Robert Delvey Wetmore, Sr. (July 24, 1930 – January 15, 2016) was an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Biography

Born to Elmer Marshall and Marion Ray Parmenter, Wetmore was a graduate of

Gardner High School Gardner High School is a public high school in Gardner, Massachusetts. History Gardner High School was established in 1872, with the first graduating class being the Class of 1876. In 1897, a school building was designed by the architecture fir ...

. He then went on to receive degrees from Worcester Junior College,

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by educators Benedict Joseph Fenwick and Thomas F. Mulledy in 1843 under the auspices of the Society of Jesus. ...

Industrial Relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor union, labor/trade unions, employer organ ...

, and

New England Law Boston New England Law Boston (formerly New England School of Law, and styled as New England Law Boston) is a Private university, private law school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded as Portia School of Law in 1908 and is located in downtown B ...

. In 1952, Wetmore was drafted to serve in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, and later joined the

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States Armed Forces, United States war veterans who fought in wars, Military campaign, campaig ...

. Early in his career, he spent time as a

lineworker A lineworker (also called a lineman or powerline worker) constructs and maintains the electric power transmission, electric transmission and electricity distribution, distribution facilities that deliver electrical energy to industrial, commerci ...

. Wetmore served in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

for the 2nd Worcester District from 1964 to 1976, and then in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

for the Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, and Middlesex District from 1976 to 1997. While in the Senate, he served on the Committee on Commerce and Labor and the Senate Ways and Means Committee. From 1980 to 1988, his successor in the Senate,

Stephen Brewer Stephen Brewer is an American politician who served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1997 to 2015. Early life Stephen Brewer was born on February 10, 1948, in Worcester, MA. He was raised in the town of Barre, Massachusetts. He received his ...

, was his aide. Wetmore is known for his legislation work to preserve the

Quabbin Reservoir The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts, United States, and was built between 1930 and 1939. Along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, to the east, and 40 other cities and ...

and

Ware River The Ware River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in central Massachusetts. It has two forks, its West Branch, which begins in Hubbardston, Mass ...

, as well as advocacy for Article 97 of the

Constitution of Massachusetts The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual states that make up the United States of America. It consists of a preamble, declaration ...

. In 2004, the Mount Wachusett Community College dedicated a new building as the Robert D. Wetmore Center for Innovation in Design, Technology and Resource Development.

Personal life

Prior to his death, caused by

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

, in 2016, Wetmore lived on Hubbardston Road in Barre, Massachusetts. He was also a member of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

and the

Lions Clubs International Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo) in more than 200 geographic ...

References

External links

Commonwealth of Massachusetts profile
1930 births 2016 deaths People from Gardner, Massachusetts Clark University alumni College of the Holy Cross alumni New England Law Boston alumni American military personnel of the Korean War Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Democratic Party Massachusetts state senators Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Massachusetts 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court {{Massachusetts-MASenate-stub