The class of 1947 voted former School President, former Trustee of Phillips Academy, Alexander B. Trowbridge ’47 as the “most respected, most mature, and as the student who had ‘done most for Andover,’” according to Head of School Barbara Landis Chase. Mr. Trowbridge passed away as a result of complications associated with Lewy’s disease, a brain illness, at the age of 76 years old in his home in Washington, D.C on April 27. Mr. Trowbridge was an Alumni Trustee from 1979-1983 and a Charter Trustee from 1985-1998. He was also a member of the Alumni Council from 1980-1983. Mrs. Chase said, “He was on the head-search committee that brought me to Phillips Academy and, as such, played a very important role in my coming to Andover. He was a lovely person, a wonderful counselor, and a booster as a trustee.” Mr. Trowbridge grew up living in Johnson Hall with his father, A. Buel Trowbridge, an Instructor in Religion and Philosophy, and Science from 1929-1932. After graduating from Andover, “Sandy” Trowbridge went on to Princeton University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1951. Before moving on to Princeton, however, Mr. Trowbridge volunteered with reconstruction efforts in post-World War II Europe. He worked as an intern for the United Nations in 1948 and then for New York Congressman Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. in 1950. After graduation Mr. Trowbridge joined the Marine Corps and became an officer. He served in active combat in the Korean War and earned a Bronze Star for his service. Later in his life, Mr. Trowbridge would serve as the director of the Marine Corps University Foundation. After the war Mr. Trowbridge worked briefly for the CIA before entering the business world. He worked for the California Texas Oil Company, Caltex Petroleum, and Esso Standard Oil in Central America. In 1965, President Johnson’s administration asked him to serve in the United States Department of Commerce. From 1967-1968 he served as the Secretary of Commerce, and was the youngest member in the President’s cabinet. Mr. continued his work with the government as an advisor to several other presidents throughout his life. After leaving the White House in 1968, Mr. Trowbridge returned to his business career and held numerous positions with different groups over the next few decades. He worked as President of the American Management Association and the National Industrial Conference Board, Vice-Chairman of Allied Chemical, and President of the National Association of Manufacturers. In 1990, Mr. Trowbridge began a consulting business in Washington D.C., where he worked until 2004.
