MIDDLETOWN� Charles M. Leighton, Founder of the CML Corporation and Yachting Luminary, Dies at the age of 77.
Charles M. Leighton, passed away Sunday, February, 24, 2013, at the Lahey Clinic, with his wife Roxanne McCormick Leighton at his side. Mr. Leighton, 77, and his wife resided in Vero Beach FL, Islesboro ME, and Middletown RI.
In 1968, Mr. Leighton founded the CML Corporation, a conglomerate of lifestyle brands that included, at various times, Nordic Trak, Boston Whaler, Hood Sailmakers, Smith & Hawkins and The Nature Company. The CML Corporation was listed on the NYSE and Mr. Leighton chaired the NYSE Listed Company Advisory Board. Additionally, he was a longtime director of MetLife and trustee of the Lahey Clinic.
Mr. Leighton graduated from Bowdoin College in 1957 and was honored by the school in 1989 with a Doctor of Law. Following Bowdoin, he graduated from Harvard Business School where he later taught and became president of the Harvard Alumni Council.
Mr. Leighton�s lifelong love was sailboat racing, pursued under a series of yachts named Madcap and Whitecap, a Hinckley 42. As a youth, he lived in Chatham, MA, where he was active in the Chatham Yacht Club. At Bowdoin, he founded the college sailing team.
Mr. Leighton�s participation in sailboat racing spanned five decades, much of it under the flag of the New York Yacht Club where he held the rank of Commodore from 1992 to 1994. As a Past Commodore, he chaired the Young America syndicate, the New York Yacht Club�s entry in the 2000 America�s Cup competition. Mr. Leighton final sailing position, from 2005 to 2010, was Executive Director of US Sailing, the sport�s national governing body.
He leaves behind his wife Roxanne, brother Fred Leighton, daughter Julia, her partner Gloria Powers, and daughter Anne.
Memorial gifts may be made to Sail to Prevail, a national program for sailors with disabilities where Mr. Leighton was Chairman of the Board of Advisors. Sail to Prevail, P.O. Box 1264, Newport RI 02840 or www.sailtoprevail.org. A memorial celebration of his life will be held in Newport, RI this spring.
Funeral arrangements by the O'Neill-Hayes Funeral Home, 465 Spring St., Newport.