Darden senior VP controller mentored many
When Darden restaurants were owned by General Mills in Central Florida, Robert Waggoner tended finances. As senior vice president controller, he operated in a world of black and white, right and wrong, mentor and mentee. Those who worked for him decades ago still treasure the lessons he integrated into the workday.
“He knew all the rules and regulations, and he expected his team to follow them to the nth degree,” said Patty DeYoung, who retired as executive administrator of Darden in 2009.
She believes Waggoner pushed her and added, “I don’t know how many times he said to me, ‘You can do this; I know you can do this.’ ”
Even after his retirement, he maintained a mentorship presence among various local organizations, such as the Orlando Science Center and Lutheran Counseling Services, his family said. DeYoung remembers Waggoner going to Darden Foundation board meetings into his 70s.
Robert Waggoner died Sept. 7 of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 83.
DeYoung described her former boss as the poster child of what a CPA should be. She remembers a quiet, observant man who expected perfectionism from his staff because he expected it of himself.
Waggoner entrusted his former administrative assistant with tasks beyond those typically associated with the job, encouraging DeYoung to consider everything she was capable of. He encouraged everyone to better themselves, the company.
“We worked very, very hard,” she said. “Sometimes we were there until 8 or 9 at night.”
They operated on typewriters initially, and Waggoner was an early adopter of the personal computer. He taught Bill Hemmerly, who worked for him, the value of keeping writing concise. Waggoner was able to uplift as he critiqued, and Hemmerly valued his feedback: “He knew how to give it to you so it really felt like a gift,” he said.
Heidi Metcalf said her father, a U.S. Army veteran, was someone people could look up to because he looked at all sides of a situation, offering up an honest opinion.
“He was a great leader because he walked the walk,” DeYoung said. “And we were a very small group at the time, and the one nice thing about it was we had all the benefits of being General Mills, but we had all the warmth and depth of being a family company. We were small.”
When he moved to Central Florida, Metcalf said her father was excited about his role in the evolving company. In his personal time, he rode his bicycle — 50 miles for his 50th birthday, 55 for his 55th — traveled with his wife and taught the value of saving money.
Metcalf remembers her first job. She was in high school, and her father insisted she open an IRA.
“Prepare yourself for the future,” he told her. “Don’t spend everything that comes in.”
In addition to his daughter Heidi Metcalf of Orlando, Robert Waggoner is survived by his wife, Shirley Waggoner of Altamonte Springs; a son, Mark Waggoner of Hillsboro, Ore.; two brothers, Joe Waggoner of Gatlinburg, Tenn., and Roger Waggoner of Davenport, Iowa; a sister, Peggy Zook of Longwood; and four grandchildren.
Baldwin-Fairchild Semoran Chapel, Altamonte Springs, handled arrangements.