Alexander Aldrich

Alexander Aldrich, widely known as “Sam,” died peacefully at The Wesley Community in Saratoga Springs on Wednesday, July 19 at the age of 89 on July 19 2017. Sam was born into a family that has been prominent in American civic life. His paternal grandfather was Senator Nelson W. Aldrich, a leader in the US Senate at the beginning of the 20th century. His mother’s grandfather, Charles Crocker, was one of the “Big Four” who completed the transcontinental railroad during California’s Gold Rush. His father, Winthrop W. Aldrich, was CEO and Chairman of the Chase National Bank and served as American Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s during the Eisenhower Administration. His mother, Harriet Alexander Aldrich, ran the Civil Defense Volunteer Office in New York City during World War II. Educated at Harvard and Harvard Law School, Sam started his career as a corporate attorney for Milbank, Tweed in New York City. However, he was soon called to public service by the societal changes he was witnessing. Sam left the corporate world, earned an MPA from New York University, and thenceforth devoted himself to public service. First as a public defender and later as deputy police commissioner for New York City, Sam worked with youth programs, like the Police Athletic League, and, among other accomplishments, advocated successfully for young performers from Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant to participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the late 1950s. In 1960, Sam joined New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s administration as the first director of the New York State Division for Youth, and became chairman of the Governor’s State Cabinet Committee for Civil Rights, as well as the Governor’s executive assistant. Sam engaged fully in local politics and advocacy, serving as the Attorney for the City of Saratoga Springs, for Yaddo, and for the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. He is survived by his wife, the former Phyllis Williamson of Providence, RI, and their children, William Aldrich of San Francisco and Sarah Aldrich of Hamden, CT; his children with his former wife, Elizabeth Hollins Elliott of Tyringham, MA: Winthrop Aldrich of Islesboro, ME; Elizabeth Atcheson of Seattle, WA, Amanda O’Bannon of Providence, RI, and Alexander Aldrich of Montpelier, VT; and his stepchildren Cynthia Watts Murphy of Morristown, NJ, Jeffrey Watts of Tokyo, Japan, and Taylor Watts of Longmont, CO; plus twenty-three adored grandchildren, and seven wonderful sons- and daughters-in-law. He is also survived by two of his four sisters, Lucy Burr of Mystic, CT and Liberty Redmond of Bethesda, MD.