William E. Garwood, 92, chemist, inventor, author

William E. Garwood, 92, of Haddonfield, a retired petroleum company chemist, inventor, and author, died Monday, Nov. 14, of a heart attack at home.

Mr. Garwood's pioneering research in organic catalytic chemistry was the basis for the development of Mobil One and other synthetic oils, according to his son, John.

"He invented a process that transforms methane gas into gasoline, and held more than 100 patents related to organic chemistry," according to his son.

In retirement, Mr. Garwood researched the efficacy of zeolites, a catalyst in reducing ammonia in the bloodstream as a potential means of preventing cancer, his son said.

Mr. Garwood was a native of Kirkwood, a section of Voorhees Township, Camden County, and grew up on a Salem County dairy farm. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1942 from the University of North Carolina.

He began his career that year as an organic chemist in Paulsboro, with the former Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., a descendant of the Standard Oil Co. of New York.

After serving as a Navy radioman in the Philippines, he returned to Socony-Vacuum, where he worked for its successors until retiring from Mobil in 1987.

Mr. Garwood took night courses from 1947 to 1954 in postgraduate chemistry at Temple University, his son said.

In 1969, he was a visiting scientist at the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois.

Mr. Garwood was co-author with N.Y. Chen and Francis G. Dwyer of the 1989 book Shape Selective Catalysis in Industrial Applications. His 60-page memoir about growing up in South Jersey, Compromise Road: Rural Americana in the 1930s, was published in 2006.

In addition to his son, Mr. Garwood is survived by Betty, his wife of 65 years; daughter Deborah Garwood; and a grandson. Another daughter, Christine, died this year.

A memorial service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at Haddonfield United Methodist Church, 29 Warwick Rd., Haddonfield, with visitation to follow.