[ Obituary from Concord Monitor, June 7, 2006 ]
George A. Dorr Jr., 89, died Sunday, June 4, 2006, at the Clough Center in New London of natural causes.
Mr. Dorr was born Dec. 8, 1916, in Newport. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1935 and Wesleyan University in 1939. He left Dorr Woolen briefly to serve as a captain in the U.S. Army in the North African and European theaters from 1941 to 1945.
He was a well-known textile industry executive and former president of Dorr Woolen Company in Newport.
In 1939, Mr. Dorr joined and ran Dorr Woolen Company, taking over from his father, until he retired in 1982. He was known as an innovator within the textile industry, as he constantly adapted new technologies to the manufacture of integrated woolen fabric.
An active member of his community, he served on many boards within his industry, his state and his town. He served as chairman of the Northern Textile Association, chairman of Sugar River Savings Bank, president of New Hampshire Development Corporation, president of New Hampshire YMCA, president of Newport Hospital, director of Public Service of New Hampshire, director of Roymal Coatings & Chemical Co., director of International Packings Corporation and president of Newport Arts Center, in addition to holding other positions.
He went overseas many times on behalf of his country and his industry, where he served as an adviser to the State Department from 1961 to 1967 during the negotiations of international trade agreements and as a delegate to the International Labor Organization (United Nations) textile meetings in Geneva from 1956 to 1991.
Upon retirement, Mr. Dorr joined the International Executive Service Corps and took assignments advising textile mills in Slovenia, Czechoslovakia, Estonia and Uruguay.
He is survived by his wife, Ollie; his daughter, Katharine P. Dorr of Evergreen, Colo.; two sons, George A. Dorr III of Grantham and Christopher S. Dorr of Los Angeles; a stepdaughter, Martha H. Foley of Hamilton, Mass.; two stepsons, Steven D. Hadley of Marietta, Ga., and Dana T. Hadley of Newmarket; four grandchildren; and 10 step-grandchildren.
He is predeceased by his first wife, Marjorie P. Dorr; and son, Jonathan P. Dorr.