joanne blodgett prager

joanne blodgett prager

JOANNE BLODGETT ENGAGED TO MATTHEW LUXENBERG ROOT
Published: Sunday, February 14, 1988

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas N. Blodgett of New York and Dublin, N.H., have announced the engagement of their daughter Joanne Washington Blodgett to Matthew Luxenberg Root, the son of Dr. and Mrs. Leon Root of New York and Roxbury, Conn.

Miss Blodgett, an associate in corporate finance services at the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York, and her fiance, a marketing representative for Ogden Martin Systems, a resource recovery company in Fairfield, N.J., plan to marry in June.

The bride-to-be, a former Ford model, graduated from the Hotchkiss School and cum laude from Harvard University in 1987. She was presented in 1983 at the Debutante Cotillion and Christmas Ball and was a member of the Junior Assembly. Her father is the president and founder of TBA Resources in New York, a consulting company specializing in sales and management training. Her mother, Anne Blodgett, is a landscape artist. Miss Blodgett is a granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Blagden of Lakeville, Conn., and of Mrs. Willis E. Blodgett of Great Barrington, Mass., and the late Mr. Blodgett, the executive vice president of Fletcher D. Richards, an advertising agency in New York. Mr. Blagden is an artist.

Mr. Root, a graduate of the Collegiate School and Duke University, received an M.B.A. degree last year from Columbia University. His father is a senior attending orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery and New York Hospital and a professor of clinical surgery at the Cornell University Medical College. His mother, Paula Root, serves on the boards of the New York Philharmonic and the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.

The future bridegroom is a grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Luxenberg of Toronto and of the late Mr. and Mrs. Max Root of Livingston, N.J. Mr. Luxenberg is a retired lawyer and a Queen's Counsel.

Photo of Joanne Blodgett and Matthew Root

When was the last time you cut your hair?
In 1993, I cut three feet off. I have cut it twice, both times in order to donate it. I’ve always thought that long hair was much easier than a hairstyle. I attribute the health of my hair to good food—we cook all of our own.

What are you doing today?
I just ran into Barneys. I’m in between two school pickups, with my 4-year-old in the car watching a movie.

How many children do you have?
I have four: 10, 9, 6, and 4. It’s like air-traffic control, but I try to make the process fun and pleasant. We live in Soho, and they go to more-traditional schools uptown, so we use the whole city. We’re in Brooklyn once a week, at the aquarium, or at the Bronx Zoo.

How do you travel?
In my situation, I have to have a driver. But he’s very much a family member, like a grandfather. It’s all very cozy.

Tell me about your style.
I first look at the weather, and then select a shoe based on how athletic the plans for the day are, and then I work up. My husband actually buys all of my clothes for me. I think it’s sweet, and he’s got far better taste than I do. This skirt is Barbara Bui, the shoes are Anya Hindmarch, and the sweater is TSE—all from our neighborhood. That’s really the appeal of Soho, that it’s a very artistic area.

Did you work before you had kids?
I was in banking for almost ten years. I do miss being able to measure how I did each day. You don’t get immediate feedback in parenting. You have to make a best effort all the time and hope it pans out.