Thaylen H. Waltonen was born in Farmington, Maine on February 3^rd, 1948. His dad moved the family to Rhode Island in 1952 and settled in West Greenwich in 1954 where Thaylen attended West Greenwich Elementary School. He showed leadership potential even at a young age serving as the lieutenant in the school’s safety patrol. He attended Coventry High School and graduated with the Class of 1966. After high school Thaylen attended RI Junior College, completing his Associate’s Degree in business administration in 1968 and from there attended Hiram Scott College in Scottsbluff Nebraska. He became active in fraternity life and served as chapter treasurer of AEPI theta chi. He graduated from Hiram Scott in 1971 earning a Bachelor’s Degree in business administration. Upon returning home his dad gave him $5,000 that was the proceeds of the down payment of selling the family farm in Maine.

September of this year marked 52 years that Thaylen has owned and operated S & T Hardware, Inc. As he started his business, he became an active member of the Jaycee organization, a group believing in personal growth through community development. He was elected treasurer and was later elected as president of the Coventry Chapter. In 1976, the bicentennial year of our country, he was elected president of the RI Jaycees. During his tenure as a Jaycee, he chaired a project to restore the ACI’s prison library which had been destroyed due to a riot, and later that year was honored with an award for the most outstanding community project in the United States.

Thaylen joined the West Greenwich Republican town committee and served as chairman. He later ran for and was elected to the West Greenwich Town Council. He would continue to serve the town for 26 years holding various positions including Vice President, and eventually President. During his time with the Town Council, Thaylen was involved in several notable projects including, the acquisition of the town’s zip code, 02817, establishing a recycling program, and chairing the E911 project. Most notable of his many accomplishments was serving as Building Committee Vice Chair for the new Junior/Senior High School. He has also served on various boards and committees such as the board of Corporators of Centreville Bank, Camp E Huntee, and the Board of Corporators of Kent County Hospital

He sponsored a baseball team for several years and had provided many donations to various school, youth and community groups over the years. Thaylen has led a life of community service and has truly made a difference for both Coventry and West Greenwich. His list of accomplishments makes him a worthy candidate for the C.H.S. Alumni Hall of Fame!