Obituaries

William W. GarretsonBusiness Owner

William Walter Garretson, 75, an executive with companies in the wire and cable industry who also owned a business, died Dec. 28 at the nursing unit of BayWoods retirement community in Annapolis. He had cancer.

Starting in 1956, Mr. Garretson spent 20 years with General Cable Corp. in Baltimore and Washington. He was then president of Triangle PWC before leaving in 1982 to buy Protective Coating Developments Inc., a division of Triangle PWC.

He moved Protective Coating Developments from New Jersey to Millersville before selling the business in 2003. He also owned and operated Garretson Associates, a manufacturers' representative agency in the wire and cable industry.

Mr. Garretson was a native of Perth Amboy, N.J., and was a 1953 economics graduate of Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. He received a master's degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970.

He served in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division from 1953 to 1956.

He was a self-taught engineer and electrician, and his avocations included woodworking and building model ships. As a youth, he built and raced Comet class sailboats and maintained an interest in sailing.

Survivors include his wife of 45 years, Ruth Spry Garretson of Annapolis; two children, Meg Carter of Alexandria and Bill Garretson of Los Angeles; and two grandsons.

Robert Shoecraft WoodSEC Systems Analyst

Robert Shoecraft Wood, 90, a retired systems analyst with the Securities and Exchange Commission, died Dec. 23 of congestive heart failure at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville. He was a Kensington resident.

Mr. Wood was born in Liverpool, N.Y. He served with the Army in Europe during World War II and was awarded the Purple Heart. Shortly after his discharge, he joined the SEC and worked there until his retirement in 1976.

He was an amateur magician who specialized in card and coin tricks. He also was a member of the Episcopal Christ Church in Kensington, the Clan Davidson Society and the Society of American Magicians.

A son, Robert D. Wood, died in 2003.

Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Dorothy Dunham Wood of Kensington; and a son, Lawrence D. Wood of Crownsville.