Anne Mason Babcock

Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, III

The Theodore Roosevelt Association announces with regret the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, III. Anne Mason Babcock Roosevelt died after a long illness on Jan. 29, and her husband of 61 years, Theodore Roosevelt, III, grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, died on May 2, 2001 at the age of 86. They are survived by a son, Theodore Roosevelt, IV, daughter-in-law, Constance Lane Rogers Roosevelt, and grandson, Theodore Roosevelt, V.

Theodore Roosevelt, III was born in New York City, June 14, 1914, the son of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. and Eleanore Butler Alexander Roosevelt, and a grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt, III was the second and the last surviving of four children born to Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. and Eleanor Butler Alexander Roosevelt: Grace Green Roosevelt (Mrs. William) McMillan, Ted, Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt and Quentin Roosevelt, II.

Theodore Roosevelt, III went to Groton and graduated from Harvard in 1936. He was a Navy flier in World War II, serving as a flag lieutenant in the Pacific. Ted was awarded the Air Medal and left the Navy as a lieutenant commander. He joined the Philadelphia brokerage firm of Montgomery, Scott, becoming a partner in 1952. He served as Secretary of Commerce of Pennsylvania, 1949-1951, appointed by Governor James Duff. He was for many years president of the Competitive Enterprise System, Inc., a nonprofit group that promoted free markets in the United States. Mr. Roosevelt was a trustee of the Theodore Roosevelt Association for many years and a generous supporter of the organization. In recent years, he attended TRA Police Awards ceremonies in Boston and Philadelphia as well as TRA annual meetings in Boston and Norfolk, VA. He was an honorary plankowner in the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), and a strong supporter of the efforts to preserve the Pine Knot site in Virginia, his grandparents' presidential retreat.

President Theodore Roosevelt's father was also named Theodore Roosevelt, and the president dropped the denominator of "junior" after his father's death. In 1914 when the president's grandson was born, there were three Theodore Roosevelts living. The president's son did not personally use "junior" after his father's death in 1919 - his stationary said, "Theodore Roosevelt," and his books listed "Theodore Roosevelt" as the author. But the public and press persisted in calling the president's son Theodore Roosevelt, Junior, and thus his descendants became known respectively as Theodore Roosevelt, III, IV, and V. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. died a Brigadier General in France not long after D-Day during World War II, and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His former home, "Old Orchard," is now the museum at the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site in Oyster Bay.

Anne Mason Babcock was born Dec. 3, 1917 in Glenco, KY, and she and Theodore Roosevelt, III were married in Louisville, Feb. 3, 1940. Ted and Anne Roosevelt lived for many years on a 76-acre farm near Paoli, PA. Ted enjoyed flying his own plane, and the couple travled extensively. Both enjoyed life in the outdoors. Ted and Anne were deeply committed to conservation, and were the donors of the property forming the Theodore Roosevelt Natural Area State Park on the coast of North Carolina, not far from Morehead City, NC. After Ted retired from business, the couple lived at Mount Desert, ME, returning to Pennsylvania in recent years as their health declined. Anne Roosevelt was a dynamic lady with a vivid personality and zest for life. Ted Roosevelt was a man of quiet dignity, with impeccable manners, a warm smile, and a deep resonant voice. They will be greatly missed by all who knew them.⁶