Final Salute

J. Lawrence Wilson III, 90, formerly of Rosemont, Montgomery County, lauded retired chair and chief executive officer of the Rohm & Haas Co., onetime chair of the board of directors for what is now the American Chemistry Council, award-winning chemical industry innovator, and Navy veteran, died Thursday, May 14, of age-associated decline at his home in Naples, Fla.

Mr. Wilson joined the Rohm & Haas chemical company in Philadelphia in 1965 as an operations research analyst and rose to chair of the board and CEO in 1988. In between, he worked in Ohio and London, and served as the firm’s chief financial officer, vice chair and director of corporate business, regional director of European operations, and in other positions.

During his 11-year tenure as CEO, Rohm & Haas grew into a $6 billion global giant, with 20,000 employees and 150 research labs and manufacturing plants in 25 countries. He was an expert in investments, technology, workplace safety, efficiency, and community involvement.

“His work ethic was relentless,” said his son Lawrence. “But that’s what made him happy.”

In 1992, Mr. Wilson oversaw the installation of a companywide $100 million computer system. In 1999, just months before his retirement, he navigated the company’s acquisition of Morton International that made Rohm & Haas one of the world’s largest chemical firms.

Successful business leaders, he told book editor Arthur W. Buerk in 2013, make empowering plans and find ways to implement them. “No one wants to follow a person who does not know where he is going or is unable to explain why achieving the goal is important,” Mr. Wilson said. “Making a lot of money for the shareholders is not an inspiring goal. Achieving excellence can be.”

“Do not look back. Once a choice is made, live with the consequences. Forget what might have been.”
Mr. Wilson to book editor Arthur W. Buerk in 2013
To that end, Mr. Wilson was adept at connecting with people as well as piling up profits, colleagues said. “He led with humility rather than hierarchy,” said Joan Kurkian, his longtime executive administrator.

He visited plants and labs, mixed with employees, customers, and rival executives, and was quoted often in The Inquirer and Daily News. “I’ve tried to be a hands-on leader,” he told Rohm & Haas’ Chem Club in 1999. Longtime company staffer Ken Gedaka said: “One of the absolute best.”

The Inquirer published this story and photo about Mr. Wilson in 1999.Newspapers.com

Mr. Wilson especially embraced his role as protector of the environment and, as chair of the board of directors for the old U.S. Chemical Manufacturers Association, helped improve the international industry’s Responsible Care Program. In 1999, the American Section of the Society of Chemical Industry awarded him its annual achievement medal for his “efforts to open the industry to public scrutiny.”

In 1991, he was named to President George H.W. Bush’s Export Council, which advised on international trade. In 2000, colleagues at ChemConnect Inc. praised his “forward-looking leadership, his integrity, insight, and fairness.”

“A leader must present a recognizable objective and explain why achieving the goal is important.”

Mr. Wilson to book editor Arthur W. Buerk in 2013

Mr. Wilson also weathered an economic recession in the 1990s and skyrocketing prices for raw materials. He faced ambitious competitors and had to fashion several company restructurings. Rohm & Haas was sold to Dow Chemical Co. in 2009.

Away from his daytime office, Mr. Wilson was a trustee at his alma mater, Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, and served on boards at Rohm & Haas, the Vanguard Group, ChemConnect Inc., and other companies. He was a lieutenant in the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps from 1958 to 1961 and earned a master’s degree in finance from Harvard Business School in 1963.

This photo of Mr. Wilson appeared in The Inquirer in 1999.Newspapers.com
“I am struck that my fondest memories are of people rather than experiences, places, or accomplishments,” he told Buerk for his Harvard Class of ’63 50th reunion book, If I Knew Then. “No matter what a person’s professed faith, I admire him if he is charitable.”

James Lawrence Wilson III was born March 2, 1936, in Rosedale, a small farming town in the Mississippi Delta. He left home to attend high school at Culver Military Academy in Indiana and graduated in 1954.

He earned a scholarship from the Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps to attend Vanderbilt and got a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1958. Before Rohm & Haas, he and a friend started a venture capital firm in Philadelphia.

He met Barbara Burroughs at Vanderbilt, and they married in 1958 and had sons Lawrence and Alexander. Mr. Wilson was rational, measured, and sharp, his family said. His wife has strong social skills. “Together,” his son Lawrence said, “they were a perfect pair.”

Mr. Wilson and his wife, Barbara, married in 1958.Courtesy of the family

Mr. Wilson enjoyed traveling and cheering for Vanderbilt sports teams. He shot in the mid-80s on the golf course and told the company’s Chem Club: “Golf may be like raising children. You always think you’re going to be better tomorrow, better at it next week. Hope springs eternal.”

He supported the Culver Academies, Philadelphia Academies Inc., and Vanderbilt. He and his wife relocated to Florida about 10 years ago.

Nearly everyone called him Larry. “Larry was my husband for 68 remarkable years,” his wife said.

Mr. Wilson (fourth from left) enjoyed time with his family.Courtesy of the family
His son Lawrence said: “He was a man who engendered trust and esteem. All who knew him had genuine admiration and respect for his integrity and leadership.”

In addition to his wife and sons, Mr. Wilson is survived by three grandchildren and other relatives. A brother died earlier.

A celebration of his life is to be held later.

Mr. Wilson was called Larry by nearly everyone. Courtesy of the family