Garland Boothe ’54

Born in New York City, he graduated from Scotch Plains (N.J.) High School. At Princeton he chose the Woodrow Wilson School. He was a member of Cloister Inn, managing editor of The Daily Princetonian in his senior year. After graduation he served as a lieutenant in the Army from 1955 to 1957 and then graduated from Harvard Law School.

Bud lived in Westfield, N.J., for over 50 years. He regarded his most important five years there as the time he was mayor, during which he worked for the long-term health of the community and created the Downtown Westfield Corp. that developed a special-improvement district. It is regarded as one of the most successful in the state and won a national award in 2004.

In addition, Bud was president of the Senior Citizens Housing Corp., which designed and built Westfield’s first 172-unit facility. He managed part of the baseball association, and was active in Grant School Players, Community Players, and the Westfield Jaycees. He served on a county authority during the planning and start-up of a waste-to-energy plant, the last built in the United States. He worked in Habitat for Humanity projects yearly all over the country.

Bud was a regular at Reunions and class events. He served as our class secretary and on the Alumni Forums Committee and chaired his county schools committee for a decade.

Bud is survived by Gaile, his wife of over 50 years; daughter Nancy; sons Gary and Douglas ’86; and nine grandchildren. We all send our sympathy to them in their loss.