William H Webster

William H. Webster, the only person ever to lead both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency, switching from lawman to spymaster while the bureau was investigating high crimes at the White House and the C.I.A., died on Friday August 8 2025 in Warrenton, Va. He was 101. Mr. Webster was sworn in as the F.B.I.’s third director on Feb. 23, 1978, a time when J Edgar Hoover’s long shadow still darkened Washington. President Jimmy Carter chose Mr. Webster — a federal judge, a moderate Republican and a Christian Scientist — in large part because he projected probity and integrity, qualities that matched the president’s self-image. On May 26, 1987 Mr. Webster became the new chief of American intelligence data after the death of former director William J. Casey, - who was a key figure in the so-called Iran-contra conspiracy. Webster went to Amherst College in Massachusetts on a scholarship but interrupted his studies to join the Navy when World War II broke out. After his discharge, he returned to Amherst, graduating in 1947. Two years later, he earned a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis. In 1950 Mr. Webster married Drusilla Lane, who became known for her volunteer work in St. Louis and the Washington area; she died at 57 in 1984. He is survived by his second wife, Lynda (Clugston) Webster, and three children from his first marriage: two daughters, Drusilla Patterson and Katherine Roessle, and a son, William Jr. He is also survived by seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.