Thursday, July 19, 2007

The JWR Memorial

Tom Gerrity and I attended the memorial service July 18 for Wes Rohn, Merrill Anderson's President and CEO in the late 70s and early 80s. I did not realize just how far it is to Hampton Bays from Stratford—that was one heckuva commute for Wes. Also, there was a tornado and torrential downpours on Long Island yesterday—at times we were driving through 12 inches of water standing on the road!

But it was well worth the effort. Each of Wes's 8 children spoke briefly in his memory, painting quite an accurate and vivid picture of the man we knew in a business context. The First Presbyterian Church provided a very fine setting, the musical selections were charming.

The reception at the Rohn home in Long Island was especially interesting. The house, quite close to the water, was designed by Wes and Joan and features a cathedral ceiling in the great room with picture windows facing the beach. An eclectic batch of paintings adorn the walls, for a very charming effect. Best of all, we had a chance to trade remembrances with several of Wes and Joan's children, as well as having some time to catch up with Joan herself.

Seventeen grandchildren may sound like a lot, but it's even more when you see them in person. What a patriarch.
Posted by Jim Gust at 4:54 PM

1 comment:

JLM said...

Wes did not have to commute from Hampton Bays much. Before The Merrill Anderson Co. moved to Connectiut, Wes and Joan bought a nice home in Litchfield, CT. Still not a short commute, but scenic.

The Rohns lived in posh places — Litchfield, Naples FL and their beloved Hampton Bays. But they didn't lead a life of gentrified leisure (as if that were possible with eight kids). Wes was always announcing home or garden projects of the sort that would take a crew of workmen a week. Somehow, he and Joan would do them in a weekend.

Now that Tom Gerrity told me some of the memories Wes's kids shared at the memorial service, I begin to see how they did it.

Wes recruited workers by throwing a party:
"Hi. Come have some shrimp and grab a hammer!"

Good strategy to remember. We'll also do well to follow one of maxims that Wes taught his offspring:

Always leave the beach cleaner than you found it.

5:42 PM

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