Alfred A. Hormel ’44


Alfred A. Hormel ’44 of Weston, Connecticut, passed away on December 8, 2009, in Norwalk (Connecticut) Hospital after a short illness. His father was an engineer and bridge builder, moving frequently, and Al attended 18 schools before graduating first in his class from George Washington High School in New York. Al received a scholarship to Dartmouth, but withdrew to enlist in the service in World War II. He was assigned to the Office of Strategic Services, which he served translating and decoding messages in North Africa and Italy. After the war he settled in Greenwich Village in New York City and at night attended the Art Students League of New York, where he met Marilyn Miller; they married in 1952. Al and Marilyn, both commercial artists, opened their own art studio, where they handled a wide variety of projects, including Al’s cartoon and graphic design work for textbooks and annual reports. The Hormels moved to Weston in 1959, when Al became active in the Weston Little League and eventually president. He was proud of instituting rules guaranteeing every child adequate playing time and running the first Little League in the country to welcome female players. In later years Al became class newsletter editor and wrote a column for Hogan’s Alley magazine. Many of his numerous letters to the editor, advocating for the underdogs of society, were printed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek magazine and local Connecticut papers. His wife of 57 years, Marilyn, brother John, sons Richard, Philip and Quentin and four grandchildren survive him.