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These pages contain
all class notes from the Yale Alumni Magazine from 1957 on.
The notes appear unchanged from their original publication
save for the correction of misspellings and other small
errors. The few gaps in coverage that exist result from the
absence of Class of 1957 notes in a few issues of the magazine
over the years. Also, in keeping with changes in the magazine
itself, the frequency of publication occasionally changes.
Notes: January/February 2019
Notes: March/April 2019
Notes: May/June 2019
Notes: July/August 2019
Notes: September/October 2019
Notes: November/December 2019
January/February 2019
From Buz Brenton: “To try to make up for quitting the swim team in my junior year, I’ve competed in open water and pool Master Swimming. In June I was fortunate to win the 1650 free style at the U.S. Masters National swim championships in Indianapolis.” That deserves a “Major Y,’ even if a delayed one! From the small world department: Tom Quirk writes that two classmates’ widows now reside in his assisted living community in Watertown, Massachusetts: Mary Fine (widow of Peter) and Grace Jerman (widow of Al).
In Memoriam: Reynolds Girdler, Jr., died of natural causes on April 28, 2018, at home in Greenwich, Connecticut. His great grandfather having founded Binney and Smith, the maker of Crayola Crayons, Tad worked for the company until 1982, when he retired as a member of its board of directors and vice president for corporate relations. Losing a leg to cancer in his 40s, Tad, a collegiate swimmer, continued to hike, fish, snorkel, and scuba dive and volunteer at the Norwalk Maritime Center and Aquarium. When asked by children at its shark tank about his lost leg, he's said to have enjoyed telling them that a shark got it. Tad is survived by his wife Jean, their children Amy Love, Faith Girdler, and Reynolds E. Girdler, and their families. Donations in his memory should go to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
In Memoriam: Benjamin C. Moore died on May 10, 2018 at his home in West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, of the complications of Parkinson's disease. Ben, who took his architecture degree at Yale, focused his practice on his up-island community, many of whose structures gained from his renovations. He also designed new buildings for many institutions and over 80 private houses. His town's representative to the Martha's Vineyard Commission, Ben was known to calm aroused emotions over such matters as a second ferry slip in Vineyard Haven and renovations to the Oak Bluffs bandstand. A champion of solar energy and affordable housing, he was co-founder of the Vineyard Habitat for Humanity and for 15 years led islanders to the Mississippi delta to build Habitat dwellings there. His roommate Kim Cheney recalls Ben as a "warm affable personality" with "a hearty laugh" who found "the best in people without judgment for their perceived faults and with tolerance for and insight into their character." Ben is survived by his second wife Patricia, his sons Maxwell, Hubbard, Augustus, and Jason, her two sons Andrew Worlock and Patrick Worlock, and their families. Donations in his memory should go to the Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury, or the Island Housing Trust.
In Memoriam: Benjamin A. Rowland, Jr. died at home in South Londonderry, Vermont, on June 25, 2018, from the complications of emphysema and COPD. In 1966, Barry joined the investment management firm of Vance Sanders (later Eaton Vance Corp) of which he became the Chief Administrative Officer while also a member of its Board of Directors. After retirement in 1999, he and his wife Wendy divided their time between Marblehead and Vermont, where they had a working dairy farm. In South Londonderry, he served the Burr and Burton Academy as board member, treasurer, and vice-chair. In 2008, he created the Rowland Foundation to provide support to Vermont teachers (known as Rowland Fellows) to work in partnership with their principals to transform their schools. In May, the foundation received the Distinguished Service Award for Service to Education from the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Barry was, says roommate Tod Mann, "all a New Englander should be: taciturn, street smart, amusing, careful with a dollar." In addition to his wife of almost 60 years, he’s survived by their daughters Heidi Lynn and Sandy Sullivan and their families. Gifts in Barry's memory may go to Burr and Burton Academy, P O Box 498, Manchester, VT 05254.
In Memoriam: William C. Calin died of unstated causes on May 20, 2018 in Lake City, Florida. Winner of the White Prize in History and a ranking scholar, Bill studied, roommate Reed Taylor reports, "with Jacques Guicharnaud and Henri Peyre, who groomed him for his eventual career." Remaining at Yale for his PhD, he taught at Dartmouth, Stanford, the University of Oregon, l'Université de Poitiers, and the University of Florida, from which he retired as Graduate Research Professor in French Literature. Along the way, Bill held Fulbright, Guggenheim, NEH, and Woodrow Wilson fellowships and served as the international vice president of the Association Internationale d'Études Occitanes. He was the author of books on such subjects as Guillaume de Machaut’poetry and ways in which the modern world sees the Middle Ages. Another roommate, Jared Curtis, confirms what all his undergraduate friends experienced: his sharp humor and "wicked laugh." Despite this, Bob Crafts, another roommate, describes him as "quiet and reserved." Later in life, Bill became a devout convert to Episcopalianism. Twice married, he leaves no children or siblings.
JMB
March/April 2019
The annual class dinner will be held at the Yale Club in Manhattan on May 9th. Our customary theater weekend commences the next day. Registration and other materials will arrive soon if they haven’t already done so. Sign up!
Lacking any current news of/from classmates, I turn to the bad news, viz.,
In Memoriam: Xeno York, known to us as Norman W. "Buz" Clein, died on December 27, 2017 in his native Seattle after battling cancer. Xeno entered Yale with ‘55, stopped out for military service in Korea, then returned to college with us, where he rowed with the varsity crew. Sometime after our 25th reunion, he took his new name. A note in the May 1994 YAM states that Xeno had a successful early career in commercial and industrial real estate, which allowed him to retire at 35. Subsequently, he was disabled but continued to lead workshops on coming back from affliction and assist at Alcoholics Anonymous, various outreach programs, and street ministries. In 1994, he reported having children David and Robin and two grandchildren. Contributions in Xeno's memory may go to the American Cancer Society.
In Memoriam: William T. Clinton died on June 5, 2018 of unstated causes in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania. Bill entered Yale with ‘54, left to study Russian at the Army Language School, served with military intelligence for three years, then re-entered college with '57. He captained Yale's swim team and was subsequently named to the All-American Collegiate Swimming Team. After college, Bill entered the stainless steel industry and served as a sales manager, mostly with Lukens Steel, until his retirement. His major hobby was collecting and selling antique maps and rare books. A member of the Freshman Glee Club, Bill sang throughout his life--in barbershop quartets, choruses, and, for 40 years, his church choir. He was also an active volunteer, especially with Good Works, a non-profit seeking to improve the conditions of low-income families. Frank Michelman, writing of his Berzelius brother, relates that Bill "carried himself with an ease, a strength, a warmth, and a modesty that I expect rubbed off on many of us as guides and clues for what would lay shortly ahead in our own lives." Bill is survived by Ginger, his wife of 65 years, their children William, Keith, and Sally, their families, and other relatives. Contributions in his memory can be made to the First Presbyterian Church Music Department, 130 W. Miner St., West Chester, PA 19382 or to Good Works, PO Box 1441, Coatesville, PA 19320.
In Memoriam: Richard E. Voigt died suddenly at his home in New City, NY, on July 4, 2018. Known best in college for founding and managing Eli's Chosen Six and playing with classmates Lyman Drake, Pete Williams, and Buell Neidlinger. Dick, a pianist, kept music, especially Dixieland jazz, at the center of his life. He and his fellow players in ECS were never surpassed in sheer exuberance and unleashed improvisation. After college, Dick took over his father's retail hardware business in New York, then became the owner of two restaurants in Connecticut. He next purchased High Tor Vineyards and Winery in Rockland County, NY, which he turned into farmland. The holder of a degree from New York Theological Seminary and ordained in the United Church of Christ, Dick founded Open Arms, a residential treatment center for those recovering from addictions. He long served on and chaired the board of Rockland County Community College. A 6"4' presence capable of commanding attention from his lofty height, Dick was known for his bonhomie, inexhaustible energy, good cheer, ready laugh, giving nature, gentle spirit, earth-firm character, and moral sense. As Lyman Drake notes, "Dick was always able to laugh at himself. That was an essential part of his charm and a sign of deep humility." Norton Wright reflects that "Dick was a gentle giant of jazz, full of kindness and musical generosity.” Hal Russell says simply that he was "unique." Dick is survived by his wife Elisabeth, sons Richard Jr., Michael, and Christopher, daughter Melissa Mason, and others. Gifts in his memory should go to Open Arms, Haverstraw, NY; Helping Hands of Rockland County; the Center for Safety and Change in New York; or Rockland County Community College.
In Memoriam: Eric D. Pace died on July 15, 2018 from the complications of dementia. A ranking scholar, Rick spent junior year abroad at the University of Heidelberg. After receiving an M.A. from the John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, he started writing for Life from Bonn. He then joined the New York Times, for which he wrote for almost 50 years. His first Times byline appeared in May 1965; only after 2003 did its appearance slow. Starting on on the NYC metropolitan desk, he moved to assignments in the Middle East and Africa from which he was writing into the 1980s. He gained widespread note for his courageous reporting during the 1967 Six Day War from Cairo, the only American journalist filing dispatches from there. That assignment won him the George Polk Memorial Award of the Overseas Press Club and the Page One Award of the NYC Newspaper Guild. At some point, he reported from Vietnam. Then, after covering business, he moved into his final berth as an obituary writer. Along the way, Rick wrote three novels--Saberlegs, Any War Will Do, and Nightingale. Those who knew him knew him as a modest, soft-spoken, slyly witty man--a "gentle spirit". Ernie Pepples, characterizes him--with a razor-sharp mind, deeply knowledgeable about many subjects, and always good-humored. He is survived by his long-time companion Barbara Stanton, his daughters Christine and Lydia, and his sister Ursula Jackson.
JMB
May/June 2019
I finally make amends for last year confusing our two Cleins—one Norman Clein (a.k.a. Xeno York) now deceased, the other Warren Clein, very much among the quick and with utter good grace quick, too, to point out the class’s distinction in having nurtured two “C” Cleins, a single one of that spelling being unusual enough. I hereby set things right. Warren, retired from Cigna in 1990, was in 2018 selling diamonds and fine estate jewelry, then apparently in a severe bear market. I don’t know whether the market has turned, but I’m confident that Warren would still be happy, as he expressed himself then, to upgrade the holdings of any classmates thinking in that direction. I hope that I’ve now set all of this straight!
In Memoriam: We have word that Thomas Keon died of unstated causes on August 22, 2017 presumably near his home in Smithtown, New York. Tom entered Yale with ‘56 but transferred to '57, presumably because of his participation in a five-year program in electrical engineering. At the time of our 25th reunion, he was working for the Airborne Instruments Laboratory of the Eaton Corporation. Predeceased by his wife Eleanor, Tom is survived by his children Nancy Hines and Karen Tooker and other relatives. Donations in his memory should go to St. Andrews Lutheran Church, 30 Brooksite Drive, Smithtown, NY 11787.
In Memoriam: Carleton T. Woodring, Jr., died in or near Guilford, Connecticut, on July 10, 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Woody started out after college as a buyer for Gimbels, then moved to Orr's Department Store, a family business in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he rose to be vice president. He then set up a marketing firm with his wife Sandra and, in the 1980s, became a real estate agent. His principal love was the opera, which he pursued through the Metropolitan Opera Club and the Wagner Society of New York. Sailing and the Yankees came close behind. He’s survived, among others, by his children Carleton III and Sarah Cooper. Donations in his memory should go in his name to the Metropolitan Opera, 30 Lincoln Center, New York, NY 10023.
In Memoriam: On August 24, 2018, we lost Jesse Lemisch, who died peacefully in New York City. A "red diaper baby," Jesse distinguished himself in college by winning the White Prize in History and becoming a ranking scholar and a member of the Elizabethan Club. His red diapers always showing, he went on to a complex career of historical scholarship and leftist writing, protest, and organizing. Jesse gained a Yale PhD, his dissertation being one of the first to capture history "from the bottom up" in contrast to and protest against history "from the top down." The result, a seminal study of seamen and their search for better working conditions in the era of the American Revolution, yielded essays that were of deep influence in the efflorescence of New Left history. From that point, Jesse turned to radical politics. First, he took up the pen against academic history and academic historians, including Yale’s C. Vann Woodward. Neither this nor his membership in SDS ingratiated himself to history departments. As a result, he was a long-time academic vagabond until finally securing a position at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Everyone who knew Jesse knew both his warm, fun-loving qualities and his contrarian, polemical, sometimes infuriating, and occasionally ill-tempered side. But no one could help but admire his devotion to his beloved, long-ill, psychologist/neuroscientist wife Naomi Weisstein. Roommate Roland A. "Clem" Labine writes that he “learned more from Jesse than I did from any professor at Yale." Clem also remarks on Jesse's "impish and off-beat sense of humor that could happily extend to the bizarre, as on an unforgettable night when Jesse casually strolled naked across Elm Street to win a $20 bet. Most of all, however, Jesse was a kind and gentle soul -- and a loyal friend. His deep sense of caring for his fellow human beings is perhaps his greatest legacy." Jesse is survived by his twin sisters, Lisa Lemisch-Lazarus and Ellen Lemisch, as well as an uncle.
In Memoriam: Roger T. Donald died at home in Condon, Montana, on October 11, 2018, after a long illness. Roger entered Yale with ‘58 but completed college with us. His undergraduate record included the Tinker Prize in English, and he was a ranking scholar. Under a Clare Fellowship, he subsequently studied at Cambridge and received an MA in history. He then spent his entire career in publishing. After starting out at McGraw-Hill, he joined Little, Brown where he served for 30 years as senior editor, editor-in-chief, and publisher in the trade division. Among those whose writings he shepherded were Edward Abbey, John Barth, Nathaniel Benchley, Thomas Berger, Peter de Vries, Dennis Donahue, David Herbert Donald, Thomas Flexner, Ellen Gilchrist, Arthur Krock, Norman Mailer, William Manchester, Paul Monette, William Shirer, and I.F. Stone. Roger started living full-time in northwestern Montana in 2002. He was known for his story-telling, his wit and laughter, his generosity, and his nurturing of others' talents. Predeceased by his wife Diana, Roger is survived by his daughter Adrienne, his son Matthew, his companion Rachel Vielleux, and others. Donations in his memory should go to Phillips Andover Academy.
JMB
July/August 2019
I asked John Resnik whether his law practice remained active. He responded: “Still practicing law? We're 83 years old! I claim to have retired years ago, but there are still some old clients who won't believe it. Now living in Florida, when we head to New Haven for a few summer months my daughter gives me desk space, so I’ve someplace to go to get out of the house”—apparently to practice law!
Mike Kohler writes that, following his wife Lucile’s death in 2010, he was “fortunate to sit next to a lovely widow at the main Episcopal Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina. We were married in 2012 and have been very happy. She is Lilly Lancaster Kohler, who taught for 26 years at the University of South Carolina-Upstate in Spartanburg.”
In Memoriam: Kenneth W. Tuttle died on October 1, 2018, presumably in Gainesville, Georgia, the cause of death unstated. After Yale, Ken took his MD degree at the University of Maryland, completed his professional preparation in gastroenterology, then mustered into the U.S. Navy to serve at the San Diego Naval Hospital. He subsequently joined the medical faculties of the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University and practiced at the Hunterdon, New Jersey, Medical Center. Apparently unable to keep himself off the waves, Ken returned to naval service in Great Britain in 1995 and retired in 2000. An active volunteer, he was variously deacon, elder, and board chair of many churches and coordinated and helped raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Ken is survived by Janet, his wife of 60 years, whom he met, John Schoonmaker writes, while working at the Yale Medical School while an undergraduate, as well as by their son Kenneth and daughter Stephanie Nelson and other family members.
In Memoriam: We learned from his widow, Nancy, of the death of Ronald B. Crawford on October 22, 2018 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, of unstated causes. Entering Yale in 1949, Ron left to serve as a Mandarin linguist, intercepting radio traffic from behind enemy lines, in the Air force in Korea. He then returned to Yale to join ‘57. Ron spent most of his work life in personal and industrial sales and residential real estate. He served his communities by helping establish a volunteer ambulance squad, leading Boy Scouts, and being a town supervisor. He also became a pastoral minister in the Unitarian Universalist Church and served as the full-time leader of his Gettysburg congregation, a volunteer chaplain in two hospitals and, with Nancy, co-treasurer of the Gettysburg Ministerium. In addition to Nancy, Ron is survived by their children Amy Crawford-Faucher, Susan Morris, Rachel Maggio, Tad, and Katherine Carman. Contributions in his memory may go to the Unitarian Universalists of Gettysburg, 136 S. Stratton Street, Gettysburg PA 17325 or to the Gettysburg Ministerium, PO Box 3252, Gettysburg PA 17325.
In Memoriam: George W. Schuyler died in Rockville, Maryland, of aggressive lymphoma complicated by Parkinson’s disease on December 2, 2018. A history major, George served four years in the Marines in Hawaii before mustering out as a captain. Subsequently, he pursued graduate study at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and earned a doctorate in history from Stanford. He served as director of the Ibero-American Studies Program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook; Fulbright-Hays Scholar at the Central University of Venezuela; director of the International Education Center at St. Mary's University, Halifax; and history department chairman at the University of Central Arizona. The author of books on aspects of Latin American history and life, he focused on poverty and development. One of George’s distinctive acts was, in the 1970s with his wife Patricia, going back to the land—their "utopian period," roommate Talbott Huey calls it—in New Brunswick, Canada, where they farmed vegetables organically and relied on a wood stove to get them through cold, dark winters. They spent recent years near Washington, D.C. George is best recalled for his mischievousness and easy laugh, which accompanied a tough mind and compassionate regard for all. Talbott writes that George led "a full and adventurous life in unconventional terms." In addition to his wife, George is survived by their children Ann, John, Sharon Freeman, and Lisa Ruskowski-McGlone, as well as by many grandchildren. Donations in his memory should go to Grassroots International, Planned Parenthood, or Witness for Peace.
In Memoriam: John Resnik and Sam Chauncey notified us of the death at home in Farmington, Connecticut, on January 13, 2019, of Robert E. Barton. Bob first managed communications for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, his birthplace, then worked as a reporter and editor for The Detroit News, the New Haven Journal-Courier, and the New Haven Register>, being most notable for sports coverage, photography, and his interviews with Connecticut sports figures. He was widely recognized as a walking encyclopedia of sports-related facts--especially those concerning Yale teams, sports history dating to the 19th century, and Connecticut high school football teams, thousands of whose games he covered. The go-to expert on these subjects, he annually helped update high school sports statistics. From 1961 on, he helped select All-State football teams. He was also active in the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance, received its Art McGinley Award for meritorious service, and long chaired its scholarship committee. He provided Tom Bergin with research assistance in the early 1980s for Bergin’s book, The Game, and helped edit many others' manuscripts. Bob also studied at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, became (typically) a kind of walking Biblical concordance, served occasionally as preacher at the Northford Congregational Church in North Branford, and led services at the Avon Health Center. Sam describes Bob as "a quiet man," his Register photos greatly admired by members of the Yale photography department. Bob is survived by his wife Judith. Donations in his memory should go to Christian Community Action, 168 Davenport Avenue, New Haven CT 06519, or to a food pantry.
JMB
September/October 2019
At our Music in Schools Initiative’s 2019 biennial symposium, the School of Music awarded the Class of 1957 its “Cultural Leadership Citation for Distinguished Contributions to Music.” Steve Wittenberg reports that this year’s symposium, attended by leaders of national music organizations, foundations, and major schools of music, was devoted to “ensure, provide, support, and expand music learning for every K-12 student by developing a set of principles to guide the training of the music educators, both certified professional music teachers and training artists, of the 21st century.”
In June, Phil and Nina Pillsbury celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at a festive gathering in Washington, D.C. Tom Shoop reports from Cincinnati that he’s retired from Proctor & Gamble. Nursing a bum wrist, Tom is temporarily laying off golf but remaining Head Class Agent for his Andover class and rooting for the Bengals.
In Memoriam: John B. Morrell died on January 13, 2019 on Tortola, BVI, where he lived for 50 years. Keith McEligot, his roommate, provides what little we know about John’s life. His family was "in the liquor business and owned, among other products, Wolfschmidt Vodka, which had a New Haven factory. Hence, we had no problem supplying refreshment for weekend football parties in our Davenport entryway. After graduation, John went to work in the family business in London. Probably in the 1960s, he moved to Tortola where, his family's interest in Wolfschmidt Vodka having been sold, he established a similar business, TICO, a beer, wine, and spirits importer and distributor.” Keith recalls John as a jazz enthusiast, "fairly quiet and reserved, pleasant, and generous."
In Memoriam: We lost Christian R. Sonne on March 22, 2019 to the complications of Alzheimer’s disease in Tuxedo Park, New York. At Yale, Chris was a ranking scholar, Scholar of the House, and member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Elizabethan Club, and the Aurelian Society. After college, he served as a U.S. Army artillery officer, gained a Columbia M.A. in International Affairs, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Munich. He spent much of his career in investment banking, then turned to managing two large properties--one in South Carolina, another in the Adirondacks. He also became historian of the town of Tuxedo, one of the nation’s first planned gated communities. Chris’s most notable contribution to Yale was his chairmanship of the board of the Berkeley Divinity School. He was also a trustee of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, a board member of St. Mary’s Center (an AIDS health care center in New York City), Chairman of the Board of the American-Scandinavian Foundation, and a trustee of the Vincent Mulford Foundation (which works to alleviate homelessness in New York City and Boston). An active hiker, he reached the summit of all 113 mountain peaks above 4,000 feet in New England and New York, which made him an “Adirondack 46’er.” All who knew Chris knew his jaunty good humor and intelligence. For Mike O’Hearn, he was a “man of high principles.” To Roland Machold, he was “a very straight ahead person,” to Ernie Pepples a man of “moral compass.” Chris is survived by his wife Sally, their children Peter, Nicholas, Matthew, and Edie, as well as others. Donations in his memory may be made to St. Mary’s-in-Tuxedo Episcopal Church, PO Box 637, Tuxedo Park, NY 10987.
In Memoriam: Rob Walker notified us of the death on April 6, 2019, in Wilton, Connecticut, of Charles H. King, Jr. Charlie's working career was in investment management in New York and New Canaan and Greenwich, Connecticut. His roommate, Tod Mann, who occasionally worked with Charlie on money management projects, writes that "his smarts and leadership in those efforts were unquestioned." Rob says that "his intelligence, stimulating company, and loyalty were fundamental to his character. He loved the outdoors with fly fishing and game shooting" and was "an eager student of history." In recent years, Rob reports, Charlie was confined to his home with a debilitating illness which "he bore with uncomplaining fortitude." Tod writes of Charlie's "incredible grace," a man "never complaining or losing his sense of humor. When asked, 'How are you?' he would cheerfully report, 'I guess you could say that I'm falling apart about on schedule.'” Charlie is survived by his wife Karla, their sons Charles ('81) and Locke, and daughters Ashley K. Goddard and Amanda H. Keyes.
In Memoriam: We have brief word that James A. Therrien died on April 8, 2019, in Bogota, Columbia. From what we learn, Jim long served the Chase Bank in executive management positions in Latin America, including service as head of the bank's South America West region, which covered the Andes. He was also CEO in the 1980s and perhaps longer of Banco del Comercio, Bogota (a Chase affiliate he helped convert into a consumer bank) and held director positions with the Inter-American Action Committee and the Centro Colombo Americana, both in Bogota. In recent years, Jim listed himself with the class as an investment advisor.
JMB
November/December 2019
Mark your calendars: The annual class dinner takes place at the Yale Club on Thursday, May 7th, followed by the annual theater weekend, May 8th and 9th.
Mr. Trillin has finally gone too far. Did you read his unforgiveable libel on those legions of us across the land, Yalesters and others, who write class notes? If you didn't, see the September 9th issue of The New Yorker. Does our classmate really think that '57 has had among us the felons and scalawags that he features? Or that I'd write about them? For shame, Sir!
Chalk up more achievements to octogenarian 57ers (all of us, if truth be told, in our ninth decade). Viz., Roger Gambatese and Ade Graham were present to cheer on Don Griffith when Don's West Virginia Generals basketball team came away with a silver medal in the 80-plus age bracket at June's Senior Games in Albuquerque.
In Memoriam: We first heard from Scott Nicholls of the death some time ago of William H. Hamm III, presumably in Palm Beach where he and his wife Candace had a home. We subsequently secured confirmation, through the indispensable sleuthing of Bob Ganger, also in Palm Beach, that Bill died on March 27, 2018. Scott notes that, after Yale, Bill gained an MBA from Columbia. At the time of our 25th reunion, he worked as a stockbroker in San Francisco in a firm, which, says Fritz Hagios, was eventually incorporated into Morgan Stanley. Bob reports that, an heir to the Hamm Brewery fortune, Bill at one point served on the board of the Palm Beach Zoo.
In Memoriam: Nort Wright alerted us to the death on April 4, 2019, while visiting Palm Springs, of Richard A. Lumpkin, a resident of Carmel, California. At Yale, Dick was a member of Skull and Bones, chaired the WYBC board, and was president of the Ivy Network. After US Army service, he secured an MBA from Harvard Business School. Returning to his birthplace, Mattoon, Illinois, he joined the Illinois Consolidated Telephone Company, a firm founded by his great grandfather. In 1977, Dick became its president, then CEO also of its newly formed holding company, Consolidated Communications, which he built into a firm that published directories, provided local and long distance telephone services, and created a fiber network connecting Indianapolis and St. Louis. Dick and his family sold the company in 1997; but when its buyer went bankrupt, with others he re-purchased it to ensure that jobs in its vicinity would be saved and that the company would continue as a major 23-state broadband and business communications provider. Dick played a large role in the early 1980s in founding the Special Olympics Family Festival, today the largest such gathering in the US. Active in the Lumpkin Family Foundation, a major regional philanthropy, he was a leading figure in founding the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center and developing its new hospital as well as in supporting the Lumpkin School of Business at Eastern Illinois University, which conferred on him an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service. He was also a member of the Yale University Council Committee on Information Technology and a trustee of Millikin University and Concord Academy. After the death of Gail, his first wife, Dick moved to Carmel Valley, where he married Virginia Hawes in 2007. Not willing to rest, he launched the Cima Collina Winery and Tasting Room. Mike Kohler recalls him for "the love, honor, and respect he always held for his family - past and present; his innate business ability; and his strong inclination to philanthropy." In addition to his wife, Dick is survived by two children Elizabeth Celio and Benjamin Lumpkin and their families, four step children and their spouses, and other family members. Memorial gifts may go to the Sarah Bush Lincoln Foundation.
In Memoriam: Mahlon B. Wallace III died at home surrounded by his family in St. Louis, Missouri on May 19, 2019. Vern Loucks reports the cause of death as cancer. After Yale, where he was a varsity swimmer, Lonnie served in the Marines, achieved the active duty rank of First Lieutenant, and eventually retired as Captain. He then served as chief executive officer of the Wallace Pencil Company, a family firm, until it was sold in 1982. After retirement, he devoted much of his life to managing Spring Creek Farm in Rolla, Missouri, where he raised championship Texas longhorns. A naturalist as well as hunter, Lonnie and his family were avid travelers, made more than a dozen safaris in Africa, and were often on their boat among the islands of the Caribbean and South Pacific. In St. Louis, he was a 32-year director of Commerce Bank and elsewhere involved with the National World War II Museum, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, and Hotchkiss School. Involved in the community of Harbor Point, Michigan, he worked there to restore the Little Traverse Bay Lighthouse. Vern writes that Lonnie loved cowboy "shoot 'em ups" and would drive far to see one. Buz Brenton calls Lonnie "a baron of a man, who in this age we have few of." In addition to his wife Lee, Lonnie is survived by sons Mark and Edward, two stepsons, and many others. Gifts in his memory should go to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, 3800 Settler Park Drive (Ste. 104), Dumfries, Virginia 22025, or to Focus Marines Foundation, 15455 Manchester Road #46, Ballwin, Missouri 63022.
JMB
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