American League of Lobbyists

Memorial Page

Wallace H. (Wally) Lloyd, Jr.

Wally Lloyd, 85, who managed the Washington office of John Deere & Company until retiring in 1984, died June 4, 2008 at Covenant Hospice in Pensacola, Fla., of complications of injuries suffered in an automobile accident there in April.

Among his many accomplishments, Wally was the founding secretary of the American League of Lobbyists and serve on the board of directors the first five years of ALL's existence.

Wally joined Deere in 1947 as an assistant credit manager in Moline, Ill., and rose through the ranks there to sales manager of John Deere Harvester Works. In 1957, he transferred to Washington as the company's export representative and manager of the corporate offices. In Washington, he handled the company's diplomatic and legislative affairs. He built relations between the company and the federal government, Congress and foreign embassies and worked to ensure Deere & Co.'s presence in South America, Asia, Southern and Western Europe, Australia, South Africa and the Middle East. He was "the eyes and ears of Deere in Washington," a son said.

Wally, an open and friendly man, also enjoyed entertaining at his home and regularly attended embassy functions. He also had a tradition of having an embassy family at his home at Thanksgiving.

He was born in Shawnee, Okla., and graduated from Wentworth Military Academy in Missouri and Augustana College in Illinois. During World War II, he served in the Navy on destroyers in the Pacific theater. He served in the Navy Reserve in Moline from 1947 to 1950. He was stationed in London as flag aide to the commander of naval forces, Europe, from 1950 to 1952. There he met his future wife, who was the secretary to the U.S. ambassador, John Foster Dulles. They married in 1953 and settled in Falls Church. He remained in the Navy Reserve until 1982 and retired with the rank of captain.

In addition to helping found the League, Wally was instrumental in forming a U.S.-China trade council and was a leader of the Washington Export Council. As an executive on loan from Deere, he also served as an advance man for President Lyndon B. Johnson for a year.

Wally was active in the senior leadership of the Naval Reserve Association and was commander-general of the Naval Order of the United States. He was a member of the Army and Navy Club, the University Club, the Washington Industrial Roundtable, the Navy League and the American Legion.

He moved to Pensacola in 1995. His wife of 52 years, Lois Russell Lloyd, died in 2006. Survivors include two sons, Navy Capt. Wallace H. Lloyd III of Fredericksburg and Peter Russell Lloyd of Washington; a sister; and two grandchildren.

Although he retired over 20 years ago, Wally is remembered by colleagues as a fine man and an outstanding lobbyist. "He was one great guy," remarked Tom Finnigan, ALL's first president. "He was there for our creation; there would be no American League of Lobbyists without folks like Wally."