Thomas L. Gladders ’63
Thomas L. Gladders ’63 died April 13 of a suspected heart attack, in Webster Groves, Missouri. Born in Carbondale, Illinois, Tom moved to Ladue, Missouri, at the age of 9. At Dartmouth he majored in political science, was a member of the Dartmouth Outing Club, Undergraduate Council and Kappa Kappa Kappa. Tom earned an M.B.A. from Stanford in 1965. Following Stanford, Tom worked in commercial lending, but moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1968 to join G.W. Gladders Towing Co. and Gladders Barge Line, founded by his father, Glenn Warren Gladders, in 1950. The company operated towboats and barges on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. As president Tom grew the business to $20 million in sales in 1983, when an industry depression forced the company to close. Tom then served as president of Trinidad Cop. in Clayton, Missouri, which operated 22 oil tankers. He was also chairman of the American Waterways Operators and worked closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the development of a major dam on the Mississippi. “He was born with river water in his blood and a boat wheel in his hand,” according to his family. In 1986 Tom established a firm doing mergers and acquisitions. Tom served as president of the Dartmouth Club of St. Louis, alumni interviewer, fraternity-sorority coordinator and class agent. He is survived by daughters Arden and Julie, son Thomas Jr., sister Emily, brother Warren and three grandchildren.
