlan, III, opened the first MailBoxes, Etc. store in Oaxaca, as well as a far wider region including Mexico City. In this capacity, he, too, has been very generous to Oaxacan artesanos and to FOFA.
