Earle
Earle Westgate Putnam
After a brief illness, Earle Westgate Putnam, 84, of Lynchburg, formerly of Fairfax, passed away on Thursday, May 2, 2013 at Lynchburg General Hospital.
He was born in Springfield, Vermont on June 27, 1928, the son of the late Lewis Adrian and Edith Milner Putnam. Earle is survived by: Margaret Reed Putnam, his wife of 60 years; his daughter, Eleanor A. Putnam Dunn and her husband, Terrance J. Dunn; and his brother, Nelson Butler Putnam. He was preceded in death by his two sons, Christopher Everard Putnam and Timothy Lewis Putnam, and by his brother, Fredrick Milner Putnam.
Following his graduation from Phillips Academy Andover, Earle received his college degree from Dartmouth College, graduating with Distinction in International Relations. At Dartmouth, he wrote and edited for the daily college paper, and played trombone in the College Band. Immediately after earning his college degree in 1950, he left his beloved New England for further education and experience in France. He studied at the Institut d\"™Etudes Politiques de Paris, was a Special Paris Correspondent for the Barre Vermont Daily Times, and served as a messenger for the US Delegation to the UN General Assembly session in Paris. While living in Paris, he met Margaret, who was travelling abroad at the time, and they continued their courtship through correspondence when Margaret returned to her home in Missouri.
In 1952, Earle entered the Army and was stationed in Bad Kissingen, Germany, where his unit helped to secure the West German border. He was an instructor of English and American history for non-commissioned officers.
After an international courtship where Earle won Margaret\"™s heart with his beautiful letters, the couple married in Germany in 1953 and lived in Bad Kissingen. After leaving the Army in 1954 and returning to civilian life, Earle and Margaret settled down in Northern Virginia where Earle found work as an editor for a public utilities news service and as a legal assistant for the Air Transport Association of America, while at the same time attending night school at the George Washington University Law School, where he wrote for the Law Review and received his Law Degree (1958), Order of the Coif, and his Masters of Law Degree (1960). In between work and law school, he helped Margaret raise their young children.
After law school, Earle worked as a Trial Attorney for the National Labor Relations Board from 1958 to 1962, where he discovered his calling: union labor law. In 1962, he continued to pursue that interest by joining the Amalgamated Transit Union, and was quickly promoted to its General Counsel.
For the next three decades at the ATU, Earle dedicated himself to the labor movement, a cause he held dear. He was the architect of the little known but powerful Section 13(c) of the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, which provided federal funding for transit systems that were then rapidly passing from private to public operation, and guaranteed that transit workers would not lose their right to be represented by a union when ownership of their transit system changed hands. Hailed as the father of \"Section 13 C\" it was through Earle\"™s quiet New England manner but steely strength and intellect, that those protections helped save and advance the collective bargaining and job rights of hundreds of thousands of transit workers across the country. Through his testimony on Capitol Hill and before numerous state legislatures, and his litigation efforts before the National Labor Relations Board, various federal and state courts across the country and the U.S. Supreme Court, his leadership, wise counsel and skills as a lawyer set the framework for state transit labor laws that, to this day, provide important protections to transit workers across all unions. He is also remembered as a self-effacing mentor and superb writer. He liked nothing better than getting a first draft from his associates and, with his red pen, marking it up in almost illegible handwriting to both teach and perfect it.
In 1996, Earle retired from the ATU to spend more time enjoying his hobbies of photography, learning how to use his home computer, trying out new restaurants, tennis, and trips to the beach with his family and beloved dogs. In 2011, he and Margaret moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, to be closer to their daughter and son-in-law, and although he was no longer in the best of health, he still found enjoyment in music, puzzles and new friends, and planned to live to his 100th birthday. The family is grateful to the staff of 5 Drinkard at Westminster Canterbury and his companions from Generation Solutions, who showed sincere interest and care of Earle.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Lynchburg Humane Society, 3305 Naval Reserve Road, Lynchburg, VA 24501, or the charity of your choice.
The family will have a memorial service at a later date.
Tharp Funeral Home, Lynchburg, is assisting the family (434) 237-9424. Condolences may be made at obituaries.tharpfuneralhome.com
He was born in Springfield, Vermont on June 27, 1928, the son of the late Lewis Adrian and Edith Milner Putnam. Earle is survived by: Margaret Reed Putnam, his wife of 60 years; his daughter, Eleanor A. Putnam Dunn and her husband, Terrance J. Dunn; and his brother, Nelson Butler Putnam. He was preceded in death by his two sons, Christopher Everard Putnam and Timothy Lewis Putnam, and by his brother, Fredrick Milner Putnam.
Following his graduation from Phillips Academy Andover, Earle received his college degree from Dartmouth College, graduating with Distinction in International Relations. At Dartmouth, he wrote and edited for the daily college paper, and played trombone in the College Band. Immediately after earning his college degree in 1950, he left his beloved New England for further education and experience in France. He studied at the Institut d\"™Etudes Politiques de Paris, was a Special Paris Correspondent for the Barre Vermont Daily Times, and served as a messenger for the US Delegation to the UN General Assembly session in Paris. While living in Paris, he met Margaret, who was travelling abroad at the time, and they continued their courtship through correspondence when Margaret returned to her home in Missouri.
In 1952, Earle entered the Army and was stationed in Bad Kissingen, Germany, where his unit helped to secure the West German border. He was an instructor of English and American history for non-commissioned officers.
After an international courtship where Earle won Margaret\"™s heart with his beautiful letters, the couple married in Germany in 1953 and lived in Bad Kissingen. After leaving the Army in 1954 and returning to civilian life, Earle and Margaret settled down in Northern Virginia where Earle found work as an editor for a public utilities news service and as a legal assistant for the Air Transport Association of America, while at the same time attending night school at the George Washington University Law School, where he wrote for the Law Review and received his Law Degree (1958), Order of the Coif, and his Masters of Law Degree (1960). In between work and law school, he helped Margaret raise their young children.
After law school, Earle worked as a Trial Attorney for the National Labor Relations Board from 1958 to 1962, where he discovered his calling: union labor law. In 1962, he continued to pursue that interest by joining the Amalgamated Transit Union, and was quickly promoted to its General Counsel.
For the next three decades at the ATU, Earle dedicated himself to the labor movement, a cause he held dear. He was the architect of the little known but powerful Section 13(c) of the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, which provided federal funding for transit systems that were then rapidly passing from private to public operation, and guaranteed that transit workers would not lose their right to be represented by a union when ownership of their transit system changed hands. Hailed as the father of \"Section 13 C\" it was through Earle\"™s quiet New England manner but steely strength and intellect, that those protections helped save and advance the collective bargaining and job rights of hundreds of thousands of transit workers across the country. Through his testimony on Capitol Hill and before numerous state legislatures, and his litigation efforts before the National Labor Relations Board, various federal and state courts across the country and the U.S. Supreme Court, his leadership, wise counsel and skills as a lawyer set the framework for state transit labor laws that, to this day, provide important protections to transit workers across all unions. He is also remembered as a self-effacing mentor and superb writer. He liked nothing better than getting a first draft from his associates and, with his red pen, marking it up in almost illegible handwriting to both teach and perfect it.
In 1996, Earle retired from the ATU to spend more time enjoying his hobbies of photography, learning how to use his home computer, trying out new restaurants, tennis, and trips to the beach with his family and beloved dogs. In 2011, he and Margaret moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, to be closer to their daughter and son-in-law, and although he was no longer in the best of health, he still found enjoyment in music, puzzles and new friends, and planned to live to his 100th birthday. The family is grateful to the staff of 5 Drinkard at Westminster Canterbury and his companions from Generation Solutions, who showed sincere interest and care of Earle.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Lynchburg Humane Society, 3305 Naval Reserve Road, Lynchburg, VA 24501, or the charity of your choice.
The family will have a memorial service at a later date.
Tharp Funeral Home, Lynchburg, is assisting the family (434) 237-9424. Condolences may be made at obituaries.tharpfuneralhome.com
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