Elliot P. Putnam ’59 died on December 5, 2021, in Bluffton, South Carolina
(The following was provided by the Valley News on February 15, 2022)
Elliot Preston Putnam ’59
BLUFFTON, SC – Elliot Preston Putnam, a dedicated husband, father, brother and grandfather, passed away Monday, December 6, 2021, in Bluffton, SC, after a period of declining health. He was 84 years old.
Elliot Preston Putnam was born March 21, 1937, in Ware, Massachusetts – the only son of the late Preston Meldrum Putnam and Janice Barclay (Allardyce) Putnam. His father’s work with the Army Corps of Engineers resulted in many childhood moves, but one constant in his early years was his love of sports, including golf, baseball, and basketball. His teen years were spent in Sudbury, Massachusetts, and lifelong friendships began from his golfing at Wayland Country Club. He graduated from Niagara Falls High School with the class of 1956. While in high school he played basketball, was the team captain his senior year, and later inducted to the Niagara Falls High School Hall of Fame in 2002. On a basketball scholarship he attended Bowdoin College and later transferred to Nichols College, where his record in basketball and as team captain repeated itself. He graduated in 1960.
Elliot Putnam loved the game of golf. From a young age he had a passion for the game, and he was fortunate to travel and play golf all over the United States at many of the country’s finest courses. Elliot’s skill and passion for the game he loved allowed him to maintain a seven handicap for almost forty years of his golf career.
His natural talent for the game won him several championships at Marlborough Country Club, including the Marlborough Cup, as well as the Men’s Club Championship at the former Mount Pleasant Country Club in Boylston, and the Husband and Wife Club Championship at both Mount Pleasant in Massachusetts and The Strand in Florida. His son, David, has much of the same enthusiasm for the game and together they won many father-son golf tournaments and played in the Massachusetts State Father & Son Tournament. He also played in many father-daughter tournaments with his daughters Cindy and Jenifer. Elliot looked forward to his annual winter golf trips to Myrtle Beach with buddies from Marlborough Country Club, where he had many lasting memories and never-ending stories. Elliot had three hole-in-ones in his career, but one was particularly special, as it was holed the same morning that his second grandson Stephen was born!
Elliot joined the family waterworks business, Hilco Supply Co. of Sudbury in 1956, and remained there until its sale in 1979. He then worked for Everett J. Prescott Co., Inc., from 1980 to 1985 where he opened their first location in South Barre, Massachusetts. In 1985 he realized his lifelong dream of owning his own business when he and Richard Whitney started Putnam Pipe Corp. in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. A true business professional and a man of absolute integrity, his longtime customers became lifelong friends. His son, David, joined him in the family business in 1986 and they grew a successful business together until his retirement in 2002. His daughter Cindy would also join the company business helping it to continued growth and success to the delight of her father.
Retirement afforded him even more golf in Massachusetts, Naples, Florida and finally at Sun City Hilton Head, South Carolina. He and his wife, Christine, developed many close friends for a full golf and social calendar. He loved games of poker with his buddies in Sun City, while openly supporting all of his favorite New England sports teams. He was always ready for a game of Liar’s Poker, whether with golf buddies, business associates, or with his grandkids at family gatherings where it was said he never lost.
He leaves his wife, Christine (Eulian) Putnam; his children, Cynthia Ann Putnam and her partner, Susan Cormier, of Groton MA, David Elliot Putnam and his wife, Paula ,of Orleans, MA and Jenifer Bautz and her husband, Craig, of West Palm Beach, Florida; stepson Dominic Castellano, his grandchildren, Alexander, Stephen and Brendan Putnam, Cody and Logann Bautz; his niece, Janice Maenpaa Purcell and her son, Paul; nephew, Jack Maenpaa and his wife, Marcy, and their daughter, Jenny. He was brother of the late Virginia Putnam Maenpaa.