Maurice C. Workman Jr., former president and chairman of the board of ACA (formerly the National Paint & Coatings Association) died January 2, 2021. He was 92.
Born in 1928, in Chicago, Illinois, Workman was the son of Maurice Sr. and Lilian Workman. After high school, he attended the University of Illinois. There, he played in the marching band and pursued his degree in accounting.
During the Korean War, he served his country in the U.S. Army. After he returned home in 1953, he married Helen Roberta “Pat” Patterson, his beloved wife with whom he would spend the next 60-plus years.
Workman’s career in the paint and coatings industry began in 1950 when he joined Benjamin Moore & Co. In 1970, he was appointed president, a position he held for 26 years until his retirement in 1996. He then served for four additional years on the Benjamin Moore board until Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway acquired the company in 2000.
Throughout his time at Benjamin Moore, Workman was an active member of ACA, serving as chairman, vice chairman, and treasurer of the ACA board. He also served for many years on ACA’s Budget and Finance and Executive Committees and was the 1987 recipient of ACA’s George Baugh Heckel Award, the association’s highest honor.
After his retirement, Workman enjoyed watching Yankee games and spending winters at his second home in Brandenton, Florida. He indulged in his love for music and even started a choral group in The Fairways development in Lakewood, New Jersey. He also served on the Board of Directors of Eastern Baptist Theology Seminary at Eastern University in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
Workman was preceded in death by his wife, Pat, and their oldest son, Greg. He is survived by sons Geoff, Paul (Mary), Steve (Valerie), and daughter Susan, as well as six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.