Marrs was one of the last presidents of Westinghouse
OBITUARY Hamilton-born executive sparred with shareholders, unions and Chrétien after taking over Canadian division
Douglas Charles Marrs was one of the last presidents of Westinghouse Canada, the once venerable Hamilton industry that employed thousands of people across the city and had plants in the industrial north and west Hamilton.
Marrs — who served as president and chair of the board from 1974 until 1984 over a 45-year career at Westinghouse — died Feb. 25. He was 103.
He was described by Hamilton Spectator business editor Fred Billings as quiet and conservative when he became president, but that didn’t stop him from squaring off with industry officials, shareholders, unions and government officials, including then-industry minister Jean Chrétien in 1976 when the company sold off its appliance division.
Chrétien had said the sale became inevitable because Westinghouse Canada had not been able to maintain market share because of earlier attempts to sell the division.
“I must contradict the minister’s statement,” Marrs said. “This organization has done a truly outstanding job of maintaining market share, and our dealers have expressed their confidence and support.”
The next year, he blamed the government for causing the company to lose $8 million because cabinet had twice vetoed a U.S. subsidiary from buying the division. In 1978, he caused a ruckus when he wrote a letter to striking union members admonishing them for not accepting the company’s contract offer.
Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse came to Hamilton in 1903 and, at one time, its operations here made everything from water wheel generators and gas turbines to air brakes, circuit breakers, transformers, toasters, stoves, refrigerators, washing machines and radios, not to mention munitions during both world wars.
Marrs was born in Hamilton and attended Adelaide Hoodless school and Delta Collegiate, and then went to Western University for a management course. He began his career at Westinghouse as an accounting clerk, then rose to managerial positions in treasury and product divisions. During the Second World War, he served as a seaplane pilot in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He became executive vice-president of administration and finance, and a director Westinghouse Canada in 1968.
He was thrust into the post of president in 1974 following the death of then-president William Cheesman in a car crash. Marrs worked closely with Cheesman and had a mixture of sadness and stimulation in getting the top job. “I now have to adjust myself to being the final of decision-maker whereas before I was more of a persuader,” he said.
Marrs retired as president in 1978 but remained as chair of the board until 1984. He served on the boards of the Big Brothers Association, Hamilton and District Chamber of Commerce, Hamilton General Hospital, and McMaster University. He was campaign chair of the 1972 United Appeal (now United Way) in Hamilton.
Westinghouse Canada sold its Longwood Road and Aberdeen Avenue appliance plant to Camco, and its power-generation plant near Sanford Avenue North and Barton Street East to Siemens AG of Germany in 1997. The Camco plant shut down in 2004, and the Siemens plant closed in 2011. Westinghouse once had other operations in Hamilton and Burlington. The former head office, built in 1917 between Sanford and Westinghouse avenues, waits for redevelopment.
Marrs was predeceased by his wife Hilda and is survived by a son, a daughter, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.