Louis Denman “Bud” Root of Southampton died on July 10 at the Carriage Club, a hospice in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was 86.
Born December 6, 1922, in Bronxville, he was raised and attended grammar school in Southampton. He went on to Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut ,and then attended college at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
In 1943 he joined the U.S. Army and fought in World War II as a second lieutenant in the infantry and as part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He returned to the United States in 1946 and worked in New York City for his family’s business, New York Wire Company, which was founded by his grandfather, Francis Jerome Root, in 1888. Within a year he married his childhood friend Joan Funk, and in 1951 was made president of the family business at the age of 29.
In 1954 he moved his family and the business headquarters of the company to York, Pennsylvania, where the manufacturing operations were located. In 1965 he purchased the business from his father and other stockholders, and continued to expand its sales throughout the world until he sold it in January 2000.
“My father and his family have always been grateful to the thousands of good, honest, hard working people in York, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, who made New York Wire Company a success for four generations of Roots,” said his son Todd Root this week. “These dedicated people, like millions of others in our nation’s manufacturing industries, are the unsung heroes who have helped make our country great. The Root family thanks you all from the bottom of our hearts and wishes you health, peace and continued prosperity throughout these difficult times.”
In addition to his son Todd and his wife Lucia of North Carolina, Mr. Root is survived by two other sons, Jerry and his wife Marian Root, and Chris and his wife Cassie Root; two sisters, Frances Erickson and Suzie Hodges; and seven grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Joan Funk.
A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, July 28, at 11 a.m., at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Southampton. In lieu of flowers, donations to Smile Train, 28th Floor, 41 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010 would be appreciated by the family.
on Jul 22, 2009