Houghton Surname Project

Merle Thorpe , Jr¹

M, #101431, b. 25 April 1917, d. 13 February 1994

Father*: Merle H. Thorpe b. 1 Nov 1879, d. 31 Oct 1955
Mother*: Lillian Isabella Day b. 8 Aug 1883, d. Aug 1965

Family: Sally Sweetser

Marriage*: Merle Thorpe , Jr married Sally Sweetser.

Biography

A Contributor to Houghton Surname Project

Corresponded with author

Birth

Apr 25, 1917

Washington, DC, USA¹

Marriage

SSN

Washington, DC, USA, 578-44-7180¹

Death

Feb 13, 1994

Chevy Chase, MD, USA¹

Obituary

Feb 15, 1994

Merle Thorpe, 76, Shareholders' Rights Advocate
By ALISON LEIGH COWAN
Published: February 15, 1994
Merle Thorpe Jr., a Washington lawyer who fought for the rights of shareholders in the United States and of Palestinians in the Middle East, died on Sunday at his home in Chevy Chase, Md. He was 76.
He had throat cancer for two years, said his stepson, Peter M. Castleman.
Educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University, Mr. Thorpe earned his law degree from Yale in 1941. He was a partner for 26 years with the Washington law firm of Hogan & Hartson, but friends say he never relished practicing law and was pleased to be better known for his accomplishments outside the office.
Long before proxy fights became fashionable, Mr. Thorpe used his knowledge of securities law to wage battles against corporations. He waged a successful proxy fight against the Beaver Lodge Oil Company in the late 1950's, and more recently improved by $13 million what shareholders of First American Bank of Virginia received when the company was sold. The purchaser's ties to the Bank of Credit and Commerce International eventually led to the bank's near-collapse and sale under pressure from Federal regulators.
Mr. Thorpe also started two mutual funds with Newton Steers, a former Congressman from Maryland. The venture eventually gave him the financial independence to act on some of his philanthropic ideas.
A trip to the Middle East in 1975 with former Senator J. W. Fulbright inspired Mr. Thorpe to seek peace in the region. Through his Foundation for Middle East Peace, he called on Jews and Palestinians to establish two states and to recognize each other. Unfinished Battles
One of two battles that he left unfinished was with the Citizens Utilities Company in Stamford, Conn. Unhappy that the company's chairman, Leonard Tow, was being paid millions of dollars more than any other utility executive in the nation, Mr. Thorpe, a longtime shareholder, brought a lawsuit in July. The complaint accused the company of breaching its fiduciary duty to shareholders and the chairman of using inducements to control 'an already supine board.'
Richard Koppes, the general counsel of the California Public Employees Retirement Fund, another powerful shareholder that joined Mr. Thorpe's suit, said, 'It was extremely courageous on his part to bring his action and to stand up.'
The other suit concerns Cerbco, an environmental services company in Landover, Md. In that 1990 lawsuit, Mr. Thorpe accused the controlling shareholders, Robert and George Erikson, of trying to sell their stake at a premium in a deal that bypassed the minority shareholders.
In addition to Mr. Castleman, of New Canaan, Conn., Mr. Thorpe is survived by his wife, Sally Sweetser Thorpe, and three other stepchildren, Sally C. Currie of Fairview, Pa., Samuel T. Castleman 3d of Chevy Chase, and Eugenia C. Ourisman of Washington.