Background
Larrow, Robert William was born on April 27, 1916 in Vergennes, Vermont, United States. Son of William Edward and Melissa (Young) Larrow.
Larrow, Robert William was born on April 27, 1916 in Vergennes, Vermont, United States. Son of William Edward and Melissa (Young) Larrow.
He attended the Vergennes schools and graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and Harvard Law School, receiving his law degree in 1939.
He served as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court for seven years. The Vermont Encyclopedia describes him as "among a small group that led to the revitalization of the Vermont Democratic Party in the 1950s and 1960s, ending the Republican hegemony in Vermont."
Larrow served as Burlington city attorney for nineteen years, from 1944 to 1963. He was a Superior Court judge in Burlington from 1966 to 1974.
Larrow unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1952 against incumbent Lee East. Emerson.
At the time, Larrow was thirty-six years old and known for being "bright and articulate," with "considerable energy and drive despite his Sydney Greenstreet-like girth." With his "diligent work habits and sharp wit, Larrow ran a vigorous campaign": he lost, but received 60,051 votes, some 40 percent of the vote: a record high for a Democratic candidate for governor, and nearly 40,000 more votes than the Democratic candidate had received in 1950. Larrow"s run was the first time in decades that a Democrat had actively and credibly campaigned for governor, and a sign of the resurgence of the Democratic party in Vermont after decades of Republican dominance.
The next year, Larrow unsuccessful ran for mayor of Burlington. He was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1949, serving until 1951.
Larrow was chairman of the State Liquor Control Board from 1963 to 1966.
Larrow became an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court in 1974. He was the last state supreme court justice in Vermont to be elected by the Vermont General Assembly. An amendment to the Vermont Constitution gave the power of appointment to the governor.
Larrow retired from the state supreme court in 1981, after seven years on the bench, at the age of sixty-five.
Vermont Chief Assistant Attorney General Louis Peck was appointed to replace him. Larrow died on August 2, 1991 at the age of seventy-five, after a long illness.
Member Vermont House of Representatives, 1949-1951. Delaware Democratic National Convention, 1952, 60. Member Vermont, Chittenden County (Vermont) bar associations, American Judicature Society Clubs: Ethan Allen (Burlington).
Married Marion E. Leonard, May 20, 1940. Children: Anne Larrow Newman, Mary Larrow Bernardina, Barbara Larrow Walsh, Joan Larrow Finnegan, Judith Larrow Leroux, William, Robert William, John.