Mecum II, Dudley Clarke
Dudley Clarke Mecum II passed away peacefully at home on December 31, 2023 at the age of 89. Dudley was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 21, 1934 to Dudley and Ruth (Fellman) Mecum. Dudley grew up in Hamilton, Ohio and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a BA in 1956. While living in Columbus, Ohio he met and married his beloved wife, Harriet (Zahn) Mecum in 1959 before they relocated to Boston, Massachusetts where Dudley earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1961. During this busy time, Dudley and Harriet also had three children before moving to Potomac, Maryland; Los Angeles, California; and Greenwich, Connecticut before retiring to Stuart, Florida in 2017.
Never one to be idle, Dudley started his business career as a young boy by covering two newspaper routes in Hamilton, Ohio in order to earn enough money for tennis lessons that turned into a life-long passion. Carrying on in this tradition, he worked his way through college until he landed his first job as a senior account representative with IBM in Columbus, Ohio. Following IBM, Dudley was a founding member and Partner of Management Systems Corporation - an aerospace and defense consulting firm that subsequently was purchased by Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co. (PMM) where in 1969 he was one of the youngest Principals/Partners to be elected to the Senior Management Group of PMM. Over the next 20 years at PMM, he was Chairman of the Far West Region and the managing Partner of the New York office and a Board member. During the early 1970's, Dudley took a sabbatical from PMM to serve for two years as an Assistant Secretary of the Army, in charge of Instillations and Logistics. In 1973 he served as a director for management and organization in the Office of Management and Budget. And in 1980 he was a member of President Reagan's transition team.
After retiring from PMM, Dudley was a Partner at G.L. Ohrstrom until 2009 when he became a Managing Director at Capricorn Holdings. Dudley was a senior executive and Board member of Combustion Engineering, Inc.
During his career Dudley served on the Board of Directors of numerous companies such as Lyondell Petrochemical, Travelers Insurance, DynCorp, Citigroup, Mrs. Fields and Suburban Propane Partners. He also served on the board of his alma mater - Ohio Wesleyan University.
Dudley is survived by his sons Dudley Mecum III (Orlando, Florida) and Scott Mecum (Fort Worth, Texas), and daughter, Lynne Mecum (Chicago, Illinois). Dudley is also survived by his sisters, Selby Doughty (Camp Hill, Pennsylvania), Virginia Mecum (Hamilton, Ohio), and brother Barton Mecum (Boylston, Massachusetts).
The family would like to express their gratitude to the wonderful caretakers, friends and neighbors who assisted Dudley over the last few years.
Dudley was an avid tennis player, model airplane builder, world traveler, World War II buff, and he especially enjoyed the performing arts. He loved his family dearly and will be missed by many adored nephews, nieces, cousins and friends. Memorial services will be private, but memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association or to your favorite cause in memory of Dudley Mecum.
Mecum, Dudley Clarke
