Elliott Moulton (1936-2019): ‘Mayor of Thomas Jefferson St.’
By • May 23, 2019 0 1066
Elliott Jan Moulton — a longtime Georgetown resident nicknamed the “Mayor of Thomas Jefferson Street” — died April 15 of heart disease.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, May 24, at 1 p.m. at the Graham Georgetown hotel, steps from Moulton’s home.
Moulton settled in Georgetown after a career in electrical engineering. He went from earning an MBA at Harvard Business School to creating satellite communication systems in South Africa, where he helped form a telecommunications consulting firm known as Teleconsult. He later founded Potomac Services Corporation, an international trade and development firm based in Georgetown.
Having lived on Thomas Jefferson Street for 40 years, Moulton was a well-known character in the neighborhood. His partner of 20 years, Judy Newman, recalled when the “guys at the [Graham] hotel were babysitting his car once and put up a sign on his car that said Mayor of Thomas Jefferson Street.”
Newman, who has lived in the Thomas Jefferson Street house for 14 years now, called Moulton “a fierce defender of Georgetown.” Whether it be keeping the streets clean or investigating new business neighbors, he was a vigilant resident — something she believes is incredibly important for a neighborhood like Georgetown, which, she said, often attracts profit seekers.
A man of habit and many quirks, Moulton could be found walking his dogs around the block at 4:30 a.m. or maintaining his expansive collection of tools in his basement, from which all the neighbors, including some workers at the Graham, borrowed. He also spent hours gardening in his yard, where he installed a pulley-system bird feeder, complete with a heated water unit to prevent frozen baths in the wintertime.
As a defender of the Georgetown neighborhood, an active engineer, a globe-trotter and a dog lover, Moulton leaves friends and many stories behind. His legacy will live on through his sister, three nieces, a nephew and his companion Newman, who plans to maintain the garden, keeping it a refuge for all animals.
