Stanford Emeritus Dean E. Arbuckle, Wife Killed

Ernest Arbuckle, 73, emeritus dean of the Stanford University graduate school of business administration, and his wife, Katharine, 65, were killed Friday night when their car, driven by Mrs. Arbuckle, crashed into a bridge abutment on California 1 near Monterey.

A native of Lee, N.H., Arbuckle received his bachelor of arts degree from Stanford in 1933 and his master’s in business administration at the same school three years later.

He was an executive at Standard Oil of California and executive vice president of W. R. Grace & Co. (with time out for service as a PT boat officer during World War II) before returning to Stanford as dean of the school of business administration in 1958.

During his tenure the school moved into its own three-story building, doubled its faculty, quadrupled its budget--and rose to its present rank among the best such institutions in the nation.

He retired to emeritus status in 1968, but remained active in academic and business fields, serving as board chairman of Wells Fargo Bank from 1968 to 1977 and board chairman of the Saga Corp. from 1978 to 1981. He was also a member of the boards of several other corporations, and once served as chairman of the Stanford Research Institute.

Mrs. Arbuckle, a native of Dallas, was a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. They had three daughters, Susan, Joan Marie and Katharine, and a son, Ernest Arbuckle Jr. Memorial services are pending.