Maritz: 'Outstanding person'
By Donna Kettenbach
March 2, 2001
William E. Maritz, a member of Washington University Board of Trustees since 1984, passed away Monday after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 72.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in Graham Chapel.
He served on various committees of the University's Board, including Educational Policy, Student Affairs, Honorary Degree, Medical Finance, Hilltop Finance, Nominating and Development committees.
Maritz: 'Outstanding person' |
"Bill Maritz was an outstanding person who will be missed by our community," Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton said. "He was one of the first trustees with whom I interacted when I joined the University, and at that time he was president of Civic Progress. I knew right away that Bill was a great person from the accomplishments and abilities that were very evident. During the ensuing years, I came to know Bill as a person of uncommon sensitivity, dedication and leadership ability. I will miss his wise counsel and am grateful that I had the opportunity to learn from him. His loss is deeply felt by me and others in the University community."
He was chairman of Maritz Inc., and the driving force behind its success for nearly 50 years. His grandfather Edward F. Maritz started the family business in 1894. Bill joined the firm in 1953 as a salesman, just as his father, James A. Maritz, (affectionately called "The Boss") had done 40 years earlier, and just as his son, Steve, would do 30 years later. Maritz and his late brother, James, took the $5 million-a-year incentive company to a multibillion dollar, international marketing services corporation.
In 1960, Maritz became the company's executive vice president, and in 1979 he was named president and CEO. The title of chairman was added in 1983. In 1998, the family's fourth generation took leadership when Maritz passed the president and CEO titles to his son, Steve.
"He built a great business and contributed generously to many organizations," Wrighton said.
As a major civic leader in St. Louis, Maritz was dedicated to several community organizations. He was founder and longtime chairman of Laclede's Landing Redevelopment Corp., former president of Civic Progress, former chairman of the VP Fair Foundation (now Fair St. Louis), which he helped found, and former chair of the Regional Commerce and Growth Association.
"Bill Maritz was one of the great St. Louisans of his generation," said Dr. William H. Danforth, chancellor emeritus and vice chairman of the University's Board of Trustees. "No one was more creative, forward-looking, upbeat or willing to work for his community and the causes in which he believed."
He was rewarded with several honors throughout his life, including Levee Stone Award from Downtown St. Louis Inc., Right Arm of St. Louis Award from RCGA, and was named the St. Louis Citizen of the Year in 1998 by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He sat on the board of Missouri Botanical Garden, Boy Scouts of America, KETC, Municipal Theatre Organization, Community School, Downtown St. Louis Partnership, American Youth Foundation and other organizations.
He also served on the boards of Centerre and Boatmen's banks, Brown Group, General American Life Insurance Co., Petrolite and Wetterau.
A St. Louis native, Maritz attended John Burroughs School and graduated from Princeton University in 1950, where he majored in public and international affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School. He was an operations officer and rocket launcher in the Navy during the Korean War.
Soon after the war, he wed Phyllis Mesker; they were married for 35 years and had four children. They were divorced in 1989. In 1993, Maritz remarried, to the former Jacqueline Guignon Pommer.
A strong advocate of education, Maritz started the "Be There" program in the St. Louis Public Schools to curb absenteeism. Besides his tenure as a Washington University Trustee, he also sat on the boards of his alma maters, John Burroughs and Princeton.
In honor of Bill's uncle, Bill and Jackie Maritz permanently endowed The Raymond E. Maritz Professorship in the University's School of Architecture in 1996. They made the gift in honor of Elizabeth "Ibby" Gray Danforth. Dr. Juhani Pallasmaa holds the professorship.
Maritz was also a strong supporter of the University's Danforth Scholars Program.
Maritz is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Guignon Maritz; three sons, Peter, Steve and Philip; a daughter, Alice Starek; a sister, Jean Hobler; a stepson, Bob Pommer; a stepdaughter, Laura Pommer; and 12 grandchildren.
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