- Date Of Birth: November 1, 1927
- Date Of Death: October 30, 2016
- State: Connecticut
Artist and government official, Graham Loomis Waldron was called home to God on October 30, 2016 after a brief illness. Born in 1927, son of the late George Henry Waldron and Helen Hodges Waldron, he was a direct descendant of Torrington’s earliest settlers.A graduate of Suffield Academy, Trinity College and the University of Connecticut, he was an outstanding athlete, captaining Suffield Academy’s Basketball teams and also played semi-professional baseball in both Connecticut and New York in the late 1940’s. As a United States Marine in World War II and the Korean Conflict, Mr. Waldron served with the 22nd Marines of the 6th Marine Division as well as the 3rd Marine Brigade in North China. While in Korea, he was attached to the 5th Marines. His military decorations include The China Medal, The Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with two stars, The Presidential Unit Citation with two stars, The Japan Occupation Medal, The American Theater Medal, The World War II Victory Medal, The Korean Service Medal, The Korean National Defense Medal, The United Nations Korea Medal, The Marine Corps Commendation Medal, The Marine Corps Achievement Medal. An expert rifle and pistol shot, wha a member of several inter-service competitions representing the Marine Corps.A resident of Winchester Center, Mr. Waldron was active in local affairs serving as Republican Registrar of Voters, Republican Town Chairman and Commander of the VFW Post #9928. He was also involved as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Winchester Congregational Church, the Winchester Volunteer Fire Department and the Winchester Little League. He was an Eagle Scout and active as a scout leader in artist of note, Mr. Waldron was a product of the Ogunquit, Maine Art Colony and as a pupil of the late William C. Ehrig, enjoyed a reputation as a seascape, landscape, wild bird and animal artist. He maintained a working studio in both Ogunquit and Winchester Center, His works can be found throughout this country and abroad. He was a member of the New England Society of Marine Artists, The Hartford Artists Association, The American Watercolor Artists and the Ogunquit Artists Association.After spending some 20 years in industrial management and marketing with such companies as Veeder-Root, Inc., Pratt and Whitney Machine Tool and as Administrative Sales Manager for American Machine and Foundry, he was enlisted into state government by Governor Thomas Meskill to assist in the reformation of state agencies. He first served as advisor to the State Tax Commissioner and then as Director in the Department of Economic Development, where he served until his retirement in 1992.Considered an authority on Connecticut manufacturing, Governor Ella Grasso appointed him to serve as Connecticut’s first Ombudsman for business, a role in which he solved problems that business and industry had with any agency of the state government creating and developing assistance programs, including mergers and acquisitions, plans shutdowns and employee buyouts. He was personally responsible for the employee buyout of Seymour Brass and Copper, the larger employee buyout in the nation at that time. He was also responsible for the state run sales contact centers which brought Fortune 500 companies to Connecticut to do business with new state based suppliers. This program brought nearly One billion dollars of new contracts for CT small manufacturers. Mr. Waldron was appointed by Governor O’Neill to be his Chief of the Governor’s Business Disaster Response Team reporting business damage or loss as a result of fire, flood or other state disaster. Governor O’Neill also appointed Mr. Waldron to represent Connecticut on them President Ford’s National Metric Council and serving in that capacity he assisted in establishing the NE Metric Conversion Center at the University of Massachusetts. Prior to his retirement, he created the Manufacturing Assistance Center in Rocky Hill, CT.Among his directorships were Director of the CT Resource Recovery Authority, The CT Academy of Science and Engineering, The State Center for Plant Acquisitions and Employee Buyouts and the Naugatuck Valley Brass Revitalization his retirement years, he could always be found in his beloved Winchester Hills tending to his wild birds and animals and painting the fields and woods that he loved so . Waldron was pre-deceased by his wife of 52 years, Elizabeth Campbell Waldron in 2004. He was pre-deceased by three of his brothers, Marshall H. Waldron, Hodges V.R. Waldron, Former Mayor of Torrington, and Loomis D. Waldron. He is survived by a brother, Fletcher Waldron of Torrington. He is survived by several neices and nephews.
Source link
