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

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

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 firm ...

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

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

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

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/trade unions, employer organizations, ...

, and

New England Law Boston New England Law , Boston (formerly New England School of Law) is a private law school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded as Portia School of Law in 1908 and is located in downtown Boston near the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Fina ...

. In 1952, Wetmore was drafted to serve in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, 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 organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...

. Early in his career, he spent time as a

lineworker A lineworker (lineman (American English), linesman (British English), powerline technician (PLT), or powerline worker) constructs and maintains the electric transmission and distribution facilities that deliver electrical energy to industrial, c ...

. 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 of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

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 ...

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 B ...

, 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, 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 towns in Greate ...

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, Massac ...

, 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 state governments that make up the United States of America. As a member of the Massachuset ...

. In 2004, the

Mount Wachusett Community College Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) is a public community college in Gardner, Massachusetts. Established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1963, it features an open admissions policy for the majority of its academic programs. MWCC of ...

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 long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, in 2016, Wetmore lived on Hubbardston Road in

Barre Barre or Barré may refer to: * Barre (name) or Barré, a surname and given name Places United States * Barre, Massachusetts, a New England town ** Barre (CDP), Massachusetts, the central village in the town * Barre, New York, a town * Barre (c ...

, Massachusetts. He was also a member of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

and the

Lions Clubs International The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquartere ...

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 {{Massachusetts-MASenate-stub