John M. Waltersdorf

WALTERSDORF , John M. John M. Waltersdorf, 84, of Hagerstown, MD, died Thursday, September 2, 2010 at the Beebe Medical Center, Lewes, DE. Retired Chairman of the Board and CEO or Tristate Electrical & Electronics Supply Co., Inc., was born in Washington, PA, on March 1, 1926. He was the son of the late Maurice Cleveland and Catherine Elizabeth (Crapster) Waltersdorf and was the husband of the late Margaret Canby (Stott) Waltersdorf whom he married September 15, 1951 and later died March 18, 2005. Having graduated from the Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, in the Class of '43, Mr. Waltersdorf attended Washington and Jefferson College until 1945 when he transferred to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1946 he left his studies to serve in the U.S. Army and became an official photographer with "Operation High Jump", the last expedition led by Admiral Richard E. Byrd to the South Pole. Film shot on this expedition was used in "Secret Land" which won the Academy Award Best Documentary Film of the Year in 1949. Following his Army service, he returned to Yale University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948. In 1949 he received his MBA from the School of Business of the University of Chicago. His college fraternity was Phi Gamma Delta. Member of the Explorers Club, Fountain Head Country Club, Center Club and Assembly Club. Mr. Waltersdorf is past Chairman of the Greater Hagerstown Committee; Board member of the Hagerstown/Washington County Industrial Foundation Inc.; past Board member of the Distribution Research and Education Foundation (DREF); Hood College Trustee Emeritus; former President of the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Hagerstown, Maryland; Honorary Trustee, Washington County Museum of Fine Art; former Trustee of Saint James School; former Trustee of the Hagerstown YMCA; Past Chairman of the Community Foundation of Washington County, Inc.; appointed 1991 Governor's Commission for the Future of the Arts in Maryland; named Chamber Business Person of the Year for 1994 by the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce; elected Trustee Maryland Citizens for the Arts 1995; named 1996 Distinguished Citizen by the Mason-Dixon Council, Boy Scouts of America; 1999 Herald Mail Person of the Year; former President of the Assembly Club; Governor's Arts Award for Outstanding Arts Patron 2000. Mr. Waltersdorf served on the Governor's Council on Management & Productivity. He served six years as a member of the Maryland Port Commission, retiring in 1994; he served as the first Chairman of the Board of the Hagerstown Regional Airport until sold to Washington County and then served on its Advisory Board. Mr. Waltersdorf has served as Board Member of the Association of Yale Alumni. He served on the Board and Policy Committee for the American Council for Capital Formation and as a member of Johns Hopkins Task Force on State Economic Development of the Center for Metropolitan Planning and Research 1985-86. He was President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors from 1974-1976 and President of National Association of Electrical Distributors, 1970-1971. In 1975 he received the Distributor Medal and Purse given under the terms of the James H. McGraw Award for Electrical Men for Research Leadership in Distributor Data-Processing, for Presidential Strengthening of the National Association of Electrical Distributors Committee Structure, and for notable contributions to the entire Wholesaler-Distributor function on the international as well as the national scene. He was a panelist at the 1st World Wholesaling Conference, Cannes, France, June, 1975, and a member of the State of Maryland Mid East Trade Mission in 1976. He was a member of the People to People Electrical Technology Delegation to the People's Republic of China, October 1986, and member of the National Association of Electrical Distributors' Study Mission to the Soviet Union and Poland, September 1987. He served as Antietam Bank's founding Chairman of the Board until they merged with Suburban Bank Corp in 1980 and served as a Director of Sovran Bank/MD which is now Bank America. Mr. Waltersdorf is survived by one son, John G. Waltersdorf of Hagerstown; three daughters, Elizabeth Grayson Oldfather of Philadelphia, PA, Margaret O. Waltersdorf and Roberta Annan Waltersdorf both of Hagerstown; and three grandchildren, James D. Waltersdorf, William D. Oldfather and Catherine G. Oldfather.
The funeral service will be 12:00 PM, Noon, Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at St. John's Episcopal Church, 101 S. Prospect St., Hagerstown. The Rev. Dr. D. Stuart Dunnan and the Rev. Ann L. Boyd will officiate. Burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery, Hagerstown. The family will receive friends from 4:00 - 8:00 PM, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010 at his home. The family suggests memorial contributions may be made to the Community Foundation of Washington County Maryland Inc. 120 W. Washington St. Hagerstown, MD 21740 or to St. James School, c/o Matching Grant Program 17641 College Road, St. James, MD 21781. The Gerald N. Minnich Funeral Home, Bryan K. Kenworthy P.A., 305 N. Potomac St., Hagerstown has been entrusted with the arrangements. Online condolences are accepted at

www.geraldminnichfuneralhome.com