Philanthropist J. Watson Webb Leaves Boys Republic Largest Bequest
Released on: September 20, 2001

"In life, we're given two choices, really: 1)SINK; 2)SWIM! I'm still swimmin', though at times, its not much more than a doggie paddle!"

J. Watson Webb, Jr.'s bantering typewriter took playful aim at another of life's predicaments. If the corrosion years - Watson's term for the "Golden Years" - were inevitable, he was bound and determined to have fun with them.

A thirty-five year torrent of mischief and creativity, Watson Webb's prolific missives occupy a two-inch thick file in Boys Republic's donor archives. The former president and chairman of the Shelburne Museum in Vermont was a devoted Della Robbia wreath customer and a frequent contributor to the agency's programs for disadvantaged youth. When he died last year, at age 84, he left Boys Republic a substantial portion of his estate. His $3.4 million bequest is the largest received in the agency's history.

J. Watson Webb

Born into the society of two of America's most prominent industrialist families, he was raised in Shelburne and New York. Webb's mother, Electra Havemeyer Webb, was the daughter of sugar refiner Henry Havemeyer and his father was J. Watson Webb Sr., grandson of William H. Vanderbilt.

Watson Webb, Jr. graduated from Yale University, in 1938. He moved to California in 1946 and was hired by 20th Century Fox as an apprentice film cutter. He eventually became Darryl F. Zanuck's head film editor. Among Webb's credits were "The Jackpot", with James Stewart, "Don't Bother To Knock" with Marilyn Monroe and "The Razor's Edge" starring Tyrone Power.

In 1960, Webb became President of the Shelburne Museum, which his mother had founded. He is largely credited with having completed the museum's vast collection of Americana. He later became chairman of the museum's board, a position he held until 1996.

Watson Webb first learned of Boys Republic through Frank Mallory, then a member of the agency's Board of Directors. The relationship flourished. Webb became an ardent Della Robbia wreath customer, taking great interest in the students and staff of Boys Republic. His correspondence, always typed cards, would arrive during the Holidays:

"TOO POOPED TO POP! All of you at BR must be totally exhausted! I still hope that you'll enjoy the BIG DAY [Christmas]. And I hope it gives you all a warm feeling, inside, to know that all the work you've all done [wreath production] has brought SO MUCH PLEASURE and JOY and CHEER to so many people."

"Watson loved people. He was a true philanthropist," said Max Scott, Boys Republic's executive director. "He will be greatly missed, but his contribuitons will live on for generations in the lives of students who will have the opportunity of a Boys Republic education through his generosity."