Stroock, Thomas F.

Thomas F. Stroock, Wyoming State Senator, U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala, and businessman was born in New York City on October 10, 1925. He graduated from Loomis School in Windsor, Connecticut, in 1943 and enrolled at Yale University. In his freshman year, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served from 1943 to 1946. He returned to Yale after his military service and graduated in 1948.

Stroock moved to Casper, Wyoming, in 1948 and worked in the Land Department of Stanolind Oil & Gas Company. In 1952, he founded his own oil and gas properties firm, Stroock Leasing Corporation, which became a successful concern. In addition to running his own business, he served as a director of several corporations including Mid-America/Great Plains Financial Corporation (1967-1973), Wycom Corporation (1968-1975), Key Bank of Wyoming (1967-1989), and Key Bancshares of Wyoming (1975-1989).

A firm believer in involving oneself in civic affairs, Stroock first took public office in 1960 when he was elected to the Natrona County School Board. He served on the school board for nine years, three of them as president. During this time, he also became president of the Wyoming School Board Association in which capacity he lobbied the Wyoming State Legislature for increased state funding for schools.

In a special election, Stroock was elected Wyoming State Senator from Natrona County in 1966. He went on to serve sixteen years in the State Senate (1967-1969, 1971-1975, 1979-1989). In the course of his state senate career, Stroock served as Vice President of the Senate, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Co-Chairman of the Joint Appropriations Committee. He was also a member of the Steering Committee of the Education Commission of the States and the Wyoming Select Water Oversight Committee. Legislation sponsored by Stroock included the Wyoming Air Quality Act, the Wyoming Water Quality Act, and the Wyoming Mineral Royalty Recovery Act. In 1974 Stroock won the Republican nomination for Wyoming’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives but was defeated by Democratic incumbent Teno Roncalio. From 1975 to 1978, he was State Chairman of the Wyoming Republican Party and Chairman of the Western States Republican Chairmen’s Association.

From 1989 to 1992, Stroock served as U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala. Appointed by President George H.W. Bush, he held this position during a period in which Guatemala was making a difficult transition to democracy. During his ambassadorship, Stroock was noted for his advocacy of human rights and social justice in this Central American country. After resigning his ambassadorship in 1992, Stroock returned to his adopted home state and turned his attention to health care issues, serving as Chairman of the Wyoming Health Reform Commission from 1992 to 1994 and joined the Wyoming Medical Center Board of Directors in 1997.

Stroock married Marta Freyre de Andrade, a native of Cuba, in 1949. The couple had four daughters: Margaret, Sandra, Elizabeth, and Anne. In addition to his political and business activities, Stroock was active in numerous organizations, including the Casper Mountain Ski Club and Racing Club, the Nature Conservancy, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He was also Professor of Public Diplomacy at the University of Wyoming.

From the guide to the Thomas F. Stroock Papers, 1948-2008, (University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.)