Mortimer R. Proctor

Mortimer Robinson Proctor (May 30, 1889 – April 28, 1968), known as Mortimer R. Proctor, was an American politician from Vermont. He served as the 61st Lieutenant Governor of Vermont from 1941 to 1945, and as the 66th Governor of Vermont from 1945 to 1947.

Mortimer Robinson Proctor
Vermont State House portrait
66th Governor of Vermont
In office January 4, 1945 – January 9, 1947
Lieutenant	Lee Earl Emerson
Preceded by	William H. Wills
Succeeded by	Ernest William Gibson, Jr.
61st Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
In office January 9, 1941 – January 4, 1945
Governor	William H. Wills
Preceded by	William H. Wills
Succeeded by	Lee E. Emerson
President pro tempore of the Vermont Senate
In office 1939–1941
Preceded by	Ernest W. Dunklee
Succeeded by	Joseph H. Denny
Member of the Vermont Senate from Rutland County
In office 1939–1941 Serving with Henry H. Branchaud Henry B. Carpenter Willard H. Smith
Preceded by	Ernest E. Aldrich William G. Gipson Leigh Hunt Richard T. Jones
Succeeded by	Henry B. Carpenter Paul F. Douglass Arthur C. Grover Hollis I. Loveland
Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office 1937–1939
Preceded by	Ernest E. Moore
Succeeded by	Oscar L. Shepard
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Proctor
In office 1933–1939
Preceded by	Guy H. Boyce
Succeeded by	Wallace M. Fay
Personal details
Born	May 30, 1889 Proctor, Vermont
Died	April 28, 1968 (aged 78) Proctor, Vermont
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Margaret Chisholm Proctor (1897-1964) Dorothy Chisholm Lillian Washburn Bryan Proctor (1905-1961) Geraldine Gates Proctor (1937-2019)
Children	Mortimer Robinson Proctor, Jr.
Education	Yale University
Profession	President and Chairman of the Board, Vermont Marble Company
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1917-1919
Rank	Second Lieutenant
Unit	71st Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	World War I

Biography

Proctor was born in Proctor, Vermont, to Fletcher Dutton Proctor, the fifty-first Governor of Vermont, and Minnie Euretta Robinson Proctor. He studied at The Hill School.[1]He graduated from Yale University in 1912.[2] He married first Margaret Cynthia Chisholm on May 30, 1916 in Proctor. He married second Dorothy on March 8, 1924. They divorced. He married third Lillian Washburn Bryan on November 14, 1942 in Proctor. Lillian died in 1961. At the time of his death he was married to Geraldine Gates Proctor.[3]

Career

Proctor was President of the Village of Proctor in 1930, and Chairman of the Town of Proctor Republican Committee in 1932. He spent his entire career in the private sector as an executive of the Vermont Marble Company, the family-owned business. He was President from 1952 to 1958 and Chairman from 1958 to 1967.

Proctor enlisted in the US Army for World War I in 1917, completed officer training and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 71st Regiment, serving in France throughout the war.[2]

Proctor represented the town of Proctor, Vermont in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1933 to 1939 and was Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1937 to 1939. He served in the Vermont State Senate from 1939 to 1941, and was Senate President for his entire term.[4]

Proctor was Lieutenant Governor of Vermont from 1941 to 1945. He was elected Governor of Vermont in 1944 and served from 1945 to 1947. During his tenure, the state debt was reduced, state aid to education, old age assistance payments, and teacher's minimum salaries were increased.[2]

Proctor ran for reelection in 1946 but lost the Republican Primary to Ernest W. Gibson Jr., the first Governor of Vermont to be denied renomination.[5] He returned to private business and established the Mortimer R. Proctor Trust which supported non profit activities in arts, culture, education, and religion in Proctor, Vermont.

Death and legacy

Proctor died on April 28, 1968, and is interred at South Street Cemetery, Proctor, Vermont.

Proctor was the grandson of Redfield Proctor, the son of Fletcher D. Proctor, and the nephew of Redfield Proctor Jr. He had one son, Mortimer Robinson Proctor Jr. (1916-1977). He was a president of the Green Mountain Club which built and maintains the Long Trail, America's first long-distance hiking trail.

He provided funds for the state of Vermont to build a steel Aermotor LS-40 fire tower on the summit of Pico Peak.

Published works

• "Pleasant Memories From Public Life, 1932-1952"
• "Vermont, The Unspoiled Land"

References

1. "Finding Aids, Special Collections and University Archives - Finding Aids". cdi.uvm.edu.
2. "Mortimer R. Proctor". National Governors Association. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
3. "Mortimer R. Proctor". Tree Tree Tree.org. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
4. "Mortimer R. Proctor". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
5. "Mortimer R. Proctor". House of Proctor. Retrieved November 7, 2012.

External links

• The Political Graveyard
• National Governors Association
• House of Proctor
• Mortimer R. Proctor at Find a Grave
• Tree Tree Tree.org