Timothy L. Towell (August 2, 2026)

In Memoriam:

I write with the news that Timothy L. Towell died peacefully of unstated causes in Washington DC on August 2, 2026. A precollegiate graduate of the Westminster School, Tim, prefiguring the major thread of his career, majored in political science at Yale and was a member of Fence Club. After teaching history and gaining an MA in European history in his native city's Case Western Reserve University, he entered the Foreign Service in 1963. In addition to assignments in Spain, Bolivia, and Belgium, he served in two notable hot spots, first as Deputy Chief of Mission in the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba starting in 1979, then as Ronald Reagan's US Ambassador to Paraguay between 1988 and 1991 during that country's transition from Alfredo Stroessner's dictatorship to democratic government and more stable political and economic relations with the United States. Between those two assignments, the second one making him one of three '57 diplomats holding ambassadorial rank, Tim was Deputy Chief of Protocol in the White House. After retiring from the Foreign Service, he remained active in various aspects of American foreign policy. After serving as Director for Africa of the Peace Corps, he founded the Foreign Policy Group, a consulting firm in Washington, where he continued to live until his death. From his student days, during which jazzist Norton Wright recalls him playing lively jazz drums and "turning others into bopsters," Tim was a chatty, sunny, convivial man with firm views about public affairs. Devoted to his canine companions, he maintained a Georgetown home and garden where he lived among books surrounded by the sounds of the music he loved. He is survived by his daughter, Dane B. Towell; his son, Timothy N. Towell, two grandchildren, and others. Contributions in his memory should be made to K9s for Warriors. A service in Tim's memory will take place at a later date.

—JMB

Robert J. Krogh (June 24, 2026)

In Memoriam:

We've learned from Jack Hughes that Robert J. Krogh died on June 24, 2026. A pre-collegiate of West High School in Minneapolis, at Yale Bob majored in American Studies while taking pre-medical courses. Subsequently, he gained a 1961 medical degree at the University of Minnesota Medical School and pursued his internship and residency in California before traveling extensively in Europe and Asia. Returning to California in 1963, he purchased a family practice in Huntington Beach and joined the staff of Hoag Hospital nearby, both of which which remained his professional homes until his retirement. It is however clear that medicine did not monopolize Bob's interests. Already while in college he had obtained his pilot's license. Later, he became a sailor good enough to handle a 45-foot boat in Channel Islands waters, to race off southern California beaches and in harbors nearby, and to own a sailboat in the Netherlands. A motorcyclist, he took his wheels off-road onto desert trails, rode Harleys, and collect and sold antique cars, his last sale being a 1920 Pierce Arrow 6-Passenger Tourer. As if this wasn't enough--did he have time in his days for treating others' ills?--throughout his life Bob collected clocks and watches, hiked, skied, and want RVing. He is survived by his wife Kim Gracie, his former wife Carol, and many friends.

—JMB

Joseph C. Mesics (June 23, 2026)

In Memoriam:

We've learned from New Haven that Joseph C. Mesics died on June 23, 2026 in Cornwall Manor, Pennsylvania. The cause of his date is unstated. Coming to Yale from Andover, Joe (known as Roy in college) majored in industrial administration, played varsity lacrosse, and was a member of Deke. At some point he served on active and reserve duty in the U.S. Navy, from which he retired at the rank of Commander. With a 1966 law degree from the Dickenson School of Law, he practiced law as partner of a local Lebanon, Pennsylvania, law firm while also serving as a public defender--defending alleged criminals, he wrote, because his defense of them was their "liberty's last chance." In that same spirit, he was the solicitor of many local organizations and civic bodies until his retirement in 2008. In the middle of his work life--in the late 1980s and early 1990s--Joe served in Massachusetts as the secretary of his Andover alma mater, and at the time of our 1991 he was running on the local Republican ticket for trial court judge on the Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas. He described his political circumstances as that of living in a world "that is too complicated when I am too conservative." (The results of his campaign are unknown.) His life record reveals Joe's heavy involvement, principally as volunteer consultant on fund-raising and deferred giving, to local charitable organizations such as his Episcopal parish, the Lebanon Valley YMCA and his region's County Christian Ministries and Lions Club. He was also a member of the Phillips Academy Alumni Council. Said to have been an "addicted" bicyclist, he clocked 100,000 miles on the saddle and committed the $100,000 he raised from doing so to the support of his YMCA and to the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Joe and his wife Sandra, whom he married in 1958 and who survives him, had two children, one of whom, Joseph C., Jr., survives him, the other, Laura Anne, who predeceased him. He's survived also by six grandchildren. Gifts in his memory may be made to the Lebanon Lions Foundation or to St. Luke's Episcopal Church.

—JMB

Bruce McLanahan (May 7, 2026)

In Memoriam:

In late August, Reed Rubin's keen eyes spotted a brief note in the bulletin of the University Club of New York that Bruce McLanahan had died on May 7, 2026. We have learned subsequently from his son Jeremiah ('91) that Bruce succumbed peacefully surrounded by his three children at his long-time home in New Canaan, Connecticut, the cause of his death not stated. A pre-collegiate graduate of Collegiate School in his native Manhattan, Bruce was an intensive history major at Yale, a ranking scholar, and a member of the varsity crew. Following college, he earned a 1960 Harvard JD and followed that in 1967 with an LLM from New York University. Over more than two decades with International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation at its New York headquarters, he rose to be its Senior Counsel. Among his responsibilities was the negotiation of contracts expanding ITT's telecommunications facilities throughout Latin America. Dedicated to ending workplace discrimination, especially after the 1972 passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, he also worked within ITT and with other institutions to prepare a wide range of people to implement the provisions of that law, of which he became a widely respected and published expert. Upon retiring from ITT in 1989, he pressed on by teaching civil rights and employment law for 15 years at Fordham Law School. The Adirondack Mountains were in his bones from having lived part of his youth in Lake Placid, New York, before matriculating at Collegiate School. Starting in 1985, he and his family spent much time there on Saranac Lake at their Camp of the Winds property. That led him eventually to service on the boards of the Adirondack Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, of the Adirondack Land Trust, and of the Upper Saranac Lake Foundation, where his legal expertise as well as his financial backing were keenly felt. Like so many others, he couldn't escape the pull of those ancient New York mountains or of the peaks elsewhere in the world which he climbed. Those who knew Bruce found themselves in the presence of a warm, thoughtful, jolly man. His natural compassion radiated from his 50th reunion book report of his wife Ellen's long and finally unsuccessful struggle against cancer. Yet one was ill-advised to take his gentle voice as evidence of anything but a firm character and skilled mind. Rare were the times when he was not laughing, often at himself--a sure sign of modest, secure self-assurance. An Adirondack friend described him as "a true patrician who never made an enemy in his life." Reed Rubin calls him simply a "gentle soul." Predeceased by Ellen, his wife of 40 years, he is survived, in addition to Jeremiah, by his other children, John and Elizabeth, five grandchildren, and many others.

—JMB

Joel H. Sharp, Jr. (April 11, 2026)

In Memoriam:

Joel H. Sharp, Jr., died peacefully at his home in Windermere, Florida, on April 11, 2026. The cause of his death was unstated. A member of the large Andover contingent that entered Yale with us, Joel majored in biophysics, was a ranking scholar, graduated magna cum laude, and was a varsity swimmer. Following college, in 1960 he gained a Stanford law degree after service on the Stanford Law Review and then apparently followed his study there with service in the Judge Advocate General Corps of one of the military arms. To this record he added an LL.M. in Taxation from the NYU School of Law in 1963. That same year, he entered law practice with the Orlando, Florida, firm of Johnson, Motsinger, Trismen & Sharp with his wife, Winifred Johnson, and his father-in-law after which, in 1980, he took up practice with Baker & Hostetler, from which he retired in 2014. A specialist in tax law, business planning, real estate transactions, and trusts and estates, he became a frequent figure in argument before the Florida Supreme Court. At Baker & Hostetler, of which he was a partner, he served as head of its Trust & Estates Group and member of its Policy Committee. Beyond his practice, he became a leader of the Florida bar as President of the Orange County Bar Association and a member of the Board of Governors of the Florida Bar. He also served as Chairman of the Florida Bar Tax Section and chaired the S Corporation Committee of the American Bar Association's Tax Section. As if this didn't fill his days, Joel was deeply involved in local community affairs. He served on the board of directors of the Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce; helped found the city's Arts, Inc.; was a member of the Orange County Charter Review Commission, whose proposed amendments gained the approval of county voters as well as the Florida Supreme Court; and helped bring about the transition of a local law school to Barry University, on whose board of trustees he sat for 18 years and of which he was a major benefactor. It's reported that Joel was a boating man, tennis player, and avid traveler who was fascinated with animals, which led to his caring for cats, fish, and, yes, peacocks. He's survived by Winifred, his wife of almost 66 years and a judge on Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeals, their four daughters--Jennifer S., Rebecca T., Gaelyn E., and Margaret F.--and ten grandchildren. His family requests that donations in Joel's memory go to the Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law of Barry University.

—JMB

Robert P. Armstrong (March 28, 2026)

In Memoriam:

We are now without Robert P. Armstrong, who, surrounded by his family, died peacefully at home in Washington, D.C. on March 28, 2026. A pre-collegiate graduate of Pelham (NY) Memorial High School, Bob entered Yale with the Class of 1957, with which he maintained a life-long association, but earned his degree in 1958 as a history major, ranking scholar, and member of the freshman glee club. The one-year delay in his degree was caused, reports his Pierson College roommate Ernie Pepples, by the year he devoted to travel and "deep reflection" about the question "How do I get my life right?" After brief service in the U.S. Army, Bob gained a 1960 MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies before taking the first step, this in Liberia, in his subsequently uninterrupted career of applied developmental economics. At the time of our 10th reunion, Bob was a member of the Williams College economics faculty and along the way held a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship. After at some point studying economics at Northwestern University and spending a brief period at the Ford Foundation, Bob found that applying economic knowledge--what, at the time of our 40th reunion, he called "the great combination of intellectual challenge and operational relevance"--was more congenial to him than teaching and research, which led him to leave Northwestern before gaining his doctorate to join the staff of the World Bank. Until his retirement in 1995, he served the Bank as an economic advisor for the African region and its division chief for programming and budgeting. Those positions included three years in Cairo as an advisor to Egypt's Minister of Economy and made him a world traveler--his family reports to 130 countries--on missions to advise other governments and lead economic missions throughout Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Bob's extra-professional interests and activities were extensive: skiing, tennis, mountain hiking, and sailing his catamaran out of Boothbay Harbor, where he and his wife Judy, to whom he was married for over 60 years, maintained a second home. He was a devoté, as one who knew him would guess, less of works of fiction than of those of history, economics, and politics and passionate about classical music and opera. An avid Democrat, he undertook his own study of candidates and was a generous donor to the election campaigns of those whose prospects passed his severe scrutiny. Yet belying his analytical firmness was his compassionate service as a hospice volunteer in Washington. Fortunately, too, while admitting (correctly) that he tended to take himself too seriously--"although I'm told I've improved on that account" (also correct)--he was as genial in argument as he was honest in self-reflection. As Ernie Pepples characterizes him, Bob was a "gentle man" whose senior year away from campus "to work on his life's direction" led to his decision "to make the world a better place. And he did that." Bob is survived by his wife Judith, their daughters Abigail Cashman (MBA '00) and Sarah Alex, their husbands, and three granddaughters. Donations in his memory should go to the International Rescue Committee.

—JMB

Thomas H. Barrington (March 17, 2026)

In Memoriam:

We received word recently from his widow Judy that Thomas H. Barrington died on March 17, 2026 in Bath, Maine, his long-time place of residence. A son of New England, Tom graduated from New Canaan, Connecticut, High School, entered Yale, and then, save for Air Force service and short periods later on, scarcely left his native soil. After majoring in mechanical engineering (with his eye even then on marine engineering) and participating in Air Force ROTC training, he spent his two years of Air Force service in Wyoming, Okinawa, and Texas. On mustering out, he joined his father, a naval architect, in a high-precision valve and fitting company, the US Navy its principal client. In 1965, he moved to Bath to take up work with the Bath Iron Works, the celebrated shipyard with which he remained, save for brief interruptions (one of them a year in Washington working directly with the Navy on guided missile destroyers), his entire career. Even after his formal retirement 2002 from the position of section manager for procurement engineering for those destroyers, Tom twice answered requests that he return to the firm to assist it with new combat ship projects. In addition to his marine engineering responsibilities, he was heavily involved in his Maine community. A supporter of the Bath Marine Museum/Maine Maritime Museum, he became a director of the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust, a member of Bath's City Assessment Board Review Committee, and an active participant in the Bath Forestry Committee. But that was not all. From his high schools days an auto mechanic and in college a participant in classic sports-car rallies, he seems rarely to have slowed a life of varied activities. Photos reveal a debonair man sporting a straw boater with, it's reported, a black derby nearby in case of need. A cribbage player, he drew others to the game and, as fellow mechanical engineering major Bruce Belason reports, drew an oft-repeated life maxim from the game: "It isn't whether you win or lose, it is how you rub it in!" Roommate and another fellow mechanical engineering major Jeff Benson also writes of a weekend spent under Tom's mischievous goad filling a nearby Trumbull College suite with crumpled newspapers while its occupants were absent. Needless to say, Jeff writes, "The waste paper baler in the basement was put to hard use cleaning up the mess." In Bruce's words an "engineer's engineer," Tom often home-manufactured what, such as door hinges, he couldn't find elsewhere. He also hewed wood for the winter, played the concertina, and in one instance, a fan of traditional architecture, with Judy, his wife of over 60 years, dismantled and moved their late 18th-century house from one part of Bath to another, where they re-installed it. Tom is survived by Judy, their daughter Katherine D. Barrington, her family, and many others. Gifts in his memory should go to the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust, the Maine Maritime Museum or the city of Bath Forestry Committee Trust Fund.

—JMB

Eugene B. Doggett (January 12, 2026)

In Memoriam:

Our classmate Eugene B. Doggett succumbed to a serious bacterial infection on January 12, 2026, in Beverly, Massachusetts, not far from his residence in Manchester-by-the-Sea. A precollegiate graduate of the Englewood School for Boys in the town of his birth and then of Andover, Gene majored in American studies at Yale and was editor of the Eli Book. After gaining an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1960, he held positions in banking, investment banking, and financial management with the First National Bank of Boston, the New Hampshire Finance Corporation, G.H. Walker, Arthur D. Little, Tucker Anthony & R.L. Day, and Carlisle Capital before joining Schooner Capital. There, he gained much of the credit for bringing Iron Mountain, now the world's largest records and information management firm, out of bankruptcy, for acquiring over 60 firms, and for taking it public. But most defined Gene was his identification with the sea. Having become a man of the seashore in his earliest youth during summers at his family's beachhouse near Chatham Light in Chatham, Massachusetts, he was operating boats at an early age and at 18 received a U.S. Coast Guard captain's license, which allowed him to hire himself out to transport passengers in the summer. Not long after, he was also authorized to lead beach-buggy bird-watching, surf-fishing, and sightseeing tours of Monomoy National Wildlife Reserve. Happiest on the water, described by Toby Briggs as "passionate about boats," and said to have been "an avid harvester and consumer of oysters," he captained many cruises along the East Coast between Maine and the Bahamas. Not surprisingly, his civic involvements concerned wildlife and land protection and conservation, which led him to be a board member and trustee of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, president of the Chatham Conservation Foundation, and treasurer of Manomet Inc, the last an organization that works to protect and strengthen bird migration routes. A man of easy of humor and life-long commitments, Gene is survived by Nina, his wife of over 57 years, their sons Christopher and Thomas and their wives, five grandchildren, and two brothers. Gifts in his memory should go to the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the Essex County Greenbelt Association, or the Vermont Center for Ecostudies.

—JMB

James J. Herlan (January 7, 2026)

In Memoriam:

James J. Herlan died peacefully of unstated causes at home, presumably in Rochester, New York, his most recent address of record with the class, on January 7, 2026. A pre-collegiate graduate of Nichols School in Buffalo, New York, the city of his birth, at Yale Jim pursued an intensive major in French and resided in Davenport. Subsequently, he returned to Nichols School to teach French between 1957 and 1965. He then, in 1966, joined the faculty of the University of Maine, Orono, to spend 30 years as a lecturer in French and Canadian Studies before retiring with the title Lecturer Emeritus. During these years, he obtained two MA degrees, the first in French in 1967 from the University of Maine, the second in Quebec Studies in 1981 from the University of Quebec. His scholarly publications covered aspects of French and Quebecois languages and culture. Little additional information about him is available. I can however say that, after in 2010 accusing me of making on-line discussions "hostile" and of "pretentious prattling" (for what I never learned), Jim, who may of course have been accurate in at least the second charge, seemed to forget that he had identified one of my many defects. The happy result was that, forever after, tossing not a further rhetorical dagger my way, Jim graciously responded to my occasional requests and thus the class in helping run down some members and providing useful information about others. Thus was peace restored among us. Jim is survived by Elaine, his wife of 52 years, children David (“Kim”) and Eric, Jennifer Wiest, Julie Alberlan, and Rebecca Herlan; 11 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren; and others. Contributions to his memory should go to the Nichols School Scholarship Fund.

—JMB

John W. Watling III (January 2, 2026)

In Memoriam:

Our classmate John W. Watling III, who served as Class Treasurer between 2007 and 2017, died peacefully in his children's presence on January 2, 2026, in Stamford, Connecticut. The cause of his death was unstated. After graduating from the Taft School, John majored in American Studies at Yale and managed the crew team. Subsequently, after returning to his native state to obtain a 1959 MBA at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, he migrated to New York City to inaugurate a 40-year career as stock-broker and financial advisor, almost all of it with White, Weld & Co., now part of Merrill Lynch, of which he had become a vice-president by our 25th reunion and first vice president ten years later. Until moving to Stamford in 2017, he and his family resided in Greenwich, Connecticut, while maintaining a lakeshore cabin on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. In Greenwich, he served on the vestries of both Saint Barnabas and Christ Churches and on the board of the town's Bruce Museum. He was also a long-time member of the board of the Taft School. All who knew John knew him as a genial, grounded, and serious civic-minded man. His roommate Wright Palmer, characterizing him as a "jolly good fellow," writes of his "wry sense of humor." His other roommate, Bruce McLanahan, recalling their 60-plus-years of "unwavering friendship," describes him as "a great listener and teacher, always finding time for other people and making you feel like you were the sole focus of his attention." John is survived by Beverly, his wife of 63 years, and their children Jennifer W. and Jonathan P. ('98), grandchildren, and others. Gifts in his memory should go to the building fund of Christ Church or to the Taft School.

—JMB

Robert S. Walker (December 30, 2025)

In Memoriam:

Our classmate Robert S. Walker died peacefully from cancer on December 30, 2025 in Newport, Rhode Island. A pre-collegiate graduate of the Brooks School, at Yale Rob majored in history, resided in Calhoun, and was a member of Fence Club. Out of college, he immediate joined the Hotchkiss School faculty as a history teacher, stepped aside to gain a 1961 MA in history from Brown University, then returned to teaching first at St. Paul's School, then finally until 1970 at his Brooks alma mater. A wide-ranging teacher of European, Chinese, Russian, and architectural history, the last subject, he wrote, was his "real passion, one inspired by Vincent Scully." To support a growing family after a divorce and, as he implied in our 50th reunion book, to escape the "upheavals" and "incivility" of teaching in those days, Rob took up residential and commercial real estate brokerage as well as the rehabilitation of "endangered architecturally significant buildings" until he called an end to his formal work life in 1985. Subsequently, his commitments, principally in urban planning and historical preservation, were to Providence, where he'd grown up, and to Newport, where he moved full-time in 1991. His achievements in the former city are visible everywhere. As co-founder of the Providence Citizens Lobby, he led the successful effort, including massive civic rallies, to save Union Station from imminent destruction and, following that victory, other buildings of note. In addition, due to his efforts with others he could claim credit for uncovering the Providence River from its parking lot surface and re-channeling the river's course. Not surprisingly, he ended up a member of the city's Planning Commission. In Newport, Rob turned to more private efforts, largely as a member of organization boards of directors. He did not live long enough to deliver what he called his "most important work"-- a lecture at Newport's historic Redwood Library on Ezra Stiles (YC 1746, librarian of the Redwood, co-founder of Brown University, and President of Yale 1778-1795). At heart a teacher who found teaching the most fulfilling of his pursuits, Rob was not inactive in other respects. He was long active in Grace Episcopal Church Providence, Trinity Church Newport, and St. James Church Manhattan in the city of his birth. He and his third wife Izabella traveled widely and spent their winter months in Nice, France, and Manhattan. And he took great pleasure in his family's history, the arts, jazz and classical music, singing, and dance. Admitting to "have sung in large concert groups, school choruses, and informal cabaret settings," he also confessed to indulging in sing-alongs "with the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald in the Cole Porter songbook repertoire." Pete Greer, who knew Rob from grade school, writes of this affable and generous-spirited man's "outgoing manner. He was always glad to see you and made. you feel good for having him as a friend." David Wilmerding recalls Rob's being thrown in with four close St. Paul's friends in Calhoun yet using his "good sense of humor to fit in perfectly" so as to become "a stabilizing influence. He showed no need to be noticed and his interest in other people and loyalty to his many friends were enviable traits." Predeceased by his three wives and a brother, Rob is survived by his four children: Sage W. Bronzino, Andrew P., Benjamin H., and Charles K. Walker as well as seven grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and a brother. A service in his memory will take place in the future at St. James Church in Manhattan.

—JMB

Robert D. Rachlin (December 27, 2025)

In Memoriam:

Our classmate Robert D. Rachlin died peacefully on December 27, 2025, at his home in Burlington, Vermont. The cause of his death is unstated. A pre-collegiate graduate of Hall High School in his native town of West Hartford, Connecticut, at Yale Robert resided in Jonathan Edwards College, was an intensive major in philosophy, and served on the WYBC board. By 1959 and in the midst of obtaining a 1960 law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, he had already taken the distinctive step of joining an existing legal practice, which eventually, as Downs Rachlin Martin, became Vermont's largest law firm. In a 60-plus-year career in which Robert's specialty was business law, he gained legal victories for the State of Vermont that at the time were among the largest in the state's history and successfully gained licensing primacy for the U.S. Olympics Committee over the International Olympics Committee. He also devoted much of his practice to pro bono representation, one of his major efforts in that regard being the defense of Guantánamo Bay detainees, an effort that won him and his firm the Vermont Bar Association's 2002 Distinguished Service Award. A concert pianist and founding member of the Vermont Chamber Group with which he toured New England, Robert also became, he wrote in 1997, "owner of a series of airplanes" who held instrument, multi-engine, and flight instructor ratings. As if this weren't enough, he was a visiting associate professor, distinguished lecturer, and trustee of the Vermont Law School where he taught ethics. In addition, he had enough working knowledge of German, French, Spanish, Russian, Greek, and Hebrew to serve as an adjunct lecturer in the Department of German and Russian of the University of Vermont. Active also in the Burlington Chabad community, he was a student of the Torah and Hasidic thought. It's not clear whether or not this multi-dimensioned man lived up to his intention, expressed also in 1997, to write about the legal profession and about poet Weldon Kees. Predeceased by a sister, Robert is survived by Catharine, his wife of over 45 years; their daughter Julia; his four children from a previous marriage: Deborah, Paul, Rebecca, and John; as well as ten grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

—JMB

Kibbe N. Fitzpatrick (December 9, 2025)

Classmates:

We have word from his widow, Merrill Ashley, that Kibbe N. Fitzpatrick died peacefully from the complications of a stroke in Naples, Florida, on December 9, 2025. A pre-collegiate graduate of the Kent School, at Yale Kibbe majored in Romance languages and captained the varsity cross-country team. After graduating, he served in the U.S. Navy as an aircraft carrier flight trainee before settling in Europe, where he guided visitors around the American Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair and then took up work for the Paris perfumery Guerlain, for which he was deputy publicity director. When he returned to the United States in 1962, he joined the United Nations in his native city as a simultaneous interpreter, a post he held until his formal retirement in 1995 and then as a freelance interpreter there until 2018. His principle responsibility was translating French and Spanish into English, but he was also fluent in Mandarin Chinese, German, Italian, and Russian, and was conversant in other languages. A lifelong all-'round athlete, Kibbe retained his love of cross-country running, to which he added tennis and golf. He long competed in age-adjusted cross-country races and, nationally ranked in 35-and-over tennis, competed as late as 2008 in US Tennis Association Super Senior Grand Prix competitions. In addition to his wife of 45 years, the renowned principal dancer of the New York City Ballet under George Balanchine, Kibbe is survived by a niece. He was predeceased by two sisters. Donations in his memory may be made to Bideawee, the New York City pet adoption organization founded by his grandmother.

—JMB

Charles D. Peet, Jr. (September 1, 2025)

Classmates:

Our classmate Charles D. Peet, Jr. died of unstated causes in his Manhattan home on September 1, 2025, two days short of turning 90. A pre-collegiate graduate of the Riverdale Country School, at Yale Charlie was a mathematics and philosophy major and a member of St. Elmo's and the varsity football team. After gaining a 1960 law degree from Harvard Law School, he joined the firm of Milbank, Tweed, of which in 1969 he became a partner. Ten years later he opened the firm's London office before returning to New York, the city in whose Brooklyn borough he was born and whose Manhattan one he rarely left. Stepping aside from the Milbank firm in 1999, he became associated as of counsel with the New York office of British-German law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer at which he remained until retiring in 2017. Charlie remained throughout life the athlete he was in school and college. (At Riverdale, he was named the top quarterback in New York City's private schools.) He ran marathons, bicycled, and skied, the last sport gaining him his second wife, Julie, whom he met on the slopes near Taos, New Mexico, whom he married in 2005 and with whom he skied into his 80s, principally in Snowbird and Alta, Utah. Charlie left little record with the class. Those who knew him recall him as a man of lively intellect and good humor to whom music of all kinds was important. In addition to Julie, he is survived by his daughters Alisa ('92) and Amanda, five grandchildren, his stepsons Alex and Ben Hamlin, and their children. His family asks that donations in his memory go to the Class of 1957 Music in Schools Initiative.

—JMB

Owen W. Farley (August 30, 2025)

In Memoriam:

Our classmate Owen W. Farley died on August 30, 2025, in his family's presence, presumably in or near Sandy, Utah, his most recent address of record with the class. The cause of his death is unstated. Bill was a pre-collegiate graduate of South High School in Salt Lake City, where he was class president and won all-state honors in three sports for three years. Entering Yale with the Class of 1957, he appears to have left during or at the end of sophomore year to attend the University of Utah, from which he earned three degrees--a BA in sociology, an MA in social work. and a PhD in educational psychology--and at which he remained his entire career as a professor on the faculty of the College of Social Work whose master's and doctoral degree programs and Social Research Institute he directed. Active in the affairs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he also provided mental health care to members of the US Air Force to rural communities in southern Utah and Alaska. Bill is survived by his wife Mary, whom he married in 1954; their children: Michael Farley, Deborah Judd, Kathleen Wright, Steven Farley, and Brenda Staples and their spouses as well as 21 grandchildren and 55 great-grandchildren.

—JMB

Joel L. Colker (August 21, 2025)

Classmates:

Joel L. Colker died on August 21, 2025, presumably in or near Lenox, Massachusetts, his last address on our class rolls. The cause of his death was unstated. A pre-collegiate graduate of Shady Side Academy in his native Pittsburgh, Joel majored in zoology and was a ranking scholar in college. Following the career path he had chosen as an undergraduate, he gained a 1961 MD degree from Cornell Medical College (now known as Weill Cornell Medicine), where he served his internship and residency and, after spending the years between 1963 and 1965 in the U.S. Public Health Service, was a Fellow. Subsequently, he practiced gastroenterology in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Involved throughout life in his Jewish community, he was active in the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires and served as a board member and president of Pittsfield's Temple Amunim. A humble good-humored man, Joel remarked at the time of our 50th reunion that he found writing reunion reflections akin to having "to speak at your own funeral: You know all the dirt on the subject, but does the audience need to know too?" Described as endlessly curious, a lover of all genres of music, and while not naturally loquacious a skilled listener and thus a master of conversation, Joel is survived by his second wife Sue, to whom he was married for over 36 years, and children Elizabeth Colker-Brown, Brian Colker, Kate Lee, Laura Feakes, and David Feakes as well as their spouses, ten grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. Gifts in his memory should go to the Berkshire Humane Society.

—JMB

Walter S. Westfall (August 20, 2025)

Classmates:

We have word that Walter S. Westfall died on August 20, 2025, the cause of his death unstated, its location no doubt near Rochester, New York, the city of his birth and the site of his career. A pre-collegiate graduate of Brighton High School in Rochester, Walt majored in industrial engineering at Yale, where he played in the football band and in senior year was chief bellringer of the Guild of Yale Bellringers. After securing a 1960 law degree from Cornell and serving in the U. S. Army for a year, in 1961 he joined his father's law practice in his native city, where he practiced law for over 50 years. Because he left no evidence in the class records, little can be learned of him. A member of Yale's Outing, Mountaineering, and Corinthian Yacht Clubs in college, it's said that he maintained his outdoors life with skiing, nature walks, botanical gardens visits, star-gazing, and tending to his backyard. A devoté of classical music, he was also rarely without a book. Walt is survived by Eleanor, his wife of 54 years, their son Dana and daughters Christina and Leanna, their spouses and children, a brother, and others. Contributions in his memory should go to the Finger Lakes Land Trust or The Parkinson’s Foundation.

—JMB

James B. Crooks (August 17, 2025)

Classmates:

Our classmate James B. Crooks died peacefully of unstated causes at his home in Jacksonville, Florida, on August 17, 2025. A pre-collegiate 1950 graduate of Ridgewood High School in New Jersey, Jim entered Yale with the Class of 1955 but stopped out after the first term of sophomore year to serve for two years as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army, which he left at the rank of sergeant. Resuming his studies in the spring term of 1955, he became an American studies major, ranking scholar, and member of the varsity football team. Following graduation, Jim initially followed his stated intention of pursuing work in insurance or banking by joining the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company in Hartford, Connecticut. But in 1959 he returned to the study of history, in which he gained a doctorate from the Johns Hopkins University in 1964. It was his attendance at the 1963 March on Washington, during which he witnessed Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, that he always credited with turning him into the distinctive combination of historian and community and social justice activist for which he became known. Starting his academic career as a visiting lecturer on the faculty of University College in Dublin, Ireland, he spent the years between 1966 and 1972 at Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia before becoming a founding faculty member of Jacksonville's University of North Florida in 1972. During his 29 years on that faculty, he served as his department's chair as well as assistant and interim dean of the university's college of arts and sciences with an intervening Fulbright fellowship in Hyderabad, India in 1978. Jim's published scholarship, which centered on urban history, commenced with his revised dissertation on the origins of Progressivism in Baltimore, an appropriate topic for a Hopkins "product." Two other books followed, both about his adoptive home: Jacksonville After the Fire: 1901-1919: A New South City and Jacksonville: The Consolidation Story, from Civil Rights to the Jaguars. Each combining city and civil rights history, they evinced Jim's distinctive role in Jacksonville--as its historian and tireless civic actor. In our 35th reunion book, expressing fear about decline of American influence in the world, he asked, as if asking himself, "What can we do about it?" He had long been doing something--by then, as he reported, working to reduce school dropouts, help minority youths, and improve race relations. As he indicted ten years later, he was using his retirement from teaching along the same lines--devoting himself to service on the boards of the Jacksonville Community Council, the National Council for Community Justice, and his city's Sanctuary on 8th Street, chairing Jacksonville's Human Rights Commission, and being active in many similar organizations. For such responsibilities, he received widespread community recognition and many honors. A sunny, smart, serious man as well as an unusual historian, Jim is survived by his wife Laura, whom he married in 1958, their son Peter and daughter Sarah, and their families, including five grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Contributions in his memory should go to JASMYN or the Downtown Ecumenical Services Council, both in Jacksonville.

—JMB

George C. White (August 5, 2025)

Classmates:

Our classmate George C. White died peacefully of congestive heart failure at home in Waterford, Connecticut, the town of his birth, on August 5, 2025. From the very start a man of the theater as well as a loyalist of the Nutmeg State, where he was a pre-colegiate graduate of the Loomis (now the Loomis Chaffee) School, at Yale George was a drama major, a member of the Players, the Dramat, and the Georgians, and a singer in the Freshman and Apollo Glee Clubs. In a sense, he never left the Dramat. After two years in the U.S. Army in Germany, he gained an MFA from the Yale School of Drama and studied at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon in England. Having while in college managed the International Ballet Festival in Italy and been stage manager of the world tour of Japan's Imperial Azuma Kabuki Company, after his military service he cut his professional eye teeth with talk show host David Susskind. Then, in 1964, George founded in his home town what became his hallmark contribution to the world of American theater: the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, of which he was chairman for 37 years and which has since served, as George intended, as a haven distant from Broadway where plays can be developed and workshopped. Founded on a historic estate property slated for fire-fighting practice burns and named after the celebrated American playwright who was born in nearby New London, The O'Neill became the seedground of such innovative theater institutions and programs as the National Playwrights Conference (of which noted stage director director Lloyd Richards, later dean of the Yale School of Drama, was the founder); the National Music Theater Conference; modern American puppetry under Jim Henson and others; and Robert Redford's future Sundance Institute. Among the playwrights whose works George helped nurture and the stage and film actors whose careers he advanced were August Wilson, John Guare, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Wendy Wasserstein, Lanford Wilson, Edward Albee, Robert Redford, Al Pacino, Sam Shepard, Meryl Streep, and Michael Douglas. Inducted in 2011 into the Theater Hall of Fame, awarded the Royal Swedish Order of the Polar Star by King Carl Gustaf, and named a Chevalier des Artes et des Lettres by France, he was also the recipient in 2022 of The O’Neill’s own annual Monte Cristo Award given to someone who exemplifies Eugene O'Neill's "pioneering spirit, unceasing artistic commitment, and excellence." The O'Neill itself received two Tony Awards and in 2014 the National Medal of Arts from Barack Obama. In addition to serving as co-chairman of Yale's Theater Management Program between 1978 and 1992 and teaching in the Drama School, George directed plays on such stages as the Guthrie Theater and played major roles in bringing American theater to the USSR and O'Neill's Anna Christie and Meredith Wilson's Music Man to Beijing. He also served on the Tony Awards nominating committee and, nominated by George H. W. Bush, on the National Council on the Arts. Among his other posts were the chairmanship of the board of Connecticut Public Television and Radio and later the executive directorship of the Johnny Mercer Foundation. As a Connecticut shore resident, he served in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, served on the board of Mystic Seaport, and was a member of Waterford's town meeting. Along the way, he managed to root for Yale football, enjoy liquid spirits, tell jokes, and spin tales. George is survived by his wife of 67 years Elizabeth (Betsy), their children George and Caleb ('87) White and Juliette Hyson ('89) and their families, including ten grandchildren and many others. Donations in his memory should go to the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, the Lyman Allyn Museum in New London, or Mystic Seaport.

—JMB

Talbott W. Huey (July 26, 2025)

Classmates:

On July 26, 2025, we lost another classmate, Talbott W. Huey, who died at home in Baltimore, Maryland, his native city, from the complications of dementia. Entering Yale from Baltimore's Gilman School, Talbott, a ranking scholar and ROTC participant, majored in German and sang in the Apollo and Yale Glee Clubs. His participation in U.S. Army signal intelligence work in Germany before mustering out at the rank of Captain, made him, he reported at our 50th reunion, give up his intention, stated at graduation, to pursue the study of philology. Instead, following some time at the London School of Economics, he gained a 1961 MA from the School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University. That led to ten years of service as a foreign service officer with the United States Information Agency in Vietnam, Taiwan, and Hong Kong as well as in Washington, D.C. He resigned from the USIA to obtain a PhD from MIT in Chinese politics, which eventuated in appointments to the faculties of the University of Massachusetts at Boston, Colby College, and Wabash College. In 1981, he then assumed a position in the Far Eastern Division of the University of Maryland, which led him to serve at a number of US military bases in Asia as a teacher of servicemen seeking undergraduate degrees. After returning to the US in 1987, Talbott ended his teaching career at University of Maryland's College Park campus. Desirous however of remaining in the academic world, he earned an MA in library science, which landed him a position in Michigan State University's library as a bibliographer, lecturer, and collections manager from which he retired in 2009 to return to the city of his birth. Drawing from his various degrees and postings, Talbott was the co-author of A Revolution is Not a Dinner Party: A Feast of Images of the Maoist Transformation of China and a number of bibliographic guides to various topics in Chinese history and literature. In retirement, he volunteered at the Hampton National Historical House, a Maryland estate containing what was once the largest private house in the United States. A walker and man of imposing height, he retained a life-long delight in museum-going and concerts of classical music while continuing to sing--sometimes with Yale alumni choristers and always at the annual Messiah sing-along at Washington's Kennedy Center, his favorite event. A wry-humored, quiet, reserved man, he's summed up just right by Bill Eaton, his Gilman as well as Yale classmate, as someone of "impressive intelligence and pleasant, witty personality." Survived by his second wife, Abhiradi (Aht) Viravaidya, Talbott is known to have been the father of Eleanor, Caroline, Edward D. (1991?), and Margaret W. Huey as well as a grandfather.

—JMB

A. Reed Taylor (July 17, 2025)

Classmates:

Our classmate A. Reed Taylor died from a brief illness on July 17, 2025, presumably in or near Williamsburg, New York, his long-time place of residence. A pre-collegiate graduate of the Appleton, Wisconsin, High School, Reed majored in American Studies while, given his fine voice, distinguishing himself as a singer (the Freshman and Yale Glee Clubs, the Battell and Dwight Hall choirs, the Baker's Dozen, and later in life the Yale Alumni Chorus) and by his active participation on the Christian Mission Committee, in Dwight Hall, and on the Undergraduate Board of Deacons. He was also a member of Spade and Grave. With the stated intention of becoming a doctor, by our 10th reunion he had abandoned that goal to study instead at Emory University for a doctorate in American Studies, which he gained in 1976. In the meantime, he taught at Honolulu's 'Iolani School and continued his dedication to service by, among other things, leading students to Sierra Leone to help construct a hospital under Operation Crossroads Africa. By our 15th reunion, he'd settled near Buffalo where, in the Amherst, New York, public schools he opened what would be a 36-year teaching career, including some years at the Nichols School in Buffalo, in both schools being that rare figure--the high school teacher of English who possessed a doctorate and had written published scholarship. For his teaching, he was named a New York State Regional Teacher of the Year in 1987. No one who knew Reed was surprised by his other activities. Always seeking to learn more, he was active, as treasurer and president, in the Buffalo Torch Club and, in the 1990s, as president of the International Association of Torch Clubs, institutions devoted to the study and discussion of ideas. He maintained his religious and civic commitments as Ruling Elder, Clerk of Session, and in other positions in his nearby Westminster Presbyterian Church. He was also a founding member of the Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo, board member of the Academy for Human Rights (which established the Reed Taylor Award for Excellence in Human Rights Education in 2018), Rotary Club member, tutor of refugee children, and counselor to re-entry ex-prisoners. A humble, cheery, smart man dedicated to human betterment, Reed brought optimism and conviction to everything he did. Jack Hughes notes his "deeply spiritual self." "A great companion and friend," Jeff Freeman describes him. "What was not to like? He was affable, even-tempered, well-humored." Predeceased by his wife Glynda, whom he met and married in 1970, Reed is survived by their daughters Amy Nathan and Suzanne Bourdeaux and their families, including four grandchildren. Donations in his memory should go to the Academy for Human Rights in Hamburg, New York, or to the Westminster Presbyterian Church.

—JMB

Joseph C. Ritchie (June 23, 2025)

Classmates:

We've learned from his younger brother Edwin W. "Wint" Ritchie, Jr. ('67) of the death in Tucson, Arizona, on June 23, 2025, of our classmate Joseph C. Ritchie. He died 14 years after a stroke left him aphasic and paralyzed on one side. A precollegiate graduate of the Blake School in Minneapolis, Joe was an economics major; active in Dwight Hall, the Mad Hatters, and Hoot (the latter a folk-singing group); a bit of a prankster; and a resident of Timothy Dwight in what for reasons obscure, inasmuch as all of its members were estimable men, was known in our day as the "Zoo." After U.S. Army service and starting out as a salesman and sales manager in the southwest, Joe founded Ritchie Realty, the business he maintained until he could no longer do so, in what he called the "desert paradise" of Tucson. Outside his family, the consistent thread of his life, one born in college, was his immersion in folk and bluegrass music. He developed his skills on guitar at Yale, then put banjos and fiddles under his command, and retained his joy and, to the degree he could, his participation in his favorite musical genre long after he was incapacitated. To his skills on stringed instruments he added singing and dancing; and, being an outdoorsman, he pursued fishing, bird hunting, and annual canoe trips in the Canadian wilderness. By nature jolly, gregarious, and generous-spirited, Joe is survived by his wife Barbara, whom he wed in 1959, their sons Mark M., George C., and Dean W. as well as their families and his brother Wint. Donations in his memory should go to the Gospel Rescue Mission or Community Food Bank, both of Tucson.

—JMB

William P. Langford (June 1, 2025)

Classmates:

We've learned from New Haven that William P. Langford died on June 1, 2025, in New Richmond, Wisconsin, a eastern suburb of the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. A pre-collegiate graduate of Saint Paul Academy/Summit School in St. Paul, Minnesota, the city of his birth, Bill entered with us, was a resident of Silliman College, and had chosen mechanical engineering as a major before he left Yale, which possesses no additional information about him. Regarding his career, his published obituary states only that he was "very successful" in the "bond and investment business," which he appears to have entered by our 10th reunion, where he indicates that he was a bond dealer and securities trader and analyst; by our 40th reunion he's listed as an investment banker. He appears to have been a talented athlete from the start, his sports record in football, basketball, and baseball (apparently as a pitcher since he's said to have two no-hitters to his credit) leading to his being inducted into the St. Paul Academy/Summit School Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023. His golfing record included four holes-in-one; he was a skier; he fished; he hunted and rode horses; and he's said to have never turned away from a game of gin rummy, cribbage, or Scrabble. To these pleasures he added a weekly trip to the casino and a daily cigar but never to the neglect of "extensive volunteer work." He's also said to have been "passionate" about the friendships he made and kept from childhood on. Bill is survived by Anne, his wife of 68 years; their children children Susan Langford, James Langford, and Stacey McDonnell; their families and children, and others.

—JMB

George J. Hechtel (Summer, 2025)

In Memoriam:

We have word of the death of our classmate George J. Hechtel, about whose death Wade Covill learned from a brief note from George's widow. He died unexpectedly sometime during the recent summer of 2025 in Port Jefferson, New York, the precise date and cause of his death unknown. No published obituary of him has appeared. A pre-collegiate graduate of Irvington (N.J.) High School and a zoology major and Branford resident at Yale, George went on to gain a 1962 Yale PhD in biology, his research specialty being marine biology and ecology, especially that of sponges. After serving as an assistant in zoology at the University College of the West Indies and an instructor at Nassau Community College, in 1964 he joined the faculty of SUNY Stonybook, where he practiced spongiology and directed the undergraduate biology program until his retirement as associate professor emeritus of ecology and evolution. He is survived by his second wife Lee and presumably three children George G., Keith W. and Mary L. Hechtel as well as two step-children.

—JMB

John M. Ryan (May 25, 2025)

Classmates:

John M. Ryan died peacefully from the complications of dementia in Naples, Florida, on May 25, 2025, just short of his 90th birthday. A native son of Westchester County, New York, and a pre-collegiate graduate of Portsmouth Priory (now Portsmouth Abbey) School, John majored in industrial administration while a resident of Branford College and was a member of the St. Thomas More Club. Immediately after college, he secured an MBA from Harvard Business School of whose Class of 1959 he was secretary for over 50 years. He commenced his work life in the oil business out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, with the Cities Service and Sunray DX companies before moving to Sun Oil Company, of whose Sun Information Services he had become president by the time of our 25th reunion. In 1983 he led a leveraged buyout of that operation to form SunGard Data Systems, which Warren Clein, like John a resident of greater Philadelphia, describes as a manufacturer of backups on wheels for corporate main frame systems. As Warren describes it, "If your system went down, the main frame systems came to you on trailer wheels to keep you going. The only difference that you experienced is that your systems were running from a semi in the parking lot." After taking the company public three years later, he left it in 1988 to turn his full attention to the then young information technology field, in which he came to be considered a pioneer. As an investor and consultant, he served on the boards of many IT companies, private and public, such as Neoware and eResearch Technologies, as well as of venture capital partnerships like Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Rittenhouse Ventures, and Cross Atlantic Capital Partners. Outside his professional responsibilities, he served on the boards of Philadelphia's Mann Center for the Performing Arts, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the National Constitution Center, whose Philadelphia Liberty Medal was particularly close to his heart. More than a desk worker, John remained an active skier into his 80s, a full- and half-marathoner, and a mountaineer whose achievements include the summits of Mt. Blanc, the Matterhorn, Mount Rainier, and Mt. Kilimanjaro. Warren described John as "an original thinker in computers and computer systems." A man of sunny disposition and sharp mind, he was predeceased by his first wife Carol, from he had been divorced, and is survived by his second wife Mary, his sons William and David, their wives, four grandchildren, stepchildren and step grandchildren, and others.

—JMB

Paul C. Ogden (May 8, 2025)

In Memoriam:

We've learned from Don Roberts that Paul C. Ogden died on May 8, 2025, presumably in or near San Rafael, California, his last known address with the class. The cause of his death was unstated. A pre-collegiate graduate of Exeter, at Yale Paul majored in psychology and was a member of the varsity soccer team and of the underground society Desmos before entering medical school, his stated intention at graduation. After completing his medical preparation at Tufts Medical School, he completed his internship and residency in Providence, Rhode Island before serving in the military at the Veterans Administration Hospital in San Francisco. He then moved with his family to Marin County, where he practiced internal medicine and cardiology for 50 years, part of them at the Ross Valley Medical Center and some years as director of the coronary unit of Marin General Hospital. Not surprisingly, Paul remained active in soccer as a youth coach in the Tiburon Peninsula Soccer League while, at the family's Sonoma County property, indulging in gardening, raising produce, and wine-making. A devoté of antique cars, he's also reported to have collected Packards as well rarely being without the company of his German shepherds and golden retrievers. In describing him, Don Roberts writes that "Paul brought the word 'resolute' to life. A 67-year marriage to Sandy, who began married life in a wheel chair and remained so for the entire period of their marriage, says all you need to know about Paul’s character." Predeceased in 2023 by Sandy, Paul is survived by their two sons, Charles and David, and their families.

—JMB

Peter R. Kosinski (May 5, 2025)

Classmates:

Our classmate Peter R. Kosinski died on May 5, 2025, the cause and place of his death unstated. Arriving at Yale as a graduate of Meriden (Connecticut) High School, Peter, a ranking scholar and resident of Branford College, majored in architecture (no doubt due to the brilliant Directed Studies teaching of William H. Jordy, who left Yale for Brown in 1955) and, naming architecture at the time of graduation as his prospective profession, later secured an MA in architecture from Yale's School of Architecture. Commencing his career with Eero Saarinen, he subsequently formed Kosinski Associates in New Haven, where he practiced architecture and planning until, sometime after our 50th reunion in 2007, he joined his son Peter (March '03) in the firm of Kosinski Architecture following his move to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Peter's lifelong design specialties were high-density mixed-use urban design and residential buildings and educational facilities as well as, reflecting his spiritual commitments, ecclesiastical structures and spaces. A devout Catholic, he worshiped at the ancient Church of Saint-Severin in Paris, St. Thomas More Church in New Haven, and St. Anthony Church in Fort Lauderdale, where he held membership in the Knights of Columbus Circle. An irenic man of lively presence, easy humor, and long stride, which he employed in both city and country hikes and nature walks with family members and friends, Peter managed to pull hope, he wrote in our 35th reunion book, from "man's folly and evil ways" because of "the goodness of humanity." He is survived by his wife Maria (PhD '69), a scholar of French language and literature whom he married in 1960, their children Peter E. and Isabel M., four grandchildren, a brother Raymond P. Kosinski ('69), and a sister Dorothy M. Kosinski ('74), Director Emerita of the Phillips Collection in Washington DC.

—JMB

Denis B. McWhan (May 2, 2025)

Classmates:

I convey news, sent from Ray Ellison, that Denis B. McWhan died peacefully in his family's presence on May 2, 2025. Neither the cause nor the place of his death was indicated. A precollegiate graduate of Morristown (New Jersey) High School, at Yale Denis majored in chemistry and was a member of the football and concert bands. Living up, at least at first, to his stated intention of pursuing graduate work in chemistry, Denis gained a Berkeley PhD in that subject before joining Bell Laboratories in1962. Turning at Bell Labs toward solid state and experimental physics, he became a leading figure in basic research in that emerging field, especially into condensed matter science, his major contributions being groundbreaking use of x-ray and neutron beams to explore the behavior of materials at the atomic level. As he wrote at the time of our 45th reunion, he did so at "what may well have been the zenith of curiosity-driven research in the physical sciences." Moving to Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1990, Denis became chair of the National Synchrotron Light Source Department and in 1995 the Laboratory's associate director while continuing his research into magnetic systems and resonant magnetic scattering. Along the way, he spent time at Stockholm's Royal Institute of Technology and Grenoble's Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. A book, Sand and Silicon: Science that Changed the World, as well as roughly 200 scientific papers, carry his name. An elected fellow of the American Physical Society, he also received the Bell Labs Distinguished Technical Service Award, a fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Arthur H. Compton Award from the Advanced Photon Source. Beyond his professional work, Denis could often be found on or near the water. To house-restoration, tennis and paddleball, he added kayaking and sailing a Marshall catboat in Sheepscot Bay near his family's Southport, Penobscot Bay, lobsterman's house. He was also a boat-builder--with a turnabout, a Maine skiff, and two wooden kayaks to his credit. Too, there seems to have been a strain of organization and leadership in Denis from the start. Ray Ellison spotted at least an attempt at the application of this characteristic in college. He notes with due gravity that, though having at hand the smallest of means, Denis "was the person on fall weekends who strove, piccolo held aloft, to keep the 'I' in the marching band's 'Eli' straight--sort of." Denis is survived by Callie, his wife of 66 years, their children David, Susan Tobin, and Jeanette Burney, as well as their spouses and children. A celebration of his life will take place in the future.

—JMB

John Y. Lee (May 1, 2025)

Classmates:

I report here the death in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 1, 2024, of one of the most incontestably distinctive members of the Class of 1957: John Y. Lee. The cause of his death is unknown. Born Lee Jong-yeon in 1928 in Yeonbaek, Hwanghae Province, now North Korea, John was probably the oldest member of our class. Schooled in his native town, in 1948 he moved to Seoul to study at Korea University. Two years later at the outbreak of war on the Korean peninsula, apparently fluent in English, which he'd learned from an American missionary, he fled south from Seoul on foot and swam the Han River to enlist as an interpreter/translator/liaison officer in the South Korean army. Assigned at the rank of lieutenant to the U.S. 1st Marine Division, he participated under fire in many of the Korean War's greatest battles including those on the Pusan Perimeter, the Inchon Landing, the Wonsan Landing, and Chosin Reservoir, the last one probably the most brutal battle of that conflict. During the Inchon Landing operation, which led to the recapture of Seoul, he was Douglas McArthur's interpreter. For his wartime service, John was the 1952 recipient of the U.S. Legion of Merit for showing "cool courage under fire, aggressive leadership, and conscientious effort" as well as "outstanding services to the Government of the United States." He also received a number of commendations from the Republic of Korea. After resigning from the Korean Army in 1954 at the rank of Captain, John joined us that fall as a sophomore at the urging of American Marines beside whom he'd fought. A resident of Davenport College and a member of its soccer team, he majored in political science, made it onto the Dean's list, participated in the Political Union, and was a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honor society. He followed that up with a 1960 JD from Yale Law School, after which he practiced law in New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. where he served as a senior lawyer in the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice between 1967 and 1987. At one point he returned to Korea as an advisor to American military forces stationed there and, as he wrote in an addendum to our 50th year reunion book, in 2007 he was in the process of retiring from teaching law at an unnamed Korean college near the military demarcation line in western Korea--no doubt not far from Seoul. Not surprisingly, his experiences on the battlefield marked his life. "The reason I became a US citizen," he once said, "is because of my experiences with the Marines during the Korean War." He was a founding member of The Chosin Few, a band of veterans--"an eternal brotherhood" he called them--who fought at Chosin Reservoir. “When the Chosin Few have their reunions," he stated in an interview, "I am there to hold the hands of my brothers once more.” It appears that John and his wife Gil-Ja spent time between Seoul and Hernando, Florida. His survivors are not known, but in 2020 two children and four grandchildren were known to be members of his family.

—JMB

Robert W. Ganger (April 25, 2025)

Classmates:

Robert W. Ganger died at home in Gulf Stream, Florida, on April 25, 2025. The cause of his death was unstated. A pre-collegiate graduate of Bronxville High School and an American studied major in college, Bob went on to gain an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1959. Starting that year, he began six years of service in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and joined General Foods, where he remained until retiring from the firm in 1991 as its senior vice president. Along the way, he supervised marketing, finance, and strategy for, among others, household brands Yuban, Jell-O, Maxwell House, and Kool-Aid as well as managing business development for acquired brands Ronzoni, Boboli, and Entenmann's. When, foreseeing in 1985 the future of the tobacco industry, Philip Morris (now Altria) acquired General Foods, Bob was tasked with planning and managing FTC approval of Philip Morris's 1987 acquisition of Kraft Foods, said to be the largest non-oil company merger until that time. Moving in 1991to Gulf Stream, he opened a kind of second career: local, civic work--a retirement, he wrote for our 45th reunion, "thus far coated with honey." One of his achievements was the restoration, with his wife Anneli, of Miradero, the historic barrier island ocean-side residence of Lila Vanderbilt Webb, daughter of the Commodore. Purchased and rescued from demolition in 1969 by Bob and his father, they halted its disrepair. After his father's death, the house, which had become his home, remained, as anyone who visited it saw, in restored pristine condition, a process he captured in his 2005 book, Lila Vanderbilt Webb's Miradero: Window on an Era, which was published by the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, which Bob served as vice chair. By then, Bob had become widely known throughout the region for his tireless work as a local historian, president of the Delray Beach Historical Society, and co-founder of the Florida Coalition for Preservation, through which he led efforts to gain legislative protection against corporate and residential development. Testament to his catholic preservationist aims was his successful work to protect from demolition Briny Breezes, a nearby mobile home community, one of the final remaining middle class beachfront communities in South Florida. Ernie Pepples, a seasonal resident of nearby Delray Beach, writes that "a strong and persistent opponent of further over-development of the coastal barrier islands and the safety/welfare of its residents, Bob would carefully and thoughtfully gather all the pertinent information before going into the public arena. He was much admired by all who worked with him to preserve the best of Florida." Echoing with style and characteristic modesty our class poet Michael Cooke, Bob wrote at the time of or 50th reunion that, like the rest of us, he had come to New Haven as one among many "unlit candles and left ready to brighten the world." He may be the only classmate to have a pet named after him. Walt Benenson, a close friend, owns two almost identical cats, one of them named Doppelgänger. "But that proved to be unwieldy, so he ended up being named Bob Ganger or just Bob." Surviving a serious 2016 stroke, Bob regained his characteristic high spirits and, as roommate Jeff Freeman writes, went on in his characteristic "bright, good-humored" way, to write his autobiography, published in 2020 and titled with characteristic wit, The First 84 Years. Bob is survived by Anneli, his wife of 30 years, son Robert G., daughter Amy Diethelm, stepsons Ossian and Patrick Ramsay, and their families. Donations in Bob's memory should go to the Florida Coalition for Preservation.

—JMB

Kenneth D. "Tod" Mann, Jr. (April 17, 2025)

Classmates:

We've lost another classmate with the death of Kenneth D. "Tod" Mann, Jr., in Vero Beach, Florida, on April 17, 2025. He died peacefully, surrounded by his family, after a massive stroke. A pre-collegiate graduate of St. Paul's School, in college Tod was a history major, squash player, Fence Club member, and NROTC participant, after which he served in the U.S. Navy between 1957 and 1959 and subsequently in the Naval Reserve. He opened his worklife as a salesman for Jones & Laughlin Steel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he grew up, before moving sometime after our 10th reunion to Brooklyn, New York, where he long remained while working in corporate finance and investment banking. Successively, he took positions with G. H. Walker before it was acquired by White Weld, then with Tucker Anthony & R.L. Day (of which he was managing director in 1982), and finally with Dean Witter Reynolds, from which he retired sometime after 1997 as its senior vice president. In Brooklyn, he served as a trustee of the Packer Collegiate Institute and was the widely respected treasurer and chair of the board and investment committee of the HOPE Program, an organization that prepares people for the workforce and helps sustain them in their careers. Continuing to play squash throughout his life, Tod was also an active golfer. In three respects, he no doubt holds the Class of 1957 record, perhaps broader ones, in golf--a record that combines longevity, skill, and location: At age 85, he scored three holes-in-one in a single season on the same course, that of the Bent Pine Golf Club in Vero Beach, where he and his family maintained a home as they did also in Greensboro, Vermont. Over recent years, with the same investigative skill and power he evidenced in his business career and the same volunteer spirit he summoned in his Brooklyn community, Tod proved himself a skilled sleuth in searching for and discovering the whereabouts or fate of many Yale '57ers lost to class records. A man recalled, in others' words, for his "humor and joy" and "widely known throughout the Brooklyn Heights community for his kindness, curiosity, dignity, work ethic, and unwavering integrity," Tod is survived by his wife Gwen, their sons Kenneth D. and Scott P., and their sons' families, including four grandchildren.

—JMB

John Poinier, Jr. (April 7, 2025)

Classmates:

I convey news that John Poinier, Jr., died on April 7, 2025, on Mercer Island, Washington, where he'd lived since sometime after 1976. The cause of his death is unstated. One of the many Andover graduates in our class, John was an American studies major, a member of Deke, Torch, and Wolf's Head, and captain of the varsity hockey team. After graduating and attending Navy officer candidate school, he served as a naval aviator in Newfoundland until his discharge in 1960. He then began his long career in the insurance and investment businesses, first with Chubb & Sons in New York, Pittsburgh, and Short Hills, New Jersey before moving to Seattle in 1974 to work first with Smith Barney, then A.G. Edwards, finally KMS Financial Services. A favorite of cats and dogs whose affection he returned, well into his 80s John pursued his love of various sports, especially hockey, skiing, soccer, and golf, and was active as a coach in many of them. Warren Clein vividly recalls his prowess in the rink. "Out on center ice," Warren writes, "no one was ever better at timing the hip check. To an opposing forward coming down the ice trying to pass him, John looked harmless. But the next thing you'd see was the attacker two feet off the ice and flying back toward it." Warren also reports that, reflecting later with John about Yale's 1-0 controversial hockey win over Harvard's greatly favored team in junior year, John admitted in conversation that, yes, contrary to the referee's call of no goal, a Harvard slapshot probably slipped past John to enter the net just as the buzzer went off. John is survived by Alice, his wife of 62 years, their daughters Sara, Anne, Jennifer, and Katherine, and their families. A celebration of his life is planned for the future. Donations in John's memory should go to a local youth sports organization or animal shelter.

—JMB

Ray A. Carlsen (April 4, 2025)

Classmates:

We have learned that our classmate Ray A. Carlsen died on April 4, 2025, presumably in or near Seattle, Washington, long the place of his residence. The cause of his death was not stated. A graduate of East High School in his native Denver, Colorado, Ray majored in human culture and behavior, resided in Branford, played varsity baseball, and was a member of Deke and Skull and Bones. Following his stated intention, he entered upon a medical career across town at Yale's School of Medicine and completed an internship in surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan and his residency in dermatology at Stanford. After holding several fellowships, he accepted an NIH special postdoctoral fellowship in electronmicroscopy in the University of Washington's Department of Biological Structure and remained in Seattle for the rest of his life as clinician and teacher. Starting out, he was a research associate and subsequently Chief Physician at the Seattle Veterans Administration Medical Center and later an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, where he was also a consultant in dermatopathology and mentor to aspiring practitioners in that field. In 1999, Ray entered private practice as the leading co-founder of Dermatopathology Northwest, which became a leading diagnostic dermatopathology laboratory in the Pacific northwest. For all this, he long remained involved with academic medicine in the University of Washington's Department of Dermatology. Outside his medical practice, Ray was known for his involvement in cello education through the Carlsen Cello Foundation, which he founded in the 1990s. Sharing features, as classmates will recognize, with the Yale's Class of 1957 Music in Schools Initiative, the foundation offers cello instruction to young musicians from families of modest means, its principal activity being lending instruments to cello students nationwide. Ray is survived by his wife, Dorothy Yang, also a practicing dermatologist.

—JMB

Merrell M. Clark (April 4, 2025)

Classmates:

Merrell M. Clark, our Class Secretary between 2017 and 2022, died in Scarsdale, New York, on April 4, 2025. Arriving at Yale from Rock Island, Illinois, High School, Merrell majored in English and, the son of a Presbyterian minister, was active in Dwight Hall, the Westminster Foundation (of which he was moderator), the Christian Community Council (as president), and the Undergraduate Board of Deacons. Remaining at Yale, which, like his spiritual commitments, would command his loyalty throughout his life, he gained an MA in Religion from the Yale Divinity School in 1959. His early work led to marketing, first with SSC&B Advertising, where he rose to be vice president, and then with Knight, Gladieux, and Smith Advertising, of which he became Principal. He left advertising to become executive vice president of the Academy for Educational Development before taking the post of vice president for the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. Upon retiring in 1997, he remained a consultant for other foundations. Along the way, Merrell applied his entrepreneurial skills to two ventures, one the eponymous Clark Company, a specialist in marketing and accounting services, the second a non-profit organization, Elderworks, which arranged opportunities for Americans older than 50 to gain new skills that would allow them to continue to participate in the workforce and their communities. Of the many commitments of this indefatigable man, his loyalty to Yale seemed to lead the list. The spine of the Yale community in Westchester County, New York, he brought his energies to the Yale Westchester Alumni Association during his 15-year presidency and chair, developed a program for inter-alumni mentorships, was an active interviewer of prospective applicants to Yale College, and spread his bonhomie throughout the university's alumni north of New York City. The Village of Scarsdale couldn't escape his attention. The town organizations in which he was active as board member included the Scarsdale Forum, Scarsdale Community Center, Scarsdale Adult School, Westchester Arts Council, United Way of Scarsdale-Edgemont, Greenacres Association, and Scarsdale Foundation. And then there was the national board of Elderhostel. And as anyone who knew Merrell can attest, his earnest spirituality suffused his life. Chief in this regard was Scarsdale's Hitchcock Presbyterian Church, beside which he and his wife Lynne lived for most of their lives together, and to which they eventually sold their house. Among his many contributions to the congregation was his leadership of additions to its structures (a columbarium and memorial wall), the establishment of a memorial fund, his leadership with Lynne of its centennial celebration, and his service as deacon and elder. A pianist and organist, he also sang in the church's choir for 62 years. And for all this, he long provided accounting, marketing, and sales support to Lynne, a Westchester County residential realtor whom he met, yes, at a religion conference in 1956, whom he wed shortly after graduation in 1957; and who, his wife of almost 67 years, survives him. A tall, cheery, man, Merrell brought a soft yet palpable resolve to everything he did. It was entirely in keeping with his life that he closed his sketch for our 50th-year reunion book by writing "My gratitude to God, Country, and Yale is absolute." Besides Lynne, Merrell is survived by their daughters Lisa Clark Jenks, Aimee Clark Peterson, and Catherine Merrell Clark, their daughters' husbands, nine grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. Gifts in his memory should go in his memory to the Community Music Fund of the Hitchcock Presbyterian Church, 6 Greenacres Avenue, Scarsdale, New York 10583.

—JMB

Stewart R. Wright (March 26, 2025)

Classmates:

Stewart R. Wright died on March 26, 2025, presumably in Redlands, California, his last listed address, after a fall the previous day. A graduate of Garden City High School on Long Island, it's said that, playing on its football team, Stew got an early start on his roster of notable deeds by tackling a nearby Manhasset High running back, the famed Jimmy Brown. More sedentary in college, Stew majored in history and remained in New Haven to acquire an MD degree at Yale Medical School in 1962, followed by his internship at the Tufts-New England Medical Center and his residencies there and at Boston Veterans Hospital between 1962 and 1966. Subsequently, he served for three years in the US Army at Tripler Army Hospital on Oahu and, following his release from service, moved to California to practice and teach at the medical school of the University of Southern California before becoming Director of Gastroenterology at the San Bernardino County Medical Center. By 1971, Stew and his family had settled in Redlands. They remained there the rest of his life while he practiced at local hospitals until 1994, when he co-founded the Mountain View Surgery Center, where he worked until his retirement. When not doctoring, he raised avocados and citrus crops, played paddle tennis, and could be found sailing, mostly out of Newport Beach, where he competed in over 30 Newport-to-Ensenada races and won division trophies several times. Tink Thompson, who once spent "a very cold, mid-September night at over 12,500 feet on a southern flank of Grand Teton Mountain" when lost with Stew on the way down, fondly recalls their abiding friendship and many reunions with other Calhoun College entry worthies Bellow, Clark (Inslee), Kner, Kohler, Leahy, and Lumpkin. Predeceased by his wife Emily, whom he met on a blind date at the 1955 Yale-Harvard game, Stew is survived by their sons Jon S. and Peter G., daughters Sarah W. and Susan G., and their families.

—JMB

Thomas G. Wroth (March 24, 2025)

Classmates:

We have word from his college roommate Nick Tingley that Thomas G. Wroth died in his family's presence on March 24, 2025, presumably somewhere in or near Tewksbury Township, New Jersey, where he had resided for 56 years. The cause of his death is unstated. A precollegiate graduate of Moses Brown School in his native Providence, Rhode Island, at Yale Tom (then known as Teege) majored in English and served as president of Jared Eliot Associates, the literary society. After Yale, he served until 1962 in the U.S. Navy (part of the time in London, England), then in the National Guard, from which he retired at the rank of Captain. At the time of our 10th reunion, he was engaged in trust and estate administration, accounting, and investment--all of them the focus of his entire career--first with the Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company and then with other banks and a law firm until the semi-retirement he reported in 2007. In northern New Jersey, Tom served at one point as vice president of the Tewksbury Township Board of Education and on the Hunterdon County Republican Party Executive Committee. Someone who summered with his family at their family camp in Cedar Beach, Vermont, on Lake Champlain, he is said to have invented a noteworthy four-part coffee blend whose constituent ingredients remain closely held by his family members. He was also known for his baritone singing voice. But what in the history of the Class of 1957 may make him distinctive (as it does Nick Tingley) is the fact that Tom and Nick each married women to whom each had introduced the other (with Scott Nichols playing some part in the matter). Tom is survived by his prize in this lucky cross-presentation, his wife of 60 years Elizabeth (Liz), their sons James A. ('89), Thomas H., and Robert C., their wives, eight grandchildren, and many others. Gifts in his memory should go to the Califon First Aid Squad, PO Box 253, Califon, NJ 07830 or to Hunterdon Hospice, 215 NJ-31, Flemington, NJ 08822.

—JMB

John E. Master (March 23, 2025)

Classmates:

We've lost another classmate with the death on March 23, 2025 of John E. Master. He succumbed in Reading, Pennsylvania, his native city, to the effects of dementia and a stroke. A pre-collegiate graduate of Reading High School, John majored in chemical engineering at Yale and was the recipient of Berkeley College's Wohlenberg Prize for outstanding performance in engineering or physical science. Opening his life-long career in the petrochemical and chemical industries with process design responsibilities for Sinclair Oil in Houston, Texas, he soon entered managerial ranks in the areas of process and quality control. After Sinclair's purchase by Atlantic Richfield, he advanced in 1982 to manager of engineering in ARCO Chemical's home office in Philadelphia before turning to environmental management. This led in the 1980s to appointments to industry-wide posts, which included leadership of the American chemical industry delegation that helped develop the industry's voluntary environmental management standards of the International Standards Organization. After becoming chairman of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group on Environmental Performance Evaluation and the American chemical industry's spokesman in the development of other ISO environmental standards, John chaired analogous industry bodies even after his retirement from ARCO in 1995. Much of his life was centered west of Philadelphia near his Valley Forge home and at Reading's Calvary United Church of Christ. He delighted in his basement HO-gauge model trains, golf, minor league baseball, and music, which it's said he sung, as he spoke, with a deep, booming voice. He was also known for his wit and dry humor, which survived to his last moments. Predeceased by a brother and son Kevin, he's survived by Barbara, his wife of over 67 years, their son Gregory, and others, who include six grandsons and two great-grandsons. A celebration of John's life will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 19, 2025, at Calvary United Church of Christ, 640 Centre Avenue in Reading. Donations in his memory should go to the church.

—JMB

Morris Raker (March 15, 2025)

Classmates:

Morris Raker died on March 15, 2025. His family has directed that no class obituary appear.

—JMB

Leonard A. Katz (February 6, 2025)

Classmates:

Our numbers have been diminished further by the death on February 6, 2025 of Leonard A. Katz. He died on Longboat Key, Florida, where he was wintering with Judy, his wife of 66 years, the cause of his death being what Steve Wittenberg describes as neurological tumors. A human culture and behavior major at Yale with his eye set on medical school, Len received his medical training at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons before completing his internship and residency in gastroenterology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1964. Subsequently, he held a fellowship in gastroenterology at the Yale School of Medicine before serving in the Medical Corps of the US Air Force at the rank of Captain until sometime after our tenth reunion, after which he returned to Buffalo, the city of his birth, where he worked and near which he lived the rest of his life. Joining the faculty of what is now known as the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University at Buffalo (or SUNY Buffalo), he served for twelve years as its associate dean; founded its gastroenterology program, its Office of Medical Education, and the Emeritus Medical Faculty Society of Gastroenterology; and was the recipient of the university's Distinguished Service Award. At various points he was also editor-in-chief of the journal HMO Practice and through at least our 40th reunion was serving as an officer of an HMO in Buffalo. In addition to his active medical practice and responsibilities, Len was deeply involved in Jewish affairs as a founding member and president of Congregation Havurah, an officer of the Jewish Center of Greater Buffalo, president at Chautauqua of the Hebrew Congregation, founder at Chautauqua of the Holocaust Education Program, and known for his consistent battles against antisemitism. He also has a plausible claim on credit for the celebrity status of Buffalo chicken wings. As Steve Wittenberg tells the story, it was Len who introduced Bud Trillin to those gustatory delicacies, which led in turn to a widely noted 1980 Trillin New Yorker prose ode to them, following which came their breakout from being a regional food to occupying a place beside caviar and crêpes Suzettes on the finest menus. A fan of the Class of 1957 Music in Schools Initiative, Len also worked with the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Buffalo Public School System toward creating an analogous program on the shores of Lake Erie. Known as a mentor to others, Len was, as Steve describes him and others recall him, "someone of giant enthusiasm for life with an always ready smile and a wonderful laugh." In addition to Judy, he's survived by their children Jeffrey H. Katz, Linda Kaminsky, and Andrew J. Katz, their families (including eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren), and many others. Donations in his memory should go to the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies of Buffalo.

—JMB

David H. Reed (January 25, 2025)

Classmates:

Roger Cogswell conveyed news in late January that his college roommate David H. Reed died of a brain tumor in Tuscon, Arizona, on January 25, 2025. A resident of Branford College and a human culture and behavior major, Dave opened his business career as a commercial lending officer with the Bank of New York before heading the bank's petroleum division. In 1970, he switched to executive recruiting in the New York office of Booz Allen Hamilton. which from Chicago he continued for five years. He and a partner then founded an executive compensation consulting firm in the same city, which in 1986 they sold to Marsh & McLennan, where he remained until 1989. His last post being a human resources consultant for the First National Bank of Chicago, Dave retired in 1991--the first, he wrote at the time of our 50th reunion, of four retirements. Together, he continued, they proved "the most challenging of all careers." During the first part of those repeated retirements, Dave served on the boards of many local organizations and for two years was executive director of the Main Street America Program in Plymouth, New Hampshire, near his Hebron, New Hampshire, home. He also motorcycled his way around the United States and Mexico as well as in Europe and wintered in Tucson, where he had moved in 1991 before also taking up residence in New New Hampshire. In Tucson, Dave and another roommate, Bob Hewett, were volunteers at that city's Pima Air & Space Museum in whose restoration department, Bob reports, they worked "to produce miracles of bringing old and odd pieces of junk literally to life." According to John Mars, his third roommate, Dave was, "thorough and detailed in everything he did and a joy to work with." Others who knew him in college recall his cheeriness and sense of humor. Roger Cogswell writes that Dave was courageous about his forthcoming death to the end. He is survived by Enid, his wife of 61 years, as well as their daughters Alison Quinan and Sharon Reed, their children, and a sister.

—JMB

Roger W. Pease, Jr. (January 3, 2025)

Classmates:

Roger W. Pease, Jr., died of unstated causes on January 3, 2025, presumably at or near his home in Killingworth, Connecticut. A precollegiate graduate of New Britain High School, Roger entered Yale with the Class of 1953 but, volunteering for the draft, he left college in 1951 to serve in Korea and Japan as a pole line construction foreman in the U.S. Army, from which he was discharged in 1954 at the rank of Sergeant First Class after being awarded the Korean Service Medal and the Bronze Star. Yet as he wrote in our 50th reunion book, what most affected him in Korea was not the horror of war but butterflies (or, in German, Schmetterlinge, the word he learned in a freshman German language class discussion). It looks as if, already smitten with those lovely creatures, he wanted to go to Korea in part to collect them. And that he did--to the tune, he reported, of thousands. Returning to college, he majored in mathematics and then gained an MA (subject unstated) from Western New England University before returning to Yale for a PhD in Biology. His doctoral thesis concerned--you guessed it--butterflies, which remained his lifelong passion. Professionally, he spent his entire 45-year career as an editor at Merriam-Webster in Springfield, Massachusetts, where, after having become Senior Editor for Science, he guided the publication of and wrote much of the firm's first medical dictionary. As a lepidopterist, longtime member of the Massachusetts Audubon Society and Massachusetts Butterfly Club, Roger participated in many annual Bay State butterfly counts, wrote many articles about butterflies, and is credited with identifying many rare species. He also retained through life his collegiate interest in mathematics and tried to keep breast of computer science by taking courses in those subjects. Naturally a hiker and practiced in Sudoku, he was known, it's said, for "his brilliant mind" and "his unwavering curiosity for the world." Roger is survived by his wife of 15 years, Noel; his daughters, Lisa Pasay and Susan Pease, grandchildren, a great-grandchild, and a brother. A celebration of life will take place later this spring. Donations in his memory should to go to the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

—JMB

Richards H. Burhoe, Jr. (January 1, 2025)

Classmates:

Classmate Richards H. Burhoe, Jr. died peacefully surrounded by his family on January 1, 2025. He succumbed, presumably in or near Brookline, Massachusetts, his last address of record with the class, from the complications of progressive supranuclear palsy. A precollegiate graduate of Reading High School in Massachusetts, Dick majored in English at Yale and was a member of the varsity basketball team. He then gained an M.Ed. degree from the Harvard School of Education before taking up work teaching English at the Thacher School in Ojai, California, where he headed its English department, served as director of admissions and basketball coach, and created a program that brought inner-city youths from Los Angeles to the oldest boarding school west of the Mississippi. He followed that position with analogous ones--as principal of the lower and upper schools of the Kent Place School in Summit, New Jersey, then headmaster of Brimmer and May School in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Subsequently, after gaining a 1987 doctorate in counseling psychology from Northeastern University, Dick turned to mental health work as a psychologist and family therapist with Riverside Community Care, a mental healthcare clinic in south central Massachusetts. Early on, he developed a love for the Maine coast, where, successively, he and his family had cottages on Georgetown Island and in Phippsburg. A tennis player, poet, and someone facile with wordplay and puns, Dick was known for his quick wit and thoughtful guidance. Predeceased by his first wife Patricia, he's survived by Margaret, his wife of 40 years, his children with Patricia--Leslie, Laurie, Thomas, Elizabeth--and with Margaret--Samuel and Anna--eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. A private service in his memory will take place in Peabody, Massachusetts, on March 28, 2025.

—JMB

Ronald K. Ragen (December 24, 2024)

Classmates:

I convey news that Ronald K. Ragen died of unstated causes on December 24, 2024, in Portland, Oregon, his native town. A fifth-generation Oregonian descended from a pioneering woman who arrived in 1847 over the Oregon Trail, Ron was a graduate of Portland's Lincoln High School. At Yale, he participated in the Directed Studies Program, majored in history, played varsity squash, and was a member of Book and Snake. Subsequently, he gained a JD degree from Stanford Law School before commencing a 50-year career as attorney in finance, securities, and corporate law and then turning to the practice of international law, mostly regarding Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong, with the firm of David, Wright, Tremaine. Ron also played a major role in Portland's civic life. At the mayor's request, he chaired and appointed the members of a municipal committee whose efforts helped revitalize downtown Portland through enhancements to the city's performing arts capacity. Over 10 years starting in the late 1970s, is committee raised, through bond issues and private donations, over $40 million to renovate the city's civic auditorium, turn an old theater into what's now Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (home to the Oregon Symphony), and build a structure holding three new theaters. Having grown up near the campus of Lewis and Clark College, built a house near it, then used its campus as the site of walks, Ron joined the board of visitors of the college's law school and in 2000 a member of the college's board of trustees, of which he became chairman. He also helped secure the finances of Oregon's World Affairs Council (now World Oregon) at its 50th Anniversary by arranging speaking engagements for the likes of the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Queen Noor, and Robert Reich. Always in high demand because of his quiet, genial, sober presence, he accepted many other volunteer responsibilities during his life. For all that, as a collegian he was one of eleven Class of 1957 members of Timothy Dwight's agglomeration of adjacent suites known as "the zoo." Apparently outliving that designation, its members remained fast friends throughout their lives, which included many reunions, the last one in 2023 in Washington. Allen Wendt, a zooist, describes Ron as "a loyal and no nonsense friend who brought out the best in us." Drum King, another member of the menagerie, writes that Ron was the group's glue. "He always kept track of everyone." Ron is survived by his wife Lee, whom he married in 1959, their children Kimberley Ragen, Linda Venti, and Kent Ragen ('89), their families including four grandchildren, a sister, and others. Donations in his memory should go to the Oregon Historical Society, the Portland Art Museum, or a charity of choice.

—JMB

O. Robert Conkey (December 23, 2024)

Classmates:

I must report the sudden death of our classmate O. Robert Conkey at his San Diego home of unstated causes on December 23, 2024. A native of Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, a pre-collegiate graduate of Deerfield Academy, and a Yale English major, this very private man dropped almost no bread crumbs on which to trace the trails he traveled. By our 10th reunion, Bob was living in Manhattan. By our 20th he had decamped for San Francisco where he remained until he was reported in 1987 as having returned to New York City. And then by our 50th reunion he was to be found in San Diego. Only once--for our 1997 reunion book--did Bob lift even the corner of a curtain to indicate that he was director of finance of the Joyce Theater Foundation, which hints at his deep interest in dance, an inference strengthened by his executor's indication that he served in the same capacity for the San Francisco Ballet and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. A generous donor to Yale as well as an avid reader, bridge player, a man involved in his residential community, and someone with a life-long interest in music, Bob established the Robert Conkey ’57 Scholarship Fund to support a Yale College student and was known to Yale's development office as "particularly savvy with planned giving vehicles." For his exceptional benefaction to our alma mater, this solid, serious, civic man was named a Sterling Fellow, thus joining 15 other members of the Class of 1957 bearing that designation. Bob, who appears never to have married, leaves no stated survivors.

—JMB

Jerome H. Farnum (December 6, 2024)

Classmates:

We've recently learned that our classmate Jerome H. Farnum died on December 6, 2024 in Holmdel, New Jersey, the state of his birth. A precollegiate graduate of Exeter, at Yale Jerry was an intensive history major, a ranking scholar, a member of the WYBC board, and an NROTC participant. Graduating as a commissioned officer, he served on active duty in the U.S. Navy between 1957 and 1959 and remained in the Navy Reserves afterwards. After gaining a 1962 law degree at Harvard, he joined the Dow Chemical Corporation in its chemicals and plastics division in Zurich, Switzerland, before, by the time of our 25th reunion, becoming a vice president for finance and law, then senior vice president, for Fidenas International Bank. By the time of our 45th reunion, he had returned to the Garden State and, living in semi-rural New Jersey, become a member of the board of directors of the Emerson Radio Corporation, on which he was still serving in 2007. Someone who spoke many languages and taught in some of them, Jerry was also the author of books on Swiss corporation and contract law as well as one on the positioning of Roman imperial legions. Skilled at crafting zesty remarks for our reunion books, Jerry wrote for our 35th that in the five years since our 30th--having not grown up, "only out"-- he still enjoyed "the simple pleasures of life like cooking a feast for the family, picnicking in a castle ruin, conning the youngsters into carrying out the garbage, and making the secretary giggle on a rainy office morning. I still sleep like an angel, which I take as a sign that the world and I are at peace with each other." Jerry is survived by his second wife, Jeannette Zellweger, his sons Perry, Mark, Philip, and Patrick, five grandchildren, and others.

—JMB

Robert A. Goering (November 19, 2024)

Classmates:

Our classmate Robert A. Goering died under hospice care following a brief illness in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 19, 2024. A native of Indiana, Bob grew up in Cincinnati, where he graduated from Hughes High School before entering Yale, where he majored in English and was a varsity fencer. After graduating, he gained a law degree in 1961 at the Salmon P. Chase College of Law of Northern Kentucky University. Returning to Cincinnati to found and practice law with the bankruptcy firm of Wilke and Goering (now Goering and Goering) until shortly before his death, he found time to teach for 40 years at his law school alma mater and to co-author Ohio's bankruptcy code, which remains in effect. Active in civic and charitable affairs, he served on the Park Board of Hamilton County and as a board member of both the Greater Cincinnati chapter of United Cerebral Palsy and the city's Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled (LADD). He was especially active in his church, where he helped in its kitchen and served food to the elderly. An outdoorsman, he owned a farm for over 50 years, hunted, and was an avid fisherman as member of the Queen City Anglers Club. Apparently, he was also a keen poker player and, it's said, a strong cribbage opponent of his sister. Pre-deceased by his first wife Ruth as well as by a brother and sister, Bob is survived by his wife Charlotte, sister Ruth Ferguson, children Janet Patin and Robert A., Dean A., and Eric W. Goering, stepchildren Stephanie Hogue and Christopher Hogue as well as their families (including 14 grandchildren) and a sister. Gifts in his memory should go to the Covenant-First Presbyterian Church, 717 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 or LADD, 3603 Victory Pkwy, Cincinnati, OH 45229.

—JMB

Edward J. Robinson (October 22, 2024)

Classmates:

One of our most distinctive and distinguished classmates, Edward J. Robinson, died peacefully of unstated causes presumably in or near his long-time Marblehead, Massachusetts, home on October 22, 2024. Ed was a pre-collegiate graduate of Lynn (Massachusetts) Classical High School where, prefiguring his stature in the Class of 1957, he was class president in his junior and senior years and captain of the school's varsity basketball team for which he holds the still-unbroken record for the most points scored in a single game. A French major and a member of Aurelian at Yale, Ed, who fittingly held a Levi Jackson Scholarship for two years, extended his sports record as a member of the track and basketball teams. Captaining the latter for an exceptional three years and the first African American captain in its history, he led the team into the 1957 NCAA finals at Madison Square Garden against first-ranked North Carolina and, though losing that first round contest, captained the team to its first Ivy League championship since 1949 as well as to the 1957 Big Three title. Fulfilling his stated intention of becoming a doctor, Ed received his MD degree from Tufts in 1961 and then served in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps in Vietnam until 1967, when he retired from active duty at the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He then commenced his 40-year practice as a radiologist, most of it as head of radiology at Salem Hospital while also teaching at Boston University School of Medicine. In his free time, Ed gardened, sailed and fished out of the Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead, and satisfied his enthusiasm for jazz. Predeceased by a daughter, he's survived by sons Edward J., Perry G., and Christopher D. Robinson, as well as by two grandchildren. Donations in his memory should go to the Boys and Girls Club of Lynn.

—JMB

A. Lynne Graham (October 20, 2024)

Classmates:

Our short-time classmate A. Lynne Graburn II died on October 20, 2024. One can infer from his published obituary that he died somewhere in Kentucky after having moved there from New York's Capital Region, but the cause of his death is unknown. Matriculating with us from Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, (and carried on our rolls as Arthur Lynn Graburn III), Lynn withdrew after freshman year and apparently graduated from Ursinus College. Little further can be learned of his life and career although one email address associated with a credit union suggests that he may have worked in the banking or mortgage industries. Apparently spending most of his life in Albany, where he was to be buried, and for a time in Schenectady, it's said that he was active in his community, a commissioner of Pop Warner Football, a Rotary Club member, a Mason, and an enthusiastic world traveler. Lynn is survived by his son Sterling, a sister, and a brother.

—JMB

Anthony M. DeLude (October 7, 2024)

Classmates:

We learned recently of the death on October 7, 2024, of Anthony M. DeLude. He died, presumably in or near his last known residence in Neptune Beach, Florida, after an eight-month battle with cancer. A native of New Haven and a precollegiate graduate of The Gunnery School, Tony majored in American Studies, played on the varsity golf team, and was a resident of Jonathan Edwards College. He spent most of his career in corporate sales after starting out with Gulf Oil and, by the time of our 10th reunion, having joined Proctor & Gamble. Sometime between then and 1982, he became a regional sales manager of Berkel Incorporated and moved to Neptune Beach. He seems to have retired from that position by 2002. Tony remained passionate about golf. Implying rue, at the time of our 35th reunion, that his handicap had grown by five strokes, he was still avidly attending events--as many as twelve a year--on the PGA tour. For much of his life he also actively collected and traded stamps and coins, solved crossword puzzles, played cribbage, and enjoyed voyaging on cruise ships. Predeceased by Katrina, his wife of 66 years whom he married in 1956, as well as by their eldest son David, Tony is survived by son Dwight; daughters Kari Garfinkle and Tina Gordon, their husbands and children, and two great-grandchildren.

—JMB

John K. Copelin (September 25, 2024)

Classmates:

We have word from his daughter that we lost classmate John K. Copelin on September 25, 2024. He died after a brief illness in Philadelphia, where he had lived near his family during the last three years of his life. A native of New York City and a precollegiate graduate of the city's Collegiate School, at Yale John majored in architecture and was a ranking scholar before obtaining his B.Arch. degree in 1960 also from Yale, where he studied with Robert A. M. Stern. After spending time in Paris and Cambridge, England, before returning to New York with his wife Jennifer, at the time of our 10th reunion he was working in the offices of Edward Larrabee Barnes. He then pursued a diverse practice, much of it with the William A. Hall Partnership in Manhattan, designing athletic, library, and other facilities and undertaking historical restorations for, among other institutions, Hollins College, Bard College, Hobart and William Smith College (when Carroll Brewster was its president), Washington and Lee University, the Collegiate Church, Christ Church Riverside, the Marble Collegiate Church, St. Paul’s School, and the Yale Club of New York (during Don Bab's presidency). He also wrote about architecture and taught part-time in the Yale Architecture School. John and his family retreated to a residence in Westport, Connecticut, between 1982 and 1996 before returning to the city in 1996 and then, in 2001, heading back to Connecticut to live in Madison during his retirement. From then on, he concentrated on becoming an accomplished watercolorist whose works were exhibited throughout the Nutmeg State. A traveler with Jennifer, he also took pleasure in swimming in Long Island Sound and keeping a garden. A modest, quiet, gentle man, John radiated good nature and, whenever he wrote for reunion books, expressed his love of artistic beauty in all its forms. His college roommate Al Clovis--with whom he traveled together with their wives to visit significant works of architecture--credits John with being "totally responsible" for his avocational interest in modern architecture. As Phil Levine recalls him, he was "supremely witty..., always playfully amusing, and really smart." Predeceased by Jennifer, John is survived by their daughter Stephanie Copelin, her husband Mark, and his granddaughter Dahlia.

—JMB

Peter A. Balbach (September 19, 2024)

Classmates:

We've recently learned that our classmate Peter A. Balbach died on September 19, 2024 in West Columbia, South Carolina. He had been in diminishing health due to Alzheimer's disease. A native of Newark, Pete spent his youth in Rumson, New Jersey, much of it on Monmouth Beach or on the Shrewsbury and Navesink Rivers sailing and racing in flat-bottomed, outboard-motor Jon boats. After graduating from Lawrenceville, at Yale he majored in industrial administration and was production director of the 1957 Yale Banner. Starting his career at Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point plant in Baltimore, he moved to Pittsburgh with responsibilities in the corporation's sales division. In 1976, Pete founded his own New Ken Steel, a steel fabrication firm, which he directed until 1988, when, taking partial retirement, he moved to coastal South Carolina before selling the business in 1993. From his new home on Lake Murray, west of Columbia in the central South Carolina piedmont, Pete returned to the watersports and piscine delights of his youth. His dogs, fishing, boating, and kayaking absorbed him, especially when he could land, as he once did, a 20-pound Striped Bass out of Lake Murray. He also sang in church choirs, was a member of Columbia's St. Martin's-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church, volunteered with Meals on Wheels, and, untrue to his Palmetto State neighbors, became an avid fan of the Duke University basketball team over the border in the Tarheel State. The kind of man who traveled the nation's western expanses but who hated snorkeling in Hawaii because, he charged, the water was "too cold," he nevertheless spent periods in Maine, whose summer waters aren't known to be more welcoming to extended immersions that those surrounding the Aloha State. Rod Correll, a friend from Lawrenceville days, describes Pete as others knew him--a man "of very sunny disposition." Colin Thompson remarks that, possessed of a "clear and fine singing voice," he apparently deployed it until the very end of his life when "he would occasionally break into a song, one well known to him from a past otherwise forgotten, startling, then entertaining, the nurses, staff, and others around him." Predeceased by his second wife Joy, Pete is survived by his wife Mary; sons John and Stephen Balbach; stepchildren Laura Beckmann, Walter Penrose, Jr., and Andrew Choate, and their families. Donations in his memory should go to the Lawrenceville School, 2500 Main Street, Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648 or to The Nature Conservancy, South Carolina Chapter, 1417 Stuart Engals Boulevard, Suite 100, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464.

—JMB

Donald L. Rife (September 15, 2024)

In Memoriam:

We have received word from New Haven that Donald L. Rife died of unstated causes on September 15, 2024. The sole published notice of his death states that he was "of Westfield, Indiana" yet the funeral home whose website carries that information is located in St. Pete's Beach, Florida, which, west of St. Petersburg, is not far from the Madeira Beach, Florida address on record with the class where he may have died. A precollegiate graduate of South Side High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the city of his birth, at Yale Don was a psychology major, ranking scholar, and active in many Jonathan Edwards College intramural sports activities as well as in Dwight Hall. Immediately after college, following his stated intention to of practice psychiatry, he attended Harvard Medical School and served his internship in pediatrics and his residencies in adult and child psychiatry at Yale. Subsequently, starting in 1966, he joined the US Air Force and served, presumably as a doctor, in Anchorage, Alaska, where he completed his service at the rank of Captain in 1968. At the time of our 25th reunion, Don was chief of professional services and director of child and adolescent programs at the Brattleboro Retreat, a non-profit mental health hospital. Ten years later he was living in Tampa and, by the time of our 50th reunion, in Madeira Beach after having taught at the University of Florida. Retiring after open-heart surgery, he obtained a Coast Guard captain's license and became a charter boat captain on his 40-foot trawler. Don's 50th reunion book sketch described his college years as "some of the greatest of my life" and closed with the statement that he spent his "four years at Yale thinking I was the only gay guy at Yale."

—JMB

Philip C. Richards (August 30, 2024)

Classmates:

Philip C. Richards died peacefully at home in Wilton, Connecticut, on July 30, 2024 after an extended illness. A native of Los Angeles and a pre-collegiate graduate of the Harvard School in North Hollywood, Phil abandoned the West Coast when he entered Yale and remained thereafter in the Northeast. After majoring in electoral engineering at Yale and with a 1962 MS in Electrical Engineering from NYU in hand, he joined Bell Labs where, at the time of our 10th reunion, he was supervising the programming of electric switching systems. In 1982, having settled in Wilton eight years earlier, he was the director of product planning and control for IT&T and took assignments with other telecommunication firms before setting up his own consulting firm whose specialty was offering management advise to telecommunication company executives. He also wrote a book on the future of telecommunications. But beyond his family, Phil's principle commitment was to music, especially barbershop singing, with which he entertained us at one or two reunions. By our 50th reunion, he had become a regional leader for the Barbershop Harmony Society and had founded a distinctive mixed barbershop quartet, the Grandpas and Grandmas, whose membership included his wife Anne. Frequently entertaining residents of nursing homes and senior communities in Connecticut and nearby New York, his skill in this genre of American performance brought opportunities to perform throughout the United States as well as in England, China, Russia, and Italy. A singer also in church choirs, Phil was an active member of the Westchester Chordsmen (previously the Golden Chordsmen), which won him induction into the Westchester Chordsmen’s Hall of Honor. As if this wasn't enough, Phil seems to have always been active in a wide variety of organizations in Fairfield County, where he served on the boards of the Wilton Arts Council, Wilton Kiwanis, and Friends of Ambler Farm and managed the websites of a number of local institutions. With Anne, he also founded Stay at Home in Wilton, one of an increasing number of non-profit "villages" that offer services to older members of their communities and help them live independently at home throughout their lives. Phil's qualities of generosity, charity, and warmth, as everyone who knew him can attest, suffused all that he did. In addition to Anne, he is survived by their sons Charles J., William S., and Philip T., their wives, and four grandchildren. Philip was pre-deceased by a sister. Donations in his memory should be directed to Stay at Home in Wilton, the RVNA Hospice, or a local music or arts organization.

—JMB

James B. Richardson, Jr. (August 26, 2024)

Classmates:

We recently learned of the death of James B. Richardson, Jr., on August 26, 2024. He died of unstated causes in Westport, Connecticut, where he had lived since before our 10th reunion. A precollegiate graduate of the Pingry School, Jim majored in English at Yale and played varsity tennis and squash, sports that he pursued throughout his life. After graduating, he joined the Bankers Trust Co (acquired later by Deutsche Bank) in New York City and became a group vice president responsible for much of the bank's business in the southeastern states. He was also involved in guiding the management of a family business that manufactured coal mining machinery and served as a fiduciary for the Walter Hoving Home, a rehabilitation center for young women suffering from drug addiction and alcoholism. Long passionate about the arts, antiques, and maps and describing himself for our 50th reunion book as "visually possessed (a near fatal disease)," Jim left banking sometime before 1992 to open in Southport, Connecticut, an antique shop that specialized in the decorative and fine arts as well as American furniture and folk art. While in that same 50th reunion year ruing that he had never found an original copy of the Constitution behind an old painting, he wrote that he had at least been able to snare a 14th-century Chinese ceramic piece "that filled an important gap in Yale's collection." During his shop's 20-year life, Jim participated regularly in antique shows and became a founding member of the Antiques Dealers Association of America. Even after retiring, he took part in the Fairfield County Antiques and Design Center. On the side, he created art, was the family poet, and planned travel for family members and friends. Jim is survived by his wife Deborah, whom he married during junior year, their daughters Elizabeth and Sally, and two grandchildren.

—JMB

Pierre Bouscaren (August 24, 2024)

Classmates:

Pierre Bouscaren died peacefully at home in Gainesville, Virginia, on August 24, 2024. A pre-collegiate graduate of Baltimore's Gilman School, Pierre (known to others also as Pete or Bous) majored at Yale in human culture and behavior and was a varsity lacrosse player (whom Drum King describes as "very competitive") before serving in the U.S. Army and later in the National Guard. He then spent the rest of his life in northern Virginia, his commitments being family, real estate, athletics, and song. Starting out with the Rouse Company, a Baltimore firm, Pierre spent much of his work life as a specialist in residential leasing; shopping center, factory outlet mall, and community development; inner-city re-development; contract leasing; and, with his wife Sarah, residential real estate. In addition to his skills at lacrosse, he was expert in tennis (both court and paddle varieties), ice hockey, sailing, skiing, fishing, and golf. Describing music as a "passion," he revealed the quality of his voice no later than freshman year in Yale's freshman glee club and continued to lend its rich baritone to such ensembles as the Falls Church Episcopal Church, the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, the Fairfax Jubilaires, and a barbershop quartet and, when retired in Gainesville, to the Greenwich Presbyterian Church choir and the Manassas Chorale. He also became a skilled home chef (except, he wrote, of desserts) after finding cooking "quite therapeutic." He and Sarah also traveled to and from houses on the Outer Banks and on an Ontario lake and enjoyed a timeshare in Colorado. No one who knew Pierre, a cancer survivor before our 35th reunion, failed to be drawn to him for his warmth and sunny laugh as well as to his easy calm. Ron Ragen writes of Pierre that he "was a kind, thoughtful, good-natured gentleman whose Baltimore upbringing made him a delight to be with. He smiled often, giggled a little, had a wonderful, positive personality, and was also wise." In addition to Sarah, Pierre is survived by daughters Winslow Waxter and June Bouscaren, stepchildren Robert L. and Edward Arnold and Margaret Buchanan, and their families, including eleven grandchildren. A service celebrating Pierre's life will take place at 11:00 a.m. at the Greenwich Presbyterian Church in Nokesville, Virginia, on September 28, 2024. Donations in his memory should go to the Greenwich Church Music Ministry.

—JMB

John C. Fistere Jr. (July 26, 2024)

Classmates:

Our classmate John C. Fistere Jr. died at home under hospice care in Solana Beach, California on July 26, 2024, after a long struggle against Parkinson’s disease. A mechanical engineering major at Yale, John spent his junior year at the American University of Beirut where his father worked for the United Nations. After graduating, he served briefly with the U.S. Navy as an engineer. He then commenced an engineering career with Westinghouse Electric Corporation and ended it in management positions with Solar Turbines Inc., from which he retired in 1997, his specialties being software systems inventions and the development of control systems for steam and gas turbomachinery. A long-time resident of El Cajon, California, in the "East County" region northeast of San Diego, John was a man of varied talents and interests. He served as a news broadcaster for the East County Magazine Radio Show on KSNJ, an FM station east of San Diego, read newspapers to the blind for over 30 years with KPBS Radio Reading Service, and was a board member of East County Media in support of local journalism. In addition, he was active in the La Mesa, California, Rotary Club, which he served as president; founded what is now the San Diego Science and Technology Meetup for science enthusiasts; and was the co-founder and first executive director of the Prostate Cancer Research and Education Foundation. He also wrote and published a software program designed to help prostate cancer survivors track their test results. The wit for which John was known made him perhaps the only '57er to make his way through one of the toughest electoral set-to's and editorial gauntlets in the nation to be chosen to caption a New Yorker cartoon in one of the magazine's weekly cartoon caption contests. A sailor who engaged in bareboat chartering in East Coast waters, John also sang with his wife Teresa Farr in the San Diego Festival Chorus and Unity San Diego, both of which he served as president, and in the choir of his church. Predeceased by Teresa, John is survived by his daughters Jennifer and Jessica, his first wife Jane, stepdaughter Leslie, a grandchild, and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at Unity San Diego, 3770 Altadena Avenue, San Diego, on Sunday, October 6, 2024.

—JMB

Bernhard W. Witter (July 26, 2024)

Classmates:

Our classmate Bernhard W. Witter died after a short illness in Oxford, Maryland, on June 26, 2024. Born in Göttingen, Germany, as Bernhard W. Wehefritz, Bernie survived the war with his family. Then, under the sponsorship of his maternal uncle and wife, he arrived in the United States from Fürth, Bavaria in 1952 after his three less adventurous older siblings declined the chance to emigrate. Believing that his sponsors' surname was more easily pronounced in English than his parents', he thenceforth went about the world as Bernhard Witter. After having begun learning English from American GIs during their post-war occupation of Germany, it took him but a single year with his relatives in Danville, New Jersey, to master the English language. Consequently, with a Dover High School diploma in hand he entered Yale, where he majored in industrial administration, played varsity soccer, managed the track and cross-country teams, and (shades of Johannes Gutenberg) was chief printer of Jonathan Edwards College. Bernie opened his career in General Electric’s management training program and after several years at GE and six months in the U.S. Army Reserves entered Harvard Business School, from which he received his M.B.A. in 1963. Then began his many career moves, at first to such large firms as Standard Oil/Esso, where he started out with credit and finance responsibilities, and International Paper. After becoming an authority on pipelines in Europe, he served as vice president for finance of computer manufacturer Commodore International, which, requiring visits to Asia, Europe, and the Americas, satisfied his natural wanderlust. His last pre-retirement post was as supervisor of administration and management of Philadelphia law firm Dechert Price & Rhoads (now Dechert LLP). His various corporate positions took him and his family to New York City, London, Chicago, Cleveland, and Philadelphia, such moves apparently being easy for this traveling man, who visited every continent, including Antarctica. After his retirement, he and his wife Liz moved between their full-time home in Oxford on the Eastern Shore and Davidson, North Carolina, the latter for warmer weather and proximity to their grandchildren. Not long after that move, it's said that he "gamely" followed the Davidson contingent in its move to Washington DC, where he and Liz took up residence in the Watergate community where, living next to the Kennedy Center, he could easily indulge his love of classical music as well as the city's art museums. Aside from travel, Bernie was drawn to sailing, golf, gardening, and dogs but what drew others to him were his seriousness when dealing with serious matters and his sunny warmth of personality, giggling laugh, and sense of the ridiculous otherwise. As he wrote in our 35th reunion book in reflection on his life, he saw himself principally as a "catalyst" of others' work and activities. When Liz, his wife of almost 60 years, died in 2019, Bernie left Washington for Oxford on the Chesapeake, where he met and, in 2022, married Suzanne Beauvais Beyda, who survives him, as do his sons Scott and Jonathan and their wives and children as well as his siblings Christiane Wehefritz and Valentin Wehefritz. His brother Henning Wehefritz predeceased him. Contributions in his memory should go to Camp Dudley (https://www.campdudley.org/givenow/), which at one time he attended, or to the Talbot Humane Society (https://www.talbothumane.org/donate).

—JMB

Richard S. Roberts, Jr. (July 25, 2024)

Classmates:

We learned recently of the death on July 25, 2024, of Richard S. Roberts, Jr. He died peacefully of unstated causes at his home in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. Dick came to Yale from Wilmington, Delaware, as a graduate of that city's Friends School, where the seeds of his career commitment took root when he spent the summer between his junior and senior pre-collegiate years as an American Field Service exchange student in Germany. That turned into his intensive major in political and economic institutions at Yale followed by a 1962 PhD in political science from the Graduate Institute of International Studies at the University of Geneva while serving as an economist for the International Labor Organization. From then on, Dick devoted himself as a management consultant to a wide range of activities in developing nations throughout the world. After spending two years at the Stanford Research Institute, he participated as a project specialist for the Ford Foundation in aspects of the Aswan Dam's realization in Egypt and in family planning projects in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. Then traveling widely as an independent consultant for agencies of the United States and United Nations, he developed training seminars for public sector managers and development programs in West Africa, the Sudan, Haiti, Egypt, and Guatemala. He then turned his attention to issues of family planning, maternal health, and overall health care and public health when working with Boston-based Management Sciences for Health. Those assignments, some under contract with the US Agency for International Development, found him in Algeria, Cameroun, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, Zaire, Zimbabwe, and Rwanda, from the last of which he was forced to evacuate in 1994. By the time he retired from his work to improve the management of and access to public health care in Honduras, Yemen, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines, this peripatetic man could surely have entered a competition to be recognized as the most widely-traveled professional in the Class of 1957. (He does however seem to have enjoyed somewhat settled residences with his family in Egypt, El Salvador, California, Tunisia, Boston, Denver, and Morocco.) Somewhere along the line, Dick managed to get in family travel to Timbuktu, to the Alps for skiing, to Costa Rica, and who knows where else as well as the design and presentation of cross-cultural events in some locations where he lighted for more than an interval. Also along the way, Dick and his wife Priscilla, whom he married in 1959, found time to write Thomas Barclay (1728-1793): Consul in France, Diplomat in Barbary, published by Lehigh University Press in 2008. His longest stateside residence seems to have been Denver, where this restless man involved himself in the Downtown Denver Resident’s Organization, in playground development, and in the promotion of public transportation. Predeceased by Priscilla and an infant son, Dick is survived by daughters Laura Roberts and Wendy R. Zambalas and their families, including two grandchildren. a brother, and two sisters.

—JMB

Edward L. Sherako, Jr. (July 18, 2024)

Classmates:

I convey news that our ranks have thinned once more with the July 18, 2024, death from unstated causes of Edward L. Sherako, Jr. He died presumably near his home in Avon, Connecticut, the state in which he had long lived. A native of New York City, raised in Plainfield, New Jersey, and a graduate there of Plainfield High School, Ed resided in Berkeley and majored in economics. He apparently joined the Cigna Corporation, perhaps in the personnel relations division, immediately after college before serving in the U.S. Navy for four years. On mustering out, he rejoined Cigna, where he worked for the next 30 years, a hint suggesting that at one time he held a vice-president's post. He's survived by his wife Barbara, daughters Anne Needleman and Carol Sherako, son Edward Sherako, and a granddaughter. No other information about him resides in available class records. Donations in his memory may go to the John Dempsey Hospital Fund at the University of Connecticut Foundation.

—JMB

Harold S. Russell (June 13, 2024)

Classmates:

We lost our classmate Harold S. Russell on June 13, 2024. He died from declining health while surrounded by members of his family at their multi-generational seasonal home in Lakeside, Michigan. A precollegiate graduate of Groton and at Yale a history major, NROTC participant, and member of St. Anthony Hall, after graduating Hal spent two years on destroyer patrol in the Pacific--"from which," he wrote in our 50th reunion book, "I benefited much and the country suffered little"--before matriculating at the University of Chicago Law School in his native city "because there was no particular muse blowing in my ear." With a 1962 LLB in hand, he practiced law for White & Case in New York and Sidley Austin in Chicago until 1971 when, having taken a deep interest in international and business law in law school, Hal became the State Department's Assistant Legal Advisor for European Affairs. In that post, he helped negotiate a number of security and trade agreements, most significantly as a principal American negotiator during the Nixon and Ford administrations for the American delegation at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which eventuated in the 1975 so-called Helsinki Accords, which helped lessen Cold War tensions and give hope and voice to dissidents. A year later he joined the conglomerate FMC Corporation of which, as international counsel of the firm, first from Chicago and then from Philadelphia, he became responsible for much of its legal affairs in the Middle East and Global South. Eventually, he assumed the post of FMC's Vice President for Government Affairs in Washington, the position from which he retired in 2000. Devoted to his family, Hal nevertheless never stood aside from community affairs. He was a founder and 20-year board member of the Region of Three Oaks Museum in Lakeside; a volunteer in Chicago for the Big Brother program and in Boca Grande, Florida, for Habitat for Humanity; vice president of the Philadelphia Committee for the Homeless; the founder of Towne Pride Works of Philadelphia (which trained the homeless for employment) and founder in Washington of Bridges of D.C. (which offered counseling to people newly released from prison); member of the Washington D.C. Corrections Information Council; tutor of students at the Elihu Yale School in Chicago; and supporter of liberal Republicans candidates for office. Hal made up for failing to star in the kitchen and possibly being unable even to boil an egg by possessing an unbeatable combination of keen intelligence, seriousness of purpose, warm and sunny disposition, easy humor, and uninterrupted civic commitment. A leitmotif of his reunion sketches was what he wrote for our 35th reunion book--that while he had "neither saved the world nor conquered it (as I intended to do in some form when I left Yale), I haven't made it any worse (as far as I know) and maybe, in a few modest ways, I made it slightly better." Those who knew and had affection for the man would recognize this as Hal's characteristic humility. He was too modest to admit that he left a positive mark on everything he touched. He is survived by Margo, his beloved wife of 63 years, and their children Nina ('86), Nathan, and Peter and their families. A memorial service is planned for August in Lakeside.

—JMB

Norwood O. Hill (May 24, 2024)

Classmates:

We learned recently of the death on May 24, 2024 of Norwood O. Hill. A long-time resident of Decatur, Texas, he died in Newbury Park, California, in the presence of his companion Patricia McDade. One of five siblings, Norwood was a chemistry major in college, after which he earned a 1961 MD degree at Baylor Medical School. Following residencies in internal medicine at Jefferson Davis Hospital in Houston and Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, his native city, he served between 1963 and 1965 in the U. S. Air Force. By our 25th reunion, he was widely known for his researches into cancer and blood disorders and his studies of interferon and had become president in 1975 of Dallas's Wadley Institutes of Molecular Medicine, of which his father had served in the same positions. Norwood termed the Institutes "the principal blood bank of Dallas" and a cancer research and treatment center involved "in such fast moving biotechnology fields as genetic engineering, monoclonal antibodies, and interferon." "It would be hard," he wrote in 1982, "to find a more satisfying job." At the Institutes he initiated the first US manufacturing of interferon and the first clinical trials of an anticancer agent that later proved effective against testicular cancer. He also took the lead in testing for HIV and T-Cell leukemia virus contamination of donated blood, a move that won him local condemnation by doctors and hospitals fearing law suits. In fact, he wrote in our 50th reunion book, his blood testing "for legal, moral, and ethical reasons" did not "result in gratitude that Dallas may have had the safest blood in the nation." This, and apparently his serving as a principal defense witness in AIDS-related lawsuits, led to his resignation from the Wadley Institutes. He related this adventure in preventive medicine in a 2020 book, Blood and Betrayal: The Untold History. His research widely published in medical journals, he also served as board member and president of the American Association of Blood Banks. When not practicing medicine, Norwood was a traveler who spent time on an icebreaker in Antarctica waters, at biolabs near Novosibirsk, and chasing fish in Lake Baikal. A golfer and vegetable gardener, he was also known for his acts of kindness, such as generous tips for struggling college students working in restaurants. Predeceased in 2015 by his wife Sarah, whom he married in 1954 while in college, and in 2004 by their eldest son David, Norwood is survived by their children Lawrence, Scott, and Jennifer Haggerty, their spouses and children, and his siblings Robert, Joseph, Patricia Lindsey, and Barbara Lanius. Donations in his memory should go to the Texas Bee Keepers Association, the SPCA, or the American Cancer Society.

—JMB

William O'Neill III (May 19, 2024)

Classmates:

We have learned in a roundabout manner of the death of our classmate William O'Neill III on May 19, 2024. Little more is known of him. A resident of Cleveland, Ohio, at the time of our matriculation and a pre-collegiate graduate of Portsmouth Priory, in freshman year he roomed in Wright Hall with John J. Boland III, also now deceased, but did not graduate. At the time of our 50th reunion, his whereabouts were unknown. His last known residence with the class was on Longboat Key, Florida. Yale's alumni records office possesses no further information about him. The obituary of another person of the same name also with a Florida address carries the same date of death as the one here, but that decedent possessed a middle initial and thus can't reliably be traced to the person who matriculated with us in 1953.

—JMB

James F. Ziegler (May 14, 2024)

Classmates:

Our fellow '57er James F. Ziegler died on May 14, 2024 of unstated causes at home in Chester, Maryland. An industrial administration major in college, Jim was a scholar of the second rank in freshman year and a 1954 winner of the Barge Prize in mathematics. Having gained an NROTC-earned commission in the Navy, he spent three years after graduating on North Atlantic submarine duty mostly, he wrote in 2007, "chasing Soviet submarines." He then added a second bachelor's degree, this one in physics from the University of Cincinnati, before returning to Yale for his 1967 PhD in nuclear physics. At the time of our 10th reunion, he was a research nuclear physicist in the Yale Electron Accelerator Laboratories and by our 25th reunion had shown "how cosmic rays from deep in the galaxy are the single most important cause of modern computer errors." Starting in 1967 in Yorktown, New York with IBM, he started out as a research scientist looking into computer architecture design and subsequently moved through research into many phases of computer development. But as he wrote in 2002, because "the problems got smaller and smaller" and because he had moved into the management of research, work life "was gliding down from glorious fun." So there followed 15 years as a member of the faculty of the U.S. Naval Academy, where, teaching aggressive midshipmen, "the joyous fun of life" began "bubbling up again." Toward the end of his career, he and his students were working on measures to counter the threat of improvised explosive devices while during summers he was leading research seminars abroad. Always a prolific author and co-author of books and scientific papers, Jim became known especially for his work, some of it pioneering, in radiation physics, cosmic ray physics, and computer engineering. His contributions to these fields gained him election as a Fellow of both the International Electrical and Electronic Engineering Society and the American Physical Society and, among other awards, the Von Humboldt Senior Scientist Prize of the German Government. Beyond his scientific work, Jim was a deer hunter, which induced him to improve the accuracy as well as safety of hunting rifles; a sailor on Hudson River waters, in Long Island Sound, and out on Atlantic waves; and a traveler, especially on South African safaris. A proud, serious man, Jim is survived by Ann, his wife of over 54 years, their sons Samuel and Matthias, their wives, five grandchildren, and a brother and two sisters.

—JMB

A.C. Read Charlton (April 29, 2024)

Classmates:

Our classmate A. C. Read Charlton died in Farmville, Virginia on April 29, 2024, after a brief illness. A precollegiate graduate of St. Paul's School and at Yale a history of art major, Read indicated upon graduation that, no doubt intending to tend to the Greenfield Plantation in Charlotte Court House, Virginia, which had been in his family's possession since the 1750s and whose plantation house dates from 1771, his future occupation was to be the not un-distinctive calling of "planter." That was not however quite the way it was to work out, at least at the start. After three years service in the Marine Corps, much of it in Okinawa, and then three years at what was then called the Yale School of Forestry (now the Yale Forest School and part of the School of the Environment), by 1965 he listed himself as being with the "Defense Department (U.S. Army)." There, it is said, he worked "for the United States Government" in Laos and in Paris (perhaps with the State Department, perhaps not) sometime during the Paris peace talks, which took place intermittently between 1968 and 1973, to end the war in Vietnam. It appears as if he was serving with the senior combat service support element of the Army Reserve at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, at the time of our 40th reunion and is reported to have also been an "analyst" for the Army until his retirement in 1998. It's thus safe to think that, instead of having hoed his fields and planted his crops, Read served his country for roughly 30 years in some intelligence-related capacity--likely to have been, given what his family states, in what is known in the nation's capital as "The Company." While it's possible to imagine Read being a superb operative whether under or above cover, it's somewhat difficult to picture this courtly, jovial man, who spoke in the soft mixed tones of his native Savannah and up-country Virginia, lurking on a street corner to receive encrypted handovers. In any event, he preferred being out in the open fishing--“I’d go to war for fresh cod,” he once wrote--and hunting ducks (which he gave up for skeet shooting), He could often also be found along the Edisto or on Ocracoke Island or observing the wildlife--just "walking the banks of Roanoke Creek," as he wrote in our 25th reunion book--on his up-country acreage and playing the part of Civil War "buff." There, on land that he and his wife Ann bought from family members in 1968, he raised cattle and planted loblolly pines; called himself its "steward;" gratified his love of dogs and other animals; secured with Ann, his wife of 55 years, their plantation against future development with a conservation easement; and where he's now buried. Fred Gaston describes Read simply--his friends will call these words accurate--as "very positive and cheerful." His St. Paul's classmate and Pierson College roommate Kim Cheney writes of Read that, as many others will likewise recall him, "he was the kind of friend I always carried around in my head who popped out pleasantly and unexpectedly kinda like a warm blanket on a cold night. His memory was comforting. His warm personality was of the welcoming kind, sending out signals of affection and pleasure whether spontaneously remembered or generated when we met after an absence." In addition to Ann, Read is survived by their children Read "Judge" Charlton, Jr. and Sarah Charlton Detrick, and their families as well as a brother and others. Donations in his memory should go to the Virginia Property Rights Alliance or the Southside SPCA.

—JMB

Jerome J. Pollitt (April 24, 2024)

Classmates:

We have recently learned that Jerome J. Pollitt died at an undisclosed location after a long unspecified illness on April 24, 2024. A pre-collegiate graduate of Hotchkiss, Jerry amassed a distinguished undergraduate academic record as an intensive major in history, the arts, and letters; was a ranking scholar; and was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Since he never reported in to the class, what follows about his life and achievements draws entirely from public information. Crediting his Yale teachers, including Vincent Scully, with awakening in him his love of classical art and architecture, he spent what he called a "magical" post-graduate year as a Fulbright Fellow at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. Then, after U.S. Army service, he gained a doctorate in art history and archaeology from Columbia. Appointed to the Yale faculty a mere five years after securing his BA, he rose through faculty ranks to become, first, the John M. Schiff Professor of Classical Archaeology and History of Art and then, until his retirement, to occupy one of Yale's most senior professorial positions as Sterling Professor of Classical Archaeology and the History of Art. Jerry earned other distinctions. He was Dean of the Graduate School between 1986 and 1991 and was one of those rare faculty members to chair two departments--those of classics and of the history of art, the first of those twice. Along the way, he served as editor-in-chief between 1973 and 1977 of the American Journal of Archaeology, that discipline's leading American scholarly journal; was a recipient of the William Clyde DeVane Medal, awarded for distinguished scholarship, from the Yale chapter of Phi Beta Kappa; and was honored with the Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal from the Alumni Association of the Yale Graduate School. As a scholar, Jerry was widely influential. No doubt in part because of the strength of Yale's humanities faculty in the 1950s when he was an undergraduate and later when a member of the faculty, he was known most widely for making scholarly links between Greek art, literature, and life in six books and many articles. He was called at his death "one of the true giants of his field, far ahead of his time in showing how ancient Greek works of art and architecture were integral to daily experience by seamlessly analyzing artworks and monuments together with ancient literary texts." While apparently a serious, demanding teacher, he was also witty (indeed considered by some to be "very funny"), a generous mentor to graduate students, and a practitioner of meditation with the Ramakrishna Center of New York. Jerry is survived by his wife, Susan Baker Matheson, the Molly and Walter Bareiss Curator of Ancient Art and Lecturer Classics, emerita, and a scholar of Greek and Roman art, life, and women in her own right with whom Jerry co-authored two books. A service in Jerry's memory will take place in New Haven in the fall.

—JMB

Lyman Drake (April 21, 2024)

Classmates:

I convey the sad news that we lost Lyman Drake on April 21, 2024, in Laguna Beach, California. He died at home, in one of his three exceptionally located houses, under hospice care after suffering a stroke that came on the heels of his fight against progressive blood cancer. A native of Glenco, Illinois, and a pre-collegiate graduate of New Trier High School, at Yale, Lyman (or, as he was known to his friends, "House," a distinctive monniker derived from one his favorite jazz pieces, "Limehouse Blues") was probably best known to us as the original drummer of Eli's Chosen Six who played alongside classmates Dick Voigt, Pete Williams, and Buell Neidlinger. Majoring in French led him, le pauvre petit, to junior year abroad at the Sorbonne and a life-long romance with France. Turning toward an academic life after his collegiate desire to join the foreign service was thwarted because of his 1957 marriage to Claire Andriveau, a French citizen, he gained an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Study and a PhD in political science from MIT before teaching briefly at the University of California, Irvine. But having caught the Gallic bug, in 1970 he took up dealing in antiques--as one might guess in French antiques especially--out of Santa Ana in Orange County, an occupation that opened to him the opportunity to own another house amid the lavender fields of Bonnieux in the Luberon as well as a third on the banks of the rushing Big Wood River in Ketcham, Idaho, near Sun Valley, where he also maintained a well-stocked antiques store. House's great public legacy was his music. Eli's Chosen Six was probably the most notable college Dixieland jazz ensemble of the 1950s, so good that, including the later celebrated Roswell Rudd on trombone and cartoonist Lee Lorenz on cornet, it recorded with Columbia Records. Many 57ers vividly recall how its members entertained us long afterwards on the road and at reunions, their last time at our 60th in 2017. A man as effervescent of disposition as his drumming was of sound, one was ill-advised to take House's wry smile and natural sunniness as evidence of nothing more. He never failed to put to use a sober, politically astute, curious mind to whatever the world offered up for analysis. As Ron Ragen writes, "He was a rare guy with a wonderful personality, tons of class, and a constantly working brain, always in a positive manner." Predeceased in 1987 by Claire, he is survived by his wife Debra, his three children with Claire--Chloe, Colin, and Calysta--six grandchildren, and other family members.

—JMB

David N. Deinard (February 19, 2024)

Classmates:

We've received word from New Haven of the death of David N. Deinard on February 19, 2024. Although his published obituary omits many facts about him, one can assume that he died in Port St. Lucie, Florida, his last address of record with the class, or in nearby Stuart, Florida, where he long lived. The cause of his death is unstated. A native of Minneapolis and a resident at Yale of Jonathan Edwards College, Dave was majoring in engineering at the time of his withdrawal from study in New Haven. Whether he obtained a bachelor's degree elsewhere is unknown. He apparently served in some capacity, perhaps in the psychological warfare unit of the U.S. Army, before becoming an architect, presumably after graduate school preparation; but where he gained an architecture degree is also unknown. Dave commenced his architectural career in Minneapolis, then by 1976 had moved to northern Virginia to become vice president and general manager of Urban Planners, a subsidiary of the Westinghouse Corporation, where he oversaw the design and construction of housing units around the world and in the Midwest. In 1977, he and his family moved to Stuart, where he designed their home in PGA Village, which suggests that he was a golfer. From there, he co-founded Herrlin-Deinard Construction Company, which is said to have built luxury residences as well as select commercial, religious, and educational structures on the Treasure Coast of Florida. He retired from that firm in 1997 but continued practicing architecture privately. By the time of our 35th reunion, Dave reported that he'd taken up private flying, and he and his wife Lynn spent summers in northern Wisconsin where he boated and fished. He was a member of the American Institute of Architects and a governor of the Yale Club of the Treasure Coast. Predeceased by his wife, Dave is survived by their son Jonathan, daughter Allison Benson, and four grandchildren.

—JMB

Charles H. Carpenter, Jr. (February 13, 2024)

Classmates:

We have word from his family of the peaceful death on February 13, 2024, of Charles H. Carpenter Jr. He died, presumably in Hingham, Massachusetts, his last known address of record with the class, of unstated causes. A precollegiate graduate of the Friends School in Moorestown, New Jersey, and of Lawrenceville, Charlie majored in American studies at Yale. He then earned a naval commission at Newport's Office Candidate School and served in the Caribbean and Mediterranean on a landing ship dock. On completing his service, he began his life-long career in sales and sales management with the Weyerhaueser Paper Company and other firms. He and his wife Nancy, whom Charlie married in 1967, lived successively with their three children in Mequon, Wisconsin, and, after leaving Weyerhauser, in Bridgewater, New Jersey, and Riverside, Illinois, and maintained a family home on Lake Tashmoo, Martha's Vineyard. After Nancy died of cancer in 1993, Charlie continued to maintain an active life, which included swimming, clamming, fishing, tennis, and (as it had been since his summer days as a youthful lifeguard and dockmaster on Barnegat Bay, New Jersey), sailing. At the time of our 50th reunion, he had remarried and was continuing his engagement in many community and charitable activities, especially, it seems, with board service, philanthropy, fund-raising, and blood- and plasma-donating. Many classmates will recall him as a dedicated, sunny, witty, gregarious story-telling man from whom, as class agent, they received annual pleas for donations to the Yale Alumni Fund. Charlie's college roommate and close friend George Reisner describes him as "humble, laid back, positive, even-tempered" and a lively story-teller. Charlie loved to relate how in 1958 he helped land Marines on a Lebanon beach, all of them anticipating being met by the same kind of heavy fire that had greeted Americans on Normandy and Pacific beaches during World War II. Making their way across the sand, they were indeed met by an army--an army, as George recalls Charlie's account, of street vendors selling Coca-Cola. Charlie is survived by his children Curtis C., Charles H. III, and Carolyn L. Carpenter and their families. A celebration of his life will take place on June 29, 2024. Details are available through his eldest son via curtccarpenter@gmail.com.

—JMB

Jay R. Inglis (January 28, 2024)

Classmates:

Jay R. Inglis died peacefully surrounded by family members in Denver, Colorado, on January 28, 2024. The cause of his death was pulmonary fibrosis. A precollegiate graduate of Lawrenceville, at Yale Jay majored in political science. After six months in the U.S. Army and a months-long VW Bug spin around Europe and the British Isles with Davenport roommate Don Bain, Jay matriculated at Yale Law School, from which he received a law degree in 1961. From then on until his retirement, he worked as an attorney and investment banker and held leadership positions in reinsurance and marine insurance firms. He also served as a member of the board of directors of Central Securities Corporation, a closed-end investment company, from 1973 until his death. Jay and Judy, his wife of 60 years, long maintained homes in Brooklyn and Manhattan as well as on Shelter Island, New York, where he served on the board of its public library and is recalled as "a lively, generous, and joyful presence." Eventually, he and Judy moved to Vail, Colorado. In addition to being a skier, this zesty, buoyant man was a sailor, tennis player, New York Giants fan, and avid traveler who crossed the Atlantic many times on the Queen Mary II and, Peter Cooke reports, was given to playing Philias Fog in hot-air balloons over Cappadocia while also a careful planner when abroad, on one trip making sure to arrange to eat Thanksgiving turkey in Hong Kong. Known for his insight into people, analytical skills, and ethical standards, Jay was relied on by many people. Reed Rubin writes that "his personal advice on various legal matters, counseling on investment decisions, and views, not perfect, on political events were of great importance to me." Joe Mark recalls Jay's "unique ability to bring much to any discussion/analysis whether the subject was sports, music, travel, food, politics, finance, history, law, world events and so much more–and always with remarkable depth of knowledge and an engaging but challenging style." Don Bain characterizes Jay as embodying "a rare combination of pragmatism and optimism that is rare these days." In addition to Judy, Jay is survived by their daughters Sarah ('90) and Shelley, their husbands, and seven grandchildren.

—JMB

Leonidas D'E. Deters, Jr. (January 7, 2024)

Classmates:

We were delayed in learning only recently of the peaceful death of our classmate Leonidas D'Entrecasteaux Deters, Jr., on January 7, 2024, presumably in or near Louisville, his last known place of residence. The cause of his death was unstated. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, where he was a pre-collegiate graduate of Atherton High School, Lee was a history major at Yale, an ROTC participant, and a host, as "Lee the DJ," of a music program for WYBC. After returning to Kentucky (where he remained throughout his life in and around Louisville) and serving in the U.S. Army as a lieutenant, he reported at the time of our 10th reunion that he had been working in business administration with a two-year interval to gain a 1965 MBA from Harvard Business School. By 1982, he was chief executive officer of a Louisville lawn and turf equipment company and was serving on the board of a local private school. By 1997, he had retired. Lee, always a modest man, seems to have been an avid golfer, reader, disciplined exerciser, enthusiastic dancer, and connoisseur of, yes, desserts. Those who knew him from college recall his bright smile, quick laughter, lively sense of humor, and genial personality. Lee is survived by Penny Shaw, his wife of 26 years, and his daughter Laura Lee Gastis, sons Leonidas P. and Garvin B. Deters and their spouses and their mother, Lee's first wife Laura Lee Brown, 12 grandchildren, three stepchildren, and a brother and sister. Donations in his memory should go to the Alzheimer’s Association, 6100 Dutchmans Lane, Suite 401, Louisville, KY 40205; the Louisville Orchestra, 624 West Main, Suite 400, Louisville, KY 40203; or a nonprofit of choice--all memo'd “In Memory of Lee Deters."

—JMB

Ronald L. Coleman (January, 2024)

Classmates:

We've learned from Yale's office of alumni records of the death of Ronald L. Coleman. His brief published obituary states neither the precise date of his death, its location, or its cause. Presumably he died sometime shortly before January 18, 2024, in or around Cleveland, Ohio. Little can be found of his life and career either in Class of 1957 reunion books or in the public record. A native of South Dakota who grew up in Elbow Lake, Minnesota, Ron amassed a distinguished undergraduate record at Yale, where, as a history major, he was a ranking scholar, won the White Prize in history, graduated magna cum laude Phi Beta Kappa, and was an officer of the Political Union and the Young Democrats. He then attained a law degree at Yale Law School. It appears that he spent his entire career as an attorney with the Cleveland firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey as a labor law specialist who represented clients in federal court and before the United States Supreme Court. It can be inferred that Ron was married, apparently to a wife named Mary, with whom he raised three surviving children: Mary Beth, Mark, and Michael. Listed at the time of our 35th reunion as single, Ron is also survived by Kenneth Methven, his companion of 54 years and husband of ten. Contributions in Ron's memory can go to the Hospice of the Western Reserve or the Alzheimer's Association.

—JMB

Bruce A. Agnew (January 1, 2024)

Classmates:

Our classmate Bruce A. Agnew died from unstated causes in his sleep on January 1, 2024, presumably in Frederick, Maryland, his most recent place of residence. A native of New York City, a pre-collegiate student at Westminster School, London, and a graduate of the Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall), at Yale Bruce was an English major as a scholar of the second rank, a debater, and a member of the WYBC board. Upon graduating, he immediately entered upon the life of the writer he stated at commencement he intended to pursue--in his case, the life of a reporter. After two year of reporting from Bridgeport and New York, he covered Congress and between 1962 and 1985 the White House as a member of the White House press corps for UPI, the New York Post, McGraw Hill's World News and the firm's Business Week. Reporting for that publication, which he served until 1988 as Washington bureau chief, landed him interviews with such figures as presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter. Starting in 1989, Bruce turned to science reportage, which he wrote until 1998 for the Journal of NIH Research. He then went out on his own to write for Scientific American, Science, and The Scientist as well as for the office of the director of NIH, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Institutes for Allergies and Infectious Diseases. Along the way, he also acted as free-lance editor of The Oxford Textbook of Medical Research Ethics; of Global Justice and Bioethics and Healthcare Guaranteed (the first of these co-edited, the second written, by Ezekiel Emanuel); and of the second edition of the Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Clinical Research. Bruce seems to have had the knack of being present at important events. While at school in London, he attended Queen Elizabeth’s II coronation in Westminster Abbey as one of only a handful of American onlookers. In 1974, he broke the news that Republican leaders had told Richard Nixon that he'd lost the support of their party, the final push to Nixon's resignation. He was also witness to, and had to report on, the 1968 assassination of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. A quiet, unassuming man, Bruce observed the world with a winning combination of seriousness, perplexity, and humor, his presence unobtrusive, his posture toward others consistently thoughtful. Predeceased by his wife Joan Constantikes, a brother, and stepdaughter, Bruce is survived by his daughter Eleanor A. Kotler, her family, nephews and grandnephews, and many others. A live-streamed service in his memory took place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at Bethesda United Methodist Church, 8300 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, Maryland with a second following later in Westport, Connecticut, where he will be buried.

—JMB

Allen A. Thompson (2024)

Classmates:

We have word from Dick Crisler and Nort Wright that Allen A. "Tommy" Thompson died of a heart attack in New York City, his birthplace, sometime in 2024. A precollegiate graduate of St. Paul's, Tommy entered Yale in 1952 with the Class of 1956, transferred in 1955 to the Class of 1957, majored in psychology, and resided in Saybrook College. His record with the class after that is slim. It's known that, despite his stated intention at graduation of becoming a doctor, he instead joined the Alvin Ailey Dance Company as business manager. When that position ended, he commenced a life of travel and, as he listed himself at the time of our 40th reunion, an investor. He's best known to us as a devoté of jazz, especially of bebop, and for what Dick calls "his astonishing ability to play percussion instruments. Professional jazz drummers would listen in awe as he played." He was also devoted to others, such as a friend's son, whose Gilman School and Rutgers University schooling he supported, and his former wife Diane, whom he met while with Alvin Ailey and for whom he cared after she had become an invalid. All who knew Tommy, writes Dick, "will remember him for his positive enthusiasm, his pursuing life to the fullest." He is survived by three nephews.

—JMB

Lawrence M. Herrmann (December 13, 2023)

Classmates:

Dick Newman has notified us of the death on December 13, 2023 of Lawrence M. Herrmann. He died under hospice care in New Britain, Connecticut, after having suffered, as Dick reports, a series of strokes during recent months. A precollegiate graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, an intensive Spanish major in college, winner of the Gideon DeForest Prize in Spanish, and ranking scholar, at graduation Larry (who to some was known as Chuco) listed his future occupation as play writing after graduate study in drama. But that was not to be. Instead, at some point after graduating from college, he attained an LLB from Harvard Law School, then enlisted in the Marine Corps, in which he attained the rank of Major while serving in the Judge Advocate Corps. Again at some uncertain point in his life, it seems that he was stationed at the Spanish Naval War College in Madrid as an instructor of Spanish. By the time of our 25th reunion, he had been a member of the Manhattan District Attorney's office under Frank Hogan and an assistant U.S. attorney in Connecticut. As a practicing attorney for over 50 years out of Jackson Heights, Queens and Cheshire, Connecticut, where he long lived in a 1750 saltbox house, he became a specialist in handling extraditions from Latin America and community development on that continent. He also aided a hospital in Guatemala, worked with recovering addicts, and specialized as a criminal defense lawyer in the defense of military veterans with “invisible” wounds, which led him into advocacy for PTSD awareness and suicide prevention. In our 25th reunion book, Larry rued that "the world does not seem to be a safe place for gentle people." At our 35th, "appalled" by "law enforcement untruths in court" and the erosion of 4th Amendment protections, he wrote that, having never lost a case defending a wrongly imprisoned person, "the impact of freeing the innocent cannot be measured." His commitment to veterans' well-being led to his service on the board of directors and the awards committee of Chapel of 4 Chaplains Memorial Foundation and as national general counsel of the Marine Corps League. Known for loyalty to those he called "my vets," in 2017 Larry was inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame in 2017 and was rated by Martindale-Hubbell as an AV Preeminent Attorney, which placed him in the top five percent of American attorneys for professional accomplishment and ethical conduct. Predeceased by a previous wife, he is survived by his wife, Noor (Khan) Herrmann.

—JMB

Paul G. Chevigny (December 11, 2023)

Classmates:

Paul G. Chevigny died at his home in Manhattan on December 11, 2023. A Phi Beta Kappa intensive history major, ranking scholar, Elizabethan Club member, and active in the John Dewey Society and Political Union, Paul became a noted civil rights attorney, teacher, and author after taking a law degree at Harvard in 1960. Following Army service, a brief stint in law firm practice, and time in Mississippi during the celebrated Freedom Summer of 1964, he began his civil rights work with the Harlem Neighborhood Legal Assistance Project. By 1967, he was director of the Police Practices Project, then staff attorney, of the New York Civil Liberties Union, that post prefiguring what was to come. By our 25th reunion, after serving with the NYCLU for 11 years, Paul had become a professor of law at New York University Law School, where he taught criminal law, established one of the nation's early civil rights clinics, and from which he retired as Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Professor of Law. His expertise in policing and civil rights resulted in many books--the first two on police abuse and police provocation, both of which gained him widespread recognition. His success in winning major First Amendment cases against systematic abusive police practices and surveillance of citizens as well as his service on the Mayor's Committee on the Judiciary only enhanced his authority. One of his most notable legal successes came in 1977, when he won a consent decree allowing civilians to observe, photograph, and film police activities as well as to have the right to capture police badge numbers. He was also a defense attorney for the Attica prison rioters and in 1971 for the Black Panthers, which led to the latter's acquittal because of police spying. That work eventually resulted in a 1985 consent agreement prohibiting most police undercover spying. As an aficionado of jazz and the blues, Paul also became a champion of New York City nightlife. Discovering that the city placed legal restrictions on unlicensed cabaret and restaurant music, he used free-expression arguments (a novel approach after others had failed) to win suits in the mid-1980s against the city's so-called Cabaret Law, which the courts declared unconstitutionally restrictive. Not surprisingly, he not only wrote a book about cabaret law but was welcomed into nightclubs around town as a celebrity. But that was not all. Following in the footsteps of a daughter who was learning how to tap dance, Paul learned to trip the light fantastic, too. In doing so, as if on cue, he learned that the city prohibited unlicensed dancing in bars and restaurants as it had earlier prohibited music. A classic Chevigny free expression suit ensued. This time he lost--at least at the time. But in 2017, thanks to the City Council, the dance ban was no more. Those who knew Paul likened him to Peter Falk's Columbo: shambling for effect, feigning indecisiveness, and halting for those last-minute questions on the way out the door while hiding what he was: the counselor you didn't expect until, too late, you realized he'd outdone you. He was predeceased by his wife Bell Gale Chevigny, a professor of literature at SUNY Purchase with whom he co-wrote two books on police abuses in Jamaica, Brazil, and Argentina where, among other Latin American countries, he'd gone on missions for Human Rights Watch. He is survived by their daughters Katy ('90) and Blue as well as by two grandchildren.

—JMB

Robert M. Beaney (November 20, 2023)

Classmates:

Ray Ellison has notified us that Robert M. Beaney died of natural causes surrounded by his family at home in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on November 20, 2023. A history major and resident of Timothy Dwight College, by the time of our 10th reunion Bob had begun to move through the ranks of the Bell Telephone Company's Pennsylvania office in Philadelphia, where he was successfully employed in management positions, by 1992 as director of training and education for Bell Atlantic, one of Bell Telephone's spin-off regional successors, which became Verizon. Writing that year that he was "having too much fun to retire," five years later he'd stepped aside. Bob and Gayle, his wife of over 64 years, were deeply drawn to music--jazz, classical, show music, and pop (although they had limits about opera)--which they sought out widely, including on many trips to New Orleans for that city's Jazz and Heritage Festival. Bob himself sang and performed with two quartets, one mixed, the other barbershop, and sang in amateur local Gilbert & Sullivan productions. Long involved in the affairs of the Unitarian church of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in the early 1990s as the president of its board, in 2005 he created through the church an NAACP scholarship program to help high school students finance their college educations. Apparently, too, Bob was a poet of sorts. For our 40th reunion book, the first two verses of a longer, deeply grave classic went like this: "Who can believe that forty's here/Why '57 was just last year!/And all were lifting a tall cool glass/To the noted 'do nothing' class.//Much has happened since those days of yore;/Most of us have aged several score!/Most, that is, except for me./I just turned twenty-three!" Pat Wilde, who, like Bob, roomed in the somewhat infamous TD "zoo," describes Bob as "one of the most well adjusted persons I have known. Always unflappable." Pat and Ray note also that Bob loved his daily 5 o’clock beer at George and Harry's on Temple Street and an occasional Mory's Welsh rarebit. Bob is survived by Gayle and by his children Linda Corrigan, Nancy Beaney, and Jill Beaney and their families.

—JMB

Henry Chisholm III (November 9, 2023)

Classmates:

We've learned from his daughter Deborah C. Hull that Henry Chisholm III died on November 9, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio, the city of his birth. He had been in declining health for the last few months of his life. Known and listing himself as Hank during college years, the man who became Henry majored in metallurgy at Yale where, his pre-collegiate University School and college classmate Kurt Bloch reports, he arrived already deeply skilled in tinkering with gadgets and committed to a career as a metallurgical engineer. Starting out with Republic Steel Corporation, by the time of our 10th reunion, he was employed in the mining department of the Oglebay Norton Company, a Cleveland iron ore enterprise, where, involved in engineering, sales, operations, and administration, he remained until sometime before our 35th reunion in 1992, by which time he had retired. A golfer who served as president of the Mayfield Country Club in Euclid, Ohio, Henry was unusual in being also an avid curler, which gained him the presidency of the Mayfield Curling Club, where he appears also to have ascended to the heavy responsibilities of ice-maker, a post he held for two decades. In his long retirement, he tutored young and old students in algebra and counseled people wishing to start businesses or expand existing ones. He also traveled widely, pursued gardening and model railroading, was involved in his church, and is said to have been "the gravitational center" of his family. In addition to Deborah, Henry is survived by Sara (Sally), his wife of 66 years, their daughter Heather C. Evans and son Henry IV, three grandchildren, and a sister and brother. Donations in his memory should be made to the Church of the Saviour Capital Fund, 2537 Lee Rd, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118.

—JMB

J. Michael Pattison (November 1, 2023)

Classmates:

We've learned from Rob Walker that J. Michael Pattison died on November 1, 2023, in Marblehead, Masschusetts, the cause of his death presumably the kidney disease from which he'd been suffering. A pre-collegiate graduate of Lawrenceville, a political science major, a Fence Club and Haunt Club member, and a Society of Orpheus and Bacchus singer, Mike left little information with the class over the years. At the time of our 10th reunion, he reported that he was in the securities business on Wall Street with Smith Barney and E. F. Hutton. At our 35th reunion, he was living in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a photographer and by around 2000 residing in Newport, Rhode Island. Rob describes Mike as having been a classical guitarist, "a fine water colorist," "an interesting and accomplished person of sunny disposition," "stimulating company," and in Newport a highly respected tour guide for the Newport County Preservation Society. Mike was, writes Rob, "considered the expert authority on the the Breakers, the 1895 "cottage" where the Vanderbilts lived. All famous or illustrious visitors to that mansion were automatically entrusted to him." Mike is survived by Mimi, his second wife, and presumably by his three children--Stephen G., Belinda B., and Charles A.--by a previous marriage.

—JMB

Frederick G. Guggenheim (October 26, 2023)

Classmates:

We have word that Frederick G. Guggenheim died on October 26, 2023, presumably in or near Denver, Colorado, his most recent address of record with the class. The cause of his death is not known. A native of Chicago and a pre-collegiate graduate of Andover, Fred was an intensive history of art major who, in 1956, held the Marshall-Allison Fellowship in the history of art. He was also a member of the varsity track team. After graduating, he gained an MD at Columbia Medical School with the intention of becoming a family physician; but after residencies in internal medicine at NYU and Columbia Presbyterian Hospital as well as a stint at NIH's National Institute of Mental Health, he turned toward psychiatry and to an academic career. In both private practice and his medical faculty positions, he specialized in treating and teaching about bipolar illness. By our 50th reunion, he'd held academic appointments at New York, Harvard, Southwestern, Arkansas, and Brown universities, at some of them as named professor and department chair. An author of books and articles, Fred served during his career as president of the American Association of Psychiatry Department Chairs and of the Association for Academic Psychiatry as well as a member of the national advisory council of the Department of HHS substance and mental health services office. Though having "retired" in 2002, three years later he was back at work, this time as clinical professor of psychiatry at Brown, staff psychiatrist in a hospital program, and a supervisor of medical students and residents at the city's Brown Medical School-affiliated Butler Hospital. Never without side interests, Fred long retained his college-days involvement with art, especially in digital photography, which led to a number of one-man shows. He was also an avid bicyclist and art collector. Those who knew him recall the intensity of his presence, his lively humor, and his unlimited curiosity about the world.

—JMB

William L. Owens (October 11, 2023)

Classmates:

We lost William L. Owens on October 11, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, not far from Plymouth, Wisconsin, his birthplace where he graduated from high school. A history major in college, Bill spent his life as a businessman, first in management for Federated Department Stores, then as operator of a bottling company and hardware store in Plymouth, and in the last phase of his career as a financial advisor for Mutual Benefit and Minnesota Mutual Life insurance companies. In the 1960s he was an Air National Guard reservist and throughout his life remained engaged in community work, which included being founding director of the Milwaukee Chapter of Flashes of Hope, an organization devoted to aiding children with cancer as well as to seeking cures for their disease, and a long-time volunteer for Ronald McDonald House. It's reported that he was a golfer and enjoyed fishing, theater, and a good game of blackjack. Bill is survived by his partner, Brenda Gromiuk, and by five sons by his former wife: J. David, William L., Jr., Robert J, Nicholas J., and Christopher R., as well as their families, including 12 grandchildren and three great grandchildren as well as a brother and sister. A celebration of Bill’s life will take place at a later date in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Donations in Bill’s name should go to a charity of choice.

—JMB

Robert J. Smith (October 9, 2023)

Classmates:

We've learned from his widow Sumiko Higashi, a film historian, that Robert J. Smith died of unstated causes in New Haven on October 9, 2023. A pre-collegiate graduate of Taft, Bob majored in history at Yale, where, a trombonist, he was president of the Yale Band, which, one recalls, entertained us march-marching down the field at football games. In addition, writes his roommate Clyde Allen, Bob played in various polka bands in the Connecticut River Valley. Subsequently, having earned a PhD in history at the University of Pennsylvania with the support of a Fulbright Scholarship in Paris, he specialized in French history. After teaching at Miami University of Ohio, Bob became a permanent member of the history faculty of the State University of New York at Brockport, whose study-abroad program in Paris he directed for many years. His scholarship was represented by his two principal works: The Ecole Normale Superieure and the Third Republic and The Bouchayers of Grenoble and French Industrial Enterprise, 1850-1970. He was also a scholar of family businesses across generations. Bob wrote wryly in our 35th reunion book of having changed since undergraduate days. Then, "I deplored the boorishness of Yale classmates in the presence of Adlai [Stevenson] and today attribute [George H.W.] Bush's honorary degree to a certain inscrutable wit on the part of Mother Yale." Yet, he added, having first written about radical and socialist French intellectuals, he was now studying some French industrialists "with an empathy I could not have summoned twenty years ago." Clyde reports that Bob intended to become a doctor but after attending his first operation decided instead to study history. Yet after retiring to New Haven, he made at least partial good on his earlier intention by volunteering at the Yale-New Haven Hospital's Saint Raphael Campus and in the hospital's Elder Horizons Program. He also taught math to pupils at New Haven's Lincoln Bassett Elementary School while working with the Class of 1957 Music in Schools Initiative there. A golfer as well as avid reader of T. S. Eliot (who, Bob wrote in our 50th reunion book, helps us realize the validity of the poet's "dismal prediction about our civilization's legacy as a thousand lost golf balls"), he was also a devoted Taft alumnus. In addition to his widow, Bob is survived by his son Patrick by a former marriage as well as by his brother William and his sister Carol Gallant.

—JMB

Malcolm L. Mitchell (September 13, 2023)

Classmates:

We've learned recently from Jerry Jonas that Malcolm L. Mitchell died in Ithaca, New York, on September 13th, 2023. The cause of his death was unstated. A pre-collegiate graduate of the Horace Mann School, Malcolm majored in political science, then earned an MA in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania while serving in the US Air Force reserves. After several years in Germany, he lived in Connecticut and New York City before settling in New York's Finger Lakes region. Spending the majority of his career in investment advising with InterSec Research and later from Ithaca with the Center for Investment Policy Studies as managing director and in New York City as president of the International Center for Investment Policy, he also founded and published Investment Policy magazine. At heart a writer, Malcolm's extensive publications included biographies, short stories, magazine and newspaper articles, and an economic history, Up From Gold: The Triumph of Paper Dollars. By the time of our 50th reunion, he was expressing deep anxieties about the state of the the nation, the corruption of its politics, and particularly its failure to address the condition of the Social Security System, a subject that he regularly carried on about on his website. But his cheery disposition kept him from succumbing to his worries. Combining a love of Jane Austen, travel (which he continued into his 80s), choral and barbershop quartet singing, and his evening bourbon and furnished with a rollicking sense of humor, like all New York City natives (as he was) he rooted even from upstate for the city's teams, especially the Mets. But it has to be for his distinctive role in the history of the Class of 1957 and for the class's impact on Yale that he has to be singled out. For it was Malcolm who proposed and led discussions that eventuated in the inauguration at our 50th reunion of the Class 1957 Music in Schools Initiative. With keen and early foresight, starting at the time of the class's 40th reunion Malcolm proposed that the class develop a defined 50th reunion class gift to Yale ten years later. He then campaigned and worked tirelessly to direct planning for such a gift, for its eventual focus on music, then more specifically on music education, and finally on music education in New Haven's and the nation's public schools led by the Yale School of Music. Don Roberts writes that "it was around a breakfast or lunch table at our 40th Reunion that Malcolm proposed that our class undertake to do 'something worthy' over the next decade and present it to Yale at our 50th Reunion. From that lofty challenge, the Music in Schools Initiative was born. Without Malcolm's inspiration, there would be no legacy of the Class of 1957 in the form of the Music in Schools Initiative or in any other form." Characteristically modest, once '57's legacy was securely in place, Malcolm passed on its leadership to others. Jerry Jonas writes that his close friend was "delightful company, a well-informed but gentle contrarian who liked nothing better than a good back-and-forth on issues ranging from economics (what really is money?) to literature (the deplorable decline in the reputation of poet and fiction writer Stephen Vincent Benet)." Malcolm is survived by his former wife, Angelica, and four children: Andrew, Vanessa, Jessica, and Daniel, their families, and 12 grandchildren. Donations in his name should go to Hospicare of Ithaca, 172 East King Road, Ithaca, New York 14850.

—JMB

Robert D. Bentley (August 18, 2023)

Classmates:

We have recently learned from his widow that our classmate Robert D. Bentley died at home in Sun Valley, Idaho, on August 18, 2023 from the complications of chronic heart disease. Born in New York City and raised in Evanston, Illinois, where he attended Evanston High School before graduating from the Hill School, at Yale Bob was a history, arts, and letter major, senior editor and illustrator of the Yale Record, and a member of the varsity lacrosse team. Following graduation and after three years of Marine Corps service, he entered the advertising world with the Leo Burnett Agency in Chicago. But sometime between our 10th and 25th reunions, during which time it seems that he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, he turned to portrait-painting, the genre of art that became his career- and life-long pursuit and in which he became one of the nation's leading practitioners. Bob painted such figures as George W. and Laura Bush, congressman Dan Rostenkowski, golfer Gene Sarazen, maestro George Solti, and our very own Vern Loucks, and he had as clients many universities, corporations, and museums such as the Yale Art Gallery. He was also a master of the light caricature and of whimsical cartoons reminiscent of his work for the Record. By our 40th reunion in 1997, Bob and his second wife Barbara, whom he married in 1995, were living in Door County, Wisconsin, where Bob's family had summered early in his life and where he maintained a studio until moving to Sun Valley in 2013. Bob taught art throughout his career while retaining his love for sports, which included squash and tennis, running, biking, and golf. As a sailor, he competed in the Mackinaw Races--with what success has not been reported. Those who knew Bob experienced him as a thoughtful, serious, but altogether light-hearted man. At the time of our 40th reunion, he wrote that his undergraduate job at the Yale Art Gallery and his acquaintance with, among others, Josef Albers, had given him "the appreciation and anticipation of good art....Artists live much longer than portfolio managers, CEOs, or professionals in law, medicine, etc. Chocolate labs tack on ten years to any life span. Younger wives tack on more. Sailing adds a few more, too." In addition to Barbara, Bob is survived by sons Robert D. and Edward B. Bentley, daughter Dana Tower, step-daughter Heather Filgate, and their families, including 11 grandchildren.

—JMB

Brian R. Walsh (August 10, 2023)

Classmates:

We learned first from Tom Quirk that we lost classmate Brian R. Walsh on August 10, 2023 to multiple causes. A New Haven native and a pre-collegiate graduate of Scarsdale High School, Brian was a psychology major at Yale and involved in many Saybrook College activities. After graduation and with an ROTC commission in hand, he served for two years in the U.S. Army, much of that time in the artillery at Fort Bliss, Texas. He remained in the Army reserves, from which he resigned at the rank of captain, until 1971. At the time of graduation, Brian intended to pursue a career in psychology. But on his release from active duty in 1959, he turned instead--"how right he was to do so," writes Ernie Pepples-- to teaching. His first teaching post was at the Bancroft School (a country day school) in Worcester, Massachusetts, where, by 1967 and in prefiguration of what was to come, he had taught history, become head of its middle school and director of athletics, and gained a master's degree (whether in education or divinity is not entirely clear) from Harvard. He then served, between 1968 and 1971, as assistant headmaster of the Walnut Hill School in Natick, Massachusetts, before becoming headmaster of the Shore Country Day School in Beverly for the next 11 years. In 1982, he assumed the same position at the Buckley School in New York City, from which he retired in 2001. A man sought out during his 42-year career to assume many responsibilities, Brian served as president of the Independent Schools Association of Massachusetts, of the Elementary School Heads Association, and of the New York State Association of Independent Schools. He was also a board member of the Pingree School in Massachusetts and of both the Spence School and St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's in New York City. After his formal retirement, until 2015 he aided independent schools in their searches for heads of school as well as parents who sought appropriate schools for their children. He also co-directed the Fairchester Fellows program, which prepares first-year teachers in independent schools, and spoke and wrote widely. His Boys Should Be Boys: A Headmaster's Reflections appeared in 2008. At the time of our 40th reunion, Brian reflected in our reunion book with his characteristically grounded wisdom that while the world keeps changing around us, "children stay the same." As if speaking of himself, he went on to say that "their innocence, their incredible optimism, and their naturally humane values are as they were when we were children," All who knew Brian will recall that gentle optimism and the appeal of his natural ease, which embodied the touch of a diplomat. Toby Briggs reports that the parents he knew who sought Brian's advice "adored him." When, Toby says, some Buckley School parents once asked Brian what he hoped their children would learn, his response was "to be kind." Tom Quirk characterizes his late roommate as a "quiet guy with a good sense of humor." Ernie Pepples writes of "his natural warmth, solid judgment and breath of interests [which] made him a great teacher and a great leader in education." Predeceased by his brother Walter, Brian is survived by Daphne, his wife of 36 years, his sons Brian Jr., Arthur, and Amory by a previous marriage, five grandchildren, and his brother Robert ('60). A private family gathering in his memory will take place in the fall.

—JMB

James R. Seitz, Jr. (July 19, 2023)

Classmates:

We have recent word that James R. Seitz, Jr., died of unstated causes on July 19, 2023, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A pre-collegiate graduate of Andover, an architecture major in college, and, according to Jim Herlan, the scion of a wealthy Texas oil family, Jimmy (as he was known to everyone) spent most of his life associated with the arts as activist, collector, and patron. At the time of our 10th reunion, he had returned to his native Wichita Falls, Texas, where he owned an art gallery and was director of the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra and of the city's Ballet Theater and Arts Center. In 1992, he listed himself as partner in an oil-producing enterprise and owner of a Wichita Falls gift shop, which specialized, among other things, in fine silver. Later he seems to have invested in mineral rights. He traveled often to Manhattan to attend Broadway shows, enjoyed fly-fishing and bird-hunting, and, as an aficianado of thoroughbred horse racing, could be found at the Del Mar and Santa Anita racetracks. In the second half of his life, while maintaining a residence in Dallas, Jimmy developed a special affection for Santa Fe, where he became a major figure in the city's distinctive arts community. While continuing his support of the Dallas Opera, he became most widely known for his service on the board of the Santa Fe Opera, of which he was its longest serving member--17 years as its Vice Chairman and 12 years as its Vice President and for which he sponsored many productions. A beloved member of the Opera community and an ever-present figure in and around the opera house, he established an endowment for the support of the company's technical and singing apprentices. In addition to his contributions to one of the most celebrated opera venues in the United States, Jimmy's collegiate study of architecture reawakened in the 1990s. Its result was the showcase Santa Fe house he designed and turned into the site of his genial social hosting where his humor, generosity, and elegance were always on display. In a mark of the admiration and fondness in which he was held, a celebration of Jimmy's life took place after his death at the Santa Fe Opera itself. In a public tribute to him, the Opera noted that "renowned for his dapper style and discerning palette, Jimmy's smile never failed to brighten a room. His sense of humor kept everyone laughing and was a constant, even in the darkest of times." Jimmy apparently left no immediate survivors. Donations in his memory should go to the Dallas Opera or to the Santa Fe Opera.

—JMB

Adriel C. Graham, Jr. (June 22, 2023)

Classmates:

We've just learned from Yale's alumni records office, which apparently only recently received word itself, that Adriel C. Graham, Jr. died of unstated causes on June 22, 2023, presumably at or near his home in Gaithersburg, Maryland, outside Washington, DC. A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, a resident of Pierson College, and a mathematics major in college, Ade left little information with the class, and his published obituary offers even less about him. At the time of our 10th reunion, he was a manager in the advanced systems and computer applications division of General Electric in Erie. No other information about his life or career can be found. Predeceased by his wife Margaret, he is survived by children Jeffrey Graham, Janet Poetzschke, and Judith Graham, four grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and a brother. Donations in his memory should go to the “Scholarship Fund in memory of A. Graham” of the Women's Board of Medstar Montgomery Medical Center, PO Box 432, Olney, MD 20830.

—JMB

John A. Wescott (June 14, 2023)

Classmates:

We've recently learned from his widow Margarete that John A. Westcott died on June 14, 2023 of unstated causes, presumably in or near their home in Palm Desert, California. A civil engineering major and NROTC participant (at the head of his company) in college, where he was also on the Class Council, John entered naval service on graduating and remained a U.S. Navy officer for the following 28 years before retiring at the rank of captain. One of our few classmates to devote his principal career to military service, he served on land in the Civil Engineer Corps (known as the Seabees), the bureau responsible for that branch's construction and demolition assignments, both stateside and abroad in Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Scotland, Puerto Rico, and Diego Garcia. He ended his career as commanding officer of the Port Hueneme (California) Naval Base. Having added a Stanford MA in civil engineering to his undergraduate degree sometime in the 1960s, John was well-positioned to continue practicing civil engineering, which Peter Cooke calls his "serious professional dedication" as early as college. This meant that on retiring from the Navy, he accepted responsibility for managing the construction of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago, a seven-year effort that was said to be the largest hospital construction project in the United States. A tall, handsome, imposing figure, John was known for his joviality, his calm, and his leadership abilities. Peter recalls him for his "openly friendly engaging manner, a wonderful friend to many, and someone strongly committed to the military." John is survived by his wife of 66 years, their children Karyn Trummer, Kean, and Kevin, and four grandchildren.

—JMB

Arnold C. Shoop, Jr. (May 10, 2023)

Classmates:

Yale has informed us that Arnold C. Shoop, Jr. died on May 10, 2023 of unstated causes. He presumably died in or near his long-time Cincinnati residence. A native of Evanston, Illinois, and a precollegiate graduate of Andover, Tom was a history major, a resident of Trumbull College, and a member of Deke before serving in the U.S. Army. He spent his career in the marketing and advertising division of Procter & Gamble in positions that took him and his family from Cincinnati to San Francisco and Boston, then Spain and The Philippines, and finally back permanently to Cincinnati. A sports fan loyal to his hometown Royals, Reds, and Bengals, Tom was a skier, runner, and golfer--he called himself a "golf hacker" in our 35th reunion book--traveler, and reader of history. He was also an active participant in local school, sport, and church activities, such as helping to prepare high schoolers for work. From what Tom wrote in our 50th reunion book, he was a hopeful conservative, a loyal Yale alumnus, and someone aware of his fortune in life. He's survived by Judith, his wife of 56 years, their son Charles, daughter-in-law Rhea, and four grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son Steven and sister Janice Eldridge. Memorial tributes in Tom's name should go to the St. Xavier High School Steven A. Shoop Scholarship Fund of the Catholic Inner-City Schools Education Foundation of Cincinnati or to the Hospice of Cincinnati.

—JMB

David S. Armstrong (April 28, 2023)

Classmates:

Ray Ellison first notified us of the death of David S. Armstrong on April 28, 2023, apparently in or near Voorhees, New Jersey. The cause of his death has not been reported. A native of Brooklyn, New York, David was a pre-collegiate graduate of the Hill School, where he was, as Hill classmate and Yale roommate Brian Kelly reports, already a star athlete and a champion, record-breaking swimmer. At Yale, David majored in philosophy, was a member of Fence Club as well as Book and Snake, and was a varsity swimmer. A 4x400 free-styler, his four-member Yale team broke three world records, which earned David both a berth on the 1955 U.S. National Team that toured Japan and a number of All-American awards. Following college, he served as an Army officer after completing his ROTC training as an undergraduate. David spent his career in the financial industry. At the time of our 25th reunion, he was vice president of Fitch Investment Service (now Fitch Ratings) and was living in Manhattan. By 1992, he listed himself as with the Firemark Group. He remained active as an Army veteran, was a Captain in the 7th Regiment of the New York National Guard, and maintained a long association with the regiment's veterans' association, of which he was treasurer. He and his second wife Marilyn, whom he wed in 1969, were avid gardeners at their long-time weekend home in North Chatham, New York, both having received designation as Master Gardeners; both also served as a volunteers with the Cornell Cooperative Extension program. Active in his local Methodist church, David also took up woodworking and furniture restoration. Ray Ellison writes of David, his swimming teammate, that "he set about any task before him with determination, but without any fanfare. He was the guy you wanted with you whenever something had to be done. He commanded respect from all who knew him." David was predeceased by Marilyn as well as by two brothers. He is survived by children Sydney, David, Emily, and Malcolm, stepchildren Roberta Solomon and Tracy Cassidy, three grandchildren, and others. Donation's in his memory should go to the Allen Devoe Bird Club and local bird sanctuary, the Cornell Cooperative Extension, or Samaritan NJ Hospice.

—JMB

James F. Loucks II (April 21, 2023)

Classmates:

We've recently learned from a family member of the death on April 21, 2023 of James F. Loucks II. He died at his home in Columbus, Ohio, of unstated causes. At Yale an English major and NROTC trainee, Jim (known to us as Jeff) was also on the college's varsity track and cross-country teams. After three years of naval service, much of it on the destroyer USS Frank Knox, he seems by 1967 to have reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander, presumably in the reserves. Upon leaving active duty, Jim studied at the Ohio State University for his doctorate in English, which he earned in 1968, while teaching at the Columbus School for Girls. Subsequently, he taught at the University of Virginia and Drexel University, then at Valparaiso University, where he chaired its English Department. He ended his career in 2008 at the Ohio State University, whose faculty he joined in 1977. There, he became a noted scholar of the works of Robert Browning and T.S. Eliot while serving as Associate Director of its Newark Campus as well as Assistant Vice President for the Office of Registration. Jim remained an active athlete as a racewalker and competitive runner into his forties. For some time the single parent of two children, he seems to have become a good cook and do-it-yourself home maintenance expert, and, after retiring, a skilled pencil portraitist. From what can be learned, it looks as if Jim enjoyed steaks (rare) and a prudent amount of bourbon as well as, as would be expected of a scholar of English literature, novels, poetry, and puns, and that he was known and admired for his dedication to his students. Predeceased in 1980 by his second wife Sandi, Jim is survived by their children Jeff and Nicki, as well as by his first wife Beverly Blesch and their children Christopher, Elizabeth, and Katherine, a sister, and many grandchildren. Donations in his memory and that of Sandi should go to Pelotonia in support of the James Cancer Hospital & Research Institute. A celebration of Jim's life will take place on Sunday, October 8, 2023, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the German Village Society Meeting Haus, 588 S. 3rd Street, Columbus Ohio 43215.

—JMB

George G. Atkeson (April 21, 2023)

Classmates:

I sadly report that we lost George G. Atkeson on April 21, 2023. He died under hospice care from the complications of a brain tumor at his home in Essex, Connecticut. A native of New Haven and a pre-collegiate graduate of Deerfield Academy, in college Tip majored in the distinctive subject of political and economic institutions and was a member of Fence Club. The son of an admiral, it was not surprising that after college and the completion of preparation for naval command at Officers Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, he spent three years as an officer on destroyer duty in the Atlantic. Subsequently, he gained an MBA degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Early in his business career, Tip rose through various positions at General Foods, then became vice president of marketing of L’Oreal's American subsidiary, vice president of both product marketing and marketing operations world-wide of Avon Products, and, from Antwerp, marketing director of the Belgian division of General Foods. Subsequently, he shifted into the world of executive search to become a partner and managing director of Ward Howell International, with which he topped off his career in charge of the Stamford, Connecticut, office before retiring in 1997. Outside of his work life, Tip was long active in civic affairs in Greenwich, Connecticut, on whose representative town government he served as he did on the board of directors of the Greenwich Land Trust and as co-president of the Greenwich branch of the English-Speaking Union. A singer in school and college, he was also a member of the men and boys choir of Christ Church Greenwich, which gave him, a strong anglophile, the opportunity to sing in English cathedrals and with his wife Janice to spend time in their Cotswolds cottage in Chipping Campden. Moving after retirement to Essex, Connecticut, he didn't relent. He became a member of the board of directors of the town's local concert series as well as executive director of the Southeast Connecticut Committee on Foreign Relations; and he kept singing, this time in the choir of St. John's Episcopal Church in Essex. Tip was a skilled, award-winning photographer whose works hang on many classmates' walls, including those of Roland Machold, who recalls Tip enviously as an early adopter of a "claw" first-baseman's mitt, which he used to devastating effect on their 5th-grade team at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. George (as he remained known to some) was, though a modestly spoken man, a shrewd, serious business practitioner and civic activist. Born with a sunny disposition, he went about the world with an easy, frequent, puckish smile and an infectious warmth of personality. Predeceased in 1993 by his first wife Mary, he is survived by his second wife Janice, his children Meade, Jamie, and Elizabeth Saunders, their spouses and families, and ten grandchildren. A service in Tip's memory will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 21st, at St. John's Episcopal Church, Essex, Connecticut.

—JMB

William H. Fleming (April 12, 2023)

Classmates:

I convey the sad news that William H. Fleming died in Bennington, Nebraska, of unstated causes on April 12, 2023. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Bill was an intensive human culture and behavior major and an All-American varsity breast-stroke swimmer at Yale. Meeting his intention, expressed at the age of 11, of pursuing a career in medicine, he gained his MD degree from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons followed by residencies in surgery and pediatrics at Presbyterian Hospital, New York. Subsequently, he served in the U.S. Army at the Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital and spent a year at Long Binh Hospital in Vietnam. For his service there, he earned a Bronze Star for surgery and his efforts to identify and treat the river-borne infectious disease, meliodosis. After discharge from military service, Bill became chief of thoracic surgery at Atlanta's VA Medical Center and taught and practiced surgery at Emory University School of Medicine for five years. Moving in 1976 to Omaha to become chief of thoracic surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, he became Nebraska's first and at the time only surgeon dedicated to treating children with congenital heart defects. This led eventually to his joining other pediatric cardiologists in founding a regional heart program at the Children's Hospital & Medical Center of Omaha. For having saved so many lives, in 2009 Bill was named a Pediatric Legend for his work at the center. By the time his career ended, over 100 published articles and abstracts reflecting his knowledge of heart disease and surgical techniques carried his name. In witness of his feelings about our alma mater, in 2009 Bill established the William H. Fleming, MD ‘57 Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry in the Yale Center for RNA Science and Medicine. A world-wide traveler and sailor, Bill cruised often on windjammers and was, as he claimed in 1992, a jet-skier. In 2002, he reported spending time at a second home on Keowee Key in Salem, South Carolina, "where you go out your front door to your boat and your back door to your car." He was also known for encouraging others to pursue their inventions and for serving on company and charity boards. Jerry Jones, Bill's college roommate, writes that Bill was "brilliant" and amassed his sterling academic record "while rarely cracking a book." Bill is survived by his wife Pamela; his children Alice F. Guzick, William S., Edgar H. ('88), April Brizendine, and Krystal Talha, and their families, including nine grandchildren (four of them past or soon-to-be Yale graduates), a great-granddaughter, and a sister. Gifts in his memory should go to the Cardiology and Heart Program at Children's Hospital & Medical Center, Omaha, or to the Nebraska Humane Society.

—JMB

Robert Kirschner (April 1, 2023)

Classmates:

We have word that Robert Kirschner died on April 1, 2023 from the complications of dementia. A native of Brooklyn, at Brooklyn Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School (aka Poly Prep) Bob was already a speedy runner known as "the Greyhound." Not surprisingly, he was a member of the varsity track team in college, where he majored in psychology and stated his future career to be in medicine. True to his word, Bob took a medical degree at New York Medical College of Touro University, served his residency at Montefiore Medical Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and held a fellowship in nephrology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital. Subsequently, he served as chief of renal service at Grant Hospital of Travis Air Force Base in California's Sacramento Valley at the rank of captain followed by a research year at St. Mary's Hospital in London. By the mid-1970s, he was department chief of medicine at Horton Hospital in New York, a hospital that closed in 2011. At the time of our 25th reunion, Bob was living in Middletown, New York where, at our 35th reunion and for roughly 15 years thereafter, he was president and medical director of the town's dialysis center. By 2007, he was semi-retired and living in Manhattan. Bob became a sailor, motor-boater, pilot, skier, crossword puzzler, and connoisseur of puns who's reported to have rarely let a day pass without a pre-dinner scotch in hand. He's survived by Sylvia, his wife of over 63 years, their children Natalie Tallis, Leslie Kirschner, Kimberly Felty, and Marc as well as their families. Donations in his memory may be directed to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.

—JMB

Junius R. "Sandy" Clark III (March 7, 2023)

Classmates:

I sadly convey delayed news that Junius R. "Sandy" Clark III, one of the class's four original winners (in 1962) of the AYA Class of 1957 Awards for Distinguished Service as well as class secretary between 1977 and 1982, died in Sarasota, Florida, on March 7, 2023. The cause of his death is unstated. A native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, and a precollegiate graduate of Cleveland's University School, at Yale Sandy majored in American studies. On graduating, he began a long advertising/marketing career in the circulation department of Life Magazine. Then, after serving as advertising vice president of the Fidler Group, he founded his own agency, Clark Direct Marketing. His specialty was what he proudly referred to as "junk mail," his success in that activity earning him the 1992 Silver Apple Award of the Marketing Club of New York. He retired from active work sometime before our 40th reunion. A long-time resident of Darien, Connecticut, Sandy was a community activist in its representative town meeting, president of its local PTA in the early 1970s and of the town's Little League between 1979 and 1982, an officer of its Junior Football League, and active in its St. Thomas More Church. Once retired, Sandy found what his family says was "his favorite job ever"--serving as usher during spring training games of the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles. He also remained a devoted fan of the local teams of his youth, the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians (now Guardians). A sunny, light-spirited man, Sandy was also a loyalist of the institutions of which he had been part. He repeatedly wrote of Yale's imprint on him. the importance of the friendships that began there, and his commitment to the communities in which he'd been active. In 1997, he characterized life as "being full of curious things. So I keep unpeeling the onion every day." Predeceased in 2017 by his wife, Marcia, whom he married in 1960, Sandy is survived by their children, Jennifer, Junius R. IV, Margaret S., and Cyrus, their families, and two brothers. Services in his memory will take place in Sarasota and Darien at later dates. Memorial donations should be made to the Dravet Syndrome Foundation (www.dsf.org) or the American Red Cross (www.arc.org).

—JMB

William H. Barutio (February 27, 2023)

Classmates:

We have news from his widow Nancy that William H. Barutio died on February 27, 2023, presumably in or near his home in Salem, South Carolina. The cause of his death was not stated. A native of Philadelphia who arrived at Yale as valedictorian of his Peekskill, New York, high school class, Bill majored in American studies, resided in Branford College, and graduated with an NROTC officer's commission. Following college, after serving three years in the Marines, he left active military service at the rank of captain. Sometime later, he earned an MA in human resources at Pepperdine University. Bill's varied career took him to the South where he participated in the demographics business, pursued real estate, took ownership of the John Wesley Hotel/Nancy Hanks Restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, and then went into merchandising with the General Store & Cafe in Trust, North Carolina, a hamlet between Ashville and Knoxville near Hot Springs. He founded the store, he wrote, out of necessity. After his hope of living off the land couldn't be realized, he wanted a market closer than the nearest option 25 miles away over mountain roads. He took the initiative again after the local school board consolidated Trust's local school into another one 90 minutes away. His solution was to up and build a private K-12 school in town. One guesses that Bill's involvement in the Civil Rights movement was his principal civic commitment. He served as chairman of the Fulton County (Georgia) Democratic Party and worked with President Jimmy Carter and Andrew Young in preparing a Democratic Party national convention. He was also associated with the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and Congressman John Lewis. In 1991, while mayor of Trust, he built, on property that he and his wife Beverly owned, a tiny, cedar-shingled place of worship, St. Jude's Chapel of Hope, a distinctive roadside structure, which Bill referred to as a "small travelers' chapel" and which has been featured in travel magazines. It was constructed, he wrote in 1992, in "thanks for Beverly's eight-year remission from cancer," to which she succumbed ten years later. Bill is said to have taken particular delight in the beaches of Edisto, South Carolina. Those who knew him at college and afterwards encountered the gentle, upbeat, modest man he remained. He's survived by Nancy, whom he married after Beverly's death, children and step-children Michele Stephens, Michael Barutio, Joan Houck, Peter Labarbera, John Labarbera, David Labarbara, Suzanne McCalla, Michael McGarrigle, David McGarrigle, Danny McGarrigle, and their families including many grandchildren and great grandchildren, and a sister. He was predeceased by son Zane, a sister, grandson, and great grandson, and two wives. A celebration of Bill's life will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 1002 South Main Street, Greenville, South Carolina. Donations in Bill's memory should go to the Michael J. Fox Parkinson's Research Foundation (https://www.michaeljfox.org) or to a charity of choice.

—JMB

James Shelby Tucker (February 24, 2023)

Classmates:

We lost our distinctive classmate James Shelby Tucker on February 24, 2023. He died in the presence of his wife Carole under hospice care from the complications of cancer in Oxford, England, where he had maintained his base camp and home since 1955. A native of Tennessee, schooled in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee, Shelby was a pre-collegiate graduate of Andover. There his natural daring and mischievousness was already in full flower. One afternoon at a dance, as Mike Mellon relates, he distinguished himself "by embracing his dancing partner in a long slow embrace/kiss that we male students all applauded but that very much upset the chaperones and led to Shelby's being placed on probation." A member of St. Anthony Hall in college, Shelby attended Yale for only two years. His puckish inventiveness made itself known during those years through his merchandising of New Haven-measured, Hong Kong-tailored suits at cut-rate prices. About their quality there's some dispute. Shelby himself noted for our 25th reunion book that he "retained the fondest recollections of Yale and of the many aggrieved people who purchased suits from Shelby Tucker Imported Fabrics." In the end, however, it wasn't problems with his clothing that did in his business; instead, operations ceased inasmuch as during the summer after sophomore year according to roommate Bob Pelletreau, Shelby "fell in love" with Oxford and effectively never left that university city. That said, he returned to New Haven for many reunions to renew his early friendships among classmates. After obtaining his undergraduate degree in law from the University of Oxford, he returned to the US to gain a law degree from Tulane Law School. Already by our 10th reunion, Shelby had served with law firms in New Orleans, London, Perth, Wellington, and New York City and was living in Srinagar, Kashmir, as sales director for India of the Overseas Investment Services mutual fund company, whose founder, Bernard Cornfeld, was eventually engulfed in scandal, which resulted in Shelby's first book, the satirical novel Client Service. Then, Shelby having by now becoming a writer, a journalist, and in one instance a translator rather than attorney and barrister, he began in earnest his dizzying peregrinations--"a monomania for the open road," he called it--that defined the rest of his life and, among men, made him a high-wired sparrow rather than a drifting butterfly. There can be little doubt that he far outdid Herodotus, that other stroller and the "father of history" (who may in fact have had it harder than Shelby in that he couldn't hitchhike) in the number of miles he walked in search of the realities of human life everywhere. He'd started at age 17 by hitchhiking throughout the American West and a year later by boarding a tanker as supercargo between Venezuela and Israel from which he thumbed rides around Western Europe. Why hitchhiking? As his long-time Andover friend Ray Lamontagne writes, "because, in his view, that was the best way to gain insights into other cultures." Then followed hitchhikes across North Africa and, though legally barred by the US, in which he retained a dual citizenship, from Moscow to Siberia to Peking. Then came Egypt, India, a freighter to New Zealand, travels in the nations of austral and southeast Asia and Japan, hitchhiking again this time to Alaska, then--all of this taking place before he reached 30 years of age--coverage, partly with his thumb out, of North Africa, the Near East, and Turkey followed by South America from north to Machu Picchu and back on Indian trails through jungles to Mississippi--hitchhiking of course as well as walking, all apparently without serious incident. Yes, sub-Saharan Africa doesn't yet play a part in this travelogue, but in 1967 commenced his 16 visits to that vast region, one of whose results was the 2010 book The Last Banana: Dancing with the Watu, part of those travels a-camel. His 1976 visit to Zanzibar became the occasion for his marriage to distant cousin Carole (who presumably joined him at the altar after an air flight rather than arriving via elephant). Never one to avoid danger, in 1989 Shelby trekked across eastern Burma with the insurgent Karen National Liberation Army, which resulted in his arrest and imprisonment on the Indian border. He was released only after what Ambassador Pelletreau calls Carole's "lionhearted" efforts and a final intervention by Mr. Lamontagne with US government officials to spring his long-ago classmate. (Shelby wrote of this adventure in his 2000 book Among Insurgents: Walking Through Burma. It was followed a year later by Burma: The Curse of Independence.) Somehow he managed in 2002 to give up hitchhiking so that he could cross the Atlantic under sail, then in 2006 and 2007 (now over 70 years of age) returned to Australia and New Zealand to visit places he'd missed on his earlier trips there, finally (at the cost of being out of Oxford when old friends and classmates were in town to visit him and Carole) in 2010-11 capping off his journeying by repeating his 1960 hitchhiking turn through the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, showing wear and tear only in the use of a cane. Shelby could be a man of strong, fixed views, among them the conviction that a conspiracy lay behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and commitments, such as strong advocacy of Palestinian rights that opened him to charges of prejudice. A man who brought much delight and not a little knowledge into the world, he was, writes Reed Rubin, "as charismatic as he was provocative," and in Bob Pelletreau's words "one of those rare people who walk their own path. The world is a poorer place without his restless spirit." Ray Lamontagne notes that while Shelby "could, at times, be bellicose and even abrasive, he was uncompromising in his search for the role that humans could and, indeed, must play in this complicated and diverse world. A man of passion and tenaciousness, he was able not only to withstand the pressures of society to conform but succeeded in challenging them every day of his life. Shelby's thirst for adventure was just a small part of his craving to know more about the human condition." Shelby is survived by his wife Carole, his daughter Dr. Rebecca Aylward and his three grandchildren, Ben Zeman, Flora Zeman, and Natalya Zeman. He also leaves two brothers, Bruen Tucker and David Tucker, and five nieces and nephews.

—JMB

Robert Y. Lee (February 22, 2023)

Classmates:

Our classmate Robert Y. Lee died on February 27, 2023 after a brief illness in Rockville, Maryland. The cause of his death is unstated. A native of New York City and a pre-collegiate graduate of the Horace Mann School, at Yale Bob majored in economics, was a member of Jonathan Edwards College, and was already an avid, accomplished bridge player, which he remained throughout his life. Because he never supplied information for reunion books, little additional information about him is available. He spent his career in the federal service, his specific responsibilities unrecorded, principally with the Census Bureau and then the Bureau of International Finance. Beyond his love of bridge, he was a devoted gardener, cook, and traveler, his journeys taking him widely throughout the world. In addition, he amassed a large collection of African art, which he donated to the Yale Art Gallery. Bob is survived by Linda, his wife of almost 53 years, their sons Thomas and Jonathan and their wives, eight grandchildren, a brother, nieces, and nephews. His family asks that contributions in his memory go to the American Kidney Fund.

—JMB

Charles H. Frey (February 15, 2023)

Classmates:

Our classmate Charles H. Frey died of unstated causes on February 15, 2023, presumably in or near Seattle, where he had long lived. A native of Philadelphia and a graduate of Radnor High School, at Yale Charlie was a resident of Pierson but, because for unknown reasons he was not listed in the 1957 Yale Banner, his major subject and most other commitments cannot be ascertained. After securing a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1960 and serving for six months in the National Guard, in 1961 he joined the Philadelphia firm of Stradley, Ronon, Stevens, and Young. Six years later, after putting law practice behind him, he returned to New Haven to study English Literature and to gain his PhD from Yale, which he did in1971. The prior year, he had joined the faculty of the English Department of the University of Washington, where he remained for 35 years before retiring. Charlie's specialty was Shakespeare, about whose works he wrote four books and many articles. He also co-authored a textbook anthology of children's literature (which saw six editions) and wrote published poetry. Among his non-academic interests were theater and film, sports, and microscopes and telescopes. A piano player, he also sang--in college with the Society of Orpheus and Bacchus--with, it is said, a "marvelous bass voice." Charlie is survived by his second wife, Roxanne Bartlett, and three daughters--Emily, Madeleine, and Elinor, as well as by three siblings. He was predeceased by a brother.

—JMB

Andrew V. Stout III (January 22, 2023)

Classmates:

I must report that Andrew Varick Stout III died on January 22, 2023, at his home in Lincoln, Massachusetts, in the presence of his wife Jo. A pre-collegiate graduate of the Westminster School, Andy entered Yale with the Class of 1958 after having spent two years as a quartermaster on the destroyer USS Sigourney in the Pacific Theater during the Korean War. On transferring to the Class of 1957, he majored in American studies, resided in Berkeley College, and was a member of Fence Club and Book and Snake. On graduating, he joined Dominick & Dominick, the merchant banking firm of which his father was a partner, and eventually became senior vice-president in charge of the company's branch offices. He left the business after 14 years for New Hampshire, where he was living by 1976, and a different and varied life. Much of it emerged from his ardent attachment to fly fishing and the search for Atlantic salmon in the river waters of New England, Canada, Ireland and Scotland where, Ron Ragen remarks, they were threatened with "dam-caused extinction...not a subject of interest we knew much about in our days together in New Haven." For example, Andy helped map more than 140 miles of salmon holding pools, spawning habitat, and fishing sites on the Connecticut River. He served as the project director for Restoration of Atlantic Salmon in America from 1972 to 1978 and as director of U.S. operations for the Atlantic Salmon Federation from then until 1987. Later he founded and became President of the New England Salmon Association. He also served as chairman of the New England Atlantic Salmon Management Conference Steering Committee, was a member of the U.S. section of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, and became a director for a number of other conservation organizations. He was also involved in various salmon restoration programs of the federal government. In recognition of his contribution to the salmon conservation effort, he was awarded the 2001 Lee Wulff Salmon Conservation Award of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, its top honor for "outstanding long-term contributions on a regional or national level toward Atlantic salmon conservation." Having at some time moved to the Green Mountain State and gaining election to the Vermont legislature, as a freshman member Andy wrote and sponsored a bill, eventually enacted into law, that protected Vermont rivers. Following his brief legislative service, he moved by the time of our 35th reunion to the Bay State where he lived the read of his life. Lou DeLuca writes that, a bit of "an enigma," Andy "was a tall, handsome, dapper, gregarious, smart person and fun to be with" yet "separated from us by age, a need for privacy , and his experience in the Navy. I always wanted to see or hear from him again but he moved on and sent no smoke signals. Even as a child of wealthy parents and destined for a career in finance, he always seemed to be seeking a different path." Ron Ragen writes similarly that Andy "viewed some matters through slightly different (i.e. more mature) eyes than did more typical, and younger, undergraduates. Nevertheless, from time to time, we lowered Andy to our level and the result was great fun and comradeship. Kind, thoughtful, reserved if not formal--Andy was a credit to Yale and to our class." Andy is survived by his wife of 43 years, Josephine Lo Conte, five children by his late first wife Carol Elkins, one stepchild, 15 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren. His ashes will be scattered among the pines, ornamental trees, and bushes that he and Jo planted as a haven for birds and other wildlife as well as for their own enjoyment.

—JMB

Richard R. Hepner (January 9, 2023)

Classmates:

We've received delayed word that Richard R. Hepner died on January 9, 2023, presumably in or near Leland, North Carolina, his most recent address with the class. The cause of his death is unstated. A pre-collegiate graduate of the Lawrenceville School, at Yale Rich majored in chemical engineering and, as at Lawrenceville, was a wrestler. Following graduation, he took up employment with Dupont Chemical Company and by the time of our 15th reunion had moved to the company's Cape Fear, North Carolina, facility and in 1982 was living in nearby Wilmington. In 1992, he listed his position as a petrochemical technical associate, which he remained until his retirement from Dupont by the time of our 50th reunion. In retirement, he became a Master Gardener (that is, a trained, volunteer horticultural expert working with state extension programs), continued golfing and fishing, and served as treasurer of The Bridge Presbyterian Church. Yale roommate Colin Thompson characterizes Rich as "serious by nature" and "an all-around good person." Predeceased by his brother Philip (also '57), Rich is survived by Ruth, his wife of 64 years, their children Debbie O'Connor and Rick Hepner, and their families, which include six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Donations in his memory should be made to The Bridge Presbyterian Church.

—JMB

Andrew V. Stout III (January 6, 2023)

Classmates:

I convey sad news that William H. Cuddy died on January 6, 2023, in Branford, Connecticut, near his long-time home in Guilford. The cause of his death is unstated. Born in New York City and raised in Ohio, where he graduated from Worthington High School, Bill entered Yale with the Class of 1956 before withdrawing to re-enter college with '57. A history major, he was a ranking scholar. On graduating, Bill married his first wife Ann and matriculated at Yale Law School, where he earned his JD in 1961. Soon after, he entered practice with the Hartford firm of Day, Berry & Howard (now Day Pitney), with which he remained for 42 years. Over those year, he became, in the words of fellow Hartford resident Bern Kosto, a "pillar of the Hartford legal community," his specialties being mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, and securities regulation. Bill also contributed to the firm's expansion by helping establish its Stamford and Boston offices, and he served for six years as its managing partner. He and his family lived for some years in Lakeville, Connecticut, until he and Ann divorced in 1992. In 1996, he married Vivien Blackford and moved to East Haddam, where he was residing at the time of our 55th reunion in 2012. Bill was known as a traveler and outdoor adventurer. He also involved himself in political activities and environmental causes and participated in many community activities as a board member and through active charitable work, including service as a hospice volunteer. A tall, loose-boned, sunny dispositioned, soft-voiced man, Bill hid his sharp mind behind disarming modesty. Unfortunately, that trait led to the unfortunate result that he never reported on his career or achievements for our reunion books. In addition to Vivien, Bill is survived by his daughters Amy, Laurie, and Kacy, stepchildren, a brother, and others. Contributions in his memory should go to the Selma (Alabama) Area Food Bank, Ave C, Selma, AL 36701; the Connecticut Hospice, 100 Double Beach Rd, Branford, CT; or Christ Episcopal Church, 11 Park St, Guilford, CT 06437.

—JMB

Roger H. Samet (January 6, 2023)

Classmates:

We learned from his daughter, Chang Ge, that Roger H. Samet died peacefully on January 6, 2023. The place and cause of his death were unstated. A graduate of Shaker Heights High School, at Yale Roger was a resident of Branford College and an English major. He followed college with a 1960 law degree from Yale Law School. Subsequently, he appears, out of modesty, to have preferred to have his life and career remain un-noted and unrecorded. He reported only basic facts for successive reunion books, which makes it difficult to ascertain with confidence precisely what he achieved and when he did so. Fortunately, because of help from Al Boasberg, Roger's close friend from college and law school, some of the specifics of his significant marks on American life can be confirmed. By 1967, for instance, as president of the Hospital Television Corporation, which, Al reports, he and a Cleveland friend had hatched while in college, Roger had already succeeded in pioneering in bringing television sets into all hospital rooms, which everyone now takes for granted. As Al writes, the firm "would lease TV sets to hospital patients during their stays. His crew (and sometimes, he himself) would roll TV sets on stands into patients' rooms and collect them when no longer needed. His firm split the income 50-50 with the hospitals in exchange for their putting his charge on patients' bills. (That way, there would never be a collection problem). When Mass General put a new wing on its hospital, Roger made a deal with it to install TV sets on the walls of patients' rooms and furnish pillow speakers. That way, the TVs didn't disturb other patients in the same room, and the nurses were happy because their patients were distracted from pestering them. Roger eventually expanded this wall installation system to other hospitals in NY, Boston, and others." Evidently for their cleverness, Roger and his partner hit it big when they sold their company to ITT for stock. Then, as Al further reports, "Shortly afterward Roger was making videos of surgeries for doctors' use for instructional purposes. He made lots of money on this deal too, and so never worked again after he was 35." Not quite so, inasmuch as he remained involved as a venture capitalist, again without specifics known, in technology, publishing, and biotechnology. He's also said to have been an arts patron, most notably in support of Young Concert Artists and a founder of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Concert Series. Len Katz reports that, as a piano player and lover of classical piano music, Roger, someone of "good heart," sponsored many piano students in New York City, where he seems to have moved by 1976. This ever-genial, soft-spoken, attention-shunning man afterwards also maintained a house in Southampton, Long Island, where, something of a sportsman, he was a member of the Wyandanch Club in nearby Eastport. Choosing that his death not be marked by a funeral, he and his family arranged for a Buddhist ceremony, which preceded his death, and 49 following days of rites by the participation of a master from a Mahayana Buddhist temple. An event in his memory may take place in the spring of 2023. In addition to his daughter, Roger is survived by her husband Paul Aaronson, as well as a sister and cousin. Contributions in his memory should go to Pianofest in the Hamptons, Young Concert Artists, or Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

—JMB

Peter B. Grose (December 31, 2022)

Classmates:

Our noted journalist-classmate Peter B. Grose died on December 31, 2022 in Minneapolis from the complications of a stroke after surviving an earlier one in 2004. First publicly known for his reportage from wartime Vietnam, Peter broke into view early after arriving on campus from Tucson High School and then the Capitol Page School, where he lodged while serving as a congressional page after earlier schooling in Vienna and Avignon. A Directed Studies student, he was an intensive history major, won the White Prize in history, was a ranking scholar, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He followed college with a 1959 MA in politics, philosophy, and economics from Pembroke College, University of Oxford. His undergraduate intention being to pursue journalism, in 1959 Peter became a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press in the Congo and West Africa, then in 1962 shifted to the New York Times. With that paper he reported from Paris; Saigon (1964-1965) as chief correspondent, a post which established his public reputation; Moscow (1965-1967) as chief of the Moscow bureau; Washington (1967-1970) as diplomatic correspondent; Jerusalem (1970-1972), where he again headed up his paper's bureau there; New York (1972-1976) as a member of the Times editorial board; and (1976-1977) covering the United Nations. Reporting from Vietnam, where he quickly became disillusioned with the war, he was classed with David Halberstam and Neil Sheehan as the conflict's most searching old-style on-the-scene analysts, a reputation secured when his biting reflections on the insanity of the war appeared in the Times after his return. In 1977, Peter gave up his Times posts to accept the position of deputy director of the policy planning staff in the State Department under Jimmy Carter's Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. Remaining in that position for but a year, at our 50th reunion he referred to it as a "modest and unmemorable" twelve months. He followed that assignment with fellowships from the Middle East Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Seven Springs Center, and the Kennedy School of Government as well as some corporate consulting. Peter's first book, a report of a conference about its subject, The Next Steps toward Peace between Israel and Its Neighbors, appeared in 1980. It was followed by The United States, NATO, and Israeli-Arab Peace (1981); Israel in the Mind of America (1983); A Changing Israel (1985); and his most influential book Gentleman Spy: The Life of Allen Dulles (1994). His final work was Operation Rollback: America's Secret War Behind the Iron Curtain (2000). He also served as founding president of the Pembroke College Foundation. As contributing editor of our 50th reunion book under editor Andy Glass, Peter commissioned essays on a wide range of subjects from assorted classmates before being struck and seriously injured by a car in Florida, which kept him away from the reunion before his recovery. From his earlier days at Yale, Peter alloyed his keen and perceptive intelligence with a lightness of touch and a wry wit. Writing in 2002 about how he felt as he moved into his 70s, which he referred to puckishly as "the High Middle Ages," Peter's words revealed his always convivial nature and the same wide-ranging interests he displayed from his first days of freshman year; and the photos accompanying his remarks exposed the characteristically easy smile of this ever-playful spirit. Nevertheless, one was mistaken to take his sunny disposition for all of him; behind his warmth lay a wide-ranging and analytically tough mind that was also always on display. In a necessarily peripatetic life, Peter and his wife Claudia, whom he married in 1965, maintained a long residence in Vineyard Haven, Martha's Vineyard. Predeceased in 2021 by Claudia, Peter is survived by their two daughters, Kim G. Moore and Carolyn Grose as well as three grandchildren.

—JMB

John F. Ross (December 27, 2022)

Classmates:

John F. Ross died on December 27, 2022, presumably in or near Medford, Oregon, his most recent address of record with the class. The cause of his death is unstated. A native of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and a pre-collegiate graduate of Mercersburg Academy, at Yale John majored in civil engineering and, graduating with honors, was deeply involved in that field's activities on campus. Hired by what was then the Standard Oil Company of California (now Chevron), immediately after graduation he departed for California, where, starting in San Francisco, he resided most of the rest of his life. Beginning in the company's engineering department, John held many management positions (in, as his addresses in the class records show, many California locations) before retiring 36 years later as a vice-president of international product marketing. Along the way, in 1972 he gained an MBA from Golden Gate University. John was widely active in church and community affairs. He served on many boards and committees, most recently as a director of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Livermore, California. He was also a golfer, sailor, landscaper, and model railroader as well as being active in restoring Victorian houses and as a genealogical researcher. With his family, he spent time in Zephyr Cove, Nevada, where he owned a vacation house on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe. John's four-year roommate Jim Herlan writes of John that "he was a very good person...one of the most positive people I knew on campus, usually smiling and cheerful...a serious student [with] a caring presence." John is survived by his wife Diane, whom he met at Standard Oil and married in 1958, as well as their two adopted children, Gary Reeves Ross and Jill Carole Kirby, seven grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren.

—JMB

Albert L. Williams (December 11, 2022)

Classmates:

Our classmate Albert L. Williams, Jr., died in Key West, Florida, his long-time home, on December 11, 2022. Because of Lynn's mostly successful efforts to hide knowledge about himself from public view, the following record of the events and achievements of his life is offered without full confidence in their sequence, precision, or completeness. A pre-collegiate graduate of Bronxville (NY) High School as his class valedictorian and perhaps, as he wrote, "rusticated" into the U.S. Army, at some point he followed his graduation from Yale with graduate study on an Asia Foundation fellowship, presumably in East Asian studies, at Columbia University without completing a degree. What followed grew from his undergraduate interest in psychology and his skills in the use and analysis of data and began with his efforts to model historical events--at one point of Chinese dynastic sequences. Apparently because of his proven skills in that respect, he was recruited to Wall Street. There he served as an expert in financial operations research for J.P. Morgan before founding two financial services firms of his own, Blockchain Associates LLC (as president) and Cutler-Williams Inc. (as chairman), both of which are listed without their dates of founding in Lynn's entry in Who's Who. There, he was also stated to be a "professional quant and private trader" involved in the modeling of markets who retired at 32 after having developed a trading system. With his earnings, which apparently continued to grow through his continued involvement in hedge-fund investing, Lynn founded the Albert L. Williams Foundation, whose gifts endowed the Albert L. Williams Professorship of Foreign Trade and Investment in Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; the Albert L. Williams Lectureships in Oncology and Cardiology at the Duke University Medical Center; as well as both the Albert L. Williams Professorship of Medical Bioinformatics and the Ruth B. Williams Fund for Medical Research in the Yale School of Medicine. Of the bioinformatics gift, he remarked that he had "long been attentive to the similarity of the maths used to resolve complex genetic problems and those potentially usable for problems in political economy." A man of neither modest statement nor ego, Lynn characterized the last of these gifts to Yale as "disrupting the Yale bureaucracy" because it prohibited the university from drawing on its income for administrative costs and instead required all of its earnings to go only to faculty members for their research. For his generosity to Yale, Lynn served for ten years on the Dean's Council (the advisory board) of the Yale School of Management and in 2017 was named a Sterling Fellow, Lynn later stating that he was the "only Sterling Fellow ever to graduate at the bottom of his class — I didn’t go to boring classes." For the final 13 years of his life, he supported Key West's Gail Williams Munder Concert Series, annual performances by gifted aspiring instrumentalists, in memory of his younger sister, a devotée of classical music. At some point, he served as a lecturer at the School of Business at Nanyang University, Singapore, since merged into the National University of Singapore. Lynn's avocations included ocean sailing, travel, ballet, collecting Pop Art, and Prana yoga. At one point, he lived for five years on a ketch. A proud, prickly polymath who enjoyed telling stories about himself in private while avoiding public notice, he once noted that he appreciated the work of the influential French historian Fernand Braudel, who wrote of the broad, complex civilization of the Mediterranean basin, because his work "doesn't have people." Contributions in Lynn's memory should go to Chapters Health Services or the Anchors Aweigh Club, both in Key West. A celebratory service of his life will take place at a later date.

—JMB

David A. Johnson (November 29, 2022)

Classmates:

David A. Johnson died of unstated causes, presumably in Ashville, North Carolina, his last known residence, on November 29, 2022. A native of New York City, schooled before college at Brooklyn's Technical High School and Mount Hermon, Dave majored in architecture and went on to earn an M.A. in architecture and planning from Yale before gaining a doctorate in regional planning from Cornell. At some point, he served in the U.S. Army at West Point. From then on, Dave devoted his career to city planning and to teaching and applying civic design the values of large, open, urban spaces in the United States and abroad to bring people together. He started out as a member, successively, of the staffs of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the National Capital Planning Commission, and the Regional Plan Association of the tri-state counties surrounding metropolitan New York. Subsequently, he was on the planning faculties of Syracuse University (where he chaired the planning department), Ball State University, and for many years prior to his retirement the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where, at the time of our 25th reunion, he was serving as Director of the Graduate School of Planning. Dave's specialty in international development took him to over 20 countries. For example, in 1972 he was involved in a Slovenian environmental research project. Six years later, as the first American planner to teach in the Soviet Union, he served as Senior Fulbright Scholar at the Moscow Institute of Architecture. During the academic year 1998-1999, once again as a Senior Fulbright Scholar, he taught and worked in Cyprus to apply urban planning to bring together rival Greek and Turkish communities. Subsequently, still in association with the Fulbright Program, he joined and led academic planners to India and Thailand; directed deforestation research projects in the Brazilian Amazon; and helped plan the rebuilding of Sarajevo after the Bosnian War, what he referred to at the time of our 35th reunion as "a national task force to assist democratic development in Eastern Europe." By our 40th reunion, he had added consulting work in Thailand, India, Kenya, Portugal, and Yugoslavia to the list. In 2002 and "retired," he was serving on the board of the Global University, headquartered in Finland, and was about to lead a group of undergraduates in a semester's study abroad. Stateside, Dave was a member of the design team that prepared the award-winning master plan for the State Capitol and Bicentennial Mall in Nashville. Dave also found the time to write such books as Planning the Great Metropolis: The 1929 Regional Plan of New York and its Environs and The TVA Regional Planning and Development Program: The Transformation of an Institution and its Mission. The former work led to his being honored shortly before his death at the centenary exhibit of the Regional Plan Association in Grand Central Terminal. Not surprisingly, he served as president of the Fulbright Association of the United States and was an elected fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners. After retiring to Asheville, he served on the boards of the Asheville Design Center and the UN Association of Western North Carolina and worked to gain the renovation of the Asheville Young Men’s Institute, a keystone of the city's historic Black community. In addition to receiving the 1963 William Parsons Memorial Medal from the Yale School of Architecture, he was honored in 1995 by the American Society of Landscape Architects. Somehow Dave also found time for his woodworking, gardening, and photography pastimes. Those who knew him encountered a serious, good-humored man who could mix grave matters with affable sociability. His roommate Syd Ball, noting Dave's "long, remarkable life," remarks that while Dave was "someone who did not waste time," much of his "observing, absorbing and analyzing apparently began in earnest at Mory’s." Dave is survived by his wife, Eleanor, whom he married in 1964, and their daughters Elizabeth Kostova ('88), Jessica Honigberg ('89), and Victoria Johnson ('91) and their families. Donations in his memory should go to to the Young Men's Institute Cultural Center of Asheville, 39 S. Market Street, Asheville NC 28801. A celebration of Dave's life will be held in the future.

—JMB

Richard C. Munn (November 29, 2022)

Classmates:

With the death of Richard C. Munn due to unstated causes in New London, Connecticut, on November 29, 2022, we've lost yet another classmate. A native of Montclair, New Jersey, and the first of his family to attend college, Dick repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Yale for the boost in life it gave him. He wrote in our 45th reunion book, for example, of the college's work to "deepen good values" and in "burnishing character" and in our 50th of his college years having been "a life-changing-trajectory experience." After graduating with an industrial administration major and participation on the varsity track and cross-country teams, he served as a U.S. Navy intelligence officer in the Bay Area and the Pacific. Upon mustering out, he earned an MBA degree from Harvard Business School to prepare himself for a business career, his stated intention at commencement. In subsequent decades, Dick was employed, principally with responsibility for marketing, by IBM, Xerox, Itek, and the Digital Equipment Corporation before founding two companies of his own. The first, whose specialty was market research, ended up as part of Gartner. The second, which offered consulting and training services as well as market research, eventually became, after his son took over its leadership, part of the global consulting firm Momentum ITSMA. Trading in his track shoes for golf clubs, Dick turned out to be an avid golfer and cross-country skier as well as a devout churchgoer. Adopting the words of the John Denver song, he apparently characterized his time on earth as "a good time, all in all." He was surely one of our sunniest classmates. Roommate Ralph Lilore writes that Dick had a "stabilizing effect" on members of his undergraduate circle and was "generally quiet and soft-spoken" with "a gentle demeanor." He's survived by his second wife, Holley Eaton, children Tracy, Julie Hale, and David, stepchildren Lisa Strausser and Rob Eaton, their families, and a brother. Donations in Dick's memory should go to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, New London, New Hampshire or the Lake Sunapee Region VNA Hospice. A service in his memory will take place in May 2023.

—JMB

James E. Stephenson III (November 6, 2022)

Classmates:

We've learned from a brief unsigned note transmitted to us from Yale's office of alumni records that James E. Stevenson III died of unstated causes on November 6, 2022, presumably at or near his last known residence in Minneapolis, the city of his birth. An English major and Berkeley College resident, Jim pursued a career in medicine that was his stated aim at graduation. Immediately entering medical school after Yale, he gained his medical degree from the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University. Subsequently, he interned in Seattle, served his medical residency as a pathologist at Miller Hospital in St. Paul, and then, starting in 1966, served a tour of duty at the rank of Captain in the U. S. Army Medical Corps in Vietnam. Our 20th reunion found him back in Minneapolis, where he appears to have spent the remainder of his life as a doctor of internal medicine, cardiology, and pathology in an independent practice while affiliated at various times with the Minneapolis Veterans Hospital and Abbott Northwestern Hospital. Mentioning at the time of our 25th reunion that he played the piano, in comments in our 50th reunion book Jim expressed a great debt to his Yale teachers; revealed his long pursuit of post-college knowledge through the works of a broad range of thinkers; and remarked that, if he'd had the chance to make second choices, he would have majored in a different subject and pursued a different profession--all of this while expressing no further dissatisfaction with the roads he took. Jim is presumed to be survived by his wife, Margaret, whom he married in 1973. No surviving children are known, but the photo accompanying his remarks in our 50th reunion book includes himself and a younger man, captioned also as James Stevenson, who sports a Yale sweater.

—JMB

John E. Hearst (October 25, 2022)

Classmates:

We recently learned of the death in Berkeley, California, of John E. Hearst on October 25, 2022. The cause of his death was multiple cancers. Born in Vienna and, with his family, an escapee from the Nazis, in college John was a chemical engineering major with his stated future subject of study being physical chemistry. Making good on that aim, he completed a 1961 PhD in chemistry at Cal Tech and then pursued a career that combined research in chemistry with molecular biology at the University of California, Berkeley until his 1995 retirement. Amassing an extraordinary record (as such are accounted for in the scientific community) of over 20,000 citations, he was known especially for his work on chromosomes and DNA modeling and as the leading developer of research into psoralen interactions with nucleic acids. One of his thesis advisees was Thomas Cech, winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In the 1970's, John collaborated with Berkley colleagues in the development of a photo-chemical method of inactivation of pathogens, which evolved in 1991 into the Cerus Corporation. Following his retirement from Berkeley, John served as one of the company's directors and vice president for medical research while pursuing research into, among other things, ways to make transfusions safer. His professional standing led to his being the Senior Staff Scientist of the Structural Biology Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory between 1980 and 1999 and for two terms in the 1980s the Director of the Chemical Biodynamics Division of the Laboratory. In 1992, he was executive editor of the journal Nucleic Acids Research. A Guggenheim Fellow in 1968, John received an honorary Doctorate of Science from Lehigh University in 1992, was president of the American Society for Photobiology in 1991-92, and was an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Having become an echt Bay Area resident, he reported at the time of our 35th reunion that he skied at Tahoe in the winter and backpacked in the Sierras in the summer. Ralph Lilore, one of John's roommates and the classmate who reported his death, describes John as "the rock-star equivalent of a super scientist." It's hard to disagree. Predeceased by a son in 1965, John is survived by Jean, his wife of over 64 years, and presumably by their children David and Leslie.

—JMB

Bill C. Mobley (October 22, 2022)

Classmates:

We've just learned that Bill C. Mobley died on October 22, 2022 in Amarillo, Texas, the Panhandle city in which he spent most of his life. A pre-collegiate graduate of Amarillo High School, at Yale Bill was an English major, a ranking scholar, and a member of Berzelius. On graduating, he entered the oil and gas business, in which for years he worked as a landman negotiating contracts and leases for the exploration, development, and extraction of oil and related natural products. Over the course of his career, he worked for Continental Oil, the Petroleum Corporation of Texas, Argonaut Energy, and Amarillo Oil Company before retiring as vice president of Pioneer Production Corporation. Bill subsequently became, as he had long wished, a teacher, which he pursued until he was 80 at his home town's Palo Duro High School as an instructor of economics and English as a second language. Long involved also in community affairs, he served on the Amarillo Library Board and the board of the Randall County Appraisal District, was chairman of Amarillo's Board of Equalization, and held the presidency of the Panhandle Association of Petroleum Landmen. As if that was not enough, he coached team sports, taught bridge, supported budding musicians, and was active in his United Methodist Church where for many years he led Sunday school classes. Roommate Todd Kendrick recalls Bill as studious and a booster of Texas and his home town. Franz Gimmler, of Bill's Berzelius delegation, writes of Bill that he was "an unassuming man who always wore a smile, was likeable the minute you met him...traits always accompanied with warmth." Bill was predeceased in 2000 by his wife of 41 years Windene, as well as by their daughters Pamela (in 1990) and Nancy Jackson (in 2019). He's survived by their son Michael C., son-in-law, Gary Jackson, seven grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and special friend Patricia Latham. Contributions in his memory should go to the Pamela S. Mobley Memorial Suzuki Scholarship at Amarillo College.

—JMB

R.K. Kennon Jones (October 21, 2022)

Classmates:

We have news from his daughter Pamela Upton that R.K. Kennon Jones, Sr., died In Ocala, Florida, on October 21, 2022 from the complications of Covid. Ken (known to some of us as Kenny) came to Yale from Episcopal High School in Alexandria and Washington's Sidwell Friends School. He majored in economics and played on the varsity football and track teams. An Army ROTC participant, on graduating he joined the Army's Special Forces Reserves as a parachutist and attained the rank of captain before he retired from service in 1965. While serving in the Reserves, Ken attained a 1960 LLB from the University of Virginia Law School and followed that degree with a 1970 JD from the same institution. Starting out as an attorney with the Washington DC firm of Hanson, Cobb, O'Brien & Tucker, he developed a specialty in corporate and venture capital law, which he eventually practiced in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Florida while offering pro bono services to people and organizations in need. As a collegian, Ken was gregarious and sunny-dispositioned. He also stood out for his 6'3" height, which served him well as a tackle during the football team's celebrated 1955 upset victory over Army and Yale's Ivy League championship, the league's first, the following year. Don Griffith writes of Ken's "enthusiasm and sheer enjoyment of the game as one of our linemen, even when practicing." Ken subsequently turned down a bid to try out for the Green Bay Packers because, he always said, he "didn't go to Yale so that he could spend his days being crushed on a football field." In that, he was probably correct, for though he's said to have continued to love football games, he always marveled at how much larger the players had become since the 1950s. As for enthusiasm, it apparently carried over to public affairs, for he was said to have had a "passion for politics"--principally in the Democratic camp (he backed Jimmy Carter) but not always (for he later supported John McCain)--a passion he expressed, as those who knew him can imagine, with a certain energy. Ken is survived by Helen, his wife of 22 years, his children Kirk, Pam Upton, and Andrew from a previous marriage, their spouses, two granddaughters, and nieces and nephews.

—JMB

John M. Spender (October 13, 2022)

Classmates:

We've learned through Phil Levine that our classmate John M. Spender, whom Phil knew in Sydney, Australia, died peacefully in that city, where he was born and spent most of his life, on October 13. 2022. His widow Catherine writes that, in effect, John died from four accumulating pulmonary conditions--the first dating from 2016, the most recent ones (Covid and then yet another lung infection) finally making his life unsustainable. The son of Sir Percy Spender, Australia's ambassador to the United States in the 1950s, John, who among our classmates might have gained greater recognition for his achievements had he not spent his life at such a distance, entered Yale from Washington, D.C.'s St. Albans School. At college, he was a resident of Davenport and majored in political science. After studying law at Gray's Inn, London, he returned home in 1961 to practice as a barrister until 1980. Entering politics in the 1960s as a member of the Liberal Party (despite its name, that nation's center-right party), John served as the metropolitan vice-president and treasurer of one of the New South Wales land divisions, in 1974 accepted appointment as Queen's Counsel, at some point served on the State Supreme Court of New South Wales, and was a commissioner of New South Wales in its investigation of corporate peculation, an investigation that led to revisions of corporate laws. After failing in his first two attempts to gain a seat in the Australian House of Representatives, he won a seat from North Sydney in 1980 and held it until until defeated in 1990. He was widely known and respected as one of Parliament's most principled members for some of his stances and votes, such as standing up for a journalist facing charges of contempt of the House of Representatives for writing that the chamber included "drunks and bludgers" (which, apparently from experience, John considered a valid statement and thus legally defensible). When his party lost its majority in 1983, he joined the shadow ministry with responsibility for defense and aviation and by 1985, under party leader John Howard, was shadow attorney-general. When Howard became prime minister in 1996, following what seems by then to have turned into a family tradition, John became Australia's ambassador to France while serving simultaneously as special envoy to Cyprus and, for the years 1996-1998, also as Australia's non-resident ambassador to Portugal and Morocco. For his service in France, he was a recipient of a Légion d'honneur award. John's warmth and wit spread naturally from him. Phil Levine writes that that he "wore his measure of political fame modestly. I found him amiable, humorous, and that increasingly rare breed, a politician who radiated integrity." Allan Wendt recalls John as "a generous, thoughtful classmate and companion." The ex-husband of the late fashion designer Carla Zampatti, in addition to Catherine John is survived by his daughter Allegra, who was recently elected as an Independent to membership in Australia's Parliament for the said-to-be "prestigious" Wentworth seat, and his daughter Bianca, a fashion designer.

—JMB

William B. Marshuetz (October 11, 2022)

Classmates:

We learned first from Frank Galloney of the death on October 11, 2022, of William B. Marshuetz, who died peacefully in Arlington, Virginia, after recurring battles against cancer. Entering Yale with '57 and residing in Silliman College, Bill withdrew in 1956 to join the U.S. Marine Corps, in which he served with the Third Marine Division in Asia until returning to graduate with the Class of 1961, possibly with a major in sociology as he stated it to be in our Class Book. It may be that further information than we possess is to be found in the records of the Class of 1961. But since he didn't report information regularly to '57, most of the post-1957 information that we possess about him comes from his widow, Kathryn Lahn. On completing his Marine service, Bill earned a 1963 MBA at the Harvard Business School. With that degree in hand, he joined the finance office of the Ford Aerospace Corporation (known earlier as Philco), Ford Motor Company's aerospace and communications arm, which designed and manufactured communications satellites and classified communications systems. He conducted business for the firm throughout the world, was known for his comprehensive knowledge of his employer and his business acumen, and engaged himself in mentoring many others. In 1990, as chief financial officer of the aerospace company's Space Missions Group, Bill was a principal figure in negotiating the sale of Ford Aerospace to the Loral Corporation. Subsequent to the sale, Bill retired, at least from salaried work. He continued to apply his experience in finance as a consultant to aerospace research groups in and around Washington and served as both financial vice-president and chief financial officer for a number of small technology forms, including those that were minority-owned. During a career that took him to Philadelphia, Palo Alto, Detroit, and Washington before he settled in Arlington, Bill engaged himself in skiing, piano and banjo playing, fast cars, and scientific and communications technology. A volunteer for Capital Hospice in the Washington region, he was also a transport volunteer for Siamese Rescue. Claiming, it's said, to speak fluent feline Siamese, he never divulged whether the cats understood him or whether he reciprocally understood the cats. In addition to two such animals, Bill is survived by his wife of 24 years as well as by his brother Dick and family. His interment will take place in Arlington National Cemetery at a future date.

—JMB

John H. Chequer (September 12, 2022)

Classmates:

We've lost another classmate with the death on September 12, 2022, of John H. Chequer. He died of unstated causes, presumably in or near his last known address in Schenectady, New York or in the Adirondacks. John grew up on Lake Pleasant in the high Adirondack Mountains, where his parents owned and managed an all-season lodge. In college, he majored in civil engineering and then served for four years as a naval officer appropriately in the SeaBees. Upon his release from active duty, he gained an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1963 and, settling in Boston, opened his career in banking and finance with the First National Bank of Boston, and served as a director of the Grestco Chemical Company. Subsequently, he and his family moved to London for his employment with the Boston bank before returning to the United States where, at our 25th reunion, he was executive vice president for finance in Los Angeles of the oil shale company TOSCO, which, in a series of complex rearrangements, eventually merged into what became ConocoPhillips. Five years later he was living in Englewood, Colorado, in some unstated role, no doubt a senior financial one, with the Frontier Oil and Refining Company. Retiring in 1987, John returned to Lake Pleasant where, with his second wife, he spent summers in the Adirondacks and the rest of the year in Schenectady. It was clearly a life that suited him, for he wrote in 1992 that living close to nature left him "in constant awe at the beauty of God's creation and full of thanks for health, peace, and happiness." John was known for the attentive care he devoted to his Adirondack property and for his love of music. He was a trumpet player, pianist, choir singer, and avid listener of classical music who, for a collegiate year, played with Eli's Chosen Six and secured summer employment at his parents' lodge for other Yale college jazz musicians. John leaves behind his wife, Elizabeth Taft; daughters Elizabeth Hendee, Anne Chequer, and Laura Chequer and their families, including four grandchildren; and his first wife, Nan Chequer Schwartz. Donations in John's memory may be made to the Lake Pleasant Public Library in Speculator, New York.

—JMB

James B. Ketchersid (September 7, 2022)

Classmates:

We've learned from Norwood Hill that our classmate James B. Ketchersid died suddenly on September 7, 2022, at his home north of Fort Worth, Texas. A native of Oklahoma and, says Norwood, a great-grandson of Quanah Parker, the last warrior chief of the Comanche Nation, Jim came to Yale from Dallas, switching from a physics to biology major and, while gaining a B.S. degree with the Class of 1957, left college after junior year to enter medical school in Dallas at the Southwestern Medical School of the University of Texas. With his MD in hand and a focus on pathology, Jim took his residency at Parkland Hospital, Dallas, before serving as a naval officers for two years at the Subic Bay Naval Hospital in the Philippines. On his return, he became chief of Pathology at the Irving (Texas) Community Hospital, today known as Baylor Scott & White Medical Center. By 1965, having returned to Parkland Hospital, Jim had also founded Irving Pathology Associates, a laboratory that serves medical practitioners in the region. As that laboratory's owner, Jim appears to have continued to practice medicine as a pathologist until his retirement. While Jim left little record with the class, Norwood, a Silliman roommate, describes him as someone "who could learn anything the first time he heard or read it, whatever the subject whether in the liberal arts or the sciences. But holding a part-time job as a scholarship student and sometimes needing extra sleep, he would skip morning classes but make it to required labs in chemistry, physics, and the like. At the end of his sophomore year, the Dean called him in and said, ' I know we have a policy that you have unlimited cuts so long as you make the Dean’s list, but you've abused the privilege.' So the Dean assigned Jim something like 27 books to read and review that summer and report back. Since Jim could read and learn anything calmly and rapidly, for him this was not as stressful as it sounds." Predeceased in 2016 by Marianne, his wife of 58 years, Jim is survived by sons Mitchell and Cameron and their children and grandchildren.

—JMB

William B. Carter (September 6, 2022)

Classmates:

We've learned from Yale of the death on September 6, 2022, of William B. Carter, who died in Hockessin, Delaware, of unstated causes. A resident of Saybrook and a chemical engineering major at college, as he intended at graduation Bill pursued a career in that field throughout his life. After gaining an M.A in the same subject at the University of California Berkeley in 1959, he went to work as a chemical engineer with the Continental (Conoco) Oil Company, after having cut his eye teeth with the firm, as he reported at our 50th reunion, during a college summer at its research facility in Ponca City, Oklahoma. At the time of our tenth reunion, he was already a Baltimore plant superintendent and living in Towson, Maryland. The holder of at least ten patents, he turned at some point to the business side of Conoco's petrochemical operations, in which he rose to be vice president of Conoco Coal Development. When the company merged with DuPont, he became vice president of human resources in the merged corporation. then closed out his career in command of Dupont's computer operations. Bill retired in 1989 in Wilmington, Delaware, to which he'd moved sometime between our 25th and 30th reunions. He wrote in 2007 that he'd started out active in Republican politics and found working for Republican candidates "in a very Democratic state" to be "exciting." But when the party's traditional fiscal and limited government policies changed, Bill turned to the finance and planning side of non-profit organizations and served as president of the Wilmington Country Club. He described himself as having easily adapted to the computer's vagaries and having dabbled in photography even to the point of becoming competent with digital cameras. He strong aim in retirement, he wrote, was "to have fun and see that others have fun." Bill is survived by his wife of 64 years, Louise Ann, their son Greg and daughter Lyn, five grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and two sisters.

—JMB

Mitchell C. Kur (August 13, 2022)

Classmates:

We've learned through John Resnick of the death on August 13, 2022, of our classmate Mitchell C. Kur. He died of unstated causes in Dedham, Massachusetts, the state in whose eastern towns he had taken up residence no later than our 10th reunion and where he remained thereafter. A native of Kansas City, at Yale Mitch majored in industrial engineering and was a member of Jonathan Edwards College, Tau Beta Pi, and the Hillel Foundation. After serving in the military after college and then being selected for General Electric's management training program, he earned a 1965 MBA at Syracuse University. Subsequently, he served as a business manager, controller, and in executive positions in a number of fields, including years with General Electric, Beatrice Foods, and Digital Equipment Corporation in, variously, manufacturing, finance, and organizational development. He later worked as a consultant and real estate agent. Having early in life taken a keen interest in Judaism, he remained deeply engaged in the affairs and institutions of his faith. He was a member of the board of Temple Beth Am in Framingham, Massachusetts, was a founder of the Jewish Federation in that same city, and was a founder and long-term board member of the Rashi School in Dedham. He was also a member of Temple Israel in Boston and Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley. A lover of the arts, with his wife Carol, whom he met the first semester of freshman year and married shortly after college, Mitch owned an art gallery and was a founding contributor to the Danforth Art Museum of Framingham State University. Also from an early age a violinist, he was a fan of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, to which enthusiasm he added a love for Boston sports teams. Described as having been kind, smart and loving, "a true gentle man and mensch," Mitch clearly was also an optimist. For our 40th reunion book, he wrote simply that "Of life in general: It's been great!" He followed that statement at the time of our 50th with the following: "I have said that 'it doesn't get better than this.' But it did!" Predeceased by his wife, Mitch is survived by their daughters Alison Kur, Susan Lees, and Dana Snyder and their children, as well as others. Donations in his memory may be made to Temple Beth Elohim of Wellesley, Temple Israel of Boston, the Danforth Art Museum, or Newbridge on the Charles Senior Living in Dedham.

—JMB

John M. "Mike" Kohler, Jr. (June 25, 2022)

Classmates:

Our classmate John M. "Mike" Kohler, Jr., died peaceably on June 25, 2022 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, surrounded by family members. The cause of his death was a cerebral stroke. The great grandson and namesake of the founder of the Kohler Company, the son and grandson of company executives, a native of Kohler, Wisconsin, and a student at Kohler High School before matriculating at Andover, Mike was raised and worked in Kohler surroundings all his life. A history major in college and prepared for military service by participation in NROTC, he served after graduation in the Naval Reserve as, writes roommate Tink Thompson, the operations officer of a minesweeper in the Pacific. Once out of the Navy and after a year at Harvard Law School (which, says Tink, he hated), Mike started work life, as he ended it, in his family company's embrace by starting out as a salesman in its St. Louis office. Subsequently, he served as manager of the company's Kansas City and Boston offices. Then in 1974, after five years at corporate headquarters, he became the manager of Kohler's Spartanburg, South Carolina plant, the post he retained, save for another two years at headquarters as vice president for corporate communications, until his 1998 retirement. Throughout this entire period, starting in 1968, Mike was a member of the company's board of directors, from which he retired as director emeritus in 2007. In his years in Spartanburg, he became a leader--in fact "completely involved" after his retirement, he wrote in our 45th reunion book--in many of its business and civic institutions: president of the Spartanburg Art Museum, the Palmetto Council of Boy Scouts of America, the United Way of the Upstate, and the Rotary Club of Greater Spartanburg (of which in 1991 he won the Neville Holcombe Distinguished Citizenship Award). He also served as two-time chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Spartanburg. Cited over the years by a number of organizations for his generosity as a donor, in 2010 he received the Arts Partnership's David Reid Award for Excellence in the Arts. As if these weren't responsibilities enough, he also served on the boards of the C & S National Bank, Spartanburg Arts Council, the Music Foundation of Spartanburg, the Salvation Army, the Appalachian Health Council, the Spartanburg Regional Foundation, the South Carolina Medical University Board of Visitors, the Chapman Cultural Center, the Glendale Fire Commission, and the vestry of St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, of which he was a lector starting in 2011. A consistently jovial man and somewhat of a genial prankster, Mike had a circle of '57 friends that took form in Lawrence Hall in freshman year, retained its cohesion in Calhoun, and in 1995 began meeting together annually in various locations in the U.S. and abroad, as its survivors still do, with their wives. Hugh Peterson, with Tink Thompson a roommate, writes that, "very convivial," Mike was "a true son of the Midwest and embodied that region's best qualities. He was diligent and straightforward in all that he undertook. He loved music and would often lead us in German drinking songs and occasionally something a bit more ribald." Though a long-time resident of Spartanburg, "his heart remained in Wisconsin." After his first wife, Lucille, died in 2010 after more than 50 years of marriage, Mike wed Lilly Lancaster, who survives him, as do his four sons: John M. ("Jeff") V., Matthew F. ('83), Andrew F., and Stephen J., as well as their families and children, stepchildren, and two sisters. A service in Mike's memory will take place at the Episcopal Church of the Advent, 140 Advent Street, Spartanburg at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. Donations in his memory may go to the Episcopal Church of the Advent Foundation, 141 Advent Street, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29302.

—JMB

John C. Brooke IV (June 19, 2022)

Classmates:

John C. Brooke IV died suddenly on June 19, 2022, in Durango, Colorado, from the effects of Covid while traveling from his home in San Antonio, Texas. A native of Corpus Christi, where he graduated a year early from Ray High School, at Yale John was a member of Directed Studies and an intensive history major. After college, he gained a law degree at the University of Texas, Austin, and specialized for 40 years afterwards in real estate, as well as oil and gas, law while rising to be managing partner of Corpus Christi’s Kleberg Law Firm. He was visiting one of his real estate investments in Colorado at the time of his death. After retiring from his law firm and moving to San Antonio, John served for over ten years in his birthright Episcopal Church as the Bishop’s Deputy for Congregational Development in the Diocese of West Texas while maintaining an active engagement with the Church nationally. He was involved especially in the maintenance of small congregations, in some of which he served as a lay preacher; and he was the moving spirit behind the creation of Eastern Partners in Ministry, a group of rural congregations that pooled their scarce resources and in which he often served as church warden and on finance committees to help them better manage their affairs. After re-retiring, this man who’d grown up on a cotton farm applied his energies to the analogous rural pursuit of full-time cattle ranching in Goliad, Texas. While building a herd, he worked to reclaim and manage his land along the banks of the San Antonio River, a success that won him public recognition for habitat maintenance. He also involved himself in community affairs by teaching real estate law at a local community college, leading a Boy Scout troop whose members were principally African American youths, being active in the Nueces County and other bar associations, and serving as an officer of the Gulf Coast Council and president of the local board of realtors. A gentle, sunny, rigorously modest man—he revealed nothing in his reunion book entries and, unless prodded, would never speak of himself—John hid a sharp mind and firm moral and civic compass behind an impish, childlike sense of humor. While trying valiantly to turn all northerners into Texans, he nonetheless proved himself able to adapt reciprocally to sophisticated northern ways. Just out of freshman year, for instance, this son of the Lone Star State was seen at the Alamo sporting a skimmer. In later years, he presented himself to the world with a moustache that, shaped like a longhorn’s headrack, must have proved the envy of every British barrister and Anglican bishop who came into his presence. As a rancher, he made a probably historically unique effort to coax his cattle to the food trough by playing Mozart even though, having failed in the application of that master’s genius, he received authoritative advice that the beasts would probably fatten themselves more quickly if beckoned by the sweet strains of Karlheinz Stockhausen or John Cage. John also took special pleasure in cooking (sous vide no less), eating at elegant restaurants, studying historic buildings, fiddling with tractors, collecting old books, and—after all, he was a southern boy—telling stories. Not long before his death, he had built a greenhouse with his own hands. John is survived by his second wife Patricia, with whom he had just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, his children Jennifer Brooke-Davidson (‘82), Allison DeForest, and John C. Brooke V as well as many grandchildren, a great granddaughter, and step-children and -grandchildren.

—JMB

Philip Saunders Jr. (May 17, 2022)

Classmates:

We have recently learned that our classmate Philip Saunders Jr. died surrounded by his family on May 17, 2022, at his home in Weston, Massachusetts. The cause of his death was not stated. A native of nearby Newton from whose high school he graduated, Phil majored in political science at Yale before enlisting in the U.S. Army. After learning Chinese at the Army Language School in Monterey, California, he served his tour of duty in the Philippines. After gaining a PhD from the London School of Economics, he opened his work life for Charles River Associates. Subsequently, he moved to the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company where he rose to be its Chief Economist before becoming the firm's Senior Vice President. Retiring from that position in 1986, he formed his own eponymous consulting firm, its specialty being business valuation and litigation support, and worked into his 80s. A veteran of Yale's mountaineering club, Phil pursued that healthy pastime throughout his life, its highlights including a climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro with his son Philip and a trek from Nepal's Namche Bazaar to Mt. Everest's base camp. To these adventures he added skiing in such locales as the Alps and the Rockies and sailing along the Maine coast. Given these avocations, it's not surprising that he helped lead a quarter-century effort that eventuated in passage of Massachusetts's Public Lands Preservation Act to protect the open space that he valued so much. Along the way, he was also active in the Massachusetts Sierra Club, MetroWest Climate Solutions, and the Pelagic Sailing Club and served on the board of the Boston Ballet. It's said that Phil, who left little information in class records, retained a life-long interest in ideas, which, accompanied by a natural skill in philosophical debate, was on display from the earliest days of classes in the Directed Studies program. He's survived by his second wife, Lucy Koppelman, as well as by three children Philip, Catherine ('00), and Elizabeth as well as two grandchildren and others. Gifts in his memory should go to the Sierra Club of Massachusetts, Clean Water Action, Common Cause of Rhode Island, or an environmental organization of choice.

—JMB

Robert A. Sweet (May 7, 2022)

Classmates:

I convey news that Robert A. Sweet died on May 7, 2022 of unstated causes in or near Ripon, California, the location of his last known residence. An industrial engineering major at Yale, Bob entered college with the Class of 1956, then, after taking a year off, re-entered with our class and resided in Pierson College. After spending two post-collegiate years in the U.S. Army, he gained an MBA from Xavier University. Then, for at least half his career, he served as a computer engineer, first for the B&O Railroad in Baltimore, then successively with NCR in Dayton as a senior systems analyst in its product planning division, Polaroid in Boston, Bechtel Power Corporation in San Francisco as a programming support manager, then Safeway in Walnut Creek, California. Subsequently, he spent thirty years presumably in some aspect of the real estate business at the eponymous Sweet Properties in Modesto, California. After that, we have no further information from or about him. From what can be inferred, his commitment to born-again Christianity was a central part of his life. It is said in his published obituary that "he was nurtured and taught the principles of hard work, diligence, honesty, fairness, and mercy that wove themselves into the fabric of his life." Predeceased by his wife of over 60 years Dorothy ("Tommie"), Bob is survived by their children Mark, Lorelei, and Benjamin, their spouses and children, six grandchildren, a sister, and others. Donations may be made to a charity of choice.

—JMB

William B. Smith (May 5, 2022)

Classmates:

Our classmate William B. Smith died under hospice care at his home in Kent, Connecticut, on May 5, 2022. The cause of his death was end stage kidney failure. Born in Torrington, Connecticut, Brad spent most of his life in nearby Kent, from whose South Kent School he graduated before entering Yale with the Class of 1957. Although he's known to have been a resident of Timothy Dwight College, he did not complete his BA with us and thus doesn't appear in our records. Instead, after some absence from college and apparently taking after his artist father, in 1959 he gained a BFA from the Yale School of Art, where he studied with painters Josef Albers, Rico LeBrun, and Neil Welliver as well as with photographer Herbert Matter. Brad then devoted the rest of his life to fine art photography and painting and saw his work exhibited widely within and outside the Nutmeg State and purchased for many private collections. Affected early on by the writings of Joseph Campbell, he tried to capture in his art the awe of his surroundings, no matter how ordinary. Having successfully battled to stay sober, as he was for the last five decades of his life, he was known as a friend and sponsor of others who faced similar struggles, his advice to them being to "Chop wood and carry water...one day at a time." Apparently a quiet man, Brad's wry smile and twinkling eyes were said to reflect a sense of humor usually under wraps but often surfacing unexpectedly in conversation. In addition to his wife, Brad is survived by son Alexander, stepdaughter Jacqueline E. White, and others. Donations in his memory may be made to RVNA Hospice (RVNAhealth.org) or the Kent Volunteer Fire Department, of which he was a longtime member.

—JMB

Carl F. Brunjes (April 13, 2022)

Classmates:

We have recent word that our classmate Carl F. Brunjes died peacefully of pneumonia in Spokane, Washington, on April 13, 2022, in the very hospital in which he long served as an orthopedic surgeon. The son of German parents who arrived in the United States in the 1920s, Carl was a precollegiate graduate of Culver Military Academy. where his musical skills, later evidenced also when he sang as a member of the freshman and Apollo Glee Clubs, made themselves known. A scholarship student, pre-med English major and varsity wrestler at Yale, he gained his MD degree at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University in 1961. Subsequently, Carl held a rotating internship between Columbia P&S and the Mary Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, New York, before becoming chief resident in orthopedic surgery at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston until 1967. His subsequent two years spent in the American Air Force at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane were fateful in determining his future home. Once out of military uniform, Carl formed an orthopedic practice in that eastern Washington city and pursued his specialty there for the rest of his life. Considered at the time of his death what one colleague called an "institution," he was deeply involved in the Spokane community, especially in support of the city's symphony orchestra and arts community; and he remained loyal to his alma mater by hosting traveling Yale performers and other musicians as they came through town. His other commitments included classic cars, bronze sculptures, and skiing. Over his lifetime, he owned two residences within reach of Spokane on Lake Pend Oreille in Kootenai Bay, Idaho, where he gook up sailing and water skiing, and he also often wintered in Maui, Hawaii. His freshman year roommate Ruben Shapiro characterizes Carl as "hard working and very self directed...with lots of strong beliefs and opinions." Carl is survived by his second wife, Marilyn Northern, as well as his daughters Laura B. Read, Molly B. DeWalt, and Jennifer Brunjes, their families, his former wife Grace A. Watt, and others. Another daughter predeceased him. Donations in his memory should go to the Spokane Symphony or to PBS station KSPS-TV.

—JMB

Maxton Clark Davies (April 8, 2022)

Classmates:

We learned recently of the death on April 8, 2022, of Maxton Clark Davies. The cause and place of his death were not reported. A precollegiate graduate of Shaker Heights High School in Cleveland, the city of his birth, Clark (as he was always known) graduated from Yale with an electrical engineering degree followed by a 1973 MBA from Case Western Reserve University. Early in his career, he worked (at the time of our 10th reunion as a control design engineer) at EC&M, a division of Square D, and Clark Controller before succeeding his father as CEO of Foster & Davies Advertising, which had been founded by Clark's grandfather. Possessing the confidence and pioneering spirit of a technology enthusiast with the impulse of an early adopter, Clark was always ahead of the tech curve whether with calculator, the earliest Apple computer, iPad, or smart phone--in the use of all of which he'd advise others while also often serving as a repairman when not constructing something. Silliman roommate Mike Mellon reports that at one point Clark "ordered a high-fi kit from Heathkit Electronics and spent two weeks fabricating it in our Silliman suite so that it actually played records." Yet, being like the rest of us, he complained as early as our 35th reunion of the frustration of mastering some new application only to have a new one supplant it and of the analogous difficulties of switching from an Apple device to a PC. Appropriately given his life-long lakeside existence, Clark was a swimmer, a scuba diver, and sailor who often crewed for races on Lake Erie and enjoyed pushing the throttle of his "Speed Queen," whose name apparently had more to do with the coin-operated laundromat he owned than the celerity of that mighty ship. As a result of such skills, Clark amassed a large lifetime collection of tools. ("If only I could find time to use them!" he lamented in 2002.) He and his wife Mella, whom he married in 1957, summered with their children in Put-in-Bay, Ohio, of whose yacht club he served in 1998 as Commodore, and wintered in Gulfport, Florida. He seems also to have been deeply involved in community activities through such organizations as the Boy Scouts, the St. Paul's Episcopal Churches in both Cleveland and Put-in-Bay, the Cleveland Athletic Club, Habitat for Humanities, and the Inter-Lake Yachting Association. Those who knew Clark at Yale knew him as a sunny-dispositioned collegian. Dennis Bates, a friend from freshman year as well as later Clark's brother-in-law, writes of Clark's characteristically being "up for some adventure" as well as always "the center of attention with his height and thick mop of blonde hair. A boon companion, he was liked and admired by all who knew him." In addition to his wife, Clark is survived by their children Catherine Paetz, Kimberley Traum, and Margaret Naylon, seven grandchildren, and others. Contributions in his memory should go to Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity or St. Paul's Episcopal Church in either Cleveland Heights or Put-In-Bay). A celebration of Clark's life will take place at 1 p.m. on June 20, 2022 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 623 Catawba Ave in Put-In-Bay.

—JMB

G. Kendall Sharp (March 24, 2022)

Classmates:

Our classmate G. Kendall Sharp died unexpectedly from an unstated cause on March 24, 2022. At the time of his death, he was in the company of family members, presumably in or near his Orlando, Florida, home not many weeks after having been the lively featured speaker on a virtual class gathering about the work of a federal judge. (A video recording of that event is available on the Class website.) A native of Chicago, an Eagle Scout in youth, a precollegiate graduate of Phillips Andover Academy, Ken was an English major at Yale, played varsity football, sang in the Glee Club, and was a member (singing a bass part) of the Whiffenpoofs. His fellow Whiff, Reid White, insists that Ken stood out as much for being the ensemble's handsomist member (a claim apparently disputed) as for his resounding, anchoring voice. He served for three years after graduation as a naval officer and navigator on the newly commissioned supercarrier USS Ranger and remained in the Naval Reserve until retiring after 38 years at the rank of captain. Following his naval service, Ken earned a law degree at the University of Virginia. While practicing private law in Vero Beach, Florida, until 1978, he served as an attorney for the Indian River County School Board and taught at Indian River Community College. In 1978, he accepted appointment to the bench of Florida's 19th Judicial Circuit Court, the same court before which he'd argued as a public defender between 1964 and 1968. Five years later, Ken commenced his 38-year service in the Orlando Division of the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Florida on nomination by Ronald Reagan. As a jurist, Judge Sharp was known for following precedent and legal guidelines. There's a hint in our 35th reunion book that, while he enjoyed his judicial duties, his stances made him occasionally feel that he was standing "practically alone to face the onslaught" of cases stemming from rising crime. A sometimes controversial jurist for his decisions, considered by some to be unpredictable, and widely seen as a conservative, Ken was nevertheless respected and considered fair even by those against whom he bluntly ruled. His most widely known ruling came in the case of the notorious Ted Bundy, whose final 1987 appeal against a conviction for murder Ken denied, a decision that sent Bundy to the electric chair. In statements from the bench and afterwards that outspokenly criticized both the judicial rules that allowed courts to be tied up in long-running appeals and the death penalty itself, Ken blamed both problems on the failure of Congress and Florida's legislature to deal with them. Until two weeks before his death, he was active on senior status after having retired from full service in 2000. Off the bench, Ken was, as classmates knew, laugh-y, mischievous, fun-loving, and athletic. He was a skilled spearfisher, snorkler, zipliner, skier, handball player, airplane pilot (who flew his Cessna between jurisdictions), avid traveler, story-teller, and lover of seedy dive bars and regular Saturday male-only Bloody-Mary parties, as well as, notes Joel Sharp (not a relative), a devotée of oysters and Myers Rum with a photographic memory. Ken is survived by Carolyn Coats, with whom, it's said, he fell in love five years before his death, his daughters Kendall Sharp ('85) and Julia Carter, five grandchildren, and other family members.

—JMB

Wallace P. Ritchie, Jr. (March 17, 2022)

Classmates:

Wallace P. Ritchie, Jr., died of unstated causes on March 17, 2022 presumably in or near Minneapolis, his last address of record and not far from his St. Paul birthplace. A history major in college, Wally was a member of Torch as well as of Skull and Bones. After graduation, he received a 1961 MD degree from the Johns Hopkins Medical School. Then, after a year as an intern and resident at Yale-New Haven Hospital, he returned to his native state to complete his surgical residency at the University of Minnesota while obtaining a PhD in general surgery. In this, he was following his father and grandfather, both of whom pursued general surgery practices in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Drafted into Army service in 1970, Wally spent three years at Washington's Walter Reed Army Institute of Medicine, where, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he devised innovative treatments for the bleeding peptic ulcers of veterans of the Vietnam War. (While at Walter Reed, he reported at the time of our 50th reunion, Wally received a medal ["a small one"] for being "the oldest living reservist on active duty in the medical corps.") In 1973, he became a professor of surgery at the University of Virginia Medical School ("professionally, the most satisfying time of my life"), his research centering on gastric physiology, his practice that of general intestinal surgery. By the time he left Virginia in 1984, he had become known as one of the leading American surgical scientists and a world authority on peptic ulcers and other inflammatory conditions of the stomach. He spent the next ten years as professor of surgery and chair of the Temple University Medical School's department of surgery ("the most challenging and difficult assignment of my career"). While publishing widely, he led his Temple department's further growth, presided over the development of Philadelphia's first cardiac transplant program (while participating in some of the earliest successful transplant surgeries in the United States), and integrated surgical research into the school's residency program. Known for his quick wit and instructional skills, he was a beloved teacher of medical students and residents, who, along with his colleagues, recognized him in 2014 with his portrait, which now hangs in the Temple School of Medicine. His former students have also assisted in establishing a lectureship at Temple University Medical School in his name. Wally retired from teaching in 1994 to become Executive Director of the American Board of Surgery, from which he retired in 2002. He also served as president of the Association for Academic Surgery and the Philadelphia Academy of Surgery. Retirement not befitting him, he served as a docent for the Architectural Society of Philadelphia and led architectural tours throughout Philadelphia. Those who knew Wally in the 1950s knew him as a peppery, high-energy collegian--someone, writes his college roommate Nick Tingley, who was "cheerful, outgoing, and always interesting." Preceded in death by his wife, Barbara, Wally is survived by their children, Stephanie, David, and Jessica McCarthy, as well as four grandchildren and his brother Daniel.

—JMB

David A. Christenson (March 7, 2022)

Classmates:

From Mike Sweedler comes word that David A. Christenson died on March 7, 2022, in or near Ashland, Oregon. The cause of his death is unstated. A native of Chicago, schooled at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York, and a precollegiate graduate of Phillips Andover Academy, at Yale Dave was an industrial administration major and active, as he had been at Andover, in a number of intramural sports. Upon graduating, he joined the Standard Oil Company of Ohio. While it's not known what positions he held with SOHIO, we do know that he returned at some point to New York State, apparently to Westchester County, entered the graphic arts and photography business, and until retirement practiced catalog and direct marketing, by 1992 with his own firm Commercial Graphics, his clients including, as he reported in our 25th reunion book, Sears and J.C. Penney. Dave became an avid golfer and active member of the Westchester Country Club, where he won many team match play championships and, in 1996, the club’s Senior Men’s Championship. In 2003, he moved with his second wife Judy, to Greensboro, North Carolina, where they lived on the fairway at Sedgefield Country Club. Mike Sweedler, a close friend, writes that Dave "had a wonderful sense of humor, was devoted to his family, and was kind and always considerate." He is survived by his wife and two daughters, Jennifer Stout ('03) and Karin as well as their families.

—JMB

O. Palmer Bannerot (March 6, 2022)

Classmates:

I write to report, based on information from Yale's alumni records office, which itself just recently learned of it by virtue of returned mail, that our classmate O. Palmer Bannerot has died. What additionally can be discovered, this from a two-line statement of his death on a funeral home website, is that he died, no cause stated, on March 6, 2022, at his home in Islamorada, Florida, as the husband of Elizabeth and as a father. Those few words are accompanied by lines from an anonymous poem. At Yale a chemical engineering major, member of St. Anthony Hall, chairman of the Junior Prom committee, and known for his skills as a varsity soccer and baseball player through junior year, after graduation he left only traces with us. From our reunion books, it can be learned that Palmer was working in Houston as a chemical engineer for Pennzoil at the time of our 10th reunion. There are subsequent Web listings indicating that he was practicing as a civil engineer and living in Valencia, Pennsylvania, at least until 1987. Not listed in our 40th and 45th reunion books, he was reported to be residing in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2007, the last known address with the class. No more public information is known about Palmer, who, as an undergraduate, was a lively, sunny, engaged presence. In addition to his widow Elizabeth, we can learn from our 50th reunion book that in 2007 their children were listed as Scott P., Leslie Ann, Lynn T., and Steven L. Bannerot.

—JMB

Luke W. Finlay, Jr. (February 14, 2022)

Classmates:

I convey sad tidings that Luke W. Finlay, Jr., died on February 14, 2022, in Skillman, New Jersey, of unstated causes. A precollegiate graduate of Landon School where, despite a childhood infection that for some some years handicapped one of his legs, he played on its championship tennis team with, it's said, "a crafty left-handed serve," Luke spent a year at the University of Paris before entering Yale. An American studies major, he was still playing tennis in college, for which he received the 1954 Intramural Tennis Medal. Moving to Long Island with his wife Susan in 1958 after graduation, he worked for a short time in Exxon's employ, then purchased a sports car dealership in Syracuse, New York, in 1959. Apparently taken by the cars he offered for sale, he spent a brief period as a professional race car driver, speeding MGs around the track at Watkins Glen and Lime Rock. Five years later, he joined the Rochester-based Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company, first at company headquarters, then to head up its Washington, D.C. office. In our 25th reunion book (1982), he listed himself as a publisher's representative. By 1992 he'd joined and retired from The Michie Company, a publisher of official documents for roughly half the states. By then, he'd moved to Annapolis, Maryland, where he and his family long remained while also owning a waterside retreat, whose off-shore anchoring spot was considered one of the best on the Little Choptank River on the Chesapeake's Eastern Shore. In 2012, he was living in New Jersey near Princeton. There was always something mischievous about Luke, a devilish cheeriness that captivated those who knew him. Tom Chittenden, a roommate, describes him as being "a handsome, vibrant guy who was often the life of the party." Luke, predeceased by a grandson, is survived by his wife, their sons Luke III and Matthew, their daughters Lisa and Laura Hanson, and 11 grandchildren. Donation's in his memory should go to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 6 Herndon Ave, Annapolis, MD 21403

—JMB

David B. Lawrence (February 9, 2022)

Classmates:

We have recent news from his widow Joan that we lost David B. Lawrence roughly a year ago on February 9, 2022. He died of unstated causes presumably in or near Georgetown, Texas, where, with Joan, whom he met in Amarillo High School and married in 1957, he moved after retiring. Majoring in mechanical engineering, in college Dave was the chief engineer and technical director of WYBC. After graduation, he gained an MA from MIT's Sloan School of Industrial Management. Remaining in Massachusetts, in 1966 he became a securities analyst and investment counselor with the Colonial Management Group, a mutual fund company in Boston, then spent the rest of his work life with the Millipore Corporation, now an international biosciences corporation within the Merck Group. Working there at the time of our 25th reunion, by 1986 he'd retired from the company as vice president and corporate treasurer. After retirement, he continued to work as a consultant. Dave was an avid sailor, especially on his family's 35-foot sloop, which he sailed on Buzzards Bay, the Maine Coast, and to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. After returning to Texas, he busied himself in local continuing education programs, sang in the San Gabriel Chorale (with an appearance on the Carnegie Hall stage), was active in his church and as a cook in the kitchen, and--this being something beyond most of us--provided mentoring in robot competitions. At the time of our 40th reunion, Dave expressed disappointment with our alma mater. Save for co-education, which he approved, he wrote that he rejected Yale's "elitism," found most changes since the 1950s "trendy or self-serving for the faculty," and would think twice about applying to Yale were he faced with the decision in 1997. Yet by our 45th reunion, while not retracting his earlier words, he wrote warmly of the kindnesses of his classmates. At our 50th, however, he returned to expressing critical views. Reflecting on his two post-college years at MIT where he became acquainted with "bodies of developing knowledge never mentioned in my presence at Yale," he remained "astonished" that his undergraduate education had "such little success in making us knowledgeable about the world we were about to join." In addition to his wife, Dave is survived by their daughter, Suzanne Cain, and sons Edward and William and their families, grandchildren, two brothers, and many others. Donations in his memory should go to the the W. Byron Lawrence Scholarship Fund at West Texas A&M University, Canyon, Texas, 79016. A celebration of Dave's life was held on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, at Crestview Baptist Church in Georgetown, Texas.

—JMB

Theodore C. Palen (February 2, 2022)

Classmates:

Our classmate Theodore C. Palen died in St. Petersburg, Florida, on February 2, 2022. He succumbed to unstated causes in the presence of family members. A precollegiate graduate of Greenwich (Connecticut) High School, at Yale Ted majored in mechanical engineering and, an NROTC participant, served as a Navy officer for three years after college. Subsequently, with a Columbia MBA in hand, he moved to Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, and took up manufacturing management work with Proctor & Gamble which he pursued until his retirement in 1991. Following retirement, Ted ventured into part-time dealing in antiques, some of which he refurnished, and maintained his active involvement in his community west of Scranton as a Boy Scout troop leader and in the community's Methodist church in whose choir he sang for 50 years. A lanky, quiet-spoken outdoorsman, he enjoyed hunting and, apparently drawn to towns carrying long native American names starting with the letter T, spent winters in Thonotosassa (near Tampa), Florida. Ted was predeceased in 2021 by his wife Fay of 63 years, with whom he grew up in Greenwich and who attended college in New Haven. Karl Chester writes that this made Ted the envy of those who knew him because he could see his beloved most weekends. Ted is survived by their son Keith, daughter Deborah Havre, and their families. A celebration of his life will take place in Tunkhannock on May 14, 2022 at The Gathering Place.

—JMB

Nathan Mobley, Jr. (January 30, 2022)

Classmates:

Our classmate Nathan Mobley, Jr., died on January 30th, 2022, of unstated causes in Napa, California, to which he had moved after many years in Ketcham and Boise, Idaho. A history major, winner of the Air Force 1956 ROTC Distinguished Military Student Award, and member of the varsity football team in college, Bob (known also as "Mobs") was good enough to play guard for the practice team of the Green Bay Packers before gaining an MA from Teachers College, Columbia University. He taught history for some years--first at the Greenwich Country Day School, which he had attended in the Connecticut town of his birth before matriculating at Deerfield Academy, then at the Harvard School in Los Angeles, whose history department he headed. Bob then turned to what became the central focus of his career--leadership training. Starting out teaching others how to deliver effective speeches, by 1978 he had formed Mobley Leadership, a coaching firm designed to assist employees of government agencies and private businesses to develop strong values, visions, and goals. This work became, in his family's fitting words, Bob's "ministry," one pursued with the heartfelt passion of a preacher. Like someone trying to cure souls, he held people's attention by making them the center of his own and could inspire the most resistant students, clients, and friends to reach for the best in themselves. He did this through direct consulting as well as week-long programs in Ketcham at his Leadership Institute, whose instructors included Yale classmates. In 2021, he brought together his convictions about leadership, convictions nurtured for over 40 years, in a pocket manual available through mobleyleadership.com. Bob also conveyed the enthusiasm he devoted to leadership training to his family and his other interests. Not surprisingly, he drew examples for the guidance he offered from Winston Churchill, a kind of idolization that grew out of his life-long Anglophilia. That inclination also expressed itself through a collection of hand-painted lead soldiers as well as his study of the values of the Nepalese and Indian Gurkha forces that long fought for Great Britain in its wars. Not surprisingly, he also loved marches (musical and on parade), conducting and, when available, good whiskey. His earnestness, easy laugh, optimism, and rollicking humor were never absent traits. Always with Bob, writes Steve Ackerman, "spirited conversations ensued." "He kept me laughing all through Yale," roommate Ken Sharp says. "He was always upbeat, never a depressing moment." Johnny Herrmann, another roommate who knew Bob from Deerfield days, catches the man in all his largeness: "an irrepressible personality, hale fellow well met, sales god, story teller (usually exaggerated), long time sweetheart and friend....who always talked up in class (and exaggerated there, too). At Yale, he was the wake-up-the-room guy with marshal music to which he often goose-stepped—particularly when getting ready for football games. He was an inveterate schmoozer, a warm and interesting fellow with always a fab story to tell." Bob is survived by Melinda, his wife of fifty-one years, their two children Jennifer and Michael and their families as well as three children from his first marriage to the late Ellen (Dinny) Linen: Sally Leger, Nathan, III, and Mark and their families. He was predeceased by two sisters. A celebration of Bob's life will take place later this year. Donations in his name should go to The Gurkha Welfare Trust (https://www.gwt.org.uk) or The Guards Chapel (https://www.justgiving.com/guardschapel).

—JMB

John Crosby II (January 28, 2022)

Classmates:

We lost John Crosby II on January 28, 2022 to the complications of blood cancer. He died in his native city of Minneapolis. An intensive political science major, president of Beta Theta Pi, and a member of the Aurelian Society in college, after service in the U.S. Army John (or "Cros" as he was known to some) spent most of his life in educational settings after gaining an MA in History at Georgetown University. Starting out at Honolulu's Punahou School, he returned to his pre-collegiate alma mater, Minneapolis's Blake School, which he served for the next 20 year as teacher of history, coach, and development officer before joining the staff of St. John's University as Vice President for Institutional Development. It's reported that at St. John's he was involved in an effort to produce what may have been the first hand-written calligraphic Bible. At the time of our 25th reunion, he listed himself as a business development representative and, at our 50th, as having been involved in the investment business. His focus on the education of young people led him to become a founding board member of Eco Education and the Sea Education Association and to involve himself as consultant for the Fund for Teachers, which provides coaching resources for classroom instructors. In addition to these commitments, John was deeply involved in community activities. He was a founding member of City Ventures, a company focused on solving the decay of inner cities and served on the boards of the Minnesota Trust for Public Land, the 1000 Friends of Minnesota, the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, and Minneapolis Public Television and Radio. He was also a golfer, skier, sailor, and tennis player (with, it's said, a wicked serve), a traveler, and a lover of art and culture. Possessing a soft-spoken, gentle jolliness--"a smart, steady, kind man," Sam Chauncey calls him--John was held in respect and affectionate regard by all who knew him. Phil Levine writes that he "wore his sharp intelligence lightly. He was endlessly amiable and courteous and seemed to me in college in an admirable way more grownup than some of us. He's someone you'd always want on your side." John is survived by Laura, his wife of 65 years and a documentary photographer, their children John Jr., Laura Enebo, Slater W., and S. Brooks, and their families. A celebration of John's life will be held later this year. Gifts in his memory should be sent to the Minneapolis Parks Foundation.

—JMB

Rodney D. Farrow (January 23, 2022)

Classmates:

We have word that Rodney D. Farrow died peacefully in his sleep at home in Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, on January 23, 2022. The cause of his death is unstated. A pre-collegiate graduate of the Kent School, at Yale Rod majored in religion. Shortly after graduation, he and his wife Betty, whom he married in 1958, moved to Rochester, New York, the city of his birth, where he took up a career, as had his chemical engineer father, with Eastman Kodak. His responsibilities over roughly 30 years with the company were in marketing, finance, and venture management. Having come to know and love Martha's Vineyard as a child--"a mecca for our family" he described it at the time of our 40th reunion--he and his wife moved there in 1991 after his retirement, and he devoted the remainder of his life to the island. Because his mother had been a photographer with access to Kodak's early motion picture film, she had captured Vineyard life in the decades preceding the Second World War. Rod, devoted to his mother's achievements, saw to the digitization of her films and their donation to the Martha's Vineyard Museum. Said to have had a love of architecture (which he attributed to Vincent Scully and others in college), he and Betty designed and built three houses on the Vineyard. Apparently taken with islands, they also spent time on Amelia Island, Florida. Interested in music and autos as well as photography, Rod was known for his emphasis on planning ahead--apparently for everything--as well as for his many commitments to his Abel's Hill community of Chilmark in the Vineyard's southwestern reaches. One of his greatest pleasures was leading others on adventure-laden 12-mile hikes from Philbin Beach in Gay Head east along the shore to Chilmark Pond. Rod is survived by his wife, to whom he was married for 63 years, as well as by their three daughters, Lee Cook, Amy Thomas, and Kristin Culp, their husbands and children, and many others. A memorial service will take place in Abel Hill's Cemetery in August, 2022. Contributions in his memory should go to an organizations of the donor's choice.

—JMB

David S. Clarke, Jr. (January 21, 2022)

Classmates:

I convey sad news that David S. Clarke, Jr. died on January 21, 2022 of unstated causes, presumably in or near Evanston, Illinois. A native of New Haven and a pre-collegiate graduate of the Hopkins Grammar School, at Yale Dave was a ranking scholar magna cum laude whose intensive philosophy major prefigured his future career as a professional philosopher. For our 50th reunion book, he wrote that he'd become "hooked on philosophy while a Yale undergraduate and remained hooked for the rest of my life." With an ROTC Marine Corps commission, he served for three years in that arm of the military, then gained a philosophy PhD at Emory University before holding a post-doc at Yale. From 1966 until his retirement in 1997, he served on the philosophy faculty of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. There, he was Director of Graduate Studies and Chair of his department, twice a visiting scholar at Kyoto University, for two years an Invited Professor at Kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata, Japan, and after his formal retirement the occupant of a similar post at Renmin University in Beijing, China. Dave's scholarly interests were broad, his particular specialty being semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, the subject in which he published widely but not exclusively. Among his many books were Principles of Semiotics (1987), Philosophy's Second Revolution (1997), Panpsychism and the Religious Attitude (2002), Sign Levels (2004), and Essays on Pragmatic Naturalism (2016). A participant in as well as lover of music, Dave was a member of the SIU Orchestra's violin section for 20 years, and he pursued a wide range of hobbies including computers, tennis, kayaking, and hiking in the woods and parks near where he and his wife Sadako, whom he married in 1965, built a house in 1987. His Pierson roommate Roger Gambatese recalls Dave as "very studious, a nice guy, and one helluva squash player" as well as a lover of the blues, which he introduced to Roger via recordings of Bessie Smith and Leadbelly. Don Griffith, another roommate, writes that Dave was "good natured, pleasant, and dedicated to his studies." To Ted Vlamis, "Dave, the ultimate philosopher in every way, was a joy to have in our midst, yet he always had his eye on where he was heading." In addition to his wife, Dave is survived by their daughters Jessica H. Clarke and Katherine N. Kamholz, their children, and his brother Anthony.

—JMB

Terrell L. Carlisle (January 21, 2022)

Classmates:

Our fellow '57er Terrell L. Carlisle died on January 21, 2022 at his home in Sonoma, California, of the complications from a stroke. A native of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, at Yale Terry was an industrial administration major and varsity swimmer, after which he obtained an MA in an unstated subject from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Jack Hughes recalls his being prevented from being a candidate for the United States Olympic swimming team because of a high school case of polio, which, clearly, he sufficiently overcame to carry on the robust physical life he did. Holding many swimming records, Terry devoted himself to that sport professionally as a coach at pre-collegiate schools and universities, Among them were the Ft. Lauderdale High School, St. Andrews School in Boca Raton, Florida, the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, the University of Cincinnati (where he was head swimming coach), Florida State University, and the University of Tennessee (where he coached the women's swimming team). To his coaching credit were high school state championships in Florida, many-national level swimmers, some United States champions, and two Olympians. At our 45th reunion, Terry reported that, burned out, he'd retired from coaching in 1986. By 1992, he was living in San Rafael, California, and in 1997 in training to be a hypnotherapist. At the time of our 50th reunion, still living in Marin County, he had taken up Cajun and zydeco dancing and had recently swum on a relay team in the annual Labor Day Maui Channel Swim. Notable in his reunion book entries were Terry's statements about not having realized while it college what his studies and college friends might mean to him and his gradual understanding of how both had deeply enriched his life. A sunny man, he wrote at the time of our 25th reunion that while "the world is in conflict...I seem at peace....I'm looking more at what I do have than what I don't have." Ray Ellison characterizes him thus: "always cheerful and unflappable, and of course a real ladies man with blond hair, a dynamite smile, and handsome." "Extremely genial," Pay Wilde concurs. Terry is survived by Susan, his wife of 55 years, daughters Kimberly, Shelley, and Tylla, six grandchildren, and a sister. Donations in his name may be given to a charity of choice.

—JMB

Edwin H. McKee (January 19, 2022)

In Memoriam:

We have delayed word, but only from Yale's Alumni Records Office, which can provide no other information, of the death on January 19, 2022, of Edwin H. McKee. He presumably died in or near Palo Alto, California, his last known address with the class. Because no published obituary of him can be found, the cause of his death is also unknown. A pre-collegiate graduate of Tucson (Arizona) High School, Ted was a geology major, a Jonathan Edwards College resident, and an Army ROTC participant in college. It appears from his record in successive reunion books that the through-line of his career was geology. After securing a doctorate in that subject at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1962, he served in the U.S. Army in Germany for two years before joining the United States Geological Service in 1964. He seems to have remained until his retirement with that agency as a practicing geologist in its Menlo Park, California, office, his responsibilities and positions never stated, and to have resided on the Peninsula of California until his death. Along the way in reunion books, Ted listed himself as having married the former Margaret Algeo in 1966 and being the father of their two daughters, Marion C. and Barbara H. McKee, as well as grandfather to four grandchildren. Whether or not they survive him is unknown.

—JMB

Lars I. Kulleseid (January 17, 2022)

Classmates:

We first learned from Bob Pelletreau that Lars I. Kulleseid died peacefully, surrounded by his family, at home in Garrison, New York on January 17, 2022. The cause of his death was Alzheimer's disease. Born to Norwegian parents in Ohio, Lars spent the first ten years of his life in Norway and Sweden, the latter, a neutral country, becoming his home when in 1942 he, his brother, and his mother had to flee the Nazis on forged papers. They went “over the mountains,” writes Bob, Lars's law school roommate, once the United States entered World War II. The reason? The two boys, both American citizens, were possible targets in Nazi-occupied Norway. With his father having become stuck in the United States for the war’s duration, it was only in 1946 that the family was reunited in Sea Cliff, Long Island. After entering Yale and graduating as an electrical engineering major along with a varsity soccer letter, Lars returned to Norway on a Fulbright fellowship, then secured a law degree from Harvard. His legal specialty was patent law. Starting with the firm of Fish & Neave, with some time off to work with Robert M. Morgenthau, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, he became a partner, then managing partner, of that firm, now merged with Ropes & Gray. His major achievement was securing a resounding 1990 victory in Polaroid's suit against Kodak for the latter’s instant camera’s patent infringement; at the time, the penalty amounted to the largest payment for patent infringement in American history. Lars spent much of his non-work life outdoors and on sports fields in and around Garrison and his family's Adirondack cabin on Canada Lake. He explored forests and streams and, still a formidable contestant, played pond hockey and tennis, skied, and often, Mike O’Hearn relates, joined Central Park pick-up soccer scrimmages after the work days was over. He also involved himself in civic and conservation affairs, especially with the Hudson Highlands Land Trust. Those who knew Lars experienced him as a tall, jolly figure with a beaming smile and resounding laugh, a man whose bearing and easy humor masked the serious, skilled professional and committed family man he was. Mike sums Lars up in few words: he “loved life and was always enthusiastic.” He’s survived by Marit, his wife of 62 years, their children Erik ('85), Sara, and Nils, and their families. He was predeceased by his brother Hans.

—JMB

Gilbert S. Merritt, Jr. (January 17, 2022)

Classmates:

Bill Schaffner was the first to notify us that Gilbert S. Merritt, Jr., died of metastatic prostate cancer in Nashville, Tennessee, his birthplace, on January 17, 2022. Though having taken a junior year undergraduate course on American constitutional history, a course which he (like another 57er in the same classroom) considered the worse course he took at Yale, Gil overcame this introduction to his planned path to a legal career to become by 2021 the longest-serving member of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. At the time of his death, he was described as "a towering figure in [Nashville's] legal community" and was saluted by his friend, former Vice President Al Gore, as "a deeply intelligent and deliberative legal thinker" and "an ardent defender of the liberties that form the foundations of our Constitution." On graduating from Yale, Gil was headed for Harvard Law School; but his father's death required his return home, where he earned an LLB from Vanderbilt Law School (where he was managing editor of its law review). He made it finally to Harvard Law School for an LLM in 1962. Between 1963 and 1977, when he joined the federal appeals bench, he toggled back and forth between private practice and public service. The latter included time as Nashville's associate metropolitan attorney between 1963 and 1966, as U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee from 1966 to 1969 after nomination to that post by President Lyndon B. Johnson, and in 1977 as executive secretary of the Tennessee Code Commission. As U.S. Attorney, Gil appointed the first woman, Martha Craig Daughtrey, and the first African American, Carlton Petway, to serve as Assistant U.S. Attorneys for that jurisdiction. (Daughtrey, was always claimed that although she graduated at the top of her law school class Gil was the only person in Nashville who would hire her, eventually became the first woman on the Tennessee Supreme Court before joining Gil on the 6th Circuit bench.) Along the way, Gil served as associate professor and lecturer on Vanderbilt's law faculty. In 1977, upon President Jimmy Carter nomination to the federal bench and confirmation by the U.S. Senate, he commenced a 44-year tenure as a federal judge, at one time being considered by President Bill Clinton for a seat on the Supreme Court, a seat that eventually went to Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He took senior status in 2001. Considered a moderate liberal jurist, he opposed the death penalty as a "Middle Ages practice" used disproportionately against African Americans but didn't shy away from taking legal positions for which he was criticized by other liberals. One of those was his successful effort to have his Circuit Court investigate whether the U.S. Office of Special Investigations had withheld evidence concerning the notorious Nazi extermination camp guard John Demjanjuk. Gil caught much heat when a 6th Circuit Court panel ruled against the OSI for withholding information, even though its decision came too late to effect Demjanjuk's acquittal in Israeli courts and eventual deportation from the United States. After assuming senior court status, he remained active in legal affairs, such as helping to reconstitute Iraq's legal system after the fall of Saddam Hussein. A man of sunny disposition, Gil was known for his legal scholarship and integrity and held in high esteem by colleagues and law clerks, many of whom he devotedly mentored. An accomplished pilot, he savored poetry, quotations from which constituted most of his words in '57's 50th reunion book. Yet his convivial bonhomie, always expressed in the distinctive soft sound of a Middle Tennessee voice, couldn't completely hide the competitive tennis player and golfer that he was. Gil's roommate Steve Weitz recalls him as a man with "a dry sense of humor, a liberal Dem in an increasingly Republican state, who was totally insistent that the judiciary be nonpartisan and be considered so by citizens." Paul Wentworth, who visited Gil at his Nashville home (aptly named "The Hermitage" in honor of Andrew Jackson of Tennessee) writes that "an expert pool shooter," Gil was a serious college student who outdid all of his Davenport entry mates academically. Sam Chauncey remembers him as a "quiet man" who gave the impression that "everything he said was well thought out." Moreover, writes Sam, Gil was "a kind, friendly man, who could laugh at himself and was always a gentleman." A biography of Gil by journalist Keel Hunt is slated for publication in 2022. Gil is survived by his three children, Stroud, Louise, and Eli ('89); long-time partner Martha Rivers Ingram; daughter-in-law Rosana Castrillo Díaz; and three grandchildren. He was predeceased by his first wife Louise Clark Fort. Donations in his memory may go to the Tennessee Innocence Project or Alive Hospice in Nashville.

—JMB

Stephen V. Flagg (January 8, 2022)

Classmates:

Our classmate Stephen V. Flagg succumbed to a long set of illnesses on January 8, 2022, in North Branford, Connecticut. A pre-collegiate graduate of Deerfield Academy, at Yale he captained the Lightweight Crew, was a member of the Ring and Candle Society, majored in industrial administration, and seemed headed for a career in that field. Instead, he became a doctor after studying at Columbia P&S and interning at Roosevelt Hospital. Taking his residency in plastic surgery, he pursued that specialty and hand surgery for the rest of his career, first at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne, then back at Roosevelt Hospital. He joined the Yale Medical School faculty in 1971 and then, from 1973 until his 2006 retirement, served as clinical assistant professor and between 1993 and 2000 as associate section chief of plastic surgery. All the while, he maintained a private practice in New Haven, where he was described as an old-fashioned practitioner who spent time with his patients and, not surprising to any who knew him, was devoted to their care. A founding member of the New England Society of Hand Surgery, of which he was later president, he also served as president of the Connecticut Society of Plastic Surgeons and, shortly before retiring, of the New England Society Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. As he wrote in our 50th reunion book, the irony of his chosen career was that "while most people like to leave their mark, a good plastic surgeon is judged by leaving no trace." In recognition of the professional esteem in which he was held, in 2010, a year after he retired, the New England Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons awarded Steve the Robert M. Goldwyn, M.D. Lifetime Achievement Award. Outside of his professional work, Steve continued to row and added sailing to his portfolio--making good on his intention, as he observed for our 50th reunion, "to be sewing and rowing" as long as he could. A member of the New Haven Rowing Club, of which he was president between 1999 and 2000, he helped build its boathouse on the Housatonic in Oxford, Connecticut, and competed in rowing competitions around the world, a number of medals testifying to his abilities. Spending summers at Point O'Woods, Fire Island, he also raced a Thistle and served as commodore of the town's Yacht Squadron. "Much loved and admired" as Rob Walker observes, Steve was, as Gene Doggett adds, "always upbeat, optimistic, cheerful, supportive and understanding no matter what the circumstances might be." Toby Briggs points to his special gifts as a physician: "His concern and compassion were always present, but to a patient they were unforgettable." It appears, too, that Steve was a skilled matchmaker: credible reports have it that he introduced Reed and Jane Rubin to each other and provided the setting for the proposal of Toby to his future wife Kate. As Paul Eisele writes, Steve carried on "bravely for many years, was to the very end mentally sharp and still had a twinkle in his eyes." Steve is survived by Edith, his wife of 35 years, his children Danielle, Alex, and Michael, his step-children Jonathan Hanf, their families, and his former wife Cynthia. He was predeceased by his twin brother Tom (Princeton '57). Contributions in his memory may go to the New Haven Rowing Club, the Church at Point O'Woods, or the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation. A memorial service will take place in the future.

—JMB

John L. Robinson (January 7, 2022)

Classmates:

We have learned of the death by unstated causes on January 7, 2022, of John L. Robinson, presumably in or near his last reported address in Worthington, Ohio. At Yale a ranking scholar and magna cum laude graduate in English as well as a member of the varsity golf team, John pursued his intended profession of medicine after gaining his medical degree from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. He then served for forty years as a cardiologist at the Ohio State University School of Medicine, from which he retired as Associate Professor while continuing to teach voluntarily. He was clearly a skilled instructor, for among his many recognitions was the honor, the inaugural one, bestowed on him in 1993 as recipient of his medical school's Department of Surgery's eponymous John L. Robinson Teaching Award. Later, he was further honored with the medical school's 2001 Department of Internal Medicine Metz Award for distinguished patient care and, in 2015, the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award for teaching electrocardiogram interpretation to medical students and house staff members. Not limiting himself to institutional medicine, he was also a founding member of the volunteer medical advisors of the Worthington Emergency Squad. Off duty, John was a private pilot and a student of history, especially aviation history. He's described as having been "a kind, gentle, honorable person with a remarkable sense of humor." John is survived by Carol, his wife of 58 years, their children Paul Robinson and Anne Albers, and their families. He was predeceased by his brother Thomas E. Robinson ('57). Donations in John's memory may go to the Creighton Prep AMDG Fund, 7400 Western Avenue, Omaha, Nebraska; the OSU Cardiovascular Medicine Teaching and Research Fund #302680. OSU Foundation, 14 East 15th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43201; or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 100 W. Old Wilson Bridge Road (#118), Worthington, Ohio 43085.

—JMB

W. Anthony Hogan, Jr. (January 3, 2022)

Classmates:

Our fellow ‘57er W. Anthony Hogan, Jr., died on January 3, 2022, from the complications of Covid-19, presumably in or near his home in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. A native of Greenwich, Connecticut, Tony spent most of his life in that town and the Nutmeg State: pre-collegiate schooling at Greenwich Country Day School and Canterbury School in New Milford, then Yale College, almost Yale Law School, then moves to various parts of Connecticut to be near his grandchildren. When, shortly after graduating from Yale, his father died suddenly, the need to wind up his parents' raw sugar brokerage business in Manhattan put an end to Tony's plans for legal training. Finding his assumed line of work satisfying, he began to maintain Hogan and Company's old commercial relationships, then gradually established new ones for the firm throughout the world, remained a sugar broker for over 60 years, and along the way served on corporate boards and helped settle legal and administrative disputes in Washington and elsewhere. When the sugar market began to dry up, he turned to developing an ethanol business. Outside his commercial pursuits, Tony could be found on the water. A youthful swimmer, he became a sailor in his teens and, having failed to learn and then to practice his earlier intended specialty of admiralty law, made up for that disappointment by happily finding himself in demand as a crew member in off-shore races to Bermuda and transatlantic contests to Denmark and Spain. He and his wife of 61 years, Sandra, were collectors of art and traveled widely. As those who knew Tony as an undergraduate knew, he was always a quiet, dignified, modest man who rarely spoke of himself, traits that made him an effective and respected mentor of others, which he considered his proudest achievement. Moreover, reports Alan Lovins, whose daughter Rachel married Andrew Hogan, one of Tony’s sons, Tony’s word was solid coinage in a market where trust could be at a discount. Alan characterizes Tony as providing “an example of a multi-dimentional life well-lived.” In addition to his wife, Tony is survived by their sons William and Andrew, daughters Marie Hayes and Catherine Forrest, and their families, including eight grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and others.

—JMB

Paul H. Bartlett (December 21, 2021)

Classmates:

We've learned that Paul H. Bartlett died on December 21, 2021, of natural causes. A pre-collegiate graduate of St. Paul's School, Paul entered Yale with the Class of 1956, withdrew for a year, then joined '57. A history major, resident of Calhoun College, and member of the Haunt Club and Deke, his stated profession upon graduating was architecture. To that end, he attended the Yale School of Architecture and earned an MBA from the University of California Berkeley. He then remained in the Bay Area for 15 years to practice architecture, for some time with Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and to engage in management consulting before moving to Fairfield, Connecticut for the remainder of his life. From there, he served as an executive at two Connecticut architecture firms, ran a consulting business, and joined the Yale School of Medicine as a project manager and architect. To his professional work he added service as an elected representative of the Fairfield Representative Town Meeting, was a member of the Connecticut Architectural Licensing Board and the Fairfield Historic District Commission, and played a major role in the development of the Fairfield Museum and History Center. It's reported that Paul loved travel and good food and that he was an avid sailor, skier, tennis player, and "voracious reader" known for his intelligence, wit, and relentless striving for the good. Paul is survived by Barbara, his wife of fifty years, their son John W. Bartlett, his daughter from a previous marriage Paulette B. Robinson, and their families.

—JMB

Arthur A. Diefendorf (November 26, 2021)

Classmates:

Arthur A Diefendorf died on November 26, 2021, under hospice care in New Hartford, New York, with his family by his side. The cause of his death was a combination of degenerative disease and COVID-19. A son of upper New York State, where, in Cazenovia, he spent most of his life, Art was a philosophy major in college and, a veteran of Yale's Corinthian Yacht Club, afterwards attended Naval Officers Candidate School and served on a radar picket ship in the Pacific. Intending to teach college-level philosophy, he instead entered his family's industrial and specialized gear manufacturing company, the Diefendorf Gear Corporation, in his native Syracuse. After becoming its president, he had to steer the company as Chinese state-subsidized gear production reduced its market and forced its sale--but not before he'd protected as best he could his employees' interests and welfare. An officer over the years of his local Episcopal church and the Citizens' Foundation of Syracuse, as well as a trustee of his pre-collegiate alma mater, the South Kent School, the ever-jovial Art, always at home on the water, was known outside the manufacturing world for his expertise in Finn sailing, an Olympic sport. Noted locally for his red-hulled Newport Finn 260, a single-handed craft, he was president of the USA Finn Association between 1976 and 1982 when eight of the world's top ten Finn sailors were USA Finn members. Subsequently, he was a founder of the Finn Foundation. Though serious about the sport, it was said that he brought to it the qualities of a happy philosopher and tried to draw life lessons from the vagaries of wind and wave. Characteristically, his seriousness of purpose never dimmed his humor. After helping to initiate an annual Finn boat regatta on Lake Cazenovia, he and a friend retrieved an old cast-iron toilet from a razed railroad station to serve as the regatta's trophy. It was the kind of thing, he said, that the winner never wanted to take home. It turns out, however, that the victory cup of what's now widely known as the Toilet Bowl Regatta hasn't kept sailors from many countries, some of them champions, from racing in it each year. Rod Correll, emphasizing Art's empathy for others as well as his skilled salesmanship, describes him as the person most people encountered when in his company:"a gentle man, someone who faced a variety of adversities with dignity, determination, faith, and an irrepressible sense of humor." His college roommate Jack Turben writes that "he was one of the most thoughtful, kind, and stable people I have ever known." Art is survived by Georgia (Dodie), his wife of 49 years and their children Elizabeth and Donald.

—JMB

Philander C. Derby (November 21, 2021)

Classmates:

We've learned from his son David ('88) that Philander C. Derby died last November 21, 2021 of unstated causes at his home in Honolulu, Hawaii, the city of his birth. Phil (or Phi, as he was also known) entered Yale from the Punahou School and St. Paul's. In college, where he played in the marching band and was a member of the Dramat, he was one of the first undergraduates to major in Japanese. Upon graduating, he spent two years in the U.S. Army, most of that time in Japan, then returned home, where he spent the rest of his life pursuing what he stated in 1957 he intended to pursue: teaching. He started off as an instructor of Japanese and Asian history at the Iolani School, having been recruited there by Yale's former assistant chaplain Burton MacLean, by that time the school's headmaster, then later taught and administered programs in the Kamehameha Schools, Chaminade University, and Kansai Gaidai University. Upon retiring, which he'd done by 1997, he served as a docent at Hanauma Bay State Park while also helping preserve its natural wonders. A man of puckish humor, he wrote at the time of our 25th reunion that, having abandoned the search for truth, he was "now looking for a really good fantasy." In addition to his lifelong love of Japanese culture, Phil remained involved in music. He sang in the Punahou Glee Club and other ensembles but more distinctively performed native Hawaiian music, especially kanikapila, a variety of Hawaiian music played in lively informal jam sessions using local string instruments like the ukelele. He was skilled enough in the genre, no doubt from days playing with the Hootnanny, that Don Ho, the noted Hawaiian entertainer, once brought him on stage to salute him as "a haole who knows more verses to Hawaiian songs than most people." Phil also remained an actor and was a lover of pugs, a cartoonist, a painter of landscapes, a soccer player, coach, and referee in his state, and (no doubt only because Hawaii lacks its own NFL football team) a fan of the Oakland Raiders. Phil is survived by his wife George-Anne, whom he knew from his earliest student days at the Iolani School, their daughter Elizabeth and son David P., their families, and others. A celebration of Phil's life is planned for the summer of 2022. Donations in his memory should go to a charity or organization of choice.

—JMB

Charles Townsend Ludington, Jr. (November 4, 2021)

Classmates:

Our classmate Charles Townsend Ludington, Jr., died of renal failure under hospice care on November 4, 2021, in Pittsboro, North Carolina. A pre-collegiate graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, at Yale Towny was an English major, a member of the Aurelian Society, Berzelius, and the Alley Cats, and part of the varsity soccer team. After serving upon graduating as a commissioned officer in the Marine Corps at California's El Toro Air Base, he turned to being the teacher, a favorite of his undergraduate and graduate students alike, that he remained the rest of his life. After teaching for two years at his pre-Exeter alma mater, Miami's Ransom School, he attained his PhD in English at Duke University. Joining the English Department of the nearby University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, this son of Philadelphia and Old Lyme, Connecticut, turned into a life-long Tarheel, eventually becoming the Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor of English and American Studies before retiring in 2004. While Towny stood out as a peak among other mere human foothills because of his six-foot-six height, he was also a leading campus figure by virtue of his contributions to the university, especially in the area of interdisciplinary studies. He nurtured a young American Studies Program to its fulfillment as the American Studies Department. Similarly, he helped transfer an early Black Studies Program into the Department of African, African-American, and Diaspora Studies and was in at the creation of the university's American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program. He also chaired the Curriculum in Peace, War, and Defense and the University Athletics Committee and was a long-time member of the board of governors of the University of North Carolina Press. Along the way, Towny taught as Fulbright visiting scholar in Lyon France, held visiting lectureships in Ulster, Northern Ireland, and at the University of Tübingen, Germany, and served as visiting professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point. From 1980 to 1982, he was the Resident Scholar in American Studies at the U.S. International Communication Agency in Washington, D.C., his responsibility being the administration of federal foreign cultural and exchange activities. He also held a fellowship from the National Humanities Center. A scholar of American literature, art, and culture, his major books were John Dos Passos: A Twentieth Century Odyssey (1980), Marsden Hartley: The Biography of an American Artist (1992), and Seeking the Spiritual: The Paintings of Marsden Hartley (1998). A life-long participant in various sports, Towny's height alone recommended him first for Exeter's basketball team even though he'd never seriously played the game and then for the Yale soccer team however similarly inexperienced he previously had been in the refinements of that sport. After playing tennis for years, his serve seeming to power in from on high--"his left-handed serve," writes John Crosby, "coming at me at the speed of sound"--he turned to golf and could be found at every reunion recruiting people to join him for at least nine holes. Mike O'Hearn affectionately relates the tale, which he mischievously believes illustrates the value of size and strength over skill, of winning a doubles tennis match with Towny as his partner against the recent winners of the New England doubles tournament, one of whose members was classmate and ranked tennis player John Somerville. "How or why we won," writes Mike, "we could never figure out." Towny was also a lifelong fan of his native city's Phillies. After retiring, he followed them annually to their spring training camp in Clearwater. He's reported to have maintained that being a Phillies fan taught him that, as in life, you lose more games than you win. During summers in Old Lyme, he sailed the waters of Long Island Sound and helmed a motorboat through Connecticut River currents. From early years, as all who knew him learned, Towny compensated for his towering height by approaching others with an always-present, disarmingly gentle, wry smile and calm demeanor and with an easy tolerance as if he found everything in life, even the most serious matters, sightly ridiculous. Lou DeLuca believes that, facing Exeter's academic rigor, Towny found relief, as did Lou, in playing sports. "I also think," writes Lou, "that personal experience made him a very patient and understanding teacher who truly enjoyed helping others learn." Will Reimann, a close friend, sums up Towny's central characteristics as these: "mild-mannered, intelligent, observant, and inquiring, possessed of both grace and dignity, as well as a puckish sense of humor." Towny is survived by Jane, his wife of 63 years, their children David, Chad ('87), Jamie, and Sarah, their families including seven grandchildren, and a sister. Donations in his memory should go to the Carolina Firsts Fund (#102420), for first generation college students at UNC, or to the Townsend Ludington Distinguished Professorship in American Studies (#101479), a chaired professorship founded by former students, via giving.unc.edu/gift or by check to "UNC-Chapel Hill" (with the professorship noted in the memo line), UNC Arts & Sciences Foundation, 523 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.

—JMB

Ralph W. Douglas (October 25, 2021)

Classmates:

I convey delayed news that Ralph W. Douglas died of unstated causes on October 25, 2021, in New York City. An economics major, Air Force ROTC participant, and member of the varsity swimming team at college, after graduating Doug (as he was known) served in the Air National Guard. His Wall Street career eventuated in his becoming a partner and chairman of the investment firm of MacKay Shields before he founded his own company, White Oak Capital Management. In addition to a Manhattan apartment, Doug and his wife Julia long maintained a house in Bridgehampton, Long Island, where he indulged his love of gardening, surf casting, duck hunting, golf, tennis, and paddle tennis as well driving a self-restored 1935 British racing green Model A Ford convertible. He and Julia also possessed a winter retreat in Vero Beach, Florida. Doug's roommate Tom Bitting attributes Doug's surviving a liver transplant at age 62 to his having remained "as trim as he was at Yale" and approaching his operation as something "pretty matter of fact." He survived fully, continued to travel widely and on the road didn't let up on his skiing, scuba diving, and bonefishing. As if this was not enough, he became an expert on all things Winston Churchill and took up oil painting and watercoloring. Don Roberts writes that Doug was the kind of friend he'd call upon for if he were in need because Doug would ask "How can I help?" rather than "What happened?" His "consistent upbeat, playful manner masked a dependable, reliable streak." College roommate Charlie Cushman characterizes Doug as "witty with a devilish streak, conscientious, at ease around people" and a man of "strong convictions, one of which was his political conservatism that only grew more fixed as he grew older....He was very comfortable in his own skin, an essential for being happy." Charlie also notes that Doug's claim to collegiate fame was his 1955 invention and co-construction of the "quadrabed." This unique furniture piece was reported in the columns of the Yale Daily News to be a space-saving, small-room-filling contraption that could contain four sleeping students on different mattress levels. For some reason, the quadrabed appears never to have made it to commercial production. Doug is survived by his wife, whom he married in 1964, their daughters Olivia and Ashley, their families, and others.

—JMB

Robert B. Smith II (October 23, 2021)

Classmates:

Our fellow '57er Robert B. Smith II died on October 23, 2021, in Savannah, Georgia, his three sons by his side. The cause of his death is unstated. A native of St. Louis and a precollegiate graduate of the Hotchkiss School and in college an American studies major, Bob (known to us then as Smitty) made his mark in New Haven as president of Yale Aviation and owner of his own plane, which prefigured a career in the air. Immediately after graduation, he found himself with two other classmates, one of them the late Peter Hobart (a fellow Hotchkiss classmate), in hot mid-summer U.S. Army basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. There, he was a lively, irreverent presence in a racially mixed company of young men getting toughened up by a German-American drill sergeant and African American corporal, both veterans of the earlier Korean War, whom Bob and the others would have followed into battle sooner than their company commander. His mischievous sense of humor kept company members from despair as they learned to make their way through the comic bureaucratic irrationality of military life. Bob's peacetime service seems to have demanded his small-plane piloting skills stateside although it's unlikely to have achieved little in the way of national defense and security. After mustering out, he spent his career aloft--first with Republic Airlines, then with United Airlines as a B-737 pilot. Many of us may have sat behind him, his identity unknown to us, as he took us through the friendly skies. For him, a major dividend of his employment was meeting Kathleen, his wife-to-be, while she was serving as flight attendant during one airborne voyage. Bob, also a sailor, settled with Kathleen in Annapolis, Maryland, where he seems to have amassed a record of losing boats to Neptune's fury, failing to bring to market a kind of unicycle known for its dangers, and writing a mystery said by his family to have been "widely viewed in literary circles as the most unintentionally funny book ever written." Once retired from aviation, Bob settled in Fernandina Beach (Amelia Island), Florida, where he took up golf, apparently with about as much success as his unicycle venture. In 2010, he and Kathleen moved to Savannah, where family members lived. From there, he continued his life-long practice of spending summer weeks to Harbor Springs, Michigan. Among Bob's many qualities, his loyalty to friends and his gifts to charity were among the strongest. But his standout trait was incontestably his fun-loving manner. His Hotchkiss classmate and Yale roommate Buz Brenton relates a typical story of his insouciant adventurousness: "Bob talked me into panning for gold in Mexico one summer for which we got sick but no gold. We'd seen 'The Treasure of Sierra Madre' too many times." His other roommate, Dave Dickson, who went airborne island-hopping along the East Coast with him in college, reports that Bob "was always ready for a card game (Pitch, as I remember) or a drink (Chianti in those days), which he'd top off every evening with a trip to the Toddle House. A few years ago, having just started golf, I visited him in Florida. He took one look at my swing and sent me to the municipal course. His greatest asset was to always look at the bright side of things and give a little giggle." Predeceased by his wife, Bob is survived by their four children Robert III, Christopher, Jonathan, and Molly Wilson, as well as their spouses and eight grandchildren. A celebration of Bob’s life will be held at a later date in Savannah. Gifts in his memory should go to the Humane Society for Greater Savannah, 7215 Sallie Mood Drive, Savanna, Georgia 31406.

—JMB

Peter C. Hobart (October 6, 2021)

Classmates:

We lost our classmate Peter C Hobart in Lima, Peru, on October 6, 2021. He died of unstated causes after a long illness. A pre-collegiate graduate of the Hotchkiss School, at Yale Peter was an intensive major in the history of art. Immediately after graduating, he joined Bob Smith and another classmate for U.S. Army basic training at Fort Dix, where, like them, he drew cynical and irreverent pleasure from the vagaries of military discipline and organization. After military intelligence duty in the hardship post of Verona, Italy, he entered upon his long career with the family firm of Hobart Brothers, a designer and producer of welding and generating equipment for domestic and military markets. From then on, he and his family lived abroad. In 1963 from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Peter inaugurated the worldwide expansion of his company into a multinational corporation, which was acquired in 1998 by Illinois Tool Works. From there, already in love with Italy from his military service in that country, he moved to Rome, where he would long live and, with an older brother, direct the application of his business's patented welding systems to such things as the Sears Tower and the World Trade Center, submarines, oil and gas pipelines and the Space Shuttles; the production of ground power units for use in servicing airplanes; and the development of contributions to battery-charged vehicles and other aspects of automation and robotics. Noticeable when young for his natural height and bon vivant-ish, enthusiastic, cosmopolitanism, multi-lingual Peter traveled widely, never felt or acted the stranger wherever he was, was at ease with everyone from heads of state to working people, loved jazz, and, true to his collegiate concentration, devoted much attention to sculpture. He was Chairman of the International Sculpture Center, which publishes the magazine Sculpture. He devoted much time and energy to the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology, which, in addition to training welders, welcomed artists to create their works on premise. And, with his siblings, he donated and developed the 80-acre Hobart Urban Nature Preserve in their Troy, Ohio, birthplace, where some of the Institute-made sculptures found their home. As if this were not enough, he produced documentary films on modern and contemporary art. In our 40th reunion book, Peter expressed hope that the United States would continue to gain from the "humanistic and Mediterranean inspiration" that he had learned about at Yale and that he continued to absorb in what five years earlier he had termed "the most beautiful city in the world." He left that city in 2011 after having suffered a brain aneurysm in 2009 from which he partially recovered. After remarrying in 2011, he moved with his new wife, Adriana Vitali, to her residence in Lima, where, cared for by her and others, he gradually declined in health. Peter is survived by both Adriana and his former wife Anna, a retired clinical psychologist, as well as his and Anna's children Michelle and Peter and their own families. Donations in his memory should go to the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology for student scholarships.

—JMB

Garson F. Heller, Jr. (September 23, 2021)

Classmates:

I must relate the sad new that we lost Garson F. Heller, Jr., on September 23, 2021, presumably in or near Westport, Connecticut, his long-time place of residence. At the time of his death, he was suffering mounting health difficulties, ones made no easier for his having survived multiple heart-bypass surgery 40 years ago. A native of Manhattan, Gar grew up in Scarsdale, New York, graduated from Scarsdale High School, and was something of a daredevil as a youth, once at age 11 riding his bicycle the 25 miles from Scarsdale into New York City to surprise his grandmother. Holding a college B.S. in chemical engineering, Gar began his career at Mobil Oil, then joined the technology consulting firm Data Dimensions with responsibility for designing content automation and workflow systems for, among other firms, United Press International. Along the way he studied business administration at Baruch College of the City University of New York. In 1982, he joined Securities Industry Automation Corporation, of which he became a director, which supported trading and processing activities for the both the New York and American Stock Exchanges during a period in which trading volumes were trending sharply higher. He was also centrally involved in designing and procuring systems architecture for the firm's facilities in Brooklyn and served as senior director for computer acquisitions until his 2002 retirement. Gar was a kind of permanent elective civic office-holder, the kind on which a representative democracy depends for its health. First elected to Westport's Representative Town Meeting in 1969, he served for 14 years. In 1983, he was appointed to the town's Board of Assessment Appeals, to which he was elected and re-elected for the next 38 years; as he reported at our 35th reunion in 1992, he was the Board's chairman. As if that wasn't enough, he more recently served as a poll worker during elections. Not surprisingly, Westport's Republican Town Committee honored Gar in 2011 for his many years of outstanding service to his community. A sports enthusiast, Gar was a softball and tennis player, the latter into his '70s. As his roommate Henry Chisholm (tall Mutt to Gar's more low-slung Jeff), reports, Gar was already a competitive bridge player in college (possibly spending more time at the card table than studying). Building on his early skills, he became known along his regular commuter line into and out of Manhattan as a 20-plus-year member of the same group of bridge devotées who competed with each other on their daily rides. His prowess at the card table earned him designation as a Bronze Life Master Bridge Player. He was also a loyal Yale alumnus and class stalwart. A quiet. modest man, Gar walked through life with an apparently permanent gentle, wry smile on his face, wearing his achievements and qualities far under his shirt and rarely talking about himself. Yet few could miss his sharp mind and often sharp wit, his command of current affairs, and his high standards. George Bullwinkle, who became a close friend after college, describes him simply as "highly intelligent" as well as "kind and generous." Predeceased by a brother Andrew, Gar is survived by Velma, his wife of 64 years, their sons Grant and David and daughter Julie ('88), their families, a brother and sister, and many others. Donations in his memory should go to the American Heart Association.

—JMB

Franco M. Muggia (September 8, 2021)

In Memoriam:

Classmates, our classmate Franco M. Muggia died on September 8, 2021, just the way he said he wished the end would be: suddenly and on his way home from the work he loved, treating patients and being with colleagues. A native of Torino, in 1936 Franco's family fled from Mussolini to Quito, Ecuador. After attending the Colegio Americano there, he arrived in the United States in 1952, spent a year at the Wooster School in Danbury, then matriculated with us. He distinguished himself in college with a biophysics major, as a ranking scholar, and as winner of the Burge Prize in mathematics while graduating Phi Beta Kappa. No doubt influenced by his father, a prominent pediatrician and drug developer, he early on pointed himself toward a career in medicine. Accordingly, after college Franco gained an MD degree from Weill Cornell Medical College (now Weill Cornell Medicine), which in turn he followed with an internship at Bellevue Hospital, a residency at Hartford Hospital, and finally a hematology-oncology fellowship at Columbia University. After serving briefly on the faculty of the Einstein College of Medicine, he worked in the Medicine Branch of the National Cancer Institute where he served in the oncology laboratory of legends Vincent DeVita, Jr., and George P. Cannellos in a unit headed by famed clinician and investigator Paul P. Carbone. He then, in 1979, joined the NYU School of Medicine in 1979 as professor of medicine and director of the Division of Medical Oncology. Moving again, in 1986 he betook himself to the University of Southern California-Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he continued his research and therapeutic practice in oncology, especially in ovarian cancer. In 1996, NYU Medical Center lured him back to direct what was then the Kaplan Cancer Center. A year later he accepted the post of director of the Division of Medical Oncology at NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, where he remained, as professor of medical oncology, until his 2009 "retirement." But he never could or did step aside from his practice--the practice of clinical care, research, and the preparation of aspiring physicians and scientists like him in which he was engaged at the very moment of his death. Franco, the author of countless papers emerging from his research, is credited with helping develop some of chemotherapy's most important drugs, especially platinum compounds. He also played a major role in having such drugs become standard applications in the clinical treatment of patients suffering from leukemia and lymphoma, as well as breast, lung, ovarian, testicular, and gastrointestinal cancers. As this record suggests, he was valued, abroad as well as in the US, as much for his administrative as for his intellectual skills. He helped form the Gynecologic Oncology Group, the New York Gynecologic Oncology Group, and the New York Phase 1 Trials Group. He also led the Chemotherapy Foundation and helped organize its annual symposium, which draws visitors from around the world. At his death, the Foundation. referring to the "humility" and "gentle manner" that characterized him for all who knew him, credited Franco with being "a tireless champion, architect, and originator of some of the most innovative treatments of cancers in use today. Franco was a giant in the field, whose contributions and work loomed large, influencing the world's leading physicians and patient treatment worldwide. He touched and saved countless lives, provoked thought and inspired researchers at universities, private and public institutions and shaped direction at leading pharmaceutical companies and the therapies they brought to market." It should be added that, as he made clear in more than one reunion book, he complained tirelessly about the intrusion of regulation and bureaucracy into medical research and practice. Optimism, light-spirited humor, and the soft accents of Italy and Ecuador in his speech were some of the many traits that characterized him. His medical school as well as college classmate Jack Hughes writes that "his dedication to the study of ovarian cancer and teaching and research at NYU along with his broad liberal arts interests were all parts of the richness he brought to others." Carl Becker, another medical school classmate, highlights "his intense curiosity and his capacity to absorb and assimilate the fruits of that curiosity and do something with them." And his roommate Bill Dreyer captures his always infections enthusiasm about his his alma mater, his family, and his adoptive country: "Apart from his family, there was another subject that was a source of pride to him: he never failed to mention was that he was one of the few Yalies who managed to get a ticket and attend a performance of My Fair Lady when it played at the Shubert Theater before opening on Broadway." Franco is survived by his wife of 62 years Anna, their daughters Paola Muggia-Stuff (executive director of the Chemotherapy Foundation), Victoria Muggia Roach, Diana Grubman, and Julia Muggia Ochs, their children, and his brother Albert, a retired gastroenterologist.

—JMB

Herbert S. Donner (August 25, 2021)

In Memoriam:

Herbert S. Donner died unexpectedly of cardiac arrest on August 25, 2021 in Fallbrook, California. Coming to Yale from the southern part of that state, Herb would joke during undergraduate years that he was '57's "token California surfer boy." An economics major, in college he devoted much of his extra-curricular time to Christian charitable efforts through Dwight Hall, the Wesley Foundation, and the Charities Drive. Such service, as well as being Branford College's librarian, athletic secretary, and aide to Norman S. Buck, the college's master (as the position was then called), earned him at graduation the Branford College Award. It was also while in New Haven that he met Beverly Gensler, then a student at the Grace New Haven School of Nursing, who became his wife shortly after commencement. Upon graduating, Herb immediately took employment with Pacific Bell Telephone Company, for which he'd worked during high school summers. His employment required him and his family to move frequently, albeit always within the Golden State, their assimilation to new communities aided by his charitable work and church activities, such as choir singing and Bible study, as well as his characteristically winning personality. He retired from the firm as division manager at the age of 50. The Donners then returned to Herb's native San Diego region where he became president of the children's stroller maker Strolee Company. He gave up that post to help launch a private company with his wife and daughter Lori, both painters, designers, and decorators. The firm designed and built custom fantasy furniture principally for children’s bedrooms. After Beverly's death, Herb married Elizabeth McWethy, with whom he traveled widely. Always occupied at something, in addition to his continued church-related activities, he could be found oil painting, woodworking, and gardening as well as involved with community and civic organizations like school boards. Herb's college roommate Roger Cogswell writes of his being "distinguished by devotion to family and his strong religious faith," both "particularly prominent during Beverly's long period of bad health before she died and the death of one of their sons." Bob Hewett, also a roommate, writes that "the one word that describes Herb for me is 'kindness.' Added to that was his empathy for others, always with a smile of encouragement. He was a true Christian gentleman in the truest sense of the term--always devoted to his faith." "About Herb," writes roommate, David Reed, "We use lots of descriptives. But 'friend' says it best. We can also add 'unconditional' in Herb's case. He reached out to so many and touched so many lives. And he nurtured so many friendships. All for no other reason but to be a friend." John Mars concurs, calling Herb "always kind and always optimistic even during tough times." In addition to Elizabeth and her sons Todd and Adam, Herb is survived by his children Lori and Blake. His son Brad predeceased him.

—JMB

Vernon R. Loucks (August 8, 2021)

In Memoriam:

Classmates, we lost one of our most distinguished classmates with the death on August 8, 2021, of Vernon R. Loucks, Jr. He died suddenly and peacefully at his home in Sewickly, Pennsylvania. A precollegiate graduate of the Lawrenceville School, at Yale Vern was known for his varsity football skills and, a history major and Branford resident, was a member of Skull and Bones. He then served as an officer in the Marine Corps until 1960. Although he stated at the time of graduation that he intended to become a doctor, that was not to be. Instead, he gained an MBA from Harvard in 1962 and commenced a long career in business--always, fittingly however, in the medical field. Returning to his native Chicago, in 1966 he joined Baxter International, the international drug firm, where he spent the rest of his career. After joining the company's board of directors in 1975, a year later he was President and Chief Operating Officer before rising in 1980 to the position of Chief Executive Office and in 1987 to the chairmanship of its Board of Directors, the last of which positions he held until his 2000 "retirement." Subsequently, he served as CEO of the innovative firm that put Segways into production and then chairman of the Aethena Group, a healthcare-related merchant banking firm. While active in business, Vern was also a director of Anheuser-Busch, Dun & Bradstreet, Emerson Electric, and the Quaker Oats Company. Among business community responsibilities, he was a co-founder and chairman of the Healthcare Leadership Council, chairman of the Health Industry Manufacturers Association, and a member of the Council of Retired Chief Executives. He served as an advisory board member of Bay City Capital, Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, Metalmark Capital, PAX Scientific, and Falconhead Capital, as a special advisor to the director of the National Institutes of Health, and on the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Advisory Committee. Such service didn't exhaust his engagements. He was a Trustee of Rush/Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, a member of the Board of Directors of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), and part of the group that in 2000 founded Chicago's Millennium Park. Among his many honors were the Marine Corps Semper Fidelis Award in 1989 and the 2018 AdvaMed Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to serving as trustee of Lawrenceville, he was Senior Fellow of the Yale Corporation as well as the recipient of his alma mater's George H.W. Bush Lifetime Leadership Award and, in 1997, the Yale Medal. Somewhere in Vern's life he found time to spend cherished time with family members and friends and to pursue his pleasures in skiing, fishing, and golf. Although Vern was an imposing, powerful figure--he wasn't on the gridiron for nothing; and remember the 1955 win over Army?--he was a man of gentle disposition who gained authority by balanced judgment and calm demeanor. Joe Mark, a close friend from their Lawrenceville days, describes him as "a wonderful teammate, an amazing athlete, a solid intellectual, and a consummate gentleman who had a great sense of humor and a commanding presence that inevitably captured the attention of all those present." Pete Greer adds, "Vern was one of those rare people who seemed to have the facility to do everything easily and right. He made friends easily, made football look easy, did all easily." As for Yale, few exceeded him in devotion. Bud Trillin writes that his term on the Corporation overlapped with Vern's. "When Vern left the Corporation, past Corporation members who had served with him were invited back for Friday night dinner during the April Corporation weekend. As I remember it, when he rose to say a few words, he ended with a simple sentence: 'I love this place.' Then he sat down." Vern is survived by his wife Barbara (Bunny), the widow of our classmate Carl Hoffman, and daughters Susan Adams and Kristi, sons Charles, Gregory, David, and Eric, as well as their children and other family members. A service in Vern's memory will take place in Chicago in the fall of 2021. Contributions in his name may be made to the Christ Church at Grove Farm, 249 Duff Rd., Sewickley, PA 15143.

—JMB

Pierre Sprey (August 5, 2021)

Classmates:

Pierre Sprey, a classmate whom we scarcely knew, died on August 5, 2021, at his home in Glenn Dale, Maryland, of a sudden heart attack. After being with us for a single year and rooming alone as a freshman, he ended up with the Class of 1958 and thus left no record with us. Born in Nice, France, to Jewish parents, Pierre escaped Nazism with them in the early 1930s and arrived in the United States in 1941 to settle in Queens, New York. Speaking French and German at home and introduced early to classical music, he mixed engineering and French literature at Yale, which he entered at age fourteen (which may explain why he briefly stopped out) and then gained an MA in systems engineering and statistics at Cornell. After working for the Grumman Aircraft Company, in 1966 he transferred to the Pentagon as special assistant in the Office of the Secretary to work with other analysts and engineers who had became known, under Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara, as the “Whiz Kids.” Pierre quickly established himself as a to-be-reckoned-with intellectual power among others with whom he often did battle over military readiness and weapons development and, in the view of many, from whom he stood out for the quality of his mind. He seems to have been the insider Great Dissenter from the start. In his 30s and as a civilian, he took on the Air Force brass, who came to detest him for his convictions and attacks on their sacred cows. At the very height of the Cold War he argued that Air Force plans to bomb bridges and infrastructure from great height would not prevent Soviet troops from invading Europe. Instead, as a member of the "Fighter Mafia," he pressed the case that low-level air support would more likely carry the day against ground troops and that the critical weapons in repelling an attack would not be high-tech state-of-the-art weaponry, our days' glamorous arms, but instead humble trucks. On those grounds, he and others pressed their argument for simple, cheap weapons instead of high-tech, less-maneuverable, hard-to-repair means of war. When challenged, he did not mince words and once called a ranking officer a "slimy creature" who "oozed mendacity." Yet he managed to hang on at the Pentagon, his crowning achievement being a major influence in the creation and development of the plane that proved to be the Air Force's great workhorse, the A-10--officially the Thunderbolt but, because of both its look and its kind of invincibility, affectionately known as the Warthog. Despite the Pentagon's repeated effort to rid itself of the plane, pilots loved it, and it proved itself the great sneak weapon of the Persian Gulf War in being almost impervious to destruction while a fighter jet could be brought down with a single bullet. Pierre left military employment in the 1970s to continue defense work as a consultant. But that wasn't all. Not only was Pierre a polymath, he was a skilled jazz lover and musician who eventually created a record company known for the quality of its high-fidelity recordings. One of his achievements was recording the Washington jazz singer Shirley Horn, whom he recorded on his piano and brought to late-life renown. Under the Mapleshade label, he also recorded saxophonists Clifford Jordan and Hamiet Bluiett and pianists Walter Davis Jr., Larry Willis, and John Hicks. He also helped bring the gospel song "Walk With Me," which he'd recorded as sung by an addicts' choir and was incorporated by Kanye West in his “Jesus Walks,” to wider attention. Predeceased by his wife Seana Covert, Pierre is survived by his son John.

—JMB

Ray G. Brown (August 1, 2021)

In Memoriam:

Classmates, we've learned from Bob Quillin and Vic Goodman that Ray G. Brown died peacefully on August 1, 2021, presumably in his native city of Columbus, Ohio. The cause of his death was unstated. After graduating from college, Ray gained a J.D. in 1960 from Ohio State University Law School, served in the National Guard, and joined the law firm of Gingher and Christensen, of which he became a partner in 1965. His specialties were tax, securities, and medical malpractice law. In 1987 and 1992, he listed himself as a partner in the Columbus office of Baker & Hostetler. As Ray reported at the time of our 25th reunion, he was on the faculty of the Ohio Legal Center Institute and deeply involved in such local community affairs as chairman of the local United Way, former trustee and president of the alumni association of his pre-collegiate alma mater, Columbus Academy, and active in many other organizations. He wrote, too, that he would "never again in equal measure experience the magnetic and intellectually stimulating environment that was Yale 25 years ago for an idealistic undergraduate." Ray is survived by his wife Marianne Lehman, their sons Peter and Adam. their daughter Emily Flynn, and two grandchildren.

—JMB

John Leinenweber (July 7, 2021)

In Memoriam:

Classmates, I must convey news that the class is diminished once again by the recent loss of John Leinenweber, who died of unstated causes on July 7, 2021, in Oberlin, Ohio. A history, arts, and letters major and a singer at Yale (Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Jesters), John entered his life-long calling within Catholic observance and learning right out of college. Peter Wolf writes that John conveyed to him as follows the experience that led him to his enduring commitment: "One day on a solitary walk around West Rock, John, always a devout Catholic, received a visitation which he breathlessly described to me. 'Peter, it was an angel with a voice that spoke to me. I’ve had a calling, a visitation. Now I know what I want to do after Yale. I’m going to become a monk. I’m going to be a Benedictine.'” John accepted that calling by entering the Priory, a Benedictine monastery, in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and taught for some years at its Portsmouth Priory (now Portsmouth Abbey) School. In 1966, he began what appears to have been a gradual transition to a more contemplative life by joining and taking his monk's vows at the Mount Saviour Monastery in Elmira, New York, a religious collective that describes itself as a "community of monks striving to live a simple, genuine and full monastic life according to the Scriptures and the Rule of St. Benedict." Eleven years later, he moved to the more isolated Benedictine Monastery of Christ in the Desert, another "Trappist" community, in Abiquiu, New Mexico. Then in 1991, after what Peter Wolf terms "some turbulence" at that monastery (apparently a disagreement with the abbot), John re-directed his religious orientation by returning to Yale and making New Haven his home until he moved to Ohio. In 1993, he obtained a Master of Arts in Religion degree from the Yale Divinity School while living in what he termed in our 35th reunion book "a small noncanonical religious house." In 1991, John was released at his request from his vows--"not unlike being divorced," he wrote--explaining also in 1992 that "for thirty years I tried to become a solitary, but I think now that I was wrong, though I wouldn't change any of my original choices if I had them to make over again." He wrote also in 1992 that he was still "a man of prayer," adding in 1997 that his contemplative life was spent "with a few of my mentors, like Saint Augustine, John Henry Newman, C.S. Lewis, and Thomas Merton." Staying at the Divinity School as a research fellow, John became a published translator (from Latin into English) of some of the classic texts of the Catholic tradition, including some writing of the Doctors of the Church, St. Augustine and Pope Gregory the Great. He also served as an editor for religious publications and an aide to Yale faculty members. Concomitantly, he developed an expertise in liturgical music, writing at the time of our 50th reunion that he was "employed on publications at the Institute of Sacred Music." He seems to have adjusted to and reveled in his new life at the Divinity School. In 1997 he expressed enjoyment "associating with a far larger range of human types than I've come across before--the young (I am a bachelor), African-Americans, Koreans, outspokenly gay, lesbian, and straight persons, rigorous thinkers, extroverts, and so on." Those who may have known John since classes in Directed Studies knew him for his natural serenity, kindness, wry humor, and unwavering dedication to the world's improvement. His close friend Reed Taylor writes that John "was always halfway to Heaven; now he has completed the sacred journey." He is survived by his brother, federal judge Harry D. Leinenweber and his wife, former Congresswoman and Secretary of Labor Lynn Martin, as well as many others.

—JMB

Richard P. Simons (June 27, 2021)

In Memoriam:

Classmates, we have recently learned that Richard P. Simons died peacefully on June 27, 2021 in Honolulu, Hawaii, of unstated causes. Born in 1930 and thus five years older than most of us, Psi (as he was always known) joined the Class of 1957 after having matriculated at the University of Colorado before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force and seeing duty in Korea, where he worked in the supply chain behind the fighting front. Discharged at the rank of sergeant, he entered Yale as a sophomore in 1954, where, as a resident of Berkeley, he majored in political science. After marrying Barbara Long, daughter of the dean of the Yale Medical School, Psi took an M.A. in History at Harvard. Then, after teaching briefly at Hamden High School, he moved on to what proved to be his permanent position: a teaching post at the Punahou School in Honolulu, where Psi spent the rest of his career, eventually as chairman of its history department. (No, as he was often later required to respond, he did not teach young Barry Obama, although he did know the future president.) Psi's decades in the young mid-Pacific state was punctuated by a 1968 sabbatical for another M.A. degree, this one from the University of London, and summers in Maine at his wife's family's summer residence. After his retirement from Punahou in 1988, Psi tutored students and taught part-time at the University of Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific College. As he reported in successive reunion books, he was an inveterate life-long traveler, often with his children, sometimes on arduous treks (to Macchu Pichu, in Thailand's jungles, on New Zealand's Milford Track, and up the Himalayas); occasionally to off-limits counties such as China and the Soviet Union; and once in a while, along with hiking in the United Kingdom, on more tranquil visits to Oxford University for special programs. John Westcott recalls that because of his being older than everyone else in Berkeley, Psi was seen as a kind of big brother and known affectionately as "the oldest living undergraduate." Psi's college roommate, fellow historian, and lifelong friend Jim Crooks describes Psi, as all who knew him will recognize as right on target, as "jovial and easy-going." Yet he was also a serious, reflective man. In our 50th reunion book, he noted that college had launched him on a path to becoming more mature, tolerant, and liberal and that his life had been "much happier and fortunate than my own modest talents might have warranted" while teaching had made clear to him that "the more you teach others, the more you learn about yourself." Psi is survived by his children Peter ('82), Christopher, and Emily as well as their spouses and children. Psi's ashes will be interred in Punchbowl Memorial Cemetery in honor of his service in the Korean War.

—JMB

Augustus G. Kellogg III (May 19, 2021)

In Memoriam:

I must convey news of the death of Augustus G. Kellogg III, who died from the complications of dementia surrounded by family members in North Guilford, Connecticut, on May 19, 2021. After precollegiate schooling at The Frederick Gunn School (known commonly as The Gunnery) and a year as an English Speaking Union Fellow at Clifton College, Bristol, England, Gus was headed, in part from a family tradition of naval service, to the U.S. Naval Academy. But because his appointment to the Annapolis institution died with the death of his sponsoring senator, at the urging of his Gunnery and eventual Yale classmate Jack Skillman, he instead entered Yale, where, a Navy ROTC student, he was an architecture major. Then, true to his heritage, he served in the Navy from 1957 to 1961, after which he gained an M. Arch. from the Yale School of Architecture in 1964. After practicing architecture in New Haven for a decade, Gus spent most of the rest of his career as director of facilities and campus planning at the Yale School of Medicine. A fellow of Jonathan Edwards College, he was active in and eventually President of the Association of University Architects. He also served as a member and president of the Board of Trustees of The Gunnery, was long President of the Anthony Trust Association (the board of trustees of St. Anthony Hall), and was among the original members of the advisory committee of the Class of 1957 Music in Schools Initiative of the Yale School of Music. A man of easy-going warmth, jovial spirit, and bonhomie, he characteristically and modestly kept under wraps a sharp mind. Similarly, he acted from, rather than spoke of, his firm principles. No one could miss his deep commitments to institutions, community, and family. His engagement in the lives of the members of his family was closely matched by the pleasures he took in a 200-plus-year-old house in Guilford, which he helped tend as gardener, painter, hewer of firewood, and feeder of birds. The family's property was often the site of large entertainments, especially annual gatherings of St. Anthony Hall members. And Gus rarely missed the chance for a tennis game. Ray Lamontagne writes that "it was always a joy to see him because his smile and his greetings were infectious. He was also a listener and had an uncanny way of making you feel special when, in fact, it was Gus who was special." John Harrison recalls one of Gus's outstanding qualities as "the way he always seemed to focus very supportively on us and what was happening in our lives." Through one stressful NROTC summer together learning what it was like to be in the Marines and Naval Aviation, John continues, "his sense of humor helped make that experience a very positive one." For Nort Wright, Gus was important for "his insight into life, art, and up-close-and-personal architecture. So many discussion (often heated!) about Louis Kahn, Paul Rudolf, 'Brutalist' architecture — and a favorite, Maillol’s sculpture of the deshabille lady 'Printemps' on the upstairs terrace of the Yale Art Museum." Nort also recalls "a late-night conversation with Gus in which with courageous candor he told me that he was clearly aware of the onset of his advancing forgetfulness, and though the future was daunting he promised to battle his memory loss as long as he could. A valiant warrior, he kept that promise." Gus is survived by his wife Barbara, their four children Erin ('85, M.E.S. '91), Elsbeth Getto, Kimberly, Augustus G. IV and their families, including nine grandchildren, a sister, and others. A celebration of his life is planned for later in the summer. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Guilford Land Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 200, Guilford, CT 06437 (www.guilfordlandtrust.org) or to the Class of 1957 Music in Schools Initiative of The Yale School of Music, P.O. Box 208246, New Haven, CT 06520-8246 (www.yale.edu/givemusic).

—JMB

Rex Aubrey (April 20, 2021)

In Memoriam:

We've learned from Alan Shiff through Andy Glass of the death on April 20. 2021, of Rex Aubrey. He died of unstated causes at home, presumably in or near West Bloomfield, Michigan, surrounded by his family. Born in Parkes, New South Wales, Australia, Rex graduated from Williston Academy before entering Yale with '57, where he was a member of Book and Snake and a varsity swimmer, for which, along with his raffish appeal, he was most widely known. After taking a leave of absence , he graduated with '58. Rex started pulling down swimming championships at age 13 with his 1948 win in Australia's 13-and-under 55-yard freestyle race, and many other awards followed. Freestyle racing at various lengths remained his specialty. Representing his native country at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki as the youngest member of Australia's team, he finished sixth in the 100-meter freestyle. In the semi-finals for that race, he clocked in at 57.8 seconds, the record for an Australian at the time. In college, under Bob Kiphuth's tutelage, he became an NCAA champion in 50- and 100-yard freestyle races and set that day's NCAA record in 100-yard freestyle racing with a clocking of 49.0 seconds. Still representing Australia while at college, he took a bronze medal in the 110-yard freestyle race in the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver and with others a gold medal in the 880-yard freestyle contest. After graduating, Rex made a life as a swimming coach and ended his career in 2002 after having served for 40 years as athletic director of the Detroit Athletic Club with service also at the Oakland Hills Country Club, at both of which he mentored countless swimmers and others. He won national titles in squash, and over a lifetime playing tennis and scuba diving he also managed three holes-in-one in golf. It's said that Rex, who possessed a cover-boy handsomeness, had a chance in 1954 to go Hollywood on a then-generous $50,000-per-year contract but turned down the offer as of no interest to him. Roommate Alan Shiff writes that Rex "had a well deserved reputation as a man who enjoyed a good party. In that pursuit, he was never alone, being a very good looking man with an Australian accent who attracted abundant female attention." Another roommate, John Tracey, adds that "Rex was the lady-killer. He was tall, blonde, very good looking, athletic, and had a dashing quality about him as well as a wonderful Australian accent. Were we jealous? Absolutely. We practiced singing 'Waltzing Matilda' and tried to copy his Australian accent, all to no avail." Rex is survived by his wife Ann, whom he married in 1957, and their three children Rex Jr., Robin, and Regina.

—JMB

Dana S. Bray, Jr. (March 17, 2021)

In Memoriam:

Dana S. Bray, Jr., died on March 17, 2021, presumably in or near his long-time home in Queensbury, New York. The cause of his death is unknown. A varsity tennis player in college, Dana spent his career primarily as the owner of a combined wholesale/retail fuel oil and gasoline business that he founded and operated in upstate New York between Utica and Plattsburgh. He was a pioneer in developing convenience stores as extensions of his retail outlets before their incorporation into gas stations had became widespread. Dana was also the owner and breeder of race-winning thoroughbred horses, which found him often at the Saratoga Races, where his horses ran. But they also ran elsewhere. His favorite victories were those gained by his mounts "Johnny D." at the Washington D.C. International and Turf Classic and "Bury Your Belief"" at the Kentucky Oaks in 1987. As Dana reported in our 50th reunion book, the former horse earned him the 1977 Eclipse Award for the Best Grass Horse in North America. A lover, as has been said, of "the entire equine ecosystem," he built his own horse farm, Braywood Farms, in Queensbury, where he raised thoroughbreds. He continued playing tennis throughout his life, which brought him the presidency of the Glens Falls Tennis and Swim Club.

It's said that he had a memorable, and signature, "onion" serve. From the reflections he wrote in class reunion books, it's clear that, despite his life's losses, Dana retained the optimistic good humor that characterized him in college and that he was also deeply involved in his communities and his family. Predeceased in 2019 by his wife Marlyn after a 60-year marriage, as well as by their sons Andrew and Randolph, he's survived by son Christopher and daughter Mia, their children, a sister, and many nieces and nephews. Donations in his memory may be made to the Hyde Collection House and Museum, 161 Warren Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801.

—JMB

Thomas Wayne Downey (March 11, 2021)

In Memoriam:

We have word from Yale that Thomas Wayne Downey died of unstated causes, presumably in or near his long-time home in Guilford, Connecticut, on March 11, 2021. A son of New England, following college, where he played varsity basketball for a time, Wayne (also "Wayno") took a Yale M.D. in 1961 and continued his medical education at the University of Minnesota in pediatrics and subsequently, by now in psychiatry, his enduring specialty, back in New Haven in Yale's Department of Psychiatry. Between 1966 and 1968, he served at the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps as Chief of Neuropsychiatric and Family Services at the Fort Leonard Wood Hospital in Missouri. He then commenced a long practice in adult, adolescent, and child psychoanalysis and psychiatry in Guilford. Along the way, Wayne served in New Haven as an analyst at the Western New England Institute for Psychoanalysis and as an associate clinical professor at Yale's celebrated Child Study Center. Retiring only recently, he was the author of a number of scientific papers. Known for his friendliness, wide reading, fondness for collectibles and auctions, love of sports (Red Sox baseball, UConn basketball, Yale football and basketball), and, a trumpet player, music from classical to jazz, Wayne and his family spent much cherished time on Branch Lake, Maine. He is survived by Joan, his wife of over 60 years described as his "high school sweetheart," their daughters Sharon Panetta and Susan Heston and their families, and many others. He was predeceased by his son T. Lincoln Downey. A celebration of his life will take place at a later date. Contributions in Wayne's memory may go to the Western New England Institute for Psychoanalysis, 255 Bradley St., New Haven, CT 06510; the Edith B. Jackson Child Care Program, 405 Canner St, #1, New Haven, CT 06511; the Elizabeth Celotto Childcare Center, 181 Mitchell Dr., New Haven, CT 06511; or the Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, Office of Development, PO Box 1849, New Haven, CT 06508-9979.

—JMB

Edward H. Cook (March 3, 2021)

In Memoriam:

New Haven informs us that we've been further reduced in number by the death of Edward H. Cook. He died of unstated causes at home in his native Oklahoma City on March 3, 2021. Majoring in political science and economics in college, after graduating Ed entered the U.S. Navy on an NROTC commission and served until 1960 out of Pearl Harbor on destroyer escort duty to ports throughout Asia while rising to third in command of his ship. He began his work life at Woods Petroleum Corporation, then joined his family's Oklahoma City funeral home, Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper, of which, by our 25th reunion, he was owner and chairman. He appears to have spent much of his life in civic activity. By 1982, he already listed himself as past president of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, member of the board of trustees of Oklahoma City University (from which he had received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree), and past president of his pre-collegiate alma mater, the Casady School. He's credited with a major role as Chamber of Commerce president in three times preventing the closing of Tinker Air Force Base during federal down-sizing campaigns, and he seems to have considered his most consequential achievement as Chamber president helping gain the passage in 1984 of a state constitutional amendment authorizing liquor-by-the-drink in Oklahoma. Five years later he was president of an employee benefits analysis company and had purchased the Oil-Law Records Corporation, which provided petroleum attorneys and operators with the detailed records required for their exploratory and drilling work. In 1997 he was a state government cabinet officer as executive director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. But by 2002 Governor Frank Keating had asked Ed to step aside to instead raise the funds necessary to construct a dome on Oklahoma's capitol, the only such building designed for a dome but without one due to the economic crises of World War I and the Depression. Ed proudly reported by the time of our 50th reunion that, having succeeded in raising the funds (roughly $20 million) to complete his assignment, he guessed that altogether he'd raised $45 million for charity, the arts, and civic projects. Along the way, he served twice as chairman of Oklahoma City United Way campaigns and as first Executive Director of the Myriad Botanical Gardens and had held leadership posts with his capital city's Allied Arts, the Omniplex (now the Science Museum), the Arts Council of Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Art Center, the Oklahoma Symphony, the Oklahoma City Ballet, and the Oklahoma Theater Center. All of this surely owes something to Ed's known good nature and emollient ways. His personal activities--how did he have time and energy for such?--included flyfishing at his ranch in Wagon Wheel Gap, Colorado, bird-hunting, road-tripping, golf, and cigars (H. Upmann). An avid Sooner fan, he showed independence of judgement, confidence in the security of his reputation at home, and easy inconsistency by rooting for the New York Yankees. Predeceased by Kaye, his wife of 48 years and their son Edward H. II, Ed is survived by their daughter Jennifer Lewis, son Scott, and their families. Donations in his memory should go to the Casady School, 9500 N. Pennsylvania Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73120.

—JMB

Philip W. Pillsbury, Jr. (March 3, 2021)

In Memoriam:

We lost Philip W. Pillsbury, Jr., on March 3, 2021. Surrounded by members of his family, he died peacefully at home in Washington D.C. from the complications of Parkinson's disease. Active in college on many fronts, a member of Deke, Torch, and Book and Snake, Phil, whose father, a Francophile, was at one time French consul in the Twin Cities where Phil grew up, studied after graduation in Paris at Sciences Po, one of les grandes écoles, and then at George Washington University before entering the Foreign Service in 1959 for a career principally with the United States Information Agency. His initial postings were to Spain, Italy, Mali, and Madagascar. After a four-year hiatus in Minneapolis as Project Director of that city's Urban League, he returned to the USIA for further service between 1972 and 1984, this time out of Lubumbashi, Zaire (now Congo), Tehran, Turin, and Buenos Aires. After a year off to attend the National War College, he returned again to USIA service to run its Youth Exchange Program. In his foreign posts, he was principally involved, often as director of specific USIA bureaus, in promoting American culture, education, and arts; overseeing American libraries, English teaching, and book translation projects; maintaining Fulbright Scholar Programs abroad; and arranging visits for visiting American figures to the countries in which he was serving. After retiring from the government in 1990, he capped his career as a member, appointed in 1995 by President Clinton, of the Joint Commission of the Environment for the Panama Canal.

All who ever knew Phil knew him as a sweet-tempered, modest man, fully engaged in his many commitments, an active citizen and Democrat, and, perhaps above all, a loyalist to people, places, and institutions. Son of a Yale father, brother to another Yale graduate, and a descendant of Mayflower passenger Myles Standish, Phil never carried himself with the patrician's air he might have sported. His friendliness toward, as well as interest in, everyone wherever he found himself was one of his unmistakable traits. In our 25th reunion book, he expressed regret at not having attended law school and "not entering politics when the opportunity presented itself in 1970." Yet looking back was scarcely characteristic of this optimistic, sunny-spirited man. His life seemed to create in him strong bonds wherever he went: Minnesota--Wayzata, where his family had a lakeside house, and the Mayo clinic, to which he'd travel from Washington; the Blake School; the Hotchkiss School, of which he was a trustee; and Yale, where he was Davenport's class agent for decades. In Washington in the 1990s he co-founded with Bob Joost and helped convene the periodic lunchtime gatherings of a group of '57ers living in the capital, lunches that set an example for similar events in New York City. In fact, such was his Yale-ness that he was once heard to express dismay at discovering, on a Yale-sponsored cruise, that some of his fellow-passengers did not carry Yale degrees. An avid photographer and art collector who acquainted himself as best he could with the languages of the nations in which he served, Phil was a member, among other organizations of the Octagon Society, the Foreign Student Service Council, the American Architectural Foundation, the Society of the Cincinnati, the Alliance Française of Washington, DC and Blair House.

His four-year Yale roommate Bob Neff writes of Phil's qualities of "kindness, loyalty, strong friendships, and refreshing good humor. Not to be forgotten, he had a trusted camera, which went with him EVERYWHERE as he photoed countless friends and surroundings." John Crosby, Phil's oldest friend, emphasizes some of Phil's "special passions and some quirks. My favorite was his having a pet donkey in his very small back yard in a very up-scale suburb. His neighbors did not always like the strange sounds they heard in the middle of the night. Also, throughout Phil's life he enjoyed memorizing poems which he could recite years later without a note. The last time I saw him, when he was in failing health, he recited very complex verses from memory." Bob Pelletreau, '57's senior diplomat, describe Phil thus: "In his various assignments as a cultural affairs officer, he was genuinely devoted to expanding international understanding. He helped develop American libraries and bi-national cultural centers and championed student exchange programs. He tried to see the best in everyone and made many friends for the United States in his overseas postings."

Phil is survived by Nina, his wife of 51 years, his children Fendell, Caroline, and Philip III, and their families, including nine grandchildren. He was predeceased by his first wife Marion and his brother Henry ('58). A public celebration of his life will take place in the fall of 2021. Donations in his memory may be made to the Parkinson's Foundation.

—JMB

Courtenay H. Haight (February 7, 2021)

In Memoriam:

Our classmate Courtenay H. Haight died surrounded by his family in Blue Hill, Maine, of interstitial lung disease on February 7, 2021. The son of a Yale graduate ('27), nephew of George Eliot scholar Professor Gordon S. Haight ('23) who taught many of us, Andover graduate, and history major, Court (whose given name originated from distant family roots in the town of Courtenay, Loiret, France) served after college as a naval officer for four years, most of them in Japan. He commenced his 28-year banking career, all of it with J. P. Morgan Bank, in New York City but spent much of it in Australia and Japan. For a time after they'd returned stateside, Court and his wife Woody owned what was said to be the last working farm acreage in, of all places, Greenwich, Connecticut, where they were surrounded by visibly contented goats, rabbits, and chickens. In the early 1990s, after, as he called it, "Mother Morgan" began its phase of complex mergers and Court had retired from the firm, he moved to South Blue Hill, Maine, where this late-minted man of the soil, farm animals in tow, established with Woody a 17-acre eponymous farm. After studying hydroponic farming (a subject he kept up with in following decades through travel domestically and abroad), he and Woody began to grow unsurpassedly tasty crops of different lettuces, tomatoes, and herbs in large greenhouses, in water only, and without chemical fertilizers. Haight Farm provided its crops to purchasers in local farmers' markets along with herbal vinegars and infused olive oils, the baskets that Court wove during bleak Maine winters, and the products of the woodworking skills he'd learned over the years with his brother Peter ('59). Having never evinced musical talents in college, he also turned out to be, as they say in Maine, a "wicked good" steel-drum instrumentalist with the nationally known local Caribbean-style steel drum band, Flash in the Pans, with which he played for 25 years. Court was an ingenuously modest man, his only deception being keeping under cover a deeply stocked, sharp mind. As he wrote in our 50th reunion book, "I continue to strive to live a simple and healthy life, to be a useful member of the community, and to be helpful to my family, friends, and neighbors.” Plain of speech, sunny of disposition, he made it difficult to discover that he was a skilled investment banker, broadly informed about foreign and domestic affairs, and deeply involved in his community. He viewed Haight Farm as the site of employment, personal growth, and job training for local Youth Corps and other teenagers whom the farm regularly employed. He was also a devotée of jazz and, as one friend learned, a connoisseur, after a turn through England, Scotland, and Wales, of not-too-peaty single malt whiskey, La Balvenie preferred. To his St. Anthony Hall "brother" Ernie Pepples, Court was "a to-be man rather than a to-seem one. Never happier than when extolling the taste of wild berries from his Blue Hill farm or performing with the local steel drum band. Always finding ways to help others and make the world around him hum." As another "brother," Nort Wright, writes, "Anyone who has the gumption to switch from a career in banking to hydroponic farming in Maine is indeed an inspiration." Predeceased by his wife, Court is survived by their daughters Christin Barnett and Lila Gilbert, their husbands, four grandchildren, and his brother Peter. A future memorial service will take place in Blue Hill. Contributions in Court's memory should go in his name to the Blue Hill Library, 5 Parker Point Road, Blue Hill 04614 or the Blue Hill Heritage Trust, 157 Hinckley Ridge Road, Blue Hill 04614.

—JMB

W. Thomas Myers, Jr. (January 29, 2021)

In Memoriam:

On January 29, 2021, we lost W. Thomas Myers, Jr. He died at home in Swanton, Maryland, his family at his side, from the complications of a 24-year battle against the blood cancer Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia. A native of West Virginia, a chemical engineering major and member of the varsity track team in college, Tom went on to gain MS and PhD degrees from Lawrence University and studied at the Institute of Paper Chemistry. Spending his career in the paper industry, he started out in paper research and development with the St. Regis Paper Company in Nyack, New York, before joining the firm's New York headquarters as a technical director of the printing papers division. He then took on responsibility--"the two most difficult years of my life," he wrote in our 50th reunion book because, like a doctor, he was "on call any time there was a breakdown in operations"--as a paper mill superintendent for St. Regis in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, in 1976 becoming the mill's manager before running two mills in Battle Creek, Michigan. He then became vice president of international development with the James River Company in Richmond, Virginia, moving there largely because of his love for the waters of the Chesapeake. In that position, he noted in 1992, he had responsibility, among others, for overseeing the planting of trees on bare lands in Latin America to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Mergers, acquisitions, and resulting moves tiring him, he left the paper industry in the mid 1990s but not before the pulp and paper industry recognized him as a TAPPI Fellow for his meritorious service. Tom and his wife Karen then settled near Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County, Maryland, where, in semi-retirement, he ran operations for a family log home sales company. In northwestern Maryland, he helped initiate the Garrett County United Way, St. Mark’s Early Learning Center, and the Christian Crossing Thrift Shop. He also served as treasurer and long-time board member of the Deep Creek Lake Property Owners Association as well as on the council of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Oakland, Maryland. Tom was an avid outdoors-man and lover of kayaking, canoeing, hiking, biking, skiing, and sailing. Berkley College roommate John Tracy writes that he "was a West Virginia mountain boy through and through: big grin, easy going, good friend, always ready to celebrate the good things in life. After having to move around for career demands, he was finally able to return close to his beloved West Virginia home. He was happy and content to be in his mountains again." In addition to his wife, Tom is survived by four daughters from a first marriage--Rebecca Spencer, Sara Franklin, Anna Brenes, and Barbara Miller--as well as their families, step-son Adrian Spiker, stepdaughter, Betsy Holcomb, 15 grandchildren, and his sister Jean K. Myers. A memorial service to celebrate Tom’s life will be held in mid-summer 2021 at Newman Funeral Homes, Oakland, MD. Contributions in his memory may go to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 6 South Second St., Oakland, MD 21550, the International Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia Foundation, 6144 Clark Center Ave., Sarasota, FL 34238, or the Deep Creek Lake Watershed Foundation, P.O. Box 376, Oakland, MD 21550.

—JMB

Joseph V. Vittoria (January 18, 2021)

In Memoriam:

Our classmate Joseph V. Vittoria died at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut, surrounded by his family, on January 18. 2021. The cause of his death, after he'd recovered from Covid-19, was the leukemia against which he'd struggled for three years. Growing up the son of immigrant parents in Sea Cliff, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island off Hempstead Bay, Joe was drawn early to nearby yacht clubs (where he crewed) and sailing. At Yale on a scholarship, he took a civil engineering degree but, rather than pursuing an engineering career, he gained an MBA degree at Columbia. After a brief military stint, by 1961 he was a trainee at the Hertz Corporation office in Rome, Italy, to which he'd earlier traveled and met his future wife, Luciana. After some time in London (which later honored him as a Freeman of the City of London), Joe returned to the United States after 20 years abroad. Living from then on in Greenwich, he toggled back and forth between Hertz and its competing auto-rental giant, Avis. He would end up eventually as chief executive of both companies before his retirement from Avis in 1997 after arranging its sale to HFS Inc. At Avis, Joe was known for establishing its precedent-setting Employee Stock Ownership Plan, the largest at the time and considered a model thereafter. After his retirement, he was CEO and chairman of Puradyn Filter Technologies, Inc, and the founder of Travel Services International, which in 2000 he sold to a British firm. He also served as a member of the board of United Airlines. His career was notable enough that, at his death, Joe received that rarest of notices: a written obituary in The Wall Street Journal. While in Britain, Joe had returned to his early romance with the water and had sailed in the Italian Mediterranean with his family. After retiring, he got more serious about this love. Through a company run by his wife and combining engineering with boating, he and Luciana developed from their seasonal Palm Beach home the super-yacht line of Mirabellas. One of those boats, Mirabella V, was at the time of its 2003 launching the yacht with the world's tallest single mast. Continuing to invest in and serve on corporate boards, Joe also sat on the Board of Overseers of the Columbia Business School, was a member of the Child Safety Partnership appointed by Ronald Reagan, and became founding chairman of the board of visitors of the Georgetown University School of Language and Linguistics. An active Catholic, he was a Knight of Malta. He was also known as an avid New York Giants fan, one who attended four of the Super Bowls in which they played. Vin Marchesi, Joe's friend from freshman year, confirms what others write: "I've never seen Joe Victoria angry. I wouldn't call his disposition sunny; he just never seemed to get upset or contentious, even when we discussed political issues from different points of view. I'm sure his success was based in part on his likeable personality that projected a sense of honesty. It was of course coupled with a penetrating mind that he often concealed to his advantage." Vin goes on to describe him as "a master storyteller. The best was to hear him talk about the time he opened the Rome airport to car rentals. He managed to get an interview with the general who ran the airport at a time when it was still under military control. He described how the incredulous general told him that airports were made for planes not cars. To hear him relate the encounter was priceless." In addition to Luciana, his wife of 58 years, Joe is survived by their children Joseph ('85), Jerry ('86), Audrey Meissner, and Edward ('93), as well as their spouses and children. He is also survived by his brother Jerome after being predeceased by four sisters. A memorial and celebration of Joe’s life will be held later in the year. Donations in his memory should go to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Miami with special recognition Dr. Terrence Bradley or to the Jupiter (Florida) Medical Center Foundation with special recognition to Dr. Nicole Corry.

—JMB

G. Morgan Browne (January 17, 2021)

In Memoriam:

We have only the briefest notice of the death on January 17, 2021, of G. Morgan Browne. The cause of his death is unknown as is its place, although it's likely to have been in or around Locust Valley, New York. No published obituary has appeared. It can be ascertained that Morgan--a pre-collegiate graduate of Choate and at Yale a history major and member of Zeta Psi and Scroll and Key--was a businessman, principally in the area of finance. Public records state that he worked first as an associate of Laurent Oppenheim Junior between 1964 and1984, served as vice president of finance for Lunn Industries between 1980 and 1986, and then was chairman of the Specialty Composites Corporation from 1982 to 1987. He listed himself at the time of our 25th reunion as a consultant. In 1985. he took on the administrative and financial directorship of the celebrated Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, from which he retired in 2003. A brief notice in the New York Times on January 26, 2021 indicates that, tasked with re-organizing the laboratory's operations under then director and Nobelist James D. Watson, he "promoted the transfer of technology from CSHL to start up biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, [thereby] greatly expanding the impact of basic research at the Laboratory toward clinical development." In addition, over the years Morgan served as a trustee and finance commissioner of the Village of Mill Neck, a director of the Harris & Harris Group and OSI Pharmaceuticals, and on the boards of the Biotech Association, the Long Island Research Institute, and the Huntington Hospital. Morgan's roommate Bud Trillin recalls Morgan, as do others, as "quiet and amiable" and describes his work responsibilities at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory as "keeping the place on a solid financial footing so that its scientists could do what scientists do." Morgan is survived by his wife Joanne, their three sons G, Morgan III, David T., and Douglas P., and their families.

—JMB

Peter W. Hollenbeck (December 28, 2020)

In Memoriam:

Our classmate Peter W. Hollenbeck succumbed to pulmonary fibrosis on December 28, 2020 presumably in or near his home in Greenbrae, Marin County, California. Born in Montana, Pete grew up in Portland, Oregon. Entering Yale with the Class of 1956 as a Ford Scholar, he transferred to '57 and majored in civil engineering while spending his summers in Morocco, where his parents were then living. For reasons unknown, while Yale carried Pete on '57's rolls and his profile appeared in our graduation and 25th reunion books, he disappeared from our publications forever thereafter. His roommate Peter Greer thinks that he may have studied as an undergraduate for five years in order to take a second degree in economics. After graduating, Pete worked as a civil engineer in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska before leaving that field for the world of computers first with IBM in New York City, then at the firm's headquarters in Poughkeepsie, New York. Still with IBM, he moved to Atlanta, then to San Francisco, with responsibility for converting Southern Pacific Railroad's accounting system to IBM's and to remain always in the Bay Area. From then on, as computers shrank in size while increasing in power, Pete never lost his interest in computers and until retirement remained involved in their development. At the time of our 25th reunion, he was president of the Computer Center in Berkeley, California while living in Greenbrae across the bay. Outside of his work life, he most enjoyed camping, mountain backpacking in the American West's high country, and fly fishing. His community service there included providing technical assistance and refurbishing computers to non-profit organizations and offering technical guidance to a school for orphaned and abandoned girls in Uganda. After retiring, he and his wife Martha, whom he met and married in 1964 when he was in IBM's Atlanta office, bought a cabin on Stuart Island, British Columbia where they summered. Peter Greer recalls Pete Hollenbeck as "a very engaging guy full of fun and life and with a great sense of humor." In addition to Martha, Pete is survived by their son Christopher and their daughter Sarah Sewell, as well as their spouses and children and two brothers. Donations in his memory may go to the Voluntary Hearts Community for Girl-Child Concern.

—JMB

Paul A. Gimbel (December 12, 2020)

In Memoriam:

Classmates: We received first word from Fritz Hagios of the death on December 12, 2020 of Paul A. Gimbel. He died peacefully in Baltimore after having suffered for some time from Alzheimer's disease and, clearly a strong and brave man, having recently undergone and successfully recovered from a hip replacement. Paul matriculated at Yale with '54, left in 1953 for two years of service in the Army, then re-entered with '57. A pre-collegiate graduate of the Hill School and an economics major in college, he was also among other things chairman of what's listed in our Freshman Register as Volume I--which suggests that he may have founded that publication--as well as a member of the Augmented Seven and captain in senior year of the campus Air Force ROTC unit. After college, Paul joined his family's firm, the celebrated New York store of Gimbel Brothers, then moved in 1963 to Miami, where he co-founded Touring Motors, a Ferrari and Lamborghini dealership. Subsequently, he became partner and investor in the privately-held Lawrenceville Corporation, which held hospitality industry properties in Atlantic City, northern New Jersey, and Waterbury, Connecticut. He's known to have lived in Middlebury, Connecticut, from where, in the 1980s, he was active with the Yale Club of Western Connecticut, and in Deerfield, Massachusetts, where he served on the board of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association. From childhood on, Paul summered in the Rangeley Lakes region of Maine and in 1964 bought what came to be known as the Oquossoc Yacht Club on, yes, Mooselookmeguntic Lake in the town of Oquossoc. Later, for having supported many civic activities in the area, he was recognized as an Honorary Member of the Rangeley Chamber of Commerce. A close friend of the late Alan Hockstader and known for his friendliness and hospitality, Paul had a lifelong love of mechanical devices, especially, it seems, antique speedboats and an unusual 1963 Amphicar. Lou DeLuca describes him as "a moderating influence" on Trumbull College's often loud entry gatherings. "While he enjoyed participating in living room sessions, he was much more comfortable one-on-one. A very private man with a subtle sense of humor." Paul is survived by Patricia, his wife of 54 years, daughter Virginia Gimbel McLucas, son John Renfield Gimbel, and four grandchildren.

—JMB

Ralph K. Winter (December 8, 2020)

In Memoriam:

Classmates: We learned from John Resnik that our fellow '57er, Ralph K. Winter, died on December 8, 2020, in Guilford, Connecticut, from the dual affects of treatment for esophageal cancer and a Covid-19 infection. A pre-collegiate graduate of the Taft School, Ralph was an intensive political science major and ranking scholar at Yale, the sole institution to which, reportedly, he applied in defiance of the Taft headmaster's telling him that he shouldn't go to Yale because he "wasn't the Yale type." As if to drive home his sporting rejection of such advice, Ralph remained in New Haven, his native city in and around which he lived all his life, for his law degree. He then, after a federal court clerkship in Wilmington Delaware and on recommendation of his teachers Louis H. Pollak and Charles L. Black, Jr., became the first law clerk for — some called him a "protégé of" — Thurgood Marshall after the latter had just joined the Court of Appeals for the Second Federal Circuit. In 1962, Ralph began his 20-year service on the faculty of the Yale Law School as William K. Townsend Professor of Law, by then having proven himself very much the "Yale type." His expertise was in securities, antitrust, labor, finance, and business law. Ralph was probably best known in legal circles for his contention, contrary to common belief, that the kind of regulatory competition provided by the likes of Delaware's incorporation law — which Ralph knew well for having clerked in that state — produced incentives that led corporations to seek charters in jurisdictions whose laws lowered capital costs and thus raised shareholders' value. While Ralph's argument is still debated, it has been widely accepted, Ralph's colleague, Frank Easterbrook of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, calling it "the single most important contribution to the economic analysis of corporate law since Ronald Coase published The Nature of the Firm in 1937." With this argument, Ralph cemented his position as a leader, with Yale colleague Robert H. Bork, of the conservative law and economics movement, associated principally with the University of Chicago, that applies economic and statistical analysis to legal thought. Taking another contrarian position, with Yale Law School Dean Harry Wellington, Ralph co-authored The Unions and the Cities, which argued that politically powerful government-employee unions, by using private-sector labor law, could distort the political process and thus divert public resources to their members contrary to the public good. Between 1968 and 1970, Ralph took academic leave to practice law for the first time. But never having had to pass the Connecticut bar exam in order to hold a Yale Law School professorship, he had never taken the exam, which was required to open a law practice. One day, as John Resnik, Ralph's law school as well as college classmate, recalls, "Ralph walked into my office across the street, sat down, and told me that he was worried. He'd decided to take the bar exam. Entering the exam room, he found a bunch of his students taking the exam. All he could think of was, 'Suppose they pass, and I don't.'" Apparently he did, because one of his clients, at the request of John R. Bolton, became New York Senator James Buckley, for whom Ralph won the major 1976 case of Buckley v. Valeo, in which the Supreme Court threw out central parts of the 1971 federal campaign finance law in a decision that continues to reverberate, most recently in the case of Citizens United v. FEC. Ralph had earlier made known his views on campaign financing in Watergate and the Law: Political Campaigns and Presidential Power. Nominated to the federal bench in 1982 by Ronald Reagan, Ralph joined the Second Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Now on the Supreme Court, Marshall, by then a close friend of Ralph despite their different legal and political leanings, swore our classmate in for a seat on the very same federal bench on which Marshall had begun his judicial service. Ralph remained a Circuit Court judge until 2000, the last three years as Chief Judge and subsequently as a judge on senior status . During his judicial tenure, Ralph taught as adjunct professor at Yale Law School, served as a trustee of Brooklyn Law School, was known as a mentor to founders of the Federalist Society, and, according to John, "was hearing cases as a judge until just a couple of months before he died." In 1996, the Federal Bar Council awarded him its Learned Hand Medal for Excellence in Federal Jurisprudence. In 2017, he received the federal judiciary's highest honor, the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award in a ceremony fittingly held at New York City's Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in a ceremony attended by five members of the Supreme Court. Ralph was known for his devil's-advocate-approach to teaching, his love of the give-and-take of the law school classroom, the pragmatism of his conservatism, and his wit. Thurgood Marshall liked to relate the story of one day asking Ralph to check to see if he had jurisdiction in a case. Ralph's response? "Hey, Judge, guess what you ain't got?" At his confirmation hearing before the Senate on his nomination to the Second Circuit, Strom Thurmond, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked, "Mr. Winter, you are a dean?" Ralph replied, "No. A professor." Thurmond: "Oh, merely a professor? Not a dean?" Ralph's reply: "No sir. A professor, not merely a dean." Ralph was one of three members of the Class of 1957 — perhaps a record for a Yale class — to serve on Federal Circuit Court benches, the other two being Gil Merritt and the late Dick Arnold. Gil writes that he "remembers Ralph well because we served on the Judicial Conference of the United States, the chief administrative arm of the federal judiciary. He had a booming laugh and an easy manner that made our considerable differences in judicial philosophy easy to set aside." Ralph was predeceased by his wife Katherine (Kate) of 50 years. He is survived by his son Andrew and his son's family.

—JMB

James W. Murphree (December 7, 2020)

In Memoriam:

Classmates: We were notified just recently that our classmate James W. Murphree died on December 7, 2020, in or near his longtime Dallas, Texas, home. The cause of his death was not stated. A native of Fort Worth, Jim (known as Bill in college) was a resident of Calhoun, a political science major, and a member of the varsity track and cross-country teams. Following graduation, he served for four years as a Marine Corps officer and retired from the Corps' Reserves in 1970 at the rank of Captain. Although at commencement Jim was headed for a career as an attorney, instead he studied for the ministry at Union Theological Seminary and entered the Episcopal priesthood in the Diocese of Delaware in 1972. He is also said to have been trained in psychology. From Delaware, serving in-between in New York City, where he was living at the time of our 30th reunion, Jim returned to his native state and served churches in Dallas and Richardson, as well ministering in hospitals, retirement homes, and psychiatric facilities with a special compassion for the mentally ill and a focus on reducing injustice and suffering whenever he encountered them. While he did not report to the class for its reunion books, his published obituary suggests that he was a serious student of religion, a scholar of biblical and church history, and deeply interested in the military past, especially that of 20th-century naval warfare. His many other affections included poetry, nature (especially wild mustangs and trees native to Texas), and his treasured visits to Big Bend National Park. Bide Thomas, Jim's Calhoun roommate, describes him as having been "as kind and caring a person as you could ever want to know....soft spoken and a very serious student. He enjoyed having a good time but didn't disclose a lot and didn't want to put a spotlight on himself. He was a true gentleman in the classic sense, and it was a joy to have known him and shared some wonderful years with him." Jim is survived by his sisters, Patricia Murphree Honea and Dr. Mary Charlie Murphree as well as by nephews and nieces. Gifts in his memory may go to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Wild Horse Campaign, or the Environmental Defense Fund.

—JMB

James M. McLelland (November 26, 2020)

In Memoriam:

We've learned from Yale that James M. McLelland died surrounded by his family after a long illness on November 26, 2020. The precise place of his death is unknown, but its location is likely to have been in the vicinity of Caroga Lake, New York, near Colgate University where he long taught and from which he retired as Charles Dana Professor of Geology. A geology major at Yale and intending, as he stated upon graduating, to pursue life as a geologist, Jim (or "Chief" as he was known in college and thereafter) remained true to that vocation while winning accolades from his students. While known as a cut-up in college--his Riverdale Country Day School classmate and Yale roommate Walt Benenson calls him "the most non-serious person most of us had ever come across--always joking, laughing, or pulling pranks"--Jim was not without self-reflection. As he wrote in our 50th reunion book, "There were things that I should have done that I did not do and a lot of things I should not have done at all." After he completed his PhD in geology at the University of Chicago in 1961, Jim joined the Colgate faculty and remained a member of it until his retirement in 2000, only to return to teaching, this time at Skidmore College, between 2001 and 2004 and remain a consultant to the National Science Foundation and the U. S. Geological Survey. Colgate credits Jim with building "one of the nation’s leading undergraduate geology departments" and leading many of his students to become professional geologists. One of those students wrote posthumously that he "taught us more than petrology, and more than the importance of a work ethic." He "taught us to love learning, to seek answers, and to reason using all the tools at our disposal." Jim's specialty was the plate tectonics of the Adirondacks and surrounding terrains in Canada and the Appalachians, his particular effort, one requiring much fieldwork, being to establish, as he wrote, "the absolute ages for Adirondack events 1.3-1.0 billion years ago." He was widely known for his research achievements, which won him the James Hall Medal for "outstanding contributions to the advancement, study and understanding of New York State’s geological history and evolution.” By 2007 and no doubt earlier, Jim and his wife Catherine were living on an island in Canada Lake in the southern Adirondacks, their home accessible only by boat or snowmobile. They wintered in Vero Beach, Florida. Walt Benenson credits himself with leading Jim to Catherine, a cellist and conductor whom he married in 1957 and who, along with their daughter Cindy Leinberg and sons Jonathan and Bruce, survives him. At the time a cello student at the Yale School of Music, Cathy was playing in the Yale orchestra for a concert that Walt attended. "When I returned after the performance, Jim made fun of me for going to a classical music concert. But when I told him about the beautiful cellist, he immediately developed a great interest in Mozart. So we went to the next concert together, which may have been the next day and possibly his first classical concert. After it had concluded, he said 'Let's go back stage,' where we introduced ourselves to the beautiful cellist. That was in 1954, and they were still married when Jim died." Donations in his memory should go to the Alzheimer's Association.

—JMB

John P. Stockwell (November 25, 2020)

Classmates:

We've received from his family delayed word of the loss of John P. Stockwell, who died suddenly of unstated causes on November 23, 2020, presumably in Berkeley, California, his long-time place of residence. A geology major in college, ranking scholar, and magna cum laude graduate, John offered no report of himself until our 50th reunion. He then wrote that from 1958 to 1960 he had served in the Philippines as an interpreter of Vietnamese, service for which he resigned a geology fellowship at Stanford, an act that his family views as "a sacrificed for his country." He then studied for a doctorate in political science at the University of Minnesota--he was living in Minneapolis at the time of our 10th reunion--under an NDEA fellowship in Asian Area Studies. Appearing not to have completed all work for that degree, John moved with his first wife to San Francisco, where he became associate director of the American Humanist Association. When that organization was rent by staff conflict a year later, he became active in the world citizenship and animal rights movements. From here on, the sequence of events in his life as related in his own 50th reunion report and in an unpublished obituary provided by his family, become uncertain, although their content is generally accurate. In 1974, to provide for himself and his family, he took employment with BP Alaska/Sohio, a post, he wrote in 2007, in which he "enjoyed only modest success" presumably because of his environmentalism. Eventually, apparently having moved to San Francisco and after being a "humane educator" at the Oakland SPCA, he took up teaching high school chemistry and earth science, at, it appears, DeAnza High School in Berkeley, the city in which he remained and at some point served as a member of its Humane Commission. By 1987, he was listed with us as president of Whole Earth Scientists in San Francisco. In 1984, by then apparently a vegetarian, he had co-founded Between the Species, a journal focused on animal rights and the ethical treatment of animals, then a growing area of philosophical thought. That led to a 1990 conference in Germany and a trek to Rome over the Alps with other activists at the end of which he posted, Martin Luther-like, his fellow-trekers' concerns about the souls of animals on the portal of St. Peter's. Somewhere along the line he turned down the chance to be a geologist in Libya out of concern for moving his family--another "sacrifice" as they see it--although, writes his family, because "things were tight, he delivered the East Bay Times at dawn." After retiring in 2003, as if his life had not by then been varied enough, in his seventies--which means sometime after 1975--John enrolled in a graduate program in geology at California State University East Bay and attained an MS degree. He continued to mentor newly minted science teachers and returned to his love of geology as a collector of rocks (especially of thundereggs) and service on the board of the Northern California Geological Society. Describing himself in 2007 as a "world citizen," John noted that he'd served as board chair of the Academy of World Studies in San Francisco, vice president of the International Cooperation Council in Los Angeles, and vice president of World Union (a Pondicherry, India, organization) as well as organizer of a number of World Citizen assemblies. John's family describes his as having been "incredibly smart" and, though an introvert and someone on whom "the heaviness of the world weighed," also "quite charming." "Being vegetarian," they remark, "was not as easy back in the 1960s as it is today but to him eating animals was non-negotiable and out of the question." Although he seems to have lived a more dizzyingly varied life than most of us, he probably was true to his sex as well as his generation in his tendency to swear, "especially when cooking." Following his undergraduate years on the Trumbull College basketball team, he also remained a skilled basketball player. His family described him thus: "kind, compassionate, ethical, honorable, funny, smart, and loving. The world is a better place because he was a part of it for as long as he was, and it's also a little less humorous now that he's gone." John is survived by his wife of 40 years, Margaret (Meg), his children Nicole, Meike, and Loren, and four grandchildren.

—JMB

Christopher M. James (November 25, 2020)

In Memoriam:

Classmates: Surrounded by family members, Christopher M. James died on November 25, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee from the complications of strokes. After college, where he majored in industrial administration, Chris took up industrial engineering work in the Pittsburgh steel industry, financial analysis with the Columbia Broadcasting System in New York and IBM in Harrison, New York, then set out for Boston to assist, he wrote for our 50th reunion book, "a group of ex-IMBers" in helping Honeywell and a set of European companies take on IBM (an unsuccessful project) before leaving that berth for a position with the Kearfott Division of the Singer Companies to plan inertial navigation systems for military application. Ever peripatetic, Chris then decamped, this time to Seattle, to assume responsibilities again for inertial navigation systems, this time with Litton Industries. With his second wife Julie, he was drawn to boats, so much so that they lived for years on a 47-foot yacht in Seattle, traveled the British Columbia coast, moored for two years in San Francisco Bay, then returned to Seattle. After moving to Nashville in 1996, they interrupted their residence there to live for two years on a 50-foot Chris Craft on the Mississippi Gulf Coast before returning to Nashville in 2018. Chris's life with yachts and other water craft led him to membership in the American Yacht Club, the yacht clubs of California and Seattle, and the Classic Yacht Association, in all of which he was active. Yet waterborne conveyances were not Chris's only avocation. One of his interests being land travel, he and Julie also motored and camped throughout the American West in a large motor home. In addition to his wife of 24 years, Chris is survived by daughter Katherine James, Julie's two children Shanna Rosen Belott and Spencer Rosen, his brother Timothy '61, sister Sidney Kistin, their families, and three grandchildren.

—JMB

Laurence G. Bodkin, Jr. (November 22, 2020)

In Memoriam:

Classmates: It's with especial sadness that I record the death on November 22, 2020 of my Deerfield classmate and college roommate Laurence G. Bodkin, Jr. He died surrounded by family members at his home in Larchmont, New York, from the complications of cancer and Alzheimer's disease. In college, Larry (or Bods as some of us called him) distinguished himself by making appropriate use of his slight physique to be active on varsity crew and in varsity squash, in both of which he earned a Y. In the former, he served as coxswain and was a candidate for that position on the U.S. 1956 Olympic team; in the latter (which he played until late in life, often with Alan Hockstader), he was an opponent who could dart about the court, sometimes it seemed under the legs of taller opponents almost without being seen. After Harvard Law School, he devoted most of his career to tax law, principally with the firm of Jackson & Nash, in which he was long a partner. Following his retirement, Bods involved himself in two efforts, both of which he found immensely satisfying, to help others. The first involved assisting young people with special learning needs to navigate their way through New York City's vast educational bureaucracy. The second was service for the federal courts in New York as a mediator in disputes involving retirement and disability benefits. He often spent his leisure hours at the piano, playing golf and tennis, and sailing the waters near his family house in Stony Brook, Connecticut. A reserved man of comparatively few words, of warm personality that was sometimes hidden by a deceptively grumpy bearing, and of always easy laughter, Larry was a kind, caring, and thoughtful man. Frank Michelman, a Deerfield and Harvard Law as well as Yale classmate, recalls him with "great fondness" starting in the earliest days at Deerfield for being among the first to welcome a "new boy" into a strange setting with "welcome, warmth, and cheer." Larry is survived by his wife of 57 years Muriel (Mimsie), their children Laurence III, Anne, Katherine Robinson, and Christopher, their children's spouses and children, and 11 grandchildren. Donations in his memory should go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

—JMB

Robert Crafts, Jr. (November 7, 2020)

In Memoriam:

We lost our classmate Robert Crafts, Jr., on November 7, 2020. He died in Poway, California, after a long, unstated illness. An intensive history major in college, Bob remained at Yale for a 5th year of pre-med study before matriculating in the medical school of Case Western Reserve University in his native Cleveland, from which he received his medical degree in 1962. After an internal medicine internship at Connecticut's Hartford Hospital, where he met his wife Carol, a nurse, he entered the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, where he found himself in the submarine service, in which he completed two deterrent patrols aboard POLARIS-missile-bearing submarines. Remaining in naval service, he completed his residency at the University of California San Diego and Balboa Naval hospitals, at the latter of which he was a medical officer in its tuberculosis treatment center. Thereafter, Bob served in Guam during the Vietnam War as liaison officer for the program created to care for and evacuate refugees from Southeast Asia, a posting for which he received a Navy Commendation Medal. Then, after more than three years in Yokosuka, Japan, he served at the rank of Captain as chief of internal medicine at the Navel Hospital at Camp Pendleton, California, before ending his career in 1986. In 1989, Bob added to his degrees an M. Div. from the Nashotah House Theological Seminary, which his roommate Reed Taylor calls "a small 178-year-old Anglican seminary west of Milwaukee." This allowed him to take up a pastorate at St. John's Episcopal Church in the California desert community of Indio, where he presided and preached in Spanish as well as English. By this time, Bob was probably the only member of the Class of 1957 who could be called Reverend Captain Doctor or some combination of those terms. In 1998, he returned to San Diego as head priest at St. Elizabeth's Church in Linda Vista and, as Reed says, having never "never lost his seafaring instinct," served as port chaplain for the Mission to Seafarers in downtown San Diego, an institution that, again in Reed's words, "serves transient international merchant marine sailors." He also served for many years as secretary of the Convention for the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego. Bob was bagpiper, one who, after acquiring a set of pipes in Edinburgh, served as chieftain of the San Diego Scottish Highland Games in 1976. For 15 years after 2003, he volunteered as a teacher of kindergarten and first-grade classes in dual languages while, it is said, teaching his charges--no doubt making them salute as well--to tie their shoes with military precision. For this he twice earned the school's Volunteer of the Year award. A soccer fan--he was a freshman player in college--he coached his children's teams, became a certified FIFA referee, and rooted for Liverpool FC. Those who knew Bob from freshman year and Directed Studies classes encountered the man he always remained: serious to a fault yet sunny with an easy laugh, engaged in life's fullness, taut in comment, always pushing to better the world. He's survived by Carol, his wife of 57 years, their three children Karen ('88), Robert W. ('90), and Margaret ('93), grandchildren, a great grandson, and two brothers. He was predeceased by two children and a grandchild. Donations in Bob's memory should be made to seamenschurch.org or, alternatively, to sempervirens.org/robertcrafts in support of the restoration of the Robert Crafts Grove in the Big Basin Redwood State Park, devastated by fire in 2020.

—JMB

Alan F. Hockstader (October 24, 2020)

In Memoriam:

Classmates: Alan F. Hockstader died in White Plains, New York, on October 24, 2020, of the complications of cancer, which he had battled successfully until recently. An ROTC graduate of Yale, Alan followed post-college service in the U.S. Army with study for an MBA, which he received in 1963, at Columbia Business School. He commenced his career as an advertising account manager in New York City, then turned to commercial real estate in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Retiring in 1999, he concentrated on playing squash (his sport in college); fund-raising for Yale as Chair of ’57 Class Agents; and, to the benefit and enjoyment of many classmates starting in 1998, planning and leading more than a decade of distinctive, hugely successful, and unforgettable trips for classmates and their spouses throughout the world. These trips, while causing him significant expenditures of energy and at times testing his characteristic patience, won him the admiration and affection of all who benefited from his organizational genius and unflappable disposition. They also served as part of the glue of the class in its later years. Alan's freshman year roommate, Frank Melhorn, captures Alan precisely as he was to all who knew him: “always good company, good-humored, cheerful, even-tempered, and unselfish.” John Herrmann, his oldest friend who knew Alan from New York City elementary school days, writes of him simply, and accurately, as having been “a warm, loving human being.” Alan is survived by his wife of 62 years, Birgitta, their daughters Ingrid and Barbara, and two grandchildren. Donations in his memory should go to the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center or to the Children’s Aid Society.

—JMB

James C. Brady (October 22, 2020)

In Memoriam:

John Herrmann, his freshman year roommate, and Pebo Browne were the first to notify us that our classmate James C. Brady died at home in Bedminster, New Jersey, on October 22, 2020. At both St Paul's School and Yale, Jim was known for his ice hockey prowess, which earned him a place on Yale's varsity hockey team. The year of our graduation, he began work at Bankers Trust Company, resigning his position there in 1970 to take up the post of Commissioner of Banking in the administration of New Jersey Governor William T. Cahill. As commissioner for two years, he was a leader in planning the development of the Meadowlands Sports Complex (which now includes Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack), as well as the founder and chairman of the New Jersey Mortgage Finance Agency. Subsequently, he was general partner of Mill House Associates (successor to the Brady Security & Realty Corporation), an investment advisory and fiduciary company involved in the preservation and sale of 5,000 acres of land in Somerset County, New Jersey. Jim was widely known for his engagement with thoroughbred breeding and racing, an activity in which his family, which helped develop Hamilton Farms and raced the champion horse War Feathers, was involved going back to Jim's grandfather. Along with his brother, former US Senator and Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady ('52) and other family members, Jim managed Mill House Racing Stable, which ran such prominent thoroughbreds as America Alive, Brilliant, Trappe Shot, and Rattlesnake Bridge. By 1983, Jim had become secretary-treasurer of the Jockey Club, where he helped lead the club's growth, which included the creation of such new commercial enterprises as the Equibase Company and several other technology-based service and data businesses. Proceeds from these commercial subsidiaries helped underwrite increasing attention both to the marketing of thoroughbred racing and to research and advocacy for the improved safety and integrity of the sport. Jim remained a member of the club's board of stewards until 2013. Jim also played a role in his family's Brady Foundation's transformation of a summer camp into a summer school, LifeCamp, a program for inner city youths associated with the Newark Boys' and Girls' Clubs. Jim also served on numerous local bank boards, the board of the Bessemer Trust Company, and the finance committee of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Rob Walker writes that "Jim could sparkle with enthusiasm, especially with family and close friends, but his style was astutely observant, unassuming, and modest even in leadership roles. A terrific competitor as a three-year letter winner in hockey, he was also sensitive, gracious, kind, and loyal. He loved things artistic, the outdoors, fishing, riding horses, and golf, but family was ever paramount." Roommate Jim Van Alen reminds us that his teammate on ice "was the high scorer on the Yale hockey team our senior year, the highlight of our season being the overtime victory against a powerful RPI team in which Jimmy scored the winning goal. Also, he had a great sense of humor and was a steadying personality." Another roommate, David Wilmerding, recalls Jim as "a very private person of high standards who turned out to be a strong, quiet leader in all of his endeavors. He laughed easily. He loved nature and spent a good part of his life enjoying and protecting the land that his family grew up on. He was great, loyal friend." Jim is survived by Joan, his wife of 63 years and an artist, their son James C. III and daughters Joan and Kerry, as well their families and others. A memorial celebration of Jim's life will take place in the spring of 2021. Donations in his memory may be made to LifeCamp, long supported by the Brady family, via greaternewarklifecamp.org.

—JMB

J. Michael Lane (October 21, 2020)

In Memoriam:

Classmates: We lost J. Michael Lane to colon cancer on October 21, 2020. He died in Atlanta, Georgia. A ranking scholar in sociology, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate, and fittingly the president of the Yale chapter of the NAACP--his father, Alfred Baker Lewis II, was long treasurer of the national organization--Mike took a medical degree from Harvard and a master's in public health epidemiology from U.C. Berkeley. After interning at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, in 1963 he joined the staff of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with which he remained throughout his career while serving as the last director of its Smallpox Eradication Bureau until 1973, then until 1979 as director of its Epidemic Intelligence Service, and finally from 1980 to 1987 as director of its Center for Preventive Services. After his retirement from the CDC in 1987, he taught at both Emory University (from which he retired as emeritus professor of preventive medicine) and the Australian National University (where he founded the Australian Field Epidemiology Training Program) and served as consultant to many other entities, drug companies, and the World Health Organization. Mike's expertise from the start was smallpox, whose eradication in 1980--the first and only time in human history that a disease has been eliminated through medical intervention--was his shared triumph as writer and lecturer as well as medical scientist. The eradication of smallpox has been called "one of humanity's greatest public health achievements " and "one of the most celebrated feats in the history of medicine." Nor did Mike overlook the damage to humans of other infectious diseases and of famine. Using his many specialties and revealing the breadth of modern public health applications, he traveled to African and East and South Asia--in our 40th reunion book he listed the number of countries he'd worked in at 72--to fight diseases, set up vaccination programs, and help others create programs to track smallpox outbreaks and bring them under control. Paradoxically, along with others he led successful calls for the elimination in the US of smallpox inoculations due to their side effects, consequences that have since been remedied with safer versions of the vaccine. Taking after his father as a man of strong Socialist leanings, Mike continued to express concern for inequalities and inequities in education and society throughout the world. He was also a critic of what he called the "elitism, racism, and smugness" he encountered in college and cited those aspects of his New Haven education as the reason for his not remaining close to any classmates. During his life, he was a bird watcher, scuba diver, back packer, and camper--at the age of 79 traveling from Atlanta to Seattle while pitching his tent in national parks. Jeff Freeman, a long-time friend from their youth, writes of Mike that he "had a droll sense of humor--great at deadpan observations about frailties in himself and others--and was honest and direct in expressing himself about what he liked and didn’t like." It was clear in college "how much he valued the academic experience offered by Yale, but also apparent that he didn’t have much use at the time for the campus social environment. It’s a shame, perhaps, that he couldn’t find a way to temper his disillusionment between 'what is' and 'what ought to be.'" Yet. writes Jeff, his role as a leader in the battle to eradicate smallpox was "perhaps a greater contribution to the betterment of society than any other 1957 classmate has achieved." Mike is survived by his wife Lila Elizabeth Summer, daughter Cynthia Michelle Edward, stepdaughter Annabel Moore, brother Roger '55, and others. A gathering in his memory is planned for the post-pandemic future.

—JMB

Robert D. Pelton (October 16, 2020)

In Memoriam:

We've lost another distinctive classmate with the death on October 16, 2020, of Robert D. Pelton. Father Bob died of unstated causes at St. Francis Memorial Hospital, Barry’s Bay, Ontario, Canada. A native of Cleveland, Bob majored in English and graduated PBK, a ranking scholar, magna cum laude, and managing editor of the Lit. In 1956, already inclined to Catholicism, he visited a friend who'd joined the Madonna House Apostolate in Combermere, Ontario and there himself joined the Catholic Church. By the time of commencement, he listed his future occupation as the Catholic priesthood. Bob never turned back from that commitment nor from his life within Madonna House--as he described it at the time of our 25th reunion in the voice of someone with the gift of words, "a small community seeking to serve God and the poor in hiddenness and Gospel simplicity." Upon graduating, he studied at St. Jerome’s College Seminary in Kitchener, Ontario, then at St. Mary’s Seminary and University School of Theology in Baltimore. In 1963, he was ordained a priest in the Canadian Martyrs Church in Combermere, having already joined the Madonna House community, for in its obituary of Bob the community lists him as the first layman of Madonna House to be ordained a priest. After a stint serving in the parishes of the Diocese of Pembroke, he resumed his studies, first of moral theology in Rome, then of Islamic studies at McGill University. In 1971, he commenced study of the history of religion at the University of Chicago Divinity School. where he gained his PhD in 1974. His catholic breadth of interests is revealed in the delicious, all-Bob title of his dissertation: "The Trickster in West Africa: A Study of Mythic Irony and Sacred Delight," which saw publication by the University of California Press in 1980. Bob returned to the University of Chicago in 1976 to teach courses on West African religion and the meaning and practice of prayer. But, ever distinctive in his humility, from 1975 he began living a fuller life of prayer by taking up residence in a poustinia--one of a number of Russian-style hermitage-like cabins at Madonna House set aside for solitude and prayer--while still offering lectures, courses, and spiritual guidance to others. 1986 saw the publication of his Circling the Sun: Meditations on Christ in Liturgy and Time, which grew out of articles written for a Madonna House publication. It will surprise no one who knew him that in 1984 his fellow priests of Madonna House chose him to succeed the deceased founder of that institution. It's unclear when he retired from that position, but it is known that in 2016 he left his poustinia for Our Lady of the Visitation in St. Mary’s. In our 50th reunion book, Bob reported that--yes, this is how he put it--his "first shocking encounter with the holiness of God took place at a football game when I was a senior in high school." His second conversion,"after having been stripped of most of my young certitudes as Yale," happened in his room at Saybrook when, having only "the rudiments of belief" and all of a sudden "the gift of faith," he opened one of Pascal's Pensées and read "You would not be seeking me if you had not already found me." He added that "I never dreamed that 50 years later I would be so grateful for a lifetime of learning to give flesh to the holiness of God in love." This after having written in 1982 that he "never imagined how far the journey inward would take me, how poor I would have to become to touch the Lord and his people." Even in college, Bob exhibited a calm authority expressed with an unusual serenity, his easy warm friendliness never banked. As his roommate George Reisner observes, Bob was "an outstanding individual whose intellectual and spiritual lives evolved during his time at Yale. It was a privilege to have known him." Bob is survived by his brother Richard Pelton and a nephew.

—JMB

Leo M. Bearman (September 21, 2020)

In Memoriam:

I write with the news that Leo M. Bearman died of unstated causes in Memphis, Tennessee, the city of his birth, on September 21, 2020. At Yale, Leo amassed a sterling record as a ranking scholar, member of Phi Beta Kappa, a magna cum laude degree in English, the presidency of Torch, and the editorship-in-chief of the Yale Banner. After gaining a law degree at Harvard, he joined his father's Memphis law firm, now Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, where he practiced law until shortly before his death. A long-time adjunct professor in the University of Memphis Law School, Leo was known as a mentor to young lawyers, one of his city's leading trial lawyers in cases involving average as well as wealthy clients, and for his "courteous, respectful, kind, and never condescending manner," qualities that one can recall from his undergraduate days. Called by his peers, as none of his undergraduate friends will be surprised to learn, a "lion of the Memphis legal profession" and the recipient of many professional awards, just prior to his death he was named the recipient of the American Inns of Court Lewis F. Powell, Jr., Award for Professionalism and Ethics. In Memphis, starting early in his career as president of the Young Lawyers of Tennessee, Leo served as president of the Memphis Orchestral Society and Temple Israel (of which he was a sixth-generation member), and founder and president of the Goodwill Homes Community Services, as well a being active in leadership roles in the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Association and the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association. Additionally, he was a co-founder of the Leo Bearman Sr, American Inn of Court, named for his father, and was known for his leadership of the Pancake Breakfast that benefited the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Leo is said to have enjoyed a "love/frustration relationship" with golf as well as good wine and food. A champion and teacher of Reform Judaism, his friends recall his knowledge of Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes, and Moby Dick. As a teacher who reached beyond law school classes, he taught Jewish short stories at Temple Israel and emphasized the importance of reading and literature to high school and professional groups. Those who knew him at college recall his easy smile, his quiet authority, and his soft-spoken humble manner. His four-year college roommate Denny McGill, writes of Leo that, "sitting in his green leather chair, constantly reading, the author of a Harvard Law Review article eventually cited in a Supreme Court opinion, Leo "the Lion," to me, was the brightest and most conscientious person I’ve ever known or privileged to have had as a friend." Predeceased by Joy, his wife of 60 years, Leo is survived by their children David, Edward, Amy Dorsey, their spouses and children, eight grandchildren, a great granddaughter, and a sister.

—JMB

James S. Cunningham (September 4, 2020)

In Memoriam:

Classmates, I convey word, learned from his brother Jervis T. (Jerry) Cunningham '54, of the death on September 4, 2020 of our classmate James S. Cunningham. He died in Portland, Oregon, of unstated causes. A pre-collegiate graduate of New Trier High School, then an American Studies major, Calhoun resident, and St. Elmo member in college, Jim headed off after graduation for two years of Marine Corps duty before entering his intended occupation of finance and business administration, initially as a petroleum expert with First National Bank of Chicago. Beginning a peripatetic work life when that bank posted him to London in 1985, Jim turned down its offer to return him to Houston in favor of remaining in London, where he moved on to that city's office of Austria's major banking firm, Creditanstalt. After leaving London for a brief assignment in, yes, Houston with First City Texas Bank as executive vice president, he returned to the British capital for work with the Dutch cooperative bank Rabobank as a senior credit manager and managing director, from whose New York office he formally retired in 2002 but not without retaining a residence in London and taking a six-month assignment with the bank in 2006 to improve its credit operations in Dublin. While living in London, Jim was a consultant with the Metropolitan Police (a.k.a. Scotland Yard). Even from there and his penultimate city of residence, San Francisco, Jim would occasionally put in an appearance at the class's annual New York dinner. Described by family members as reserved, widely liked and respected, and always involved in local politics and and helping activities, Jim is survived by his three daughters Katherine, Ann, and Jennifer, as well as members of their families. Contributions in his memory should go to his favorite two charities, Planned Parenthood and Compassion and Choices.

—JMB

Arnold W. Jones, Jr. (August 22, 2020)

In Memoriam:

Classmates, We have learned from his widow that Arnold W. Jones, Jr., died on August 22, 2020. The cause and precise place of his death is unstated. While he was listed in our freshman picture registry as having entered Yale in 1953, a sketch of him was strangely omitted from our 1957 Class Book. But we learn from his published obituary that Pat was a native of Providence, Rhode Island, a precollegiate graduate of St. Mark's School (founded by his ancestor Joseph Burnett), and at Yale a resident of Timothy Dwight College and an English major. After post-graduation service in the U.S. Army Reserves, he moved to California, where he spent the rest of his life and career while ascending through the ranks of banking, which, he wrote in our reunion books, he always found "fascinating and challenging" and "exciting, good fun, and rewarding." After starting in 1962 as a financial analyst at Wells Fargo Bank, then identified principally with California, by 1967 he had become vice president and senior investment officer of Crocker National Bank, another deeply rooted California institution. In 1985, Pat became president of Citicorp Trust, part of the Citibank Private Bank, with which he remained until his retirement in 1994. Pat was an active member and leader of many community organizations including San Francisco's St. Luke's Church (as senior warden), Grace Cathedral (as trustee and board vice-chairman), San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind (as president), St. Mark's School (as trustee), and Crystal Springs Uplands School (as treasurer and board member) in Hillsborough, California, where he long made his home. He is described as having a lifetime love of Nantucket, where he and his family summered, and as being "an energetic, disciplined, loyal, romantic, engaging man with a wonderful sense of humor" and "a tender heart." He also had a love for military history and collected miniature soldiers. Pat is survived by Wendy Cochran Jones, his second wife of 44 years, children Arnold, Elizabeth (Yale M.Esc. '02, Ph.D '07), and Gardner, as well as their families and a sister.

—JMB

Robert P. Rospond (August 12, 2020)

In Memoriam:

Classmates, I convey the bare-bones news, reported to the class through the Yale alumni office, that Robert P. Rospond died sometime before August 12, 2020, presumably in or near Bais City, the Philippines, where he had lived for some years. The source of the information was a brief note from his widow; no cause of his death was stated. At the time of our 25th reunion, Bob wrote that he had practiced law before becoming involved in the import and marketing field. He owned an importing company for eight years before selling it. In 1992 came word that, remarried, he had moved to a ranch in Tacoma, Washington, and owned another near Spokane, both of which he was developing, the first into a B&B. He planned at that time to travel throughout the United States. Five years later, listed as retired, he was living in Reno, Nevada. By 2002 he had moved to Bais City. We have no further word about him. The number and names of his survivors are unknown, although from earlier reports from Bob we learn that he had two sons.

—JMB

Glen A. Harris, Jr. (2020)

In Memoriam:

Classmates: We have word from New Haven of the death of Glen A. Harris, Jr. Neither the date nor the cause of his death is known because family members did not include either in a published obituary and asked others not to disclose the information, but one can tease out that he died sometime after February 1 and before August 15, 2020. Presumably, he died in or near his long-time home in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Glen was not listed among us in our freshman registry, nor did he appear in our 1957 Class Book. While it is known that he was raised in Seattle, it is not possible to learn where he attended pre-collegiate school or with what other Yale class he matriculated. First word of him to our class is contained in our 25th reunion book. At that time, he was director of data processing systems for the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company. He had obtained a master's degree in mathematics and had become expert in designing computer systems. At the time of our 35th reunion, he was second vice president of Phoenix Mutual, as he was five years later. He reported trying his hand at tennis, and his published obituary notes his "knack for merriment and word play" as well as his "ideas, puns and fiendish harmonies." With his late wife Charlotte, Glen was part of the group PFLAG, which brings families together to support their gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, and transgender members. He is survived by his sons John and Mark as well as grandchildren.

—JMB

Harold M. Hochman (July 25, 2020)

In Memoriam:

I have the sad duty to report that, surrounded by family members, Harold M. Hochman died of heart and kidney failure on July 25, 2020 at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire. A son of New Haven, Hal was an educational trinitarian from the city's institutions: he held a diploma from the Hopkins Grammar School and a BA and PhD in economics from Yale. The author of many articles (a few of which, as this normally modest man wrote in our 50th reunion book, may have "changed the way social scientists think about their subjects") as well as editor of many books in his various fields, Hal taught at the University of Virginia, Baruch College, the Graduate Center of CUNY, and Lafayette College from which he retired as William E. Simon Professor of Political Economy. Much in demand elsewhere, he served for four years on the staff of the Urban Institute and taught as visiting professor at Berkley, the London School of Economics, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Williams College, Wesleyan University, and the University of Turin. A specialist in a number of subjects, including income redistribution, utility interdependence, public choice economics, and the economics of health, he was also a vigorous opponent of excise taxes, especially on the tobacco industry. Along the way, he served as editor of the Eastern Economic Journal and was long a member of the editorial boards of the National Tax Journal and the Public Finance Quarterly. Hal was notable for his cranky, droll wit and his wry takes on the orthodoxies of academia and academic economists. A peripatetic man (his stateside life in later years toggling between Manhattan and Sunapee NH), as he noted in our 50th reunion book he loved travel (especially to France and Italy), food (especially Chinese), and wine. A kind of cross between foodie and gourmet, he wrote in our 40th reunion book that he'd recently been in Italy "during the season of white truffles and bagna cauda." During another visit to Europe, he said, he "studied"--only an academic would write that--the food and wine. Roommate John Tracy recalls Hal as "a quiet, very bright man, thoughtful and caring" who loved the ballet as others say he loved classical music and opera. To Rob Walker, whose last visit with Hal was on "a serious foraging mission" to Brooklyn, he was "generous" and always "sensitive to the feelings and needs of others." Don Roberts recalls many lunches at the West Side's Barney Greenglass, a classic NYC delicatessen. Hal is survived by Kappie, his wife of 62 years, as well as their daughter Sandy Lesikar and her family. He was predeceased by daughter Betsy. Memorial contributions may be made to Survivor Mitzvah Project, 2658 Griffith Park Blvd (Suite 299), Los Angeles, CA 90039 (www.survivormitzvah.org).

—JMB

Don R. Damuth (July 19, 2020)

In Memoriam:

We have delayed news that Don R. Damuth died on July 19, 2020, presumably at or near his last known residence, Chesapeake, Virginia. The cause of his death is unknown. Don entered Yale with us but transferred to Stanford, from which he gained a degree (year unknown) in mechanical engineering and where he was a wrestler. After college, he served in the Marine Corps, then joined the Trane Air Conditioning Company as a sales engineer and manager in New York, Philadelphia, and Hampton Roads, Virginia. In 1970 he founded Damuth Trane, an air conditioning franchise that remains in existence. He's recorded as having been active in his community with the Kiwanis organization, the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, and as president of the National Association of Trane Franchise Holders, as well as in other industry and local organizations. He and Bernice, his wife of 62 years, had residences in Virginia and Naples, Florida, and he is said to have enjoyed the water, cultivating oysters, and playing golf. In addition to his wife, Don is survived by their sons Clint, Roger, and Philip as well as their families, including six grandchildren. Donations in his memory may be made to Families of Autistic Children in Tidewater, 120 S.Lynnhaven Road (Suite 200) Virginia Beach, VA 23452.

—JMB

Harold S. Montgomery (July 17, 2020)

In Memoriam:

Classmates, we have word from New Haven that Harold S. Montgomery died in Milwaukee on July 17, 2020 from heart and liver failure. Since he was not included in our freshman register, was born in 1931, and did not publicly join our rolls until the time of our 25th reunion book, one has to conclude that he became a member of the Class of 1957 sometime between 1957 and 1982. A native of Chicago and a pre-collegiate graduate of Hotchkiss, at Yale he was an industrial administration major. Following his graduation, he served in the U.S. Air Force for four years. Starting his work life with Cutler-Hammer, an electric technology company now a part of Eaton Corporation, he remained almost all the remainder of his life in and near Milwaukee in a variety of businesses, including airline baggage handling systems; and he engaged in a number of start-up companies concerning quiz machines, frozen foods, and streaming videos. He is reported to have been a "passionate sailor" on Lake Michigan and with his second wife Norma a dedicated mentor and tutor of young people. The sole report we have from him (in 1982) stated very briefly that he was active in a local Episcopal church and had held a number of parish positions. Predeceased by his wife, Harold is survived by his sons John and Peter, four step-children, and grandchildren.

—JMB

Randolph C. Guggenheimer, Jr. (July 3, 2020)

In Memoriam:

I must convey sad word of the death on July 3, 2020, of Randolph C. Guggenheimer, Jr. He died from the complications of Parkinson's disease. A precollegiate graduate of the Collegiate School in his native New York City, where he lived his entire life, and of Deerfield Academy, after college, where he was sports editor of the Yale Daily News, Randy took a degree from Harvard Law School. After practicing law for some years at the firm of Guggenheimer and Untermyer, he "accepted an offer," he wrote in our 25th reunion book, "from one of our firm's clients" to pursue underwriting, investment banking, syndication, and corporate finance for the rest of his career. He eventually became a partner and the managing director of Advest and helped the firm, writes John Herrmann, a close friend from when both were 9 years old, increase its Wall Street importance. He retired when holding the position of managing partner of Burnham Securities. Randy served the Class of 1957 as its Secretary between 1982 and 1987. Effervescent whimsical humor and bonhomie were his trademark; if there were moments when he was without his signature broad smile, few witnessed them. John Herrmann does not err in referring to Randy's "sparkling personality," his being "bubbly and fun," "quick-witted, and very smart with an amazing memory," who "wrote class papers in half the time it took others." He could "whip off the New York Times Sunday crossword in ten minutes without a dictionary." John reports "turning on the radio one Saturday morning when I was 12 and hearing Randy as one of the original Quiz Kids. It was then I realized how smart he was." Peter Wolf reflects that "Randy liked to pretend that he was a crusty, cynical guy, full of good humor and irreverence. Just below that he seemed intent upon concealing his fondness for friends, his loyalty to his own ideals, and I believe somewhere down deep an innate shyness." Bob Mobley, a lifelong friend from Deerfield, adds that "Randy had that special gift of being able to point out to an individual where they might be going off track heading for a poor choice or decision. In this manner, he was a good mentor and wise friend." Randy is survived by Jane, his wife of 61 years, their three children, Randolph III, Steven, and Lynn Horowitch ('85), and grandchildren. The family asks that donations in Randy's memory go to a charity of the donor's choice.

—JMB

John R. Bussard (June 17, 2020)

Classmates:

We lost John R. Bussard on June 17, 2020. He died of unstated causes surrounded by family members at his home in Ringoes, NJ. A Calhoun College history major, John (or "Yo" as he was known as undergraduate) entered with '57 but, while always remaining a member of our class, seems to have stopped out for a year before re-entering with '58. After two years of U.S. Army service at El Paso's Fort Bliss, he earned an education degree at Penn, briefly taught high school physics and chemistry, then, following his intent since college, entered medical school at Philadelphia's Jefferson Medical College, from which he received his MD degree in 1969. Now an anesthesiologist, he interned in Lancaster, PA, was a medical resident in Hartford, then returned to his native state where he remained for the rest of his career at the Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, NJ. Alongside his medical work, he was drawn to things ancient. He restored and flew antique biplanes and owned and rode antique motorcycles. The latter took him on tours to Mexico, for which he'd developed a deep interest while in El Paso, especially in its Mayan civilization and ruins. John credited Yale's great harpsichordist, Ralph Kirkpatrick, with instilling in him a love of music history and of classical music, especially of Mozart, whose 250th birthday celebration he attended in Salzburg. Santa Fe and Glimmerglass were annual opera destinations, and he was an avid patron of the Metropolitan Opera. Known to many as a raconteur, in our 35th reunion book, he reported that he was a "gentleman farmer." An honest man, he explained why: because it was nice "watching someone else work my farm so as to get a farm assessment on the taxes." John is survived by his wife of 51 years, Elizabeth--also an anesthesiologist whom he met in medical school and with whom he shared a long-lasting medical career as intern, resident, and then practitioner in New Jersey--as well as their daughter Anne Supina and son John M. Bussard and their families.

—JMB

David M. Olmstead (May 28, 2020)

In Memoriam:

We've learned from Karl Chester of the death on May 28, 2020 of David M. Olmstead. He died peacefully in Washington, Ga, his long-time home, where he had been an elder and treasurer of the town's Presbyterian Church. A native of Rocky Hill, Connecticut, after graduating from college with an industrial engineering degree Dave moved to South Carolina to take up work in the textile business, first with Millikin Industries then, in Georgia, with Concord Fabrics, of which he became president. Subsequently, he helped run several John Deere dealerships. In all of these positions, he was known for his thoughtful relationships with employees and customers. After in 2004 losing his first wife, Mary Elizabeth Duncan, whom he'd married shortly after college, in 2008 he married Dolle Utsey Balte. In our 35th reunion book, Dave checked in as a golfer and - nota bene - a roller-blader. Ten years later, after having lived through colon cancer and its treatment, he wrote that, as "his old self," he was working "full-time, complaining about the high cost of living, [and] cursing the telemarketers, along with all those liberal institutions that offend my conservative sensibilities (oh excuse me!) But, oh, ain't life just grand!" Karl writes that Dave was "blessed with intellect, a sense of humor, an adventurous spirit, and a large dose of stubbornness." In addition, Karl says, he "enjoyed sketching, being at the beach, and a good scotch." In addition to his wife, Dave is survived by sons Don. E. and John D., daughter Elizabeth J. Darden, two step-children, Mark Balte and Elizabeth B. Flockhart, and ten grandchildren. Memorial contributions in his memory may be made to a veteran’s organization of choice in honor of Dave's brother Don E. Olmstead, a casualty of the Korean War.

—JMB

Laurence D. Kramer (May 27, 2020)

In Memoriam:

On May 27, 2020, we lost Laurence D. Kramer, the most historically significant member of our class, to pneumonia. He died in Manhattan after some years of poor health. In college, Dave (as he then called himself) was known principally for his singing in the Battell Chapel Choir, the Augmented Seven, and the Yale Glee Club. No one then would have guessed, and he probably didn't either, that he was already honing his voice for future application. College was also the site where this shy man and "dreamer" (as he described himself in his essay in our 50th reunion book) was (as he long publicly confessed) seduced by a faculty member and, out of depression, tried to commit suicide, events that none of his college friends seem to have known. After college, he served in the U.S Army. By then again calling himself Larry (as he was known before college), he spent much of the 1960s in London, initially in production work for Columbia Pictures on "Dr. Strangelove" and "Lawrence of Arabia." Then — here his major in English and his role in the Yale Dramat no doubt played some part — he bought the film rights of a screen version of D. H. Lawrence's "Women in Love" for a relative pittance. The film was nominated for an Academy Award, one of its leading performers, Glenda Jackson, won an Oscar for best actress, and Larry emerged as a man of artistic repute and comfort. Returning to the US in 1972, he began to turn to his distinctive combination of gay literary authorship and gay activism and became the force de nature by which Americans learned to know him and through which he earned notoriety in the gay community as well as in public affairs. First came his 1978 novel Faggots, a novel built around scarcely concealed participants in New York's gay community, some of whom never spoke with him again (a pattern repeated reciprocally throughout his life). Three years later, recognizing before most others the gravity of the manifestation of Kaposi's sarcoma among gay men, he founded the Gay Men's Health Crisis in his apartment. Larry came fully into his own, with a presence, distinctive voice, and unswerving focus that many who'd earlier known him as a reasonably modest man had not before seen in him, with his 1983 essay, "1,112 and Counting," an essay that attacked gay men directly for taking so little heed of the disease that was beginning to ravage their community. Larry Kramer, the scourge of everyone who stood in his path, was now in full maturity. In 1985 came his literary masterpiece, the stage drama "The Normal Heart," an unsparing autobiographical portrayal of himself, his brother Arthur '49. and others in his circle as they faced the onset of the AIDS crisis and tried to address it and get others to do so, too. For many years afterwards, Larry's email handle was NedWeeks@aol.com after his character in the play. Learning in 1988 that he was HIV positive, he managed to bring that threat to his health under control only to learn of an equally serious hepatitis B infection, which would lead to terminal liver disease unless he underwent a liver transplant, a procedure that he had to wait until 2001 to undergo. His operation was arranged and overseen, Scott Nicholls reminds us, by our late classmate Rob Corry. In recent years, Larry wrote a number of other stage works, in 2013 married his long-time partner David Webster, and wrote a two-volume gargantuan, sprawling novel filled with purportedly gay historical characters grandly titled "The American People." In this fiction (which started as a work of history until others persuaded him that it depicted more an imagined past than an evidence-based one), just about every major historical figure in the nation's history, including George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, is, much to historians' bewilderment, gay. Occasionally, hints of genuine interpretive possibility enter the picture, as when Larry depicts the landing of settlers, most of them men, in 1607 and later and opines about the sexual activities of so many un-womaned males. It's a question that no professional historians of colonial America have ventured to pose and address. At the time of his death, he was at work on another play about the AIDS epidemic. Those who knew Larry from his college days in Branford and at Yale knew and often encountered the shy, sweet, conservative man who at core he was. When he excoriated others for unprotected sex, he also spoke of the values of love, commitment, and stable marriage—gay as well as straight. What the public saw was Larry the dramatist, the theatrical actor, a man playing what he thought was a necessary (if not easy) part for a time of crisis—a loud-mouthed, no-holds-barred, and sometime frightening bane of anyone standing in the way of what he sought. This was the man whom his closest classmate friend Bud Trillin, not without affection, always referred to as "a pain in the ass" (which was scarcely the way those who had to face him put it). Yet, as Bud adds, Larry took the role of a flaming, shouting radical "as a matter of policy." Some will remember Larry's blast, his hands trembling as he read out his "J'accuse!" against classmates at a gathering during our 50th reunion, that indicted drug companies' failure to pursue the development of an effective treatment of HIV. Among his targets those days was Anthony Fauci, the noted director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, whom Larry called "an incompetent idiot" and "our chief murderer" while charging others with "murder" and "genocide" for not doing enough to control AIDS. Fauci, eventually a friend, conceded later that Larry and others had had a profound and enduring effect on the way medical researchers and practitioners dealt with the AIDS virus and its sufferers. "In American medicine, there are two eras, before Larry and after Larry. There is no question in my mind that Larry helped change medicine in this country.? Eventually, with the help of Bud Trillin, then a member of the Yale Corporation, as well as others, Larry donated his papers to Yale, a donation helped along by his brother's generous gift to establish the Larry Kramer Initiative for Lesbian and Gay Studies. Characteristically, it took some doing to arrange details about the Initiative to his pleasure. But in this case, when the gift had been made and accepted, Larry's generous side carried the day, just as his pride in alma mater's acceptance of him at last was unmistakable.. At our 50th reunion, although no photographer caught the scene, Larry and President Richard Levin hugged each other in the class tent. There came to one classmate's mind the 2000 film, "The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me." When word of that classmate's thought was conveyed to him, it was said that Rick Levin laughed deeply. In 2015, Yale conferred on Larry the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Its citation called "The Normal Heart" "among the most significant cultural forces of the last century" and praised the recipient for "your courage and tenacity in speaking out and acting up."

—JMB

Marvin R. Cox (May 1, 2020)

In Memoriam:

We have learned from English Showalter of the death on May 1, 2020, of our classmate Marvin R. Cox. He died in Willimantic, Connecticut, from the complications of a stroke. A native of Georgia, Marvin spent his pre-collegiate years in Washington, D.C. and nearby Maryland as well as in the pine forests of his native state, whose inflections he carried in his voice throughout life. Discovering a love for French history, language, and literature at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, he pursued that affection with a history major and then (following U.S. Army service with an ROTC commission) a 1966 doctorate in history from Yale, where, as an undergraduate, he was a member of the Elizabethan Club and executive editor of the Yale Literary Magazine. Beginning his academic career at the University of Rhode Island, in 1966 he joined the history faculty of the University of Connecticut, where he remained until his retirement in 2002. He was also visiting professor of history at the University of Marne-la-Vall?e. In addition to teaching French history and world history (the latter an emerging subject of instruction and thought in the late twentieth century) to undergraduate and graduate students, Marvin was also deeply involved in creating and maintaining relationships between high school and university teachers and helped found UConn's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, of which he was president. The co-creator of a model course in the history of Western civilization for high school and college students. Marvin was also the author of a 1998 work, The Place of the French Revolution in History. In retirement years, he continued scholarship on the thought of Alexis de Tocqueville. Away from his study, Marvin relished hikes on forest trails, visits with his family to France, and the camaraderie of village politics and life. In Chaplin, the town in which he and his wife Diane lived, he helped re-establish the Democratic Party, participated actively in its affairs, and helped also found the town's historic district, whose governing body he served as chair. English describes Marvin as "firmly to the left in politics and very progressive in social ideology." He "thrived on serious conversation and essays." By English's report, Marvin also claimed "that the hardest test he ever took at Yale was the physical fitness test required of all freshmen." He was "passionate about literature, and worked hard as an editor of the Yale Lit, in particular on a special issue devoted to Dylan Thomas." As a friend, "Marvin was loyal and generous, and funny, often at his own expense. He was hilarious in describing his misadventures as a reluctant member of the ROTC, and later in life he brought the same ironic and self-deprecating sense of humor to his letters about political correctness in academia and the scandals of his local government." In addition to his wife, Marvin is survived by their daughter, Katherine Cox. Contributions in his memory may be made to one of the organizations he supported: the Covenant Soup Kitchen (Windham), Windham Area Interfaith Ministry (Willimantic), the Slater Museum (Norwich), and Joshua?s Trust (Mansfield).

—JMB

Raymond D. Sipherd (April 23, 2020)

In Memoriam:

We've learned from Tony Converse of the death at his home in Newtown, Connecticut of Raymond D. Sipherd. Ray died on April 23, 2020 from the complications of congestive heart failure. A magna cum laude English major who entered Yale a year after most of us, Ray was intent from his youth on a career in the theater. Even as a child, he formed a marionette touring troupe of youngsters; in high school he wrote an original musical; and in college, where he was stage manager of the Dramat, he tried his hand at a musical adaptation of The Madwoman of Chaillot. Immediately out of college, he joined CBS Television as a story editor and producer and by 1962 was a writer-producer for WNET public television in New York City, where he helped create many programs, including "All Things Considered" and the award-winning documentary Years Without Harvest. In 1969 he became one of the four original writers of Sesame Street (for which he won three Emmys) and remained a key contributor for 17 years. The PBS website contains a video interview with Ray under the heading "Pioneers of Thirteen" (as in NYC's WNET-13). He wrote several books for the Sesame Street franchise, including the bestseller Down on the Farm with Grover, and he can be seen in a photo in our 25th year reunion book with Grover on his shoulder. As Tony writes, "Many of Ray's sketches and songs are still performed for children around the world." But the stage was not all. He edited a book series for Reader's Digest, where he also headed up the company?s television division and created many shows. Possibly with a silent credit to his participation in Yale's Daily Themes course, he also wrote fiction, including the novel The Courtship of Peggy McCoy and a collection of short stories, The Christmas Store, which he later adapted for the stage. He also wrote the Jonathan Wilder mystery series Upon retiring from Reader's Digest in 1996 Ray returned to writing for the stage. He wrote the book and lyrics for a musical adaptation and production of Leonid Andreyev?s He Who Gets Slapped, and in recent years his works were enjoying staged readings in New York. A final one will be stage-read posthumously. Ray served on the advisory panel for film and television of the National Endowment for the Humanities, was on the board of the Yale Dramatic Association, wrote articles for CNBC.com, and was a contributing playwright for the Brookfield Theater of the Arts. A sample of his zesty, insightful words can be found in our '57's 50th reunion book, where he wrote of what he learned of words, writing, and life from Daily Themes. Ray is survived by his wife Anne Marie Foran as well as by a brother and sister-in-law. A memorial service is planned for a later date.

—JMB

Clark E. Cunningham (April 18, 2020)

In Memoriam:

We have word from New Haven that Clark E. Cunningham died of unstated causes on April 18, 2020, at his home in Urbana, Illinois. While the class has little information about him, we do know that Clark entered Yale with the Class of 1956 and, although not listed in our graduation book, at some point became a member of the Class of 1957. A Rhodes Scholar after Yale, he completed a bachelor of letters degree, then a D. Phil., presumably in anthropology, at Oxford. He commenced his academic career at Yale, then in 1963 joined the anthropology department at the University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana, where, as a professor of cultural anthropology, he was a founding member of the university's Asian Studies Department and introduced the institution's first course on the Asian-American experience. Over his career, Clark undertook many ethnographic studies in Southeast Asia and taught a wide variety of courses, including those in Indonesian languages. His particular specialty was Southeast Asian cultures, particularly those of Indonesia and Thailand. After his 1995 retirement as professor emeritus, Clark continued his researches and served as trustee and curator of many exhibits at the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures of the University of Illinois. A collector of miniature cars and airplanes, he is described as having loved good food and drink, poker, and traveling the world. He is said also to have possessed "a Buddhistic calm, a hilarious dry wit, a big heart, and enormous generosity" and to have been "soft-spoken, humble, and a true philanthropist in thought and deed." Predeceased by his second wife Aulikki Kokko-Cunningham, Clark is survived by his son Eric, daughter Natalie, and their families. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures at Illinois, www.spurlock.illinois.edu/giving/.

—JMB

Alexis J. Zervanos (April 11, 2020)

In Memoriam:

I write with the news, reported from Yale, of the death of Alexis J. Zervanos in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on April 11, 2020. The cause of his death is unknown. A native of West Reading, Pennsylvania, at Yale Alex was a member of Saybrook, a ranking scholar, and a history major elected to Phi Beta Kappa who was already set on becoming a historian. After college, he gained an M.A. in Byzantine history at Harvard as well as another M.A. in 16th-century English history from the University of Wisconsin, where he also pursued a doctoral degree, which brought him to study at the University of Oxford for a year. While completing that degree, he was teaching at the University of California, Riverside, when, in 1968, he became disabled from causes unknown. Returning to Reading, Alex, about which we know little more, spent the remainder of his life among relatives and friends, apparently in good enough health and surrounded by enough books to read widely. In 2010, he moved to Lancaster to be under the care of his physician brother Nikita Zervanos, who served as Alex's primary care-taker. Alex, who never married, is survived by his brother and other family members. Contributions to his memory may be made to Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 64 Hershey Ave., Lancaster, PA 17603

—JMB

John P. Oberlin (March 31, 2020)

In Memoriam:

We learned first from Henry Chisholm that John P. Oberlin died on March 31, 2020, in Columbus, Ohio. We knew Mike, born into a family of Belarusian origins, as Mike Owseichik at Yale, where he captained the varsity football team (which captured its first Ivy League championship under his leadership) and was a member of Skull and Bones. After college, where he majored in economics, he pursued a business career, mostly in the metals industry, and retired in 2004 after having worked for 25 years, at the end as vice president of operations, for I. Schumann & Company, a metals supplier in Bedford, Ohio. Throughout his life, Mike was noted for his community contributions to organization boards and to Christ Church Episcopal in Hudson, Ohio. A man of imposing figure and large personality, he was to all who knew him a generous and humble man. Bob Mobley, Mike's teammate, first met Mike when playing pre-collegiate Deerfield Academy football and scrimmaging with Mike's nearby Greenfield, Massachusetts high school team, of which Mike was captain. Bob reports that "Mike was a fullback, a powerful runner, and already showing abilities as a quiet leader who led by example with a great sense of purpose and who enjoyed having fun but not at someone else's expense or discomfort." Steve Ackerman, another teammate, concurs, writing of Mike's "quiet, determined leadership. He was a ferocious football player but had a soft side off the field, always friendly and accommodating, a true friend concerned with others." Denny McGill describes Mike's team captaincy as "quiet" yet "versatile and effective. In our biggest win during those years, when Yale's coach Jordan Oliver was asked when he was sure we'd beaten Army 14-12 in 1955, he said 'when Mike Owseichik knocked Kyasky on the seat of his pants on the last play.'" Mike is survived by Marianne, his wife of 40 years, daughters Karen Klappenbach, Lisa Courtney, and Kathryn "Kit" Galloway, sons John Oberlin, Robert Galloway, and Will Galloway, and many grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter Pamela Oberlin. Gifts in his memory may be made to Christ Church Episcopal, 21 Aurora Street, Hudson, Ohio, Attn: Rev. Charlotte Collins Reed.

—JMB

Harold T. Hofer, Jr. (March 22, 2020)

Classmates:

The necrology published in the March/April 2022 issue of the Yale Alumni Magazine contains information that our classmate Harold T. Hofer, Jr. died in 2020. Further research turns up a one-sentence death notice that Tom (as he was known) died peacefully on March 22, 2020, in Sartelle, Minnesota, his last address of record with the university. A resident of Timothy Dwight College, Tom majored in human culture and behavior. At the time of our 25th reunion, he was living in Irvine, California, in 1987 in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1992 and 1997 in Morgan Hill, California, and in 2002 and 2012 in Sun Lakes, Arizona. Little further information about him is available. Roommate Ray Ellison reports that Tom, who married in Denver, his place of birth, in the summer of 1957, was "laid back" in college. Bob Beaney, another roommate, describes him as having been a "quiet" man who "kept to himself." No more information about him is available.

—JMB

Louis Mark Franzoni (March 21, 2020)

In Memoriam:

The university's alumni records office has alerted us to the death of Louis Mark Franzoni on March 21, 2020. He died presumably in or near his home in Sandy Springs, Georgia, after a short struggle with cancer. It's not clear how many members of the Class of 1957 knew him nor when he joined the class, for he was not listed with us in our 1957 Class Book and only appears first in our published records for the 25th reunion book of 1982. Lou—his nickname can now only be guessed at—was born in Locarno, Switzerland, in 1932 and was thus older than most of us. Moving with his family to New York City at the age of two, he's known to have served in the U. S. Army before entering Yale at a date unknown. From the northeast, he and his wife Janet went south to Dunwoody, Georgia near Atlanta in 1972. He spent the first 30 years of his work life in the insurance business, then became an award-winning teacher of science in three high schools in the region. In our 35th reunion book, Lou recommended a switch to teaching after retirement as a "source of personal fulfillment." "Mingling with the youth of America," he wrote, "keeps me attuned to major social issues, helping my perspective shift from a fifties mentality to a nineties world-view, and hopefully blending the best of both worlds." Lou is survived by his wife, their three daughters Linda Serra, Lisa Stilwell, Brenda Padgett, their two sons Louis Jr. and Christopher, as well as many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

—JMB

Frank Chi-Wen Lin (March 12, 2020)

In Memoriam:

We have lost Frank Chi-Wen Lin, one of our most distinctive, yet little known, classmates, who died of heart failure and severe anemia on March 12, 2020, presumably in Salisbury, Maryland. Frank was born into a merchant family in Shanghai, China. His pre-collegiate education took place at St. Francis Xavier's and St. Joseph's colleges—that is, high schools—in Hong Kong. He entered the United States to study at Grinnell College, which he did for a single year before joining our class. A resident of Berkeley, he majored in civil engineering, which he followed with a 1965 Yale Ph.D in physics. At some point—whether between his two Yale degrees or after the second one is not clear—he studied physics at the University of Goettingen, under Gerhart Lueders, a noted particle physicist and one of Werner Heisenberg's collaborators. Frank spent much of his professional career as a professor of computer science at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, after which he lived in Bangkok and taught at Thailand's leading research institution, Chulalongkorn University. His principal research interest was artificial intelligence, a subject about which he contributed more than 50 papers in science journals. One of his noted findings was the discovery that violently turbulent ocean water, such as in a tsunami or submerged erupting volcano, emits radiation that can be captured by satellite. He was also the author of two textbooks on computer science. Among his additional interests was classical music. Two characteristics marked Frank. The first was his remarkable productivity until close to his death. The second was his deep pride in his Yale education. He was living proof of the fact that thought and skill have no fixed birth place or boundary. Frank is survived by his second wife, Helen Baldado, M.D., two daughters, Ulrika Lin and Sigrid Lin, of Goteborg, Sweden, where Frank is interred, sister Frances Chang, brother David Ling, M.D., and grandchildren.

—JMB

Stephen A. Hopkins (February 16, 2020)

In Memoriam:

On February 16, 2020, we lost Stephen A. Hopkins, one of the stalwarts of the Class of 1957, to the complications of lung cancer, which had only recently been diagnosed. He died surrounded by his family in Washington, D.C. After college, Steve obtained both an MBA from the NYU School of Business and an LLB (as it was then called) from Columbia Law School. During the early segment of his work life, he straddled the porous border between legal practice and public service. He started as an attorney with Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine, while at the same time spending his 1960s summer vacations as a volunteer lawyer for the ACLU in the South on prison-release and voter-registration cases, one of them taking him to argument before the Supreme Court. In 1967, he became assistant counsel to Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller in Albany before heading New York State?s Washington office. Returning to New York City, in 1973 Steve joined Citibank, where he served for 25 years as Director of Government Relations, the last 10 years of them back in Washington, where he opened a new government relations offices for the bank. In some ways, however, it was in Steve's post-retirement years that his core self—that of contributions, through financial support and active volunteer board service—expressed itself. In Washington, he was deeply involved, usually through board membership, in the affairs of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, the Wesley Theological Seminary, the Nation Public Radio Foundation, and the Georgetown Presbyterian Church. In the New York mountains, where he spent summers with his family, he gave time and effort to the Adirondack Museum and the Keene Valley Country Club. In all of these responsibilities, he brought to bear his knowledge of organizations and their governance and financing, as well as his widely recognized prudence, balanced judgment, and good cheer—those qualities that so many knew him for. In the last part of his life, he stood out especially for his composure and sheer grit in the face of major physical challenges. As his close friend, long-time Brooklyn Heights neighbor, and fellow Citibank attorney Tom Chittenden reminds us, Steve had suffered and recovered from a heart attack in his late 40s. But this was scarcely preparation for the loss and struggle that faced him upon experiencing the paralysis of his lower limbs from an infection he contracted in the last decade of his life. While it was clear that he had taken a severe blow, he never appeared daunted, nor ever let on the difficulties that he and his wife of nearly 60 years, Judy—who, like Steve, many knew from undergraduate years—faced. With an ever-ready smile, a "let's move forward" attitude never at rest, and setting an example to everyone, he resumed as best he could his former active life. That included his leadership of the class's successful annual theater weekends in New York, which followed upon his being Class Secretary between 2002 and 2007, as well as his service at the time of his death as Class Treasurer. As Tom writes, Steve loved the members of his family "completely and without reservation" and was a man of "tremendous discipline," the last trait always without a whimper. He was an model of committed citizenship and indomitability for everyone who knew him. In addition to Judy, Steve is survived by their three children?Elizabeth (Kiki), Stephen Jr., and Sarah, as well as grandchildren and others. Gifts in his memory should go to the Keene Valley Library, PO Box 1796 Rt. 73, Keene Valley, NY 12943.

—JMB

Emile J. Berlet III (January 31, 2020)

In Memoriam:

We have word that Emile J. Berlet III died in Tampa, Florida, on January 31, 2020. The cause of his death is unknown. After graduating from Yale, Jack gained an M.D. degree from New York Medical College. Then, after his medical residency in New York and U.S. Army service as a surgeon in Japan during the Vietnam War, he practiced as a urologist in Westwood, New Jersey for many years. By his retirement, he had become a national champion breeder of American Brittanys—over 1,000 of which he placed with other families. This earned him, among other things, the presidency of the Ramapo Kennel Club. We know little more about his life. Jack is survived by his wife Arlene, sons Anthony and Matthew (both physicians), daughters Pamela Dungan and Christina Kern, and their families. Donations in his memory should go to americanbrittanyrescue.org.

—JMB

Edward M. Levine (January 20, 2020)

Classmates:

We have just learned of the death on January 20, 2020, of Edward M. Levine, presumably in or near Miami, Florida, his last listed residence in our class records. The cause of his death is unknown. A pre-collegiate graduate of the Horace Mann School, an economics major, and member of the varsity basketball team, Ed went on to become a distinctive artist and architect after securing a PhD (subject not stated) at NYU and studying for a time in Madrid at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. Although he never reported in to the class for reunion books, it can be teased out from available records that by our 10th reunion he was a member of the humanities department at the University of Miami; ten years later a member of the faculty at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, where he remained through our 30th reunion, then without known residence until our 50th reunion, when he was living again in Miami, and in 2012 was in Royalton, Vermont. From what can be learned, Ed was a multifaceted artist who worked in sculpture, photography, landscape design, and architecture; exhibited widely; created many permanent public commissions; was the recipient of a number of fellowships, including one from the National Endowment for the Arts; and founded many arts programs. He clearly was a sought-after academic administrator, for at one time or another he served as Dean of the Faculty of the Minnesota College of Art and Design and Dean of the School of Art at East Carolina University as well as founder of the Visual Arts Program at MIT, which he directed for almost a decade. His major achievement is considered to be "Vermont Village and Vermont Settlement," a ten-acre work in South Royalton that consist of 50 site-specific wood structures incorporating water, photography, video, and sound. In 2006, he created the Harpo Foundation, which supports the work of visual artists. Ed purposefully copied its name, it's said, from that of Harpo Marx because that beloved film actor communicated without words.

—JMB

William R. Bogert III (January 12, 2020)

In Memoriam:

We've learned from Tom Quirk and Tony Converse that William R. Bogert III died in his New York City home on January 12, 2020, of unstated causes. Already an actor in college, where he performed for the (Saybrook) Players (of which he was choreographer) and in the Dramat, Bill pursued an acting career for the rest of his life on stage and television and in film. In the Players, roommate Brian Walsh recalls, Bill "was a terrific song and dance man. He and Rex Robbins would bring down the house in our big weekend musicals." For many years, given his varied roles and the venues and media in which he appeared, he retained an apartment in Hollywood as well as Manhattan. Many will recall his appearances in several "M.A.S.H." and "Law and Order" episodes, as well as in such television series as "The Gilmore Girls," "Melrose Place," "The Wonder Years," "Matlock," "Hill Street Blues," "Fantasy Island," "The Incredible Hulk," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and others. He played opposite Warren Beatty in "Heaven Can Wait" and held parts in many other well-known films, his last appearance being in the 2014 "Time Out of Mind." On stage, he acted with the touring company of "A Man for All Seasons," in Woody Allen"s "Play it Again Sam," and in many others. He's also remembered for his spoofing portrayals in episodes of the Dave Chappelle Show. Bill may be most publicly recalled for his role in the striking 1964 prime-time televised political advertisement, "Confessions of a Republican," during President Lyndon B. Johnson's successful re-election campaign against Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. While acting a scripted part, Bill's plea for Johnson's election was sincere. A Republican then and throughout his life, he brought conviction to the role and forever after regretted the drift of his birthright party away from its earlier principles. The ad gained new relevance during the 2016 presidential campaign, which led to Bill's appearance on a number of television shows, this time as a guest rather than actor. (One of his appearances can be seen on a May 2016 Rachel Maddow clip on YouTube.) The 1964 ad was then reprised for Hillary Clinton campaign. Bill's friends enjoyed him as much for his sardonic humor as for his intelligence and professional skills. Brian Walsh writes that Bill was "one of the most entertaining guys I ever knew, always 'on', always performing. In the eighties his career took off as a character actor on television, notably as a regular in 'Small World.' In college Bill was so dedicated as an actor that he went out for the freshman fencing team to improve his footwork on stage. He was fiercely loyal to his friends and institutions, particularly Yale and the Dramat, and delightfully old fashioned in a way. He never owned or used a computer. Despite perfect SAT scores, he was a modest performer as a student and was always in trouble with deans for missing classes, yet he was popular with his professors and a real favorite with Duke and Allison Henning, "A marvelous clown, a gifted actor, an excellent mimic, and great fun as a friend." Bill was predeceased by his wife Eren Ozker, whose early death deeply affected him, about which he wrote in our 40th reunion book. His sole survivors are her sisters.

—JMB

James M. Mikusky (January 11, 2020)

In Memoriam:

We just learned that James M. Mikusky died on January 11, 2020, of unstated causes, presumably in or near Trumbull, Connecticut, near his Bridgeport birthplace. Jim arrived at Yale after four years of service in the Marine Corps during and after the Korean War. An electrical engineering major, he spent his career in engineering and engineering marketing at Sikorsky Aircraft, Norden Systems, Lear Siegler, and Teledyne Systems. He also served at some point as the assistant chairman of the Electrician Engineering Department at Bridgeport Engineering Community College. Referring to himself in our 35th reunion class book as a proud Yale man then living in California, Jim wrote that he showed his collegiate loyalty by sporting a California vanity plate that read "Yale '57." His survivors include his four daughters Susan Marie O'Connor, Nancy Lynn Salvatore, Judith Ann Mikusky, and Cathleen Alice Lovens, their families, and many grandchildren.

—JMB

John N. Curlett, Jr. (January 10, 2020)

In Memoriam:

It is Reid White who notified us that John N. Curlett, Jr., died, presumably in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on January 10, 2020, his death occasioned by the complications of Alzheimer's disease, from which he had long suffered. A native of Baltimore, it was perhaps inevitable that Jack would be a Varsity lacrosse player in college, after which he reached the rank of Captain in the Army Reserves. After 1957 he also began a 22-year career with McCormick and Co.in sales and management, eventually rising to the post of senior vice president and general manager of the company's food service division in the city of his birth. During those years, he became chairman of the board of the Kennedy Krieger Institute, which works to improve the lives of children and young adults with developmental disabilities, and served on the board of the International Food Manufacturers Association and on the Food Service Advisory Committee to the U. S. Department of Energy. He was also a member of the board of trustees of Goucher College and, a great lover of food, was a founding board member of the Culinary Institute of America. In 1983, Jack moved to Winston-Salem, NC to be President of XPRESS Corporation, where he worked until 2008. In that city, Jack served on the boards of the Winston-Salem Habitat for Humanity, Winston-Salem Children's Chorus, and the Giannini Board, which supports the North Carolina School of the Arts. His love and study of wine also led him to start a wine club and Curly's "Charity Cheer," which benefited many local agencies. He was also a member of the Bohemian Club in San Francisco, CA, as well as the Wharf Rats Club and the Nantucket Yacht Club in Nantucket. In addition to his love of music, food, and wine, he was a talented woodworker, ceramicist, and basket-weaver. To all who knew him, Jack was a civic-minded, sunny-natured bon-vivant. To Reid, "the Curly Bird was easily one of the most engaging, kind, friendly, genuine human beings one could ever know, as well as being an hilariously funny fellow." He is survived by Anne, his wife of 35 years, daughters Cathy Parsells and Lisa Curlett, step-daughter Winnie Simmons and step-son Nat Taylor, his sister Sally MacLeod, and others including 11 grandchildren. Donations in his memory should go to Winston-Salem Habitat for Humanity or Winston-Salem Children's Chorus.

—JMB

Carl S. Myrus (December 25, 2019)

In Memoriam:

We lost Carl S. Myrus on December 25, 2019. A son of western New York, he died in Syracuse, not far from his Oneonta birthplace, from the complications of dementia. An architecture major in college, Carl remained at Yale to secure a degree as Master of Architecture and Historical Preservation in 1960 before entering the U.S. Army. But while he practiced architecture professionally all his life, he was perhaps best known to us as a singer. Starting in the Freshman Glee Club, he sang in the Yale Glee Club, the Battell Chapel Choir, the Spizzwinks(?)—yes, the parenthetical question mark is part of the name—and (as Pitchpipe) in the Whiffepoofs. The last position, Bob Hewett reminds us, required him to "choose what we were about to sing and to remember what key. Not an easy job as, like most Whiffs, it was like herding cats." Subsequently, silenced only by death, Carl sang in his local church choir for over 37 years as well as in Temple Adath Yeshurun and in many stage productions and weddings. As architect, he taught at the Syracuse University School of Architecture and served as principal architect in his own and other firms, including the Hillier Group and Ellerbe Becket. A long-time members of the American Academy of Architects and the proponent of what he called "habitable sculpture," he was known for his dedication to the adaptation of buildings for the benefit of people with disabilities. Among many residential, commercial, and historical renovation projects in New York, he was the designer of the First Acknowledged University Design Building in the United States. the First Church of Christ Scientist in Oneonta; first implementer of the design for the College in the Woods at SUNY Binghamton (now Binghamton University); and architect of early group housing for families and individuals living with AIDS. He played a major role in championing and saving Frederic Edwin Church's celebrated house "Olana." Carl also restored the Acorn Cottage, a farmhouse in the Valley of Syracuse where he raised his family, so that it gained recognition on the National Registry of Historic Homes. He also served on the board of the Syracuse's Light Work and Everson museums. Carl's sunny disposition and wit, as well as his clear resonant voice, were known to all who knew, as well as sang with, him. Jeff Freeman describes him as having been "droll, quick-witted, persuasive, friendly, and good-humored." For Bob Hewett, he was "inevitably patient, kind, and always with a smile on his face." Reid White, a fellow Whiff, recalls Carl's "solid, pitch perfect 2nd tenor voice and great delivery. Just listen to his rendition of Crusin’Around on the ’57 Whiff record." Reid also recalls a memorable evening singing in New York's Club 21 at a private party for Ambassador-appointee John Hay Whitney. "Whitney was ebullient about our singing as well as a bit inebriated, as were most of his guests, a few of them including Whitney, world leaders all, dancing on the table. Whitney directed his minions to contact the Waldorf Astoria to arrange a table for the 12 of us to hear Lena Horne sing in the Empire Room, which we did, being driven there in three private limos. After her performance, Horne invited us to come to her suite and serenade her. Carl, as our leader, was in his element. What an evening. We never topped it!" Todd Kendrick. another Whiff, remembers the "unflappable" Carl. "I have a recollection of him at the table in Mory's. He'd been in a car accident over the holidays, a lot of teeth knocked out and his choppers wired shut, except for space for a straw to go through. In any case, he carried on as usual, cheerful all the way—-though someone else had to blow the pitch pipe for him." Steve Weitz, a fellow architecture undergraduate, relates the same trait another way. "It was not unusual for architecture students to work well into the night to finish this or that project. Carl, being a Whiff, sometimes had to perform in the evening while the rest of us were hard at work at our drafting boards. Then he would come in around midnight, when we were flagging, and with intense energy and concentration slap together an excellent presentation." Predeceased by son Gus, Carl is survived by his wife Eduarda Bossers, daughter Amanda Nestor, son Whitney, and his first wife Shirley White Myrus. Donations in his memory should go to the East Area YMCA, 200 Towne Drive, Fayetteville, NY 13066.

—JMB

Jack S. M. Erickson (December 1, 2019)

In Memoriam:

We have delayed news that Jack S. M. Erickson died on December 1, 2019, in or around Hillsborough, North Carolina. Inasmuch as the public notice of his death was conveyed in a local newspaper in a single sentence and as he left no information with the class over the years, little can be reported save for a few bare facts about him. Coming to Yale from Williston Academy and majoring in history, Jack took a year's leave of absence to attend school in Sweden and was a varsity swimmer. Instead of entering the Foreign Service (his stated intention at graduation), and by then fluent, says his college roommate Reed Rubin, in both Swedish and French, Jack could be found in Europe in the late 1950s and early 1960s where, says Reed, he marketed Dreyfus funds with considerable success and drove an Aston Martin DB4. Nothing being known about him at the time of our 25th reunion in 1982, by our 30th reunion he was listed as working at Decision Process International in Westport, Connecticut. By our 35th reunion he was living in Midland Park, New Jersey, and five years later in Durham, North Carolina. With no listed address in 2002, in 2007 he resided in Oberlin, Ohio, only by 2012 to be back in Durham. At the time of his death, he had no address on file. To those who knew him, Jack was a lively, informed man. Reed Rubin describes him as someone of "superb intellect" who "embraced life" and believes that he married and had at least one daughter.

—JMB

John L. Pallas, Jr. (November 23, 2018)

In Memoriam:

We have learned tardily of the death on November 23, 2018 of John L. Pallas, Jr., presumably in New Canaan, Connecticut. The cause of his death is unknown. Raised in nearby Branford, John commenced his collegiate study at Connecticut State Technical Institute (now Capital Community College) before joining the U.S. Air Force in 1951, After almost two years of service and discharge at the rank of sergeant, he entered Yale with the Class of 1958 but advanced to our class soon after. A non-resident member of Timothy Dwight College, he majored in electrical engineering and, a pilot, was a founder of the Yale Aviation Club. Later, he was a systems engineer with AT&T. At the time of our 50th reunion, he lived in Cape Coral, Florida. Karl Chester recalls him as "studious and rather reserved." John is survived by his wife Jennifer, whom he married in 1953, as well as their two daughters, Deborah Millette and Kristy Snyder, and two sons David and John III, as well as eighteen grandchildren and a great grandson.

—JMB

Bruce P. Arneill (October 31, 2019)

In Memoriam:

We have word from his roommate Buz Brenton that Bruce P. Arneill died on October 31, 2019 in Branford, Connecticut near his long-time Old Saybrook home. An architecture major in college, Bruce, wrote Buz, was "singular among us, for he knew he wanted to be an architect while the rest of us dithered." After gaining his MA in architecture from Yale in 1961, he pursued his profession with unwavering energy and became internationally celebrated especially after, in 1980, co-founding the Connecticut firm of Stecker LaBau Arneill McManus—usually known, perhaps in recognition of its energy and success, as SLAM—a firm of 200 architects of which he eventually became chairman. Bruce's specialty was the design of hospitals and medical centers throughout the world. It's clear from what he wrote in the class's 35th reunion book that he was particularly proud of the collaborative approach to architecture followed by his firm. Throughout the years, he taught in Yale's school of architecture and lectured at the university's schools of medicine and organizational management, as well as elsewhere, on the design of healthcare institutions. One can tease out from what he wrote in class reunion books his loyalty to Yale, of which his ancestor Noah Porter was president. He retained an interest as well in New Haven, whose welfare he viewed as dependent on Yale's commitment to it, of which he implied, at least in 1982, he was skeptical. An avid skier and sailor who spent time in Harbour Island, Bahamas, and Klosters, Switzerland, Bruce is survived by his wife Bonnie Sue, children Scott, Wendy, Allison, Blair, and Porter, and grandchildren.

—JMB

Richard W. Jackson, Jr. (October 2, 2019)

In Memoriam:

We lost Richard W. Jackson, Jr., to the complications of multiple myeloma on October 2, 2019. He died in Towson, Maryland. After Yale, Dick served in the U.S. Army at Fort Benning, where he wrote speeches for the base's commanding general. Attracted by the experience, he entered Columbia to seek a graduate degree in English. That proving unsatisfying, he turned back to his college drama major and helped produce an off-Broadway play. When the production closed after a short run, a writing career came back into view. That led instead to publishing—first at the NYU Graduate Institute of Book Publishing, then at successive work in the juvenile book divisions of Doubleday and Macmillan. Subsequently, with financing from Prentice-Hall, Dick and others founded Bradbury Press, and after that, in a dizzyingly complex series of moves, founded his own imprints or worked within other publishing firms. Where he left his lasting mark was in literature for young people, his best known author being Judy Blume. The writers whose works he brought to print reoriented young people's literature away from the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew toward more contemporary, realistic fiction that included race, sex, physical violence, and adolescent confusion. The books Dick edited or published included 16 Newbery awards, five Caldecott citations, one Edgar award, and one National Book Award—a remarkable record for a single editor. The celebrated authors who adorn his list make him one of the most influential editors in his field in history. In retirement, he turned back to writing—not surprisingly, childrens' books including Have a Look, Says Book and In Plain Sight. Others are forthcoming posthumously. Dick is survived by his wife Nancy. their son Adam and daughter Elizabeth Albert. He was predeceased by a son Samuel.

—JMB

Patrick A. Carey III (September 4, 2019)

In Memoriam:

Our classmate Patrick A. Carey III died on September 4, 2019, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the city of his birth, of unstated causes. After gaining a B.S. in industrial administration from Yale, where he was a non-resident member of Saybrook, Pat spent some time with Reliance Electric in Cleveland. He then returned to Spartanburg to assume the presidency from his father of Carey Moving & Storage, of which he eventually became the owner. It was a position for which he'd had training by earlier driving the firm's trucks throughout the United States. At the time of his retirement, Pat had increased the size of the company to four locations beyond Spartanburg and become a figure in his professional circles. He served as president of the South Carolina Movers Conference, chairman of the Allied Atlanta Round Table, president of the Movers Association, and director of the National Moving and Storage Association. He also served on the Board of Directors of Allied Van Lines, where, as he wrote in our 35 reunion book, he helped prevent the firm from falling victim to a leveraged buyout to instead sell itself in a debt-free transaction. Always involved in Spartanburg life, Pat was a member of the Rotary Downtown Club, the Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Advisory Committee of the Spartanburg Art Association; served on the Advisory Committee of the Spartanburg County Commission for Higher Education; and was president of the local Yale Club and United Way. He and his wife Mae, whom he married while in college, traveled widely and spent much time at Kiawah Beach in what he called their "dream house." Jeff Freeman recalls Pat as always "'Southern' gentlemanly and friendly" as well as a loyal supporter of his alma mater. In addition to his wife, Pat is survived by their children, grandchildren, and others. He was predeceased by a daughter, Jennifer Lynn Carey. Donations in his memory should go to the First Presbyterian Church Purnell Fund, 393 East Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29302; Mobile Meals Service, PO Box 461, Spartanburg, SC 29304; or the Spartanburg Humane Society, 150 Dexter Road, Spartanburg, SC 29303..

—JMB

Gerald J. Murray, Jr. (July 26, 2019)

In Memoriam:

We have word from New Haven of the death on July 26, 2019, of Gerald J. Murray, Jr. He died in Needham, Massachusetts, the cause of his death being, as can be inferred from his published obituary, the complications of Alzheimer's disease. We have little in our class records about him. A non-resident member of Jonathan Edwards College, after taking his Yale degree in electrical engineering Gerry served in the U.S. Army Reserves and gained an MBA from Harvard Business School. His business career took him around the world with AT&T, Xerox, and Motorola, from the last of which he retired as Vice President and General Manager of its International Division. His interests were wide-ranging. He collected antique books and Japanese art, loved music from the classics through country and rock, and involved himself in sports as varied as cross-country skiing, hiking, golf, and juggling. He cannot be charged with being unadventurous in his sports activities: among others were sky diving and mountain and ice climbing. Gerry is survived by his wife of 57 years, Mary Kay, their five children and spouses, and many grandchildren. Memorial gifts should go to the Alzheimer's Association.

—JMB

Thomas F. Ruhm (July 25, 2019)

In Memoriam:

Thomas F. Ruhm died at his summer home in Quogue, Long Island, on July 25, 2019. After attending Harvard Law School, Tom spent most of his career as a venture capital attorney with Bessemer Securities. He carried his knowledge of finance into classrooms at St. John's and Concordia colleges and occasional articles for the Wall Street Journal and wrote a bi-monthly newsletter on Federal Reserve monetary policy. In his Bronxville, New York community, Tom served as director of coaching in the Eastchester (NY) Youth Soccer League. He was also an enthusiastic singer-performer with New York's Blue Hill Troupe, which produces musicals in the New York City area to benefit various charities. It is there that he and his wife Mimi met. His also served as head of the finance committee of Christ Church (Episcopal), Bronxville and then as the church's senior warden. Lou DeLuca describes Tom as "a wonderful friend to all; you could feel his real enjoyment of the give and take in every encounter." In addition to his wife, Tom is survived by their son, Thomas, two sisters, and many others. He was predeceased by daughter Wendy.

—JMB

Richard B. Curran, Jr. (July 8, 2019)

In Memoriam:

We had first word from roommate Graham Tebbe that Richard B. Curran, Jr., died on July 8, 2019 in Houston from the complications of cancer. Winner of the White Prize in history at Yale and a varsity basketball and soccer player, Dick secured an MA from Trinity College before gaining a law degree also from Yale. His career took him to Texas, where he practiced law with oil and gas companies, with which he held executive management positions, as he did with other firms in other industries. Sports were always a big part of his life. In 1959-1960, he coached basketball and football while teaching English at Houston's Kinkaid School and during law school played semi-professional soccer with the New Haven Ukrainians. In the 1970s, he served as tournament chairman of the River Oaks Tennis Tournament. And he rarely left off playing tennis and golf. In service to others, he volunteered at many community and church service activities and for more than 20 years was a volunteer for Texas Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Everyone who knew Dick experienced his infectious wit and smile. His gentle prankster side is captured in a story related by Graham Tebbe, who recalls Dick's "irrepressible and lovable self:" "One day Carol hosted a luncheon for about a dozen of her close lady friends. One of the waiters at the event turned out to be Dick in a brilliant disguise. He served the salad and main courses to the assembled ladies and then the dessert, still unrecognized. As the ladies began to enjoy the dessert, he reached in from behind one of the guests and attempted to pick a morsel from her plate to her great consternation before disclosing his identity to everyone’s great surprise and delight." Another story, this one from Don Roberts: "Dick came to New Haven early in the fall of 1953 for pre-season football practice. After picking up his gear he went into the locker room but could not find his name taped on a locker. He could not even find it taped above a wood peg. When he finally found 'Curran' taped above a nail, he switched to basketball." To Ray Lamontagne, Dick was "a special human being. Not a mean bone in his body. Though fighting cancer for several years and, for the last two years, in excruciating pain, his sense of humor prevailed to the end. The man was the epitome of love, humor and compassion. He enriched the lives of everyone he met. Franz Gimmler thinks that Dick's humor had a purpose: "Listen to this joke, and you'll see the humor in life." His wife Carol having predeceased him, Dick is survived by his four children, Richard Curran, Anne Curran White, Laura Jennings Turner, and Webb Jennings, and his brother Edmund ("Mike") Curran ('59), as well as their families and many grandchildren. Contributions in his memory should go to Texas CASA at www.texascasa.org/ways-give.

—JMB

Frederick B. Collins, Jr. (July 12, 2019)

In Memoriam:

Classmates: We've just learned that our classmate Frederick B. Collins, Jr. died, presumably in or near Bellevue, Washington, his last address of record with the class, on July 12, 2019. A native of Seattle, Fred appears to have been a resolute son of the Pacific Northwest. After attending Yale with '57 for probably a single year and no more than two, he eventually took his BA degree in mathematics and physics at Whitman College. He then spent most of his career as a computer systems engineers at the Boeing, IBM, and Xerox Corporations. After retirement as a computer consultant, he and his wife of 62 years, Janet Sue, ran a pet-sitting business. Fred is said to have been loved for his wit, storytelling, musical talent, and love of gadgets. In addition to his wife, he is survived by their children Laurel Tomchick, Richard, and Steven as well as their families. He was preceded in death by his brother, Thomas, and sister, Mary McCollum. Contributions in his memory should go to the American Heart Association or the Northwest Kidney Foundation.

—JMB

Donald J. Scherl (June 26, 2019)

In Memoriam:

We have news that Donald J. Scherl died of unstated causes in Palm Spring, California, on June 26, 2019. Although the class has little information about him, the following can be learned about his distinguished life and career. After receiving his Yale BA summa cum laude (and winning the Barge Prize in mathematics and being elected to Phi Beta Kappa in his junior year), Don completed a medical degree at Harvard. Subsequently, he served as founding director of the Community Mental Health Service at Massachusetts Mental Health Center and became associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Between 1971 and 1975 he occupied the position of Undersecretary of Human Services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and, until 1981, of acting director of the Harvard-affiliated Judge Baker Guidance Center and associate professor of psychiatry and chair of psychiatry at the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston. His career reached its summit when he became president of the Downstate Medical Center of the State University of New York, from which he retired in 1993. Along the way, Don was the author of Prospective Payment and Psychiatric Care, as well as many shorter works in his field. After retiring, he and his partner David, now deceased, moved to San Francisco where, in 1995, he joined the national board of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. In that city, he was also an active supporter of the arts, particularly of the San Francisco Symphony. In 2017, Don moved to Palm Springs.

—JMB

John W. Somerville (June 14, 2019)

In Memoriam:

John W. Somerville died on June 14, 2019, in Omao, Hawaii, the state in which he'd lived and worked for many years on Oahu and, as Andy Poepoe and Steve Ackerman report, on Mauna Kea, the Big Island, and Kaua'i. At Yale, John played on the varsity soccer and tennis teams, sang with the Glee Club, Augmented Seven, and Whiffs, and was a member of Skull and Bones. After college, he served in the U.S. Army, then, after moving to Hawaii coached for a time, says Reed Taylor, at the 'Iolani School. By the time of our 25th reunion, he was carried on our rolls as living on Oahu and associated with the Waialawe Country Club, no doubt as its tennis pro, a role that was also that of his late wife Harriet. Both were nationally ranked. It was an all-tennis family: their children were placed among Hawaii's top junior and adult players and become associated with tennis elsewhere. John was also the founder of the company John W. Somerville Tennis Services and over his lifetime was the pro of many clubs and resorts. Ed Meyer says that he also practiced law, although we have no further record of that or of his law school preparation. Pete Robertson recalls John as "affable and friendly," as do many others. John is survived by sons Henry and James, daughters Hannah Sirois and Betsy Purpura, and other family members.

—JMB

Mahlon B. Wallace III (May 19, 2019)

In Memoriam:

I convey word that Mahlon B. Wallace III died at home surrounded by his family in St. Louis, Missouri on May 19, 2019. His roommate Vern Loucks reports the cause of death as cancer. After Yale, where he was a varsity swimmer, Lonnie served in the Marines at Camp Pendleton, California, 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 is raised championship Texas longhorns. A naturalist as well as hunter, Lonnie and his family were avid travelers across the world, 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 director for 32 years of Commerce Bank and was elsewhere involved with the National World War II Museum, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, and Hotchkiss School. He was also involved in the community of Harbor Point, Michigan, where his family had a house since the 1930s and where he was involved in the restoration of the Little Traverse Bay Lighthouse. Vern writes that Lonnie, who in a photo can be seen sporting a cowboy hat, loved cowboy "shoot 'em ups" and would drive far to see one. Buzz Brenton, a close friend, 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

William C. Everett (May 13, 2019)

In Memoriam:

William C. Everett died of unstated causes in New London near his Mystic, Connecticut home on May 13, 2019. After taking a Harvard law degree and serving in the U.S. Patent Office, Bill became a patent attorney in the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics in Groton, Connecticut, for which he worked during the rest of his career. He was involved in community and cultural affairs. An officer of the Mystic River Historical Society, he served on the area's historical commission and Groton's zoning board of appeals. A long-time singer at Yale, in church, and in nearby Westerly, R.I., after his retirement Bill studied music theory and composition at the Hartt School of Music, took up the bassoon, and composed twelve-tone music that was locally performed. ("Who but Bill," asks Chip Anderson, "would embark on composition in the 20th-century 12-tone scheme of Arnold Schonberg?") Bill was also competent, says Chip, in "at least" seven languages and was known for his "great sense of humor, which sustained him through his lifelong handicap from a malformed hip." Predeceased by his wife Joyce, Bill is survived by their three sons Carter, James, and Robert, two brothers, grandchildren, and others. Donations in Bill's memory should go to the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy in Ashville, NC.

—JMB

James A. Therrien (April 8, 2019)

In Memoriam:

We have very brief word, and only from a former business associate of him through New Haven, that James A. Therrien died on April 8, 2019, in Bogotá, Columbia. From what we can 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, Bogotá (a Chase affiliate, which he helped convert into a consumer bank) and held director positions with the Inter-American Action Committee and the Centro Colombo Americano, both in Bogotá. In recent years, Jim listed himself with the class as an investment advisor.

—JMB

Charles H. King, Jr (April 6, 2019)

In Memoriam:

We have word from Rob Walker of the death on April 6, 2019, in Wilton, Connecticut, of Charles H. King, Jr. A pre-collegiate graduate of St. Paul's School, where he was a star athlete until an injury sidelined him, at Yale Charlie was a history major, a resident of Calhoun College, and a member of Fence Club. Rob reports that, after a brief stint in banking, Charlie's entire working career was in investment management in New York and later in New Canaan and Greenwich, Connecticut. He was the author of a 1979 book on long-run investing. His college roommate, Tod Mann, who occasionally worked with Charlie on money management projects, writes that "his smarts and leadership in those efforts were unquestioned." Rob describes Charlie as "a private person with a relatively small circle of friends. 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 goes on to say, he was confined to his home with a debilitating illness which "he bore with uncomplaining fortitude." Tod also writes of Charlie's "incredible grace" after illness forced him into semi-retirement, a man "never complaining or losing his sense of humor. When he was asked (often), 'How are you?,' he would cheerfully report, 'I guess you could say that I'm falling apart about on schedule.' He was one of those 'friends for life' people I was privileged to know and respect for almost 70 years." Charlie is survived by his wife Karla, sons Charles King (Yale '81) and Locke, and daughters Ashley K. Goddard and Amanda H. Keyes. His family will hold a private memorial service.

—JMB

Richard A. Lumpkin (April 4, 2019)

In Memoriam:

We learned first from Nort Wright that Richard A. Lumpkin, a resident of Carmel, California, died peacefully on April 4, 2019, while visiting Palm Springs. A pre-collegiate graduate of Andover, at Yale Dick was a member of Fence Club and Skull and Bones, chaired the WYBC board, and was president of the Ivy Network. After graduation, he served in the US Army and secured an MBA from Harvard Business School. (It was his experiences in the Army, he wrote in our 50th reunion book, that saved him from becoming a lawyer.) He then returned to his birthplace, Mattoon, Illinois, to join Illinois Consolidated Telephone Company, a firm originally founded by his great grandfather. In 1977, Dick became president of ICTC then of its newly formed holding company, Consolidated Communications. He built that new entity into a company that published directories, provided local and long distance telephone services, and built 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 in 2002 in part to ensure that jobs in its vicinity would be saved and to maintain the company's as a major broadband and business communications provider in 23 states. Dick was also deeply involved in non-business projects. He played a large role in founding in the early 1980s, largely from within ICIC, the Special Olympics Family Festival, today the largest such gathering in the US. He was also active in the Lumpkin Family Foundation, a major regional philanthropy. He was a leading figure in the founding of the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center and the development of its new hospital as well as in supporting the Lumpkin School of Business at Eastern Illinois University. In recognition for his lifetime commitment to east central Illinois and his contributions to the university, the institution conferred on him an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service. Among other activities, Dick served on corporate and institution boards, headed various professional associations, was a member of the Yale University Council Committee on Information Technology, and was a trustee of Millikin University and Concord Academy. After the death of Gail, his first wife, Dick relocated to Carmel Valley, Calif., where he married Virginia Hawes in 2007. Not willing to rest, he launched the Cima Collina Winery and Tasting Room in Carmel Valley. Fellow college boxer Nort Wright recalls Dick's "crunching left hook. Our afternoon sparring sessions turned adversaries into fast friends. Dick always signed his emails to me as 'Rocky.' He was indeed a champ!" 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 his two children Elizabeth Celio and Benjamin Lumpkin and their families, four step children and their spouses, and other family members. Memorial services and celebrations of Dick's life will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 5, at the Hilltop Ranch of Cima Collina Winery and subsequently at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, at Lake Land College in Mattoon, Illinois. Memorial gifts may go to the Sarah Bush Lincoln Foundation.

—JMB

Christian R. Sonne (March 22, 2019)

In Memoriam:

Christian R. Sonne died on March 22, 2019 of the complications of Alzheimer’s disease in the same Tuxedo Park, New York house in which he grew up and lived most of his life. A graduate of St. Paul's School, at Yale Chris was a ranking scholar and Scholar of the House as well as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Elizabethan Club, and the Aurelian Society. Upon graduation, he served as an artillery officer in the US Army, gained an M.A. in International Affairs at Columbia, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Munich. He spent much of his career in investment banking, then turned to the management of two large properties—one a South Carolina forest, the other a large Adirondack acreage. He also became the historian of the town of Tuxedo, one of the nation’s first planned gated communities, of whose 2007 history, Tuxedo Park, The Historic Houses, he was co-editor. Chris’s most notable contribution to the Yale community 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 achieved the rare feat of reaching the summit of all 113 mountain peaks above 4,000 feet in New England and New York, which made him also an “Adirondack 46’er.” All who knew Chris knew his jaunty good humor and intelligence. Bill Reimann recalls him as “a kind of Bill Buckley conservative, but far more willing to think seriously about things and capable of doing so than most of them.” For Mike O’Hearn, he was a “man of high principles.” To Roland Machold, he was “a very straight ahead person.” Ernie Pepples notes that along with his “moral compass” he was capable of “high jinx.” Chris is survived by his wife Sally, their children Peter (who once carried Chris’s kidney and now carries that of his sister), 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.

—JMB

John B. Morrell (January 13, 2019)

In Memoriam:

We've learned from New Haven of the death on January 13, 2019, of John B. Morrell. John died on Tortola, BVI, where he had been a resident for 50 years. No cause of death was reported. There exists almost no information about John (known in undergraduate years as "J.B.") in our records, and his sons, who notified the Yale Alumni Magazine of his death, wrote little in reporting his decease. Born in Latvia and a graduate of St. Marks school, at Yale John majored in political science. His roommate, Keith McEligot, who is the source of much of what follows, recalls John as a jazz enthusiast, always appearing "to be finished with classes and academic pursuits by noon." He was "fairly quiet and reserved, pleasant, and generous. A genuine low-key nice guy." Keith writes that John's family was "in the liquor business and owned, among other products, Wolfschmidt Vodka, which, at the time, had a factory in New Haven. Hence, we had no problem in supplying said refreshment for weekend football parties in our entry way in Davenport." After graduation, John went to work in the family business in London, where he was in charge of the sales and distribution of the company's products in Europe. Sometime in those years, he married "a girl from Red Bank, N.J." Probably in the 1960s, John moved to Tortola where, his family's interest in Wolfschmidt Vodka having been sold, he established a similar business, TICO, a been, wine, and spirits importer and distributor. He seems to be survived by his sons Andrew and Adam.

—JMB

Robert E. Barton (January 13, 2019)

In Memoriam: Robert E. Barton

John Resnik and Sam Chauncey first passed along news of the death at home in Farmington, Connecticut, on January 13, 2019, of Robert E. Barton. Bob's work life after Yale can technically be said to have been in communications; at one point, he managed communications for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, the city of his birth. And for years he worked as a reporter and editor for The Detroit News, the long defunct New Haven Journal-Courier, and for many years the New Haven Register, being most notable for sports coverage, his photography, and his Register interviews with former Connecticut sports figures. In addition, however, to being a respected reporter and wordsmith, he was best noted for being a walking encyclopedia of sports- (particularly football-) related facts—in particular those concerning Yale teams and sports history dating back into 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. If he couldn't find an answer to queries in his store of clippings and game programs, he turned to the Connecticut State Library. As long ago as 1961, he helped select All-State football teams. Not surprisingly, he was active in the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance, received its Art McGinley Award for meritorious service, and long chaired its scholarship committee. It should also be noted that he provided research assistance in the early 1980s to Tom Bergin for the latter's book, The Game, and helped edit many others' manuscripts. Bob also studied at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and typically became, parallel to his knowledge of sports statistics, a kind of walking Biblical concordance. He served occasionally as preacher at the Northford Congregational Church in North Branford and led services as the Avon Health Center. Some will recall that Bob read the names of deceased classmates at one or more of our reunions. Sam Chauncey notes that Bob was "a quiet man," his Register photos greatly admired by members of the Yale photography department. Steve Conn, Yale's associate athletic director, writes that "Bob has had a huge impact on me and our record keeping.... He was our football historian, the person I considered my writing mentor, a great story teller, a kind and caring person, and a real character. The press box at Yale Bowl won't be the same without his voice and presence coming from the front row." Bob is survived by his wife Judith. Donations in his memory should go to Christian Community Action, 168 Davenport Avenue, New Haven CT 6519, or to a food pantry.

—JMB

Peter A. Smith (December 15, 2018)

In Memoriam:

We've learned belatedly of the death from kidney failure of Peter A. Smith, on December 15, 2018, presumably near his home in Lake Forest, Illinois. A gifted pianist and all-round musician, at Yale Pete played the trumpet in the football and concert bands. Shortly after graduation, he entered the U.S. Navy's Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, then served on a destroyer out of Long Beach, California until transferred to Nevada--is there water there?--before being discharged. Afterwards, he spent his entire career in banking, which started with Citizens and Southern National Bank in Atlanta in 1961. After spending an academic year in Harvard's Program for Leadership Development, he opened the bank's service office in Los Angeles before returning to Atlanta. In 1974, he accepted an offer to become president of American National Bank (later Barnett Bank), the position he held until his 1990 retirement. At the time of our 25th reunion, he was living on St. Simons Island, Georgia, and running the bank from its headquarters in nearby Brunswick, where, an engaged civic figure, he was also president of the city's Chamber of Commerce and of United Way while serving as a trustee of Brunswick Junior College. After his bank was purchased by a holding company and finding his work "no fun anymore," Pete moved with his wife Nancy into a house with a red barn and mountain view near Blacksburg, Virginia. But, reports his New Trier classmate and fellow musician Lyman Drake, the 2007 shooting at nearby Virginia Tech "changed his feelings about the place, so he and Nancy eventually moved to Lake Forest, Illinois--closer to his roots, where their house was part of a large Presbyterian retirement community with connections to strong medical facilities." Lyman, a jazz drummer, describes Pete as "the #1 piano talent of our era at New Trier. We formed a band together there that was more of a dance band than a jazz band. Pete had enormous talent for the piano, but he was never much drawn to jazz improvisation. He would rather play Gershwin or Porter with lots of flourishes." Ron Ragen writes that, at a reunion of Yale roommates in Cooperstown, New York, “one evening in a large and lovely hotel on the lake, we gathered for cocktails. Pete wandered over and began to play the piano." "A brilliant impromptu concert," Lyman calls it. "It was," says Ron, "just like outside the TD dining hall--still a fantastic pianist. As we got up to leave, the hotel manager offered Pete (actually begged him) to become the hotel’s full-time pianist for the season, saying to some of us that Pete was the finest pianist he’d ever heard. A good job. Two hours each evening and all day, every day, free. Pete declined." Pierre (Pete) Bouscaren characterizes Pete "as bona fide a Yale man as one could imagine" and compared with his entryway mates in Timothy Dwight "more serious about life, counted on for a sincere smile and a generous laugh when warranted, and a solid citizen, devoted husband, and loyal friend." Writes Lyman, "Peter believed in family, in institutions, in self-discipline, and in the pursuit of excellence." He is survived by his wife and their children Catherine McGowan, Alan B. Smith, and Elizabeth S. Galloway and three grandchildren. A service in his memory will be held at a future date. Contributions in Pete's memory may be sent to Lake Forest Open Lands Association, 350 North Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, Illinois 60045, or to the Geneva Foundation of Presbyterian Homes (for the support of musical programs at Lake Forest Place), 8707 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, Illinois 60077.

—JMB

George W. Schuyler (December 2, 2018)

In Memoriam:

George W. Schuyler died at Casey House Montgomery Hospice in Rockville, Maryland, on December 2, 2018 surrounded by his family. He died of the combination of aggressive lymphoma complicated by Parkinson’s disease. After Yale, where he majored in history, George served for four years in the Marine Corps in Hawaii before mustering out at the rank of captain. Subsequently, he pursued graduate study at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, then earned a doctorate in history from Stanford. His major interest being Latin America, present as well as past, he successively 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 in Caracas, director of the International Education Center at St. Mary's University, Halifax; and chair of the history department at the University of Central Arkansas. The author of books on various aspects of Latin American history and life, he focused especially on poverty and development. George and his wife of 44 years, Patricia, traveled widely. One of their distinctive acts was, in the 1970s, to go back to the land—their "utopian period," George's Branford roommate Talbott Huey calls it—in New Brunswick, Canada, where they farmed vegetables organically and relied on their wood stove to get them through that land's cold, dark winters. After that, one should note, they returned to city life and spent many recent years in Washington, D.C. Those who recall George are likely to remember most his mischievousness and easy laugh, both of which were accompanied by a tough mind and compassionate regard for life. Talbott's characterization is accurate and just; George led "a full and adventurous life in unconventional terms, as well as success." 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. A gathering in his memory will take place at Camp Talooli, in Pennellville, New York, between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on May 4, 2019. Donations in his memory should go to Grassroots International (https://grassrootsonline.org), Planned Parenthood (https://www.plannedparenthood.org), or Witness for Peace (http://witnessforpeace.org).

—JMB

Martel W. Davis (November 17, 2018)

In Memoriam:

Prompted by Fred Guggenheim's researches, I write to report the death on November 17, 2018, of our classmate Martel W. Davis. The cause and place of his death are unknown. Yet we had long been aware that he lived in Washington DC although efforts to raise him over the years had been unavailing. Marty entered Yale with '57 from Andover as one of our very few African American classmates. His entry in our freshman registry lists his address as Monrovia, Liberia, which suggests that his parents may either have been linked to the American Embassy there or were Liberians. Fred, who didn't know Marty well, gathers from his Andover yearbook that Marty was on the school's football and basketball teams during his senior year. He is listed in Yale's on-line directory as having been a resident of Pierson but someone who never completed his undergraduate studies in New Haven. A notice from an undated issue (presumably in 1956) of the photo magazine Photostream found on the Web says that Marty was a native of Washington, a drama and English major, chairman of the Chi Delta Theta dramatic fraternity (of which no photo exists in our graduation book), and had just been elected as chairman of the Yale Literary Magazine, "the first Negro student so honored." However, no doubt because he was no longer in residence during our senior year, photographs of Pierson College seniors and of senior members of the Yale Literary Magazine do not reveal him among those pictured. There is no indication as to whether Marty had a family or survivors.

—JMB

Ronald B. Crawford (October 22, 2018)

In Memoriam: Ronald Crawford

I have from his widow, Nancy, the news of the death of Ronald B. Crawford on October 22, 2018. Ron died in his hometown of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, of unstated causes. While he seems never to have left behind any information with the class, much can be learned from his published obituary. Entering Yale in 1949 from the Hill School, he stopped out to serve as a Mandarin linguist in the U.S. Air Force in Korea, where he intercepted enemy radio traffic from behind enemy lines. He returned from that service to Yale, where he joined the Class of 1957 and majored in sociology and Mandarin Chinese. Ron spent most of his work life in personal and industrial sales and residential real estate. But that seems scarcely to fully characterize his life. He served the communities in which he and his family lived by helping establish a volunteer ambulance squad, serving as a Boy Scout leader, and serving as a town supervisor. From the Episcopal Church, he and his wife migrated to the Unitarian Universalist Church, in which, in 2003, he was ordained a pastoral minister. In that capacity, he served not only as a full-time minister of his Gettysburg congregation but also as a volunteer chaplain in two hospitals. He also served with Nancy as co-treasurer of the Gettysburg Ministerium. In addition to his wife, Ron is survived by their children Amy Crawford-Faucher, Susan Morris, Rachel Maggio, Tad, and Katherine Carman, plus many grandchildren and other relatives. 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.

—JMB

Roger T. Donald (October 11, 2018)

In Memoriam:

Our classmate Roger T. Donald died at home in Condon, Montana, on October 11, 2018, after a long illness. A pre-collegiate graduate of Andover and subsequently an English Speaking Union student at the Rossall School in England, Roger entered Yale in 1954 with the Class of 1958 but completed college with us. His undergraduate record included the Tinker Prize in English, and he was a ranking scholar. Armed with a Clare Fellowship, he subsequently studied at Clare College, Cambridge, where he received an MA in history, his undergraduate major. Roger spent his entire career in publishing. After starting out at McGraw-Hill, he joined Little, Brown where he served 30 years as senior editor, editor-in-chief, and publisher in the trade division. Among those whose writings he shepherded through that publishing house were Edward Abbey, John Barth, Nathaniel Benchley, Thomas Berger, Peter de Vries, Dennis Donahue, David Herbert Donald, Thomas Flexner, Bryan Forbes, Ellen Gilchrist, Arthur Krock, Norman Mailer, Maryjane Meaker, William Manchester, Paul Monette, Anatoly Rybakov, William Shirer, and I.F. Stone. Counting Samuel Flagg Bemis and Edmund S. Morgan as advisors and working with Jefferson biographer Dumas Malone, Roger also published works by Soviet and Russian authors that, despite criticism, always proved their authenticity. Starting in 1998, he spent his summers in northwestern Montana and lived there full-time starting 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, their families, his brother Jonathan, and his companion Rachel Vielleux. Donations in Roger's memory should go to Phillips Andover Academy. Celebrations of his life will take place in Condon, Montana, in November and in New York City in December.

—JMB

Kenneth W. Tuttle (October 1, 2018)

In Memoriam:

We have word that Kenneth W. Tuttle died on October 1, 2018, presumably in Gainesville, Georgia. The cause of his death is unknown. Ken grew up in Seattle in—John Schoonmaker tells us—a winery-owning family and the son of a Navy admiral. At Yale, he sang with the Battell Chapel Choir and the Apollo Glee Club and managed the varsity swim team. Aiming for a medical career while an undergraduate, he practiced medicine throughout his life. After taking his MD degree at the University of Maryland and completing his internship, residency, and a post-degree fellowship in gastroenterology, he was mustered into the U.S. Navy—not much of a surprise there—which he served at the San Diego Naval Hospital. He then served on the medical faculties of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and the Rutgers School of Medicine and applied his skills at the Hunterdon, New Jersey, Medical Center. Apparently not able to keep himself off the waves, Ken returned to naval service in Great Britain in 1995 and retired in 2000. An active volunteer, he served variously as deacon, elder, and board chair of many churches—in whose choirs he always sang—and coordinated and helped raise funds for Habitat for Humanities projects. Ken is survived by Janet, his wife of 60 years, whom he met, John Schoonmaker tells us, 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.

—JMB

Jesse Lemisch (August 24, 2018)

In Memoriam:

On August 24, 2018, we lost Jesse Lemisch , who died peacefully at Mt. Sinai Hospital surrounded by his family. A "red diaper baby," Jesse attended Hotchkiss before entering Yale, where he distinguished himself by winning the White Prize in History and becoming a ranking scholar and a member of the Elizabethan Club. His red diapers always prevailing over the other surroundings of his youth, he went on to a complex career of historical scholarship and leftist writing, protest, and organizing. After college and a history MA at Columbia, Jesse returned to Yale to pursue a PhD under Edmund S. Morgan. He notched a brilliant start as a scholar, his dissertation being one of the first of the 1960s efforts to re-capture history "from the bottom up"—that is, in contrast to and protest against history "from the top down" so often written about, and from the perspective of, elites and leaders. In Jesse's case, the result was a seminal study of seamen and their search for better working conditions in the era of the American Revolution. Along with a first essay, "The American Revolution Seen from the Bottom Up," his classic article, "Jack Tar in the Streets: Merchant Seamen in the Politics of the American Revolution," which was drawn from his dissertation, was of immediate influence in the efflorescence of New Left history in the decades to follow. From that point, along with Staughton Lynd, another New Left historian who had been denied tenure at Yale (because, it was often said, of his leftist leanings) Jesse turned from history to radical politics. First, he took up the pen against academic history and academic historians, including those at Yale such as C. Vann Woodward. None of this ingratiated himself to academic departments. Nor did his membership in the SDS and his identification with radical politics. As a result, denied tenure at the University of Chicago, he was for a long time an academic vagabond—Northwestern and Roosevelt Universities, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and Baruch College, until he finally secured a stable position at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. By then, he had turned his attention almost exclusively to radical politics, cultural criticism, and polemics. Everyone who knew Jesse, including professional colleagues, knew both his warm, fun-loving qualities and his contrarian, sometimes infuriating, and occasionally ill-tempered side. Some of his fellow historians regretted that he substituted radical politics for the brilliant promise of his early scholarly career. But no one could help but admire his devotion to his beloved, long-ill, psychologist/neuroscientist wife Naomi Weisstein, whose lab in Buffalo he tried to keep operating during her illness and whose insurance battles he publicly fought (once on the op-ed page of the New York Times). Roommate Roland A. "Clem" Labine, writing that "I learned more from Jesse than I did from any professor at Yale," says that "Jesse, an avid Brooklyn Dodgers fan, announced the first day of freshman year, 'If I am going to room with a Labine, you are going to be 'Clem' Labine.' That new moniker became my 'stage name' for the 50 years of my professional life." Clem also remarks on Jesse's "impish and off-beat sense of humor that could happily extend into the bizarre, as on an unforgettable night when (around 1 a.m.) 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 Ellem Lemisch, as well as an uncle.

—JMB

Eric D. Pace (July 15, 2018)

In Memoriam: Eric D. Pace died on July 15, 2018 from the complications of dementia. We have learned little this accomplished man from his family, and the New York Times, for which Rick worked as a field correspondent and writer for almost 50 years, has passed over his death as if it hadn't heard of him. A graduate of Exeter and a ranking scholar, Rick spent his junior year abroad at the University of Heidelberg. What he did between graduation and the mid-1960s is somewhat of a mystery. It seems that he received an M.A. degree from the John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Then, from what he wrote in our 50th reunion book he started out writing for Life from Bonn. His first Times byline appears in May 1965. Only after 2003 did its appearance slow, his last signed piece, an obituary no doubt prepared earlier, appearing in June 2014. During his years with the paper, he filed thousands of articles. He seems to have started on the NYC metropolitan desk, then to have moved quickly to 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 two prestigious awards—the George Polk Memorial Award of the Oversees Press Club and the Page One Award of the NYC Newspaper Guild. At some point, he reported from Vietnam and continued to do so from different parts of Africa. After that, he switched to reporting on business, especially the publishing trade, from New York, then slowly moved into his final berth as an obituary writer. Along the way, Rick wrote three novels—Saberlegs, Any War Will Do, and Nightingale—and contributed to many magazines. Those who knew Rick knew him as a modest, soft-spoken, slyly witty man—a "gentle spirit" Ernie Pepples, a fellow member of St. Anthony Hall, 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

Carleton T. Woodring, Jr. (July 10, 2018)

In Memoriam:

We have word of the death on July 10, 2018, of Carleton T. Woodring, Jr. He died in or near Guilford, Connecticut, after a long battle with cancer. Woody's entire career was spent in commerce. He started out after college as a buyer for Gimbels, then moved to Orr's Department Store, a family business in Easton, Pennsylvania, his birthplace, where he rose to be vice president. After a decade there, he set up a marketing firm, Woodring Marketing, with his wife Sandra and then, in the 1980s, became a real estate agent. Woody's principal love was the opera, which he pursued through the Metropolitan Opera Club and the Wagner Society of New York. Sailing, the shore, and the Yankees came close behind. Woody is survived by his children Carleton III and Sarah Cooper, their children, a brother, and a sister. Donations in his memory should go in his name to the Metropolitan Opera, 30 Lincoln Center, New York, NY 10023.

—JMB

Richard E. Voigt (July 4, 2018)

In Memoriam: Richard E. Voigt died suddenly at his home in New City, NY, on July 4, 2018. It would do no dishonor to this undergraduate member of the Pundits to say that, with Dick's death, the Class of 1957 lost a large figure. Known best in college for founding and managing Eli's Chosen Six and playing with classmates Lyman Drake, Pete Williams, and Buell Neidlinger (as well as with students from other classes), Dick, a pianist, kept music, especially Dixieland jazz, at the center of his life. While he created, fueled, managed, and played in other bands, he and his fellow players in Eli's Chosen Six were never surpassed in sheer exuberance and unleashed improvisation. Their rendition of "Bulldog Bulldog," caught on a recording they made while undergraduates, can't fail to delight a listener for its played-with-youthful-abandon solos that incorporate strains from other beloved tunes in the Yale Songbook. There's nothing else like it among classics of Yale music. It's also a tribute to the band's enduring life that the ECS—with changes in original personnel—played for '57 reunions at five-year intervals for decades and was playing at other reunions as late as the spring of 2018. Dick lived a life that mirrored his inexhaustible energy and good cheer. After college and a brief stint in radio and television in Dallas, he took over his father's retail hardware business in New York, then became the owner of two restaurants in Connecticut (and in one of them livened things up with the Pepper Mill Jazz Band, named after one of his establishments). He next purchased High Tor Vineyards and Winery in Rockland County, NY (which he turned into farmland) all the while maintaining a full schedule of volunteer activities—and, of course, of Dixieland. Much of his volunteer work revolved around providing pastoral and substance abuse counseling to those in need of it. 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, was himself a member of AA, and was active in the Fellowship of Reconciliation. He long served on the board, for a stretch as chair, of Rockland County Community College. This man of seemingly limitless energy also served for a time as a selectman in Weston, CT, and was an active Democrat. A 6"4' presence capable of commanding attention, musical and otherwise, from his lofty height, Dick was always modest and infinitely respectful of others and their views. He was known to everyone for his bonhomie, his ready laugh, his giving nature, his gentle spirit, his vitality, his earth-firm character, and his moral sense. He was a man of unusual range and talents. 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." As Ernie Pepples—a fellow member of St. Anthony Hall, where Dick held musical court at the keys for three undergraduate years—writes, "Dick was always giving, reaching out, and helping others reach out. He genuinely loved to connect with people and to help them laugh and boost their spirits." Nort Wright, another St. Anthony Hall member, reflects that "Dick was a gentle giant of jazz, full of kindness and musical generosity. With that big grin and eye twinkle, he would look down at me and graciously tolerate my pontifications on the passé character of 2/4 dixieland and the superiority of 4/4 bop, Monk’s diminished seconds, and modern jazz’ iconoclastic reversals of tonics and sub-dominants. Then he’d sit down at the piano and stride through a set that would put me humbly in my place." Hal Russell, who also knew Dick from St. Anthony Hall, says simply and accurately that he was "unique." Surviving ECS members, including Bob Morgan '58, fittingly played at Dick's funeral. The piano was silent. Dick is survived by his wife Elisabeth, sons Richard Jr., Michael, and Christopher, daughter Melissa Mason, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and a sister. 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; and Rockland County Community College.

—JMB

Benjamin A. Rowland, Jr. (June 25, 2018)

We learned last week from Rob Walker of the death of Benjamin A. Rowland, Jr., at his home in South Londonderry, VT, on June 25th, 2018. He had been suffering, his roommate and close friend Tod Mann writes, from emphysema and COPD. Barry started his career in financial services at Merchants National Bank of Boston in 1958. Then in 1966 he joined the investment management firm of Vance Sanders (later Eaton Vance Corp), a manager of mutual funds, of which he became the Chief Administrative Officer while also serving as a member of its Board of Directors. He retired in 1999. Throughout his career, Barry was an active member of several mutual fund industry groups, including the Investment Company Institute and the National Investment Company Service Association (NICSA). After his retirement, he and his wife Wendy divided their time between their long-time home in Marblehead and South Londonderry, where they had a working dairy farm. Barry was, Tod describes him, "a gentleman farmer with a modest-sized cheese business" who ran the farm (Rob's words now) "as a hobby." In South Londonderry, he joined the board of trustees of the Burr and Burton Academy, which he served as Board Treasurer and Vice-Chair. Involved with and a supporter of many other organizations, in 2008 he created the Rowland Foundation to provide opportunities and the gift of time for visionary 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 and Wendy owned a luxury French canal barge boat, which they used on the canals of France and chartered out for many years. "A born organizer and manager who also loved gardening and the salt water," says Rob. From his youth, he'd worked on deep water charter fishing boats off Cape Cod and the Bahamas. In college, writes Tod, "when bluefish, tuna and stripers were running, Barry and I had a neat format for studying for exams: go to the Cape, fish all morning, drink Dubonnet before lunch, take a nap, and wake up for studying a couple of hours." He was, says Tod, "all a New Englander should be: taciturn, street smart, amusing, careful with a dollar." In addition to his wife of almost 60 years, Barry is survived by their daughters Heidi Lynn and Sandy Sullivan and their families, as well as his brothers Edward S. Rowland and Daniel B. Rowland, his sister Mary Allen, and his half brother, Rodney D. Rowland. He was predeceased by his brother George B. Rowland. A Memorial Service will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, August 14th at the First Congregational Church in Manchester, VT. Gifts in Barry's memory may go to Burr and Burton Academy, P O Box 498, Manchester, VT 05254, or a charity of choice.

—JMB

Martin I. Miller (June 10, 2018)

In Memoriam:

On June 10, 2018, I notified you that we had received word from Yale that our classmate, Martin I. Miller, had died sometime in 2012. Yale had received that information from a scribbled, unsigned note on a returned class dues and information form mailed from Florida, Marty's last known state of residence, but could trace it no further. No published obituary can be found, which may be explained by Marty's having no known family members, nor can a social security record be located. But I think it necessary to put him onto the rolls of our deceased classmates and "officially" close our record of him with more honor than all that. Marty was born in New Haven, attended Hillhouse High School, and lived off campus during our undergraduate years. An architecture major, he indicated in our 1957 Class Book his intention of pursuing a career in architecture. After that, we know little of him. Lynn Williams, a friend from college who had eaten at Marty's family's home—"my first taste of kosher food; matzos were an unexplored world"—saw him in Manhattan in the mid-1960s and reports that by then Marty had served in the Special Forces—"a bizarre enlistment, but he wanted it at that time"—and was working in New York. Despite efforts to learn more from classmates and unavailing efforts by our records sleuth Talbott Huey to harvest more information from public records, Lynn's is the last information we have of Marty.

—JMB

William T. Clinton (June 5, 2018)

In Memoriam:

We have news that William T. Clinton died on June 5, 2018 of unstated causes in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania. Bill entered Yale with the Class of 1954, stopped out to study Russian at the U.S. Army Language School in Monterey, served with military intelligence, assigned to the NSA, for three years, then re-entered with '57. A skilled swimmer from his youth, he captained Yale's swim team and was subsequently named to the All-American Collegiate Swimming Team. He related the somewhat improbable, altogether inspiring story of his trajectory from working class origins in a small town through college at unusual length and with appealing modesty in our 50th reunion book. After college, Bill entered the stainless steel industry and remained in it as a sales manager, mostly with Lukens Steel, until his retirement. His major hobby was collecting and selling antique maps and rare books, an interest that was supplemented by a passion for the Civil War, good food, and the National Parks, to which he often traveled and camped with family members and friends. A member of the Freshman Glee Club, Bill kept singing throughout his life—in barbershop quartets, choruses, and the choir of the First Presbyterian Church of West Chester, PA, with which he sang for over 40 years. He was also an active community and church volunteer, especially with Good Works, a Chester County, PA, non-profit organization that works to improve the living conditions of low-income families. As he did with others, Bill made a strong impression on the fellow members of his Berzelius delegation—not only because of his greater age and experience but because of his character. Frank Michelman writes that "he carried himself along, among us, with an ease, a strength, a warmth, and a modesty that I expect rubbed off on many of as guides and clues for what would lay shortly ahead in our own lives." Franz Gimmler concurs. "He was a smiling and sincere friend with a maturity resulting from his life experience that is well laid out in his autobiographical piece in the 50th reunion book. A stalwart and altogether decent man." 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.

—JMB

William C. Calin (May 20, 2018)

In Memoriam: William C. Calin died of unstated causes on May 20, 2018 in Lake City, Florida. Those who knew Bill at Yale in Directed Studies and later recall how he sped out of the starting gate to win the White Prize in History, become a ranking scholar, and be elected to Phi Beta Kappa. It was probably in Directed Studies under William Jordy that he fell in love with Romanesque and Gothic architecture and the literature and culture of medieval France. As an undergraduate, reports roommate Reed Taylor, Bill "studied with both Jacques Guicharnaud and Henri Peyre, who groomed him for his eventual career." He remained at Yale to gain his PhD, then taught at Dartmouth, Stanford, the University of Oregon, l'Universite 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'Etudes Occitanes. He was the author of twelve books on such subjects as the poetry of Guillaume de Machaut and the ways in which the modern world imagines, studies, and understands the Middle Ages. Twice married, Bill leaves no children or siblings, but is survived by what have been called "his academic sons and daughters whom he mentored with assiduous care and acerbic wit." His college roommate Jared Curtis confirms what all his undergraduate friends experienced of this sharp humor and his "wicked laugh." Having, for instance, no tolerance for pretentious fools, Jared writes, "Bill finally had had enough of his Old Campus RA who knew no one by name and greeted us always with an anonymous 'Hi, there.' But my name, Bill protested one day, is 'Bill,' not 'There.'" Despite this, Bob Crafts, another roommate, describes him as "quiet and reserved." His known argumentative bent, generally on the leftist side but always balanced, was fully on display in our 50th reunion book, where he offered a robust defense of the humanities and the Great Books, expressed his exasperation with multiculturalism, and wrote that we must "insist upon the perennial centrality of the culture of the past." Later in life, Bill became a devout convert to Episcopalianism. A service in his memory will take place in the fall at a yet-to-be-scheduled date, place, and time.

—JMB

Benjamin C. Moore (May 10, 2018)

We learned first from Dick Voigt, his Kent School classmate, of the death on May 10, 2018 of Benjamin C. Moore. Ben died at home in West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, of the complications of Parkinson's disease. A prospective architect in college, Ben remained at Yale to gain an architecture degree, then practiced his chosen profession throughout his life. Giving architecture a try first on St. Croix, then in Boston with Cambridge Seven Associates, Ben returned to his beloved Vineyard—where his forebears' stamp was already deeply felt—and remained there for the rest of his life, as much a civic fixture as an architect. Professionally, he focused on his up-island community, whose aged library, commercial structures, police station, town hall, and First Congregational Church all gained from his designs for renovation. He designed new buildings for the Island Children's School, a golf club, and a dance studio and provided plans for over 80 private houses, his architecture being both traditional (principally for renovations) and contemporary. These were, however, only a part of his activities. Known as someone who could calm aroused emotions, Ben was long his town's representative to the Martha's Vineyard Commission, which had to contend with deep island divisions over the varying claims of the different island jurisdictions—limited geography apparently intensifying local claims—and battles over such things as a second ferry slip in Vineyard Haven, whose calm welcome many have since enjoyed without knowing whose hands were in part responsible for its existence, as they were for the renovation of the Oak Bluffs bandstand, a major feature of that distinctive community. A champion of solar energy, Ben was no less so of affordable housing. In that respect, he was a co-founder of the Vineyard Habitat for Humanity and for 15 years led islanders to the Mississippi delta to build Habitat dwellings there. Ben's undergraduate roommate Kim Cheney calls Ben a "mentor" with a "warm affable personality" with "a hearty laugh" who found "the best in people without judgment for their perceived faults and with tolerance, appreciation and insight for sensitively assessing the structure of a person’s character." Another roommate, Read Charlton, calls Ben "friendly, happy, and kind," one who "never broke a sweat" in life or on the golf course and who made Read think twice after being gently chastised by Ben for shooting ducks. "Why do you want to shoot those beautiful ducks?" he asked Read. The latter reformed. Ben is survived by his second wife Patricia ("Paddy"), his sons Maxwell, Hubbard, Augustus, and Jason, her two sons Andrew Worlock and Patrick Worlock, and their families. His funeral will take place at the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 30th. A party to celebrate his life and spirit will be held at the town's Agricultural Hall at 3 p.m. on Saturday, September 22nd. 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.

—JMB

Joel Kovel (April 30, 2018)

Joel Kovel, a versatile if elusive psychiatrist, writer, and critic of the Left, died on April 30, 2018 from pneumonia and autoimmune encephalitis. A leading student in college—ranking scholar, junior Phi Beta Kappa, Elizabethan Club, summa cum laude—Joel took a medical degree at Columbia P&S and studied psychiatry at the Psychoanalytic Institute in Brooklyn before breaking into the public eye—first with 1976 Complete Guide to Therapy, then with the 1984 White Racism, in which he argued that racism existed at the core of Western culture and would always resist eradication. Radicalized by the Vietnam War and eventually giving up on his chosen profession because of, as he charged, its diagnostic rigidity and capture by insurance companies, he taught successively at Albert Einstein Medical School, the New School, and Bard College, from the last of which he retired (not, however, without controversy). Intellectually and politically, he was firmly, and from the start, on the Left, yet he was never unvaried in his commitments and wanderings. (He wrote at our 50th reunion that he'd had "a restless and rather complicated life" and described himself as "quixotic.") Predictably opposed to capitalism, globalism, and empire—in our 25th reunion book he railed against "nuclear aggression, jingoism, corporate greed and omnipresent racism and injustice"—as well as a paladin of environmental protection, he repeatedly attacked conventional thinking in most spheres and was considered the founder of what he termed ecosocialism and co-author of the "Ecosocialist Manifesto" of 2001. True to his convictions, he ran as the Green Party's candidate for New York senator in 1998 only to be trounced by Chuck Schumer. Inevitably, Joel came under criticism, not just for his robust socialistic positions but also, late in life, for his attacks on Zionism, made most pointedly in his 2007 book Overcoming Zionism. As if his stout championship of ecosocialism was not distinctive enough, toward the end of his life he embraced what he felt was a spiritual conversion to Christianity. Writing in 1982 of the "stifling" atmosphere of Yale, Joel kept up the fire. Ten years later, he attacked the university for its "brutal assault on workers" (by which he meant its unions and graduate students) and its "remarkably undemocratic and uncollegial university structure." Yet in our 50th reunion book, rather than assaulting Yale he wrote more reflectively of his life and concerns. Joel is survived by his wife Dee Dee Halleck; Jonathan Kovel and Erin Fitzsimmons, the children of his first marriage; Molly Kovel, his daughter with his widow; his widow's three children; and others.

—JMB

Reynolds Girdler, Jr. (April 28. 2018)

We've learned from John Watling that Reynolds Girdler, Jr., died of natural causes on April 28. 2018, surrounded by his family at home in Greenwich, Connecticut. A pre-collegiate graduate of Andover, Tad left little record with that school or Yale. In many respects, his life and career grew out of his origins in the Binney family, his great grandfather having been the founder of Binney and Smith, the maker of Crayola Crayons, and a major figure in Greenwich, for whom its Binney Park is named. Tad lived most of his adult life on Binney Lane and worked for the company until 1982, when he retired from his positions as Vice President for Corporate Relations and member of the company's board of directors. Losing a leg to cancer in his early 40s, Tad, a pre-collegiate and collegiate swimmer, continued to hike, fish, snorkel, and scuba dive and was a 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 children that a shark took it. Tad is survived by his wife Jean, their children Amy Love, Faith Girdler, and Reynolds E. Girdler, and their families, grandchildren and one grandchild, two brothers, and others. Donations in his memory should go to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

—JMB

Gerald H. Ayres (April 7, 2018)

We first learned from Jim Herlan of the death on April 7, 2018 of Gerald H. Ayres. Gerry died under hospice care in Watertown, NY, near his beloved 1000 Islands home, from the complications of dementia. While it's not clear whether or not Gerry formally completed work for his bachelor's degree, toward the end of senior year he took up residence in New York to write for the theater. Accepting a post as a story analyst with Columbia Pictures, he moved to Hollywood in 1964 as assistant to the studio's vice president of production. Thus began his rise to major producing berths in the film industry. Named vice president for creative affairs of Columbia Pictures, he served as producer of the 1969 film Model Shop with Anouk Aimee and Gary Lockwood. Leaving Columbia, he formed Acrobat Productions, which brought out Cisco Pike, with Kris Kristofferson and Gene Hackman, and, in 1973, the award-winning hit The Last Detail starring, among others, Jack Nicholson and Carol Kane. The film was nominated for three Oscars. In 1980 came Foxes, in which Jodie Foster starred. The next year Gerry wrote the screenplay for George Cukor's final film, Rich and Famous, starring Jacqueline Bisset and Candice Bergen. Not confining himself to feature films, he also wrote for television. His credits in that medium include Stormy Weathers and Holly Hunter's Crazy in Love (both of them in 1992) and the 1995 film, Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story. His two-volume memoir, Everywhere Hollywood and The Apple Bites Back, appeared in 2016 and 2017. As Jim Herlan, who remained a close friend, writes, Gerry "led a most colorful life, during which he transitioned from straight to bisexual to gay. He had a wonderful sense of humor, with a preference for wry wit. I always came home from visiting him in a good mood with warm memories of good conversations sprinkled with lots of laughs." Gerry had a son and daughter by a first marriage. He is survived by his spouse Guy Briscoe Ayres, with whom Gerry lived since 1995 and whom he married in 2013.

—JMB

John D. Dalack (March 31, 2018)

John D. Dalack died on March 31, 2018 from pancreatic cancer. From the Peddie School, John entered college with the Class of 1950, stopped out due to illness in his junior year, served with the U.S. Army for two years, then returned to Yale in 1955 with the Class of 1957. Armed with a psychology BA, he took his PhD in psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University, then pursued his internship at Walter Reed Hospital, finally serving out his military service at Fort Monmouth, NJ, and retiring at the rank of captain. From there John moved to Staten Island for work with the Staten Island Mental Health Society and became director of that boroughs' community mental health center all the while maintaining a part-time private practice, his specialty being the clinical care of children, parenting, care-giving, and family-related issues. Retiring in 2006, he cared for his wife Shamseh until her death in 2011. John was closely involved in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church and served on his diocese's board of trustees and as secretary for many years. He is survived by his children Laila and Gregory ('81).

—JMB

William H. Hamm III (March 27, 2018)

In Memoriam:

We have learned from Scott Nicholls through his own informal grapevine of the death of William H. Hamm III, presumably in Palm Beach where he and his wife Candace had a home. In an early 2018 squib, that city's newspaper conveyed only an intimation of his death. With the indispensable help of Bob Ganger, also in Palm Beach, we were able to ascertain that Bill (or "Bones" as he was known it college) died on March 27, 2018. There has been no published obituary, and Bill left little information with the class. Scott notes that Bill gained an MBA from Columbia. We can also tease out that at the time of our 25th reunion he worked as a stockbroker in San Francisco in a firm that, says Fritz Hagios, was eventually incorporated into Morgan Stanley. And Bob reports that, an heir to the Hamm Brewery fortune, Bill at one point served on the board of the Palm Beach Zoo and may have at one time owned the New York Islander hockey team.

—JMB

Buell Neidlinger (March 16, 2018)

We have word from his family that Buell Neidlinger died on March 16, 2018, presumably in or near Langley (Whidbey Island), WA. Buell may have been the most distinctive non-graduate of the Class of 1957. A native of New York City and a musical prodigy from childhood, by the age of seven he was playing the cello and becoming accomplished on that instrument under the tutelage of, among others, Gregor Piatigorsky and Walter Page. In college with us for a year, he was an original member, as bassist, of Eli's Chosen Six, founded by Dick Voigt, along with Lyman Drake and Pete Williams (all of '57), Roz Rudd, and Lee Lorenz. His early apprenticeship in professional jazz with the likes of "Hot Lips" Page, led Buell to make recordings and join gigs with Tony Bennett, Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Gil Evans, Cecil Taylor (whose bassist he was for seven years), and Bill Evans. Jazz not able to contain him, he bent to Gunther Schuller's hope that he would involve himself in "classical" music and soon ended up in the bass section of the Houston Symphony Orchestra under John Barbirolli. This led to continuing involvement with such cutting-edge composers as George Crumb and John Cage, with Igor Stravinsky, and with Leopold Stokowski's American Symphony, the City Center Opera, and the Budapest and Amadeus string quartets. In 1967, he joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Erich Leinsdorf and helped found the jazz department of the New England Conservatory of Music as a faculty member. Not a man to settle down, he next fetched up in Los Angeles to teach at CalArts and be principal bassist under Neville Marriner with the LA Chamber Orchestra, as well as to play chamber music with Peter Serkin and the Guarneri String Quartet and record music with Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Costello, and Frank Zappa, all the while playing in countless movies. Not shy, Buell proudly listed in our 55th reunion book the names of many of the well-known instrumentalists, jazz musicians, and leading figures of music with whom he was associated. And if (as a single example) you go, as Vic Norton urges, to Buell's rendition of "Lady Sings the Blues" on his "Blues Chopsticks" album—"Lady Sings the Blues" is the song that became Billie Holiday's theme song—you get a taste of how he could mix jazz themes and improvisation with the most abstruse contemporary harmonies from twentieth-century concert music to create something altogether unique. Always on the move and a presence in all company, Buell held strong views about most things, including politics and, as he revealed in our 35th reunion book, the plight of the poor and homeless. Nort Wright describes him as "a superb and wiggy musician." He surely was that. He is survived by Margaret Storer, his wife of 36 years and also a professional bassist, and children Mike and Miranda.

—JMB

Franklin P. Conlan (March 12, 2018)

Our classmate Franklin P. "Hank" Conlan died at his home in Carmel, CA, on March 12, 2018. A pre-collegiate graduate of Groton and at Yale a resident of Davenport College, Hank was probably best known to us as a singer in the Freshman and Yale Glee Clubs and then the Whiffenpoofs. After college, he served as a naval officer, and, as his roommate Joe Mark informs us, became a leading salesman for 3M before being lured away by Memorex. Later in life, Joe also reports, he started his own companies—"a high-end management recruiting firm, an intriguing adjustable crutch firm, an enormously successful tomato processing company, and a national brand cracker company." Although others point out that technically he was a second tenor, it was his quavering speaking and singing voice—his Irish tenor in an "Irish tenor heart," in Jeff Freeman's words—by which he was known in college and always after, for he never stopped singing wherever and whenever he could and never failed to delight those who knew him. In fact, this Catholic man, fellow Whiff Reid White recalls, was a long-time cantor in a California synagogue. The Whiffs became the center of Hank's collegiate life and his fellow Whiffs among his closest life-long friends. Fellow Whiff Ken Sharp, with whom Hank shared some Navy-service roistering, tells of Hank's first time out in his own fishing boat after moving to Florida. "The first time he took it out he didn't measure the first bridge he went under and thus tore off the whole top of the boat." Jeff writes of his "matter-of-factly dealing with tough stuff life tossed his way: long ago being gravely injured in a motorbike accident during the 1957 Whiffs’ sojurn to Bermuda; his wife Gretchen’s ("Getty's") long decline and death from breast cancer; falling and breaking his hip at new-love-of-his-life Rika’s home in PA after they came together, followed by a long convalescence back in Carmel; and then his decision not to attend our 60th because 'I just wouldn't enjoy wheeling my oxygen canisters around.” A mischievous, dare-devil fellow, he impressed everyone, Joe reminds us, by "his outgoing personality, his captivating sense of humor, his ability to spin a yarn, his lady-enticing Irish renditions of 'Danny Boy,' and his broad interest in cooking, politics, mystery novels and entrepreneurial pursuits." A "cheerful, outgoing person - full of fun," Sam Chauncey remembers him, whose politics didn't get in the way of friendships with others who failed to share his conservative views. Hank is survived by his wife, Rika (the widow of our classmate Dan Cornwell), his daughter Betsy, sons Bill, Peter, David, and Benjamin, a brother, and other family members. A celebration of his life will take place at The Old Capital Club, in Monterey, CA, at 2 p.m. on April 7, 2018. Gifts in his memory may be made to the Salvation Army or the Special Olympics.

James A. Shanley, Jr. (March 11, 2018)

We have recently learned of the death on March 11, 2018, of James A. Shanley, Jr. Jim died under hospice care in Branford, CT. We have little of record about him. Before Yale, where he majored in political science and was a member of the Air Force ROTC, Jim attended Hopkins Grammar School. His published obituary says that he fought in the Korean War, which cannot be so, inasmuch as, dying at age 82, he was of the same age as most of the rest of us. But it's clear that he was a pilot in the Korean Theater after college (and after the Korean War had ended) before entering law school at Georgetown. He then practiced law in New Haven and Madison, CT, until his retirement. Jim is survived by his wife Barbara, their son James and their daughter Rebecca Gordon, grandchildren, and many others. Donations in his memory should go to the E. E. Scranton Memorial Library, 801 Boston Post Road, Madison, CT 06443 or to the Connecticut Hospice, 100 Double Beach Road, Branford, CT 06405.

—JMB

Philip T. Clover (February 20, 2018)

Philip T. Clover died of unstated causes on February 20, 2018 at his home in Chapel Hill, NC. Raised partly in Germany, Spain, Cuba, and Guatemala, Phil grew up in Scarsdale, NY excelling in Spanish and becoming an Eagle Scout. After graduating from Yale with an industrial administration degree, he joined General Electric, for many of whose divisions throughout the East Coast he worked in budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis for 23 years, along the way gaining an MBA from Stanford. He then served for nine years as vice president of finance and operations for Western Union North America (later First Data Corporation). There he was responsible for all financial functions in the US, Canada, and Mexico. He ended his career with a brief stint as a consultant for Western Union. Upon retirement, he and his wife Denise moved to Chapel Hill. Phil characteristically involved himself in community and civic work in many roles, including being deacon in various churches and helping Boy Scout troops. While living in Ridgewood, NJ, he served as trustee of the town's public library during its major renovation and expansion. In Chapel Hill, he provided tax assistance to those in need. All who knew Phil recall the wry smile that often adorned his face as well as the solidity of his judgment. Brian Walsh, who knew Phil from high school days, recalls him as "quiet and witty" That view of him seems universal, with Phil's roommate Wattie Taylor, calling him a "quiet chap." Jerry Jones, another Scarsdalian, describes his as "modest, very quiet, very charming, and a man of great integrity." In addition to his wife, Phil is survived by their sons Greayer, Edward, and Samuel, their families, and his sister Margaret Stillman. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 6, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3639 Old Chapel Hill Rd., Durham, NC.

Philip B. Weymouth, Jr. (February 14, 2018)

David Wilmerding was the first to notify us of the death on February 14, 2018, of Philip B. Weymouth, Jr., Phil succumbed, in the company of family members, to injuries sustained earlier in an auto accident. A graduate of Deerfield Academy, Phil took a mechanical engineering degree from Yale, where he was a member of Fence Club, then, after O.C.S. training in Newport, served for three years as an officer in the U.S. Navy on a destroyer in the Pacific Fleet. Upon leaving the Navy, he joined his father's insurance agency, Weymouth & Smith, and studied property and casualty underwriting at the Wharton School. Becoming a partner of the firm in 1967, he rose to its presidency and worked for its successor firm, Weymouth Swayze & Corroon, part of the Chubb Insurance Group, until his death. Deeply committed to civic work of all kinds, Phil was a trustee of Deerfield and a member of the school's alumni association executive committee, served as a council member of The Music School of Delaware, and was a board member of Americans for the Competitive Enterprise System. He was also a trustee of The Tatnall School for decades and a member and chairman of the board of the Delaware Museum of Natural History. As if this wasn't enough, he was an avid pilot with thousands of hours aloft and with a perfect flying record, which won him induction—who can miss the irony regarding this voluble man?—into the fraternity of Quiet Birdmen. To this distinction he added many positions of responsibility in the Wilmington Hangar. A clubman whose memberships numbered above ten and included the Society of Colonial Wars, Phil placed the sports of golf, quail and dove hunting, and salmon fishing among his favorites. Everyone who encountered him met an out-sized man of unforgettable physical and vocal presence as well as of breezy self-confidence. Peter Greer calls him, no doubt thinking of more than his size, "truly a giant among men." David Wilmerding puts it this way: "Phil had an athletic approach to a lot of things including drinking beer. His energy and enthusiasm were enviable." John Hermann, a Deerfield as well as Yale classmate, writes that Phil was "fun, irreverent, opinionated, and almost always a bit naughty." Firm in his mostly conservative convictions—which earns also from Pete a description of him as "a passionate patriot and a great American as well,"—Phil had the distinction of being one of only two Deerfield board members to vote against that school's becoming co-educational; yet he never gave up supporting his pre-collegiate alma mater. John Barrett, one of Phil's closest friends from Deerfield and for four years his Yale roommate, describes him as always "unshaken in his beliefs and readiness of thought. His loyalty to his family, his many friends, his schools, and his community was legendary. He had a great sense of humor; his laughter was contagious. At times outspoken, no one questioned his sincerity, friendship and support. He was a man for all seasons." Phil is survived by his wife of 53 years Natalie Margaret "Peggy" Weymouth; their sons Philip B. Weymouth III and Timothy B. Weymouth and daughter Natalie Keenan and their families; his brother Charles M. Weymouth, and a cousin Roland M. Machold ('57). A celebration of Phil's life will take place on Saturday, February 24th at 11:00 am in the Soda House (Buck Road entrance) at the Hagley Museum. Donations in his memory may be made to Delaware Museum of Natural History, 4840 Kennett Pike, P.O. Box 3937, Wilmington, DE 19807; The Tatnall School (for Weymouth Field), 1501 Barley Mill Road, Wilmington, DE 19807; or The Music School of Delaware, 4101 Washington Street, Wilmington, DE 19802.

Richard D. Dermody (February 1, 2018)

We have word from New Haven that Richard D. Dermody died with his family by his side, on Feb 1, 2018, presumably near Swampscott and Marblehead, Massachusetts, his native grounds. Dick entered Yale with the Class of 1954 but stopped out to join the U.S. Army, with which he served for two years in Korea. He then re-entered Yale with the Class of 1957 and, a resident of Calhoun, majored in psychology. For some years after college, he led a diverse life. He appears to have hitch-hiked across the country, sailed from California to Hawaii, lived and worked in New York City, owned restaurants in Marblehead and Swampscott, taught in a high school and worked as the school's guidance counselor, and worked for the Department of Defense in Okinawa. With his wife Maryanne, he founded Brass 'n Bounty, an antiques enterprise specializing in nautical antiques that at its peak had stores in Faneuil Hall, Marblehead, and Lexington, Massachusetts. That responsibility took him throughout the world, from England to Taiwan, in search of rare finds. After retiring, Dick continued to buy and sell antiques at his store in Marblehead as well as at antique shows throughout the country. He also helped his daughter Alicia expand the family business into the lighting manufacturer Shiplights. Dick is presumed to be survived by his wife and daughter.

Owen O. Freeman, Jr. (January 29, 2018)

We have learned of the death on January 29, 2018, of Owen O. Freeman, Jr. Chip died of unstated causes at his home in Aspen, CO. While he entered Yale with the Class of 1957 after schooling at The Gunnery, we have no record of his undergraduate years since he apparently did not take his degree in 1957 and so is not recorded in our 1957 Class Book. But we do know that he spent his entire career in banking in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. After the Broad Street National Bank (in Trenton) of which he was president, was acquired by another institution, he founded Commonwealth State Bank in Newtown, PA and then First Capital Bank in York, PA, of both of which he served as chairman and both of which were purchased, as Chip wrote in our 50th reunion book, by other banking houses at a "considerable profit for the shareholders." He took particular pride in training up women employees who went on to occupy senior positions in other Middle State banks. Chip was also President of the Independent Bankers Association of Pennsylvania and served on many boards in Mercer County, NJ, including the Trenton Rotary Club, where he was President. In addition to his wife Helene of over 60 years, he is survived by their children Owen O. Freeman, III, John P. Freeman, and Catherine Freeman Fedor and their families as well as four grandchildren and a brother and his wife. An avid fly fisherman, Chips ashes are destined for the Roaring Fork and Frying Pan rivers in Aspen. A service in his memory will take place in the spring or summer. Contributions in his memory should go to the Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter, PO Box 985, Aspen, CO 81612

Thomas M. Perkins III (December 31, 2017)

Some may have equaled but no one surpassed Thomas M. Perkins III in stalwart loyalty and contributions to the Class of 1957. Tom died on December 31, 2017 in New York after a long battle with congestive heart failure. To say that Tom had a full life—one of an almost inconceivable number of challenges that would have vanquished others but one also rich in achievement—would be to utter a mere generality. After Yale, he took a Harvard law degree and then served after 1968 as a partner of what is now Venable LLP, Baltimore's premier law firm. There, he was known for the diversity of his practice. In addition, for instance, to defending large corporate clients, Tom mastered Maryland boiler regulations to defend a boilermaker client. For many years he also represented the Baltimore City Housing Authority. But along the way, he had to conquer alcoholism, which he succeeded in doing at age 50, while surviving the death in 1986 of a beloved son and subsequently of a wife—all of which might have felled others. Through such losses, he remained somehow indomitable and high-spirited. To those who knew Tom, it was less his lawyering than his various public services, of which he was always modest, that distinguished him. He served as treasurer of the founding Board of the National Aquarium in his native Baltimore, president of the Baltimore City Jail, trustee of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library, trustee of the Bryn Mawr and Gilman schools (the latter of which he was a graduate), and treasurer and fundraiser for numerous Maryland political campaigns. After he moved to New York, he served as a trustee of Amor Artis and University Settlement. He mixed his love for classical music with a passion for the Baltimore Orioles—cheering both the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the baseball team in the same breaths. But most of us knew him for his extraordinary contributions to the Class of 1957. He was Class Secretary (1987-92), repeatedly provided the touch of Midas in raising reunion gifts, and was in at the origin of what became the Class of 1957 Music in Schools Initiative. To memorialize the death of his son Rob ('86), Tom led the creation of the Robert R. Perkins '86 Memorial Scholarships, which today provide support to five undergraduates in Jonathan Edwards College. He also underwrote the cost of JE's recreation and snack bar areas during the college's renovation. Tom co-chaired both of the 45th and 55th class reunion gift committees, which together raised a total of $29 million dollars. He was helping solicit further gifts to Yale just a few months before his death. As his close friend Don Roberts writes, Tom had "the knack of finding the 'hot button' that turns an unresponsive classmate into an enthusiastic donor. To Tom it was cat and mouse. Tom was the really clever cat." With a firm grip on the funding of non-profit institutions, he could also be the scourge of Yale staff members when he thought they were erring in the use or reportage of funds. But it was always out of deep love for his alma mater that he criticized it. Never, however, did he fail either to give help or administer complaint without a smile on his face, laughter in his voice, and irrepressible wit. In addition to his wife Sarah M. Brown (to whom he was introduced by Tom and Wendy Chittenden), Tom is survived by daughters Anne G. Perkins and Virginia M. Perkins and five grandchildren. He is also remembered by his first wife, Anne S. Perkins of Baltimore and by the children and grandchildren of Sarah Brown. He was predeceased by his sisters Margaret Perkins Brewster and Georgia Perkins Ashforth and by his second wife Harriet Granet, as well as by his son Robert. A service in Tom's memory will be held at the Lady Chapel, Cathedral of Mary our Queen, 5200 N. Charles Street, Baltimore on January 20 at noon, with a reception to follow in the parish hall. His family asks that donations in his memory be made to the Class of 1957 Music in Schools Initiative

Norman W. Clein / Xeno York (Dec. 27, 2017)

We've learned from New Haven of the death on December 27, 2017, of Xeno York, formerly known to us when undergraduates as Norman W. "Buz" Clein. He died, presumably in his native Seattle, after battling cancer. We know little of Xeno's life. He entered Yale with the Class of 1955, stopped out to serve as an enlisted man with the U.S. Army in Korea, then returned to college with us. At Yale, he was among other things a member of the varsity crew. Still known as Buz Clein in our 25th reunion book, sometime thereafter, for reasons unreported to us, he took his new name. A note in the May 1994 YAM, when he was then calling himself Xeno York, 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 teach at Bellevue Community College and to lead workshops on "How to make a comeback from anything, starting now." His published obituary states that he also did work through Alcoholics Anonymous, 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.

—JMB

John Elliott Bunce (December 27, 2017)

Our classmate, John Elliott Bunce, died suddenly on December 27, 2017 in Alexandria, Virginia. Although Elliott entered Yale with us in 1957, he stopped out for two years of service in Germany with the US Army before re-entering college and gaining his degree in 1960—all the while remaining a 57er. After Yale, he served briefly with the CIA, then entered George Washington University Law School, where he took his law degree. Rumors that Elliott spent his life undercover for the CIA appear to be incorrect. His nephew Alan Bunce ('94) laughingly says that Elliott was always open about his short CIA service, saying that it added some value to his federal pension. After clerking for a judge, Elliott pursued private legal practice in Virginia for roughly 25 years before becoming an administrative law judge for the Social Security Administration. It's difficult, however, to think that the law was the center of Elliott's life. From a distinguished theater family, he acted locally in amateur productions. A classical music lover, he served for two years as president of the board of the Alexandria Symphony. An active backer of 1957's Music in Schools Initiative, he and his wife Linda used it as an inspiration to establish and be active in Sympatico, a program sponsored by the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra and the city's public school system for Alexandria elementary school instrumentalists patterned loosely after Venezuela's El Sistema programs. He and his wife were also avid Alpine hikers. Elliott climbed the Matterhorn while in the Army, and subsequently he and Linda made 42 month-long trips to Switzerland, where they walked and hiked that country's mountain trails. He was also an active member of his Christian Science congregation. Those who knew Elliott were always drawn to his warmth, his wit and good humor, his modesty, his enthusiasm about life, and his serious dedication to his many activities, civic and otherwise. Beside his wife of over fifty years and his nephew, Elliott is survived by another nephew, J ('96), nieces, and others.

John I. Shaw, Jr. (December 1, 2017)

We lost John I. Shaw, Jr. on December 1, 2017, from the complications of an auto-immune disorder. He died in Bridgeport, CT, near his home in Southport, surrounded by family members. A pre-collegiate graduate of St. Marks and a member while at Yale of Fence Club, after college John pursued two successive careers, both of them, he wrote in our 50th reunion book, "dealing in fantasy." The first was on Wall Street, the second in commercial acting and modeling in TV, print and voice-over ads, in educational and training films, and in soap operas. But the central activity of his life, as all who were ever in his orbit knew, was song. Starting before college, he was a glee club singer; and in New Haven he sang with the Augmented Seven and in the Glee Club before becoming a Whiff—the last becoming the central identifying note of his life. Fittingly, at his death he was listening to his beloved "Whiffenpoof Song." Who doesn't recall his second bass role on the left wing (from our facing position) of the Whiffs, his shoulders slightly tilted forward while anchoring the ensemble with his low rumble? There, as in acting work, his voice carried all before it. In Boca Grande, FL, where he and his wife Ann had a house, he was, writes Hal Russell, because of "his good looks, his stentorian voice, and his acting background" always in demand as "master of ceremonies, narrator, and announcer for most island events" and "instrumental in getting the Whiffs to sing there every year." Jeff Freeman, a fellow singer, recalls John as someone of "great good humor, sunniness, and joie de vivre." Reid White concurs, calling him "a lovely, kind, thoughtful, funny, dear, unforgettable man." Of his singing, Jeff writes that he "had a remarkably fine bass voice, wonderful in song but also particularly in speaking. For those who admire a resonant, well-modulated deep voice from which happiness readily spills, John was hard to beat." Also, as surprising as it may seem, John "learned all of his singing by ear; he couldn’t read a note of music! Even as far back as the Augmented Seven, he absorbed what he learned by listening and repeating until he got it. And he always got it." John is survived by his wife, his daughter Elizabeth Kleinbeck and her family, four step-children and their families, and other relatives. Contributions in his memory can go to the Yale Whiffenpoof Alumni, PO Box 201712, New Haven, CT 06520, or to the Southport Congregational Church, PO Box 366, Southport, CT 06890.

Daniel Allen Freeman III (November 20, 2017)

We've received word from New Haven of the death on November 20, 2017 of Daniel Allen Freeman III at his home in Norwell, MA. We have little information about his life. Dan entered Harvard with its Class of 1953, then joined the Marine Corps, with which he fought in Korea before being discharged at the rank of sergeant. After his military service, he entered Yale with our class, was a resident of Berkeley College, and majored in electrical engineering. He then worked for Pan-Am as an engineer, subsequently for GTE, from which he retired. He is said to have been a hockey fan and a lover of the ocean. He is survived by his wife Sybilla, their sons Peter and Robert, and their families. Donations in his memory should go to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

Sandland Webb (November 20, 2017)

We have recently learned through Roger Cogswell of the death in Bellevue, Idaho, on November 20, 2017 of Sandland Webb. He died, surrounded by his three daughters, from the complications of Parkinson's disease. After graduating from college with an Army commission, Sandy (or "Spider" as he was known to college friends) served in Korea. Then, with an industrial administration degree, he had a career of over 35 years with Reliance Electric, first in Cleveland and later in Southern California. But he was less characterized by his work than by his avocations—skiing, backpacking, birding, fishing, running (including many marathons), and hunting. In fact, he retired early to live in what had been his second home in Mammoth Lakes, California, to indulge his love of the outdoors. Roger writes of hunting with Sandy even after he was struggling with Parkinson's and talking with him of ballistics as, much to the admiration of his fellow hunters and guides, he got his deer. Greg Austin remembers Sandy for his Massachusetts accent and wry sense of humor. And his inseparable link with nature: "As a lifelong outdoorsman, he would persist at marginally-productive surf-casting for stripers off Cape Cod, fly fishing in the most humble, little creeks, grouse hunting through swampy, thorn-bush terrain no matter how sparse the birds, and, for many years, a week or even two subsisting with his dog out of a back-pack, absolutely alone in his beloved Sierras. And struggling with Parkinson’s for many years didn't dampen his enthusiasm for shooting clay targets, birds, and wild pigs." After his first marriage ended, Sandy enjoyed a long friendship with Sharon Wolcott, who added three daughters to Sandy's three to create what he called his "Girls’ School." Sandy is survived by his daughters Hilary Webb, Jocelyn Webb Pedersen, and Melissa Webb Araya and four grandchildren, as well as by Sharon Wolcott and her daughters Jennifer, Justine and Alexandra. A memorial service for him will take place on Saturday, June 23, 2018, at Lake Mary in Mammoth Lakes. Donations may be made in his name to the Nature Conservancy.

—JMB

Otis L. Graham (November 14, 2017)

I have the particularly sad duty of conveying news of the death of Otis L. Graham, Jr. He died on November 14, 2017, from the complications of Parkinson’s disease in Westlake Village, CA. Born in Nashville, Otis graduated from Hillsboro High School before college, where he majored in history, was a varsity wrestler, and was a member of St. Anthony Hall. After college, he served for three years as a Marine Corps officer in Hawaii. Completing military service, in 1960 he took up graduate study at Columbia under Richard Hofstadter and William E. Leuchtenburg and gained his PhD in 1966. Then, after teaching briefly at Mt. Vernon Junior College (since merged into George Washington University), in 1966 he joined the faculty of UC Santa Barbara, where he taught until 1980. In that year, he became Distinguished University Professor at UNC Chapel Hill before returning in 1989 to Santa Barbara until 1995 to direct its graduate program in public history. He then taught at UNC Wilmington between 1995 and 2002 before retiring. Among the most distinctive historians of 20th-century America of his generation, he was the author of many books designed to influence public policy outcomes as well as to contribute to historical understanding. He was also controversial, especially for his stance in favor of immigration restriction, for which he was widely criticized by colleagues. Yet that stance came from a deeply held concern, one evinced when he was an undergraduate—a fear about the environment , a fear stemming from a population explosion and a subject about which we talked frequently and with mounting concern. His two major historical works on the subject made arguably the best liberal case for immigration restriction—to protect the nation’s environment—that can be made. Otis was also deeply involved in nurturing into existence what is now known as "public history." He was editor of that field's leading journal and wrote books about such public history subjects as the Santa Barbara county wine industry and, with others, an account of the devastating 1990 fire that threatened Santa Barbara city. He also offered expert scholarly testimony in court in defense of the tobacco industry when it was under attack, an act that also brought him criticism. During his career, he held fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Center, the NEH, and the Institute for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Studies. In 1999, the National Council on Public History recognized him with its Robert Kelley Memorial Award. All who knew Otis experienced his bonhomie, broad laugh, and strong address to the world. A man of forceful personality, his experiences as a varsity wrestler and a Marine Corps officer (of which he was always proud) joined with his erect carriage to offer a challenging presence to others. His powerful and independent mind also had to be reckoned with. No one left his company without being impressed, often amused, by his easy, colloquial use of language, which he could delightfully contort into fresh expression. Such stylistic flexibility found its way directly onto the printed page and into the fluent informality of his written works. There are few whose spoken voice can so easily be detected in their writings. Otis is survived by his two children, historian Wade Graham and Lakin Crane; his brother, retired journalist Fred P. Graham ('53) and his wife Skila Harris; and grandchildren Alex and Madeline Crane and Ben and Plum Graham, as well as his first wife Ann Graham Ehringer. He was predeceased by his second wife Delores, his sister Jenny Nunes, and his brother Hugh D. Graham ('58), also a historian. His family asks that contributions in his memory go to the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

Richard A. Moll (October 16, 2017)

Classmates:

We were recently notified from New Haven of the death on October 16, 2017, of Richard A. Moll. He died in Bangor, Maine. Armed ith a mechanical engineering degree and an ROTC commission, after college he served as an officer for three years in the U. S. Army. But instead of spending his life and career in land-based activity, he instead devoted both to maritime pursuits, to which as a youth he'd taken a love on the Connecticut River. Out of the army, he started working with Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding, later Electric Boat, and never gave up the focus that combined his love of the sea with engineering. Much of his work life was spent in Groton, CT. His specialty was the machinery compartments of nuclear destroyers and cruisers. Under Hyman Rickover, he was manager of nuclear quality control and oversaw compliance and quality for Electric Boat and the U.S. Navy. Much of his own and his family's non-work life was also spent on the waves (or under them: he was also a snorkeler) in various sailing craft in American and Caribbean waters. Wherever he lived, he was involved in local community affairs and governance, serving for instance in the early 1970s on the Scituate, MA, board of selectmen, for one year as chairman. Frank Niering, who, along with Steve Jackson, was Dick's Taft classmate, Yale roommate, fellow boatman, and life-long friend, writes of Dick's high spirits and prankster ways. He records, for instance, that at college Dick and his roommates housed a six-foot snake in their TD room until Tom Bergin ordered its removal. As Frank writes, "When Dick became involved in something" like charitable work or community service, "there were no half measures, and he brought to all of this a degree of intelligence and integrity that today's political menagerie might to do well to emulate." Dick is survived by his wife Patience (Pat) Moll of 60 years and by their sons Timothy and Richard and daughters Melissa Hale, Hilary, and Patience, as well as members of their families.

—JMB

Muller Davis (October 10, 2017)

Classmates:

Jack Hughes was the first to notify us of the death on October 10, 2017, of our classmate Muller Davis. He died in Chicago, his native city, in which he spent most of his life, after a long illness. After Yale, Muller attended Harvard Law School, then returned to practice family law in the firm of Davis Friedman, co-founded by his father after World War II. Described as an "icon" and "pioneering light" of family law, he was widely noted as the co-author of the 1995 work, The Illinois Practice of Family Law, a book said to be on the shelves of every divorce court judge in the Prairie State. He was consistently named on Best Lawyers' annual list of the Best Lawyers in America and received the Samuel S. Berger Award from the Illinois chapter of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in 2009. Anyone who knew Muller would not be surprised to learn that his colleagues—judges as well as attorneys—recognized him for his thoughtful, warm ways and for his refusal to exhibit the kind of conduct by which the matrimonial bar is often characterized. He was also described as "a dream boss." Jack Hughes writes that Muller "examined the issues involved in regard to the lives of those in medicine and law with extension to other professionals in the context of written law with sensitivity to the harm that selfishness brings to direct and extended families and the community in general." Lou Deluca writes that he was "so humble and unassuming that very few knew him well. I remember his quick smile." Edgar Masters described him as "gracious, unassuming, and just plain fun to be with. I think most folks would characterize him in similar words." Muller is survived by his wife of over fifty years Lynn and by their three children Melissa, Muller Jr., and Joseph. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services (www.metrofamily.org) or to the Lewy Body Dementia Association (www.lbda.org).

—JMB

Crawford Shaw (October 7, 2017)

Classmates:

Alerted by Ray Lamontagne, I write with news that Crawford Shaw died on October 7, 2017 in Rye Brook, New York, surrounded by his family. He died of complications from heart attacks. At college, Crawford was a member of St. Anthony Hall, interrupted his four years to study in Denmark, and, always adventurous, traveled around Europe during summers sporting an American flag for identity. After college, he earned a degree from Yale Law School, where he founded the World Community Association with the help of Myers McDougal and was the editor of Legal Problems in International Trade and Investment. Practicing international law as well as pursuing investments in New York and Houston, he counted among his clients the Lockheed Corporation and Volkswagen. Immediately recognizable by his brilliant smile—a "raffish" one," Nort Wright calls it—and known by everyone who knew him for his bonhomie and devilish charm, he was a bit of a playful rogue—"a man of amusing wickedness," Nort again describes him. He was also a serious man, dedicated to friends and family. As Ray, his roommate writes, "Crawford had no money, was on full scholarship at college and not only had to earn his extra spending monies; he was also supporting his mother who was penniless and a widow. That is the reason he was working every job he could find while also trying to keep up with his school work. I don't know of any other student who was sending money home rather than getting money from home." Again Ray: "I know that he helped out many friends during the course of his life. I never had to rely on him but I always knew that if I had needed him, he would have been there for me." Crawford is survived by his fiancée, Neville West, his daughters Melissa Fleming and Deidre Gibson, and his son Crawford, Jr., as well as their families. Donations in his memory should go to Yale, directed either to Yale College or Yale Law School.

—JMB

Thomas Keon (August 22, 2017)

In Memoriam:

We have just learned of the death on August 22, 2017, of Thomas Keon,. He died presumably near his home in Smithtown, NY, his long-time place of residence, of unstated causes. Tom entered Yale with the Class of 1956 but transferred to '57 presumably because of his participation in a five-year program in electrical engineering, his major. After that, we have little information about him. At the time of our 25th reunion, he was working for the Airborne Instruments Laboratory of the Eaton Corporation. Predeceased by his wife Eleanor, he is survived by his children Nancy Hines and Karen Tooker, a sister, and other relatives. Donations in his memory should to to St. Andrews Lutheran Church 30 Brooksite Drive Smithtown, NY 11787.

—JMB

Stanley F. Skowronek (June 1, 2017)

Classmates:

We've learned from Yale's office of alumni records that our classmate Stanley F. Skowronek died under hospice care on June 1, 2017 in Branford, Connecticut. The cause of his death is not known. We had long tried to discover his whereabouts and gain contact with him but, apparently as the alumni records office also did, failed until now to do so. A native of New Haven and a pre-collegiate graduate of St. John Kanty Preparatory School in Erie, Pennsylvania, Stosh (as he was apparently known in college), entered Yale with the Class of 1956, withdrew for now unknown reasons in the spring of 1955, then returned to graduate with us. He seems to have lived off campus with a Timothy Dwight residential college association. A physics major, Stosh stated on graduating that he intended to pursue a career in industrial research, and after teaching briefly at Wilbur Cross High School he seems to have done so. At some time thereafter, he earned an MA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. At the time of our 10th reunion, he was a commercial fuel quality control manager with United Fuel Corporation in New Haven and in 1987 and 1992 indicated that, working in the nuclear power industry, he had been employed by the United Nuclear Corporation and its successors. Subsequently, after formal retirement he worked as a financial advisor and tax preparer. Having in 1992 lost his first wife Loretta, whom he wed 1957, Stosh remarried in 1997 and moved to Madison, Connecticut. Predeceased by his son Charles J. Skowronek in 1999, he is survived by his wife Florence, sons Stanley P. and Mark S. Skowronek and their families, a brother and sister, and two stepchildren and their families.

—JMB

David F. Berger (June 1, 2017)

Classmates:

We have word from Toby Graff of the death on June 1, 2017, of David F. Berger. He died in Ashland, Oregon, of pneumonia. After marriage in 1956, Dave juggled full-time college study, marriage, and swing-shift work in Milford, Connecticut. Offered his first job out west on the condition that he not reveal that he was a Yale graduate, as he reported in our 50th reunion book, he declined the offer. After service as a JAG naval officer, Dave received his law degree from the University of Washington Law School and then practiced anti-trust law in Bend, Oregon, and Seattle. His third marriage, to attorney Jeane Lind, was the one that took. Committed to public service, after retiring in 1992 they served in Jamaica with the Peace Corps, then retired to Ashland, where Dave devoted much time to pro bono assistance to the local legal services society and ACLU clients and served on the local boards of the ACLU and United Nations Association-USA. A lover of travel and fly-fishing, Dave and his wife, Toby and Katherine Graff, and Shawn and Karen Kalkstein sea-kayaked, snorkeled, and trout fished in far-flung places such as the countries of Southeast Asia, Ecuador, and the Galapagos. Toby recalls Dave's "keen sense of irony." He "always found something to laugh about, including the antics of politicians and lobbyists that occasionally perplexed and more recently irritated him. His dedication to civil rights and social justice, his compassion for the oppressed and the exploited, and his cheerfulness" characterized him. In addition to his wife Jeane, Dave is survived by his children Erin Tuckerman, Tim Berger, and Shannon Hornaday, as well as by ten grandchildren. A daughter, Sara Berger-Joubert, predeceased him. Gifts in his memory may be made to the Center for Non-Profit Legal Services in Medford, Oregon.

—JMB

George J. Lasry (May 15, 2017)

Classmates:

I break convention a bit, after notification from Reed Rubin, to notify you of the death on May 15, 2017 of George J. Lasry, originally of the Class of 1957 but carried on the rolls of the Class of 1958 after taking his bachelor's degree with that class after being absent from Yale for a term in 1956. A native of Casablanca, Morocco, George died in Jerusalem, Israel, after some years of illness. A pre-collegiate student at Lawrenceville, he pursued an intensive major in philosophy at Yale, then followed that with a PhD in Aramaic philosophy at the University of Barcelona. Apparently, he mixed continued study and writing about philosophy with investment advising and what Reed calls a "celebrated work," Valuing Common Stock: The Power of Prudence. He also owned a horse farm in Claverack, NY, to which, Reed says he "commuted" from Jerusalem. A freshman wrestler in college, Reed, a life-long friend, notes that George was "as unbending intellectually" as he was "an unmovable rock on the wrestling team." Anyone who knew George, as I did in Directed Studies, found him a thoughtful, curious man of unwavering even temperament. George is survived by his wife Anita, six sons, a daughter, and grandchildren.

—JMB

John C. Simonds, Jr. (March 18, 2017)

Classmates:

I must report to you the death on March 18, 2017, of John C. Simonds, Jr.. He died of unstated causes in his native city of Charleston, South Carolina. A resident of Berkeley while at college, we have little following information about him. He spent his career as an investment manager. John's middle name—Calhoun—plus the facts that his funeral service was held at historic St. Michael's Church in Charleston and that he was a member of both the Society of Colonial Wars and the Society of the Cincinnati, suggest strongly that he came from an age-old South Carolina family. He is survived by his brother Charles (Yale 1959) and other relatives. He appears not to have married. Donations in his memory may go to St. Michael's Church, 71 Broad Street, Charleston SC 29401.

—JMB

J. Quincy Hunsicker (March 14, 2017)

Our classmate J. Quincy Hunsicker died in Zurich, Switzerland, on March 14, 2017 of unstated causes. After Yale, Quince gained an MBA from Harvard Business School, then spent his entire career as a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. of which he managed its Milan, Tokyo, and Zurich offices and where he rose to be a Director of the firm, its highest decision-making body, and retired as Director Emeritus. Held in high esteem by many, sought out as a counselor by friends and colleagues, and widely liked by all, he also served as president of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce and on the board of the World Wildlife Fund. In our 40th reunion class book, Quince wrote of his pleasure at being back in his adopted city of Zurich after traveling to McKinsey's offices in Asia. Switzerland, he wrote, "was part of the world where the challenge is coping with growth rather than consolidation and where age is associated with wisdom. Certainly, my children have no such illusions." In our 50th reunion book, he despaired at the decline in American prestige abroad due to "an unfortunate combination of hubris and naiveté." Steve Hopkins characterizes Quince as "a 'man for all seasons'—a good student, good athlete, and trusted friend who, though quiet and thoughtful, had a wonderful sense of humor." He is survived by his wife of 53 years Carolyn, their son John, daughters Suzanne Rapetti and Karin, and their families. Donations in his memory should go to the World Wildlife Fund.

—JMB

Joseph O. Robinson (February 21, 2017)

Classmates:

Our classmate Joseph O. Robinson died on February 21, 2017, in Rincon, Puerto Rico. The cause was lung cancer, a particularly cruel irony given Joe's championship swimming career and his later life on the Caribbean. Joe was known to some of us in college as a superb swimmer on the varsity swim team after captaining the freshman team. He was a member of the relay team whose members set a world record in the 400 yard freestyle relay, a record that technically still stands since the International Swimming Federation has stopped measuring distances in yards. As he wrote in our 50th reunion book, he left swimming for scuba diving, so "the only time I go near water is to dive under it. But of course I take a weekly bath, too." After college, Joe served with the Air Force in France, then put his civil engineering degree to work with U.S. Steel and Dravo Corporation, then in New Jersey with Exxon. For Exxon, another roommate Ray Ellison writes, Joe built many facilities worldwide. Switching careers, he took a master's degree at Seton Hall, then joined the faculty of the County College of Morris. His proudest achievement there—roommate Denis McWhan calls it "one of his most important"—was to create a program that enabled disabled people who had difficulty expressing their ideas graphically to preparing drawings using computer-aided drafting. After spending time in Puerto Rico and settling there, he joined the faculty of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and taught solid modelling through advanced graphics to mechanical engineering students. Ray Ellison notes his great love of art, as does Bob Beaney, who recalls him whistling, humming, and tapping even to Beethoven, a trait that won him the sobriquet "Toot, Whistle, and Boom." Ray also notes Joe's easy willingness to help those who had trouble fitting in to their circumstances. Joe is survived by his wife Kathryn, his daughter Sabrina Luy, his son Joseph David Robinson, a sister, brother, and grandchildren.

—JMB

George E. Doty III (February 16, 2017)

Classmates:

Allan Wendt was the first to notify us of the death in Sarasota,FL, on February 16, 2017, of George E. Doty III, the cause of his death unstated. After college, George later earned an MA in economics from the University of Chicago. During a career in the financial industry, he worked variously at the Delaware Trust Company and for Northwestern Mutual in Milwaukee. He was also chief investment officer of the pension board of the United Church of Christ. Outside his professional life, he gave generously of his time, most notably as a member of the board of directors of the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin during the 1980's. An avid and accomplished golfer, he took what Allan Wendt calls a "keen interest" in the genealogy of his clan, was "demonstrably devoted to his family," and was "reserved in the best sense. He tended to be serious but his serious demeanor was often leavened by a wry sense of humor. He didn't talk much about himself but was quite responsive when probed a bit. He had high personal standards and expected the same of others." Roommate Lyman Drake concurs. "George was never the loudest voice in the room. He preferred to ask questions, listen attentively and non-judgmentally, reflect, and speak when he had something relevant to say. He was genuinely interested in others." Predeceased by his wife Cynthia, George is survived by their children Brit C. Doty, Barbara D. Gurican, and George E. Doty IV, as well as by four grandchildren and two sisters. Donations in George's memory should go to the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the John's Hopkins University Hospital or the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

—JMB

Charles W. Trippe (January 29, 2017)

Classmates

Charles W. Trippe died peacefully on January 29. 2017, at his home in Westport Point, MA, surrounded by his family. At Yale a member of Scroll and Key, advertising manager of the Yale Daily News, and president of Ivy Magazine, Charlie spent his entire career, after gaining an MBA from Harvard, in business. Starting with Inter-Continental Hotels, a subsidiary of Pan American Airways, he worked to develop hotels in the Pacific and southeast Asia and, with his family, lived in Melbourne and Hong Kong. Subsequently, he joined the parent company and served as its treasurer before turning to the divestiture of its non-airline businesses. He then joined Bell & Howell in Chicago with responsibilities for product development, budgeting, and mergers and acquisitions. In 1985, after moving to Greenwich, he joined the Am Pro Corporation and continued to work on various real estate and venture capital projects. He was also a board member of The Westport Land Conservation Trust and The Pan Am Historical Foundation. Charlie was known to his friends and family members as a bit of a prankster who loved sailing, golf, and football. Bud Trillin recalls Charlie for "his enormous energy. Ideas seemed to pour out of him." Exeter friend Muller Davis recalls Charlie blithely turning over to him the controls of the catamaran that he'd built, "which scared the wits out of me." Tony Hogan, a lifelong friend, writes that their two families often traveled together, Charlie the guide. "Any excursion became high adventure. A stroll in the woods became a forced march. A destination we'd all been yearning to visit gave way, Charlie at the wheel, to something he declared more interesting. A week in houseboats on the Shannon River became a challenge as Charlie led us into every shallow bay without taking soundings. Whatever the locale, whatever the atmosphere, whatever the occasion, Charlie's mighty heart and buoyant spirit lifted everyone on his waves of enthusiasm, vivid memories of which comfort all of us today." Charlie is survived by Pamela, his wife of 57 years, their sons Charles Jr., and James, daughters Elizabeth Barr and Carrie Duryea, and eight grandchildren. Donations in Charlie's memory may go to The Pan Am Historical Foundation, 1275 Fairfax Avenue (Suite 747), San Francisco, CA 94124.

—JMB

Robert R. Pegg (January 22, 2017)

Classmates:

Surrounded by his family, Robert R. Pegg died on January 22, 2017, from the complications of respiratory and circulatory problems and then a stroke. An economics major in college, Bob followed that with an MBA from Columbia and then spent his entire career in finance. The son of the owner of an accounting business, he never strayed from those roots, first working for his father's firm, then co-founding Pegg & Pegg. Subsequently, he became president and chief investment officer of Kirkbride Asset Management, then served as portfolio manager and managing director of Tocqueville Asset Management, all in New York City, of which he was a native. Always greatly enjoying his work, he never retired. His college roommate Ralph Wrobley writes of how many people, including members of his family, came to rely on his for advice and deeply trusted him for it. Those who knew Bob knew also of his inseparable friendship with Gar Heller, his friend—"like a brother to me," writes Gar—from their early days as neighbors and schoolmates in Scarsdale, NY. The two were then fellow residents of Pierson College, on whose three-time intramural championship teams them played together. Everyone who knew Bob also knew of his mischievous side. Another roommate, Mort Zalutsky, tells the story of driving in Bob's old Ford to Yale Bowl for a football game. "There was tremendous traffic, and we were in a long line of cars, basically parked. Then we heard sirens and realized that some official was being escorted to the game. Bob pulled in behind the official as if we were part of his group. Needless to say, we got to the head of the line. To this day, when in traffic and an ambulance goes by with lights flashing, I pull in behind it." Bob and wife Joyce maintained a house in the Colorado mountains, which they visited in all seasons. Besides Joyce, Bob leaves his first wife Judy and their two children, a son Richard and a daughter Ann Biddle. Donations in his memory should go to the National MS Society.

—JMB

Leonino A. Nunes (January 11, 2017)

Classmates:

Ned Baldwin has notified us of the death on January 11, 2017, of Leonino A. Nunes. He died, presumably in or near Segrate, Italy, where recently he had lived, from malignant melanoma. Born in Livorno, Italy, Leo's family fled their homeland upon learning of Mussolini's prospective alliance with Nazi Germany and, by way of Cuba, settled near his uncle in Oyster Bay, NY. Leo subsequently studied at the Alan Stevenson, Harvey, and Hotchkiss schools before entering Yale, where he was an English major. By now an American citizen, he served in the US Army in Europe, then joined his father's export businesses out of Livorno. When those businesses were sold, he and his future wife, Christine Miller, established Person to Person, an English-language school for Italian business people. When they retired in 2001, they turned the firm over to their employees. Ned, a close friend, describes Leo as "a keen skier and tennis player, avid poker player, enthusiastic opera lover, and great champion of Italian culture, while at the same time being an enduring skeptic of Italian and worldwide politics and business practices." In addition to his wife, Leo is survived by her two daughters Fabiola, and Marzia Zambon.

—JMB

Paul R. Lopata (January 9, 2017)

Classmates:

We have word from New Haven of the January 9, 2017 death in Tempe, AZ, of Paul R. Lopata. Many of us, even those who never knew him, will remember Paul for his stand-out action on the varsity football team. So highly were his abilities thought of that he was recruited after graduation by the Green Bay Packers, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Washington Redskins, the last of which offered him a contract, which he did not accept. In 1960, he was named to the All-Ivy League First Team for the 1950s, and in Yale's estimation he was notable enough to be selected a member of the All-Era Yale Bowl Team for the centennial of the stadium in 2014. Armed with a degree in industrial administration. Paul pursued a career in the medical marketing industry, first in Chicago, then in Tempe. His football team classmates all recall Paul with great warmth and profuse praise. As Vern Loucks recalls, when he and Paul would meet they'd "expand and improve upon the truth of our college experiences together. Animated discussion, warm friendship, and loud laughter always overshadowed anything too serious. He had great feeling for his family and his friends." Mike Oberlin describes Paul as always "very upbeat with a very positive attitude." Bob Mobley describes how "the other teams in the Ivy League could never really figure out how to stop Paul. He always seemed to have the ability to be open and catch the pass, make the critical play....In an era when football players didn't swagger or jump around on the field pumping their arms up and down in self-promotion, Paul proved himself over and over by his quiet performance....An unusually fine individual, he was a men who lived his values. He was modest, he was friendly with everyone, and he always was positive and upbeat, even when the storms were blowing." Preceded in death by his wife Delores and two of their children, Paul is survived by his companion Jeany Stowell, his sons Michael, Jaime, and Matthew, and their families.

—JMB

Morris R. "Mo" Brooke (December 20, 2016)

Classmates:

We've learned from David Wilmerding of the death on December 20, 2016, of Morris R. Brooke. He died after a long fight with melanoma. After an active undergraduate life (Scroll and Key, Dramat, Yale Daily News as senior editor), Mo earned a law degree at Harvard. It's said, writes his senior year roommate Roly Machold, "that he was only the second person to turn down an invitation to be on the Law Review, the first being Learned Hand." "After a very promising start" says David, as "a brilliant lawyer," writes Roly, Mo worked first for the McCracken law firm in Philadelphia, where he became a partner, then also as a partner with the merged firm Drinker Biddle & Reath. But because of the illness of his wife, who pre-deceased him, Mo stopped practicing law sometime after our 25th reunion, helped raise two sons, and then spent part of his later years as a hockey coach at a local high school and, yes, golf caddie in Charleston, South Carolina. "He may have had the best academic pedigree of anyone who ever carried a bag," ventures Mr. Wilmerding. "The home of his heart," says Roly, was at Forest Lake, in the Poconos, where he and a colleague built a house. I recall Mo warmly as a lively soul, and Roly seconds that with a sketch of their post-graduation trip around Europe. Yet it seems that Mo had a penchant for staying out of sight, lost contact with many of his old friends, never reported in to the class, and never, writes Roly in sad frustration, attended a reunion. A prefiguring of this tendency may be found in the fact that his sketch in the 1957 Yale Banner is one of the very few not to carry a photograph. Mo is survived by his two sons, Timothy and Topher.

—JMB

Philip W. Freytag (December 19, 2016)

Classmates:

We have word from New Haven that we lost Philip W. Freytag on December 19, 2016. He died in a Dayton, Ohio, hospital from injuries suffered from a fall on the ice. Phil was an architecture major in college, thereafter received an M.A. in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, and practiced his profession in his own firm for the rest of his life in Sidney, Ohio. He left almost no news with the class. We can learn that he was a loyal and honored member of Kiwanis for over 50 years, and that he was a golfer, gardener, cook, and reader. He is survived by Jane, his wife of over 53 years, their daughter Gail Penhollow, their son Jeffrey, grandchildren, and a sister. Charitable donations in Phil's memory may go to the Shelby Oaks Memorial Tree Fund, P.O. Box 4639, Sidney, Ohio 45365, or to the Sidney Noon Kiwanis Club, P. O. Box 115, Sidney, Ohio 45365.

—JMB

Henry G. von Maur (December 15, 2016)

Classmates:

We've learned through Reed Rubin and Sandy Clark that Henry von Maur died on December 15, 2016 in Davenport, Iowa, the place of his birth, after a long illness. Upon graduating from Yale, where Von was a member of Fence Club and business manager of the Yale Daily News, this ever jaunty, debonair man went to work for the Department of the Army as a civilian at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. But as Bob Mobley and Reed Rubin believe, it's likely that Henry was recruited to the CIA prior to graduation and that this SHAPE service and possibly some of his business career was a cover for intelligence activities within "The Firm." Whatever the true story, Von eventually worked for Pan American Airways, then with C.V. Starr Company as a portfolio manager, and subsequently at Investor Overseas Services with mutual fund impresario Bernard Cornfeld, as well as then serving as a financial advisor to a private investor with homes in Paris, New York, Switzerland, and Vietnam. Von himself spent considerable time in Madrid, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Florida, and Argentina before returning to Davenport after his wife Susan died in 2004. They had long lived in the Vaud, the wine country near Geneva with dogs, 168 outdoor cats, and their three children. Henry's most significant public contribution was his role in trying to bring to light the illegal activities of Robert Vesco. As Heidi Fiske, the widow of Steve Mandel puts it, "Henry was a real hero in 1970 when Investors Overseas Services was on its way to going bust and being taken over by the crook Robert Vesco. Henry sold the funds under his control down to almost zero, so they were all in cash, because the market looked terrible to him. When redemptions came in, the money to pay them was there because of Henry. He then became convinced that Vesco would buy the company, and pay for it with what was left of the fund shareholders’ money — pure theft. So Henry worked it so that no money in the funds could be moved without his signature. When Vesco took over, he fired Henry and did exactly what Henry thought he would do — paid for the fund company with the money in the funds." (Fiske's coverage of Henry can be found in the October 1970 issue of Institutional Investor.) Henry was a runner until the age of 75. A man of but a few recorded words in class reunion books, he complained in one that Yale wouldn't have to raise money from alumni if it knew how to manage its investments and reflected in another that "life is fun." He is survived by his sons Denison and Winslow and his daughter Ussher.

—JMB

Frank B. Kimball (December 10, 2016)

Classmates:

I write with news of the death on December 10, 2016 of Frank B. Kimball. He died at home in Hilton Head, SC, after a three-year battle with myelofibrosis. I met Frank in Directed Studies, where, he stated in our 50th reunion book, he learned "ninety percent of what I learned at Yale" and then knew him in Branford, of which he was a non-resident member after having married even before matriculating. Frank spent most of his career in the Foreign Service, first in Peru, then as Mission Director for USAID at posts in Honduras, Bolivia, Bangladesh, and Egypt. In his Latin American posts, he worked in the early 1960s for the Alliance for Progress and gained a particular respect, he also wrote, for the Quechua and Aymara mountain people of the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes. After retiring from the Foreign Service, he was an international consultant and acted as executive director of a presidential commission for President George H. W. Bush. A native of Albuquerque, Frank carried some Osage blood, of which he was proud, as he also was of bearing the Osage name Bald Eagle. But he was not at all like that bird, instead being an easy, thoughtful, accommodating man. A golfer (and thus no doubt Hilton Head), he was also a gardener and for six years served as president of Heritage Farms, a community garden that supports Deep Well, an organization that helps people in need. Frank is survived by Rosemary, his wife of 43 years, and children Raymond, Rebecca Richardson, William, Russell, and Mark and Blair Robbins. Contributions in his memory may be directed to Deep Well or to Hospice Care of the Lowcountry.

—JMB

John M. Budd, Jr (November 15, 2016)

Classmates:

We've received word from his family of the death on November 15, 2016 of John M. Budd, Jr. Jake died in Colorado Springs of coronary artery disease. The son of a Yale grandfather and father, both of them railroad men, he turned his back on railroading, his lifelong friend Wally Ritchie reports, after spending a "hot pre-college summer as a lowly line cook in the dining car of the Empire Builder." After staying at Yale to take an M.A. in electrical engineering (also his undergraduate major), Jake pursued a long career in engineering, 35 years of it with Honeywell, where he specialized in missile and torpedo guidance, traffic control, and solid state physics. Upon his retirement from that firm, he founded Budd Management Consulting whose mission was the improvement of care for developmentally disabled adults with special emphasis on the arts (his wife Barbara being a sculptor). Described as "endlessly curious," he maintained interests in a wide range of subjects—from high energy physics to cyber security to the mathematics of music (especially bluegrass). Wally recalls Jake as a "shy, effective, well-liked man" One of his interests was the history of the Pony Express. According to Wally, "he and Barbara searched out and photographed the majority of the express stations still extant in the US." His wife having predeceased him, Jake is survived by his daughter Elizabeth B. Ellmann, sons John M. III, Peter, Benjamin, and their families. Gifts in his memory may go to Cheyenne Village, Serving Adults with Developmental Disabilities (www.cheyennevillage.org). A celebration of his life will take place at 2 p.m. on Monday, December 5, 2016 in the chapel of Our Saviour Episcopal Church, 8 Fourth Street, Colorado Springs.

—JMB

Richard N. "Dick" Lamb (September 21, 2016)

Classmates:

I write with news of the death of Richard N. Lamb on September 21, 2016. Dick died of unstated causes presumably near his residence in Homewood, Alabama. He was a bit of a prodigy, entering Yale at age 17 as a sophomore from Arkansas Agricultural and Mechanical College and majoring in chemical engineering. He was also president while at college of two honors societies—Tau Beta Pi and Alpha Chi Sigma. He then attended Harvard Medical School and, after attaining his MD degree there, completed his residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He seems to have practiced internal medicine in Birmingham the remainder of his life. Unfortunately, he left little record with the class over the years and only recently had been removed from its list of "lost" classmates. Dick was a member and active supporter of Gideons International and often led the missions ministry of his church. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, LaVerne, their son Andrew, their daughters Laura Atkins and Lydia, and nine grandchildren. His family suggests that donations in his memory be made to the Missions Ministry of Briarwood Presbyterian Church, 2200 Briarwood Way, Birmingham, AL 35243 or to Gideons International, PO Box 140800, Nashville, TN 37214-0800.

—JMB

Robert S. Rosefsky (September 15, 2016)

Classmates:

We lost Robert S. Rosefsky on September 15, 2016. After having been stricken with a serious stroke over eight years ago, he succumbed to a second one in Palm Springs, CA. A managing editor of the Record at Yale, Bob attended Syracuse Law School after college and then took up a career as varied as it was enjoyable to him. At various points he was banker, real estate broker, practicing attorney, author of books on personal finance, financial consultant, radio and television journalist, and adjunct college instructor. As if this were not enough, he also wrote and hosted a long-running TV college course; with his wife of 57 years, Linda Sue, led cruise and land tours; and wrote a travel magazine published by DonTon Tours. At one point a consumer advocate, Bruce Schragger, Bob's Calhoun roommate, reports that he appeared on both the Dinah Shore and Johnny Carson shows. In his sketch for our 50th reunion book, Bob characterized his life as one of "freelancing," as surely it was. His greatest gift to the Class of 1957 was the 50th reunion gathering, which he organized and brought off, of '57ers who had participated in Yale's Directed Studies Program. Like so many others, he always long felt the impact of that set of courses and its instructors, both of which he credited 50 years later in that same sketch. No one who knew Bob will disagree with Ron Bland's characterization of him as "unforgettable." A smallish man, he sometimes seemed larger than most of what was around him—generous, warm, gregarious, enthusiastic, and radiatingly, irrepressibly humorous. To wit, Bruce recalls the days when the two of them cared for their live rooster, which was housed in their Calhoun fireplace. More enviably, Bob arranged for a visit to campus of Jayne Mansfield. This was, writes Bruce, the only time Bob disappointed Bruce's future wife, who was coming to New Haven for a football game. Bob was supposed to pick her up in New York and bring her, with Ms. Mansfield, to Yale. Instead, Bob decided that he wished to be alone with the actress and so left the future Mrs. Sshragger behind. Bob and his ample passenger arrived together in New Haven, where Mansfield sat in Bob's and Bruce's Calhoun room with her Chihuahua polishing its nails. In addition to his wife, Bob is survived by their four children Debbie Slavkin, Michelle Jewel, Adam, and Josh, seven grandchildren, and a sister. Donations in his memory can be made to the Desert AIDS Project in Palm Springs.

—JMB

Fernando Alvarez de Toledo (September 14, 2016)

Classmates:

We have word from his Trumbull roommate Pebo Browne that Fernando Alvarez de Toledo died suddenly on September 14, 2016 on Capri during a visit to his ancestral home with his wife, Mary-Margaret. Son of a count, Fernando was born in the family home in Naples. Although few of us knew it, he was entitled to be called Count and Duke for having inherited his father’s titles, Duke of Bivona and Count of Caltabellota. Leaving Europe before World War II, his family went first to Argentina, then to Concord, MA, where Fernando graduated from the Middlesex School before attending Yale. At college a member of the varsity crew, he studied with Joseph Albers and received a degree in design engineering, then a rarity. With six languages under his belt, he spent three decades designing products and facilities in Europe and the Middle East, in Brazil also building, staffing, and managing one facility, for Owens-Corning Fiberglass. After leaving Owens-Corning, he co-founded ACT Medical, a medical technology business, where he pioneered medical device technology. At his death, he held 39 patents on items including collapsible tennis rackets, fiberglass pipelines, guide wires, and catheters. Will Reimann, also a college roommate, adds that "he was among those involved in developing, designing, then constantly improving, a unique, specialized lathe—an apparatus instrumental to the perfection of intra-venous heart-probe design, technology, and manufacture." Will also writes that Fernando was an avid photographer. "He published a remarkable collection revealing the stylistically unique, locally-crafted chimney-pots topping many dwellings in Capri and Anna-Capri. And he developed, as well as constructed, a tubular fireplace appliance, combining andiron and water heating functions, with a circulator that partially heated his house in Concord." Never giving up rowing, this multi—faceted man was a Master Rower and a long time member of the Cambridge Boat Club who raced competitively in the US and abroad. He also collected antique automobiles, his collection including everything from a 1929 Model A Ford to a 1952 Jaguar XK 120. An avid conservationist, he was involved the Walden Woods Project in Concord and the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Newport, RI. He also played an active part in the Cerio Foundation and Museum, the Capri institution named for his great-grandfather Ignazio Cerio and housed in the Palazzo Cerio. Will Reimann characterizes Fernando as possessing "an artist's 'eye.' He brought an informed sense of poetics to everything he saw and touched." Rob Walker writes that he was "a lovely generous person with a wonderfully upbeat open-minded outlook and far ranging intellect, always warm and engaging." In addition to his wife of 55 years, Fernando is survived by their son Federico and daughter Livia. A memorial service at Concord’s Trinity Church will be held on Wednesday, October 5 at 10 A.M.

—JMB

Gordon G. "Gus" Hollingsworth (September 13, 2016)

Classmates:

We have received news of the death in Delran, NJ, on September 13, 2016 of Gordon G. Hollingsworth. A native son of New Jersey, Gus pursued a career as mechanical engineer from undergraduate years on, first with Union Carbide Corporation, from which he retired as Engineering Manager, then as president of G.G. Hollingsworth, Inc., an engineering consulting firm. Active in his church as choir member (taking up where he left off in the Freshman Glee Club) and long-time Warden of its vestry, Gus was also a lover of the Jersey shore, where he spent almost every summer with his boats and as fisherman in Ocean City. Such litoral pursuits did not keep him from those of more inland (if hobbied) ones: he was also an avid Lionel Train enthusiast and a member of the Train Collectors Association. Gus is survived by Sharon, his wife of 57 years, their children, Rick, Bob, Don, and Wendy Gogol, as well as eight grandchildren, a brother, and a sister. His family requests that donations in his memory go to either Christ Church Endowment Fund, Christ Church, 305 E. Main St., Riverton, NJ 08077 or Delran Emergency Squad, 900 Chester Ave., P.O. Box 1310, Delran, NJ 08075.

—JMB

Gordon G. Hollingsworth (September 13, 2016)

We have received news of the death in Delran, NJ, on September 13, 2016 of Gordon G. Hollingsworth. A native son of New Jersey, Gus pursued a career as mechanical engineer from undergraduate years on, first with Union Carbide Corporation, from which he retired as Engineering Manager, then as president of G.G. Hollingsworth, Inc., an engineering consulting firm. Active in his church as choir member (taking up where he left off in the Freshman Glee Club) and long-time Warden of its vestry, Gus was also a lover of the Jersey shore, where he spent almost every summer with his boats and as fisherman in Ocean City. Such litoral pursuits did not keep him from those of more inland (if hobbied) ones: he was also an avid Lionel Train enthusiast and a member of the Train Collectors Association. Gus is survived by Sharon, his wife of 57 years, their children, Rick, Bob, Don, and Wendy Gogol, as well as eight grandchildren, a brother, and a sister. His family requests that donations in his memory go to either Christ Church Endowment Fund, Christ Church, 305 E. Main St., Riverton, NJ 08077 or Delran Emergency Squad, 900 Chester Ave., P.O. Box 1310, Delran, NJ 08075.

—JMB

John C.T. Conte, Jr. (September 7, 2016)

Classmates:

I have the heavy duty to report the death of John C.T. Conte, Jr., on September 7, 2016. I learned of this from David Berger. Jay died in Kirkland, WA, from the complications of Parkinson's disease and Lewy Body dementia. A pre-collegiate graduate of Pittsburgh's Shady Side Academy, he was an intensive history major and ranking scholar, as well as a member of the Glee Club. After college, he attended Yale Law School and then moved, with his wife Mary Louise, to Seattle, where he spent the rest of his life. Starting out in general and corporate law, he served as house counsel for Cascade Natural Gas Corporation, the Rainier Companies (owner of Robert Mondavi Winery) and Darigold. He then moved into investment banking, venture capital, and start-up company advising. He was also a development officer and client manager for a number of financial companies, and he concluded his work life as an investment advisor. Among Jay's wide range of volunteer commitments, he served on the boards and was president of the Friends of Alzheimer's Research Program of the University of Washington, the Seattle Repertory Theater, and the Washington State Bankers Association, as well as being involved in many Yale alumni groups, including that of the Yale Law School. His interests were many and wide and included jazz, sports, fine wine and food, history, and skiing. Anyone who knew him knew his unbuttoned laugh, his optimism, and his capacious good nature. Everyone agrees: Jay was "outgoing," writes Jack Hughes. Merrell Clark calls him a "social being" who was always "generous and cheerful." Jeff Freeman recalls him for being always "jovial and good-natured." But he was also a serious man, deeply troubled, as he wrote in our 40th reunion book, by "the lack of civility and manners in our society and our selfish attitudes in business." Such ways were foreign to the man. Jay is survived by his wife of 58 years, their sons John and Peter, and their sons' families. The family asks that, because Jay so cherished his Yale experiences, that those wishing to contribute in his memory do so by making donations in his name to the Yale Annual Fund or to the Class of 1957.

—JMB

Andrew P. Kner (August 28, 2016)

Classmates:

From Charlie Peet comes word, since confirmed, of the death in New York on August 28, 2016 of Andrew P. Kner. He died of the complications of Parkinson's disease. Born in Budapest, Andy came to the United States at the age of five in flight from the Nazis, who exterminated the members of his mother's family who remained behind, and grew up in Chicago. At Yale, appealing to him and his family for its strength in the graphic arts, he indicated his future career in that field by serving as photography editor of our Senior Class book, then stayed on to earn an MFA two years later. In this, as roommate Hugh Peterson writes, he followed the tradition of his father's family, which had been engaged in graphic arts, printing, and book production "for centuries." Andy started in promotion design for Architectural Forum, Time, Look, and Esquire magazines. Probably unknowingly, most of us first encountered his work as readers of the New York Times Book Review, where he served as art director before, in 1970, becoming Executive Art Director of the promotion department of the same paper, a position he held for 14 years. He then served as Senior Vice President and Creative Director of advertising firm Backer & Spielvogel, followed by posts as creative and art directors of the graphic arts magazines Print and Scenario. Some of the posters he designed reside in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper Hewitt Museum, and the Louvre. Mike Kohler, one of Andy's group of Calhoun suite-mates who annually traveled with him, other Yale friends, and their wives (once to Andy's beloved native Hungarian land, where, in Budapest, they joined together in its famous Szecsenyi Baths), writes that he had "solid values, an outgoing manner, intellectual curiosity, and a wonderful sense of humor." Hugh Peterson characterizes him as "gentle, non-judgmental, strong." Andy is survived by Carol, his wife of 55 years, a writer, and their two children, Anne and Peter.

—JMB

Alexander "Sandy" Grinnell (August 8, 2016)

Classmates:

We have word from Charlie Peet that Alexander Grinnell died on August 8, 2016. The precise place of his death cannot be ascertained, although it seems that he probably succumbed to the complications of Alzheimer's disease. After college, where he played on the varsity lacrosse team, and further study at Yale's School of Architecture, Sandy (or Alex as he was also known) became a practicing architect in New York and one of the early pioneers and practitioners of modular housing. Until his retirement in 2006, he was in charge of design and construction at Steven Winter Associates, where his late wife Kirsten Childs also worked. Sandy was, his Pierson roommate Towny Ludington reports, "an expert sailor" who maintained a house in Waquoit, Cape Cod. Bob Pelletreau recalls Sandy as "quiet" and "an introvert." Towny describes hims as having been, from undergraduate years, "very serious" and "a true intellectual," always with a fine sense of humor We know that Sandy is survived by a daughter Eliza, perhaps a son David.

—JMB

Samuel Lear Berman (August 3, 2016)

We have learned tardily from Yale through Jack Hughes of the death on August 3, 2016, of Samuel Lear Berman, presumably in or near Williston Park NY. Very little is known of Sam since his graduation. He seems to have pursued the teaching career on which he had set his sights at commencement. At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife Susan of 51 years and their sons Michael and David.

Robert H. "Bobby" Paul (July 14, 2016)

Classmates:

Jim Crooks has notified us of the death in Jacksonville, FL, on July 14, 2016 of Robert H. Paul III. He died of metastatic melanoma. Bob (or "Bobby" as he was often known to family members and friends) spent most of his life in Jacksonville, where some forebears long lived. In his work life, he took a small local bottling company and turned it into the Southeast-Atlantic Beverage Corporation, one of the largest independent bottlers and distributors in the southeast. After gaining entry into the Beverage World Hall of Fame, he retired upon his firm's sale in 2007 while continuing to work as a partner in Southeast Atlantic Capital. The list of his voluntary commitments was long. Among other positions, he served as chairman of the board of his pre-collegiate alma mater, the Bolles School (before a year at Hotchkiss), of the Jacksonville Art Museum, and of the University of North Florida Foundation. Having grown up on the historic St. Johns River, he was an outdoorsman and a lover of plants and gardens. Widely traveled, he became an oenophile and built a notable collection of wines. Among his many posts, he was a trustee of the Cummer Land Trust, his family's conservancy. No one who recalls Bob, as his roommate Hal Russell and I do, can avoid thinking of the nattily turned out man in fine-tailored clothes that he was—and that apparently he remained, inasmuch as his published obituary calls him a "distinguished" dresser. Bob is survived by his wife of 58 years, Pamela, and their children Pamela, Christopher, Robert, and Barbara Barnett, a sister, and many grandchildren. Gifts in his memory may go to the Pam and Bobby Paul Endowed Scholarship, the University of North Florida Foundation, 1 UNF Drive (bldg 60), Jacksonville FL 32223.

—JMB

Donald D. Hester (July 8, 2016)

Classmates:

Our classmate, Donald D. Hester, died on July 8, 2016, of complications from multiple system atrophy. An intensive major in economics in college (having switched from engineering to economics, as he reported in our 50th reunion book, by getting to know James Tobin as his bursary assistant), Don remained on the same intellectual path throughout his career—starting for a while in New Haven. Earning his PhD in economics from Yale in 1961, he taught on the university's economic faculty from 1960 until 1968. He then joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin, where he remained until his retirement in 2000. His specialty was money and banking, about which he wrote several books and many articles. He was also the creator of computer simulation software games used at Wisconsin and Yale and spent a year as visiting economist at the Federal Reserve. The recipient of a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, he was known as a superb teacher and before his death was honored by the creation of a chair in his name in the economics department where he'd spent most of his career. Over the years he taught in Mumbai, Rome, Florence, and Beijing and became, as he wrote, "hooked on Italy," to which he returned "about 20 times." Don loved classical music, the theater, travel, and Italian art. He may have developed a love for the last subject in Directed Studies, where he and I first met. I recall him as a thoughtful, serious, quiet man. He is survived by his wife Karen (whom he married in 1959, Bill Coffin officiating), their son Karl, and three grandchildren. Don and Karen's son Douglas predeceased him. Memorials in his name may be made to the Professor Donald Hester Chair at the University of Wisconsin Foundation, U.S. Bank Lockbox, P.O. Box 78807, Milwaukee, WI 53278 or to the MSA Coalition.

—JMB

Valdis "Val" Kibens (July 1, 2016)

Classmates:

We've learned from New Haven of the loss on July 1, 2016 of Valdis Kibens. He died in St. Charles, MO, of unstated causes. A native of Riga, Latvia, Val came to the United States in 1949 and seems to have become a member of '57 after the class left Yale. After college, he obtained his doctorate in aerospace engineering from the Johns Hopkins University, taught for some time at the University of Michigan, and then pursued his beloved subject as a career, primarily as a research scientist with McDonnell Douglas/Boeing in St. Louis. He wrote shortly before his retirement that he was "currently applying for a patent on a solid rocket motor improvement. Who'd want to give up that kind of fun?" He may have won that patent, for he's reported at the time of his death to have held two patents as well as having written many scientific articles. His wit is evident in his having writing us more recently that he was "about to have a zipper put into my sternum. 25 more years guaranteed!" Alas, an inveterate optimist, he was too hopeful. Val was the author of a moving, insightful memoir of his youth in wartime Germany before arriving in Mississippi prior to his college matriculation. In it, he wrote, as a physicist would, of life's coincidences, of the links, however little understood, of everything in the universe, and of his "sense of wonder at the intricacy and complexity of MY universe and THE universe." He is survived by his daughter Kristin Kibens, grandchildren, and a sister.

—JMB

Donald L. Hersh (June 15, 2016)

Classmates:

I write with the news, only recently learned, of the death in Israel on June 15, 2016, of Don Harrán, whom we knew as Donald L. Hersh. The cause of his death is not known. Don left no reports with the class, but we do know that he was a ranking scholar in college and a graduate magna cum laude in French. He then pursued his PhD in musicology at Berkeley under noted musicologists Edward Lowinsky and Joseph Kerman and became a noted scholar of Renaissance and Jewish music and musicians. Settling in Israel in 1963, from 1966 he was a member of the Department of Musicology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which he chaired during three separate terms and where he became the Artur Rubinstein Professor of Musicology. The esteem in which he was held is evident by his many honors. He was a recipient of the Donald Tovey Memorial Prize from Oxford and was an honorary foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also held visiting professorships at UCLA and Villa I Tatti and fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, the Newberry Library, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the American Philosophical Society, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He served as musical advisor for the Cultural Center of the American Embassy in Israel in the late 1960s and acting director of the Jewish Music Research Centre of Hebrew University in the late 1990s. He is survived by his wife of 56 years Aya, a music therapist, and their two children, Anat and Roy.

—JMB

Colin B. Gracey (June 7, 2016)

Classmates:

Roger Cogswell has alerted us to the death on June 7, 2016 of Colin B. Gracey. The place and cause of his death are unspecified. Captain of the varsity baseball team and a member of Elihu at Yale, after serving in the US Navy he was a member of the Episcopal clergy throughout his career and served 37 years as chaplain at Northeastern University. He marched with Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1963, served on the Committee for Responsible Genetics, and was a member of several committees over the years at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, He and his wife Susan also founded Boston's Hospitality Homes program and the Fenway Community Health Center. His roommate Bill Mobley writes that "Coe was a man of strong character who stood strong for his beliefs yet was open to the view of others. He was at Yale to learn and then move on to a higher purpose in life. Also, he was loved by those close to him and respected by casual acquaintances." Bill also reports that Coe and Susan "owned a wonderful multi-story Boston brownstone a few blocks from Fenway Park—a fitting home for a Yale baseball player from Needham, the town of Colin's birth. They also owned a two-story vacation home in Provincetown on a street a block or so from the oceanfront. It was a house with many small bedrooms and an unusually large number of doors. When asked about this architectural anomaly, he confessed that in its early years the house had served as the Provincetown whorehouse! It seems my Episcopal priest friend could forgive past sins." In addition to his wife, Coe is survived by their children Haven DePietro, Virginia, Marianna, and Carla Gracey, grandchildren, and a brother. Contributions should go in his name to Hospitality Homes, PO Box 15265, Boston MA 02215 or to Fenway Community Health Center, 1340 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02215.

—JMB

Edwin L. Johnson (May 28, 2016)

Classmates:

We learned from Ruben Shapiro of the death on May 28, 2016, of his former roommate Edwin L. Johnson. Ed died of unstated causes at his daughter's home in Culpeper, Virginia. Somewhere along the line after college, Ed obtained two further degrees, both at Harvard: an M.S. in public administration and an M.A. in economics. His career was almost entirely in the federal government. He first served as a commissioned Army officer in the U.S. Public Health Service of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. He then joined the Department of the Interior in the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, thereafter becoming the Director of Water in the Federal Water Quality Administration. Soon after the formation of the Office of Pesticide Programs within the newly-established EPA, Ed became director for the Office of Pesticide Programs. Before retiring from the federal service, he worked as part of the management team of the Office of International Activities. After leaving the federal government, he became a consultant for Technology Sciences Group, where he later was president until his retirement in 2010. A traveler, sailor, and lover of jazz, Ed was, as I (who lived next to him in Vanderbilt freshman year) and others recall him, a quiet, reserved man. He occasionally attended gatherings of Washington DC-region classmates, but not consistently. Carl Brunjes, a roommate like Ruben Shapiro, recalls his sharp mind and the ease with which he could write and prepare for exams. Ruben writes that "he was impressively smart, but was very low key about it." Ed is survived by his daughter Dee Diesman of Culpepper, four grandchildren, and one great-grandson. His family asks that contributions in his memory go to the First Lutheran Church, 77 Franklin Square, New Britain, CT 06051, the town of his birth and burial. A celebration of his life is also planned in Arlington, VA, at a later date.

—JMB

Ralph David Bowman (May 5, 2016)

Classmates:

I write with the sad news of the death of Ralph David Bowman on May 5, 2016 at home in Connecticut. A member of '57s large contingent from Andover, Dave (as he was always known) was part of a lively group of Branford residents (Woody Carlisle, Blackie Chapman, Gordon Frierson, Pete Fullerton, Howie Gillis, George Hutchinson, and Don Roberts), among whom I knew this lively, solid man. Though quiet and unassuming, he was president of Fence Club and the Interfraternity Council, on the Record board, and a member of Skull and Bones. After college, he achieved the rank of Major in the Marine Corps, in which he served in Japan. He then worked in advertising and marketing at Schweppes, Gallo, and other firms. Subsequently, he turned to acting in feature and television films. Brought low by addiction to drink and drugs (much of this detailed in Dave's sketch in our 50th reunion book), he swore off both in 1972 but briefly relapsed in 1979 after a diagnosis also of manic depression. He barely survived; but with the help of others, especially his wife Gail, whom he'd met in AA, and his dear friend Don Roberts, Dave found the grit to live without drink. He spent the remainder of his life helping others with similar struggles. He studied social behavior and, in practice with his wife, a psychotherapist, he "counseled troubled souls," as Don writes, and, "in a program titled Alternate to Incarceration, he became a specialist at working with teenage boys on the edge of trouble." He also counseled convicted felons. Though a quintessential New Yorker, he maintained throughout his life a fierce loyalty—"beyond all reason," says his tolerant family—to the St. Louis Cardinals. All who knew Dave knew his sunny disposition and mischievous wit. "A playful arrogance was part of his charm," writes Don. "He would make outrageous claims, but the look on his face made clear he did not expect, nor want, you to take them seriously. He was unfailingly upbeat and never one to feel sorry for himself." In addition to Gail, Dave is survived by his son Bruss, daughter Cindy Thimmesch and Gail's son Daniel Paige, grandchildren, and a devoted family of nephews and nieces. A service in Dave's memory will take place at 11a.m., June 11, 2016, at St. Paul’s Church, Darien, CT. Donations can be made to Pivot Ministries or to the Smile Train.

—JMB

Ronald S. Morris (April 11, 2016)

Classmates:

We lost Ronald S. Morris on April 11, 2016. He died of unstated causes at his home in Oakmont, PA. After service in the Navy, Ron spent 30 years with U.S. Steel in various capacities. He seems, however, to have gained most pleasure from his family and avocations. He was a skilled athlete, especially in golf and paddle tennis, in which he played competitively into 2016. In our 50th reunion book, Ron rued that he'd not followed a faculty member's advice to pursue a career in oceanography, for he became passionate about that subject and, as an environmentalist, worked to plant trees and create habitats for birds. A Master Scuba Diver, with his wife Elaine he traveled the seas widely, and his shell collection now resides in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Ernie Pepples recalls his undergraduate friend as a "fun-loving, easygoing, and enjoyable companion." Steve Hopkins, who saw his Davenport roommate more recently, describes him as "a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. In fundamental ways he was much the same as in college—intellectually curious and engaged, articulate, and serious about his many activities (he was an enthusiastic and accomplished ornithologist and tough to beat on the golf course). He didn’t take himself too seriously and still had a good sense of humor." In addition to Elaine, Ron is survived by their children Douglas, Mary Bronner, Kate, Henry, and Jane, many grandchildren, and a brother. Donations in his memory may be made in his name to an Audubon Society or the National Wildlife Federation.

—JMB

James W. Nelson (April 8, 2016)

Classmates:

We have learned from Bruce Keller of the death on April 8, 2016, of James W. Nelson. Jim died suddenly in Solana Beach, CA, where he and his wife Kathalyn lived. In college, Jim rowed for the Branford crew and served as jazz disc jockey for WYBC. (He continued rowing, Bruce Keller reports, throughout his life "on an exercise machine at home.") Upon graduation from Yale with an industrial engineering degree, Jim started a 38-year career with Alcoa in Edgewater, NJ, Cleveland, and Los Angeles as engineer and technical manager. (He added an MBA degree from Pepperdine University.) His specialty was the development of production techniques for titanium forgings. When the aerospace industry declined in the 1990s, Jim turned to consulting for Alcoa, then retired and moved near San Diego. There, he seems to have taken up a second career of civic involvement. Over the years he served on the city's budget and finance committee and with the Solana Beach Civic and Historical Society as president and treasurer. He also served as the curator of the Solana Beach Heritage Museum and with his wife was instrumental in developing the museum's current displays and a living history program for third graders. As if that were not enough, he wrote two books on the history of Solana Beach and volunteered as a docent at Birch Aquarium and the Natural History Museum, tutored through Casa de Amistad's Study Companions Program, and helped maintain trails with the Dust Devil Volunteers of the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy. Camping and traveling were favorite vacation activities. In addition to Kathalyn, Jim is survived by their; daughters, Erica E. Nelson and Evelyn N. Chandler and their families, a brother, and a large extended family. He was predeceased by their daughter, Karyn H. Nelson. A memorial celebration of Jim's life will take place on May 14, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. at the Solana Beach Heritage Museum. The family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Solana Beach Civic and Historical Society.

—JMB

Griffith W. "Griff" Rose (April 12, 2016)

Classmates:

I learned yesterday from his widow Marie-France in mail from Paris that we lost Griffith W. Rose to unstated causes on April 12, 2016. His name is unlikely to be familiar to many of us inasmuch as he left Yale after a single year, yet he had one of the most distinctive careers of all of us. Griff was born in Los Angeles to wealthy parents and lived for a time at the Mayfair Hotel in Manhattan. Phil Pillsbury recalls Griff from their days together at Hotchkiss as never quite fitting in, and the record of his early life suggests an early propensity to go his own way, including time on Montana ranches learning to hay and drink whiskey before being, as he put it, "chucked out" of Yale for poor grades. It was in those years that he started to absorb and teach himself music composition, which subsequently became his life-long commitment. Not content with the teaching he received after leaving New Haven at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, he picked up and left for Europe, where he then lived, eventually in Paris, for the rest of his life. He apparently befriended, learned from, and argued with many others in the then controversial post-war contemporary music world in Darmstadt and other cities. (One had only to attend a concert or two of music concrete in Paris in the late 1950s, as I did, to get a sense of what the controversies were all about—computers playing music, conductors [Boulez] facing the audience with the musicians facing away, people hooting from the balcony, and the rest.) Griff's teachers and contemporaries included Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Nadia Boulanger (with whom he studied), and he befriended such artists as David Tudor and Nam June Paik. When Phyllis and I visited the Roses in Paris in 2012, we found them surrounded by photos of their other friends, including John Cage and Merce Cunningham (two of my own favorites). Griff apparently taught and composed throughout his life. His discography, of which I have some examples that he gave to me, is extensive. Not having known Griff previously (even though we both lived in Vanderbilt freshman year), after we got him back on the class rolls in 2011 he and Marie-France welcomed Phyllis and me a year later into their home in the 20th arrondissement near Pere-Lachaise and to a nearby bistro, where we became warmly acquainted and found Griff to be lively, opinionated, and full of good humor. I wish that I had known him earlier and better. He is survived by Marie-France and children from previous marriages.

—JMB

Michael T. Melchior (April 7, 2016)

In Memoriam:

It appears from a Pennington, New Jersey funeral home notice that carries nothing but a name and date of death that Michael T. Melchior died, presumably in Pennington, his last address of record with the class, on April 7, 2016. No other information about him can be discovered by normal search of public records. A pre-collegiate graduate of South Side High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Mike was a chemistry major, ranking scholar, Phi Beta Kappa graduate, and member of the varsity baseball team in college. Subsequently, he obtained a PhD, its subject not stated, in 1964 from Harvard. His career was apparently spent in basic research relating to oil and energy. Our reunion books contain no information about him other than his addresses, which, always in New Jersey, centered in and around Princeton.

—JMB

Harold S. Gulliver, Jr. (March 24, 2016)

Classmates:

I write with the sad news of the death of Harold S. Gulliver, Jr., who died on March 24, 2016 in Valdosta, GA, the city of his birth, after declining health from Alzheimer's disease. A chum of mine in Directed Studies, Hal was a Scholar of the House and summa cum laude graduate of Yale. He was also an associate editor of the Yale Daily News, whose editor, Bud Trillin, recalls him as being, as do I, "in the tradition of southern story tellers." Hal spent a post-graduate year at the Free University of Berlin on a Rotary Fellowship and then, after brief Marine Corps service, launched what would become a distinguished career as a journalist—a career, as it turned out, with portentous national consequences. As press secretary to Georgia's State Insurance Commissioner, he met a then unknown state senator by the name of James Earl Carter and came quickly to admire him. Hal promoted Jimmy Carter's campaign for lieutenant governor, and Carter reciprocated by always crediting Hal for starting his career on the national stage. The two remained close friends, and Hal frequently stayed in the White House during Carter's presidency. After a year as reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Hal became associate editor and then, in 1974, editor of that distinguished paper, a position he held until 1982, when he resigned to become senior fellow and editorial director of the Southern Center for International Studies. As Hugh Peterson—Hal's fellow Georgian, Directed Studies classmate, and Manuscript member—writes, Hal's "columns and editorials showed him to be a master political analyst. He knew everybody in Georgia politics. And he knew how to deal with them. Every piece he wrote about the goings-on in the political scene was dead on. As far as I recall, every political prediction he made turned out to be correct. An old time Georgia politician is quoted as saying that Hal 'could outthink, outdrink, and hoodwink anybody in Georgia politics.'" Hugh goes on to write that "a very principled man, progressive in his views and very much like his predecessor Ralph McGill, Hal and his writing had a powerful influence for the good in our state at a critical time in our history." Upon leaving the paper, Hal earned a law degree from George State College and practiced law in Atlanta until his return to Valdosta. With fellow journalist Reg Murphy, he was the co-author of The Southern Strategy, author of the murder mystery Kill with Style, and author of A Friendly Tongue, a compilation of his Atlanta Journal-Constitution essays. Hal was predeceased by his wife Marian and their son Harold III, the latter's loss forever affecting him. His family requests that memorial donations go to Pruitt Hospice, 407 Cowart Avenue, Valdosta, GA 31602 or to the Alzheimer's Association.

—JMB

H. Theodore Meyer (March 7, 2016)

Classmates:

We've learned from Jack Turben and Al Clovis of the death at home in Vero Beach, Florida, of H. Theodore Meyer on March 7, 2016. He died of heart complications. After graduating from Yale with a BE degree, Ted worked as a chemical/petroleum engineer while earning an MBA from Rutgers University. He then attended Cornell University Law School on a Teagle Scholarship from Esso Standard Oil Company, where he earned a J.D. (with distinction) and graduated first in his class in 1962. Over more than thirty years with the law firm of Jones Day in Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio, Ted advised leading corporations and helped other professionals build their careers. He became a partner in 1970 and, starting in 1985, served for ten years as partner-in-charge of the Columbus office. In Columbus and Ohio, he was deeply involved in civic affairs. He served on the Boards, among others, of the Ohio Business Roundtable, the Ohio-based Council for Ethics in Economics, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Children's Hospital in Columbus, Planned Parenthood of Central Ohio, the Nature Conservancy (Ohio Chapter), Players Theatre Columbus, and the Cleveland Bar Association/Securities Law Section. Upon retiring from Jones Day in 2000, Ted and his wife of 55 years, Karen, increasingly spent time in Vero Beach, Florida, where he served on the Boards of the Riverside Theatre and the Moorings Club. Jack Turben was Ted's happy legal client for 60 years, as well as a victim of Ted's pranks. "A favorite one of Ted's," recalls Jack, "was to insert an outrageous statement on about page 55 of a legal agreement to see if I was actually paying attention to his handiwork, and he delighted in telling me how flawed my negotiating strategy might be on any deal." In addition to his wife, Ted is survived by their children Gregory, Stephen, and Victoria E. Langerman, nine grandchildren, and a sister. A service in Ted's memory will take place on Saturday, April 2, at 1:00 pm at St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church, 475 43rd Avenue, Vero Beach, with a reception to follow. Memorial contributions may go to VNA/ Hospice at 1110 35th Lane, Vero Beach, FL 32960; to McKee Botanical Garden, 350 US Highway, Vero Beach, FL 32962; or to a charity of choice.

—JMB

Henry A. Into (March 6, 2016)

Classmates:

We have recently learned of the death on March 6, 2016, of Henry A. Into. Formerly of Cromwell, Connecticut, he died in the The Villages, Florida, of unstated causes. Hank entered Yale with the Class of 1954 after schooling at Andover and New Mexico Military Institute, served in the Army, then re-entered Yale with '57 as a non-resident member of Timothy Dwight College. With a degree in industrial administration, he became a firearms designer for Winchester, Sturm Ruger, Colt Firearms, and Smith & Wesson. As a result, he held 16 patents in the US and many in foreign countries. Not surprisingly, he was a member of the NRA and, for sport, enjoyed shooting. Hank was also a widely traveled man even after a stroke 22 years ago—to all 50 states and more than 30 other countries—and once estimated that he'd traveled over 1 million miles by various means. He is survived by his wife Francis Harrison and their daughter Karen, by his former wife Ellen Chambers and their children John, Pamela, and Stephen, as well as by two grandchildren and a brother. Contributions in Hank's memory may go to the National Firearms Museum, 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030; Cornerstone Hospice, 601 Casa Bella, The Villages, FL 32162; or Villages Honor Flight, PO Box 490, Lady Lake, FL 32158.

—JMB

Jay C. Kuhn (March 3, 2016)

Classmates:

I have word from his Branford roommate Toby Briggs that Jay C. Kuhn died on March 3, 2016, in Silver Spring, MD. Jay had been suffering from Parkinson's disease and other health disorders for some time. At college a political science major, Jay rowed on the 150-pound varsity. A graduate of the Army R.O.T.C., program, he joined the military and eventually achieved the rank of major in the Army Reserve. He spent his career in insurance brokerage, part of it with his own firm in San Francisco near his residences in Sausalito and Tiburon. Toby, like I, recall Jay's "wonderful sense of humor." Another rower, Reed Rubin, calls him "a sparkling pillar" of the Freshman crew. Jay is survived by his wife, Virginia, their son Jay and daughter Jennifer Irwin, and five grandsons. A service in Jay's memory will take place at Arlington Cemetery on Monday, November 21, 2016, at 1:00 p.m. Attendees are instructed to arrive at 12:15.

—JMB

Richard J. Massey (January 24, 2016)

Classmates:

I convey the sad news, to which I was alerted by Paul Eisele, that we lost Richard J. Massey on January 24, 2016 in or near San Rafael, CA. He died of a recently-discovered stomach tumor. I knew Dick from our days together at Deerfield, where, like most of us, he was deeply affected by the ethos of the school and by the principles enunciated by its celebrated headmaster, Frank L. Boyden. Even then, all who knew Dick knew that his modesty and reserve hid a firm will and strong character. Paul describes him as a "quiet, thoughtful person." At Yale an English major, Dick served after graduation in the U.S. Army in Frankfurt, Germany, then returned home to take an MBA at Stanford. From 1984 on, he worked for UBS as a stockbroker, work he loved and which saw him in his office the day before he died. One of his other great loves was classical music, of which he had a deep knowledge. He was often found attending performances of the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera as well as music festivals in Napa Valley and Moab, Utah, in the latter of which towns he and his family had a second home. Dick is survived by his adored second wife, Alice Corning, to whom he was married for 18 years, her children, and many family members. A memorial service for him will take place at 3 p.m. on March 5th at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, followed by a reception. Gifts in Dick's memory should go to the San Francisco Symphony or the San Francisco Opera.

—JMB

Lawrence H. de Sola (December 6, 2015)

Classmates:

I write with the sad news, sent to be by Chauncey Dewey, that we lost Lawrence H. de Sola on December 6, 2015. Larry died of cancer in Georgia, his home being on St. Simon's Island. Born in El Salvador, he attended the Hill School, then Yale, where he was a history major and a resident of Timothy Dwight College. After graduation, he joined his family business as a coffee merchant. Ivan Selin, who remained in touch with Larry, watched him assimilate fully into being an American while in college, moving from friendships principally with other Latin American students with whom he spoke Spanish to ease and friendship with Americans and, by senior year, rarely speaking anything but English. In later life, he pursued his investments, was an avid sportsman and golfer, and became deeply involved in community affairs and family. Ivan describes him as "a lovely fellow, gentle, considerate, and empathetic, quiet but not overly reserved, friendly, and responsible." Larry is survived by his wife of 57 years, Malie, their daughter Lorena, their sons Victor and Mateo, and five grandchildren. Contributions in his memory should go to his beloved Humane Society of Glynn County, Georgia.

—JMB

Richard F. LaGanza (December 2, 2015)

Classmates:

I have word through New Haven that Richard F. LaGanza died on December 2, 2015, in Sydney, Australia. We have little word about him, save from his sister, his three Pierson roommates having predeceased him. After receiving his geology degree magna cum laude with us, Dick received an M.A. in mineralogy from the University of Adelaide on a Fulbright Scholarship. He worked as a mining manager for Shell Chemical Company in Sydney, then as a consultant for the Fuchs Group as well as a director for Trend Laboratories. He held a number of patents, the most significant one being for a resin that secured the outside tiles onto the Sydney Opera House.

—JMB

David W. Skolnick (October 5, 2015)

Classmates:

Through the kindness of Dick Newman, we've learned of the death on October 5, 2015 of our classmate David W. Skolnick. He died in Woodbridge, CT, of the complications of Parkinson's Disease. A Connecticut man through and through and deeply devoted to his native state, after Yale Dave attended Columbia Law School and then practiced law in New Haven with what was evidently his own firm Winnick, Skolnick, Ruben, and Block. A trial lawyer with a specialty, his friend and fellow-attorney John Resnik reports, in medical malpractice litigation, he served as a member of the Statewide Grievance Committee and a special master and attorney trial referee for the state's Superior Court. He was also elected a fellow of the American Society of Trial Lawyers and was listed in Best Lawyers in America. (This elicited from him the reflection, in our 50th reunion book, that this designation "reinforced my opinion that everyone is entitled to their opinion.") He left his firm in 1993 to accept a judgeship on the Connecticut Superior Court and served, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70, as Judge Referee. John Resnik observes that out of respect for Dave's deep knowledge and skills, "presiding judges assigned as many medical malpractice cases to him as they could." To other honors was added in 2000 his being named Judge of the Year by the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association. Dave is survived by his wife Susan, their children Andrew and Deborah (both of whom followed their proud father into the law), and four grandchildren. Contributions in his memory may go to the Alzheimer's Association (Connecticut Chapter) or to Congregation Mishkan Israel, 785 Ridge Road, Hamden, CT.

—JMB

Donald B. Gurland (September 26, 2015)

Classmates:

I have news from New Haven of the death in San Diego of Donald B. Gurland. He died on September 26, 2015. He attended Yale with '57 but did not graduate, nor was he listed in the Freshman register nor the 1957 Yale Banner with the class. We have no further record of him.

—JMB

Richard B. Turner (September 15, 2015)

Classmates:

I regret to have to inform you of the death on September 15, 2015 of our classmate Richard B. Turner, of whom, until now, we had little information. He died in Bristol, RI, of unstated causes. Coming to Yale from Andover, after Yale, where he majored in classics, he took a graduate degree in classics at Harvard but then decided to become a medical doctor. Returning to school, at Boston University, to satisfy his pre-med requirements, he then took his M.D. degree from Tufts. At some point along the line, he joined the U.S. Navy and served, no doubt at as doctor, in Vietnam. Subsequently, he seems to have practiced medicine in Providence for the rest of his career. An avid outdoorsman, he was a member of the Atlantic Tuna Club and the Mt. Tom Club. But his greatest love, he always averred, was his love for medicine. He is described as having had a keen intellect, a sharp wit, and a deep understanding of human nature. He's survived by his son Richard B. Turner, Jr., two daughters Sally V. Turner and Penelope T. Leuchtag, and brother, and two grandchildren.

—JMB

Theodore Walser (September 13, 2015)

We lost Theodore R. Walser to cancer on September 13, 2015. After schooling at Lawrenceville and Yale, Ted commenced a long career in banking, first at Chemical Bank before retiring as senior vice president of Lloyd's Bank. After his retirement, he was a consultant for Greenwich Associates. Unfortunately, recalled by others as a consummate professional and someone who loved travel and beaches, he left little record with the class. His college roommate and former brother-in-law, Bill Mallender, confirms that he was "great company," "generous and loving," and never known to be disliked by anyone. Ted is survived by his wife Sandra; four children Julia Allan, Elizabeth Gassimi, and James and Kenneth Walser; a sister; and six grandchildren. Donations in Ted's memory should go to Doctors Without Borders, 333 7th Avenue, New York NY 10001.

—JMB

David K. Hyatt (September 5, 2015)

Classmates:

This is to report that we lost David K. Hyatt on September 5, 2015. He died at home in Branford, CT, of undisclosed causes. Dave followed his Yale years with graduate study of physics at Brown University. He then spent a good portion of his life teaching—first in independent schools, then apparently at Albertus Magnus College. He also was a family life counselor for some period, as well as a carpenter—as he listed himself in our 25th reunion book. His published obituary, referring to his "eccentric lifestyle," notes also that he framed houses, taught skiing in Colorado, excelled at and taught bridge, rowed on the Branford River, cared for his land in Branford, and loved to read, often as a fixture in the Branford Library. He was also noted for his benefactions—to Yale and Albertus Magnus, as well as to the Branford Community Foundation. He is survived by his daughter Janet B. Knox and a cousin. Contributions in his memory should go to the Community Dining Room, 30 Harrison Avenue #1, Branford, CT 06405.

—JMB

John R. Plecas (August 27, 2015)

Classmates:

I write of the death, of which we've just learned from New Haven, of John R. Plecas. John died on August 27, 2015, in or near Seminole, Florida. We have almost no information about him since graduation—nothing in our reunion books, nothing about him on the Web. A native of Detroit, at Yale he was a resident of Trumbull College, a psychology major, and a member of the Young Democrats.

—JMB

David D. Griffith (August 22, 2015)

Classmates:

I write with news of the death of our classmate David D. Griffith. Dave died at home in Marco Island, Florida, on August 22, 2015. Trained after college at Yale Medical School, he and his wife Marcia joined the Peace Corps in 1962, where they were members of the first Corps medical teams sent to Africa, in their case to Sierra Leone. Upon returning, Dave switched to the US Public Health Service for continuing work in the Peace Corps, this time as a physician in Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia, after which he was director of the Far East Medical Desk of the Corps. After that, he seems to have practiced as a psychiatrist until his retirement. Aside from his medical work, he loved the outdoors—gardening, fishing, kayaking, and boating. In addition to his wife, David is survived by their sons John and Jeffrey as well as by four grandchildren. A service in Dave's memory will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 10, 2015 at the Wesley United Methodist Church, 350 S. Barfield Drive, Marco Island Florida. Donations in his memory may to a charity of choice, to the American Heart Association (a href="https://donatenow.heart.org/" target="new")https://donatenow.heart.org/, or to Avow Hospice, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples, FL 34105.

—JMB

Joseph Wood "Woody" Oliver, Jr. (August 1, 2015)

Classmates:

I pass along the sad news of the death on August 1, 2015, of Joseph Wood Oliver, Jr. Woody died of lung cancer in Naples, Florida. After schooling at St. Paul's and Yale, he joined the corporate lending division of Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, the city of his birth and lifelong residence, where he remained his entire career. Tod Mann, Woody’s school and college roommate and a friend of 65 years, relates that he was an avid and skilled golfer and, later in life, a birder, from whom Tod learned much. He was early and widely known for his easy smile and quick wit—he was especially good at nicknaming people—and was, as Tod writes, “a consummate gentleman,” as all who knew him at Yale can attest. Karl Van Horn, another old friend, characterizes Woody similarly, as “a socializer, with drink and cigarette always in hand. No animosity or personal hang ups for him. He had many friends and no enemies. Unambitious professionally, balance was his priority.” Woody is survived by his wife Lucy of 52 years, their children Joseph Wood Oliver III and Margaret Marshall, and four grandchildren. A memorial service will be held August 27, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. at the Christ Church Fox Chapel, 630 Squaw Run Road East, Pittsburgh, PA 15238. Memorial contributions in Woody’s name may be made to Christ Church Fox Chapel, the church with which his family was long associated.

—JMB

George C. "Hutch" Hutchinson III (June 26, 2015)

Classmates:

We have word of the death on June 26, 2015 of George C. Hutchinson III. He died in New York City of infection after having been ill for some time. Hutch had a bent enough toward literature, reports Branford entry-mate Gordon Frierson, to subject himself to the rigors of Daily Themes and was, as Gordon and I recall him, a good raconteur with a wry, crusty sense of humor. After Yale, Hutch worked for Procter and Gamble in Cincinnati and then, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England, for Burry Biscuit before returning to the US where, in the mid-1960s, he founded his own home care medical business and eventually owned his own company. In Summit, NJ, where he long lived with his family, he served on the City Zoning Board and the state Board of Mental health. After retiring, George moved close to the cultural institutions, especially the Metropolitan Opera, he loved, and traveled widely, often with the Class of 1957. He was also an active supporter of the New Jersey Center for the Visual Arts and the Yale University Art Gallery. Divorced from Jane Elizabeth Ames, an artist and art teacher, he is survived by his children Elizabeth (Branford '88), Geoffrey, and David who, following their parents, are involved in the arts—Elizabeth as an art historian, Geoffrey and David involved in photography and photo printing.

—JMB

John Wood "Woody" Bolton, Sr. (June 23, 2015)

Classmates:

We lost John Wood Bolton, Sr. on June 23, 2015. He died of unstated causes in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he had long lived. After half a year at Cornell, Woody joined us for a full four years, a major in American Studies and a member of Fence Club. As he wrote in his informative sketch for our 50th reunion book, after graduation he immediately entered upon a career in finance and business, first with the Bank of New York, then with U.S. Trust Company. Subsequently, having become a skilled oil analyst and moved to Charlottesville, he commuted to New York to serve the Carl & Lily Pforzheimer family as vice president and director of its charitable foundation and petroleum and trading corporation, after which he took over his wife's family's appliance distribution business in Huntington, WV. In 1986, he became director of finance and investments for The Nature Conservancy in Arlington, VA. For the next 18 years, he guided the growth of The Nature Conservancy's endowment from roughly $125 million to over a billion dollars, first from within the Conservancy, finally, until his retirement in 2008, from his partnership in CornerStone Partners in Charlottesville, where he helped diversify the Conservancy's investments, until then mostly in conventional holdings in equities, bonds, and cash. Woody was always active in community and charitable affairs, serving, for example, on the board of First Huntington National Bank, St. Anne's Belfield, the Ivy American Foundation, the West Virginia regional Metropolitan Opera, and the Bayly Art Museum. Everyone who knew Woody knew him as a sober, thoughtful, lively, sunny man, someone with a rich combination of appealing traits. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Jane Van Zandt Bolton, their children Richard, John Jr., and Catherine Austin, and six grandchildren. A memorial service will take place at 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Ivy (Charlottesbille) on Saturday, August 1, 2015, with a reception to follow at the church. Interment will be held at 2:00 p.m. at Monticello Memory Gardens. In Woody's memory, his family suggests contributions to The Nature Conservancy, 490 Westfield Road, Charlottesville, VA 22901 (or www.nature.org) or to St.Paul's Episcopal Church, 851 Owensville Road, Charlottesville, VA 22901.

—JMB

Thomas P. D'Esposito (June 4, 2015)

Classmates:

We have learned through Ray Sipherd of the death, sometime in June 2015, of Thomas P. D'Esposito. We know little more. Ray writes that after Yale, where Tom was a member of Berkeley College and a ranking scholar with a major in philosophy, he attended Harvard Law School, then became an officer in his family's New York business, The Press of Fremont Payne. Those wishing to remember Tom can write to his sister Valerie Esposito, 12 State Street, Valley Stream, NY 11580.

—JMB

Tung H. "Sunne" Jeong (May 4, 2015)

Classmates:

We've learned of the death of Tung H. Jeong on May 4, 2015. He died of prostate cancer in Tallahassee, Florida. Sunne (pronounced "Sunny," as he was known to most people) had a pre-Yale life no doubt unique in the class. Born around 1931 in the countryside village of Hoiping, China, Sunne didn't know his real birth date until well along into adulthood—and then found he was three years older than he'd thought. Nor did he ever know his natural parents. Sold to a landlord’s family at a young age during a time of floods, famine, epidemics, and unrest in his native country, with his adopted mother (who was later killed stealing rice for herself and her son) he narrowly escaped the invading Japanese army by fleeing his village and hiding in caves until he reached Hong Kong. When that city was bombed, he fled to Macau; when Macau was bombed, he fled back to his native village, from which, after World War II, he fled again­-this time from the Chinese Communist Party—to the US, where he ended up in Amarillo, Texas. As Sunne wrote at the time of our 50th reunion, it was only in 1975 that he heard from a long-lost younger brother and learned both that he was older than he had thought and that he had a second brother (in Toronto) and a sister (in Hong Kong). Seeing his natural gift for mathematics and physics, his Texas grade school teacher took it upon herself to teach Sunne English. He ended up graduating as salutatorian of his class at Amarillo High School armed with a full scholarship to Yale, where he majored in physics and was a ranking scholar. After college, he earned his PhD in nuclear physics in 1962 from the University of Minnesota. Joining the faculty of Lake Forest College, from which he retired in 1997, Sunne then became one of the nation's noted experts in holography. ("Life is a hologram," this inveterate enthusiast once claimed.) He lectured on the subject throughout the world (including, eventually, in the land of his birth by invitation of the Chinese government) and took particular satisfaction in introducing novices to it. Among many other achievements, he founded the International Symposium on Display Holography, a triennial conference attracting scientists, artists, and businessmen worldwide. And with his wife of 53 years Anna, he co-founded Integraf, an international distributor of holography supplies to schools, hobbyists, and businesses. It's said that he "probably gave more people their first introduction to holography than any other single teacher, communicator, or enthusiast," and some of his students became leaders in the field. For his wide-ranging work, he was a recipient of the Robert Millikan Medal from the American Association of Physics Teachers, the Saxby Medal of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Hologram Manufacturers Association and was elected a Fellow of the Optical Society of America. Sunne was also a windsurfer and an avid classical music devotee and violinist. He was also firm in his Yale loyalties. As an undergraduate, he was a noted gymnast. With Frank Galloney and roommates Doug Wright and Bruce Belason, he seems to have formed the Yale Gymnastics Club with only begrudging support from the athletics department, and he won an AAU medal in 1955. Bruce writes that "our room culture was dominated by equations, lab reports, and breaks featuring handstands and strength exercises." And so it was as a cheerleader, as was Frank Galloney, that Sunne was probably best known to most of us. His daughter Alicia reports that throughout his life he was "often seen wearing his blue Yale sweatshirt and still had his Yale and Harvard megaphones from his Yale cheerleading and gymnastics days." Nor, it seems, did he ever forget Yale's famous cheer, the one supposedly from Aristophanes' Frogs, the one we all remember (though discontinued in the 1960s): “Brek-ek-ek-ek-ex, ko-ax, ko-ax.” May it now resound throughout the heavens—or wherever—and keep the gods from resting on their laurels. In addition to Anna and Alicia, Sunne is survived by sons Allan and Alec and two grandchildren. A memorial celebration of his life will take place on Saturday, July 18, 2015, at 1:00 PM, at the Glen Rowan House at Lake Forest College, 500 N. Sheridan Road, Lake Forest, Illlinois.

—JMB

David A. Laventhol (April 8, 2015)

Classmates:

I must sadly report to you the death on April 8, 2015, of David A. Laventhol, whom Tom Perkins terms a "giant" of his profession. David died in New York of the complications of Parkinson's disease, from which those who were acquainted with him knew he'd long suffered. The son of a newspaperman, he entered Yale with the Class of 1955 after having edited his school newspaper, then for reasons wittily acknowledged at the time of our 50th reunion (but apparently unknown to the writers of his published obituaries) ended up with us. The reasons were closely related to his later achievements: too much time spent heeling and writing for the Yale Daily News. And the future publisher of the Los Angeles Times didn't even at first make the college paper, the reason being that he didn't sell enough ads! Told by the dean to cut back on reporting, he kept at it under an alias until, his grades still suffering, he was tossed out of dear ole Yale. Twenty months of service in the US Army behind him, he was allowed to re-enroll, and this time he made it through—still, of course, working for the YDN. After some time with the St. Petersburg Times, then the New York Herald Tribune where he became city editor before that paper died ("no connection," he wrote), he joined the Washington Post, where he became celebrated for having inaugurated that paper's Style section over the objections of the advertising office ("not many ads again"). After that, he was editor of Newsday (which won four Pulitzers under his watch), where he also founded the distinctive New York City edition of that paper. David then went to Los Angeles, where, after leading its paper as editor and publisher (three Pulitzers while in the latter post), he became president of its corporate parent, the Times Mirror Corporation, before it was bought by the Tribune Company. Along the way, he chaired the boards of the Pulitzer Prizes, the LA Museum of Contemporary Art, the United Negro College Fund, the International Press Institute, and the Committee to Protect Journalists. After he retired to New York, he served as publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review. As Andy Glass points out (but both the Washington Post and the New York Times omitted from the list of his achievements), David even edited some of our early class books although he wouldn't join Andy in sharing the work of the 50th reunion book. You'd never have known all this, for, as Peter Wolf notes, while "a sharp listener who was wily wise" and whose "irreverent and independent way of thinking" showed up in his career, he was "shy in groups." David once wrote that "journalists are moralists. They're primarily in the business to make a better world, to improve society through revelations of its sins and glories." He's survived by his wife, Esther, whom he married in 1957, and their children Peter and Sarah.

—JMB

Robert W. Keaten (March 11, 2015)

Classmates:

I must report the death of unstated causes in Fort Collins, CO, on March 11, 2015, of Robert W. Keaten. An undergraduate resident of Saybrook, Bob showed his promise as mathematician and physicist early by winning Yale's Barge Prizes (given after competitive exams in math to freshmen and sophomores) in 1954 and 1955 and in being a ranking scholar. After graduation, he spent the next 40 years working as a physicist in positions at Rockwell International and as the American representative to the OECD Halden Reactor Project in Norway before finishing his career at GPU Nuclear Corporation from which he retired as vice president of engineering in 1997. He then went on to a second career as Episcopal priest after earning an M.Div. degree from General Theological Seminary in 2001 and being ordained to the priesthood in 2002. He served thereafter in a number of parishes before retiring in 2007 as rector of one. A golfer and fencer at Yale, he ended up as an avid chess and bridge player. Bob is survived by his wife, Sheila, their sons Robert and James, grandchildren, and a brother. His family requests that donations be made to Catholic Homeless Charities.

—JMB

George A. Jensen (January 21, 2015)

Classmates:

I have word of the death on January 21, 2015, of our classmate George A. Jensen of Cheshire, Connecticut, from unstated causes after a lengthy illness. As an undergraduate, George was a ranking scholar and, from early college days, a master of languages. He majored in Japanese area studies and was a member of the French and Italian clubs. His Pierson roommate, John Brooke, characterizes him then as "a quick study with an almost photographic memory. I remember that he decided once to learn a non-European language with a different alphabet, perhaps Mandarin Chinese or a Persian dialect. When I asked him about it just a few weeks later, he said he had been adjudged competent at reading, speaking fluently, and writing." While his career took him into banking—he retired after becoming President and CEO of the Bank of Hartford—his interest in other languages and cultures kept him involved in international finance. Upon retiring, George was a consultant for the International Executive Service Corporation, which aims, analogously to the Peace Corps, to assist overseas businesses to strengthen their practices. Most of his work concerned management and business plans. Needless to say, he traveled widely. Someone who loved to cook, he is reported to have prepared meals for family members and friends every Friday night. He was also deeply involved in the Cheshire community through St. Peter's Episcopal Church, the Cheshire Community Theater, and the Connecticut Horse Shows Association. John Brooke characterizes George as "reticent and modest, retiring and gracious. He seldom revealed much about himself and asked few questions. His interest was in learning." Besides his wife of 53 years, Cynthia, George is survived by their daughters Kristin Bures and Karin Jensen and grandchildren. His son Erik predeceased him. Contributions in George's memory may be made to the St. Peter's Church Memorial Fund.

—JMB

Charles L. Gold (January 7, 2015)

Classmates:

I sadly report to you the loss on January 7, 2015 of Charles L. Gold. Charlie died at home in West Cornwall, CT, close to where he had been born, after a seven-year battle against cancer. After college, he immediately joined IBM, with which he remained for 34 years in many capacities, most of them related to education. He was program director of the corporation's Systems Research Institute, a graduate school for information technology. He then led education programs for senior executives and attorneys defending IBM in anti-trust cases and appeared as expert witness for IBM in federal court. Relatedly, he was part of a small group that worked to settle the company's anti-trust cases, which were eventually dropped by the federal government. Subsequently, he became an expert in function point use, a measure of in-house quality standards, and helped set industry standards as secretary of the International Foundation Point Users Group and the International Software Benchmark Standards Group. Upon leaving IBM, he became a consultant in information technology for Ernst & Young. He had a deep commitment to the stewardship of his family farm in West Cornwall; and when he and his brother sold part of it for development, they secured guarantees that the remainder would be forever open. In Cornwall, he held many community positions, including trustee and chair of the town's Building Committee and member of the Board of Assessment Appeals. Charlie is survived by his wife Barbara, their daughters Virginia Gold and Elizabeth Sobek, a sister, and grandchildren. Contributions in his memory may be made to the United Church of Christ, Congregational, in Cornwall or to the Cornwall Fire Department.

—JMB

Larry H. Strasburger (January 3, 2015)

Classmates:

I've learned from his close friend Roger Cogswell of the death on January 3, 2015, in Concord, MA, of Larry H. Strasburger. Larry died after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease. After Yale, Larry attended Harvard Medical School and became a forensic psychiatrist in Belmont, MA, while maintaining a private psychiatric and psychoanalytic practice there as well as a long association with McLean Hospital and other nearby institutions. He was considered by his colleagues, who elected him to be president of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, to be among the very best in that specialty. Roger—who met Larry in freshman year on the rifle range, became with him co-captain of the Yale Rifle Team, and married the first cousin of Larry's wife—reports that to suppress somewhat the symptoms of his disease, Larry learned to play the piano in later life. Roger recalls Larry "for his companionship, quiet confidence, and common sense in all matters, and especially for the warmth of his friendship. The service and celebration of his life included elements of four different religious traditions. And in accordance with his wishes and his New Orleans upbringing, the celebration ended with a brass band playing New Orleans jazz from the balcony. We should all have such a sendoff." Larry is survived by his wife Carol and by their children David Strasburger, Sara Bonds, and Peter "Zark" Strasburger. Gifts in his memory may be made to Innocence Project-New Orleans, 4051 Ulloa St., New Orleans, LA 70119.

—JMB

N. Carter Volz (January 1, 2015)

Classmates:

I bring you news of the death on January 1, 2015 of N. Carter Volz, presumably in Sussex, NJ, of unstated causes. Those who knew Carter at Yaleknew him as a singer, first in the Freshman Glee Club, then in the Yale Glee Club and the Madrigals. When he asked you to help make up a foursome, it was not for bridge or for golf but for barbershop song. After Yale, he received an MBA from NYU, served in the Army Combat Engineers in Europe, then began a business career in a number of firms, rising by 1974 to be vice president of American Express. In that year, he was grievously mugged on a New York street and left for dead—with "brain damage" stated our 25th reunion book. But he did not die. How and to what extent he rehabilitated himself over the years is not clear, but he did so and went on to live a long and productive life. After he had sufficiently recovered, Carter became a psychotherapist and a master of Reiki technique, a Japanese-originated form of hands-on healing. He was also a hypno-therapist, a master practitioner of neuro-linguistic programming, and a Jungian. He taught holistic energy healing and classes in Reiki at Sussex County Community College for over 15 years and apprenticed many students to their Reiki masterships. Not leaving it at that, Carter was also the author of four books whose subjects covered grieving, Jungian analysis, healing, and Reiki. Surely Carter's life gives the lie the oft-quoted line of Scott Fitzgerald, mistaken, in so many things, as Princeton men tend to be, that "there are no second acts in American lives." His was a second act built upon triumph over great adversity. Carter is survived by his companion Nancy Malone and members of her family, as well as two children. Donations in his memory may go to Guiding Eyes for the Blind, 611 Granite Springs Road, Yorktown Heights NY 10589.

—JMB

John F. Skillman, Jr. (December 15, 2014)

Classmates:

Our fellow '57er John F. Skillman, Jr., died on December 15, 2014 in Scarborough, Maine, of metastatic bladder cancer. The son of Yale's legendary squash and tennis coach and three-time US professional squash champion of the same name, Jack was a pre-collegiate graduate of the Gunnery School and then spent an English-Speaking Union year at King's College, Worcester. A Silliman resident and English major, Jack followed his Yale B.A. with an M.A.T. In 1958, he began teaching English at North Haven High School while coaching freshman squash and tennis at Yale. From then on, he moved quickly upward professionally, from department chair at the high school, to English instructor and director of admissions at the Hopkins Grammar School (now Hopkins School), then to headmaster between 1968 and 1982 of the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Under Jack's leadership, the Institute dropped its junior college and became fully co-educational. Subsequently, he was headmaster of the Harley School in Rochester, NY until 1988. Jack usually lived life with an outdoor, rural edge. He and his wife Sally for a time made a home on a small island off the Connecticut coast, then on an inland property where, with the aid of state incentives, they created a fish-stocked lake. While at the Harley School, the Skillmans ran Tobey's General Store in Palermo, Maine, a town to which Jack semi-retired on a 130-acre farm with 17 active acres of harvestable blueberries. Once settled in Maine, Jack helped disadvantaged youngsters at the Training Resource Center in Portland and as an employment counselor for Maine's homeless veterans. Quadruple heart-bypass surgery finally got him to hand in his work permits. Everyone who knew Jack knew him for his sunny disposition, his warm chuckle, and his giving nature. A teacher, dreamer, and project-er, he embodied the best of the human spirit. He laughed at the world's follies (including his own), was resilient in the face of difficulty, and always tried to bring benefit to others. "A talented, smiling man, rich in loyalty," Otis Graham writes of him. "Jack always had a cheerful, positive outlook on all matters at hand," writes Jack's fellow squash player Larry Bodkin in agreement. Jack is survived by his former wife Sally and their three children Gregory, Mark, and Lee, and their families. A spring 2015 service in his memory will take place at the Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven at a date to be announced later. His family asks that contributions in his memory be sent to any of the following: Packer College Institute, the Skillman Associates Squash Program at Yale, or the Ocean View at Falmouth Residents' Fund, Falmouth, Maine.

—JMB

Robert Wrenn (November 22, 2014)

Classmates:

Fred Gaston has notified me of the death on November 22, 2014, of Robert Wrenn, presumably in Madison, Wisconsin. Bob left little information with the class over the years, and aside from the fact, conveyed in our 50th reunion book, that he was then retired vice president of Bradner, Smith, & Company in Chicago (a firm apparently in the paper or timber business), we have little to go on. Described by his family as a "pragmatic progressive" and "way left of center," Bob loved the outdoors. He and his wife Ida were also known as enthusiastic dancers. Fred reports that on a class trip to South Africa, the two of them, activated by a display of native dancing, spontaneously joined the performers who were as delighted as other classmates were at their performance. In his 50th reunion book statement, Bob Wrenn credited Bob Ludwig, his Pierson roommate through junior year (when he left campus residence to marry Ida), with having been more influential for his education than any faculty member. He credited Bob L with having offered lessons in "perspective, sensitivity, compassion and free inquiry, always with a focus on the human condition"— obviously instead, Bob L writes modestly, "present in Bob from the get-go and nurtured throughout his life." In addition to his wife, Bob Wrenn is survived by their children Nancy Bauch, Pam Wrenn, Jennifer Winner, Kent Wrenn, Jon Wrenn, as well as 10 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. Donations in Bob's memory may be made to two Madison organizations to which he devoted many volunteer hours: the YWCA Third Street Program and Lussier Community Center.

—JMB

Fred A. "Terry" Simmons III (November 21, 2014)

Classmates:

We learned recently from his old friend Art Gardiner of the death at home in Los Angeles on November 21, 2014 of Fred A. Simmons III. He died of heart disease. Having gained an MD degree from McGill Medical School after Yale, Terry was a doctor all his life, most of it spent in southern California. His specialty was hepatology. A partner with the Southern California Permanente Medical Group at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Los Angeles, Terry was instrumental in establishing the Regional Liver Transplant Service, of which he remained chief until his 1997 retirement. A devoted teacher, he was also a clinical professor at the UCLA School of Medicine from 1974 to 2011 and at the USC School of Medicine from 1989 to 2014. He attended weekly teaching rounds even after retirement. A varsity lacrosse player at Exeter and Yale, Terry remained an active athlete throughout his life and served as board member of the Westside WMCA. He also led, reports Towny Ludington, Terry's Pierson roommate, "a semi-bohemian life in a house he'd partly constructed himself away from the glitz of Hollywood tucked back on Beverley Canyon Road, which he shared with coyotes and other animals." This style of life extended to what has been described as a "primitive" get-away house in Baja California. at which he repaired equally primitive autos, wind-surfed, and drank tequila at sunset. Towny recalls Terry for his "antic wit, deep intelligence, and vitality," someone of "great aptitude for the arts and humanities," and "a vivid human being." Terry is survived by his partner Karen Cove, brothers George and David, sisters Mona and Geneva, and their children. Donations in his memory may go to the Simmons Family Fund (a/c 24893), Renaissance Charitable Foundation, co/Mark Markland, 1230 Rosecrans Ave. (# 610,) Manhattan Beach, CA 90266.

—JMB

G. Dean Loucks (October 17, 2014)

Classmates:

Our classmate G. Dean Loucks died on October 17, 2014 in Monsey, NY. Dean arrived at Yale from White Plains High School where he had been a strong student. But we knew him in college principally as an athlete (and as one who sported a notable crew cut among other crew-cut fellows). Even before college, he'd proved himself by quarterbacking his high school school football team to three undefeated seasons (which means, as Bob Barton points out, that he never played in a losing game as high school quarterback—an extraordinary record) . At Yale, while also on the varsity basketball team, he was known principally as the varsity football team's quarterback, earning All East honors and All Ivy League honorable mention. Bob attributes that mere honorable mention to the votes of the Ivy coaches, not to Yale, which made up for his All Ivy miss by putting him on its "all-era" team for the two decades between 1938 and 1957 during the Yale Bowl's recent centennial celebration. Not that such recognition should ever have been in doubt, for who can forget the 1955 Yale-Army game? Dean (again this from Bob Barton, a historian of sorts of Yale football) "connected with Paul Lopata on a 15-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter of the game that put Yale ahead 7-6" and helped secure the Bulldogs's final 14-12 unexpected win. This kind of feat was achieved in the face of something that few knew—that Dean was born without the use of his right arm. But it was with that very arm, through surgery, strengthening, and practice, that he later led his Yale team to victory over Army. Stories have it that, also a boxer, Dean and a Brown player had a go at each other in a 1956 game, which got them both ejected. But he must have learned a lesson from such collegiate hot-headedness, for in a later White Plains game with Hillhouse High and by now known on the White Plains campus as a taskmaster coach, he pulled his school's team off the field when comity deteriorated and tempers flew. Paul Lopata reports that Dean also had a way of somehow making embarrassing situations turn out well. Paul and other merry pranksters set up Dean with a fake dinner invitation to the home of Calhoun master Archibald Foord. But when Dean showed up at Foord's door, the master and his wife welcomed him in for dinner. Dean and I found ourselves together on Morningside Heights in the early 1960s, where he was studying for his MA in teaching. Upon securing that degree, he returned to his White Plains alma mater to teach social studies and coach its football team. He left the school in 1970 to coach the Iona College football team and in 1972 went to rescue and rebuild Fordham University's team. All of this brought him induction in 2009 into the Westchester Sports Hall of Fame. Bob Mobley writes that Dean's great skill was "helping young men and women discover and develop their gifts." While Dean's loyalty to the high school that nurtured him and at which his father, Glenn D. Loucks, was also a coach was central to his life, he also owned and ran two New Hampshire summer camps; worked on the business side of publisher Harcourt Brace; and, as he reported at the time of our 50th reunion, founded and ran for over 30 years an employment service company for mostly Latino and blue-collar workers. Dean is survived by his daughter Kathy and a grandson. A daughter, son, and brother predeceased him. Donations in his memory should go to a charity of choice or to the Glenn D. Loucks Track Meet, c/o Daniel Woodward, White Plains High School, 550 North Street, White Plains NY 10605.

—JMB

Walter C. Copeland III (October 13, 2014)

Classmates:

I regret to bring you news of the death of Walter C. Copeland III on October 13, 2014. He died in Madison, Florida, of Parkinson's and Lewy body disease, which he was suffering from at the time of our 50th reunion, as he reported at the time. Save for college and some time in military service, Walt seems to have spent his life in Madison, the town of his birth, his career revolving around the Copeland Gas Company, a family firm. His love of music ran through his life, a love that evidenced itself at Yale, where he played the trumpet in the Symphony Orchestra and the Marching Band. He also hunted in the forests and went backpacking in Europe with his wife Frances. In addition to his wife, Walt is survived by their three sons Brett, Walter, and Scot, three grandchildren, and other family members. Contributions in his memory should go to the Big Bend Hospice, 1723 Mahon Center Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32308; to the Madison First Baptist Church, PO Box 307, Madison, FL, 32341; or to Madison Academy, PO Box 690, Madison, FL 32341.

—JMB

William S. "Bill" Greaves, Jr. (September 27, 2014)

Classmates:

I have just learned from his widow of the death of our classmate William S. Greaves, Jr. Bill died in Toronto on September 27, 2014 of multiple myeloma. A resident of Pierson and on the varsity fencing team, he spent his career as he intended as early as undergraduate years—as a teacher and scholar of English language and literature. At the time of his death, he was professor emeritus and senior scholar in the Department of English Language and Literature of Glendon College, York University, Toronto. In addition to being a teacher and scholar, Bill was a competitive sailor and fencer, a cross-country skier, an alumnus of Goodenough College, London, England, the steward of a farm in Prince Edward County, Ontario, a lover of red wine and wood fires, and, it is said, an enthusiast of both The Ring Cycle and New England whaling songs. He is survived by his wife Anne, their daughters Ellen and Jane, their son William, five grandchildren, and a sister. Gifts in Bill's memory can be made to the William Greaves Fund in Linguistics, created to establish an annual award for excellence in linguistics studies at Glendon College, York University, or to Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto.

—JMB

Arthur E. Freedman (September 8, 2014)

Classmates:

I have word from New Haven of the death on September 8, 2014, of Arthur E. Freedman, presumably in Cincinnati, where he had long lived. The class has had little information about him. A native of New Haven and a pre-collegiate student at Hillhouse High and the Gunnery Schools, Art entered Yale with the Class of 1955, stopped out to spend two years in the US Army in Europe, then returned to graduate with us. A non-resident member of Timothy Dwight, he was an economics major. After Yale, he attended Ohio State Law School. He is survived by three daughters and a brother.

—JMB

Charles F. Leahy (August 21, 2014)

Classmates:

Our classmate Charles F. Leahy died August 21, 2014, after a short illness. After Yale, military service, and Harvard Law School, Chuck returned to his native New Hampshire to practice law in Concord. After serving as legislative counsel to Governor Walter Peterson, he came to be recognized as one of New Hampshire's pre-eminent lawyers while practicing in the firm of Orr and Reno. Later in his career, he was particularly proud of his work co-leading a broad study of the New Hampshire Court system. Many of the study's recommendations were adopted by the state's Supreme Court and General Court. Always interested in education, Chuck served on the Concord School Board and as a trustee of the White Mountain School. He also helped found the Concord Trust for the Enhancement of Public Education; and, a charter member of the New Hampshire Supreme Court Society, he supported its efforts to improve K-12 civic education in New Hampshire's public schools. He was also a trustee of New Hampshire Public Television and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maine Law School, where he taught the school's business planning course. In addition to time spent in their Kennebunkport second home, Chuck and his family traveled often to their casita in the low desert of southern California and, with a large cohort of Calhoun friends and roommates, annually to other places. Writing that Chuck "brought a spark to every group he joined," Hugh Peterson reflects also that he "was a private person but among friends extraordinarily gregarious. Anyone who met him liked and remembered him. He was a leader at Phi Gamma Delta and yet declined the presidency when it was offered to him." Tink Thompson writes that "there are people whom you sometimes meet who seem to enrich life around them. Chuck was one of those. They make life happier and more vibrant." Both Andy Kner and Stew Wright use the same phrase in describing him: he "had a unique ability to get into the heart of the matter." In addition to his wife Susan, he is survived by his five children, Siobhan Ulrich, Charles, Matthew, Susan, and Jonathan, their spouses, and many grandchildren. Contributions in Chuck's memory may be made to a charity of one's choice or to the New Hampshire Supreme Court Society, PO Box 1341, Concord, New Hampshire 03302-1341 in support of civic education.

—JMB

H. Scott Cannell (August 21, 2014)

Classmates:

We've lost another classmate with the death on August 21, 2014 of H. Scott Cannell. Scott died at his home in Purchase, NY, after a short illness. A member of the class's large Cleveland contingent, Scotty was a singer and actor at Yale. He "became famous on campus," his Branford roommate and another Clevelander Bob Clark recalls, for acting opposite Jane Fonda in a Dramat production of "The Great Gatsby. Not surprisingly perhaps, as another roomate, Court Haight, writes, "He had no shortage of dates on the weekends." His Navy ROTC commission led him to the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf as chief engineering officer on a destroyer. (He'd majored in engineering.) His naval days apparently gave him a strong case of wanderlust, for after military service he scootered about Europe, spent a term studying opera singing at Vienna's renowned Academie fur Musik, then crewed home on a freighter. Armed with an MBA from Berkeley, he started his professional career in 1970 in marketing and merchandising work, then eventually created his own film and television production company. This led to his co-founding in New York City of the Center for the Media Arts, a professional school that grew to 2000 students and trained young people wishing to benefit from the technology boom in television, commercial art, computer graphics, and music recording. A long-time member of the Elihu board of trustees, Scott also drew many satisfactions from the Rye Presbyterian Church, in which he was a devoted participant. Among his charitable endeavors was running a summer literacy camp for disadvantage children. Anyone who knew Scott knew him as a distinctive character and a warm, serious man of mischievous, sardonic humor, his disenthralled take on the world evidenced by a characteristic wry smile on his face. Bob Clark notes that his roommates, who included Lex Buhler, affectionately referred to him as "H. Scott Fitz-cynic." His love of music and the visual world sustained him always. Scott is survived by his wife of 27 years, Julie, his sons Ian and Nicholas, and their son Patrick, as well as a sister. He was pre-deceased by his first wife, Marcia, in 1984. A service in his memory will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 20th, at the Rye Presbyterian Church, 882 Boston Post Road, Rye, New York. A reception will follow. Contributions in Scott's memory may be sent to the Rye Presbyterian Church, 882 Boston Post Road, Rye, NY 10580.

—JMB

Peter M. Farrand (August 17, 2014)

Classmates:

We've learned tardily of the death on August 17, 2014, of Peter M. Farrand. Pete died of unstated causes in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he'd lived for many decades. A pre-collegiate graduate of the Thacher School in Ojai, California, he came to Yale where, among other things, he was manager of the varsity soccer team. After graduating from Yale, Pete traveled to São Paulo with Johnson & Higgins, an international insurance brokerage firm. Adapting fully to Brazilian culture, he lived there for the rest of his life, spending summers in Bend, Oregon. After his time with J&H, Pete worked for Phillips Petroleum and eventually started his own company, Nova Petrene, currently owned and operated by his daughter, Allison, and her husband. Steve Flagg, Pete's roommate along with Brayton Wilbur, recalls Pete as a man of "dry wit and a refreshingly pithy outlook on life." He was a jazz enthusiast all his life and, in his Thacher years, is reported to have ventured to try to put his roommates to sleep with renditions of "Taps" on the trombone. While in college, like many of us he spent much time at the Hickory House in Manhattan, sitting at its large circle bar listening to Marian McPartland and others please audiences with their celebrated music. Pete is survived by his wife, Terezinha; daughters Lisa and Allison; former wife and mother of his daughters, Irene; and brothers Alex and Andy.

—JMB

Richard F. Allen (August 14, 2014)

Classmates:

With the help of Lynn Williams and Towny Ludington, I've confirmed the death on August 14, 2014 of our classmate Richard F. Allen. Dick died in Berkeley, CA, of the complications of congestive heart failure. The son of Hervey Allen, author of Anthony Adverse, and the godson of Robert Frost and Philip Wylie, Dick was probably destined for a life in English literature. As he reported extensively in our 50th reunion book, he spent the first part of his life as an English professor and a specialist in Icelandic sagas, Beowulf, and Chaucer. When he was denied tenure at the University of Oregon for, as he believed, having sided with students protesting against the Vietnam War, he became an enterprising vagrant university teacher and eventually an American historian of sorts. For that, his second wife and widow, Berkeley diplomatic historian Diane Clemens, with whom he came to work closely, was in part responsible, for Dick followed her to Berkeley's overseas programs and then, as long-time visiting professor, onto the Berkeley faculty teaching a required freshman course in American cultures. For all of Dick's success in continuing within the academic world without the protection and stability of tenure, he always, as he wrote, missed "my days with Beowulf, Iceland, and the whole medieval world." Dick, writes Towny, was "a very intelligent man, deeply interested in literature, with a fine sense of humor with a keen satiric eye." Lynn also recalls Dick's "wicked, wicked sense of humor, a great ability with the English language, and a clear perception of man's follies." As a member of Manuscript (as well as of the former Yale Record), he also, Lynn reports, once "wrote a paper on the philosophical implications of Donald Duck." Lynn also writes of their roistering about the world after graduation, Dick's rescuing Lynn from "an Arab cafe in Beirut where I was smoking what I thought was 'Arab tobacco,'" and of their spending a 1960s week together on an Oregon commune. This was a serious man who didn't take the world too seriously. In addition to his wife, Dick leaves two children, Hervey and Katharine.

—JMB

Dean A. Waters (August 12, 2014)

Classmates:

I must report the death on August 12, 2014, of our classmate Dean A. Waters. He died at home in Vonore, TN surrounded by family members and friends after a struggle with melanoma. A graduate of Lawrenceville, Dean earned his B.A. in mechanical engineering from Yale and then an M.A. in nuclear engineering from North Carolina State University. Later in life, he attended the Harvard executive business management program. Accepting an offer from Union Carbide in Oak Ridge soon after graduation, he found his life-long professional passion in gas centrifuge technology. In later recognition of his work, particularly for his leadership and inventiveness in the development of gas centrifuge systems, in 1977 he received the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award from President Jimmy Carter at the White House. After the federal centrifuge project ended, Dean worked for the Department of Defense and at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on technology transfer and licensing. In the late 1990s, as chief scientist for USEC Inc. and after uranium enrichment and gas centrifuges returned to the spotlight, he endeavored to further develop and deploy centrifuges ("not your average cream separator," he wrote in the 50th reunion book, "as they stand 40 feet tall and spin at very high velocity"). A passionate sailor, Dean competed in regattas from southern Florida to Canada and sailed the Caribbean. He served as the Commodore at the Concord Yacht Club and qualified for the Olympic trials sailing the Flying Dutchman class boat, one of the many kinds of boats he sailed. He also took up long-distance running and completed several marathons, perhaps out of mature defense against, in his Yale roommate Doug Wright's words, "three crazy roommate gymnasts." When his knees could no longer endure all the running, Dean bought a bike and began cycling throughout East Tennessee with close friends and fellow cyclists. When he wasn't running or riding, he could be found, it is reported, reading a book and icing his knees. Unfortunately, as Dean reported in our 50th reunion book, in 2003 he was hit by a drunk driver, from which, with the help of his nurse, his wife Jacquelyn, he spent too much of the rest of his life recovering. An active member of St Mary's Catholic Church, Dean is survived by his wife of 55 years, their daughter Heather Waters Turner and her family and their son Geoffrey and his family. Another son, Christopher, predeceased Dean. Donations in his memory may be made to the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Foundation/Fellowship Center Fund: http://www.covenanthealth.com/fellowshipcenter.

—JMB

J. Christopher "Chris" Schwab (August 3, 2014)

Classmates:

I have word that J. Christopher Schwab died at his home in New Braunfels, Texas, from unstated causes on August 3, 2014. Chris matriculated with the Class of 1954, stopped out for two years in the US Army, then re-entered Yale in 1954. He then withdrew in 1956 and instead received his B.A. degree from the City College of New York. He was a resident of Davenport and a history major. It is not clear why he remained on the rolls of our class, but he happily did so (as the university itself recorded him), reporting in for our 50th. At that time, he wrote that he had spent some years with the RCA Institutes in New York as dean of their evening division, then settled into a career as a freelance technical writer and industrial training consultant, most of that, apparently, in Westchester County, New York. Upon retirement, he and his wife Judith spent three years roaming across the US in their RV and, in 1998, settled in the hill country of Texas, from which they continued traveling. From what can be gathered, Chris is survived by his wife, three children, and grandchildren.

—JMB

Donald F. Goodman (July 21, 2014)

Classmates:

Our classmate Donald F. Goodman, died on July 21, 2014, at home in Saint James, New York, after a yearlong bout with pancreatic cancer, borne, writes Phil Levine, with the same "admirable stoicism" with which he had faced the afflictions of diabetes. Born in 1933 to immigrant parents from Lithuania, Don grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut and paid his way through school and Yale, initially in the School of Music, then in the College. "Sitting on the steps of Sprague Hall," writes John Francis, "Don and I pondered the wisdom of a move from the Music School to the College, from life as a professional musician to what? Don's shift to the College to major in Russian was an important move. On those same steps (and at George and Harry's, of course) conversations typically turned on Russian thinkers such as Nicholas Berdyaev, Vladimir Soloviev, Nikolai Danilevsky, and Nikon, the 17th-century Patriarch reformer." Such such were the days! A non-resident, married member of Branford, Don was a gifted musician. It's said that, while his mother believed he was playing at church functions, he was playing at jazz clubs. After Yale, Don spent a year in Berlin as a Fulbright Scholar before returning to the US to teach, while securing his doctorate in Russian Studies, at the fledgling State University College on Long Island in Oyster Bay, which would become Stony Brook University. He spent most of his career as a sociologist and language instructor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which grew out of the NYC Police Academy and became part of the CUNY system. Don gave much of his life to serving the disadvantaged and those ill-served by the criminal justice system. "Humanitarianism," again writes Phil Levine, "runs through his adult life like a thread." For many years he coordinated and facilitated the Alternatives to Violence Project in Greenhaven Maximum Security Prison, a Quaker and prisoner-inspired program which began in the 1970s as an attempt to keep children and young people from entering the prison system and which has grown into an international program led both within prisons and in areas of conflict such as Northern Ireland, Israel, and South Africa. He also facilitated workshops for several years as part of the Human Dignity Program, a joint venture of John Jay College, the FBI, and the US State Department to train high-level police of the ex-Soviet bloc as well as various African and Asian countries. Toward the end of his career, John Francis writes, Don was "educating police officers from former Soviet republics and the former Soviet bloc in respect for human and civil rights and humane treatment of prisoners. His efforts in this regard were directed as well towards the US criminal justice system on the domestic front." Don was a proud founder of the Yale Russian Chorus, the first American cultural organization to travel to the Soviet Union on private initiative and still existing today. "It's difficult to talk about Don as a graduate of Yale and as a member of the Yale community," John Francis writes, "except in the context of the Yale Russian Chorus and of his role in the emergence of the chorus as both a musical force as well as a political, intellectual, and diplomatic one. The Chorus itself was very much, though not exclusively, the work of a small group of its original members who came to Yale as the class of '57." Barry Rubin credits Don's 1959 Chorus trip to the USSR with "severely testing him" with the realities of Soviet life. "The depth of the experience likely played a role in the development of his abiding concern for social justice." After some years away from the Russian Chorus, he started singing again at its 50th anniversary concert with the Alumni of the YRC. "He was preparing to sing at the 60th anniversary concert last November in Woolsey Hall," Barry Rubin reports, "but his final illness prevented him from doing so." Don is survived by his second wife Margo and his children, John, Robert, Daphne Youree Djordjevic, and Luke Youree. Don's first wife Maria died in 1981. He is also survived by five grandchildren. Contributions in Don's memory may be made to the Alternatives to Violence Project New York at http://avpny.org.

—JMB

Walter Alexander (June 20, 2014)

Classmates:

We lost Walter Alexander to unexplained causes on June 20, 2014. He died at home in Geneva, Illinois in his family's presence. An Andover graduate, economics major, and member of the varsity lacrosse team, Walt took over his family's lumber business and ran it for 45 years, the third member of his family to do so. Yet he didn't act as if he'd inherited the job. He worked there from the ground up during college summers and returned after two years of military service to manage several district lumber yards and prove himself as general manager before taking over in 1966. At the firm, he was known for his work ethic and attentiveness to his workers' welfare. Walt was committed to service in local as well as national civic and commercial organizations. During his life, he served on the boards of Wausau Paper Corporation, the Masonite Corporation (the latter also founded by his family), and Aurora University. Those who knew him in college, as I did as a fellow member of Branford College, recall him as warm, mischievous, witty, and companionable. Many were the meals in the college dining room when Walt would elicit laughter from us with his wry humor and disenthralled skepticism. Regretfully, he did not report in for reunion books nor participate in class reunions after 1957, and so I lost touch with him. I wish it had been otherwise. Walt is survived by Karin, his wife of 55 years, four children, three brothers, and eleven grandchildren. Gifts in Walt's memory may go to Delnor Hospital of Geneva, on whose board he also served.

—JMB

John J. "Jack" Pendergast III (June 12, 2014)

Classmates:

I bring you sad news that we've lost John J. Pendergast III to cancer on June 12, 2014. Jack died at home surrounded by his family after a six-year battle with the disease. A graduate of Exeter, Jack was an NCAA All American lacrosse player and the varsity team's captain in senior year. After gaining his LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1960, he joined the Providence, Rhode Island firm of Hinkley, Allen & Snyder, of which he became a partner in 1967. He and his family spent the remainder of his life in that city. Later in life, while of counsel to the firm, he taught at the Roger Williams Law School and arbitrated labor-management disputes throughout the state. He was also deeply involved in his church and diocese in Providence, in Exeter alumni activities, and in civic contributions through the city's Boys and Girls Club and Rhode Island Legal Services. All who knew Jack recall him for his warmth and friendship. John Poinier, with whom I spoke on the phone about Jack's death, remained in touch with him until shortly before his death and reports about his indomitable spirit to the end. Jack's Exeter friend and Yale roommate, Lou Deluca, characterizes him as "a man of strong faith, dedicated to family and friends, the law, scholarship, and athletics. He was especially proud of the record posted by him and his teammates on the Yale lacrosse team. In his last few weeks he reached out to as many old friends as he could by telephone. A good man and a great friend." Maury Ryan writes that Jack "was a great leader in the Rhode Island legal community and to his church and our Rotary Club." Jack is survived by Pixie, his wife of 56 years, their six children, and 18 grandchildren. Contributions in Jack's memory may be sent to the Woodlawn Foundation, 56 Harrison Street (Suite 401), New Rochelle, NY 10801, or to the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, St. Cecilia Congregation, Advancement Office, 801 Dominican Drive, Nashville, TN 37228-1909.

—JMB

Lewis A. Froman (March 12, 2014)

Classmates:

We've recently learned of the death on March 12, 2014 of Lewis A. Froman from unstated causes. One of the youngest members of the class, Creel (as he was known from his distinctive middle name, Acrelius) was a political science major in TD and, as Pat Wilde reports, even then was befuddling friends and roommates with references to "the dialectic." He came to Yale as a high school football star and, while he didn't make the varsity, he retained his competitive edge, even, Denis McWhan says, in ping pong, where he'd let Denis surge ahead, only to spring to the offensive with a "Here I come" and snatch the game away. He secured a doctorate in political science from Northwestern and then joined the faculty of the University of California, Irvine. As an early faculty member, he contributed in major ways to the development and growth of this now powerful institution in its formative years. Creel also served as dean of the university's School of Social Sciences from 1971 to 1975. He was a scholar of the American political system, political economy, the sociology of knowledge, critical political theory, and the language of politics and was an expert particularly in the works of Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Foucault, and Marx. Neither the class nor his undergraduate friends and roommates know much further about his life and career after Yale, despite efforts to remain in touch with him. He is survived by his wife of 16 years, Anh Tran, and two daughters.

—JMB

Louis S. Pryor (January 10, 2014)

Classmates:

I have news of the death on January 10, 2014, of Louis S. Pryor in Norwalk, CT. Lou joined 1957 after having spent two years at the U.S Naval Academy. He graduated from Yale magna cum laude and with a commission in the Air Force, then received his LLB from Yale in 1960. Before setting up his own practice of law, he served as a legislative assistant to Kentucky Senator John Sherman Cooper and, after that, three years as a staff judge advocate at Topsham Air Force Base in Maine. As an attorney, Lou was, first, general counsel and director of corporate planning for Allied Control Corporation, then an estate lawyer in New Canaan, CT, before in 1989 co-establishing the firm of Lane & Pryor, where he specialized in corporate counseling and tax planning. The list of his civic contributions was a long one. He was a member of New Canaan's planning and zoning commission, co-founder and director of Classical Radio of Connecticut, and eastern regional counsel of the Sierra Club. A long-time participant in the theater, he acted with the Connecticut Players, the Sterling Barn Theater of Stamford, and the New Canaan Town Players. But what really set Lou apart, it seems, was the combination of his encyclopedic memory, his flair for language, and his dramatic personality. At least that's what's credited with making him a standout at various levels of the quiz show Jeopardy. He first tried out for the show at a local contestant search in 1990 and won over the scouting team by pledging to use any winnings to fund an archeological dig. He was then invited to compete in the show's 1991 senior tournament, in which he won a round. After participating, too, in Jeopardy's Tournament of Champions, he was invited shortly before his death to be a contestant in the show's Battle of the Decades Tournament. Yale '57 may have to its credit many men of achievement, but how many can claim to have risen so high in one of the nation's longest-running and widely-followed contests? Lou is survived by his wife of 57 years, June, their son John, their daughter Ann Pryor-Miller, and a grandson.

—JMB

André Schiffrin (December 1, 2013)

Classmates:

Our classmate André Schiffrin died in Paris, the city of his birth, on December 1, 2013 of pancreatic cancer. André's family arrived in the US in 1941 in flight from the Nazis with the help of André Gide and Varian Fry, his father Jacques, founder of the celebrated Pleiade Editions of classic works, being one of many who enriched American life and culture after gaining safe shores. No one who was sentient as an undergraduate in our years could have been unaware of André's gifts. He was recognized immediately as an extraordinary student and engaged political thinker known for his outspokenness. "As members of the Political Union," writes Bruce Shragger, "we all knew his brilliance even if, cowed by McCarthyism, we were scared of his politics." His remarkable gifts were acknowledged by, among other recognitions, the White, Buck, and TenEyck prizes for oratory, the Lyman Prize, and a Clare Fellowship (for study at the University of Cambridge, where he became the first American editor of Granta, the literary magazine then published out of that university). He was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the Pundits, the Lizzie, and Aurelian, of which he was president. At the close of our undergraduate years at Yale, from which he graduated summa cum laude, he was Class Day Orator of the Class of 1957. In our 50th reunion book, a disenthralled André reflected (no doubt with that witty twinkle in his eye for a forthcoming pun) that his Yale politics were "far too optimistic and naive. While the John Dewey Society may have seemed on the far left to many, we were far too dewey-eyed and hopeful. I soon discovered that even the JDS would be infiltrated by the CIA." No doubt so. But this didn't stop André, as Dave Johnson reminds us, from using his acquaintance (even at that young age) with an extraordinarily wide-ranging number of people to bring many luminaries—Hannah Arendt, Norman Thomas, Hans Morgenthau, and Dwight MacDonald among them—to Yale under JDS auspices. André is also given some credit for having been in on the founding of what became the SDS. It is not however widely known that André fetched up as a graduate student in history at Columbia a year or so before I entered graduate study there. He became so frustrated in the famous intellectual history seminar led by giants Jacques Barzun and Lionel Trilling because these traditionalists were making things difficult for our classmate, that he simply left the university without getting a degree with a dissertation that no doubt would have wowed most people. Probably just as well for American life, for having even before college spent summers at Pantheon Books, where his father worked with founders and fellow exiles Kurt and Helen Wolff, he joined that publishing house in 1962. By 1963, he was its editor in chief; in 1969 he became its managing director, Pantheon becoming known thenceforth for its leftist cosmopolitanism. The first book he edited was Gunther Grass's Tin Drum! To list the authors whom Pantheon published during André's tenure is to place him in the company of other great American editors and publishers like Maxwell Perkins and Alfred Knopf—Jean-Paul Sartre, Michel Foucault, Simone de Beauvoir, Marguerite Duras, Studs Terkel, Noam Chomsky, Gunnar Myrdal, George Kennan, and R.D. Laing being only a sample, to say nothing of, say, Art Spiegelman, Matt Groening, Eric Hobsbawm, Edward Said, EP Thompson, Jonathan Miller, and Michael Frayn. His list reflected his uncompromising leftist politics, both cultural and public, and his determination to publish fresh ideas and art. A man of such gifts and such politics was bound to cause stirs. One of the most significant was his departure from Pantheon, his ouster coming at the hands of Random House, which had come to own Pantheon in the inaugural burst of publishing consolidation and commercialization and whose head claimed against fact that Pantheon was losing money—as if money was the aim of all publishing. The self-appointed paladins of commerce who saw to André's dismissal, all pygmy successors to such greats as Bennett Cerf, Cass Canfield, and Alfred Knopf, were convinced that there remained no room for publishers and editors who wished to enrich intellectual life and political culture; only money, they made clear, again against the facts, would now talk. Not one to take things lying down, and aided by the universal stink his firing set off, André quickly worked to prove them wrong by co-founding The New Press, a non-profit house that remains a significant and lively presence in American publishing. What's more, André kept at the fight against the market economics of everything with a stream of critical writings that gave no quarter to those whom he thought were destroying books and culture. He set down his views about publishing in his 2000 book The Business of Books: How International Conglomerates Took Over Publishing and Changed the Way We Read, to which in 2010 he added Words and Money. His wonderful 2007 memoir A Political Education: Growing Up in Paris and New York contains a chapter about Yale "with which," André wrote, "many may disagree." In recent years, he and his wife Maria Elena lived part time in both Paris and New York. It is noteworthy that the land of his birth awarded him the Legion d'honneur and other decorations over the years. Joel Kovel, of whose works André was three times the publisher, writes that "I had no inkling when entering Yale that people of my generation could think strategically about politics, participate in the high political and intellectual culture of Europe, or be so insouciant about meeting the standards of the university as André. Bearing the wounds of many frantic hours of staring at blank pages as deadlines were counted down, I marveled at Schiffrin's ability to toss off first-draft papers at the rate of 1000 words per hour, confident of getting through with flying colors; and of his comprehensive and effortless grasp of Socialism as absorbed in a French childhood among intellectual elites. I was also impressed by the self-confidence that permitted him to blithely walk about conformist Yale in double-breasted suits of European origin. This was not by choice but a manifestation of penury deriving from the dislocation and tribulations of war: the suits were all André, who lived with his widowed mother in the only address on Park Avenue South of 96th Street which could be classified as poverty housing." In addition to his wife, André is survived by their two daughters, Anya and Natalia, and three grandchildren.

—JMB

Thomas J. Rohner, Jr. (November 23, 2013)

Classmates:

We learned recently, first from Steve Weitz, that Thomas J. Rohner, Jr. died from complications of an inoperable brain tumor on November 23, 2013 surrounded by family and friends. After Yale, Tom took his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania and remained on request at that university's hospital for his internship and residency, something that not every medical students is asked to do. Drafted thereafter into the US Army, he served in its Medical Corps in Germany and then in an evacuation hospital in Vietnam. The last of these postings, he wrote in our 50th reunion book, "was an incredible surgical and emotional experience. Civilian practice in no way prepared you for the terrible war wounds in healthy young men." After a brief return to Penn's hospital, he helped found the department of surgery at the new Milton S. Hershey Medical Center of Penn State in Hershey, PA, from which he eventually retired as emeritus professor of surgery (urology). Helping create a new medical school and hospital, Tom wrote with obvious understatement, "is a great but not easy experience." While maintaining his medical practice, Tom served as chief of the division of urology, associate dean for clinical affairs, chief of medical staff, and interim chairman of the department of surgery. Also reflecting the esteem in which he was held, he was a governor of the American College of Surgeons, a trustee of the American Board of Urology, president of the Society of University Urologists, and president of the Mid-Atlantic section of the American Urological Association. In 2012, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Urological Association. He also served on the boards of numerous organizations including Pennsylvania Blue Shield and Highmark. Tom's personal life was centered around his farm. With his wife Jessie, it was an active life full of llamas, alpacas, sheep, cats, dogs, and ducks, as well as gardens and flower beds and his tractor. He was also a lifelong golfer. Those who knew Tom testify to his character and the admiration in which he was held. One of his roommates, Gil Merritt, writes that "he was a wonderful doctor and friend, a moderate steady-as-she-goes guy. He contributed greatly to his profession and community but was unassuming and humble with a quick sense of humor and a curiosity about all things scientific and historical. The only thing I ever heard him complain about was his golf game." In addition to Jessie, Tom is survived by two sons, Christopher and James, from a first marriage, three granddaughters, a sister, and a nephew. Tom's family asks that memorial contributions, reflecting some of his deep commitments, go to Guiding Eyes for the Blind (www.guidingeyes.org) and the Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org).

—JMB

Clarence A. Miles (November 14, 2013)

Classmates:

Clarence A. Miles died in Baltimore on November 14, 2013, of an undisclosed cause. A son of Maryland, he had lived in Salisbury and Saverna Park, MD. After Yale, Allen, as he was known, served as an officer in the Marines, then, distinctively for one of us, a harness horse trainer and driver. Later in his career, he was an administrator in the Department of State Planning for Maryland. Although he didn't report in to alma mater after our graduation, the record has it that he was an avid sportsman who loved golf and basketball. He is survived by his wife Nancy Davies, son C. Allen Miles, daughters Deborah Finkbeiner and Andrea Garrett, grandsons, and a great granddaughter.

—JMB

William H. Ryland (November 9, 2013)

Classmates:

I write with the sad news of the death on November 9, 2013, of William H. Ryland. Bill died at his home in Cooperstown, NY of unstated causes. Those of us who knew Bill at college knew him in part as a varsity football player, which he played as center and linebacker. After Yale, he served as a naval lieutenant on a radar picket ship in the Pacific. In San Francisco, he met his future wife, George-Ann Doty, sister of our classmate George Doty. He then entered upon a career in banking, first in his hometown of Baltimore, where he'd attended the Gilman School, then in Washington before opening the London office of Riggs Bank. After Bill's retirement, in the early phases of which we'd see this sunny man in the nation's capital for our periodic '57 lunches, he and George-Ann moved to Cooperstown, where she had family. Among other things while there, consistent with his love of sports he served as a regular volunteer at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In addition to his wife of 53 years, Bill is survived by their daughter Ann Beighton, sons John and David, eight grandchildren, and a sister. Those wishing to make contributions in his memory may do so to the Susquehanna Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 4841 State Route 28, Cooperstown NY 13326.

—JMB

Thomas E. Robinson (October 12, 2013)

Classmates:

I have word that Thomas E. Robinson died in Easton, MD, on October 12, 2013 at the age of 80. Tom entered Yale with the Class of 1956, withdrew for a year, then finished up with 1957. A member of the varsity golf team and its manager, he graduated as a ranking scholar. He received his J.D. degree from Yale Law School and also served for two years at sea with the U.S. Coast Guard. Tom then practiced law for his entire career, first with Covington and Burling in Washington, next as assistant dean of Stanford Law School, then with ETS in Princeton, and finally with the U.S. Departments of Energy and Interior, from the last of which he retired as associate solicitor. In Easton, he performed volunteer work and enjoyed sailing, golf, and his dogs. Tom was predeceased in 2011 by Alice, his wife of 46 years. He leaves no children but is survived by a brother and other family members, who ask that contributions in Tom's memory be made to a charity of the donor's choice.

—JMB

Stuart F. Miller (September 29, 2013)

Classmates:

I write with news of the death of Stuart F. Miller in Charleston, SC, on September 29, 2013 after a brief illness. A member of the large Cleveland contingent in the Class of 1957 (many of them, like Stu, graduates of University School), Stu was a varsity pitcher for two years and, as his Branford roommate Al Urich notes, after graduation a Marine officer. Kurt Bloch, who kept up with him, reports Stu's having held executive positions with Cleveland Graphite Bronze and Mohasco Industries before moving to Pittsburgh to own a home-care nursing service. Upon his retirement, Stu and his family moved to Seabrook Island, SC, and then to Charleston. As his life moved along, he became an avid tennis player who competed on the senior circuit in the southeast. To Kurt, he was "a good friend to all and a fine example of a Yale student-athlete." He is survived by his wife Patricia, sons Kirk and Greg and daughter Melissa Brown, two step-children, six grandchildren, and a sister and brother. A memorial service for Stu will be held in Charleston on November 10th, the birthday, Kurt reminds us, of the Marine Corps.

—JMB

Peter J. Haerle (August 24, 2013)

Classmates:

I write to inform you of the death on August 24, 2013, of Peter J. Haerle. He succumbed after a long battle with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Pete was one of the few members of the Class of 1957 who spent his career as a military officer. An Air Force ROTC graduate of Yale, he long served as an Air Force officer, retiring at the rank of colonel. Experienced with many aircraft, he was an RF-4 jet pilot in Southeast Asia and then was commanding officer of the ROTC unit at Duke University until his retirement, in both of which positions he led, taught, and guided a generation of military pilots and university students. In 1967, as an officer in the Air Defense Command, Pete was formally recognized for his airmanship and courage in piloting a crippled fighter to a safe landing without loss of life or equipment after it developed engine trouble. His roommate and fellow Branfordian Shaun Cunningham, who remained close to Pete, recalls him for his friendship and warm fellowship. Pete is survived by his wife of 53 years, Leta, their daughter Lynda, their sons Geoff, Brad, and Wade, and the children's families. Contributions in Pete's memory can be made to the Alzheimer's Association or to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.

—JMB

Francis H. Beam, Jr. (August 20, 2013)

Classmates:

Our classmate Francis H. Beam, Jr., died on August 20, 2013 from the complications of Parkinson's disease in Vero Beach, FL. A native of Cleveland, home of a large contingent of 57ers, Buzz, as he was known to friends, followed his undergraduate years by immediately entering Harvard Business School and then going to work in 1959 for Ernst and Ernst. At the age of 31, he was made partner, then the youngest one, of that firm. When he retired in 1988, he was vice chairman and regional managing partner. Known for his charitable and civic commitments, Buzz was also an avid fly fisherman, sailor, and duck hunter. In 2006, the St. Luke's Foundation, of which he'd long been a trustee, created the Francis H. Beam Fellowship in his honor. Frank drew people to himself with ease. Two playpen playmates, Karl van Horn and Jack Turben, recall him with much fondness, Karl writing that Buzz was "straight on, competitive, intense and sharp as a tack with a Huckleberry Finn openness to the big world out there." Roger Rossen, another Clevelander, characterizes Frank as that rare person who'd go out of his way to make sure that newcomers to this never then very welcoming community were introduced around and made to feel at home. His roommate and long-time friend and traveling companion Pat Carey writes that Buzz was "a man of vision, courage, true gentleman, family man, wonderful person and caring friend." Buzz is survived by his wife Virginia, whom he married while an undergraduate, and their children Jennifer Carroll, Francis III, and Judd, as well as grandchildren, and two sisters. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Grand Central Station PO Box 4777, New York NY 10163-4777 or to the Memorial Fund of Fairmount Presbyterian Church, 2757 Fairmount Boulevard, Cleveland Heights OH 44118.

—JMB

Richard S. Hall (July 23, 2013)

Classmates:

I recently learned that Richard S. Hall died on July 23, 2013 in Palm Coast, FL. Dick was a member of the class's large Cleveland contingent and came to Yale from Shaker Heights High School. A varsity basketball player and a member of the freshman chorus, where I met him, Dick spent three years as a naval officer out of Long Beach before joining the telephone industry with Bell Labs of AT&T, where he spent his career, the last part of it in human resources, for which, as anyone who knew this sunny man would conclude, he was perfectly fitted. Upon early retirement upon the breakup of AT&T and a move from Maryland to Florida, Dick spent much of his time in civic and public activities. He continued his singing—he'd been a boy soprano at the age of 8—and was twice president of his local Kiwanis Club. His college roommate Pat Wilde writes that "Dick was 'Mr. Social' of our TD group" and "manager of the super successful 56-57 basketball team." He was, Pat records and I can confirm, "the classic good guy that everyone liked." He is survived by Lynn, his wife of 54 years, their four sons, seven grandchildren, and two sisters.

—JMB

David T. Mininberg (July 22, 2013)

Classmates:

Our classmate David T. Mininberg died on July 22, 2013, in New York City after a long illness. Dave was a distinguished practitioner of pediatric urology and a long-time clinician and professor at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical College. Those who knew him knew him as a quiet, modest man—a man, Tom Perkins writes, of "humor, kindness to all, and generosity to Yale and other institutions." But his modesty belied an adventurous side. Upon his retirement from active medical practice, Dave gained an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from NYU. He then became a volunteer in the Department of Egyptian Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where his wife Anne had long been a docent. Using his two specialties, one old, one new, he helped the Met gain new knowledge of the diseases and accidents to which Egyptians had been prone by studying the mummies possessed by that museum. I don't know whether this can be called forensic mummery, but that's what it was. And it yielded all sorts of new knowledge, knowledge offered to the public in a 2005-2006 Met exhibit on The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt and its accompanying book of that same name, which included Dave's essay on his findings. He related his adventures in a memorable talk at an annual class dinner after the exhibit had closed, including tales how he'd induced companies and experts to lend their imaging equipment for the examination of the mummies and their knowledge to help him identify their maladies. In one instance—this story recalled by Don Roberts—Dave turned to a New York City coroner to pinpoint the possible cause of bone fractures. "A taxi accident," reported the coroner as only a New York coroner would. Dave more prudently attributed the broken bones to a chariot accident. Not surprisingly, he was immensely proud of his late-life and distinctive contributions to knowledge. He was probably the only classmate besides Henry Geldzahler to be able to claim an exhibit at the Met. As a 57er, he once headed up the class annual giving program. He was also devoted to the Music in Schools project from the beginning. It was he, along with Don Roberts, who was able to arrange that Emanuel Ax be honorary chair of the project's early ventures and to give a concert for the class, as well as for participants in the project's first bi-annual symposium, at our 50th reunion. In addition to his wife, Dave is survived by their sons Gustav and Julien, a brother, and grandchildren. A service in his memory will take place in September.

—JMB

W. Andrew Carothers, Jr. (July 17, 2013)

Classmates:

We lost our classmate W. Andrew Carothers, Jr., to the complications of Parkinson's disease, which he'd long lived with, on July 17, 2013. Andy died at home in Centerville, MA. Since he reveled in the fact, there is no reason to ignore Andy's enduring wonder and delight that a graduate of public high school in the small east Texas town of Sulphur Springs could attend Yale, then the University of Texas Law School, and eventually become special counsel to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. I met Andy in the very first days of freshman year in the Directed Studies Program as our eyes were opened in a coordinated curriculum to Euripedes, Praxiteles, and Plato. He was then what he remained to all who knew him: a smart, sunny, inquisitive, humor-full, gentle man. After law school and a year on a Rotary Fellowship in Strasbourg, France, Andy settled in Washington and became a staff member of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, then legislative counsel in the office of the Comptroller of the Currency at the Treasury Department where he was manager of the legal division responsible for all national bank regulation. It was after that service that he worked with Senator Adlai E. Stevenson on the Senate Banking Committee. Andy gave up government work in 1982 to become an independent financial and legal counsel. An inveterate traveller (he drove across Algeria in the midst of its awful civil war), he long served as treasurer and counsel of the St. Peter's College Oxford Foundation, a responsibility that took him to England each year. In 1992, Andy and his wife Virginia (Ginger) left Washington for Cape Cod, where he indulged himself in music from Bach to Beethoven to jazz. He played the piano by ear and had the rare gift of transposing pieces from one key to the other on the spot. Andy's roommate Al Clovis writes that "throughout his life, he was extraordinarily curious. His interests were wide ranging and he was constantly learning about them. He treasured his years at Yale—feeling that they greatly widened his horizons and fundamentally changed his life." His other roommate, John Copelin, reports that "four weeks ago and in spite of 22 years of Parkinson's, Andy retained his ear-splitting smile, his clever humor, his fluent French phrase-making, and his skill playing cabaret piano. Even then, he was banging out 'Hello Dolly',' 'There Is Nothing Like a Dame,' and of course 'Bulldog' and 'Boola-Boola' on the piano with gusto." Andy is survived by his beloved and steadfast wife Ginger, her daughters Michele Theberge, Christine Theberge,and Valerie Theberge, a grandson, sister, and other relatives. Gifts in Andy's memory may be made to his church, St. Andrew's-by-the-Sea, Hyannis Port, MA or to a favorite charity. A service in Andy's memory will be held Monday, August 5th at 11:00am at St. Andrews-by-the-Sea.

—JMB

John G. Kittredge (June 11, 2013)

Classmates:

I've just learned of the death on June 11, 2013 at his home in Arundel, ME, of John G. Kittredge. Because John was not originally listed with the Class of 1957 and no doubt joined the class later, I have little information about him. He received BA and MA architecture degrees from Yale and then practiced architecture in Cincinnati until 1975 while teaching the subject at both Ohio University and Miami University of Ohio. In 1975, he moved to Maine, where he became a general contractor out of Biddeford while continuing to design both residential and commercial buildings. He was also deeply involved in community activities until his death. John is survived by his wife Cornelia, their children Marie, Fletcher, John, and David, many grandchildren, and a sister. Memorial contributions in his memory may be made to the United Way of York County, PO Box 727, Kennebunkport, ME 04043 or to Sustainable Harvest, PO Box 1447, Ellsworth, ME 04605.

—JMB

Stanislav V. Kasl (June 9, 2013)

Classmates:

Our alma mater has recently informed me of the death of our classmate and Yale faculty member Stanislav V. Kasl. He died from the complications of cancer at home in Woodbridge, CT, on June 9, 2013, surrounded by his family. Stan came to Yale, where he was a professor in the School of Public Health for 42 years, in a way different from most of us. He was born in Prague and in 1945 moved from there with his family to Marianske Lazne (most frequently known by its German name, Marienbad), from which in 1948 they fled the communists by walking across the nearby border into Germany. From there he went to a Swiss farm while his family ended up in a refugee camp in Italy. Together again in Milan, his immediate family members gained immigration to the US in 1950. After attending schools in three American cities, he entered Yale, from which he graduated summa cum laude and as a ranking scholar. After securing his PhD in social psychology from the University of Michigan, he was a researcher at that university's famed Institute for Social research before joining the Yale faculty in 1969. In that capacity, he directed the social and Behavioral Science Program and the Division of Chronic Disease Epidemiology. Stan was a specialist in psychosocial epidemiology, the study of the social and psychological risk factors in physical illness. While his most important research concerned the consequences of job loss and stress, he was also known for his work on such subjects as the risk factors for psychiatric outcomes and the influences of religious dimensions on health and functioning. Stan was known in the School of Public health for his mentorship of his students—40 of them doctoral candidates, 60 of them post-doctoral students—for which he received the Distinguished Mentor Award from the Behavioral and Social Sciences Section of the Gerontological Society of America. To that recognition he added a Lifetime Career Achievement Award co-conferred by the American Psychological Association, the National Institute of Occupational Health, and the Society for Occupational Health and Psychology. Stan is survived by his wife Elizabeth Kasl, their daughter Julia Kasl-Godley, and their son Jan, as well as grandchildren.

—JMB

Conrad W. (Connie) Fisher (April 24, 2013)

Classmates:

We have learned of the death on April 24, 2013, of Conrad W. Fisher. Connie died in Palm Beach, FL, after a long battle with cancer. A native of Worcester, MA, where he spent most of his life, Connie was a pre-Yale graduate of Williston Academy and an English Speaking Union student at the Rossall School in England. A varsity tennis player in New Haven, he then received his law degree from Boston University. Right out of law school in 1960, he established his own law firm in Worcester and practiced until very shortly before his death. Noted as "a lawyer's lawyer" and a "fierce protector of defendants' rights," he was also a masterful presence before a jury. One of his locally celebrated achievements was his recovering and returning three major art works that had been stolen from the Worcester Art Museum. Music, dance, food, tennis, golf, and humor were also central to his life, as was his surviving wife Edith, also a Worcester native, whom Connie married fresh out of college. In addition to Edith, Connie is survived by two children, Elizabeth and Charles, a sister, brother, and grandchildren. Their son Jonathan predeceased him. Donations in Connie's memory may be made to the Donald Kaufman MD Charitable Trust, Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Oncology, or to You Inc., 81 Plantation Street, Worcester MA 01604.

—JMB

Donald E. Backe (April 12, 2013)

Classmates:

We have lost Donald E. Backe, one of our most valiant and inspirational 57ers, after an extended battle with infection. Long a resident of Annapolis, Don died on Friday, April 12, 2013, in a hospice facility in Columbia, MD. From 1957 until 1987, Don devoted himself principally to education as a private-school teacher and school head. To that work, as to everything else, he brought a sunniness and optimism that buoyed everyone's spirits and gave them confidence in the work they were doing. Characteristically full of good humor and a certain puzzlement as to why everyone else didn't share his wonder about the world or laugh at its follies, Don saw himself as bringing a certain common sense to his work in the school room with young children and his duties as administrator. In the midst of this satisfying career, Don suffered a grievous auto accident that left him a paraplegic from 1987 on. It was touch-and-go in the shock-trauma unit of the Johns Hopkins University Hospital after his accident, and had he been wanting in internal strength he might not have pulled through. Surely Don suffered innerly from the changed circumstances of his life as much as from his injuries. But you wouldn't have known it; and that didn't stop his typical tough-minded approach to life from maintaining its hold on him. Aggravated by what he thought was his doctors' and nurses' infantilization of himself and others in analogous circumstances, he pushed hard in the hospital to have his medical practitioners see that their jobs were to give hope, not pity, to the terribly injured and permanently impaired. "After all," he said to me, "even when we're 100% healthy, we can do only a fraction of what the world holds out to us. Yes, I and the others may have lost the chance to do some things. But we've not lost the chance to do the rest." Those were not just words. He meant what he said and lived up to his own beliefs. It may have taken some time for Don to re-gather his forces and decide what he'd do next. But in the midst of carrying on some work, as he always had, in schools, he finally hit upon another idea—and, not to be overlooked, married Lyn Hallett, the love of the last part of his life. Fortified by a purpose and Lyn's critically important support, Don decided to turn his lifelong love of sailing into something that physically and developmentally disabled people could do on the water. The result, in 1991, was CRAB—Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating—the non-profit organization in Annapolis that he founded and that he led first without, then with, compensation until the last years of his life. At first he raised funds and helped design daysailers for short outings on the water. Then came boats specially rigged for two people, one of whom could be severely impaired. He had plans for larger vessels, too. And his cheer-leading for others never stopped: in 2012 he helped inspire and support a young sailor's solo circumnavigation of North and South America. In recognition of his extraordinary labors on behalf of disabled people who wished to enjoy life on the water, U.S. Sailing in 2012 awarded Don, now a national figure in sailing circles, with its 2012 Old Pulteney Maritime Heroes Award (an award in whose voting no tiny number of his classmates participated—and one that yielded Don a case of Old Pulteney. too). This unusual, persevering man is survived by his wife Lyn and children Lisa Backe, Nina B. Coffin, Vanessa B. delaCruz, Garth Backe, and Lissa H. Staven. A gathering in Don's memory will be held in May or June. Gifts in Don's memory should go to the Sacajawea Charitable Foundation for the "Fund in honor of Donald Eric Backe" and mailed to 148 Linden Street, Suite 204, Wellesley MA 02482-7904. Income from the Fund will go to a "Donald E. Backe Memorial Scholarship" for a disabled person at Yale University and/or to Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating.

—JMB

Anthony H. "Tony" Loughran (March 22, 2013)

Classmates:

We have learned well after the sad fact from his widow Jean of the death of Anthony H. Loughran. Dick Lumpkin reports that Tony's death occurred on March 22, 2013, its cause being heart failure, presumably in Grass Valley, CA, the last address on record with us. No published obituary can be discovered. Tony entered Yale with the Class of 1951, then stopped out to join the Marines, in which, Dick writes, he served as a carrier jet pilot in the Korean theater, rising at his discharge from active service to the rank of captain and later retiring after nearly 40 years in the Marine Corps Reserve as a colonel after having commanded two reserve squadrons. After re-entering Yale, he was president of Chi Psi, in Skull and Bones, and a member of the Interfraternity Council. After Yale, Tony spent 26 years with Pacific Bell, then worked until his 2002 retirement as a real estate broker. Untiringly active in Yale alumni affairs, he served as president of the Yale alumni associations of Sacramento and San Francisco, was a delegate to the first AYA meeting in New Haven, and served for nearly 20 years on alumni schools committees. But as Tony wrote in our 50th reunion book, in the 1980s he became "completely disillusioned with changes taking place in the Yale community, the direction of admissions, the anti-military positions, etc., and as a result cut out virtually all interest in Yale." He apparently substituted other community service for alumni work. He was chairman of the national defense section of the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, president of the Economic Roundtable of that city, and active in the Sea Scouts and Boy Scouts. Dick adds that Tony served as mayor of Piedmont, CA, and he was a member of the Bohemian Club, his "one and only extravagance" as he described his affiliation. With a clear smile in his mind as he wrote these words in 2007, Tony reported that he'd had his "mitral and aortic valves replaced twice, prostate removed, and a laminectomy helping pay for my dematologist's new yacht." In addition to Jean, his wife of more than fifty years, it can be surmised that he is survived by their four children Anthony, Edward, Jeanine Odell, and Suzanne Merica, as well as many grandchildren.

—JMB

James W. Rayen (February 26, 2013)

Classmates:

We have word that James W. Rayen died at home in Weston, MA on February 26, 2013. James was a three-degree holder from Yale, having earned Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees from alma mater after graduating with us. He credited Josef Albers and Rico Lebrun of the Yale faculty as having been strong influences on him. After gaining his final Yale degree in 1961, he spent his entire career at Wellesley College, from which he retired in 2003 as Elizabeth Christy Kopf Professor of Art and which referred to him as a "beloved professor." During those years, as a practicing artist with a reputation as a fine landscape painter, he helped turn the college's studio art courses into a major. In a brief biography about James just before his retirement from teaching, Jock Reynolds, former director of the Addison Gallery at Andover and now director of the 'Yale Art Gallery, "The Latin inscribed on the school seal of Phillips Academy, Andover [Finis origine pendet, or 'the end depends on the beginning"] is an appropriate one to contemplate when considering the many ways that James Wilson Rayen's creative life has been entwined, for some 50-odd years, with Andover, Yale University, and Wellesley College. All three are venerable American educational institutions that have long sustained a commitment to teaching the visual arts through their highly regarded faculties and renowned teaching museums. The Andover motto is a truism Rayen has surely conjured up on occasion when recalling the pivotal teachers, courses, and artworks that comprised his youthful exposure to art at Andover, and his purposeful development as a young artist at Yale. Such 'beginnings,' Rayen has acknowledged, provided the foundation upon which he has built and sustained an inspired 41-year career as a painter and faculty member in Wellesley's studio arts program." The department of which he was so long a part noted his death as follows: "To his many students, James was the embodiment of kindness, discipline, and magic - the magic of colors, of the eye, of memory, and of the brain working in concert. To his colleagues, James was warm and insightful, a bridge builder and mentor. For us all, he was the most elegant and impassioned of artist-educators and a painter of exceptional lyricism." James was preceded in death by Bruce Donaldson, his spouse of 47 years, whom he married in 2007. Gift's in James's memory may be made to Phillips Academy, Andover, MA, and to Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA.

—JMB

G. Gordon Bellis (January 24, 2013)

Classmates:

I have sad word from Dick Massey in Marin County that our classmate G. Gordon Bellis died unexpectedly on January 24, 2013 in San Francisco. Characteristically, he'd just spent the evening at that city's Bohemian Club. Born in Shanghai where his father was a naval officer, Gordon and his mother (his father being away on mission) were on the last boat to escape from that city after the Japanese invaded it in 1937. After childhood in Southborough, MA, Manhattan and Cuba, he attended St. Paul's School before matriculating with us. He then spent some years in the Marine Corps, which he left at the rank of Captain. From 1967 on, he and his family lived in San Francisco, where Gordon also spent his career in finance, mostly, so Tony Marshall, a lifelong friend and schoolmate, reports, with Sutro brokers. Those who knew Gordon experienced him for the bon vivant that he was—witty, gregarious, candid. Dick Massey characterizes him as "eloquent, in a droll way, in expressing his take on the state of America's affairs." The few times that I talked with Gordon or was in his presence, our conversations were always fast, sharp, affectionate, and full of laughter. He loved fine wine, friends, books, music, and, as Pat Jones points out, games of chance like bridge and, yes, dominos. To these pleasures he added the outdoor sports of skiing, sailing, and hunting. He seems to have been a man as much of the 1920s as of his own time, in which he surely lived to the fullest. His memberships mirrored his delights. He was active in the San Francisco Wine & Food Society, the First Growth Group, and—one might have guessed it—the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin. Paul Eisele, his Bay Area neighbor, recalls Godon telling him that he bought Bordeaux "by the carload." He was also a member of the Pacific-Union Club, the Bohemian Club and the Burlingame Club. Gordon's wife Cathy, predeceased him. He is survived by his confidant and close friend of many years, Josephine Malti, as well as by his children: Gordon, Catherine, and Alexandra and six grandchildren. At his request, there will be no memorial service.

—JMB

John R. Quarles, Jr. (October 29. 2012)

Classmates:

Our classmate John R. Quarles, Jr., died on October 29. 2012, in Gainesville, VA, from the complications of Alzheimer's disease. Johnny (as he was known at Yale to many, John to all in adulthood) was a ranking scholar as an undergraduate and even then very much the man he remained: modest, humorous, gentle, prudent, and wise. One would not have known, meeting him in later life for the first time, that he had become a giant of environmental law and a widely admired figure in the environmental community. After receiving his law degree from Harvard and clerking for Judge John Minor Wisdom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, John practiced with the Boston law firm of Herrick Smith, then joined the Interior Department in 1969 as assistant to the Under Secretary of the Interior for Environmental Planning. In that position, he helped formulate President Nixon's first environmental message to Congress in 1970 while assisting in the creation of the EPA, established that same year. William Ruckelshaus, the EPA's first administrator, appointed John the agency's general counsel with the special responsibility of directing its enforcement program. When Ruckelshaus moved to the FBI during the Watergate furor, John moved into the EPA's number two position and served as deputy administrator for four years, which included two stints as acting administrator. It was during John's EPA years that many of the basic environmental protection statutes, including the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts, were written and adopted. John was especially known for launching the government's water pollution permit program and building the EPA's enforcement arm. Upon leaving the EPA, he wrote a book, Cleaning Up America, which, Tom Chittenden, one of John's closest friends, writes, was widely read at the time. John then joined the law firm now known as Morgan Lewis, where he was central to building the firm's environmental law practice and served as chairman of its governing board. In his various capacities at the firm, he was central to expanding its size and influence in New York and Washington, especially in the law of electric and nuclear power. He was also active in industry groups, some of which he formed. When John retired in 2006, he left the immediate Washington area to build, with his wife Barbara, a house in the Virginia countryside near his children. "As for building the house," he wrote at our 50th reunion, "if you're so inclined, beware." He wrote then also of his dismay at the frantic work life of his fellow citizens and of his "gratitude for the privilege of being an American." Tom Perkins, who recalls meeting Johnny in "Daddy" Green's philosophy of religion course when they were the only freshmen there, crossed paths with John later over environmental regulatory matters. Tom writes of John's "complete integrity, his decency, and his courtesy. He was a true gentleman and a wonderful person." Tom Chittenden, who got to know John well from their days together at Herrick Smith and for whom John served as best man at Tom's wedding, writes of John's "great sense of humor, a man who was a bit shy but nonetheless one whom everyone liked." "With Barbara's encouragement," Tom adds, "he developed a strong Christian faith in his 40s and supported various evangelical Christian churches and enterprises, including Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Company, on whose board he sat for many years." In addition to Barbara, John is survived by their children Benjamin, John, Laura, and Nancy and ten grandchildren. Contributions in his memory may be made to Orphan's Promise, 977 Centerville Turnpike, Virginia Beach, VA 23463.

—JMB

Walter J. Loesche (October 14, 2012)

Classmates:

Our classmate Walter J. Loesche died at home in in Ann Arbor, MI on October 14, 2012, his wife from undergraduate years, Rosemary, at his side. A native of New Haven, after Yale Walt earned a dentistry degree from Harvard and a PhD in nutrition from MIT before joining the University of Michigan faculty. One of the world's authorities on caries and periodontal disease and termed a maverick for his ideas and proposed dental protocols, his specialty was bacteriological research, the identification of periodontal disease as a risk factor in heart disease, and the search for non-surgical treatments of dental disease. At the time of his death he was professor emeritus at the University of Michigan Dental and Medical Schools where he had been Marcus L. Ward Professor of Dentistry. His distinction in the field was recognized by honorary degrees from the Universities of Goteborg, Ghent, and Turku. In 1988, Walt served as the president of the American Association of Dental Research and received its Distinguished Scientist Award in 1994. In addition to his wife, Walt is survived by daughters Heidi and Dana and grandchildren.

—JMB

Henry M. Hulshizer (September 13, 2012)

Classmates:

It is my sad task to inform you that Henry M. Hulshizer died in Morristown, NJ, on September 13, 2012. An American studies major and varsity swimmer at Yale, Hank seemed to know from his college days that he would spend his career, as he did, in finance and investment banking. Many, like Joe Mark, a close friend who knew Hank as a "delight to be with, always enthusiastic, and intellectually curious," saw that "even during his early college days, it was apparent that he was destined to be successful in the financial field." Joe's sense was borne out. After some years at Smith Barney, Hank went on to become a senior partner in the investment firm of Tucker, Anthony, & Day, where he long directed the institutional sales and trading departments. A precollegiate graduate of the Pingry School and Lawrenceville, he remained close to both alma maters by serving on the board of the former and raising funds for the latter. He was also long associated with the Baltusrol Golf Club and the Short Hills Club, serving the last as president. But those facts do not by a long shot tell the whole story. As his Lawrenceville classmate Steve Ackerman writes, "Hank had a heart transplant some 13 years ago. Since that time, he had several close calls, and we often referred to him as the 'Miracle Man' because of the heart transplant and the ensuing medical issues." On top of that, "He had a kidney transplant in October 2011 for which his wife, Pam, was the donor. Always a real fighter, Hank's battle ended when the powerful medications--------the immunosuppressants------simply became too much for his system." Joe Mark adds that "Pam played a key role in keeping Hank alive over the last several years -- a really touching medical story." Steve goes on to say that "all of us who knew Hank remember him as a real gentleman, a remarkably decent man, a man with quiet strength and a sense of humor, and a man of faith." Paul Eisele, a roommate, recalls Hank as a "big strapping man." Another roommate, Jay Inglis, remembers this "delightful person, with personal charm and a ready sense of humor." In addition to Pamela, Hank is survived by their son Hunter, daughter Lisa Swats, and their grand daughters Serena and Melissa Swats. Their daughter, Brooke, predeceased him. Contributions in Hank's memory may be made to the Heart Transplant Program, 622 West 168th St., PH12-1262, New York, NY 10032 (Attn: Jacqueline Infante, with checks made out to the Trustees of Columbia University) or to the Millburn/Short Hills Volunteer First Aid— Squad, PO Box 226, Millburn, NJ 07041.

—JMB

Richard Buckner Jordan (September 7, 2012)

Classmates:

I have the sad task of informing you of the death in San Luis Obispo, CA, on September 7, 2012 of our classmate Richard Buckner Jordan. He was 81. A native of California, Buck entered Yale in 1948 with the class of 1952 after pre-collegiate schooling at the Hill School. He then left New Haven for four years of naval service during the Korean War. After a short stint at the University of Chicago, he re-entered Yale with our class and majored in political science. Following graduation and a brief time with Mobil Oil, Buck entered the securities business, where he remained for the rest of his career, all of it in Fresno. In that city, among other civic positions he became a board member and president of the Fresno Art Museum. He was also something of a philatelist, and his stamp exhibits earned him numerous international gold awards. Known for his intellectual curiosity as well as his gregariousness and willingness to advise anyone who sought his counsel, it is reported that, because of a tin ear, only the mastery of foreign languages eluded him. After retiring, Buck and his wife Connie retired to their vacation home in the inviting coastal town of Cambria. I passed through that community some years ago without knowing of Buck's residence there. When last in touch with me, he strongly beckoned me back, but that visit never eventuated. In addition to Connie, his wife of 53 years, Buck is survived by his brother William and the latter's family.

—JMB

Fred J. Laux (August 16, 2012)

Classmates:

We have just learned of the death on August 16, 2012, after a short illness, of Fred J. Laux. The class has little information about Fred, who, while listed in our Freshman Register and all reunion books, did not have an entry in the 1957 Yale Banner and never provided news about himself at the time of our five-year reunions. His published obituary notes that he majored in economics at Yale and then spent his career with Philip Morris, from which he retired in 1995 as executive vice president of human resources. He and his family had homes in Saddle River, NJ, and Jupiter, FL. He seems to have been an avid sports fan who loved the New York Giants and never missed a Majors golf tournament. Fred is survived by his wife JoAnn, their children George, Peter, Cindy, Jacqueline, Jeannine, and Cheryl Smith, as well as grandchildren. Donations may be made in Fred's memory to JL Cares, 16823 Captain Kirle Drive, Jupiter, FL 33477.

—JMB

Jonathan Breslav (July 29, 2012)

Classmates:

Our classmate Jonathan Breslav died on July 29, 2012 in Tamarac, FL. He had been battling Parkinson's disease since 1996. After graduating from Yale, Jon spent most of his career in auto re-marketing sales leasing (or, as he wrote in his usual jolly manner for our 40th reunion book, "read wholesale used car salesman"), a position that he greatly enjoyed. He was both a stout battler of, and open about, his affliction, writing in 1997 that if it forced him eventually to retire he "could always open a Shakey's Pizza Parlor franchise." All who knew him knew how characteristic it was of him to write that "I'm convinced that as one door closes, another opens. Fair to good health and a sense of humor come third and fourth after love and friendship." Were he telling the truth, such was his inveterate sunniness that he might have put a sense of humor higher on the list. Writing at our 50th of awakening in the morning, he told us that "the first thing I do is turn to the newspaper obits and if I'm not listed there, I'm ecstatic." After his retirement Jon and his wife Diana continued to travel, and Jon remained as active as possible. For instance, he served on the Tamarac Consumer Affairs Committee, "and we all did such a good job that we voted to disband it due to lack of consumer issues. The county mayor also appointed me to the Living Wage Committee. (Wait 'til they find out I'm a Republican.)" Jon's goal, he wrote at our 50th, was to get to his 74th birthday in 2010 and thus become "the longest-lived male Breslav of all time." Fortunately, he succeeded. In addition to his wife, Jon is survived by their son Gordon and daughter Alison Salomon. A celebration of Jon's life will take place in Connecticut the weekend of November 10, 2012.

—JMB

Robert E. Sullivan (July 29, 2012)

Classmates:

On July 29, 2012, we lost Robert E. Sullivan to a progressive neurological disease, from which he had long been suffering. Bob died at his home in Newton, MA, in the presence of his family. Those who knew him may not have known, because of his civility and modesty, of the distance Bob traveled from his birth or of the achievements that were his. He was born to a father who owned a small trucking business and school teacher mother in Norwich, CT yet became president of his class at Andover. At Yale, he was an American Studies major and a member of St. Anthony Hall, where I knew him and where we became life-long friends. After graduating, Bob received his law degree from Harvard, then went to work for Herrick, Smith, Donald, Farley & Ketchum, which sent Bob to Washington to open its law offices there. Eventually, he founded his own Boston firm, Sullivan, Weinstein & McQuay. Although not carrying himself with the often patronizing rectitude of old-style Boston attorneys, Bob was known as a gentleman lawyer of thoughtfulness and prudence, one greatly admired as a legal strategist and beloved for his warmth. He preferred to settle conflicts out of court and was not a fan of the legal convention of billable hours. His wit was always on display. For instance, when representing the Boston Symphony Orchestra against Vanessa Redgrave's charge that the orchestra had illegally canceled her contract because of her support for the Palestine Liberation Organization, he objected when a British theater producer gave lengthy testimony on Redgrave's behalf. The judge denied the motion, saying that Bob had made it too late. "I did not want to interrupt a lady," Mr. Sullivan famously replied. Bob represented other major institutions, including MIT and Northeastern University, where he was widely respected. In a major case in the 1990s, Bob successfully defended MIT in federal court against charges, admitted by other universities, that it had engaged in tuition price fixing. His concern for others was evidenced also by his service on a Boston Bar Association task force that published a ground-breaking 1999 report on work-family imbalance in lawyers' lives. In his own firm, he was known for hiring women and promoting flexible work schedules. Those who knew Bob knew him for his wry sense of humor, his giggling laugh, and his sense of the ridiculous, as well as someone who always saw the world with taut clarity. Asked by his wife Anne is he wasn't angry about contracting the disease that ended his life, Bob responded with characteristic wit and honesty, "Somebody had to get it." His pleasures included music of all sorts, good food, and cooking. Before he became ill, he helped bring about the re-opening of the restaurant Salts in Cambridge. Besides his wife Anne of 36 years, Bob is survived by five children from a previous marriage—sons Barrett, Patrick, and Christopher and daughters Katherine S. Warming and Sara—as well as a sister, brother, grandchildren, and other family members.

—JMB

Arthur E. Fournier, Jr. (July 9, 2012)

Classmates:

Arthur E. Fournier, Jr., died on July 9, 2012, of unstated causes in Collinsville, CT. After Yale, Art gained a law degree and served as a Marine officer. He then long served as an attorney with a number of firms, including General Electric, apparently as an expert in intellectual property law. Not only did he spend some time with the US Patent and Trademark Office but when he retired in 2007 he was the director of the North American Intellectual Property Organization of ALSTOM, a firm that provides equipment and services for the US power generation and rail transportation markets. Even after retirement, he remained an active consultant in his field. Art was always involved in community affairs in and around Canton, CT, as well as with his church parish. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, as well as by seven children, their spouses, and many grandchildren. Contributions in his memory may be sent to the Canton Food Bank, 55 River Road, Canton, CT 06019 or to St. Patrick's Church, 7 Burlington Avenue, Collinsville, CT 06019.

—JMB

James G. King (April 5, 2012)

Classmates:

I have word from Art Gardiner that we lost our classmate James G. King on April 5, 2012. Jim died suddenly at New London Hospital in New London, NH, of unstated causes. An Exeter alumnus and an industrial administration major at Yale, Jim was also a member of the varsity soccer and lacrosse teams. Terry Simmons writes that "the most memorable moment of his lacrosse career was probably when he scored a goal against Princeton, thus helping us defeat them for the first time in 23 years." For much of his career, Jim worked in Boston as a financial analyst and portfolio manager. But in the early 1990s, he and his wife Susan moved to New Hampshire and started what Jim in our 50th reunion book called a "side business"—raising alpacas. Why alpacas? Because, as he wrote, they supplied soft and luxurious fibers for Susan's spinning, sewing, and knitting and because they are "beautiful, peaceful, and vigorous animals." Eventually, raising alpacas appears to have become an all-consuming venture, for by the time of our 50th the Kings had a herd of 120 beasts, some of them award-winning, and were supplying animals to others around the country and helping develop the industry nationally. In the midst of all this, Jim continued to sing (having been a member of the Freshman and Apollo Glee Clubs as an undergraduate) and maintained an active athletic life in tennis, paddle tennis, and sailing. He was also an enthusiastic camper. Art Gardiner describes Jim as having been "remarkably modest about his athletic achievements" and "invariably friendly and generous." Terry Simmons recalls him as "a very private person" who was "definitely happier in a rural setting than he had been when living in suburban Boston." In addition to Susan, Jim is survived by their two sons, James G. King III and Brewster Y. King, and their families. Contributions in Jim's memory may be made to the Appalachian Mountain Club, 5 Joy Street, Boston MA 02108.

—JMB

Clay Stone Briggs, Jr. (March 29, 2012)

Classmates:

I convey to you the bare-bones news that Clay S. Briggs, Jr. died on March 29, 2012. We have that simple fact from a family member who has not, despite our efforts to learn more, told us more. Clay entered Yale with the class of 1955, and, after two years in the US Army, rejoined Yale with our class. I knew him slightly in Branford, then later saw him once or twice in New Jersey. He seems to have spent his career in business. Although he provided no news to the class for its reunion books, we do have a record that his last known address was in Chicago. Efforts to find a published obituary have been unavailing.

—JMB

Gilbert R. H. Kennedy (March 25, 2012)

Classmates:

I have word from New Haven that our classmate Gilbert R. H. Kennedy died on March 25, 2012 in Vero Beach, FL, of complications from pneumonia. I doubt that there was anyone in the class who rivaled Gil in the number and variety of academic institutions he attended, the number of academic degrees he accumulated, and the number of fields he pursued. He came to Yale from the Kent School by way of two following years at Stanford and entered Yale College as a resident of Branford with '58 before switching to '57. At Yale, he graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa and was a Rhodes finalist. He was also a member of the varsity crew and an alternate for the winning American crew at the 1956 Olympics. After Yale, he took down a divinity degree at the Union Theological Seminary (1960), an LLB at Yale (1964), and an MA in health care law from the University of Houston. Armed with such preparation, he went to work for Morgan Stanley in New York, then entered the world of venture capital in the medical, computing, and petroleum industries—the latter by founding Plains Resources. His principal later-in-life interests were the environment and sustainable aquaculture farming. His proudest achievement was his non-profit marine ecological work, especially his efforts to protect the Indian River Lagoon in Florida, for which he was honored. This multi-faceted man also enjoyed fishing, as you'd expect, but also sports events, politics, and devouring libraries of science fiction. Gil, whose wife Caroline predeceased him, is survived by their daughter Blain, their son Gilbert, grandchildren, and others. Gifts in Gil's memory may be made to the Marine Resource Council, 3275 Dixie Highway Northeast, Palm Bay, FL 32905.

—JMB

Reginald H. "Pete" Fullerton, Jr. (March 15, 2012)

Classmates:

My fellow Branfordian, Reginald H. "Pete" Fullerton, Jr., died at home in Watch Hill, RI, on March 15th of unstated causes after a period of medical difficulties. Distinctive from early years, Pete was a bit older than the rest of us; and, after spending some years at the old Bankers Trust Company, he retired as the bank's first vice president earlier in life than most of us "retire," sometime in fact before our 25th reunion. He seems to have enjoyed club membership, for his published obituary mentions four clubs with which he was associated. According to Don Roberts, he was a pillar of his Watch Hill community and something of the town's Grover Whelan, the greeter who introduced new residents to others. He also threw himself into community endeavors, including the Westerly Hospital, and more notably he was a passionate supporter of animal organizations, including Stand Up for Animals (in Westerly) and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya. Those, like Sandy Clark, who recall him do so with a smile in their words about a man whom they describe as full of laughter. Bob Mobley calls him "joyous." Many noted his deep voice, which may help explain his appeal to women older than he (or us). Clearly, he also found older women stimulating, for it's said that even during college he discovered a way to avoid the youngsters that were our female companions in favor of the more mature. For instance, as one of his old friends notes, "During the fall of senior year, Pete spent a week in England with the estranged wife of the son of one of England's true heros of sport. Pete's parents, when they called, were told Pete was in the library. We offered to have him call when he returned at what Pete had said would be 11:45 p.m.. A safe white lie." Another of his conquests was, it is also reported, none other than the former skating champion Sonja Henie (b. 1912), who fell for Pete at a Swiss resort one college summer. O tempora o mores! Pete is survived by two daughters, Kirsten Stephens and Kimberly Anderson, by his former wife Kathleen Knudson Wattles, and by a sister, grandchildren, and other relatives. Contributions in Pete's memory may be made to Stand Up for Animals, PO Box 1706, Westerly, RI. 02891.

—JMB

Charles R. Schaller (March 5, 2012)

Classmates:

It is no pleasure to report the death on March 5, 2012, of our classmate Charles R. Schaller. Chuck died in Beaufort, SC, near his home in Okatie, of complications from a rare blood disease that had affected the motor nerves in his legs. Chuck was a chemical engineering major in college and, as might have been expected, spent most of the early part of his career in the petrochemical business, usually as a consultant. In the 1980s, he changed direction by moving into biotechnology and serving as the founder or director of a number of corporations. He served his South Carolina community by serving on the board of the Beaufort Memorial Hospital Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of Beaufort, and the Beaufort Economic Development Commission. Chuck possessed the enviable skill of completing each Sunday's New York Times crossword puzzle before dinner in ink. He was also carrying on and making his views known right to the end of his life, evidence of that being a letter, published in the Times shortly before his death, that made clear his views on the recent controversy over Yale's quarterback and his Rhodes Scholarship. Chuck's roommate Tom Rohner recalls Chuck as so many others do—as "enthusiastic, energetic, and optimistic (unlike our expectation of a chem engineering major)" and for his "outgoing personality and style." Gil Merritt seconds Tom by recalling Chuck as "an effervescent guy whose enthusiasm was contagious." Tom also reports that "Chuck sometimes had a difficult time in philosophic discussions dealing with the more liberal and introspective members of our group in Davenport who dismissed his major as 'purple gas,'" but those who knew him also knew that he held up well to such modest punishment. Chuck's Elihu "brother," Scott Cannell emphasizes Chuck's determination and courage. "Whatever project or activity he took on, he jumped in with an intensity, spirit and determination that few can match. If he saw value in something, he gave it his all." As for courage, after playing running back at Yale and a powerful game of mid-life golf, his rare auto-immune disease came as a great shock. But, writes Scott, "that never stopped him. He courageously got himself upright with braces on his legs and canes in his hands, put a smile on his face, and continued his management work and even played golf right up to the end, a loyal caddy carting him around. He set his mind to living as full a life as possible for the next 3 decades." Chuck is survived by his wife Susan; two sons, Charles R. and William A.; a step son, William G. Harriss; a one step daughter, Gretchen G. Shippee; two brothers, and five grandchildren. Another son predeceased him. Donations in Chuck's memory may be made to the Beaufort Memorial Hospital Foundation, PO Box 2233, Beaufort, SC 29901; Lowcountry Institute, 40 Mobley Oaks Lane, Okatie, SC 29909; or the Boys and Girls Club of Beaufort, PO Box 1482, Beaufort, SC 29901. A memorial service will be held March 31, 2012 at Spring Island, SC, and at Greenfield Hill Congregational Church in Fairfield, CT in the summer.

—JMB

Guy A. Goethner (February 27, 2012)

Classmates:

I must report the death on February 27, 2012, of our classmate Guy A. Goethner. He died in Southbury, CT, of unstated causes, his family at his side. A resident of Silliman and an industrial administration major while in college, Guy joined the Navy after being commissioned through Yale's NROTC program. Then, after securing an MBA at the University of Bridgeport, he spent his career in industrial engineering and as a manufacturer's representative in environmental engineering. A musical man, attested early by his membership in the Freshman Glee Club, Guy was also a classical pianist. That didn't however keep him from also being an avid Red Sox fan. And much to his delight, not long before his death he nailed down a coveted seat on the Green Monster, that distant Fenway scourge of right-handed hitters, where seats were added in recent years. Guy was also an RV traveller. He recounted in our 55th reunion book a recent trip to Alaska, where his love of animals and of engineering came together. Along with visiting the Yale (and, alas, Harvard) glaciers in College Fjord, he was struck both by "the Alaska pipeline and the wild animals along the road" and, finding the pipeline an "engineering marvel," urged drilling for oil east of Prudhoe Bay. Guy is survived by his sons Steven and Keith, a daughter Ann E. Lockhart, a sister, grandchildren, and others. Contributions in his memory may be sent to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675-8517, or woundedwarriorproject.org.

—JMB

James J. Fischer (February 22, 2012)

Classmates:

James J. Fischer, a marathon runner, died suddenly while running in Madison, CT, on February 22, 2012. Though Jim served on the faculty of the Yale School of Medicine for 34 years until his 2002 retirement, he left no word with the class, nor can classmates who were acquainted with Jim shed light on him. All information about his life and career must be gleaned from a notice in the New York Times, a notice as extended, at 17-1/2 inches, as his career was distinguished. After Yale and study at Harvard Medical School, Jim joined his alma mater's nearby medical faculty in 1968 in its department of radiology. By 1972, he was Robert E. Hunter professor and chairman of the department of therapeutic radiology. His specialty was radiation oncology, for which he was widely recognized as a leading expert and a pioneer in cancer-treating procedures and drug protocols, and he was held in high esteem for his concern for patients. A cyclist as well as marathoner, he was also an active member of his department's softball team, the "Hunter Accelerators." Jim is survived by his wife, Anne Curtis, also a doctor, and by their son Henry, daughter Gwendolyn Magnon, and grandchildren. Contributions in his memory may be made to Yale's Smilow Cancer Center (www.yalecancercenter.org).

—JMB

Thomas T. Houston (February 18, 2012)

Classmates:

We have recently learned of the death of Thomas T. Houston on February 18, 2012 in Venice, Florida, where he and his family lived part of the year. After graduating from Yale, Tex did not leave much of a trail with the class. But having determined as an undergraduate to pursue a career in industrial management, he seems to have done just that, and with much success, for he was president and CEO of a number of firms: Precision Brands of Napierville, Illinois, Engineered Technologies of Warwick, Rhode Island (the state in which he also resided), and most recently the Newcan Corporation of Holbrook, Massachusetts. He was, among other things, an avid golfer and a passionate fan of the Red Sox—giving the team, notes a published obituary in words that no doubt describe others, "much needed coaching advice when he was watching them on TV." Tex is survived by his wife Judith Coffey, his daughter Janice Leo, his stepchildren Sarah Fulford and Sam Chin, and others. Donations in Tex's memory may be made to jimmyfund.org or buttonhole.org.

—JMB

William H. Dabney (February 15, 2012)

Classmates:

We have lost one of our most distinctive classmates, William H. Dabney, who died of unstated causes on February 15, 2012. Bill was, in the classic, and not the hackneyed, sense of the word, a hero—someone who risked his life in defense of the lives and welfare of others. Not many of us are likely to have known him, inasmuch as he was with our class for but a single, freshman year as a resident of Lawrence Hall. He then joined the Marines, in which he made his career, inbetweentimes earning his degree at Virginia Military Institute in 1961, when he was also commissioned a Second Lieutenant. Yet Bill seems always to have considered himself a member of the Yale Class of 1957, which always carried him on its rolls; and he reported in with information about his life and an essay for the class's 50th reunion book. He spent 36 years in the Marines, retiring in 1990 at the rank of colonel. What distinguished his career was his two tours of duty in Vietnam. He won fame in 1968 for his command of India Company, 3d Battalion, 26th marines, during the siege of Khe Sanh, when his unit defended an isolated hill. His valor earned him the Navy Cross, that service's highest honor and the nation's second highest honor for valor. Along the way, he also earned a Purple Heart, the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry. Yet in his reflections for our 50th reunion book, Bill rued US involvement in Vietnam, where he served so heroically. "I thought then that the war was strategically unwinnable, and nothing I've learned since persuades me otherwise....The tragedy was that all the factors that made that outcome inevitable were present from the beginning." He also wrote then that his "greatest disappointment in Yale has been its rejection of the ROTCs and its subsequent refusal to seek their reestablishment." Perhaps he learned before he died that Yale had indeed begun to re-welcome military training to campus. After his retirement from the military, Bill returned to VMI as commanding officer of its NROTC unit and then, until his final retirement in 1990, as commandant of cadets. Bill's unselfish service to country and institutions, as well as his enduring interest in the earliest of his collegiate alma maters, brings honor to the Class of 1957. He is survived by his wife of over 50 years, Virginia, herself the daughter of famed Marine general "Chesty" Puller, a son Lewis, a daughter Virginia Keane Kauders, a sister, and grandchildren. A service in his memory will take place at 2 p.m. on February 26th, at the R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church in Lexington, VA.

—JMB

William E. Olson (January 31, 2012)

Classmates:

I bring you sad tidings of the death on January 31, 2012, of William E. Olson in Columbus, OH. A resident of Berkeley and a political science major, Bill took a law degree from Columbia after graduating from Yale and followed that up with practice in New York. Subsequently, he worked in the legal department of the American Electric Power Company until his retirement. Because he did not report in to the class after graduation, not much more information about him is available. One of Bill's roommates, Rod Farrow, kept up with Bill and characterizes him as a man who was a "serious birder," very good company, and "quick to see humor in almost any situation." Dave Lawrence, another roommate confirms his droll humor, writing that "Bill participated with a 'club' organized around old Buicks. He was, for many years, the editor of "The Torque Tube" for the 1937 and 1938 Buick Club. These can still be seen via the Internet (1937and1938buicks.com)." Bill's published obituary notes his "voracious intellect" and the fact that he was a Master Gardener. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Mary, their sons Peter and Laurence William and their families, and a sister. Memorial contributions in Bill's name can be made to The Nature Conservancy.

—JMB

Donald S. Bab (January 1, 2012)

Classmates:

Donald S. Bab died suddenly on January 1, 2012. A boy out of Newark and Hackensack, NJ, Don came to Yale as both scholar and athlete. In the latter capacity and as a man of considerable height, he was a standout on the varsity basketball team. He played his best games senior year, when the team captured the first Ivy League basketball title and then went on to scare undefeated UNC in the first round of the 1957 NCAA tournament, which UNC eventually won. As Tom Perkins points out to me, there's a photo of Don on p. 55 of our 50th reunion book taken from a newspaper report of Don's scoring the winning point in the last two seconds in the 57-56 game over Dartmouth that clinched the Ivy League title. In the years after college, Tom Quirk reports, Don was a kind of scourge of Yale men's basketball because its record didn't live up to 1957's. He always thought it a lame excuse when Yale officials pointed to the university's winning women's basketball team as evidence that all was not awful on New Haven courts. But, as all who ever knew Don recognized, he aimed his complaints at coaches and athletic directors alike with a smile and ease. After graduation, Don became an attorney and practiced law throughout his career. Don Roberts notes that Don never spoke about himself, always about others. His warmth was infectious, his smile ever-present, his thoughtfulness widely recognized. In remarks written for the 50th reunion book, Don characteristically pointed to the "privilege and responsibility" of his Yale education as strong motivators, especially in later life. This sense of obligation, plus his quiet judiciousness and balance, earned him a place on the council of the Yale Club of New York and eventually the club's presidency. They also earned him a place in the hearts and now memories of all who knew him. Don is survived by his wife Ryna, their children Andrew ('86) and Emily Kirsch ('90), and their grandchildren.

—JMB

Shimen Baer Zudekoff (December 26, 2011)

Classmates:

I bring sad tidings of the December 26, 2011 death, presumably in Virginia, of Shimen Baer Zudekoff. Shim was a true son of New Haven, where he was born, schooled, Yale'd (twice), and employed until he moved to Virginia, in 1998. After Yale, where he was a history major, ranking scholar, and resident of Trumbull, he attended Yale Law School. Once out, he was variously a legal consultant, human resources director, and, with his wife Ann, founder of an innovative digital printing firm in Yale's home town. Then this city boy transformed himself into a farmer and beekeeper in the rural fastness of Huddleston in the Old Dominion. A published obituary notes that Shim and Ann turned their "few acres of bare red clay into a riot of textures and living colors with flowers, shrubs, trees, and vegetables, all populated and suffused with the peaceful humming and occasional swarm of honey bees." In this nation's history, the usual path has been from country to city. This man of 1957 proved that the reverse path could also be pursued with satisfaction to the spirit and benefit to the land. In addition to his wife, Shim is survived by their son Roger and daughter Debra.

—JMB

George A. Mascarich (December 23, 2011)

Classmates:

We have lost another of us with the death at his home in Salisbury, MD on December 23, 2011 of George A. Mascarich. He died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. A resident of Timothy Dwight College and a human culture and behavior major while in college, George spent his entire career in many parts of the US in the telecommunications industry, 37 years of it with Western Electric, the remainder until his 1994 retirement with ATT. Over the years, he provided little information about himself to the class. But a published obituary records his love of golf, wine, and classical music and his avid support of the Metropolitan Opera, Mt. Vernon, and Ford's Theater in Washington. George is survived by three daughters, two brothers, a sister, and other family members. His wife Arline predeceased him.

—JMB

Edward M. Reusch (November 9, 2011)

Classmates:

I convey very tardy information, just in from New Haven, that we lost Edward M. Reusch on November 9, 2011. He died in Exeter, NH. Neither the class nor university has much information about Ed. I infer from scanty facts that he entered Yale with us but left at some time prior to 1957 before securing his undergraduate degree from Georgetown in 1959. His career was spent in consulting and real estate. Ed is survived by his wife Julie and many children and grandchildren.

—JMB

George Perlstein (October 13, 2011)

Classmates:

I bring you news, just received from New Haven, that we have lost George Perlstein. He died at his home in Portola Valley, CA on October 13, 2011 of unstated causes. A zoology major and non-resident member of Trumbull College, after graduation George gained a medical degree from the University of Florida and then served in the Public Health Service before commencing his long career as a neurologist at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. He inaugurated his work as a clinician in a group medical practice. But as he wrote at the time of our 50th reunion with unusual candor, he realized after a few years that "a practitioner reaches his zenith very quickly" and that despite changes in drugs, technologies, and approaches, "the practice is still one on one and becomes quite repetitive." Consequently, George accepted an invitation to step into administration and became, first, medical director of the Foundation, then its managing partner. He relished the new challenges "and," as he wrote, "they gave me a raise!" His candor in relation to his Yale days is also beguiling. At the time of our 25th, George wrote of his "sole wish—to repeat and enjoy forever the 1953-1957 years." At our 50th, he wrote that as a local high school graduate, "Yale was my aspiration. And yet I have very mixed feelings as I look back upon the experiences of those four years." Yet those mixed feelings, as he reported them, were not what one might expect. "There were moments of utter despair regarding my inability to cope with freshman French despite three years of high school study and moments of joy after an A in senior American studies. But the simple fact is that I did not take advantage of the offerings available. Would the power be mine," this earlier zoology major wrote in exquisite subjunctive, "I rule that a premed student cannot major in a science and all freshman live on campus." Liking good food and good wine, George was also a photographer whose works won some prizes. He is survived by his wife Judith, their children Alissa Sykes Hunter, Jennifer, and Greg, as well as by many other relatives. Contributions in his memory can be made to the Department of Medical and Radiation Oncology, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, 795 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94301 or to Pathways Hospice Foundation, 585 North Mary Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94085.

—JMB

Stephen L. Wanger (October 8, 2011)

Classmates:

I write with the news, first reported to me by Bob Barton, that we have lost Stephen L. Wanger. Surrounded by his family, Steve died on October 8, 2011, at the Lahey Clinic after a long struggle against cancer. A resident of Saybrook while at Yale, Steve was involved in politics as chairman of the Liberal Party of the Yale Political Union and a member of the Yale Young Democrats. "My career at Yale," he wrote at the time of his high school's 50th reunion, "thus foreshadowed that of John F. Kerry rather than George W. Bush." After medical school at Columbia, Steve moved to Chestnut Hill, near Boston, where he remained thereafter save for two years of medical service in the U. S. Army. For his entire career, he was associated with the Lahey Clinic as a neurologist while also serving on the clinical faculties of the Tufts and Harvard medical schools, writing for medical journals and textbooks, and being elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. It also appears that he wrote mystery stories concerning clinical neurology, stories narrated by patients who through clues offered hints about the correct medical solutions to their illnesses. Bob Barton writes that the one word that best described Steve was "steady." As students together at Albany Academy, Steve "had been No. 1 in his class almost from the first day and was the unflappable, never-a-cuss-word editor of the school paper....If anything, he was too consistent in his advice (first voiced in his high school valedictory) that people should think for themselves, for his son and daughter both went to Harvard!" Steve is survived by his wife Nancy, whom he met at a mixer his first weekend of freshman year, as well as by their children David and Betsy and their families.

—JMB

Daniel Cornwell (September 10, 2011)

Classmates:

I bring to you the sad news of the death in his sleep of Daniel Cornwell on September 10, 2011 at his home in Spring City, PA. At Yale, where he roomed in Jonathan Edwards with his Andover classmates Charlie Cushman and Ralph Douglas as well as with Tom Bitting, Dan was known as a splendid swimmer. He was on the varsity swimming team and the All-American Team for three years and thus helped maintain Yale's unbeaten swimming record in our era. He also helped form Yale's water polo team. After college, he served for four years in the Air Force, at the end at the rank of captain, then started his long business career with Merrill Lynch. Dan was well known and respected in the West Chester, PA community, where his family had lived for generations, and he served on the Board of the Chester County Hospital for many years. In addition to being known for his natural talent in sports—at one point he played squash doubles at the national level—"his easy way with people and his great sense of humor," writes Ralph Douglas, "accounted for his popularity wherever he went." But it was in the water that he seemed to be in his element. "When Dan was near salt water in New Jersey, Florida, or Block Island, he swam far out to sea," Ralph writes of his old friend. "He had no fear of the cold water, the sharks, or the high waves. When no one else would go in, he did. This continued up until the last few years of his life. He seemed to find contentment and serenity in the sea and went in every day he could, even in the early spring and late fall." Dan is survived by his wife Hendrika, their daughter Heather Gray, and their son Dan, as well as by five grandchildren. Contributions in his memory may go to the Chester County Hospital, West Chester, PA.

—JMB

Robert A. Blazis (August 23, 2011)

Classmates:

I have the sad duty to report the death following a sudden illness of Robert A. Blazis on August 23, 2011, in Hamden, CT. Bob was not listed either in our freshman register or 1957 Banner but turned up later as a member of the class. There are no reports from or about him in our reunion books. I suspect that he entered Yale with another class, probably that of 1956 and then for some reason switched to 1957. He was then a member or resident of Trumbull College but apparently without roommates. After graduation, Bob studied music history at Stanford and won the prestigious Rome Prize Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome to study early Italian opera. But instead of going into academic work, he taught at local schools (including the Bassett Junior High School, which may have been an earlier version of the Lincoln-Bassett School, which has been so central to our Music in Schools project). He then began work in libraries, first in Hamden, then at Sterling Library. Librarianship seems to have been the center of the remainder of his work life, for from 1973 on he was a member of the professional staff of the Library of Congress in the music and social science divisions. This latter fact is troubling inasmuch as neither I nor our other Washington classmates knew of his nearby residence during all the years we have been gathering together. Bob had no immediate survivors. Gifts in his memory may go to the Ansonia Public Library, 53 South Cliff Street, Ansonia, CT 06401.

—JMB

Kong Kyun Ro (August 15, 2011)

Classmates:

We have lost one of our most distinctive classmates with the death from pneumonia on August 15, 2011 in Seoul, South Korea, of Kong Kyun Ro. KK, as he was known, may have been the first Korean to matriculate in Yale College. Born in North Korea in either 1930 or 1932 (sources differ) and raised, as he wrote in our 50th reunion book, under the harsh conditions of Japanese occupation, KK then fought against North Korea with R.O.K. naval and marine forces for four years after 1950, mustering out as a Lieutenant J.G. in a unit that won his nation's Presidential Unit Citation. Having served on U.S. ships during the war, KK gained the sponsorship of several US naval officers, including the commanding commodore of his squadron's flagship (at least one of whom was a Yale graduate—YC 1940), to attend Yale. After crossing the Pacific by ship and then the US by bus, KK joined our class as a sophomore in the spring of 1954 as a resident of Timothy Dwight College. As an economics major, KK became a ranking scholar and held the Stout and Waterman Scholarships. And that was not all: after graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, he went on to secure his MA and PhD degrees in economics also in New Haven but not before pulling down an MBA at the University of Chicago prior to taking his Yale graduate degrees. By the 1960s, he had become a US citizen. After that, KK pursued a career inside and outside the academy. He served on the faculty of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, the University of Cincinnati, the City College of New York, and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and was also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He published widely on the subjects of applied economics and energy. In our 50th reunion book, KK wrote that he was writing a memoir. His daughter Alice tells me that what started as an autobiographical work turned into a kind of "fictional memoir," as KK called it in 2007. The Exile (Eloquent Books) is the story of a Korean-American man's life in two countries. As he wrote for our 50th, "After my first marriage to an American woman failed, I returned to Korea to start life over. They say you can't go home again. That's not quite true. You just can't be the same again. As an Americanized Korean, I found myself viewed as an outsider when I returned to my homeland, just as I had been an outsider in America. But outsiders sometimes see things more clearly than the insiders can." That's the story that KK tells in The Exile. It's clear, both from my correspondence with him over the years and from what he wrote five years ago before his death, that KK was deeply indebted to his alma mater. His alma mater should be equally indebted to this son of Yale. In addition to Alice, KK is survived by his son Christopher; their mother, his former wife Barbara Veirs Ro; his son Kyong Hoon; and his mother, KK's former wife Arah Ro.

—JMB

William M. Finn (August 10, 2011)

Classmates:

I have recently learned that William M. Finn died on August 10, 2011, at his home in Augusta, Maine. Bill succumbed to a long bout with cancer. He was a native of Maine and apparently spent most of his life there. After Yale, where he resided in Berkeley, was a history major, and played basketball in sophomore year on the varsity team, he attended Boston University Law School and became an editor of its law review. Subsequently, he practiced law in Augusta and then joined the legal office of Central Maine Power Company, in which he became associate general counsel and secretary, as well as at Yankee Atomic Power Company. After retirement in 1995, Bill was a consultant in the electric utility field. He stayed involved with Yale through the Western Maine Yale Club and interviewed prospective applicants to the college. And while he retained links with few classmates, Don Bab recalls him as a quiet and thoughtful man. He is survived by his wife Suzanne and their two daughters, Julia Finn Ruesch and Meredith Finn. Contributions in Bill's memory may go to the Lithgow Public Library, 45 Winthrop Street, Augusta, ME 04330.

—JMB

Richard Bruce White (June 28, 2011)

Classmates:

I have the sad duty to report to you the death on June 28, 2011, in Danville, KY, of our classmate Richard Bruce White. Richard showed his colors early in life as an intensive major in philosophy at Yale and a ranking scholar. After naval service and graduate work in philosophy at Stanford, he joined the faculty of Centre College and remained there as professor of philosophy for 32 years until his retirement as emeritus professor. Though trained as a logician, he was, as befits the faculty member of a baccalaureate college, broad gauged, teaching everything from 20th-century to ancient philosophy. He was a specialist in the work of Charles Sanders Peirce, a major logician and founder of pragmatism; and as a specialist in mathematical logic and 20th-century analytic philosophy, he wrote widely and was published internationally. In an interview at the time of his retirement in 1999, Richard recalled that he originally thought he'd be an English professor like his father, but at Yale he discovered philosophy. "Logic has a very strong aesthetic appeal to me," he said. "Especially since the systems of logic I'm interested in -so-called 'non-classical logic'—don't have much practical application. I also like the feeling when you prove a theorem that nobody's ever proved before." He also reported what most college professors experience and how some of us recall ourselves as freshmen and sophomores: "I've always enjoyed teaching first-term freshmen. They're so innocent and conscientious. Also, it's really nice to follow the career of a student from freshman year to senior year and notice how much their writing and their thinking have improved." Richard is survived by his wife, Roberta White, and a nephew.

—JMB

Wayne A. Moeller (June 22, 2011)

Classmates:

I convey sad tidings of the death on June 22, 2011 of our classmate Wayne A. Moeller, who died at his home in Omaha from the complications of lung cancer after courageously hanging on so that he could mark his 40th wedding anniversary with his wife Joy. Wayne entered Yale on a football scholarship, and anyone who knew the man even as an undergraduate knew that his size and power (Dick Jones accurately calling him "larger than life") would carry him easily down the field. Unfortunately, an injury put an end to his football playing in sophomore year, and so he spent his undergraduate days as the rest of us did: learning, laughing, and growing up. After Yale, Wayne moved for business about the country, including the oil fields of Texas and Oklahoma, and then settled in to work with the Lozier Corporation from 1974 until his 1995 retirement, the last ten of those years in Omaha. He and Joy then moved to Sedona, AZ, where they resided for the next 15 years. In the southwest, which Wayne loved, he hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim four times, served as a volunteer for the Yavapai Sheriff's Department, as a mentor for Big Brothers and Sisters, and at the Literacy Center, and sponsored students for livestock expositions. He was as comfortable on a tractor as he was on a horse. Anyone who knew Wayne knew his mischievous sense of humor and how it evoked other's. Wayne's Calhoun roommate Paul Lopata reports on a strip poker game at Yale with the heiress of a wealthy family (name here suppressed), a game that Wayne, an honest sportsman, lost— to what outcome it is not reported. At another time, knowing that Wayne was trying to secure an order for its products' packaging from Playboy, Paul pretended to be Hugh Hefner and almost got Wayne to fall for the ruse. Though Wayne was not pleased, he eventually laughingly forgave Paul. Such such were the days! In addition to his wife, Wayne is survived by their four children, Pamela Olderman, Jonathan, Jennifer Rowe, and Elizabeth Bailis, as well as eight grandchildren. Contributions in Wayne's memory may be made to the Lauritzen Botanical Gardens, Garden of Memories, 100 Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE 68101, Attention: Kayla Scott, or to the Visiting Nurse Association Hospice, 12565 West Center Road, Suite 100, Omaha, NE 68144.

—JMB

Richard S. "Dick" Massey (June 12, 2011)

Classmates:

I must convey to you news of the death at his home on June 12, 2011, in Naugatuck, CT, of Richard S. Massey. Dick was very much a child of New Haven and of Connecticut. He attended neighboring Hopkins Grammar School with a number of other classmates, attended his local university for two degrees, started his work life as a teacher in West Hartford, then spent the rest of his life nearby. Attending Yale on a City of New Haven scholarship for all four years, as he wrote in our 50th reunion book while in college he lived at home with his family "to minimize the expense" while a member of TD. After Yale, the university remained firmly in the picture, for Dick earned his Masters of Arts in Teaching in Yale's then distinctive program for aspiring teachers before leaving town to go a bit north for experience in the classroom. After that, he worked in the insurance business before opening his own financial services firm, which continues in existence under his son Steven's management. Dick served in many community organizations and, continuing his undergraduate interests, remained very much involved in athletics, at one time serving as president of the Connecticut Badminton Association, a position no doubt unrivaled by any other 57er. Dick's Hopkins and Yale classmate Hal Hochman writes that Dick's gratitude to both of his alma maters "was expressed all through his life, by his continuing connections to both. And as a person he was as steady as they come, loyal, never flashy, totally trustworthy, and though quiet and private in many ways, funny and warm." Dick is survived by his wife Roberta, son Steven, daughter Laurel Anne Liebowitz, and an extended family. Another son, Brian, predeceased him.

—JMB

Stephen Jay Mottus (June 2, 2011)

Classmates:

I have learned of the death on June 2, 2011 of our classmate Stephen Jay Mottus. Steve died peacefully at his home in Pikesville, MD. At Yale, he was a member of Saybrook, an industrial administration major, and, following the captaincy of his high school baseball team, a baseball player. After Yale, he obtained an MBA from George Washington University. Steve held a variety of high-level management and corporate planning and development positions at Procter & Gamble and Maryland Cup Corporation and later in his career was a securities analyst and financial planner. His experience and skills led him to teach corporate financial management courses at Towson University. Devoted to community service, he was also long involved in music, art, photography, gardening, tennis, and skiing. Those who knew him, as I did from undergraduate years, always found him warm, sunny, and wittily serious. The few times that I saw him in Washington found him unchanged, his humor and appealing disposition intact. His wife Jill having predeceased him after 50 years of marriage, Steve is survived by his three children: Keith, Kevin, and Karin Mottus, a sister, and a grandson.

—JMB

Edward M. Ajello (February 3, 2011)

Classmates:

I continue this long string of bad news with word, recently received from his family, of the death of Edward M. Ajello. Ed died on February 3, 2011 in Ormond Beach, FL, after a two-year battle with brain cancer. Ed was probably the oldest member of our class and the most distinct. He entered '57 after having served in the Pacific submarine service during World War II and having attended the University of Connecticut for two years thereafter. An electrical engineering major, because he had married in 1947 he was a non-resident member of Timothy Dwight College. He put himself through Yale working with the Bridgeport Wire and Cable Division of General Electric, the corporation with which he spent much of his career in various locations in the US and in its Fairfield corporate offices in the marketing and strategic planning fields. Upon his retirement, Ed switched sharply—in our 50th reunion book he termed it "a second career"—to painting award-winning portraits in Florida. Ed's son Michael writes that his father held on to his class ring "of which he was extremely proud" and fondly recalls the time that he accompanied his father to commencement in 1957. Ed is survived by his wife Gloria and their three children Michael, Elaine Vice, and Joyce McCormack.

—JMB

Johannes Somary (February 1, 2011)

Classmates:

It is an especially heavy duty to convey news of the death of Johannes Somary in New York on February 1, 2011. Hannes died of complications from an earlier stroke.

Born in Zurich, Hannes entered Yale from St. Alban's School in Washington. Prefiguring his long career, he was a music major in college as well as a member of the Pundits, Aurelian, and the Lizzy and an organist in St. Thomas More Church, and he then added a Yale MA in music to his BA degree. From college he moved directly to the Horace Mann School before Inky Clark arrived as the school's headmaster, and he outlasted Inky while becoming head of the school's arts and music department, where his wife Anne also taught and from which he retired in 2002. (The violinist Gil Shaham was a student of his there.) It can be said without much challenge that it is rare for a school teacher to have the public, professional, and artistic impact that Hannes did, especially in a city of the immensity of New York, and a published obituary in the New York Times testifies to that fact. Among Hannes's many other conducting and directing berths, after his retirement from Horace Mann he became the musical director of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Yet that was not all: he conducted European orchestras and ensembles also (including the Royal Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic), and Tom Perkins ventures the opinion that he may have been better known in Europe than in the United States. His Amor Artis ensemble, which Hannes founded in 1962 (and with which Malcolm Mitchell sang for a time), was known for presenting some of the first-ever performances and recordings of the choral works of both well-known and neglected composers; and although Hannes's principal passion was for Baroque and Classical works, he ventured into 19th- and 20th-century music and composed his own, largely liturgical, works in a thoroughly contemporary vein, as any who heard them can attest. Those artists with whom he worked included Elly Ameling, Maureen Forrester, John Shirley-Quirk, David Bar-Illan, Garrick Ohlssen, and Dizzy Gillespie.

Everyone who knew Hannes was drawn to him by his childlike qualities of wonder and playfulness, which were coupled with starchy firmness, deep knowledge, and expansive feeling and spirit when it came to music. Tom Parkins, who served on the board of Amor Artis for many years, reflects that "Hannes was absolutely true to his principles and to his Catholic faith. He never compromised, be it with Leonard Bernstein, Cardinal Egan, or whomever. He always did what he was convinced in right. Now, this wonderful, wonderful man is trying to shape up the heavenly chorus and God bless him. They will sing everything his way." Bud Trillin seconds Tom's words, pointing out that Hannes designed his own memorial service, much of its music sung by people Hannes had taught or directed. "The service was a reminder that what was at the center of Hannes's life at Yale—his music and his church—remained at the center of his life a half century or so later. He was gloriously unreconstructed." Everything about him reflected his traditionalism (although the music he composed could be altogether modern). Jerry Jonas recalls a freshman year bullsession at which someone asked Hannes what his politics were. He answered, reports Jerry, that "he was a 'monarchist,' who favored the restoration of the Hapsburgh Empire. No one knew whether he was joking, but we were all impressed with the uniqueness of his response." Andy Kner has another take on this aspect of Hannes's worldview. The two undergraduates were chatting about European politics. "Hannes started talking about the Hapsburgs and how they should be invited back and all the independent countries would flock to this new Austrian empire. I was appalled. But all I said was that as a Hungarian I had a rather mixed view of the Hapsburgs. Hannes walked away and didn't speak to me for two years." (Apparently, they made up.) And thus we have this widely shared evidence it was always difficult to be around Hannes without smiling. Some thought his music "sublime." Malcolm Mitchell writes that "the last concert I heard Hannes conduct was the one last November, at the 87th and West End Avenue church, that included an utterly ravishing and ethereal Carrissimi oratorio. Such live performances remain forever in the memory of those lucky enough to have heard them. Creating those fleeting moments of beauty was Hannes's lifelong gift to mankind. Those that are captured in his recordings are not only his legacy to us, but his monument. 'And so Sepulcher'd in such pomp dost lie, That Kings for such a Tomb would wish to die.'" Dean Robert Blocker of the Yale School of Music, where Hannes had taught, calls Hannes "a musical giant. We were enlarged by his life and are now diminished with his passing."

Hannes is survived by his wife Anne, sons Stephen and Geoffrey, a daughter Karen Healy, a brother and sister, and seven grandchildren.

—JMB

Mark D. Roth (December 29, 2010)

Classmates:

As I earlier notified you, we lost Mark D. Roth on December 29, 2010. He had entered the hospital for a mild procedure that ought to have seen him quickly up and about, but instead he died ten days later. Mark was an attorney—and thoroughly Yale in that regard, finding it tough to wrest himself away from New Haven and avoid attending Yale Law School, which he did fresh out of undergraduate college. Then, after a brief stint in military service, he commenced 40 years in the broadcasting business, most of the time as a sports producer for ABC. Widely known and admired in sport television circles, he had ringside seats at Olympic contests, super bowls and world series games, major horse races and golf tournaments, and auto races. It was Mark who was in charge of ABC's celebrated Monday Night football telecasts. As Ron Bland describes him, he was a master of "good stories, good wine, and good restaurants." I had never met Mark until he fetched up a few years ago at a New York class council meeting, ready to take on the task (of which he was already expert) of arranging the class's second minireunion—this one in Santa Fe. I got to know him in that capacity for his wit and his perseverance, for others would easily have been discouraged when his first attempt at staging a class gathering in the southwest fell through for lack of registration. But he went at the business again and that second time succeeded, thus endearing himself to all who attended. At the time of his death, he was willingly hard at work on the forthcoming minireunion in South Carolina and had plotted out a full, varied, and balanced schedule for those who might attend. Mark is survived by his wife Caren, his children Lissa and Alex, and two grandchildren. A gathering in his memory was earlier held.

—JMB

John W. Chambers (December 26, 2010)

Classmates:

I bring you word of the death on December 26, 2010 of John W. Chambers. John entered Yale with the class of 1955, stopped out for military service in Panama, then re-entered college with us as a resident of Pierson. John's roommates and the class until recently had lost touch with John, and he submitted no words to our 50th reunion book, which is a pity, for he appears to have lived a full and varied life. He was, for instance, the author of six young adult novels published by Atheneum, and he long worked in the wine industry and, clearly highly estimated in those circles, served for two decades as a judge of the New York State Wine Competition. John is survived by his wife Carole, a daughter Margot, a son John, a sister, and three grandchildren.

—JMB

George J. Vojta (December 22, 2010)

Classmates:

I bring you sad tidings that George J. Vojta died of cancer on December 22, 2010. A ranking scholar and president of Dwight Hall at Yale, as a banker,financier, reformer, and writer George rose to high offices in Citigroup, First National City Bank, and Bankers Trust during his career. A specialist in financial strategy and risk management, he had been deeply involved in the restructuring of the global financial system in recent years and had worked closely with the World Bank, the Bank for Individual Settlements, and many countries trying to right the world's finances. He was perhaps best known publicly as a paladin of financial standards and corporate reform and the author of influential articles and books on those subjects. George was also a member and leader in organizations too numerous to list, but they included the Council on Foreign Relations , the Wharton School, the International Executive Corps, and the Yale Center for Corporate Governance and Performance, of whose board he was chair. A roommate, Otis Graham, writes that "George was as multitalented a man as I encountered at Yale." "When he studied," Ernie Pepples, another roommate, writes,"tobacco smoke would billow out of his room, the reason he gave for his immense enjoyment of Uncle Sid Lovett's 'Cokes 'n' Smokes.'" More important, Ernie notes, George made "profound contributions in elucidating the nature of the 21st-century economy." All who knew George, as I did, will recall him as a quite, thoughtful, prudent man, balanced in judgment, skilled in decisions. He is survived by his wife Susan, his sons Timothy and Christopher, and three grandchildren. A service in his memory will take place at 11 a.m. in the Reformed Church of Bronxville, NY, on Saturday, January 29, 2010. Donations in George's memory may be made to the Lawrence Hospital Cancer Center, 55 Palmer Avenue, Bronxville, NY 10708.

—JMB

James E. "Tuck" Halbkat, Jr. (December 18, 2010)

Classmates:

I write of the death on December 18, 2010 of James E. "Tuck" Halbkat, Jr., after several years of illness. Anyone who knew the man knew right from the start that he was a person of the Rocky Mountains, a place he loved (having been born in Denver), even as he came to love the South in which he long resided. At Yale, Tuck was a member of Book and Snake and a bass (as I recall from singing with him in the Freshman Glee Club, where I first met him) in the Bakers Dozen. After naval service, he entered business and rose to be a director of T. Rowe Price Associates in Baltimore. In retirement, he and his wife Sandy spent time in Hilton Head, SC and Tryon NC, as well as summer months in Henderson Harbor, NY. Among his many pleasures was restoring boats and sailing them. Many who knew Tuck associated him with his friend from 5th grade and our late classmate and his roommate Kit Dobbins. Another roommate, Lyman Drake, writes that "Tuck was one of the most open and trusting people I have ever known. Once he decided you were his friend, he gave it everything. Tuck had an inner strength that allowed him to share his vulnerabilities with someone he trusted." Ron Ragen writes concerning Tuck's afflictions that "for him to have lasted this long says a lot about his spirit and determination," and he agrees with Lyman regarding the strength of his friendships: "Whenever I saw him, it was like I'd been with him the day before." Tuck's widow Sandy notes to me that he treasured his years at Yale and his college friendships . In addition to Sandy, Tuck is survived by their five children Trip, Cindy, Mandy Van Duyne, Stan, and Sarah Eppes, as well as by 12 grandchildren. A memorial gathering will be held in the future in Henderson Harbor, NY. Gifts in Tucks memory may be sent to Hospice of the Carolina Foothills, 130 Forest Glen Drive, Columbus, NC 28722 or to a charity of choice.

—JMB

F. Lawrence Singer (December 13, 2010)

Classmates:

I learned recently from Don Bain in Denver of the death in Littleton, CO, on December 13, 2010 of our classmate F. Lawrence Singer. Larry became an electrical engineer while an undergraduate, going so far, Pat Wilde reports, to have built a transistor radio on his desk in 1955, "long before transistors were commercially available or affordable." Following in his father's footsteps (just as did Denis McWhan, Larry's TD roommate, who has provided information for this obituary), Larry joined Bell Labs fresh out of Yale and was soon working on developing the first modem that could transmit and receive data over telephone lines. He then became a manager of others and, when Bell Labs ceased to exist in the late 1980s, "retired" to consulting. Larry's friend Ray Ellison recalls his "dry wit and deep voice that I still envy." Larry is survived by his wife Jane, whom he married shortly after college, and their three children Robert, Nancy Parrett, and William, as well as their seven grandchildren.

—JMB

William H. Sheffield (December 12, 2010)

Classmates:

I have the heavy duty to report the death on December 12, 2010 of William H. Sheffield. He died suddenly in his sleep from unknown causes at his home in Webster Groves, MO. Born in Pasadena, after Yale Bill earned his MD degree from George Washington University. Then, within a few years of his medical schooling, he commenced his 41-year career as a pathologist at St. Joseph Hospital in Kirkwood, MO, thereafter at St. Clare Medical Center in Fenton, and came to own his own medical practice. In addition to his work as a physician and his family, Bill enjoyed duck and wild turkey hunting, golf, and traveling. But I think that, more than that, all who knew him recall him for his warmth and quiet solidity. His Trumbull roommate Bob Young recollects how he and Bill hit it off early in their undergraduate years and spent much of their time as close friends together playing pranks on others—one of which, on the night of the Junior Prom, after complex forward planning, was to sneak into the rooms of Erwin Fleissner and roommates and fill their outer room from floor to ceiling with loosely wadded newspapers. But, writes Bob, and as all who knew him will agree, Bill was at heart also a very serious man, and Bob again attests that Bill led him to "one of the books that most influenced my lifelong philosophical studies: The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science by E. A. Burtt." "We both went to medical school," recalls Bob, "but Bill opted for pathology with the explanation that there were no emergencies and that although he might not know what to do, no one looked over his shoulder, and he knew how to charge for it." Alan Hockstader characterizes Bill, who with his wife Glenn joined all twelve of the class trips that Alan has organized, as "one of the sweetest and most caring individuals I have ever known with a great sense of humor expressed in many different ways." In addition to his wife, whom he married in 1958, Bill is survived by their children John, Ellen Pace, and Jamie Melchor and their five grandchildren. A gathering of family and friends will take place at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, December 22 at the Graham Chapel of Washington University in St. Louis. Memorial gifts in Bill's memory can go to Ducks Unlimited, One Waterfowl Way, Memphis, TN 38120, or to a charity of the donor's choice.

—JMB

Bert Bradford III (December 10, 2010)

Classmates:

I must convey news of the death in Mocksville, NC on December 10, 2010 of Bert Bradford III. A Silliman resident while an undergraduate, Bert was a businessman throughout his career, first in the private sector with Columbia Gas Company Management and Industrial Development in West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky, then as industrial director of the State of West Virginia. Following his public service, Bert was an agent for New York Life. Playing a significant role in professional associations, he was also chairman of the West Virginia Advisory Council on Vocational Education, as well as a member of the Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Commission, and involved in issues of historical preservation. Bert is survived by Sandra, his wife of 50 years, their daughters Deborah and Ginny and Cathy Hasal, a granddaughter, and other family members. Contributions in his memory may be sent to Prayers and Squares, c/o First United Methodist Church, 310 N. Main Street, Mocksville, NC 27028.

—JMB

Charles E. Lafferty, Jr. (December 1, 2010)

Classmates:

I bring you news of the death on December 1, 2010 of Charles E. Lafferty, Jr., of which I have only recently learned. The cause of his death seems to have been kidney cancer. Chuck had an unconventional college career for a Yale graduate. Born in New Bedford, MA, he entered the Air Force right out of high school and was posted to Korea during the Korean War where he spent much time in the air capturing enemy intelligence from a spy plane. He received a medical discharge after having been, as he wrote in our 50th reunion book, "banged up" on a mission. He then spent three years at Hofstra before transferring to Yale, where, fitting right in at Davenport and Chi Phi, he was an electrical engineering major. Upon graduation, he entered the corporate world in marketing and eventually switched to real estate, which became the pursuit in which he was happiest. A published obituary describes Chuck as "an intelligent and gentle man with an infectious sense of humor and an optimist to the end." He is survived by his wife of 50 years Susan (whom he met as a blind date from Smith on a football weekend), sons Thomas and Shawn, daughters Suzanne Hayes, Karen Fernandez, and Lindsay Hawkins, siblings, and grandchildren. Contributions in Chuck's memory may be made to the Kidney Cancer Association.

—JMB

George A. Fisher (October 28, 2010)

Classmates:

I have word from New Haven that George A. Fisher died on October 28, 2010 presumably in Alexandria, Virginia, where he lived. I know no more than that. At Yale, where as a member of Silliman, he seems to have had no roommates. George was a history major, a member of the Political Union and the Young Republicans, and part of the Varsity Track Team.

—JMB

Donald H. Maffly (October 18, 2010)

Classmates:

Having been notified by Gordon Bellis, Gil Merritt, Tom Rohner, and Steve Weitz, I have the sad duty to report the death on October 18, 2010 of our classmate Donald H. Maffly at his home in Lafayette, CA, near Berkeley. Don, whose illness was known among his friends, succumbed to the complications of bile duct cancer. A resident of Davenport, at Yale he was an editor of the Yale Daily News. After college he earned law degrees from the Fletcher School at Tufts and Boalt Hall of Berkeley, where he was Note and Comment Editor of the California Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. Thence commenced his distinguished legal career. After clerking for California Supreme Court justices Roger Traynor and Matthew Tobriner, Don practiced civil and business law with the San Francisco firm of Chandler, Wood, Harrington, and Maffley. Along the way he was president of the Barristers Club of San Francisco and a director of the bar association of that city. His love of classical music was a major part of his life as, toward its end, was his immersion in the inner, contemplative life, which had long been his interest, evidenced by his service as a member of the board of governors of the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. As Gil Merritt, Tom Rohner, and Steve Weitz write, "Those of us who spent time with Don in recent months were much impressed with his acceptance of his inevitable fate with understanding, grace, and with a very real sense of peace. He was truly a good friend and will be much missed by all." Don is survived by his wife Valerie, their five children, eight grandchildren, and his brother. A service in his memory will take place at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Park, Berkeley, on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 11:30 a.m. Donations in his memory may be sent to the Cancer Support Community, 3276 McNutt Avenue, Walnut Creek, CA 94597; Vitas Hospice Care, 365 Lennon Lane, Walnut Creek, CA 94958; or the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, 2040 Gough Street, San Francisco, CA 94109.

—JMB

Rafael V. M. Cestero (October 10, 2010)

Classmates:

We have learned long after the fact of the peaceful death on October 10, 2010 of Rafael V. M. Cestero. Ralph died at his home in Anguilla in view of the sea and surrounded by his family. A native of Puerto Rico, a graduate of Andover, and at Yale a resident of Trumbull College, Ralph became a doctor before serving as a medical officer in the US Navy. Long a resident of Rochester, NY, he was a nephrologist in private practice who also directed the nephrology unit of the Monroe Community Hospital there and served on the faculty of the University of Rochester Medical School from 1973 to 1998. After his retirement, he remained in medical practice as director of the dialysis unit of the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Anguilla until 2007. It is noted that Ralph enjoyed woodworking, sailing, birding, snorkeling, gardening and "a good Bordeaux." Peter Capra, Ralph's Andover and Yale classmate, recalls him fondly for "his good humor, bright smile, and warm and generous personality." He is survived by his wife Jacqueline, from whom we recently learned of Ralph's death, as well as by their three children Barbara, Rafael, and Ricardo and their families. Contributions in Ralph's memory may be sent to the Trustees of Phillips Academy, 180 Main Street, Andover, MA 01810.

—JMB

David A. Gibson (August 16, 2010)

Classmates:

I learned from New Haven this afternoon of the death of our classmate David A. Gibson in Charlotte, NC, on August 16, 2010 after a short battle with cancer. He was surrounded by members of his family and by his long-time companion Nancy Beasley.

Dave, who was a collegiate resident of Trumbull and an American Studies major, attended the University of Virginia Law School after college and became editor-in-chief of The Virginia Law Review. After receiving his law degree and a short stint in Connecticut, he returned to his native Vermont where he practiced law from Brattleboro during a long career, which, he wrote at the time of our 50th reunion, was "rewarding—more from the perspective of helping people in need than monetarily." Aside from representing clients, Dave was a state and federal prosecuting attorney, a state senator, and since 2000, Secretary of the Vermont Senate—a position in which he followed his father and brother. Among many civic positions, he was at various times a member of the Vermont State Board of Education and of the New England Board of Higher Education. As a published obituary observed, "Throughout his career David Gibson applied his intellect with integrity, generosity, good humor and unfailing courtesy and attentiveness to all."

In addition to Nancy Beasley, Dave is survived by his four children Mark, Michael Gibson, Gibson, and Katharine and their families, his sister, Grace Newcomer, his brother, Ernest W. Gibson III, seven grandchildren, and Carmen Manas, who joined his family during her high school years. Memorial contributions in his name may be made to Grace Cottage Hospital, 185 Grafton Road, Townshend, Vermont, 05353; to the Episcopal Relief and Development, P.O. Box 7058, Merrifield, Virginia, 22116-7058; or to a local hospice.

—JMB

Folke E. Nyberg (August 15, 2010)

Classmates:

I sadly report to you the death at home in Seattle on August 15, 2010 of our classmate Folke E. Nyberg. He succumbed to prostate cancer. Born in Sweden, Folke emigrated with his family to Seattle in 1947 and from then on proved that there remains some life in the openness to talent of American culture. After graduating as co-valedictorian of his high school class, Folke attended Yale on a full scholarship and earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture. A fervent Seattlian even then, he wrote his graduate thesis on the city's Pike Place Market. After apprenticing with a number of west coast architects, Folke established his own firm, which partnered with other local architects and worked on numerous mixed-use projects. He also served as urban design section head of the City of Seattle Planning Commission. In this role, he worked with others to write the ordinances preserving Pioneer Square and the Pike Place Market, now landmarks in that city. Folke was also a Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Washington, retiring as professor emeritus. He loved to travel, both for academic and personal pursuits, and spent time designing and constructing family properties. Passionate about urban design and regionalism and an activist, we was also an avid collector of books and art. Folke was known for his an unmistakable laugh and mischievous sense of humor. An eternal optimist, he worked and created into the final months of his life. He is survived by his wife, Lisa, three children, Carl, Thea Burris, and Ingrid, two grandchildren, a sister and cousin, and family members in Sweden. A service will be held in his honor on Sunday, October 24 from 4-7 PM at the University of Washington Club in Seattle.

—JMB

Charles B. Everitt (July 11, 2010)

Classmates:

It's with a heavy heart that I write, after hearing from George Bullwinkel (earlier his Exeter friend) and Peter Robertson (earlier his Holderness classmate), that our Peter Pan, Charles B. Everitt, died at home in Manchester, MA, on July 11, 2010 from a fast advancing cancer. I think of Cheeb (or Cheebie as he was known to us at Yale) as forever young, like Puck the shrewd, mischievous elfin creature who never fails to charm and brings good luck to all. When I saw him in recent years I was always struck by how much he looked as he'd looked in college: sandy haired, those glasses, the quick smile, always dapper, clothed like a youth. But while that presentation of self might seem to be all, instead it was simply only one part of a serious, skilled professional. Along with the suaviter in modo went much fortiter in re. Cheeb attended Exeter and Holderness, then entered Yale, where he and I met in the freshman chorus, then often crossed informal paths after that even though he was across campus from me in Timothy Dwight. Out of my social league as a Fence Club member, he was nevertheless open and friendly to all, an avid skier (on and captain of the varsity ski team), and a regular on the road between New Haven and Poughkeepsie. After graduation, he entered the publishing world, where he remained all his life, characterizing it at our 50th reunion as a "stimulating, frustrating world." First at Publishers Weekly, then at Little Brown, he rose to positions of high responsibility. (I believe he was president of Little Brown but cannot confirm that.) He was then president of the Globe Pequot Press, a high quality regional publisher. Upon retiring from Globe Pequot, he turned himself into a literary agent and served many authors as their representative and prose-shaper. Fittingly, Cheebie was responsible for organizing the class's 50th reunion book display, whose record can be found on the class website (under Classmates Today). George Bullwinkel writes that Cheeb "had a devil-may-care attitude that I found enviable as well as great sense of humor with the attendant ability to not take himself too seriously. He liked to remind me that, had he not been the one to give me driving directions to Vassar, I would never have had the happy marriage that I do today. His passing has affected me in ways I had not anticipated." Perhaps it's because his death seems like the final passing of youth. In the 50th reunion book, Cheebie wrote that "what I enjoy and respect is very much a product of my family and the teachers who designed this ship of my life. Much of my education came from the profession I chose, and perhaps too little took place in my youth. If I could take those four years of Yale courses over again (maybe skipping astronomy), I would start on Monday!" Cheebie is survived by his wife Susan, his son Timothy and his wife Carter, and two granddaughters. A memorial service was held earlier.

—JMB

Robert H. MacKinnon (July 6, 2010)

Classmates:

I am deeply saddened to report, not long after reporting news of him in our class notes in the May-June 2010 issue of the YAM, that Robert H. MacKinnon died at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis on July 6, 2010 from sudden heart failure. Bob and I were warm friends throughout our college years, having met in the Freshman Glee Club, then sung together each Sunday in the Battell Chapel Choir and found ourselves fellow Branfordians. Of sunny disposition and great warmth, Bob was an outstanding student—an intensive political science major and a ranking scholar; and his voice helped fill out the Glee Club and the Augmented Seven. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he was long a partner of Shearman and Sterling, known for his strong client relationships, negotiating skills, and mentoring of younger practitioners. He played an important role in the restructuring of the Penn Central Railroad and the reorganization of Daewoo and Southmark Corporation. And he was a longtime trustee of his pre-collegiate alma mater, the Northfield Mount Hermon School. When he checked in with me earlier in the year, he wrote of his family's alternating half years in New Zealand and at Truro on the Cape, and he beckoned all of us to visit him in austral Asia. That, alas, will not now be possible.

Bob is survived by his wife Ilse, his daughter Elizabeth Henrici, his two stepchildren Chase and Peter Livingston, his brothers Richard ('60) and William ('60), his sisters Lois Davis and Jean Rogers, and six grandchildren. Contributions in Bob's memory should be sent to Northfield Mount Hermon, One Lamplighter Way, Mount Hermon, MA 01354, or to the American Heart Association at donate.americanheart.org or the American Heart Association Memorial, 1 Union Street, Suite 301, Robbinsville, NJ 08691.

—JMB

John M. "Mike" Roche (June 25, 2010)

Classmates:

I learned over the weekend from Ara Bagdasarian of the death on June 25, 2010 from the complications of Parkinson's disease of John M. "Mike" Roche. He died at home in the company of his family in Redding, CT.

Mike had a distinguished undergraduate career. He was a ranking scholar and left Yale with a a degree in electrical engineering at the top of his engineering class, "the best student," writes Ivan Selin, "in the engineering school." Immediately after graduation in 1957, Mike joined the Perkin-Elmer Corporation, for which he worked his entire career. A distinguished scientist, he was credited with several patents in the field of analytical instrumentation and wrote and co-authored several technical papers. He retired in 1995 as the vice president and general manager of the corporations' chromatography division instrument group.

A resident of Redding since 1962, Mike served his community n various capacities including long-time service on the town's zoning board of appeals.

Ivan Selin, Mike's senior-year roommate in "the best suite in TD," recalls Mike as down-to-earth. "He came to Yale for a professional education, not for grooming, finishing, or networking, and he achieved exactly what he set out to do. He was," writes Ivan, "highly focused," his relationships "serious and long lasting." That's illustrated, Ivan reflects, by his 53-year marriage to Barbara, who was Mike's fiancee in college and by the fact that "he spent his whole working life devoted to a single employer. When he graduated from Yale at the top of his peer group he moved on to the next stage of his life, never looking back." Unfortunately, muses Ivan, never looking back included his Yale friends and organizations, for "once he transferred his loyalty to his next peer group, he did so completely."

In addition to his wife Barbara, Mike is survived by six children, seven grandchildren, two sisters, and a brother. Donations in his memory may be made online to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research at www.michaeljfox.org.

—JMB

William T. "Bill" Thieme (May 30, 2010)

Classmates:

I learned this past week from John Poinier that we had lost William T. "Bill" Thieme on May 30, 2010. A native of Everett, Washington, and a star high school football player, Bill was a resident of Silliman and a zoology major at Yale. After college, he gained his medical degree at Washington University and took a residency in orthopedic medicine. After a research year in Scotland, Bill entered the practice of orthopedic surgery in Seattle in 1967 and remained in that practice until his 2001 retirement. Highly valued for his leadership, he was the head of the hip clinic at Children's Hospital, chief of surgery at Swedish and Ballard hospitals, and chief of staff at Ballard. Not limiting his life to hospital work, he was a sailor, a nationally ranked croquet player, and a woodworker. He and his wife Arrol owned a beach house at Useless Bay on Whidbey Island. In addition to Arrol, his wife of 47 years, Bill is survived by their three children Sallie Sanford, Chris Theime, and Duncan Thieme, a brother and sister, and six grandchildren. Memorial contributions in Bill's memory may be made to the Friends of the Orphans Northwest Region, 1800 112th Avenue NE, (Suite 308-E), Bellevue, WA 98004-2938.

—JMB

Michael H. Jordan (May 25, 2010)

Classmates:

Our classmate Michael H. Jordan died in Manhattan on May 25, 2010, from the complications of neuroendocrine cancer.

Born in Kansas City, Mike attended Central High School there with John Swezy, our late classmate and John's wife Peggy, who writes that, like John, Mike attended Yale on a Victor Wilson Scholarship. A resident of Saybrook and a ranking scholar in chemical engineering, after graduation Mike received a Princeton MS in the same subject, then joined the Navy where Hyman Rickover spotted him and put Mike on his staff. After naval service, Mike began his rise to posts of high corporate responsibility. From McKinsey and Company, he moved to PepsiCo in 1974 and headed the division that brought us the Frito-Lays we've come to love (if to try to stay away from). After heading PepsiCo's overseas food and beverages division and being denied the company's chairmanship, he left in 1992 to head Clayton, Dubilier, & Rice, the private equity firm. He was then tapped to pull off a tough feat—to stabilize the old industrial firm Westinghouse. This he achieved, as chairman and CEO, by transforming Westinghouse into a media company, now known as CBS, to which he changed the company's name after Westinghouse purchased CBS as part of its transformation. After internal battles there, Mike left the firm but not before proudly showing friends and others around the office he occupied in "Black Rock"—the office of CBS founder William Paley. After his time at CBS and by then known as the "turnaround king," Mike took over leadership of Electronic Data Systems in 2003 as its CEO and chairman and transformed it, too. It's testament to his success in each case that both companies were subsequently sold to other large firms after he'd reshaped them. Along the way, he also served on the boards of Dell and Aetna.

Mike was devoted to the Center for Excellence in Education, founded by Hyman Rickover, and the United Negro College Fund, on both of whose boards he sat and became chairman. He was a member of the Yale School of Management Advisory Board and Chairman of the Yale University Council Committee on Engineering and Applied Science. He also found time to serve as a member of President Clinton's Export Council and a trustee of the Brookings Institution, among other volunteer posts.

Mike was known for his photographic memory, his tight reasoning (which he attributed to his science education), his (unpublished) mystery and historical novels, and for being, as Fortune once put it, "charisma challenged." Yet roommate Charlie Carpenter insists that he was no geek. "He knew how to get along with people and persuade them to his point of view." Another roommate, Bill Carter, recalls that "Mike's memory never ceased to amaze me as he raced through his text books processing what he read with an innate ability to selectively pull up and use the information to solve complex problems. These abilities enabled him to read other books for pleasure, or to be among the first to be at the Saybrook snack bar to play some pool or watch TV or chat with friends. It seemed that I was always studying; he was always playing." Another roommate, George Reisner, relates of Mike's photographic memory that he "used to entertain us by reading a page from the New Haven phone book and repeating it from memory, a trick I heard, anecdotally, that he continued in later life." Bart Gage reports that Mike had full distance on this gift. Mike once remarked to Bart that "I am a high-priced technician. I can handle the number that no one else can." It turns out also that Mike was responsible for at least one class marriage, that of Bart to his wife Faye, when Bart agreed to be designated driver to Connecticut College and meet a blind date as compensation. Bart and Faye married in 1961."

It was inevitable that Mike would sometimes be confused with the other Michael Jordan, with whom, it turns out, he once appeared in a public service announcement for the United Negro College Fund. Our own Michael gave up basket after basket to the other one; but those were no doubt staged shots, for Bill Carter also reports that Mike "liked to work out at the gym, where his boney, sharp elbows were well known on the intramural basketball floor." But then perhaps his trouncing was inevitable for, as George Reisner comments, while loving sports Mike "was not the most coordinated person. When I received my NROTC sword prior to graduation, he immediately decided to demonstrate the manual of sword to us, receiving a small but lifelong scar when he nicked his eyebrow." But about that Jordan-Jordan staged ad, it's not recorded whether the taller of the two Michael's ever appeared in an ad for Electronic Data Systems. Probably not. If he had, it's unlikely that he would have been pictured turning the company around and watching it be sold to Hewlett-Packard for $13.9 billion.

Mike is survived by his wife, Hilary Cecil-Jordan; his children, Kathryn Donaldson, Stephen Jordan, Francesca and Alexander Cecil, his daughter-in-law, Jamie Gomez; his grandchildren, Hayley, AlekSandra, Clare and Iain Donaldson, and Damian and Elena Jordan. A celebration of Mike's life will be held at 4:00pm on Monday, June 14, 2010, at St. James Episcopal Church, 865 Madison Avenue, New York. There will also be a service on Monday, June 7, 2010, at the Church of the Incarnation, 3966 McKinney Avenue, Dallas, at 4:00pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the Center for Excellence in Education, 8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 215, McLean, VA 22102, or to the United Negro College Fund, 8260 Willow Oaks Corporate Drive, P. O. Box 10444, Fairfax, VA 22031.

—JMB

William O. Mashburn III (May 6, 2010)

Classmates:

I have received word from Bob Goering that William O. Mashburn III died at home in Cincinnati on May 6, 2010. A graduate of Cincinnati Country Day School as well as of Yale, Bill stated upon graduation that he was going to enter the Coca-Cola bottling business, which apparently he did without a second thought, because before too long he was president of the Cleveland Coca-Cola Bottling company. Finding that not enough, he bought Randall Food Products, of which he was majority owner and CEO at the time of his death. He was an avid boater and fisherman as well as a president of the Cincinnati Yale Club. Bill was characterized by his daughter Meredith Keating as "steady as a ship" and someone who "loved his schools." In addition to Meredith, Bill is survived by his wife Jane, daughter Kendall, son William, and two stepdaughters. Contributions in his memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, Southwest Regional Office, 2808 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH 45206, or to the Ohio River Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, 7124 Miami Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45243.

—JMB

Lester Perry Philp, Jr. (February 17, 2010)

Classmates:

I have just received word from Yale of the death on February 17, 2010, of our classmate Lester Perry Philp, Jr., in Chatham or Madison, NJ. I have been unable to reach Perry's two living roommates or any others who knew him to fill out a sketch of his life beyond what I have learned from a published obituary. After Yale, where he majored in economics and was a resident of Davenport, Perry served in the U.S. Army and then earned an MBA from NYU. After working at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, he spent 25 years at Bankers Trust. Until recent years, he then ran LPP Associates, which specialized in tax and financial planning. Following his earlier days as a member of the Yale freshman chorus, Perry long sang in church and was active in his community. He is survived by Margaret, his wife of 48 years, their sons Eric and David and their families, and a sister and brother. Donations in Perry's memory may be made to RISE, c/o CUMC, 460 Main Street, Chatham, NJ 07928, or to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Donor Services, PO Box 4072, Pittsfield, MA 01202.

—JMB

L. Guy Palmer II (January 16, 2010)

Classmates:

I have the sad responsibility of reporting to you the death on January 16th of L. Guy Palmer II. Guy died in his sleep in Savannah, Georgia after suffering for many years, writes Jack Pendergast, "from the disabilities to which he finally succumbed but without complaint and without losing his sense of humor." Raised in Sudbury, Massachusetts and a graduate before Yale of Williston Academy, Guy in college was an American Studies major, a Trumbull roommate of Jack Pendergast, Lou DeLuca, and the late Pete Fritzsche, and a member of Skull and Bones. After Army service, Guy entered the investment business and remained there throughout his life, first as the founder in 1966 and president of Davis, Palmer, and Biggs in New York, then in a succession of posts in firms incorporated into larger ones or within corporations like General Motors. In 1996, he was founding partner in Chatham Capital Group in Savannah. But his life did not stop at the borders of his work life. He was a member of many charitable and educational boards, for a long time especially of the Charles A. Dana Foundation. He was also devoted to his Williston alma mater, on whose board he sat and from which he received its highest recognition, the Distinguished Service Award. In addition to being an avid golfer, he was also a serious oenophile and was inducted into the Chevaliers du Tastevin by the order's Grand Master. Jack writes that Guy was "extremely generous, not only to the institutions he was close to, but also to his friends. He was a man of faith and an exemplary family man." Not only that, reports Jack. "Guy could also turn mixing martinis (or was it manhattans?) with a putter in a ten gallon milk can into a dignified ritual." I regret that I never saw that demonstration or tasted the fruits thereof. Lou reports that he attended Guy's Savannah funeral "where his wife June, five children and brother Bill gave him loving tributes—remembering his baseball, bridge and golf prowess, generosity, succinct and valuable advice to any request, his dedication to and excellence in his profession and his fun loving spirit that was ever present in his eyes and manner. And while," Lou continues, "Guy did not suffer we Democrats lightly, he would always talk through issues, ask great questions and listen carefully. Our friendship was made stronger because of his openness, curiosity and respect for our differences" Guy is survived by his wife June, their five children, and a brother. A memorial service is scheduled for June in Pelham Manor, New York, Contributions in Guy's memory may be made in his name to the Mayo Clinic, 4500 San Pablo Road, Jacksonville, FL 32224.

—JMB

Richard C. Bull (January 10, 2010)

Classmates:

I have very belated word just in that Richard C. Bull died in Chardon, Ohio on January 10, 2010. Little information about Dick, who was not listed in our graduation book, exists in the class's possession, nor is there any in a published obituary. He is survived by his wife, Joan, their son Richard and daughter Marilynn Duke, grandchildren, and a great grandchild. Contributions in his memory may go to The Cleveland Playhouse, 8500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44109 or to the Cleveland Zoological Society, 3900 Wildlife Way, Cleveland, OH 44109.

—JMB

Alexander "Pooch" Smallens, Jr. (September 28, 2009)

Classmates:

I write with the sad news, sent to me by Phil Derby and Tom Quirk and confirmed by his son Sandy, that Alexander "Pooch" Smallens, Jr., died peacefully surrounded by his family and loved ones on September 28, 2009 at his home in White Plains, NY. He had battled multiple sclerosis for over forty years but succumbed to multiple myeloma after a three-year illness. The son of noted conductor Alexander Smallers and composer-violinist Ruth White Smallens and a graduate of Exeter, Pooch devoted much time at Yale to WYBC. Not surprisingly, he then spent much of his career as a broadcasting executive with CBS and ABC Radio. Although forced into early retirement due to his illness, he made an indelible mark on the radio industry. He was a pioneer in the development of music programming on the FM dial and was also instrumental in the creation of the first FM network. His son Sandy describers his father as "filled with unconditional love, music (from classical to the Clash), and joie de vivre." Alex, as he was known after Yale, is survived by his wife Timmi, who devoted a lifetime caring for him. his daughter Meredith Smallens Lonner '83, of Scarsdale, NY, and his son Sandy Smallens '87 of Yonkers, NY, as well as five musical grandchildren. Donations in Alex's memory may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society: http://www. nationalmssociety.org/donate/index.aspx.

—JMB

Randolph "Randy" Rogers (September 20, 2009)

Classmates:

I have learned today from his brother Hawley Rogers '60 of the death on September 20, 2009, of Randolph "Randy" Rogers after a long illness. Randy entered Yale with the class of 1955, and then, after serving in the US Navy as a hospital corpsman for two years, re-entered with our class. By then he was married and living in Stamford, CT, from where he commuted while holding down two, sometimes three, jobs. A long-time employee of the 3M Company, Randy served on the board of representatives of Stamford as chair of its fiscal committee, and he was chair of the parish counsel at Holy Spirit School in Stamford. Described by his brother as a "voracious reader, amateur historian, raconteur, and devoted family man," Randy is survived his wife Noreen and children Peggyann Diaz, Brian, William, John, and Timothy Rogers, as well as by his brother and 14 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Two daughters predeceased him. Memorial donations may be made to Save the Children, Westport, CT or the Richard L. Rosenthal Hospice Residence of Stamford.

—JMB

John Grider Miller (August 31, 2009)

Classmates:

I have the sad duty of conveying news of the sudden death on August 31, 2009 of John Grider Miller in Annapolis, MD.

John, the son (like his surviving wife Susan the daughter) of a Naval Academy graduate, followed a career path distinctive in our class. After graduating with a degree in English, he was commissioned a Marine officer and, like perhaps only two or three members of the class (Bill Dabney and Al Jerman come quickly to mind), spent his entire career in the Corps and, after his retirement, worked in close conjunction with it. After early service in California and Okinawa, John served two tours in Vietnam, first as commander of a rifle company, in his second tour as advisor to the Vietnam Marine Corps. He was, as our most highly decorated military veteran Bill Dabney and a close friend who served with John in Vietnam, describes him "a perceptive realist about the future of the war and of Vietnam itself." Bill recalls two salient points about John's thinking: "first, that the Vietnam War was morally just but strategically flawed (in that we were trying to help a "little guy" with not much in it for us even if we won, but were doomed to failure by our sensible reticence to challenge the Red Chinese Army by invading North Vietnam), and second, that regardless of our personal opinions about the rightness of our cause or the prospects of success, we Marine officers had a duty to provide the best leadership available to the troops whom our politicians had committed to the fight and who, because of the draft, had no choice. It was in that spirit that he had volunteered for his second combat tour." After battlefield duty, John served as principal speechwriter for three successive Commandants of the Marine Corps and commanded an infantry battalion in North Carolina and the Mediterranean Sea. His final overseas tour was as operations officer of Marine Corps forces in the western Pacific and Indian Ocean areas. John retired in 1985, at the rank of colonel, as Deputy director of Marine Corps History after 28 years of active service. He was, as Dick Jones terms him, "an exemplary Marine and patriot."

After retirement, John began the second phase of a distinguished career. He became managing editor of the U. S. Naval Institute's Proceedings and naval history magazines, a post he held for 15 years. Among his many accomplishments in that post, he published Tom Clancy's first novel The Hunt for Red October (which, he later admitted, was "not a good fit" for the U. S. Naval Institute.) John, the recipient of many rewards for his writing and service to the Corps, was himself the author of many books—the best known perhaps The Bridge at Dong Ha—and at the time of his death was working on a history of the Marine Corps Barracks in Washington, the oldest post of the Corps.

Many recall John as a wordsmith, a singer with a booming voice, and a man with an infectious laugh. Ted Vlamis, a college roommate, describes him when best man at his wedding as "calm, cool, and collected," a widely agree-on characterization of the man.

John is survived by his wife of 34 years, Susan Bailey Miller, and by a brother, a son, two daughters and four grandchildren. Interment with full military honors will take place at Arlington National Cemetery on October 27 at 3 PM. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to the Music Fund at Calgary United Methodist Church, 301 Rowe Blvd., Annapolis, MD 21401 or the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, 3800 Fittler Park Drive, Suite 104, Dumfries, VA 22025.

—JMB

Ivan H. Wolpaw (August 11, 2009)

Classmates:

I have sad news from Don Lowe that his roommate and our classmate Ivan H. Wolpaw died on August 11, 2009 of a drug resistant staph infection while in the hospital for routine surgery. A native of Cleveland, Ivan seems to have spent most of his life in or near that city. While he left little information with the class, Don writes that Ivan attended Case Western Reserve Law School after graduating from Yale as a member of Saybrook and that he spent most of his career as a title examiner, first with a firm, then independently, specializing in foreclosed commercial property. He pursued theater as an avocation and acted often in and around Cleveland. He is survived by his four children Erik, Deidre, Heath, and Alec. Memorial contributions in Ivan's memory can be made to Dobama Theatre, 2340 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118.

—JMB

Gene L. Tunney (August 9, 2009)

Classmates:

I have recently learned of the death on August 9, 2009 of our classmate Gene L. Tunney. He died at his home on Tiburon Island, Marin County, California, of complications of cancer.

I suspect that few classmates knew Gene. He joined our class, after having served in the armed forces, at a later age than most of us and was not listed in our class book of 1957. He reported no news for class reunion books and did not maintain association with the class. I knew Gene through his brother John (known in undergraduate years as Varick), who was, like I, a member of St. Anthony Hall. An imposing figure (presumably like his boxer father), Gene was, when I knew him, a quiet, thoughtful, solid character, whom one of his later professional associates termed "a bulldog with a heart of gold." That is how I recall him, although I never saw him after 1957. Following graduation, Gene earned a law degree at the University of San Francisco and then entered criminal practice. After serving in the public defender's office, he became an early champion of the victims of crime and rose quickly and steadily in Sonoma County to the post of county district attorney, an elective post. He professionalized his office over 20 years of leadership between 1974 and 1994, co-founded the California District Attorney's Association, and became known as a mentor to countless attorneys, judges, and public officials. Described as having a bit of a "Jack London quality" to him, he was adventurous, well-read, witty, and a noted family man. Gene is survived by his wife Ann of 49 years, his daughters Kelly, Megan, and Erin, his son Gene, his brothers John and Jay, and many grandchildren. Memorial contributions in Gene's memory may be made to Hospice by the Bay Marin, 17 E. Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Larkspur, CA 94939.

—JMB

Robert R. "Randy" Hare (July 3, 2009)

Classmates:

I have just learned belatedly of the death on July 3, 2009, of Robert R. "Randy" Hare at his home in Framingham, MA. I am reliant for what information I have about Randy on a published obituary, for there is no information in our reunion books about him. After graduating with us as a resident of Davenport and roommate of Phil Freytag, Randy served in the US Army, received an MBA from Harvard, and worked as a financial analyst for Raytheon Corporation until his retirement. He is described in his obituary as having been a "virtuoso pianist and talented painter, an avid poker player, an outstanding bridge and chess player, and a regular attendee of grayhound races." John Resnick, confirming Randy's skills at the card table, writes about him as follows: "Randy was my bridge partner in college. Senior year eight of us took over the top floor above the York Street entrance to Davenport. We jokingly called ourselves the Davenport Bridge and Lawn Tennis Association. We didn't play tennis, but did play plenty of bridge. We would finish late evening, and Randy would go off to a high-stakes poker game. As most of us were getting up for breakfast, he was coming back with his winnings for the night. I think he sent himself through college playing poker. Along about the middle of senior year, he got a letter from his father inquiring why Randy hadn't asked him for money for the past couple of years; Randy sent him a check." I can find only that Randy is survived by his daughter Elizabeth Gallucci and son Bruce Hare.

—JMB

Vishnudev Pratt (April 29, 2009)

Classmates:

I have just received word from Yale that our classmate Vishnudev Pratt, formerly John Lockwood Pratt III, died in Woodbridge, New York, on April 29, 2009. His family was by his side. Vishnudev had one of the more distinct life paths in our class, of which he wrote to me a few years ago and about which I reported to the class in class notes. Until the mid 1970s, he led what might be called a conventional life, although he devoted himself even here to unusual causes in unusual ways. Schooled at Punahoe School in Hawaii and St. Albans in Washington, he attended Yale with us although it is not clear that he graduated with us. (No sketch of him is to be found in our graduation book.) He probably received his undergraduate degree from Penn, where he studied with Carlton Coon and Clyde Kluckhohn. Vishnudev then attended and received his medical degree from Penn, where he later taught and conducted research into bone growth, even patenting a device to help understand cranial development. He served in the army at NATO headquarters in France and in the reserves in Virginia upon his return. While living in Philadelphia, he devoted himself to a wide range of philanthropic activities. He founded a swim club open to everyone in West Philadelphia, organized a non-violent watch group to aid in reducing crime, and worked with his children's school to return it to fiscal solidity. With his wife Denny, he organized medical aid to Vietnam, traveled to Hanoi, and helped rebuild Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi in 1973. In 1976, Visnudev met Swami Muktananda, the Siddha Yoga meditation master (who bestowed his new name on the classmate who had previously been John Pratt). Shortly thereafter, he left teaching to dedicate himself to a spiritual journey and moved to New York State with his family to be near his teacher. There, he pursued study of the teachings of his new path and dedicated the rest of his life to them. Vishnudev is survived by his former wife Denny and their four children Akka, John, Stephanie Arvey, and Jennifer, as well as by his sister and grandchildren. Contributions in Vishnudev's memory may be made to the SYDA Foundation, PO Box 600, South Fallsburg, NY 12779.

—JMB

Este Fisher "Pat" Hollyday (April 21, 2009)

Classmates:

Our classmates Este Fisher "Pat" Hollyday died at home in Nashville, TN, on April 21, 2009, presumably (from what I can infer from what he wrote for our 50th reunion) from complications of prostate cancer. A graduate of Gilman and a resident of Silliman, he intended to be and was throughout his life a geologist, working with the U.S. Geological Survey and specializing in hydrology and remote sensing, about which he wrote many scientific studies. A long-time Nashville resident, Pat was devoted to his state and community. He organized the first Tennessee Hydrology Symposium, wrote a geology trail guide for a city park, and was an elder of his church. In his 50th reunion sketch, Pat rued the intrusion of politics into science and hoped for a return to "a comprehensive respect for complete and accurate reporting of scientific investigations." Pat is survived by his wife Susan and their children Marian Tidwell, Heather Mixon, and David Hollyday. Memorial contributions in his memory may be made to Southminster Presbyterian Church, 643 Harding Place, Nashville, TN 37211, and the Friends of Warner Parks, 50 Vaughn Road, Nashville, TN 37221.

—JMB

Joe D. Clayton (April 18, 2009)

Classmates:

This is to convey the sad news that our classmate Joe D. Clayton died yesterday, April 18, 2009, in Labanon, New York, of complications from cancer. His wife Denise and two of his three children were at his side. Joe had been suffering from melanoma for some time but characteristically bore his affliction with great equanimity and thoughtfulness to all around him.

Born in Sentinel, Oklahoma, Joe entered Yale as what Bud Trillin reminds me was called a "brown shoe" boy—someone, like Bud, from a public high school. Although he quickly lost his native Oklahoma moniker, on matriculating he was first known as Joe Don. Those of us who knew him in college identified him early with music, starting in the Freshman Glee Club. He and I also sang together in the Battell Chapel Choir, after which he moved on to the presidency of the Yale Glee Club and, as it was hard not to know, sang as tenor with the Whiffs. Hank Conlan, a lifelong friend, writes that he "first met Joe when we were assigned to the Freshman Commons into the care of that wonderful martinet, Janet, to wrap and disburse silverware for our classmates during breakfast. This was our bursary job to earn part of our Yale scholarship. We immediately realized that we were way out of our depth technically, so we took to doing what we subsequently did for the next four years, we sang to our classmates as they passed our way with scrambled eggs and mystery meat on their trays." Joe retained his love of and involvement in music throughout his life, carrying on his license plate, Tom Perkins informs me, the telltale identifier "Mozart."

After college, from which he graduated as a history major, on a Keasbey Scholarship Joe attended New College, Oxford, from which he received a doctorate. At Oxford, he received the Gladstone Memorial Prize for his doctoral work, Gladstone as Parliamentarian. After that, he attended Yale Law School. After starting out at Davis, Polk & Wardwell, Joe joined the firm of Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon as partner, then moved to White & Case, from which he retired in 1999. During his career he focused on innovative financing structures for large industrial projects such as mining assets, transmission lines, and power plants.

Those of us who knew Joe valued him and his friendship for all sorts of reasons: his intelligence, his quiet humor, and his modesty. Hank Conlan writes that "Joe was an interesting blend of Oakie and Oxford held together by the glue of Yale. He was a fun-loving intellectual who always retained the ability to laugh at himself and the world. He was also a gourmand of no mean talent. We both attended L'Ecole gastronomique francaise at the Ritz Hotel in Paris to celebrate our 60th birthdays together after which we ate our way through Provence and La Cote d'Azur with our wives Getty and Dee. You just couldn't have had more fun during those days together. Some might call them our halcyon days, but I prefer 'salad days' for obvious reasons."

Joe is survived by his wife, Denise Crimmins Clayton, and their three children, Thomas Armstrong of Rye, NY, Katherine Parsons of Bethesda, MD, and Andrew Crimmins of Hong Kong, as well as by five grandchildren and a brother. A service in Joe's memory will take place in June.

—JMB

Charles D. (Dan) Wolverton, Jr. (February 10, 2009)

Classmates:

I have just learned from New Haven of the death on February 10, 2009 of Charles D. (Dan) Wolverton, Jr. Dan died at his home in New London, CT, the city of his birth and where he appears to have spent most of his life, of unspecified causes. Unfortunately, I can learn little of his life and career. He reported nothing for class reunion books. A resident of Davenport, he majored in mechanical engineering and, working, as one of his roommates, Wade Covill confirms, at the Electric Boat Company, apparently pursued work in that profession throughout his life. Another roommate, Andy Glass, recalls Dan as quiet and studious. He was involved locally with historical societies and other charitable enterprises and enjoyed model building and model railroading as diversions. Dan is survived only by five first cousins. He had no immediate family.

—JMB

Clarence E. (Ren) Zimmerman (January 12, 2009)

Classmates:

I have the sad news from Joe Clayton, subsequently confirmed by Simon Zimmerman Y'54, that our classmate Clarence E. "Ren" Zimmerman died of pancreatic cancer in Brookline, MA, on January 12th. He had been diagnosed in December, and the disease quickly took its course. Fortunately, Ren died painlessly in his sleep at home.

Ren was a graduate of Lawrenceville and Harvard Medical School, with Yale (Berkeley, Scroll and Key, Glee Club) sandwiched in between. Professionally a surgeon, he was long associated with Boston's Beth Israel Hospital, whose transplant program he directed, and as a surgeon with the Harvard Community Health Program, an early HMO, in Boston. He was also a member of the surgery faculty at the Harvard Medical School and the author of research articles and a book. In his 50th reunion reflections, Ren, always witty and consistently on the conservative side of the spectrum, wrote thus, among other matters, about his work: "Being of solid if not stolid Mennonite heritage, I assumed that [Beth Israel and the Harvard Health Program] were some sort of pinko wedge organizations in the great liberal conspiracy for socialized medicine. But I needed the money. I worked for them, mostly at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, for the following 30 years until retirement in 2000. And I was wrong."

While those of us who knew Ren associated him with music, even those of us who never knew him knew his voice, for his was the enviably deep bass in the Whiffs (as it was when he spoke). And when we were delighted by the group's songs we were delighted by him. He was also a pianist all his life and at one point was on the board of overseers of the Boston Baroque, the nation's first all-baroque orchestra. He also collected 18th-century American furniture and Mayan art and epigraphy, about which he wrote critically. "It was a jolt," he reported at our 50th about his shift of focus from medicine to glyph decipherment, "to go from 'Yes doctor, No, doctor,' to 'Who the hell are you?' But I persisted...and a paper is about to be published."

Ren is survived by his companion Marian Marill, two daughters (another having predeceased him), and four siblings. A private service was held in January.

—JMB

Randers H. Heimer (November 4, 2008)

Classmates:

I've learned from Ray Lamontagne of the death of Randers H. Heimer on November 4, 2008. A graduate of Andover, Randy roomed with Bob Pelletreau and Shelby Tucker in freshman year. He was then a member of Silliman, of Deke, and of the varsity baseball team, rooming with Goey Franciscus, King Cross (both now deceased), and Frank Brown until he withdrew from Yale in 1956. He subsequently graduated from Berkeley in 1957. His career was spent in the advertising business in New York, where he rose to be senior vice president of Benton & Bowles. He is survived by his wife Judith, with whom he maintained a second home in Wainscott on the tip of Long Island.

In an exchange of correspondence two years ago at the time of King Cross's death, Randy wrote modestly of his "inauspicious withdrawal" from Yale while warmly relating his enduring ties to the university, to his many friends, and to the class through membership in the Yale Club and his playing squash there "when the legs were still functioning in the name of youth." He also related hi-jinks with his roommates smuggling young women from Connecticut College in and out of their Silliman window and ordering in beer and hamburgers from George and Harry's nearby while "never being caught." The irrepressible Shelby Tucker relates what he says is a typical story of Randy and his friends: "A few hours before an English final I 'disclosed' that I knew the exam question. 'I can't tell you what it is,' I continued as Randy's eyes widened, 'because you'll tell Goey, he'll tell Frank, and soon everybody will know.' He pledged secrecy, and I 'relented' - 'Discuss the significance of whiteness in The Canterbury Tales.' Randy was my athletic inferior in one vital way: I could run faster. He rose like Poseidon from the sea when the exam ended and chased me across the campus. It is a mark of his greatness that he forgave me for this terrible prank." Shelby also writes that "Randy battled prostate cancer for the last twenty years of his life....the grim story of these last years. Yet not once in our occasional meetings and many telephone conversations did he hint of discomfort or sorrow," an observation confirmed by another from Bob Pelletreau. "He was a great man," writes Shelby, "a wonderful, dear friend, and we shall miss him."

—JMB

Keene Taylor (October 19, 2008)

Classmates:

Our classmate Keene Taylor died of lung cancer at his family's second home in Guilford, CT, on October 19, 2008. After schooling at St. Paul's, at Yale Keene was a resident of Silliman with roommates Brad Lovejoy and Tony Marshall, a member of Wolf's Head, and a chemical engineering major. A shortie in physical stature but not in character, Keene was coxswain on the varsity crew (although not a member of the legendary Olympic crew of 1956). After being in the engineering world for roughly 20 years, in 1980 he and his wife Nancy opened what became one of Washington's most esteemed real estate brokerage firms; and despite occasionally announcing that he was stepping back from involvement in residential realty, he remained active with the firm and its work into the last months of his life.

Keene's death is a heavy blow to me, for Keene and I struck up a friendship no later than the second week of freshman year, when we found ourselves sitting next to each other in the basic chemistry course, through which we laughed and groaned as we struggled to wrestle a subject in which he was better than I to the ground. It did our friendship, although perhaps not our moods, much good that early each Saturday morning that first fall (for an 8 a.m. class) we together faced the grim necessity of trudging up Science Hill in the increasing cold before our liberation to the busses at Phelps Gate and the antics of the stands at Yale Bowl. As Keene wrote in our 50th reunion book, he forever regretted his chemical engineering major, despite that particular faculty's quality, and his not having pursued an arts and sciences course of study. He however made up for his felt lack of undergraduate exposure to the liberal arts with wide, absorbed reading thereafter. He was surely one of the best read and thoughtful realtors I have ever known, perhaps the best read ever known in this city of political junkies. His knowledge of realty and the economy was wide ranging, as evinced by his reflections about it at our periodic Washington lunches. But most of all, it was his sense of humor and his laughter—a cross between a giggle and an explosion of mirth—that seemed his most endearing characteristic. He took little on faith and was always amused by the foibles of the world. All should be as balanced and skeptical as Keene was.

Keene is survived by his beloved wife and professional partner Nancy, by their four children Keene Jr., Lawrence, Jessica Benoliel, and Eleanor, and by eight grandchildren. Keene having died in a room that looked out upon the waters of Long Island Sound that he so cherished, his ashes were spread on those waters in his family's presence. A memorial service in Keene's memory will take place at noon on Friday, November 21, at All Saints Church, 3 Chevy Chase Circle, Chevy Chase, MD, followed by a reception at Columbia Country Club, 7900 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase. Memorial gifts in his memory may go in his name to National Public Radio, 635 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 (www.npr.org) and to the Connecticut Hospice, 100 Double Beach Road, Branford, CT 06405 (www.hospice.com/cthospice).

—JMB

John R. Peters, Jr. (October 6, 2008)

Classmates:

As I briefly reported earlier, we have learned of the death on October 6, 2008, of John R. Peters, Jr., in Edgard, LA after an almost seven-month battle with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, "a vicious kind of leukemia," writes his Calhoun roommate and long-time friend Phil Weymouth, "[that] took its sweet time in bringing this noble warrior to his knees." John roomed not only with Phil but with John Stockwell and John Barrett, again writes Phil, "for three glorious and fun-filled years." Andy Glass, a freshman roommate, recalls John as "a laid back charmer, a scion of the Louisiana gentry of the certain type, I rather imagine, that is no longer attracted to Yale nor Yale to the spieces. He went out for football in his freshman year and was headed for a varsity berth as a lineman when he broke his ankle in practice" [this a fact recalled also by others, including Peter Greer]. The kind soul that I remembered from 1953 was still much in evidence at our 50th reunion." John Harrison writes of John Peters having had "a distinguished career as a trial lawyer specializing in matters like offshore oil litigation and being very much a part of Old New Orleans (Mardi Gras, etc)." Pete Greer recalls John as "fun and funloving with an earthy Lousiana humor that came to the fore in most encounters." John's wife Ann has written me that "Johnny, so very proud of his Yale education, was a wonderful person, a brilliant attorney, loving father and stepfather, and for me, the best husband and friend I could ever hope to have."

—JMB

Philip M. Lynch (September 29, 2008)

Classmates:

Our classmate Philip M. Lynch died in Cleveland on September 29, 2008 of complications from a series of illnesses from which he had been suffering, as those who knew and saw him were aware, for some time. Those illnesses did not however stop him. Not only did he attend his 50th Yale reunion and 55th Scarsdale HS reunion, he also showed up, direct from Singapore, to attend a memorial celebration of Bob Joost's life in Washington last spring.

A graduate of Scarsdale High School and one of the youngest members of his class there, as at Yale, at college, rooming with the late Peter Morse and John Onderdonk, he took an intensive major in philosophy, was a ranking scholar, and spent his junior year in Geneva. A world traveler all his life and a classicist, he spoke a number of languages fluently (including, Elaine Economides Joost reports, Greek well enough to put her skills in that tongue into the shade). Known for his wide learning, Phil brought extensive knowledge to bear on everything he did.

Some years ago, Phil formed Northern Technologies International Corporation and served from 1979 as its chairman and CEO until retiring in 2005 as chairman emeritus. He was also executive vice president of Inter Alia Holding Company, a financial and management consulting firm. His investment activities took him to Russia, Asia, and many other regions.

Those well acquainted with Phil testify to his great generosity. For instance, in Scarsdale he was known, as Merrell Clark and Jerry Jones write, for his help in making it possible for classmates who could not attend class reunions for financial reasons to do so. In Cleveland he was equally generous.

Phil is survived by his wife Juliane and their children Sarah, Patrick, and Jennifer. The family asks that any contributions in Phil's memory be made to the Srinivasan Charitable Trust through Irina Roytman (IRoytman@ntic.com).

—JMB

John P. Swezy (July 4, 2008)

Classmates:

I write with news of the death on July 4, 2008, of John P. Swezy, in Morris, Illinois. John died, as I gather from comments in our 50th reunion book, from the complications of kidney disease. After schooling in Kansas City, John was with us for freshman year only—"one stop," he reflected in the reunion book, "above a subway alumnus." He then returned to the midwest and spent his career with engineering firms, especially the Bimet Corporation, of which he rose to vice president before joining another firm, where he worked until 2004. During his career as draftsman and engineer, he involved himself with product safety issues and held some patents.

John was deeply involved in the work of his church and community, where he served seven terms as ward alderman and was a member of the its riverfront commission. A board member of the Morris Hospital Foundation, he was also an avid auto racing fan, free-lance writer, and story teller.

John is survived by his wife, Peggy, whom he married in 1954, four sons (John, Jr., Mark, Tim, and Daniel), eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Contributions in John's memory may be made to the Future Projects Fund of the First Christian Church in Morris or too the Morris Hospital Foundation.

—JMB

Henry E. Payne III (June 27, 2008)

Classmates:

I convey sad word that Henry E. Payne III died at home on June 27, 2008, his family by his side, after an extended illness. A resident of Saybrook, Henry was from the start pointed to a life in engineering. He earned an engineering degree at Yale, then graduate engineering degrees at Princeton and West Virginia Institute of Technology. As early as 1959, he had formed his own company, Payne Engineering, which provided innovative technologies to industry and the government over the years in high technology materials and solid-state power controls. Holding many patents himself, Henry led his company in the production of many devices that contributed to submarine balance, deep earth stimulators, and NASA launch pads and moon exploration. Along the way, he also spearheaded the Bellanca Skyrocket Airplane Project, which still holds five world speed records. As if this were not enough, he co-founded a newspaper, was a sports car racer, and long wrote a column for Charleston, WV, newspapers. He also served as trustee of the Woodberry Forest School, his pre-collegiate alma mater, and of West Virginia Institute of Technology. Henry is survived by his wife of 47 years, Constance, his son Henry, his daughter Priscilla, grandchildren, and siblings. Donations in his memory may be made to the First Presbyterian Church, 16 Leon Sullivan Way, Charleston, WV 25301; Woodberry Forest School, Woodberry Forest, VA 22989; Duke University Bone Marrow Research Center, 2400 Pratt Street, Durhan, NC 27705; or Hospice Care, 1143 Dunbar Avenue, Dunbar, WV 25064.

—JMB

Peter V. Andes (June 21, 2008)

Classmates:

I add to this week's earlier obituary another depressing report, this time of the death of Peter V. Andes, presumably in New York City, on 21 June 2008. The cause of his death is unknown. From Carl Myrus and Art Diefendorf comes information that Peter roomed in Wright Hall freshman year with Jim Rayen, with whom he later roomed in Trumbull. I also learn from Carl and from John Copelin that after graduation Peter studied in the School of Architecture (class of 1960) without completing his degree. Following that, he worked for Knoll International. Beyond that, nothing more about Peter is now known.

—JMB

Michael S. Kohn (2008)

Classmates:

I convey news, and only brief news learned by Bern Kosto and confirmed by Talbott Huey, of the death sometime in 2008 of Michael S. Kohn. We have little information about Mike since his graduation from Yale. After gaining a medical degree from the Einstein College of Medicine in 1961, he practiced family medicine on Long Island until his retirement to Tuscon with his wife Carol. There appears to have been no published obituary.

—JMB

Edmund P. (Pete) Smith (June 4, 2008)

Classmates:

I have just learned of the death on June 4, 2008 of our classmate Edmund P. (Pete) Smith in Bozeman, Montana. So distinctive is the published obituary (source unknown) that I have received from New Haven that I simply crib liberally from it. Pete seems to have cherished words that went roughly like this to characterize a life well lived: "Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting 'Holy shit. What a ride!'" You can see why. After Yale (Davenport non-resident, Zeta Psi, Sports Car Club, early marriage), he was briefly an investment banker, then for five years raced Formula Ford cars (with some big game hunting, clay fowl shooting, and upland bird potshotting here and there), then tried (apparently unsuccessfully) to form a company in Italy to harvest olives, and finally lived and worked in Belgium for a family company until his retirement. Then he and his wife Renee, whom he married in 1992 and who predeceased him, roamed the US in a camper trying to find their preferred place to settle, which was Bozeman. Diagnosed with Parkinson in 1999, "he didn't change much over the years; he simply got a little more potent." Known for his friendship, food, and single malt scotch and fine bourbon, his biggest disappointment "was that his Bozeman friends were too much like the Puritans of New England and his swimming pool did not get to see enough of them." Pete is survived by his children David Smith, Laura Shermer, Daniel Smith, and Suzanne Smith, a brother and sister, and grandchildren. Memorial contributions in his name may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (www.michaeljfox.org); the American Parkinson's Disease Association (Attn: Lydia), 500 15th Avenue S., Great Falls, MT 59405; or Gallatin Sporting Clays, PO Box 3483, Bozeman, MT 59772-3483.

—JMB

William O. (Don) Miller (May 27, 2008)

Classmates:

I sadly write with the news of the death on May 27, 2008 of William O. "Don" Miller in Crisfield, Maryland. Don, a member of Davenport in college and of Fence Club, the Elizabethan Club, and Manuscript and a roommate of Hal Gulliver, was an All American swimmer. Since Yale, there has been little information about or from him. He reflected thoughtfully in a number of reunion books about his commitment to the betterment of the world, a growing philosophical resignation to its ills, and an appreciation of what his undergraduate education had given him. But of specific information about his career and other activities, there is little. Phil Pillsbury, a fellow resident of Davenport, writes that "Don's knowledge was wide and deep; he never wore it on his sleeve and always showed interest in the thoughts and feelings of others. I remember him as a person with a truly engaging sense of humor, a wit that could disarm and diffuse and embrace those with whom he was speaking." Phil goes on to say that Don"is another example of a man with whom I wish I had maintained more contact over the years—something that is becoming distressingly familiar." Don is survived by two sons, Timothy and Caleb.

—JMB

Richard P. Lewis (May 18, 2008)

Classmates:

I write with the sad news of the death on May 18, 2008, of Richard P. Lewis, in Columbus, Ohio. Dick had been ill only briefly before his death. A distinguished physician who spent much of his career as a cardiologist at the Ohio State University College of Medicine, he was also a long-serving member of the Army Medical Corps and Army Reserves, in which he rose to the rank of colonel. At Ohio State, he directed, greatly expanded, and strengthened its division of cardiology and made authoritative contributions to his specialty as teacher, surgeon, and author. Dick was noted especially for his advances in medical education. His published obituary notes that "although a native Oregonian, he loved Columbus and was a true Buckeye at heart." It also notes that he was "an avid, if frequently frustrated, golfer"—a condition he no doubt shared with many of his classmates.

Pierre Bouscaren, along with George Doty and Ron Ragen a roommate of Dick in Timothy Dwight, recalls the kind of friendships that were so important to us all—visits to each other's native cities and families, recreation as well as study together, and bonds that endured through life. "As far as I can remember," writes Pierre, "Dick never knew a person who didn't like him. He smiled easily and laughed readily. He was as about as loyal a friend as one could have and the kind of fellow whom you could meet after decades of neglect and feel as though it were just last week. Once his friend, always his friend." Ron, Dick's classmate at Portland's Lincoln High School, characterizes his old friend as "almost like a brother to me. He was a formidable competitor—bright, entertaining, widely interested and interesting, loyal, dedicated, one of a very special breed. As his later life history proved, Dick was everything that Yale hoped to produce by its liberal arts background for future professional services: broad intellectual interests and knowledge, exceptional professional skills, community leadership, and personal integrity and modesty. We have lost a wonderful member of the Class of 1957."

Dick is survived by his wife Penny, their children Richard P. Lewis, Jr., and Heather N. Brown, and grandchildren. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Richard Phelps Lewis M.D. Scholarship Prize Fund, Ohio State University College of Medicine, Development and Alumni Affairs (Attn: Richard Phelps Lewis M.D. Scholarship Prize Fund), 660 Ackerman Road, PO Box 183112, Columbus, OH 43218-3112.

—JMB

John D. (Jock) Newbold III (April 12, 2008)

Classmates:

As you know from my earlier notifications, John D. "Jock" Newbold died in Manhattan on April 12, 2008. The cause of his death lay with the complications from acute leukemia, which he'd been battling for some time, and with the medical efforts to fight it. As Tom Perkins writes, throughout his illness "Jock was magnificent. Never a word of self pity."

A graduate of St. Paul's, after Yale Jock attended NYU business school and then served as an officer in the US Naval Reserve. In 1960 he then joined First National City Bank (now Citigroup) and remained there throughout his career, retiring in 1997. He held senior responsibilities with the bank, including country head in Singapore and Malaysia, corporate banking head in Tokyo, and finally director of the bank's global shipping division.

As Jock himself implied in his words for the 50th reunion book, while his work and family life had been all that he could ask for, he was still then searching for ways to return to the world what it had given him. Unfortunately, he did not live long enough to get up the head of steam toward that goal he wishes. Yet his expression of it strikes me as characteristic of the man I knew: serious about life and his responsibilities while sunny of disposition and a warm, smiling friend to all who knew him.

George "Tip" Atkeson, Jock's friend from youth and godfather to his daughter Jennifer, spoke at the service in Jock's memory of their youthful high jinks together but more importantly of the love that he and so many others felt for the man whom Tip called his closest friend. Tip also read from the last letter he'd send to Jock during Jock's last fight again his illness. "I know it must hurt you to go through these difficult but necessary treatments and, along with the fact that I cannot see you, this is hurting me terribly. Goodbye, my lifelong friend. Goodbye. Goodbye." All of us who knew Jock share in Tip's feeling and loss.

Jock is survived by his wife, Judith Bourne Newbold, and their three children: Jennifer Freeman, Timothy Newbold, and Michael Newbold, as well as their children and a sister. Donations in his memory may be made to the NYPH Leukemia Fighters Fund, c/o Gail J. Roboz, M.D., 520 East 70th Street (Starr 340A), New York, NY 10021, or to the Vineyard Energy Project at (www.vineyardenergyproject.org).

—JMB

Alexander "Sandy" England (April 7, 2008)

Classmates:

Our classmate Alexander "Sandy" England died on April 7, 2008 in or near Pittsburgh. Larry Singer, an acquaintance from Yale, has learned from mutual friends that Sandy had suffered a stroke and spent time both at home and in a nursing home prior to his death.

John Tracy relates that "although the Class Book lists only three roommates for Sandy, he actually had six: Gary Cann, Hal Hochman, Tom Myers, Curt Ryan, Ben Wood, and me. We had been able to finagle the powers that be into letting the seven of us have two adjoining four-man suites in South Berkeley between Grub Street and the courtyard. Thus, we had four bedrooms and two play rooms. I don't remember any study rooms. Nevertheless, all of us made it to graduation." John, describing Sandy as "a big, gentle man" who was "happy and optimistic," joined the Air Force after graduation and was stationed at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, "and I saw him quite a few times while he was there. He got married while in Denver, with my brother acting as his best man. I continued to see him while I was in law school in Boulder, but then he simply disappeared. This was totally unexpected and surprising."

The story of Sandy's dropping from sight is repeated by others. He recorded nothing of his life in reunion books. Larry Singer writes that "if my sometimes flawed memory serves me correctly, he was a mechanical engineer working for Martin Marietta (in aerospace ... now Lockheed Martin) near Littleton, CO then. Later, he tried his hand at residential architectural design for a time. Then he disappeared, to Yale, to our friends, and to us."

Ernie Pepples has discovered a local published death notice that indicates that Sandy is survived by his wife, Louise Stewart-England, a high school classmates of Sandy's, and by a son Donald V. England and a daughter Valerie England Ngolle; by three stepchildren Harold Stewart, Byron Stewart and Andrew Stewart; and by three grandchildren Eric, Alexandre and Michelle.

—JMB

Hiram A. (Tony) Bingham (March 31, 2008)

I follow up my brief notice this morning with fuller news of the death on March 31, 2008, in Greenwich, CT, from cancer of our classmate Hiram A. (Tony) Bingham. I know of no one who knew the man who was not drawn by his warmth and gentleness and who does not greatly feel his loss.

Tony, born in London to an old Yale family, moved with his parents after the war to Connecticut. From there, he attended Groton for six years before joining us in New Haven, where he roomed with Don Beer, Bob Paul, and Hal Russell. At college, he sang in the Glee Club and was a member of Fence Club and Book and Snake. An AFROTC graduate, he served after college in the Air Force for three years and upon his discharge attended law school at Columbia, on whose campus he and I would meet from time to time and from which we once ventured together to the old Met to sit a bit bemused through a Wagner production. In ensuing years, Tony practiced law, entered the business world, and briefly taught. He then took up the business ventures that he would pursue for the rest of his life—in energy production, then increasingly in clean energy, clean energy technology, and organic foods. He also wrote a number of books that expressed his philosophy of living through Anthroposophy and was involved in the related Waldorf independent schools movement. But a mere recital of facts fails to describe his nature and disposition. Hal Russell, one of Tony's oldest friends, captures him thus:

"I have never met a person who did not like him. As a schoolboy he had a blushingly naive demeanor about him that disarmed people and made everyone his friend. But even then he was a leader and trusted by all. He never lost those qualities. As he grew older, he matured into a serious and uncompromising spiritualist. A devoted follower of Rudolph Steiner, Tony approached life as a journey, the goal of which was to develop one's awareness of the spiritual dimensions of human existence; he was uncompromising in his adherence to this quest despite the skepticism of some of his friends and relatives.

As a businessman, Tony anticipated the energy shortage we all now face with early involvement in renewable non-hyro-carbon energy sources. His most recent investments were in geothermal properties in northern California, which are much sought after by the major California utilities. This success allowed him to build a farm near the Bingham family properties in Connecticut where he loved to tend his animals and ride his horses. He was much admired and will be missed by all who knew him."

Tony's light humor can be found in a passage from his 50th reunion book sketch: "I loved Yale and probably grazed too often at the smorgasbord of activities, affecting my grades so badly in freshman year that I was awarded the F. Wilder Bellamy Award in junior year as 'the most improved junior, while contributing significantly to Yale's extra curricular life.' When my old school headmaster asked me what this prize was for, I was too embarrassed to reveal my movie record of freshman year that gave me the opportunity to win this award."

Tony is survived by his wife Anne and their three children: Hiram, Olivia, and Matthew. A funeral service will take place Friday, April 4, at 11 a.m. at Christ Church, Greenwich, CT. A reception will follow immediately at the Round Hill Country Club.

—JMB

Nelson James Dunford (February 27, 2008)

Classmates:

I have just learned from New Haven of the death, presumably in New York City, on February 27, 2008 (the date appears to be correct) of our classmate Nelson James Dunford. I have no more information about him. His name does not appear in any of our directories or reunion books since 1957 nor is any information available about him in the university's general directory. Our last address for him was 931 Old Post Road, Mamaroneck, NY 10543-3925 with a phone number of (212) 964-3764. Yet his address of record at the time of his death is listed as 605 Water Street, New York, NY 10002-8026.

—JMB

William Pratt Laughlin (February 25, 2008)

Classmates:

I have received word that William Pratt Laughlin, originally of the class of 1956 but eventually with us, died at an undisclosed location on February 25, 2008. Neither we nor Yale have much information about Bill save that he was from NYC and prepared at St. Paul's. His activities while at college were listed in the 1956 year book as track, tennis, boxing, hockey, and golf, the Literary Magazine, the Choir (which may mean the Battell Chapel Choir, although, a member myself, I don't recall him), the Glee Club, and the Debating Group. He wrote nothing for our reunion books, and he apparently has no survivors.

—JMB

Robert H. Joost (February 19, 2008)

I write with sad news of the death on February 19, 2008 of Robert H. Joost from complications associated with Parkinson's disease. I write also as a good friend from undergraduate days of someone who was a warmly-held "member" of the class's frequently-meeting Washington contingent and whose life and career turned out to hold many challenges for him.

Entering Yale from a New York YMCA school at the age of 16, Bob may have been the youngest member of our class. But his youth was no deterrent. He held a Ford Scholarship his entire four years. He won the Bennett Prize in political science and a TenEyck prize for oratory and was a ranking scholar. He also rose to the highest echelons of entrepreneurial and administrative promise by becoming chairman of the laundry agency, without which we would have remained unbefittingly uncleanly. Bob's undergraduate interests intimated his later career commitments and activities. He attended Harvard Law School, where his record was as distinguished as at Yale. He was editor of the Harvard Law Review. But then, as is too often the case with people in their twenties, around that time Bob was struck by bi-polar depression. It was a disease with which he struggled, manfully and with remarkable success, for the rest of his life. What would have been the nature of his career had he not faced this struggle no one can tell. But what's noteworthy is how he kept on and retained his commitments to and focus on public policy. After teaching law and serving with a New York firm, he was for many years a senior staff member to Senator Warren Magnuson and the Senate Commerce Committee. At one point, he drafted the 1000-page bill that would have updated and recodified the entire federal criminal code. But the bill was never enacted because its principal sponsor, Ted Kennedy, decided to run for president against the sitting Democratic president, Jimmy Carter. Bob was invited to join the Senate staff after gaining a reputation as an expert while testifying at a Senate hearing as whistleblower against the American Trial Lawyers' Association for its attempts to undermine efforts to enact no-fault insurance legislation. Subsequently, he became known as one of the country's leading experts on no-fault insurance and continued to push for its adoption well into his retirement. Then he served as a judgment officer with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and for many years as chairman of the Board for Correction of Military Records of the Coast Guard Court before retiring in 2003.

But as if Bob's life-long struggle with manic depression, which he openly acknowledged, was not enough, after his retirement he became a victim of Parkinson's disease. With drugs and the attentive care of his wife Elaine, Bob fought hard against its debilitations, and as long as he could he attended the periodic Washington '57 lunches and remained in touch with the world and his friends. While it was terrible to watch the toll Parkinson's took on his body, one had also deeply to admire him as he fought as long as he could to lift the federal ban, applied ideologically and ruinously in the name of humanity upon other human beings, on stem cell research the principal foreseen source of advances against the scourge of Parkinson's. Bob left the world in no less fighting a mood about the matters he cared most about than when he entered it.

Bob is survived by his wife Elaine and two daughters, Leonarda and Nathalie, from a previous marriage. The family will hold a service in his memory in the spring. Contributions in Bob's name may be made to the National Parkinson Foundation, 1501 NW 9th Avenue, Bob Hope Road, Miami, FL 33136-1494, at www.parkinson.org, or by calling 1-800-327-4545.

—JMB

George J. Dunn (February 17, 2008)

Art Diefendorf was the first to notify me of the death on February 17, 2008, of our classmate George J. Dunn, and many others Jack Turben, Tom Perkins, and Dick Lumpkin among them—have followed Art in sending news of George's death and tributes to him. George died of complications from leukemia in his native Cleveland, Ohio. At Yale, George was, among other things, vice chairman of the Yale Daily News and a member of Skull and Bones. After attending law school and practicing law for a few years, George became in-house counsel, then vice president and general counsel, for Standard Oil Ohio, and he later occupied the same positions until his retirement in 1998 with BP American after it acquired Standard Oil. Serving on the boards of the Cleveland Orchestra, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and WCPN, the city's public radio station, George was a significant figure in Cleveland's civic life.

Tom Perkins, who was George's classmate at Harvard Law School and who introduced George to Becky Fisher, who became his wife of 46 years, writes that George was "an example of still waters running deep, although he did like to have fun," which is evidenced by Dick Lumpkin's report that, after his retirement, George and Becky "lived primarily on their 55 foot sailboat while cruising all over Europe and the Caribbean and, most recently, the west coast of Mexico. They made several transatlantic crossings." Dick reports that George attributed the length and happiness of his marriage to the fact that, in George's own words, he and Becky "each had a healthy inclination to frequently assert the righteousness of their respective positions." Although often described as a thoughtful and quiet thinker, he could also, Dick says, be forceful and outspoken. "George himself recently recalled graduating from Harvard Law School in the middle of his class and, while acknowledging that there were better students, there were 'hopefully not better lawyers.'"

George is survived by Becky, their two sons John and Gordon and their families, and his brother Bruce. A service in George's memory will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday, February 29, at Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. A reception will follow. Contributions in his name may be made to the Cleveland Orchestra, Severence Hall, 11001 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland OH 44106, the Museum of Contemporary Art, 8501 Carnegie Avenue, Cleveland OH 44106, or WCPN Idea Center, 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland OH 44115.

—JMB

Hiram P. Maxim II (January 12, 2008)

I have learned from his daughter Sarah of the death in Lyme, Connecticut, on January 12, 2008, after a long battle with prostate cancer of our classmate Hiram P. Maxim II.

Hi was the heir of inventors, his great grandfather having invented the machine gun named after him, his grandfather being the inventor of radio relay. From Hotchkiss, Hi entered Yale where he was a member of Pierson and a three-year letterman as left wing on the varsity soccer team, "sending booming crosses," writes Towny Ludington, "to the likes of Lars Kulleseid or Mike Cook." After officer's service in the Navy, he spent much of his life in increasingly senior positions in the Wiremold Company, then as owner-manager of a reprographic firm until its 1993 sale. His life cannot however be defined principally by his working career. Instead, he was actively involved in volunteer community work from the start. Hi developed, his daughter writes, "a strong interest in environmental issues in the 1960s before the environmental movement was well established." He twice served as president of the Farmington River Watershed Association and was elected honorary director in 1980. He was also president of the Farmington Land Trust, of the local chapter of the Connecticut River Watershed Council, and of the Lyme Land Trust, and he served on the Governor's Environmental Policy Committee. He also served two terms on the Farmington Town Council and was its chairman from 1982-1984. Hi also began serving as the Lyme Town Historian, an informal position, but one to which he devoted great dedication and held until his death. His interest in history and historic preservation was spurred by his move to live full time in Lyme and his restoration of his house there, an 18th century farmhouse purchased by his Maxim grandparents. As town historian, he worked to restore several of the town's colonial-era cemeteries and researched more than seventy of its historic houses. He recently published a book compilation of his newsletters on Lyme town history. As if all of this might fail to keep him busy, Hi enjoyed skiing, golf, and sailing and had a deep appreciation for wooden boats and the old days of the sailing ship. He is survived by his children, Sarah Maxim Nuranto of Kensington, CA, Hiram Hamilton Maxim II of Atlanta, GA, and Merritt Maxim of Carlisle, MA, and by their children. He was previously married to Marjorie Patterson Mead of Farmington, CT, and after their divorce to Martha Lynch, now of Wilmington, NC. A memorial service will be held at the Lyme Public Hall at 11:00 AM on Monday, January 21, 2008. Burial will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lyme Public Hall Association, 249 Hamburg Rd., Lyme CT 06371.

In a conversation with Phil Pillsbury, a Hotchkiss classmate, Phil and I delightedly recalled Hi's infectious laugh. Hi's lifelong friend Towny Ludington recalls that laugh as "ready, near-raucous....one that anyone who knew him could recognize from afar." Towny also writes warmly of their early years and summers in each other's company, of "adolescent pranks and Yale trips together," and of their being part of the same eight-man Pierson entry during college. Towny sees Hi's commitment to the local and state environment as part of his being a "staunch New Englander" determined to protect his beloved native ground. A fellow golfer, Towny also points out that Hi found time to write the history of the Old Lyme Country Club, whose links are "a sometimes devilishly tricky nine-hole course founded in 1916." Perhaps like the historian he became, Hi found writing that history tricky, too.

—JMB

Peter H. Hare (January 3, 2008)

I write to convey the particularly sad news, reported to me first by Jesse Lemisch, his former academic colleague, of the death quietly in his sleep on January 3, 2008, in Guilford, CT, of our classmate Peter H. Hare. This is an especial blow to those of us who had come back recently into acquaintance with a friend from college days with whom we'd not been in touch for too many years.

Even a necessarily compressed record of Peter's life and achievements, like this one, suggests the breadth of his commitments, the level of his generosity, and the strength of his gifts. A graduate of Groton, at Yale Peter began his life-long relationship with philosophy in the Directed Studies classes he and I attended together, and he wrote a thesis on Alfred North Whitehead and was a member of the Elizabethan Club. After graduation, he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy at Columbia, where he wrote a dissertation on G. H. Mead's metaphysics. At the age of 36, Peter became professor of philosophy at SUNY Buffalo, where he chaired the department and became one of its great benefactors. Having to work with a heterogeneous (and quite possibly fractious) group of Marxists, logicians, linguists, and Americanists inspired him to try to bring together all of those currents of of 20th-century thought into a unified vision of a modern philosophy department. Peter's many writings had a huge and enduring impact upon the history of American philosophy, not least by making central the works of Charles Sanders Peirce, G. H. Mead, William James, Whitehead, and John Dewey. Among his many elective positions, he served as President of the New York State Philosophy Association, the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, the Charles Sanders Peirce Society, and the William James Society. He won many awards and honors for distinguished contributions his discipline. Since the early 1970s he was co-editor of the Transactions of the C. S. Peirce Society: A Quarterly Journal in American Philosophy, and he continued his editing of the Transactions after his retirement from teaching. Peter was also an accomplished photographer; at his death he was completing the photographing of the Central Park neighborhood of Buffalo for a publication about the architecture of that area. Peter is survived by his second wife, the poet Susan Howe, a brother Michael, a sister Sara, his son Clare, daughter Gwen, and grandchildren Danielle and Monty, and numerous friends and students. His first wife Daphne Hare preceded him in death in 1995. Memorial services will take place in the spring of 2008 in Buffalo. Burial will take place privately. Contributions in Peter's memory may be made to the Guilford Land Trust, PO Box 200, Guilford, CT 06437.

Peter's words in the 50th reunion book that he had "become pessimistic about the future of American culture" no doubt reflected the considered thoughts of a serious mind. But those of us who knew him didn't have as a friend someone who trod about the world with head bowed, hands behind his back, and a frown on his face as he pondered the decline of American civilization. To the contrary: he was a man of great warmth, sunny disposition, sly wit, and a high sense of the absurd. Our Corpus Christi classmate John Brooke, of wit equal to Peter's, recalls as a freshman being taken in hand by the sophisticated New Yorker to learn about life at Yale (including pipe and tobacco) but being listened to cordially as John in turn educated Peter about Texas cattle. "We would also debate philosophy. I could never win our debates, even over cigars and Cointreau, but I take full credit for preparing him for a successful life as a philosopher. Peter had an incisive, determined, and ferocious intellect. In recent conversations with him, I was struck by his commitment to helping others, particularly with his passion for working to establish a school for philosophers in Russia, helping Native American artists, and efforts toward conservation and the preservation of family ties. With his philosophical position, he could be none other than an agnostic. However, his actions manifested every Christian virtue. While religious persons might have had some difficulty with Peter, I am confident his Creator was well pleased with him."

—JMB

Harold L. Daniel (December 28, 2007)

Classmates:

I convey sad news, originally reported to me by Dave Lawrence, of the death on December 28, 2007, of Harold L. Daniel in Amarillo, Texas, where he was born. Known to many as Hal when at Yale, where he roomed with Jay Conte, Bill Mobley, Dave Berger, Colin Gracey, and Todd Kendrick, Harold followed his days in New Haven with further study in theology at SMU. After then serving as campus minister at the University of Wisconsin and Montana State University, he pursued a doctoral degree in behavioral science and educational research at Nova University. While studying for that degree, he coordinated an off-campus master's degree program in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, where he collected data and wrote his dissertation on predicting the educability of the functionally illiterate. After three years in Venezuela, he and his family returned to Amarillo, where he worked as a health planner before he became associate minister at Polk Street Methodist Church, where he served for 13 years before retiring to New Mexico to begin tree farming. In Amarillo, Harold was heavily involved in community activities.

Dave Berger writes of Harold that "I always thought of him as one of the nicest, most pleasant, and least assuming persons I knew at Yale. I was delighted when he chose to attend our 50th, as I had had no contact with him since graduation. Harold was exactly as I remembered him, still unassuming and just as nice as ever." Bill Mobley, who was a close friend for over 60 years, reflects similarly on Harold as follows: "We were schoolmates from seventh through twelfth grades in Amarillo. At an early age he demonstrated an unusually high sense of ethics and morality. His concern was always first and foremost for the other person, a concern he showed to his final days.... Coming from the high plains of Texas we rarely saw a river or lake, but Harold went out for freshman crew. He struggled with learning French but in later years he learned Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. I know that Harold treasured his Yale years.... He was a friend to all the Yalies around him. So far as I know, he had no enemies then or in the years thereafter. He exuded a quiet leadership that often went unrecognized and underappreciated. I have never know a more loyal and supportive person. He actively supported the fight for civil rights in the deep South; a short time in a southern jail scared him but did not deter his determination to bring justice to an oppressed people. His healing words helped many families through the chaos of funerals; I never have heard anyone pray a better prayer than this man prayed. And through it all was a driving concern for the other person. On Christmas day 2007 he and his wife Barbara had special guests—a 100 year old woman and a mentally challenged young man—because they had no real place to go for this special day. Harold was too sick to eat but insisted that Barbara attend to these guests. He died three days later.... He was truly a good and gentle man. He made the world and people about him better."

Harold's survivors are his wife, Barbara, whom he married in 1957, their four children, and their spouses, and numerous grandchildren. Contributions in Harold's memory may be made to the United Methodist Committee on Relief, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087, or to Polk Street United Methodist Church in Amarillo.

—JMB

Donald L. Heimlich (December 11, 2007)

Classmates:

As previously, but briefly reported, I must convey news, received only recently from New Haven, of the death in Manhattan on December 11, 2007, of Donald L. Heimlich. I have been able to gather little information about Don's life and career. A native of New York, he was a graduate of Lawrenceville. Ralph Lilore informs me that he, Phil Levine, Dick Munn, and Don roomed together in Vanderbilt freshman year. In college, Don was a pre-med student, a member of Timothy Dwight (no roommate or roommates listed), and on the freshman and varsity swimming team. Roger Rossen leads me to confirmation that, after college, Don received a 1961 medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine and then practiced medicine, with a specialty in thoracic surgery, the rest of his life. Perhaps in keeping with Ralph's observation that, even during freshman year, Don "tended to keep very much to himself," he listed no information about a family or his life in recent reunion books.

—JMB

Albert C. Jerman (October 4, 2007)

Classmates:

I have the sad duty to report the death of my pre-collegiate schoolmate and our Yale classmate Albert C. Jerman in Bennington, VT, on October 4, 2007.

As with so many classmates, much what I learn about Al now I wish I had learned during his lifetime. The basic facts of Al's life are straightforward enough. After graduating from Deerfield Academy and Yale, where he sang in the glee club and was a founding member of the singing group The Bachelors, he attended the College of Dentistry of the University of Nebraska and then served for 21 years in the U.S. Air Force before retiring at the rank of colonel. What's new to me, however, and worthy of special note is his dental specialty and what he did with it. Al was an expert in forensic dentistry responsible for identifying the remains of pilots who died in crashes. In 1968, before the widespread use of DNA testing, he was a pioneer in efforts to computerize the dental records of Vietnam War POWs and MIAs so as to aid in their identification. He was a key member of the team that identified over 700 bodies of the dead after the gruesome Jonestown, Guyana, mass suicide. And in the early years of the US space program, he advised NASA on the dental health of astronauts. Al's authority in these matters earned him election as a fellow of the American College of Dentists. He was also author of over 50 articles in the dental and medical literature. In Arlington, VT, where he and his wife owned the Cheese Shop and where he continued to practice dentistry, Al was active in town and Republican Party affairs. He was chairman of the Bennington County Republican Committee, a member of the State Republican Committee, supervisor of the Township of Glastonbury, and president of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. He also served as the Historian at the Robert Todd Lincoln home in Manchester, VT. Al is survived by his wife Beverly, his son Eric, and other family members. A daughter Rachel predeceased him. Memorial contributions may be made to The Dr. Albert C. Jerman Memorial Fund at the College of Dentistry at the University of Nebraska and sent in care of Dr. James Peck, 113 Lasso Lake Court, Lincoln CA 95648.

—JMB

Christopher Dobbins (August 20, 2007)

Classmates:

Tuck Halbkat has sent sad word that our classmate, Christopher "Kit" Dobbins died in Denver from lung cancer on Monday, August 20, 2007.

Kit and Tuck met in a Denver school in 5th grade and remained steadfast, lifelong friends thereafter. Dame Fortune being not always fickle, even after Kit left his hometown for Exeter and Tuck moved with his family to Philadelphia, both ended up in New Haven and roomed together for four years, the last three in Timothy Dwight College. At Yale, Kit was a member of Beta Theta Pi and won a "Y" for performance on the varsity ski team. I notice also that, ever a loyal man of Colorado, he was president in senior year of Yale's Colorado Club, whose existence was apparently a closely held secret. After graduating, Kit went to work for Ideal Basic Industries, its headquarters in Denver, where he remained, after rising to executive status, until the company was sold. After that, he became an independent investor and real estate developer and managed his family foundation, which gives away 10% of its assets annually to a variety of causes.

Kit was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in May. "Knowing," as Tuck writes, "his incurable circumstance, and wanting to contribute more to cancer science other than telling people not to smoke, he joined a cutting-edge clinical trial for a new chemotherapy treatment being sponsored by Eli Lilly, and for a while he seemed to be making very positive progress, but not without difficult side effects. He was remarkably matter of fact about not wanting to go further with chemotherapy....Although he probably could have continued in the Lilly trial, he decided to have the last of the four originally planned injections last Tuesday and then call it a day—to let nature take its course. Nature was quite swift."

All who knew Kit recall him, as I do, fondly and with much warmth. As Tuck again writes, "Without question, Kit was one of the finest and most loyal individuals I've ever known, and life will be much harder without his friendship, his dry humor, his amusing quirks, his thoughtfulness, and his everlasting presence in our family. He was a unique individual, and I and many others will miss him."

Kit is survived by his children Christopher, Andrea, and Julia, by his brother Michael, and by his sister CiCi. Any family service will be private. Contributions in Kit's memory may be made to the Dobbins Foundation, 1081 Spruce Street, Denver, CO 80220.

—JMB

Additional Reflections:

From Don Edelstein:

Kit was a very unique and loveable person. I remember him running up and down the sidelines during Yale football games. At the end of the season I asked him how his pictures came out. 'What pictures?' he replied. 'I never had film in the camera.' The camera photo pass allowed him to be close to the action.

Emil Buhler II (July 1, 2007)

Classmates:

We have just learned of the death in Miami on July 1, 2007, of our classmate Emil Buhler II. A graduate of the Hill School and the Timothy Dwight roommate of Dave Johnson, Syd Ball, and Stan McCarthy, Emil was a lifelong resident of his Florida hometown. At Yale, Emil pursued interests in music, the visual arts, and writing, and, an enthusiastic opera fan, throughout his life loved to go to New York to hear the latest productions at the Met. After military service, Emil co-founded Forms and Surfaces, an interior design firm, where he worked until his retirement in the 1990s. His roommates recall his own and his family's warm and unforgettable hospitality to Yale classmates on Spring breaks in Florida, and I cannot forget the warmth of his personality and the liveliness of his mind from the days we met in freshman year. Dave Johnson also recalls being persuaded by Emil to join him in Josef Albers' art class in color theory. Why not? It mostly involved cutting out pieces of colored paper. Dave says it turned out to be one of the most valuable courses he took as an undergraduate, for Albers taught one how to see. Dave likewise remembers Emil's sweating to produce daily themes for the course of that name. He wrote a particularly memorable piece describing what it was like to come through a Florida hurricane. which he had experienced more than once. Emil is survived by his mother and a brother and uncle. Donations in his memory may be given in his name to the Greater Miami Opera.

—JMB

Erwin J. Fleissner (May 12, 2007)

Classmates:

Our distinguished classmate Erwin J. Fleissner died at home in New York City on May 12, 2007 at the age of 70.

I first met Erwin when I entered Deerfield Academy in 1950. He was already much as he would remain: prudent, slyly witty, focused, and, even if characteristically modest, powerfully intelligent. Larry Bodkin, who knew Erwin for as long as I did, characterizes him, again from those early days, as "quiet, thoughtful, scholarly, a chess player, athlete, and much more." It was clear even then that he had great scientific talent. Our beloved chemistry teacher and the headmaster's wife, Helen Childs Boyden, quickly identified Erwin as unusual, and he always justifiably remained (without her ever stirring envy in others) her favorite. Although younger than the rest of us, Erwin was elected president of our Deerfield class and graduated cum laude.

At Yale, he once again quietly made his mark. Academically, there were few his equal; he had one of the most orderly minds I've ever encountered. Elliott Schiffman, who lived across the hall from Erwin in Trumbull, still remembers him "typing out a term paper without a draft, everything already organized in his mind." A varsity squash player and a physics and philosophy major, Erwin won the first Bloch and McLaughlin prizes in English, was a ranking scholar, and became a member of Phi Beta Kappa (in his junior year) and the Elizabethan Club. He was also a Rhodes Scholar.

As Erwin wrote for his Deerfield 50th reunion book, intending to study philosophy at Oxford, he was flummoxed by the ways philosophers studied language. Discontented in that pursuit, he instead became hooked (again, I'd say) on bench science by the soon-to-be Nobelist George Beadle. After gaining his doctorate in biochemistry at Columbia, Erwin went first to Rockefeller University, then to the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, where for the next 21 years he undertook his path-breaking research into tumor viruses and cellular genes active in cancer. Desiring to contribute to the science education of undergraduates, he then for 11 years served as dean of sciences and mathematics at Hunter College. After retiring from there, he wrote his book, Vital Harmonies (Columbia University Press), a work about molecular biology and its effect on our idea of human nature. In that book, as Jack Hughes points out, Erwin wrote that the century just ended "has left us, as a species, with a sense of human solidarity, concern for our planet, anticipation, hope, foreboding, uncertainty in the face of what is unknown, and all at the existence of life ... I am convinced that evolution on this planet, in its human phase, has been partly a heroic effort to construct and preserve a kind of life that is worth living."

Our classmate Vin Marchesi, details Erwin's achievements as follows: "When Erwin began his work in cancer research, retroviruses were known to be involved in the genesis of human cancers, but how they acted on cells to cause their uncontrolled growth was largely unknown ... It soon became clear that the protein parts of these viruses determined how cells are infected and how they are stimulated to divide, and Erwin pioneered in the their study. This work led him and others to study proteins called growth factors that stimulate cell division by working through elaborate biochemical signaling mechanisms ... In one of his last major papers, published in 1986 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Erwin and his co-workers showed how factors that stimulate cells to grow uncontrollably must work in concert with tumor-inducing viruses, and together they act through pathways that neither could induce alone. Research of this kind, carried out in many laboratories, led ultimately to the development of powerful anti-tumor compounds that are remarkably effective in controlling the growth of certain susceptible cancers. One well-publicized drug, effective against certain types of leukemias, known as Gleevek, is generally considered the first truly effective rationally designed anti-cancer agent now available. Erwin's experiments, carried out decades earlier, contributed materially to this effort."

In a tribute to Erwin, Hunter College called him "this extraordinary professor, preeminent scientist, and respected dean. Erwin inspired a love of science in many generations through his teaching and writing. He was committed to recruiting top notch women and minority faculty." Helen Boyden would have been filled with pride at this fitting accolade for her beloved student.

Erwin had suffered some years ago from a non-malignant, operable brain tumor but survived that trouble for many years. He was predeceased by his first wife, Norma Klein, the novelist, and is survived by Judith Friedlander, an anthropologist and former Hunter College dean and by his two daughters, Jennifer and Katie. Erwin's family will be receiving visitors at home on May15, 16, and 17 between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. A memorial service will take place at Hunter College on May 30. Contributions in Erwin's memory may be made to the Sciences at Hunter College, c/o the Hunter College Foundation.

—JMB

Paul C. Hoffman (February 7, 2007)

Classmates:

We have just learned of the death in Lansing, Michigan on February 7, 2007, of Paul C. Hoffman. He was 73. Born June 4, 1933 in Indianapolis, he entered Yale with the Class of 1955. After stopping out, as Talbott Huey writes, for a stint in the army, he returned to Yale in Pierson College, graduated with us in 1957 and, having been a member of ROTC, was commissioned in the Ordnance Corps. Bob Mobley recalls him warmly as "his own man, marching to his own drum." After graduation, at least through our 10th reunion, Paul worked with the Chrysler Corporation in a number of positions, the last recorded one being in financial analysis. Our 10th reunion book lists his interests as golf, skiing, and tennis. Paul was predeceased by his wife, Judith, whom he married in 1958. He is survived by three daughters (Anne P. Lavender, Elizabeth Cameron Gilday, and Susan L. Douglas), three grandchildren, and a brother, Peter S. Hoffman. Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of choice.

—JMB

Charles L. Grimes (February 5, 2007)

Classmates:

I must convey the sad tidings of the death from pancreatic cancer on February 5, 2007 of Charles L. Grimes. It was always hard to imagine so giant a man as Charlie being so gentle and modest—so modest that, at the end, he would not permit a formal gathering in his memory. To all who knew him, he was a sunny friend, and none can avoid feelings of deep sadness.

As Hal Russell (also Charlie's classmate at Groton) and Reed Rubin have written to me about Charlie, and I quote their words liberally while attributing them to both: When you met Charlie Grimes, you knew you had met one of a kind. Physically imposing at well over 300 pounds, he was enormously strong and very competitive. He played varsity football and basketball at Yale—playing on the great football team that upset Army, which probably couldn't have overcome Charlie's size and strength even if he'd been the sole Yalie on the field—and powered the 1956 gold medal Olympic crew in Melbourne where he pulled so much water on his side that there was a problem balancing the boat. That team was the last university team to bring home the gold. Here, surely is where Charlie gained his most lasting fame within the class. He gave up football to row in that crew, and, surely in great part due to his formidable strength, the American shell eked out its extraordinary victory. I recall the great feeling of alma mater-ish pride I felt upon hearing of that win and then the news stories that it engendered in the weeks afterward. A photo of that exhausted crew, with other classmates visible—a photo sent to me by Bill Becklean—accompanies these words.

1956 Olympic crew team.
Click to see a larger version.

As Reed notes, Charlie accelerated his four-year course of study, graduating half way through our senior year. He read law at Oxford ("Christ Church - of course," says Reed) rowing all the while. "When, after college," Hal reports, "Charlie rowed at Oxford and insisted on wearing his lucky engineer's cap, Newsweek Magazine reported that the coach of the crew threatened to ban him from the boat until Charlie was able to prove that one of his 10th century ancestors had been granted the right by the King to wear any cap of his choice before the king, a right which passed on to all his descendants. The cap stayed on."

Charlie, Reed reminds us, received his US law degree at Harvard. He practiced corporate law about a year before forming a small firm with his cousin Chuck Kelly and John Winston. Charlie quickly became a successful investor and financial adviser.

Fellow attorney and businessman Russell characterizes Charlie thus: "He had a brilliant business mind and he was able to analyze investments with the best. As a result, he was able to restructure and improve the business of several companies in which he took a large position. He enjoyed debating almost any subject and loved to be in the middle of controversy. Charlie was enormously generous, helping out numerous classmates, friends, and former teachers who were experiencing financial difficulties, always insisting on strict anonymity. Any form of public recognition was an embarrassment to him and would bring a swift rebuke."

Reed sums things up as fittingly as I can imagine this way: "Charlie's wingspan was enormous. He touched colleagues and friends in all corners of the planet and in all stations of life. The reactions I've received following notice of his death have been overwhelming. He shared his wisdom and continually demonstrated his deep concern and love for family and friends. He was most thrilled abut his marriage, 12 years ago, to Jane Gillespie Brown. Jane, the recently elected President of the U. S. Tennis Association, fully shared Charlie's many interests and keen wit."

In addition to his wife, Charlie is survived by three step children, two sisters, and six nieces and nephews.

—JMB

Additional Reflections:

From Don Roberts:

An Olympic gold medal for rowing in 1956 is, or at least was ten years ago, on display in the Groton School library, given anonymously. I confronted Don Beer about the medal, as he was Charlie's teammate at Groton as well as Yale. Don assured me it was Charlie's.

From Bob Mobley:

Here's a "Charlie" story that I was able to witness first hand because I was standing next to him. It was the fall of 1955 and we were playing The Army. It was in the beginning of the 2nd quarter, Dennie McGill had just run for a nineteen yard gain around Army's left end, All-American Ralph Chesnauskas. Ralphie boy was a little put out and lost his temper, taking a "swing" at Charlie. He missed him. Charlie turned to Ralph and grabbing him by the arms lifted him off the field into the air saying to Ralph, "We don't play the game of football by throwing punches—now let's see you behave like a football player and an Army gentlemen." Ralph weighed in at around 245 pounds. His eyes were fixed with fear and he muttered something like, "Will you please put me down, Sir." For the rest of the game future Army officer and leader Ralph Chesnaufkis kept his hands and temper in control. My friend and fellow team mate Charlie Grimes was the strongest man I have ever known.

He shall be missed by all of us. God's speed Charlie and may you help stroke "Heaven's Eight."

David H. Lipsher (February 1, 2007)

Classmates:

I recently received word that Dave Lipsher died on February 1. He had been living in San Antonio for the past couple of years and died at Hospice with his wife, Carol, and his daughter, Mila, by his side.

Shortly after graduation, Dave honeymooned by driving across the country from New Haven to Palo Alto, where he got his Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford. He then spent the next forty years as a clinical psychologist at Timberlawn Hospital in Dallas.

When Dave turned 65, he made two decisions: he retired, and he moved to Leadville, Colorado. He had never been there but heard that a small town near a gap in the Rockies was a good place to live. He remarried, and his new wife convinced him that the Carolinas were a better place to live than Leadville. About two years ago they decided to move to San Antonio, where his daughter and grandchildren lived.

Besides his wife and daughter, Dave is survived by his two sons and two grandchildren.

—JMB

Stanley L. Jackson, Jr. (January 20, 2007)

Classmates:

I write with further saddening news of the death by heart failure on January 20, 2007 of Stanley L. Jackson, Jr. Stan had entered Yale with the class of 1956 but finished up with us and attended '57 as well as '56 reunions. A loyal alumnus of Friends Academy in Locust Valley, NY as well as of Yale, he was known as a warm and giving friend to many, including '57er Geoff Skidmore, who recalls Stan's hearty humor and the many childhood days they spent together. An engineer by profession, Stan's wife Jane reports that he had a "huge array of knowledge and talents, from fixing your car to finding the provenance of your antique" and was an inveterate collector of all sorts of things. In addition to his wife, Stan is survived by his two sons, Charley and Stanley III, and by his brother Thomas.

—JMB

Russel H. Goddard (January 16, 2007)

Classmates:

I press ahead over these sad days with yet additional bad news, sent to me my John Watling and Malcolm Mitchell—this time of the death on January 16, 2007 in New Haven of Russel H. Goddard after a long battle with cancer. As John pointed out to me after I'd earlier misspelled Russ's given name, "Russel" was a family name, which gave his clan the moniker of "The One L Russels." From Detroit and a graduate of Exeter, Russ entered Yale with the Class of 1954, stopped out to spend three years in the Army, then rejoined the university with us and was a member of Berzelius. His career was spent in the life insurance business, first with Aetna, then as an independent broker. A constant theme of his life seems to have been his loyalty to alma mater. Malcolm, recalling him as "a man with a big heart" who had to struggle with mental illness much of his life, reports that Russ showed up in recent years for working sessions and events relating to the class music project. He was also a volunteer in New Haven for the Red Cross and a trustee of Fellowship Place. He is survived by his three children, Jonathan Ross Russel Goddard of Berlin, VT; Willingham Morrison Goddard of Aspen, CO; and Eloise Bingham Goddard of Easthampton, MA. A memorial service in celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, February 18, 2007 at 2 p.m. in Battell Chapel. Contributions in Russ's memory may be made to Fellowship Place, 441 Elm Street, New Haven, CT 06511 or to the Edgerton Park Conservancy, PO Box 6163, Hamden, CT 06517.

—JMB

David J. Richardson (January 12, 2007)

I write to convey news of the death, apparently in Oak Harbor, Washington, on January 12, 2007, of David J. Richardson. After having attended Everett (Washington) High School with Bill Thieme, who has helped me discover what can be learned of Dave's life, Dave entered Yale with our class, roomed with Bill, John (now Vishnudev) Pratt and Ian Henderson, but soon left to enter the Army. He later graduated from the University of Washington and spent most of his career with the Bechtel Corporation and much of his life in southern California. He leaves no immediate survivors. We have no more word than this.

—JMB

Hugh Hampton Young II (October 29, 2006)

Classmates:

Bill Wrean has notified me of the death at age 75 in Weston, MA, on October 29th of Hugh Hampton Young II. Hugh, a native of Baltimore and a graduate of the Gilman School, entered Yale with the class of 1954, stopped out for a two-year hitch in the Army, then rejoined the university in our class. A member of Calhoun and Deke, he was a letterman in varsity lacrosse (in which he led the Ivy League in scoring as a midfielder) and remained involved in lacrosse education throughout his life—as, it seems, he was involved in sports ranging from fly fishing to figure skating, roller blading, and race car driving. After Yale, Hugh attended the University of Virginia Medical School and spent the rest of his career as surgeon of urology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was known for involvement in the hospital's transplant program, his teaching of Harvard Medical School students, and his caring attitude toward his patients. Hugh is survived by his wife of 47 years Joyce, three children, and six grandchildren. Donations in Hugh's memory may be sent to the Hugh H. Young II Memorial Fund, Department of Urology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114.

—JMB

Richard M. Finley (October 4, 2006)

Classmates:

I have to report the death, of which we have just recently learned, of Richard M. Finley on October 4, 2006. Other than that Dick was an undergraduate member of Branford and an economics major, we have no further information about him or his family; he did not submit information for the 45th reunion book. Dick's last known address was 20 Laurel Drive, Rocky River, OH 44116-2468, telephone (440) 331-8125.

—JMB

Robert H. West (September 28, 2006)

Classmates:

I've just learned of the death in Philadelphia, from degenerative disease on September 28, 2006, of Robert H. West. Bob grew up in Nashville, then came to Yale where he was a member of Jonathan Edwards and roomed with Bob Lee. After graduating as a sociology major, he continued on in New Haven to secure his MA and PhD in sociology. From then on, starting in 1963, he was professor of sociology at Temple University until his retirement, along the way serving as associate dean and as a faculty member of the university's Japan campus. A devoted teacher, Bob was also active in his Mt. Airy, PA, community, and in the Unitarian Society of nearby Germantown. He is survived by his wife Sarah, two sons and a daughter, and many grandchildren. Donations in his memory may be made to the Society for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, 11350 McCormick Road (Suite 906), Hunt Valley, MD 21031.

—JMB

Thomas T. Crumpacker (August 11, 2006)

Classmates:

I write with the sad tidings of the death of Thomas T. Crumpacker, of which I've learned from George Lee. Tom died at age 72 on August 11, 2006, of liver cancer.

Born in Hammond, Indiana, Tom was raised in Colorado Springs and Aspen, Colorado. After Yale, where he was a member of Saybrook, he gained his law degree at the University of Michigan law school i 1960 and later earned a masters degree in Latin American studies at Georgetown University in 1980.  On his business cards, Tom identified himself as "Warrior Lawyer." He practiced law in Colorado from 1961 until 1997. Following his retirement in 1998, Crumpacker moved to Miami, where he wrote political analysis and commentaries on issues ranging from US foreign policy and the USA's so-called War on Terror, to lyrical essays on life in Cuba, which he visited frequently. He was active with the Miami-Dade Green Party and a member of the Miami Coalition to End the US Embargo of Cuba.

Tom is survived by his wife Maray, his daughters Casey and Cully, his ex-wife Maryann Justman, and two sisters, both in Colorado. His son Owen and another sister pre-deceased him. Maray can be reached at 1633 Waterston Avenue, Austin, TX 78703-3981, phone: (512) 482-8153.

Many of Tom's articles can be found online in the archives of the at NY Transfer News. Most recently, his analysis of the Bush regime's future plans for Cuba, "Mein Kampf Revisited - The Transition to Oligarchy: Planning for the Re-Colonization of Cuba" was commented upon by Ricardo Alarcon, the President of Cuba's Parliament. See: "Bush's Mein Kampf," by Ricardo Alarcon, July 13, 2006 http://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/Week-of-Mon-20060710/040598.html.

George Lee writes that these facts "do not reflect the fierce loyalty to friends that was a hallmark of Tom's relationship with others, despite his seeming reticence. At Yale he played on the hockey team and had already developed a strong revulsion to injustices and a desire to do whatever necessary to correct those injustices."

—JMB

Peter B. Fritzsche (July 25, 2006)

Our classmate Peter Fritzsche died last week—on Tuesday, July 25, 2006—in Mercy Hospital, Chicago, after a short illness. He was 71. He'd been a resident of Chicago for the past year prior to having lived in Northbrook, New Haven, Wilmette, and Winnetka. He graduated with us after having been a member of Deke and Skull and Bones, as well as a starting right guard for the football team. He was named Alumnus of the Year at our 25th reunion. He later served, in the early 1990s, as director of the Yale Alumni Fund and was thus a goad to many of us.

Peter spent much of his life in business, including service as Vice President of Development for Quaker Oats. Since the early 1970s he served as president and CEO of EAC Industries, Inc. a holding company.

Characteristically, Peter was always involved in civic activities. He served on the board and as board president of the Henry Horner Boy's Club and was very active at the Sacred Heart Church in Winnetka during the 1970s, '80s, and '90s, serving as president of the PTO and raising funds for the Sacred Heart School. When he could no longer grab 'em down from the front line, he took up tennis, paddle tennis, and skiing.

Peter is survived by his wife Ruth (nee Black), whom he married in 1966, and by his children Kati Fritzsche Sciortino and her husband Adam of Park Ridge, IL, Bartley of Chicago, David and his wife Jennifer of Wilmette, Alex and his wife Kathryn of St. Michael's, MD, Griffin of Pittsburgh, and Brendan of Honolulu.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Peter's name may be made to Sacred Heart Church, 1077 Tower Rd, Winnetka, IL 60093 or to Mercy Hospital, 2525 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60616.

When I recall my own times with Pete, I reflect that he and I never knew each other as students but that we met shortly after graduation and that, because of his disposition and character, I took to him immediately. When I sent the original message that he had died, Cheeb Everitt wrote back immediately, "But his ebulliance, integrity and spirited personality didn't!"—which is surely right. And now I have a report from Sandy Clark about his funeral service, extracts from which follow:

The services's theme, chosen by the celebrant, was "Embrace the memories of this good man." Peter and Ruth's children served as pall bearers and spoke lovingly and humorously of their "memories" of their father, son Alex remarking that his father made a lie of the saying that "real men don't eat quiche." His daughter Katie pointed out that her father was present in the delivery room when she took her first breath and that she was privileged to be present in his room when he drew his last breath. Four of his sons sang a part of the service that included an original song by his son Brendan.

Sandy reminds us that, as a resident of Trumbull, Peter roomed with Guy Palmer, Jack Prendergast, and Lou Deluca, all of whom visited Peter while he lay in a coma. He also was a close, close pal of our late classmate Binky Davis. Other classmates attending the funeral and the reception that followed, including Sandy and Peter's roommates, were Dave Bowman, Sandy Clark, Charlie Cushman, George Dunn, Bern Kosto, Vern Loucks, Dick Lumpkin, Mike Oberlin, Jack Turben, and Sandy Clark himself. The two Jacks, Prendergast and Turben, did the readings at the service.

As Sandy concludes: Peter - Go in Peace. You've left us all with great and loving memories.

—JMB

Brayton Wilbur, Jr. (March 24, 2006)

I follow up my brief recent message about Brayton Wilbur's death with this obituary notice from Gordon Bellis:

Brayton Wilbur, Jr. died 24 March 2006 at age 70. He developed an intestinal blockage while traveling in India earlier in the month, flew to Frankfurt for emergency surgery, returned to San Francisco, and perished following a heart attack and stroke.

Born 2 October 1935, Brayton was a native San Franciscan. He prepared at Thacher, after Yale served in the Army as a clerk-typist, and then received an MBA in 1961 from Stanford. Two years later he married Judy Flood of San Francisco.

Subsequently he joined Wilbur-Ellis Co., founded in 1921 by his father. It began as a small import-export trading company and grew to become a national and international marketer of agricultural and industrial products. Brayton and his family lived in Thailand from 1965 to 1970 while he managed the firm's Bangkok and Jakarta offices.

Returning to San Francisco, he became the company's executive vice president, then president and CEO in 1988. His tenure at the firm marked vigorous expansion of the company and he became Chairman of the Board in 2000.

Brayton was a significant figure in the cultural life of San Francisco. He joined the Symphony Board in 1969 and served as its 15th president from 1980 to 1987. He was a director of the San Francisco Opera and co-chaired the committee to restore the Opera House after the Loma Prieta earthquake.

In addition, Brayton joined the board of the Asia Foundation in 1972 and served as chairman from 1991 to 1995. The organization supports programs in Asia which improve governance and law, economic reform and development, women's empowerment, and international relations. As a trustee of the Asian Art Museum, Brayton and Judy devoted much time and energy toward the move of the Asian Art Museum to the Civic Center in 2003.

Brayton was also a director of Safeway Stores, Chronicle Publishing Company, and CropLife America, as well as a trustee of the World Affairs Council and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Judy and Brayton shared a love of collecting art and travel. Their time in Asia sparked an interest in Asian art which later expanded into collecting turn of the century American art and California art of the Monterey Bay Area. An avid golfer, he was proud to have made the cut in the 1997 Pebble Beach Pro-Am Tournament. He was past president of the Pacific-Union and Cypress Point Clubs and a member of the Burlingame Country Club, the San Francisco Golf Club, and the Bohemian Club.

In addition to his wife Judy, Brayton is survived by four children and eight grandchildren.

—JMB

John L. Hurley (January 19, 2006)

Classmates:

I must convey the sad news that John L. Hurley died in Albany, New York, on January 19th after a brief illness. His published obituary states that Jack was a "devoted, opinionated man with an insatiable curiosity and a quick wit." It therefore seems that he hadn't changed much—do many of us?—after freshman year, when he resided on my top floor of Vanderbilt, where I recall him for his tart, as well as quick, wit, his deep laughter, and his unusual sensitivity. Unfortunately, he and I did not keep up after that, and I don't recall seeing him again after graduation. I wish I had, for I have now learned things about him that I wish I'd known earlier. For instance, he entered Yale at 17 on a Ford Foundation scholarship. Also, he was associated all his life with the arts, having taught at the American School in Lugano, Italy, then helping found the American School in Milan. In fact, he spent much time in Italy and spoke the language fluently. But he made his greatest mark in the world of music in association with the celebrated conductor and musicologist Newell Jenkins, Jack's partner of 35 years, who predeceased him in 1996. Jack raised funds for and served on many music organization boards and managed the Clarion Music Society in New York. After Newell Jenkins's death, Jack became active in the Capital District Gay & Lesbian Community Council. Gifts in Jack's memory may be made to Gilmmerglass Opera (which, I should point out, was founded by a teacher of many of us, Beekman Cox Cannon), PO Box 191, Cooperstown, NY 13326; Musicians of Ma'alwyck, 511 Mohawk Avenue, Scotia, NY 12302; the Clarion Music Society, 965 Fifth Avenue (#5B), New York, NY 10021; or the Reconciling Ministries Team at First United Methodist Church, Syracuse, NY.

—JMB

Harry King Cross, Jr. (January 18, 2006)

Classmates:

We have just learned through Rob Walker of the death in Massachusetts General Hospital on January 18. 2006, of Harry King Cross, Jr.

King, who died after a long illness, was the roommate at Yale of Gerry Neary and Goey Franciscus (both deceased) and of Frank Brown (on last seeing very much with us). Born in Boston and raised in Providence, King was a graduate of the Taft School. At Yale he was a member of the Elihu and Beta Theta Pi. After college he was an officer in the US Navy and served in Sasebo, Japan until his discharge in 1963. Then he became a writer/editor and worked for the Bureau of Business Practice, Division of Prentice Hall Publishing in Waterford, CT, until his retirement. He was a summer resident of Dennis, MA, on Cape Cod for many years before moving there in 1995.

King was the husband of Elizabeth (Morrill) Cross, who survives him. as do two step daughters, Ruth Wertheimer and her husband, David of Quaker Hill, CT, and Patricia Panzo and her husband, Andrew, of Media, PA, a brother Morton Davidson Cross of Providence, RI, and five grandchildren and many nieces and nephews

By the time you receive this notice, a memorial service will have been held in Dennis. Donations in King's memory may be made to the MGH Transplantation Unit, c/o Development Office, 165 Cambridge Street, Charles River Plaza (Suite 600 Boston) MA 02114 or Dennis Conservation Trust, c/o C. Bell, 69 Beach Street Dennis, MA 02638. King's brother David Cross, Yale 1960, tells me that there will be a celebration of King's life this coming summer and that anyone wishing notice of that event should contact David at DCross180@aol.com or 401-751-6425 in Providence.

—JMB

From Rob Walker:

My recollections are mainly childhood and Yale memories as we saw each other infrequently except when King came home to Providence during the years he lived and worked in New London. Our families were close from the start, my father having known Harry Sr, at Yale and later in NYC where they were room mates for awhile. From the time we were about six King and I played a lot of tennis together, and Mrs. Cross carted us all over the place to tournaments. I also remember King's passionate mechanical interest in cars which led to an infinite number of pleasurable hours tinkering "under the hood". His parents owned a classic Mercedes convertable touring car, from the late 30's I think, which he always seemed to be working on when the rest of us were preoccupied with girls, etc. I still have a clear picture of him in his pristine white automechanic's jumpsuit, which I know he found much more preferable garb to a tuxedo.

At Yale King was an English major whose love of writing later carried over to a writing career. He also earned some distinction as a javelin thrower on the Yale track team. He married relatively late to Elizabeth Werthheimer, and they had no children together.

Most of all, I recall King as a loyal, caring friend, serious about life and brave in his medical adversities. He was fortunate to come from a tightknit family with special parents. Their houses in Providence and on the Cape were always fun to visit and our family did so often over the years. His mother Jean was one of the finest people I have been fortunate to know.

From Randy Heimer:

I'm the in absentia roommate who had the good fortune and joy to room with King, Goey and Frank at Silliman during our sophomore and junior years. Of the fearsome foursome, King was the "quiet man"—big, strong and gentle but never center stage. He let Goey and I be the ladies men; Frank, the court jester; while always comfortable in his own skin. All four of us would date together, usually the lovely young women from Connecticut College which we would smuggle in and out of our window leading to the alley opposite George and Harry's. I smile inwardly, when I think of King(the strong one) doing most of the heavy lifting, up and in the window of Room 1740. Many a fun night of beer and hamburgers were had by all. Luckily, we never got caught. Amidst all these fun and games, there was a serious King Cross who shared a love of words with me. We were both English majors. Much the better wordsmith, he would agonize over his "daily theme" course into the wee small hours of the night. He loved writing then and, of course, made it his livelihood later. We tried to connect in later years but it never quite happened. I regret that now. I shall remember fondly his quiet gentleness during those most impressionable of college days.

Richard Maxwell Sargent, Jr. (December 16, 2005)

Classmates:

Once again I have sad tidings to convey: the death from cancer of Richard Maxwell Sargent Jr. on December 16, 2005.

Dick was born in Orange, NJ, grew up in Montclair, and was a resident of Chatham Township at the time of his death. He graduated from Governor Dummer Academy in Byfield, MA and later with us. After leaving Yale, he served in the Army from 1958 to 1961.

After his discharge from the Army, Dick joined Chubb Corp., where he worked for his entire career. He held various executive positions, including management of the departments of operations and personal lines, as well as the international division. He spent his final 15 years with Chubb as president and CEO of the Chubb Institute, later to become Chubb Computer Services. He retired in 2001.

Dick was an avid golfer and belonged to Canoe Brook Country Club. where he was senior men's champion in 1991 and 2004. He also belonged to New Seabury Golf Club on Cape Cod and the Bonita Bay Club in Bonita Springs, FL. An enthusiastic outdoorsman and skier who ran several marathons, including those in New York and Boston, he also enjoyed many helicopter skiing and backpacking hips with his son and bicycle trips, including the AIDS bicycle ride from New York to Boston, with his daughter. His wife joined him on canoeing trips.

Dick was the loving husband of 41 year of Ann M. Sargent and beloved father of Richard M. Sargent III of Los Altos, CA and Louisa B. Sargent of Basking Ridge. Also surviving is a sister, Marcia Hider, of Seabrook Island, SC.

Those who wish may contribute in Dick's memory to the Morris Land Conservancy, 19 Boonton Avenue, Boonton, NJ 07005.

I learned of Dick's death originally from Allan Wendt and since then have been closely in touch with George Doty, one of Dick's roommates, who has provided the information above George has also written me less formally that Dick "was one of the most enthusiastic people I've ever known. He was a pleasure to be with. He gave his all to everything he ever did." Those of us who knew Dick will greatly mourn his death, and those who didn't will join in sadness over this latest diminution in the numbers of us '57ers.

—JMB

Robert M. Driscoll (December 11, 2005)

Classmates:

Art Diefendorf has alerted me to the death at age 70 of Bob Driscoll, who was with us for two years before stopping out to join the army and then to return to Yale to graduate with the Class of 1960. He died on December 11, 2005, of cancer in Westerly, Rhode Island. Art tells me that Bob had many friends in his original class, many of whom remained in close contact with him over the years. He was a man of many parts, having been an actor, television producer, and magazine publisher and having won widespread admiration for his erudition, intellectual restlessness, and calm authority on many matters. A collector of 19th-century prints, especially of those of Winslow Homer, he was deeply involved in local community affairs, especially with the Westerly library and park. His first wife, Margaret, having died in 1993, he remarried and is survived by his wife Elizabeth, four daughters, two brothers, and three stepchildren. A full obituary is to be found in the Boston Globe of December 15, 2005.

—JMB

William J. Keen (October 25, 2005)

Willliam J. Keen of Harleysville, Pennsylvania, formerly of Centre Square, died of lung cancer on October 25, 2005, at his home. He was the husband of Patricia (Dangremond) Keen of 46 years. Born December 1, 1932, in Hartford, CT, he graduated from Yale in 1957 after having served in the US Army Corps of Engineers during the Korean War. He retired in 1997 after having served as a construction manager over 40 years for United Engineer and Constructors in Philadelphia, then for Merck. He belonged to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Military Vehicle Preservation Association, and the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels. He was also involved in the Boy Scouts of America for over 30 years. In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Robert Boyd Keen of Harleysville, a daughter Elizabeth Marie Bedell of Pottstown, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Gifts in his memory may be sent to the American Cancer Society.

I repeat here what Ted Palen, Bill's senior year roommate, from whom I've received a copy of the obituary, earlier wrote: "Having lung cancer, Bill knew he was dying for a long time, but never let it affect his attitude. A few weeks ago when my wife Fay and I went out to lunch with Bill and his wife Pat, they were going to the funeral parlor the next day to make arrangements, which Bill referred to as 'a dress rehearsal.' Typical for Bill." Ted now adds that "Bill's memorial service was just fine. Many of his friends - including a contingent from the Military Motor Vehicle Club. One of the moments the minister shared was regarding a visit with Bill in the hospital during one of his stays. In response to the question 'What are you doing HERE ?' Bill's response was: 'there wasn't room in maternity.'" Ted goes on to say that "Bill was interested in military vehicles - and had one of each of those he had driven while in the service. 2 DUKs - 1 jeep - 1 2 1/2 ton truck - a trailer of some sort - and various parts - hoods, fenders, etc. The truck ran - the others had at one time or another, but were not guaranteed to run currently."

—JMB

Francis A. Slowick, Jr. (October 19, 2005)

This has been a period of loss for the class. I have word from Joel Colker of Frank Slowick's recent death. I excerpt below part of the obituary from the Berkshire Eagle of October 21st.

Dr. Francis A. Slowick Jr., who co-founded Berkshire Orthopedic Associates in Pittsfield in 1971, died Wednesday night. He was 69 years old. Dr. Slowick, of 197 View Drive, died at Mount Greylock Extended Care Facility after a long battle with cancer.

In 1971, he joined with Dr. Franklin Glockner and formed Berkshire Orthopedic Associates. The two had served their residency together, and reunited to start their practice….that has grown to include eight physicians.

Dr. Slowick liked to cook, so he took professional cooking classes, he said. He was a Yale football fan, so he knew the names of each player and his biography. He liked to garden, so his garden was meticulously kept.

Born in Pittsfield on Dec. 2, 1935, son of Dr. Francis A. Slowick Sr. and the late Olive Elizabeth O'Brien Slowick, he attended Pittsfield High School for a year before transferring to Williston Academy, where he was a 1953 graduate.

He earned a bachelor of science degree from Yale University in 1957 and graduated from medical school at Tufts University in 1961. He did his internship and residency at Albany Medical Center from 1961 to 1967. He also received a fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City in 1965.

Dr. Slowick served from 1967 to 1969 as a major during the Vietnam War. Following his service, he was certified by the Board of Orthopedic Surgery in 1969. He returned to Pittsfield and joined in practice with his father.

He was a fan of the New York Yankees and North Carolina basketball. He enjoyed reading and doing the New York Times crossword, and was a Civil War buff.

He and his wife, the former Donna M. Cribari, celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary May 31. Besides his wife and father, of Dalton, he leaves a son, Alan Slowick of Boston; two daughters, Jessica B. Scully of Raleigh, N.C., and Karen Cobb-Otto of Rochester, N.Y.; a brother, Brian Slowick of Mango, Fla.; a sister, Paula Francese of Exeter, N.H., and two grandsons.

A private memorial service for Dr. will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to HospiceCare in the Berkshires' Hospice House Fund in care of the funeral home.

—JMB

Norio Iguchi (September 20, 2005)

Classmates:

With the help of classmates Tod Mann, we have learned that Norio Iguchi died on September 20, 2005. From the little that we can learn, after attending, but not graduating from, Yale, where he was a resident of Pierson College, Norio gained an M.A. degree in literature and subsequently had a career in journalism.

—JMB

Rufus S. Goodwin (July 10, 2005)

Classmates:

I have just learned of the death from cancer of Rufus S. Goodwin at his home in Marblehead, MA, on July 10th.

I doubt that many of us knew Rufus. I recall meeting him only once—at, I believe, our last reunion, but perhaps elsewhere. He does not appear in our freshman picture book nor in the 1957 classbook, so I can discover little of his relationship to the class or university or who might have known him on campus or later. But he was clearly an interesting man, as can be gleaned from the information below that I extract from a long obituary in the Sunday Boston Globe of July 24th, and I wish that I'd known him better.

A poet and novelist, Rufus was the great-grandson of a business partner of J.P. Morgan and thus appears not to have had to work for a living. But he did so, not only writing novels and poetry, but also working and residing among the homeless, who inspired him and about whom he wrote sensitively. He was born in New York and, after Yale, studied linguistics at Georgetown. In the 1960s, he was Vatican correspondent for UPI and then a free-lance writer in Switzerland and England. He had to struggle against periodic depression, as I recall his telling me, and managed to do so through his work, his non-churchgoing spirituality, and the care and support of his wife Irmgard and his family. Besides his wife, he leaves a mother, son, daughter, brother, two sisters, and twelve grandchildren. Irmgard may be reached at 55 Brackett Pl. Apt. A, Marblehead, MA 01945-4664; phone: (781) 639-4457; email: rufuss@comcast.net.

—JMB

Christopher Foote (June 13, 2005)

Classmates:

While this ought to be the season only of glad holiday tidings, the work, often sad, of corresponding secretary must go on. And so I write to inform you of the June 13th death, of which I've just learned, of Chris Foote. Because I have from Yale a full obituary written by his UCLA colleagues, I will post that on our website. But as you will see from excerpts below, Chris had an extraordinarily significant career, of which I, at least, had known nothing.

May all of you and yours who receive this note enjoy the holidays with my best wishes.

Christopher Spencer Foote, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of California at Los Angeles and the foremost authority on chemical reactions of singlet oxygen, passed away on June 13, 2005, at his home in Santa Monica, California, from complications of brain cancer. He was 70.

A UCLA faculty member for his entire career, Foote made the groundbreaking discovery of the role of singlet oxygen an electronically excited form of the oxygen in the air in reactions of organic molecules caused by sunlight and ultraviolet light. Christopher Foote's discovery, established by developing an independent chemical route to singlet oxygen, was made in 1964 while he was still an instructor at UCLA. This became the fundamental principle that led to a rich career exploring the interactions of singlet oxygen with a broad range of chemicals, ranging from DNA and other biological molecules to nanomaterials. His research led to important new findings about why molecular oxygen is both essential to life processes and is a major agent of biological damage.

Born June 5, 1935 in Hartford, Connecticut, Christopher Foote grew up in a family where intellectual rigor and music were highly valued. His father, William Foote, was the Managing Editor and columnist of the Hartford Courant; his mother was the former Dorothy Bennett, a descendant of Benjamin Silliman, the first professor of science at Yale.

Foote graduated from Kingswood School in West Hartford, Connecticut and earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Yale University in 1957. The following year he spent as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Gottingen, Germany in the laboratories of eminent photochemist G. O. Schenk. Foote's' long-standing interests in reactive oxygen 'species and notable facility with languages were nurtured in that period. He then entered Harvard University in 1958 and received his Ph.D. in 1962 for work with Nobel Laureate Robert Burns Woodward on solvolytic reactions, a major research interest of that era. The same year, he joined the UCLA faculty.

Foote earned many prestigious awards for his achievements, most notably an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award of the American Chemical Society. In 1994, he received some of the American Chemical Society's highest honors: the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award and the Tolman Medal of the Southern California Section of the American Chemical Society.

With his wife Judith L Smith, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at UCLA, Christopher Foote was a patron of the Los Angeles Opera and the Da Camera Society as well as a benefactor of the LA. Chamber Orchestra.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a sister, Mary Foote Rounsavall of Louisville, Kentucky; two sons, Jonathan Trumball Foote of Menlo Park and Thomas Ward Foote of Topanga, who is married to Florence Riobe-Foote; and a grandson, Spencer Andre Foote. Christopher had two brothers, now deceased, William Jenkins Foote Jf. and Edward Jenkins Foote.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to UCLA Foundation with a notation that it is for the Christopher S. Foote Graduate Fellowship in Organic Chemistry, and sent to: Chair's Office, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA, P.O. Box 951569, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1569.

—JMB

Below is a fuller obituary of Christopher Spencer Foote, written by his UCLA colleagues

Christopher Spencer Foote, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of California at Los Angeles and the foremost authority on chemical reactions of singlet oxygen, passed away on June 13, 2005, at his home in Santa Monica, California, from complications of brain cancer. He was 70.

A UCLA faculty member for his entire career, Foote made the groundbreaking discovery of the role of singlet oxygen—an electronically excited form of the oxygen in the air—in reactions of organic molecules caused by sunlight and ultraviolet light. Christopher Foote's discovery, established by developing an independent chemical route to singlet oxygen, was made in 1964 while he was still an instructor at UCLA. This became the fundamental principle that led to a rich career exploring the interactions of singlet oxygen with a broad range of chemicals, ranging from DNA and other biological molecules to nanomaterials. His research led to important new findings about why molecular oxygen is both essential to life processes and is a major agent of biological damage.

Professor Foote's lifelong research established the enormous importance and. double-edged-sword behavior of singlet oxygen and reactive oxygen species. He led a research team that showed these altered forms of oxygen that are generated by the influence of light-can be used for beneficial chemical reactions and have many natural functions in living cells; at the same time, they are responsible for many types of biological damage, including DNA reactions leading to mutations.

Foote also influenced thousands of undergraduate students in the U.S. and other countries as co-author with William Brown of the widely used organic chemistry textbook, "Organic Chemistry'. Thee book is now in its fourth edition, now co-authored with William Brown and Brent Iverson.

Born June 5, 1935 in Hartford, Connecticut, Christopher Foote grew up in a family where intellectual rigor and music were highly valued. His father, William Foote, was the Managing Editor and columnist of the Hartford Courant; his mother was the former Dorothy Bennett, a descendant of Benjamin Silliman, the first professor of science at Yale.

Foote graduated from Kingswood School in West Hartford, Connecticut and earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Yale University in 1957. The following year he spent as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Gottingen, Germany in the laboratories of eminent photochemist G. O. Schenk. Foote's' long-standing interests in reactive oxygen 'species and notable facility with languages were nurtured in that period. He then entered Harvard University in 1958 and received his Ph.D. in 1962 for work with Nobel Laureate Robert Burns Woodward on solvolytic reactions, a major research interest of that era. The same year, he joined the UCLA faculty.

During more than 40 years on the Westwood campus, Foote was an honored researcher and dedicated teacher, mentoring and training hundreds of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, while giving himself tirelessly to university service. His 43-year academic career established him as a world leader in the field of physical organic chemistry. His earliest work focused on the effect of bond angle strain on the properties of organic molecules. He established a quantitative correlation between spectroscopic properties and reactivity well-known to chemists and named for him. Foote's main research interest was the generation and reactions of reactive oxygen species in chemistry and biology. He was renowned as an authority on reactive oxygen species, known to biologists as "ROS," including species such as singlet oxygen and superoxide—a form of oxygen with an excess electron. Foote produced more than 250 research papers that elegantly document discoveries on organic chemical reactions—many of which focus on how singlet oxygen, superoxide, and other forms of reactive oxygen influence biology, both as natural components of the immune system and as toxins.

Foote was a leader in clarifying the complex chemistry induced by these simple but reactive molecules. His recent work on DNA damage and on the photophysical properties of the fullerenes were among the most influential discoveries from his laboratories.

Foote earned many prestigious awards for his achievements, most notably an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award of the American Chemical Society. In 1994, he received some of the American Chemical Society's highest honors: the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award and the Tolman Medal of the Southern California Section of the American Chemical Society. His research was supported throughout his career by numerous grants from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. He was highly prized a_consultant to prominent companies such as Procter & Gamble, Occidental, and Clorox due to his expertise on oxidation chemistry and biology.

Foote was the chair of the Department of Chemistry from 1978-1981, providing leadership that led to the construction of the Molecular Sciences Building (completed in 1994), and served as a strong advocate in developing the department's commitment to hiring outstanding female scientists for faculty positions.

In service to the broader UCLA community, Foote served as a member and chair of the Committee on Academic Personnel and was a member of the corresponding statewide committee for the UC system. He also served as member of the Executive Committee of the College. In keeping with his strong interest in computer technology, he was the first chair of the university's Information Technology Planning Board, which helped to transform educational and administrative technology policy at UCLA. He was president of the American Society for Photobiology in 1988-89 and senior editor of the respected journal Accounts of Chemical Research from 1995 until his death. He also served as elected councilor for the American Association for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

With his wife Judith L Smith, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at UCLA, Christopher Foote was a patron of the Los Angeles Opera and the Da Camera Society as well as a benefactor of the LA. Chamber Orchestra.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a sister, Mary Foote Rounsavall of Louisville, Kentucky; two sons, Jonathan Trumball Foote of Menlo Park and Thomas Ward Foote of Topanga, who is married to Florence Riobe-Foote; and a grandson, Spencer Andre Foote. Christopher had two brothers, now deceased, William Jenkins Foote Jf. and Edward Jenkins Foote.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to UCLA Foundation with a notation that it is for the Christopher S. Foote Graduate Fellowship in Organic Chemistry, and sent to: Chair's Office, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA, P.O. Box 951569, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1569.

Charles H. Mee, Jr. (May 28, 2005)

We've just learned from Ed Cook that Charlie Mee died on May 28th at home in Oklahoma City after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. After graduating from Yale, he served as an army officer in Korea and earned an MBA from the University of Colorado. For 36 years he was employed by Travelers Motor Club, the last six years as president. He was also active in the Episcopal Church. Charlie is survived by his wife Barbara of Oklahoma City, their daughter, Monica, of Oslo, Norway, three grandchildren, and his sister Marilyn Meade. Barbara can be reached at 8706 North May Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73120. Memorial gifts may be made to All Souls Episcopal Church, Casady School (which Charlie attended before Yale), or the Free to Live Animal Sanctuary, all in Oklahoma City.

Ed recalls that he, Charlie, Phil Griffing (killed in a private plane crash in 1960), and Joe Clayton, the entire Oklahoma City contingent in the class, all rode east to New Haven together on the same train in 1953.

—JMB

Charles V. Guidotti (May 19, 2005)

It's my sad duty once again to notify you of the death of a classmate—this time of Charlie Guidotti. Below is, first, the notice that I received today from Pat Wilde, then a more formal announcement of Charlie's death and of gatherings in his memory this coming week.

—JMB

From Pat Wilde:

Charley, who was born in Somerville, MA, but raised in Hudson, MA, where his father was a doctor, was in TD with me and also a fellow Geology major. After Yale, to which he'd followed his brother Hugo (captain of the baseball team), Charley went to graduate school at Minnesota also in Geology. He moved on to Harvard and got a Ph.D in Geology with a thesis on metamorphic rocks in Maine. While at Harvard, Charley married Barbara Swift and they had three children, two girls and a boy. After Harvard, Charley took a position at the University of California, Davis. We hooked up again there as I was at UC Berkeley down the road. Charley then moved to the University of Wisconsin and then finally back to his beloved New England (Charley was from Massachusetts and he never lost his accent) to a professorship at Maine, where he remained until his death. Charley was one of the then new breed of geologists who combined precise field work with sound thermodynamic analyses of the mineralogy of the rocks he mapped.

From Scott Johnson, a colleague of Charlie at the University of Maine, Orono:

Friends of Charlie Guidotti,

For those of you who have not yet heard, Charlie passed away in the late afternoon of Thursday, May 19. He was diagnosed with melanoma late last summer, and for the past 9 months or so he fought to live. He spent his final days surrounded by his family and friends in a hospice in Needham, Massachusetts, and died peacefully.

Following are details regarding his wake, and celebration of life. We have tried to get together a comprehensive email list, but if there is someone missing from the list please feel free to forward this message.

Monday, May 23.

There will be a wake/service held at the Tighe-Hamilton Funeral Home, 50 Central Street, Hudson Masachusetts, 01749 (phone 978-562-3252). Go here for a map:

www.tighehamilton.com/Directions.html

Visiting hours will be from 4 to 8 pm. There will be a digital slide show running with 100 or so photos of Charlie, friends and family over many years. There will be many other items to view, and my understanding is that some of Charlie's favorite bird songs will be playing in the background.

Tuesday, May 24.

Starting at 11 am there will be a Celebration of Life service at the same funeral home. This will be short, perhaps up to 1 hour. Charlie's son, Vincent, will be speaking. Then, everyone will head down the street to Lilac Lane, to the property where Charlie grew up. There, you can enjoy the beautiful property and the company of friends. You can also view the potato fields that Charlie was responsible for as a kid. A group from Maine will be heading down Tuesday morning for this.

Charlie's wife Barbara has requested that anyone considering sending flowers, consider instead making a contribution to cancer research. In fact, she has set up her own fund, called Sunflowers For Health. You can view details and the list of medical centers that will receive the proceeds at Barbara's NatureScan site:
www.naturescanart.com

Click on the link called Sunflowers For Health. If you have not yet seen what Barbara does with scanart, I encourage you to check out the website.

You can make contact with Barbara here:

Barbara Guidotti
NatureScan
5 Brookside Terrace
Veazie, Maine 04401
NatureScan@yahoo.com
www.naturescanart.com

Albert J. Butler (March 15, 2005)

I have just learned of the death on March 15th of Albert J. Butler of Hyde Park, NY. I have been able to find out little about him, and we had no information from him, nor even knew of his whereabouts, during our 45th reunion. His obituary states that he had previously lived in Merrick, Long Island, and that he is survived by his companion, Anita Trautwein, a son, and four daughters. Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice Foundation, 374 Violet Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601.

—JMB

Gerald C. Neary (March 1, 2005)

These have been costly recent weeks for the Class of 1957, and I regret having to report yet another death, that of Gerry Neary, from complications of diabetes in Princeton, New Jersey, on March 1st. A graduate of NYU Law School as well as of Yale, Gerry is survived by his companion of 35 years, Toby Goodyear, who may be reached at (609) 921-0678 and tobygoodyear@earthlink.net. Gerry is also survived by his children Lisa Neary and Mary Louise Rubin of New York City and Jake Goodyear and Lauren Goodyear Schramm, as well as by his sister Susan Greene of Providence, RI. A service and reception for attendees were held last Friday in Princeton. Contributions in Gerry's memory may be made to Pro Musica or the Princeton Symphony, on whose board Gerry sat. I regret that I do not have further information about those institutions.

I did not know Gerry at Yale but, meeting him later, came to savor his warmth and thoughtfulness while regretting that we rarely saw each other, save at reunions or occasionally in Princeton. Below I convey a brief tribute to Gerry from Carl Myrus, who was the Whiff's Pitchpipe to Gerry's Popo.

—JMB

"Gerry joined our class in Sophomore Year. I really didn't get to know him well until the following year, through the Glee Club. I quickly found his sense of humor and pleasant demeanor easy to work with. His 'sabbatical' after his Freshman Year had served him well, for he had an otherwise precocious sense of unflappable leadership and dependability. He had no pretenses, and was genuine in his concern for others and music and family. Our Senior Year became a wonderful opportunity to spend considerable time together, he as "Popo" and I as "Pitchpipe" for the Whiffenpoofs (I often thought he and I should have swapped jobs). He epitomized the three characteristics required for success: affability, accountability, and authenticity, all of which he demonstrated throughout the rest of his life, whether in Fatherhood, Music, Law, or Community - in that order. He made a difference, and he will be missed. I am very grateful to have known him and to be able to call him 'Friend'."

Michael Kenefick (February 7, 2005)

I send new sad tidings, this about the recent death of Mike Kenefick, to which I was alerted first by Jay Conte in Seattle. John Poinier has been in touch with Mike's children, and I've received some reflections from other classmates. What's missing from the obituary below, published originally in the Seattle Times of February 13th, is that Mike died quietly and peacefully in the presence of his daughter and three sons after a short battle with lung cancer. As the notice states, a service in Mike's memory will take place in Seattle on February 28th.

Franz Gimmler points out to me that photos taken by Mike, including some of our 45th reunion, are posted here: Image Station 1, Image Station 2, and Image Station 3. Franz provides directions into the site as follows:

Go to this webpage: www.imagestation.com/member/join.html
Join - It just take a few items of info - quick - no cost.
Once in, type into first search window "mikekenefick" second window pull shade down and select "member"
Mike will come up along with "Yale 1957 45th Reunion"

Click and you will see over 30 pictures - you might even find one of yourself
The whole album is nice gift from Mike to us all.

Rob Walker has this to add: From early on Mike was an avid golfer, winning as I recall the unofficial "Brooks Championship" in both 1952 and 1953. In retirement he remained in Seattle where he had put down strong roots, but moved to Palm Springs for the winter to escape "fog and drizzle", and to be better able to pursue golf year round. He was a regular on the U.S. Golf Seniors circuit which brought him back east every year. Mike's other sporting passion was fly fishing which took him to Montana and his beloved Yellowstone annually. I also recall Mike as one of the earliest computer literate people, and one who challenged me to "get with it" in the early 90's.

Mike daughter Mary Kopp can be reached via Mary Kopp@verison.net. His son Andrew Kenefick, YC '84, can be reached via akenefick@wm.com.

—JMB

Obituary, The Seattle Times, February 13, 2005

Michael KENEFICK 69, of Seattle, WA, died February 7, 2005, in Rancho Mirage, CA. He was born February 28, 1935, in Buffalo, NY, son of Theodore Germain Kenefick and Mary Goodyear Kenefick. He attended the Nichols School in Buffalo and graduated from the Brooks School in North Andover, MA (class of 1953) and Yale University in New Haven, CT (class of 1957). After training in Newport, RI, Mr. Kenefick served in the U.S. Navy from 1958 through 1961. He was a senior executive with Marine Midland Bank in Buffalo and later the Laird Norton Trust Company in Seattle. An avid golfer and fisherman, Mr. Kenefick enjoyed winters in Palm Desert, CA and his annual fly fishing trip to Silver Tip Ranch in Montana. He maintained memberships in The Pack Club and The Saturn Club in Buffalo where he served as dean in 1977. Mr. Kenefick was also a member of the Seattle Golf Club and a charter member of The Plantation in Palm Desert. Mr. Kenefick is survived by his daughter Mary K. Kopp of Los Angeles; son Andrew M. of Seattle; James G. of Los Angeles; Theodore G. of Seattle; their mother, Anne J. Kenefick of Seattle; sister Sheila K. Bertozzi of Palm Desert; six grandchildren, Leslie Kenefick, Audrey Kenefick, Connor Kenefick, Aidan Kenefick, Emily Kopp and Sara Kenefick; and dear friend Carol Wright of Seattle. A Memorial Service will be held at the Seattle Golf Club on Monday, February 28 at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Trout Unlimited or the Yellowstone Park Foundation.

Michael Poutiatine (December 17, 2004)

It's with deep personal sadness that I report the recent death of Mike Poutiatine. All those who knew "Pooch," as I did well as a fellow member of St. Anthony Hall, recall the warmth and optimism of his disposition and the sharpness of his perception and wit. An obituary notice that Gus Kellogg has solicited from Mike's widow Marcia is included below. You will note that it carries word of a memorial service to be held Sunday, January 9th, in Vero Beach, Florida. Because of the nearness of that date, I hope that you'll notify any and all of Mike's friends and classmates who may not receive this email message.

You will also be interested, I'm confident, to learn, in reference to Marcia's referring to Mike as "simply divine" that the name of his beloved boat was "Simply Divine."

—JMB

Michael Poutiatine died Friday, December 17, 2004, at the age of 69 at the Indian River Memorial Hospital after a brief illness. Michael was born on May 8, 1935, in Albany, NY. He was a long time resident of Loudonville, NY, where he and his wife, Marcia, raised their daughters, Allison and Jennifer. They moved to Vero Beach, FL in 1991.

He was a graduate of the Harvey School, formerly of Hawthorne, NY, the St. Paul's School in Concord, NH, and Yale University where he was captain of the polo team his senior year. He served on the board of the Albany Boys and Girls Club and most recently on the Indian River Hospital Foundation Board. He worked for the John Manning Paper Company; however, most of his career was in the travel industry.

Mr. Poutiatine was a member of the St Augustine of Canterbury Church, Vero Beach.

He was a member of the Moorings and Hawks Nest Clubs in Vero Beach; Schuyler Meadows Club in Loudonville, NY; the Saratoga Reading Rooms in Saratoga Springs, NY; and the Springdale Hall Club in Camden, SC.

He was the son of the late Prince Serge and Shirley Poutiatine of Loudonville, NY, and Charleston, SC and is survived by his wife, Marcia Meserve Poutiatine, and two daughters, Allison Poutiatine and Jennifer Marley and her husband, Paul C. Marley, Jr. He also leaves behind his brother, Ivan Poutiatine of Mill Valley,CA and sister , Mariana Cotten of Sarasota, FL.

A memorial service will be held 1 PM, Sunday, January 9, at St. Augustine of Canterbury, Vero Beach. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Indian River Hospital Foundation or the VNA and Hospice of Vero Beach, FL, or the Albany Medical Center in Albany, NY.

Michael Poutiatine will be remembered for all the stories his family and friends have to tell of the life that he loved and lived so well, but most of all he will be remembered for his kind heart, for he was "Simply Divine".

Patrick W. Child (December 10, 2004)

I speed to you the news of the death of another classmate, Pat Child, whose death I learned of just this morning from his brother Bob of the Class of 1958. Pat may have been officially a class member for only a single year, but he was longer at Yale in the School of Music and many of us recall him well. I include here only slightly altered the text of the message I've received from Bob Child, '58, who himself can be reached at ChldBIBCHI@aol.com and at 62 Mowry Street, New Haven 06473, phone 203-288-4405.

—JMB

I am writing you to notify you of the death of Patrick W. Child who was a member of the Class of 1957 for his freshman year.

He left Yale College after his freshman year and entered the Yale School of Music where, as a trumpet major, he studied for two years.

After a brief stint working for the Yale Audio Visual Center, he entered the U.S. Air Force in 1958 and spent four years stationed at Cape Canaveral where he was a member of a special photo unit that specialized in both engineering and documentary photography of the beginnings of the Space Age.

After his Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Air Force he worked as a civilian at the Cape.

In 1964 he and his first wife, Mary Jane, returned to the New Haven area where he spent the next 38 years as a news cameraman and satellite truck operator. for WTNH-TV Channel 8 in New Haven.

During his career in TV news, he covered every major news event in Connecticut and many events both in the U.S. and abroad.

He retired in 2002 and moved to Venice, Florida with his second wife, Kim, Mary Jane having died a number of years previously.

He died December 10, 2004 at Venice Hospital after a three-month-long battle with glioblastoma. It is a very fast acting and invariably fatal cancerous brain tumor. There is no known cure for it.

He leaves his son, Patrick W. Child Jr. and daughters Victoria Euler and Courteney Gettel and his twin brother, Robert C. Child III, a staff photographer for the Associated Press and a member of the Yale Class of 1958.

He also leaves three grandchildren,. Garrett Child, Jacen Gettel and Lauryn Gettel.

Even though he was only briefly a member of '57, I thought that the class should be informed.

Sincerely, Robert C. Child III, Yale 1958

Richard S. Arnold (September 23, 2004)

UPON THE DEATH OF RICHARD ARNOLD: A TRIBUTE. By Gilbert S. Merritt '57

Richard Arnold's playing partners were always in for a treat when his golf ball arrived at the green. He pulled out a 100-year-old putter with a worn, but finely polished, antique wood shaft. His grandfather, a lawyer in Texarkana, first putted with it at the turn of the century. Richard's father inherited it and played with it for many years. He gave it to Richard. No telling how many balls it has rolled into the cup. In Richard's steady hands, as another fifteen footer dropped in, the old putter seemed like a magic wand with a long memory for how a golf ball will run and break.

But I do not intend to dwell on Richard's golf game. The old putter was not only lovingly connected with Richard's family. It is symbolic of a life and mind rooted in history, with an uncanny memory for people, events and literature, legal and otherwise, and with a sense of balance and moderation based on the Golden Mean and a deep understanding of history. In a fascinating lecture in 1997 at NYU on the problem of constitutional interpretation, as seen through the eyes of James Madison, magnified through the lens of Richard Arnold, Richard had this to say about his own love for history:

The question of the relevance of Madison's views is one you will have to answer for yourselves. My own view is that history is important because it's intrinsically interesting, or, to put it in plain language, history is fun. It may also be of some use in the work we have to do in our own time.

From Richard S. Arnold, How James Madison Interpreted the Constitution, 72 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 267, 269 (1997), an article that those interested in constitutional history should read.

When Richard worked or talked or wrote, the ball always seemed to drop in the cup.

Richard majored in the classics at Yale and always retained his talent for Latin and Greek. A deeply spiritual man, his Biblical learning, like his legal learning and his historical understanding, was a product of a remarkable capacity to combine careful, precise analysis with the ability to synthesize diverse knowledge. It was no accident that in scholarship he ranked first in our class at Yale and at Harvard Law School.

His great love for language (he learned Italian in later life by reading the Divine Comedy) gave Richard a poetic writing style ¬ plain, spare, elegant. A few years ago, he rebutted the view that Justice Brennan, for whom he clerked in 1960, molded the Warren Court through sheer force of personality and "Irish guile." In five expressive sentences he catches the essence of Justice Brennan's role on the Court:

"Personality, no doubt, is important. Judges are human beings. They live in bodies and react on a personal level. But judges do not cast votes simply because their backs are slapped in a particularly engaging way. What Justice Brennan did, he did as a lawyer and as a judge, and his mastery of the English language, of the history of the Constitution, and of the technical aspects of the law played at least as big a part in his success at constructing majorities as the warmth of his personality and manner."

In Memoriam: William J. Brennan, Jr., 111 Harv. L. Rev. 5 (1997). This simple passage expresses a complex idea with a cadence of iambic pentameter typical of Richard's writing.

I knew that there was something very special about Richard 45 years ago, not long after we sat down next to each other at 8:00 A.M. on September 22, 1953, for our first class as freshmen at Yale College. It was a class in beginning French taught five days a week in a little classroom above Yale's main Gothic gate, looking out over the New Haven green. When we struck up a short conversation before class began that morning, I was relieved. I thought: "This boy from Arkansas is probably just as unsophisticated and unprepared for Yale as am I, a farm boy from Tennessee." That idea did not last long. Within two weeks, he and Monsieur Tofoya, our teacher, were conversing back and forth in French. Within a month, Monsieur Tofoya had put him up in French 20, which required as preparation two good years of high school French. Before the first semester was out, the French Department put Richard into French 30, an advanced class, where they read Beaudelaire, Stendhal and other great French writers.

But neither do I want to dwell on how smart Richard Arnold was, or to overemphasize his intelligence and learning to the exclusion of qualities of the heart like a sense of justice, diplomacy, thoughtfulness, humor, loyalty, tolerance and affection for others. There are many smart people, but only one with the complex mind and spirit of Richard Arnold. It was his heart and character that made all who knew him love and admire him.

For his many friends and acquaintances, Richard was a hero and a model—on the one hand, a high achiever with a great capacity for work, while at the same time, blessed with an enlarged capacity for sympathy and the ability to put himself into the shoes of another. Even though pressed for time, he could not pass a beggar by or allow a genuine request for aid to go unanswered. One such time, after he gave the beggar a little money, I said, "Richard, that guy is probably an alcoholic or a dope addict."

He responded in good humor, "You never know, he may be an angel." In his mind, the guy was just one of God's children in need.

Richard summoned what little anger and hostility his nature owned in the face of the bully who takes advantage of the weakness of others. He was instinctively for the underdog and for the liberty and dignity of the little guy. That sentiment runs subtly throughout his opinions, writings and speeches. For example, his Howard Kaplan Memorial Lecture at Hofstra Law School on the sanctity of trial by jury is a sermon about his faith in the deliberations of "twelve ordinary people," for whom the expert is no "match." Richard S. Arnold, Trial by Jury: The Constitutional Right to a Jury of Twelve in Civil Trials, 22 Hofstra L. Rev. 1, 3 (1993). In this same lecture Richard gives us his thoughts on the relation of reason and emotion in the deliberative process:

"And here is the thing I want to tell you ¬ the point: emotion is not a bad thing. In law or anywhere else, we do not often think of it that way, perhaps. We say that the life of the law is reason, but there is more to it than cold rationalism. As Pascal said, 'The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know.'"

Richard's legal and moral philosophy, and his heart, emphasized the importance of the claims of the disadvantaged and the least powerful. Achilles' pitiless enforcers, the myrmidons of the law, were not Richard's friends. He took basic Christian ethics seriously, reflecting the ancient admonition found in Matthew 25:40: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Or as his charming and insightful wife, Kay, said to me once in more modern English: "I was lucky enough to marry the man who is always the last to judge and the first to forgive."

Obituary, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, September 25, 2004

Richard S. Arnold, of Little Rock, a longtime federal judge in Arkansas, died Thursday, September 23, 2004, at Rochester Methodist Hospital, Rochester, Minnesota. He was 68. The cause of death was complications from lymphoma, according to the family.

Judge Arnold had served as a United States Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit since March 7, 1980. Before that, he had been a United States District Judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, entering on duty on October 16, 1978. President Jimmy Carter appointed Judge Arnold to both positions, each time on the recommendation of Senator Dale Bumpers, for whom the Judge had worked, in Little Rock and in Washington, for six years.

When Judge Arnold first went on the bench, he expected that he would leave his mark, if at all, in published opinions deciding cases. He did write and publish hundreds of opinions during his 26 years on the bench. But perhaps his most significant service was in various administrative capacities.

Most notably, Judge Arnold served as Chairman of the Budget Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States for nine years, from 1987 to 1996. He was appointed to this position by the Chief Justice of the United States, William H. Rehnquist. Later, also by appointment of the Chief Justice, Judge Arnold served as Vice Chairman of the Committee on the Judicial Branch of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

In the former capacity, Chairman of the Budget Committee, it was the Judge's job to submit to Congress each year the funding request for the entire Judicial Branch of the federal government, except for the Supreme Court, which handles its own budget. The Judge was heard to remark how much he enjoyed this service. "It has a little touch of politics about it," he said, "and I have always enjoyed politics."

Judge Arnold ran for Congress twice, in 1966 and 1972, without success. Still, he would often say that he got a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience from running these races. "Politics is people," he said, "and it should be and can be an honorable profession."

In 1992, Judge Arnold became Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Along with this job came the Chairmanship of the Judicial Council of the Eighth Circuit, an administrative body which, by law, supervises all of the federal courts in the Circuit. He served as Chief Judge for more than six years. The term is limited by law to seven years.

As Chief Judge, it was Judge Arnold's job to review, at the initial level, complaints of judicial misconduct filed against judges in the Circuit. He also persuaded the Judicial Council to create a Task Force on Gender Fairness.

In 2003, by means of a law passed by both houses of Congress and signed by President George W. Bush, the United States Courthouse in Little Rock was named the Richard Sheppard Arnold United States Courthouse. The Judge was proud of the fact that the bill to name the courthouse in this way was sponsored by all six members of the Arkansas Congressional delegation, of both political parties. The groundbreaking ceremony for an annex to the courthouse was held on March 11, 2004.

Richard Sheppard Arnold was born on March 26, 1936, in Texarkana, Texas. (He and his family were lifelong residents of Arkansas, but he was born in Texas because that is where the main hospital in Texarkana was at the time.) His parents were Richard Lewis Arnold, General Counsel of Southwestern Electric Power Company for 50 years, and Janet Sheppard Arnold, a scholar and schoolteacher.

Judge Arnold's mother's father was Morris Sheppard, who represented Texas in the United States Senate for 28 years, 1913-1941. Senator Sheppard ended his career as Dean of the Congress and Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs.

Senator Sheppard's father, John L. Sheppard, was a member of the House of Representatives, representing the First Congressional District of Texas. The Judge's first cousin, Connie Mack, also a grandson of Senator Sheppard, himself served in the House and Senate, completing his two terms in the Senate in 1999.

Judge Arnold was proud of his ancestry, and sometimes had to be reminded by his brother, Morris Sheppard Arnold, also a United States Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit, that "those who talk too much about their ancestors are like potatoes: their best parts are underground."

Judge Arnold began his education by attending Patty Hill School, a private school in Texarkana, Arkansas, for the first and second grades. He then attended the Arkansas public schools from the third to the ninth grades.

At age 14, the Judge enrolled in the Phillips Exeter Academy at Exeter, New Hampshire, a preparatory school. He ranked second in a class of 206 (his roommate was first), was a member of the Cum Laude Society, and received a classical diploma, concentrating his studies in Latin and Greek.

The Judge continued his classical studies at Yale, and in 1957 he received his Bachelor of Arts degree with the highest academic ranking of any candidate for that degree in his class.

He then attended the Harvard Law School, was elected a case editor of the Harvard Law Review and was graduated first in a class of 475. He received the Fay Diploma, awarded each year to the student with the highest marks in his class.

Following graduation from law school, Judge Arnold moved to Washington, D.C., and served for a year as law clerk to Mr. Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., of the Supreme Court of the United States. He and Justice Brennan became lifelong friends. After his work at the Supreme Court, Judge Arnold worked for three years as an associate in the law firm of Covington and Burling in Washington.

In 1964, Judge Arnold returned to Arkansas and entered the family law firm of Arnold & Arnold, in Texarkana. He engaged in the general practice of law there for ten years, handling a wide variety of cases, perhaps the most noteworthy of which were a number of cases initially interpreting the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

Judge Arnold loved his work in environmental law, and was awarded the 1996 Environmental Law Institute Award in Washington, D.C.

While in Texarkana, the Judge was involved in a wide variety of public and community service. He held a number of appointments in state government, including most notably Legislative Secretary to Governor Dale Bumpers, 1973-1974, and appointment as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas, 1973-1974.

He also served as an elected delegate to the Seventh Arkansas Constitutional Convention, in 1969-1970. The fact that the proposed Constitution drafted by that convention and submitted to the people was not adopted was a source of great regret to the Judge.

In 1978, Judge Terry Shell of the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas died in office. Judge Arnold had served as Legislative Assistant to Senator Bumpers since 1975, and the Senator recommended him to succeed Judge Shell. In due course the nomination was made by President Carter and confirmed by the Senate without a roll-call vote.

Judge Arnold was fond of recounting that, as a staff member, he was allowed to sit on the floor of the Senate when his nomination was confirmed. In addition to Senator Bumpers and Senator Kaneaster Hodges, Senator Gary Hart (D-Colo.) and Senator John Culver (D-Iowa) spoke in support of the nomination.

Before his going on the bench, Judge Arnold had been quite active in the affairs of the Democratic Party of Arkansas. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1968, casting his vote for Hubert Humphrey.

He was also Chairman of the Rules Committee of the Arkansas Democratic Party, and a member of the Executive Committee. All of that was left behind, however, when he took the bench. The Judge, once he took the oath of office as judge, was quick to point out that he was "not a Democrat, but a former Democrat."

Judge Arnold was a member of a number of associations and clubs, including the Country Club of Little Rock, the XV Club of Little Rock, the Metropolitan Club of Washington, D.C., the Yale Club of New York City, the Elihu Club, and Phi Beta Kappa (of which he was a third-generation member).

He also received a number of honors and awards, including the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award, an award from the St. Louis Women Lawyers Association for the promotion of women in the practice of law, the Rosenberg-Meador Award, presented by the Committee on Federal Judicial Improvements of the American Bar Association, the Brody Award, presented by Colby College in Waterville, Maine, the Lewis F. Powell, Jr., Award of Professionalism and Ethics, presented by the American Inns of Court, and three honorary doctorates of law, from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. In 2004, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award for writing, the Scribes Award, of which only two have been given.

The church was a big part of Judge Arnold's life. Judge Arnold first became a member of the Episcopal Church in 1952. He served as acolyte, warden, vestry member, and in many other positions. He was elected to the vestry of four different parishes, St. James, Texarkana, Texas; St. Paul's, K Street, Washington, D.C.; Trinity Cathedral Parish, Little Rock, Arkansas; and St. Margaret's, Little Rock, Arkansas. He served as Senior Warden at St. Paul's in Washington.

Judge Arnold was co-captain of the junior varsity golf team at the Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. He made two holes in one, one at the Country Club of Little Rock and one at Point Clear, Alabama.

On nomination by the International Olympic Committee, Judge Arnold has served since 1994 as a member of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport, an independent body of jurists which supervises the Court of Arbitration for Sport, located in Lausanne, Switzerland. This Court hears voluntarily submitted cases arising out of athletics and related disputes throughout the world, including disputes arising at Olympic games.

Judge Arnold married Kay Kelley on October 27, 1979. Their marriage itself is worth an entire book. The Judge several times remarked in public that his wife was "the perfect wife. She shows what God intended humanity to be."

In addition to his wife, Judge Arnold is survived by his brother, Judge Morris Sheppard Arnold of Little Rock and his wife, Gail; and two daughters, Janet Sheppard Arnold Hart, of San Carlos, California, and her husband, Richard John Hart, and Lydia Palmer Arnold Turnipseed, of Syracuse, New York, and her husband, Terry Lynn Turnipseed. Judge Arnold leaves four grandchildren, Evan Antonio Hart and Saxon McGrath Hart, of San Carlos, California, and Lucile Mae Turnipseed and Grace Arnold Turnipseed, of Syracuse, New York. He is also survived by his cousin, Thomas Saxon Arnold, and his wife, Dolores.

Judge Arnold and his brother are unique in the history of the United States, in that they are the only two siblings ever to serve together on a federal court.

Funeral services, including a Mass, will take place at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 310 West 17th Street, in Little Rock on Tuesday, September 28 at 2 p.m. The Reverend Canon Peggy Bosmyer, Vicar of St. Margaret's, will officiate. Interment of ashes will take place following the service in the St. Margaret's columbarium, 20900 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, Arkansas. Arrangements are under the direction of Reubel Funeral Home, where the family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. on Monday, September 27.

Judge Arnold thought that courts should be places of mercy as well as justice, whenever the law would allow. He liked to remember that his mother was fond of quoting part of the speech of the woman lawyer, Portia, in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice: "though justice be thy plea, remember this, that in the course of justice none of us should see salvation."

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, 20900 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, Arkansas 72223; St. Gregory's Abbey, 56500 Abbey Road, Three Rivers, Michigan 49093-9595; New Subiaco Abbey, 405 North Subiaco Avenue, Subiaco, Arkansas 72865; St. Louis Abbey, 500 South Mason Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63141; The Arnold Lecture Series, William H. Bowen School of Law, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 1201 Mc-Math Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas 72202-5142; The Richard S. Arnold First Amendment Research Excellence Award, University of Arkansas Foundation, 417 Kimpel Hall, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701.

The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to all of Judge Arnold's doctors, nurses, caregivers, and friends who have given such tremendous support, encouragement, and assistance during the past year.

Obituary, The New York Times, September 25, 2004

Richard S. Arnold, 68, Judge Once Eyed for Supreme Court. By Neil A. Lewis

Richard S. Arnold, a federal appeals court judge who issued influential rulings involving individual rights and narrowly missed a Supreme Court nomination, died on Thursday at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He was 68.

The cause was an infection he contracted while being treated for lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph glands from which he had suffered since the 1970's, his family said.

Judge Arnold, who lived in Little Rock, Ark., was for many years the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, based in St. Louis. He was known for erudite opinions emphasizing the application of constitutional rights to individuals in everyday life and for overseeing administrative reforms in the operation of the federal courts.

A prize-winning classics scholar at Yale, he considered pursuing an academic career. Instead, he went to Harvard Law School, graduating first in his class in 1960. He worked in his family's law firm in western Arkansas and twice ran unsuccessfully for Congress.

His career on the bench began in 1978, bringing him renown in legal circles and nearly a Supreme Court nomination.

President Bill Clinton nearly named Judge Arnold in 1994 to succeed Justice Harry A. Blackmun, who retired. In the end, Mr. Clinton's choices came down to Judge Arnold, his fellow Arkansan, and Judge Stephen G. Breyer, then a federal appeals court judge in Boston. Some presidential aides argued against the appointment of Judge Arnold, saying it might carry a whiff of Arkansas favoritism. But Hillary Rodham Clinton argued vigorously that Judge Arnold was widely regarded as a scholar and jurist.

The president was inclined against Judge Breyer, whom he considered to be aloof during their first meeting, when Mr. Clinton was filling an earlier Supreme Court vacancy.

Mr. Clinton decided he could not select Judge Arnold because of the uncertain prognosis in his battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The president made his decision after taking the extraordinary action of personally interviewing Judge Arnold's doctors.

At the same time, Judge Breyer's supporters mounted a successful campaign to convince the president that he had misjudged him. They noted that Judge Breyer was in pain during the meeting, recovering from injuries from a bicycle accident.

In a statement yesterday, Mr. Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, said, "America has lost one of its greatest jurists and we have lost a cherished friend."

Prof. Polly J. Price of Emory University School of Law, who is writing a biography of Judge Arnold, said that his writings were widely admired by other judges because of their eloquence in explaining constitutional rights for individuals.

In a 1979 decision, he anticipated the move toward equality in sports programs for boys and girls when he ruled that the state of Arkansas could no longer restrict high school girls to half-court basketball while allowing boys to play full court. The practice impeded girls' chances for college athletic scholarships.

In 1984 he upheld the reversal of a conviction, saying: "Some criminals do go free because of the necessity of keeping government and its servants in their place. That is one of the costs of having and enforcing a Bill of Rights. This country is built on the assumption that the cost is worth paying, and that in the long run, we are all both freer and safer if the Constitution is strictly enforced."

Richard Sheppard Arnold was born on March 26, 1936, in Texarkana, Tex.. His maternal grandfather was Morris Sheppard, a United States senator from Texas for 28 years.

After Harvard Law School, Mr. Arnold was a law clerk to Justice William J. Brennan Jr. of the Supreme Court.

He was appointed to the Federal District Court in Arkansas in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter, who elevated him to the appeals court two years later. He was followed by his younger brother Morris S. Arnold, who was first a district judge and then served alongside him on the appeals court. Judge Morris Arnold was named to the bench by President Ronald Reagan and is regarded as more conservative than his brother.

Judge Morris Arnold said they were the only two brothers to serve together on a federal court in the nation's history.

In addition to his brother, Judge Richard Arnold is survived by his wife, Kay Kelley Arnold; two daughters from a previous marriage, Janet Sheppard Arnold Hart and Lydia Palmer Arnold Turnipseed; and four grandchildren.

Obituary, Legal Times, Vol. 27, No. 39, September 27, 2004. Copyright 2004 by American Lawyer Media

Inadmissible. Judge Richard Arnold, 1936-2004. By Tony Mauro.

Richard Arnold, a widely respected judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit who came close to being appointed to the Supreme Court, died late Thursday at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota at age 68.

When Justice Harry Blackmun retired in 1994, President Bill Clinton wanted to appoint Arnold, but decided against it because of Arnold's then-recent bout with cancer — which recurred and was ultimately the cause of his death. Arnold, a 1960 law clerk to the late Supreme Court Justice William Brennan Jr., was active in Arkansas politics, but once he was appointed to a judgeship by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, he told people he was "not a Democrat, but a former Democrat."

Arnold, a gentlemanly optimist who almost always wore a bow tie, headed the Budget Committee of the Judicial Conference from 1987 to 1996 and became known for his leadership in the judiciary. "He performed exemplary service for the judiciary through his work on the Budget Committee of the Judicial Conference," said Chief Justice William Rehnquist in a statement. In 2000, Arnold launched a debate over the proliferation of unpublished opinions by ruling, in Anastasoff v. United States, that judges could not constitutionally prevent past opinions from being cited. "I don't know what judges are afraid of," he told Legal Times.

As a sign of Arnold's stature, eight of the nine Supreme Court justices issued statements after hearing of his death. "A brilliant, brilliant man, Judge Arnold was a model of humility and self-deprecation," said Justice Clarence Thomas, who as the 8th Circuit's "circuit justice" saw him often at conferences. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, herself a cancer survivor, said, "He coped with his illness with unrelenting courage. Others, including me, gained strength from his example." Said Justice Antonin Scalia: "His carefully reasoned and beautifully written opinions were models of the art of judging. He has been a friend of mine since the days when he finished ahead of me (and first in the class) at Harvard Law School." Justice Stephen Breyer called Arnold "a great judge and a marvelous human being," and Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "It is of great importance to the federal judiciary that it can continue to attract jurists of the stature of the late, splendid Richard Arnold. His intellectual interests were vast, his character upright, and his search for truth and justice unyielding."

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said, "He always contributed his time and effort to improve the judiciary and to support efforts to help other judges around the world improve their own systems." Added Justice John Paul Stevens: "Richard Arnold was a great judge, a true scholar, a wonderful human being, and an excellent golfer. I enjoyed every minute that I spent with him and will surely miss him."

Leonard S. Slaughter (September 20, 2004)

I've just learned from New Haven of the death in Culver City, CA, of Leonard S. Slaughter, Jr. on September 20th. More than that I do not know. Because Slaughter was not listed in our 1957 classbook but was included in our 45th reunion book, it may be that he commenced study with another class but was later assigned to 1957. In any event, I'd like to learn more about him from any of you who may have known him. Even more so, I'd like to learn if any one of you might write an appreciation of him for this list, from which a reduced version would be extracted for the YAM class notes.

—JMB

Since writing my previous message, I've learned more. A freshman year roommate of Bruce McLanahan and the late Tim Childs and one of the few African-Americans in our class, Len left Yale after his freshman year to study, Ed Robinson informs me, at the University of Connecticut. The distance we've traveled since then is revealed in the report from Bruce that the freshman year dean wrote to Tim and him before matriculation asking whether there would be any problem with their rooming with a black classmate. May those days, as well as Len Slaughter, RIP.

Stephan M. Mandel (May 15, 2004)

(posted on October 17, 2013; originally published October 2, 2003 in the New York Times)

I write to convey news, just received, of the death of Stephan M. (Steve) Mandel on May 15th. Steve died at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City of lung cancer. Born the son of Judith and Abraham Mandel in Merrick, Long Island, he graduated from Mepham High School in neighboring Bellmore, Long Island, before matriculating with us in New Haven. A member of Silliman College and an economics major, he was a member of the Political Union, especially active in the Dramat (vice president in our senior year), and organizer of festivals that continued for many years after we graduated. After Yale, he attended Harvard Law School, then joined the family business, Sumner Stores Corporation, a chain of family apparel stores in the south and southwest, and rose to become the firm's executive president. A resident of Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York, as well as of New York City, Steve was deeply involved in the opera, art, and historic preservation and at the time of his death was president of the Columbia County Historical Society. Married for 30 years to Patricia Fitzgerald Mandel, he is survived by his second wife, Heidi S. Fiske, his sister Linda E. Mandel, his brother in law Pierre Clerk, and his sister in law Susan Fiske Michelson. Contributions in Steve's memory can be sent either to the Columbia County Historical Society, Box 311, Kinderhook, NY 12106, or to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, attn. Dr. Vincent Miller, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021.

—JMB

Gordon Marshall (January 23, 2004)

I have just learned of the death on January 23, 2004, of our classmates Gordon Marshall. Gordon entered with us from Lawrenceville, and, while not pictured in the 1957 Classbook, remained a member of the class, as evidenced from his brief biography in our 45th reunion book. He was then a resident of Alpharetta, Georgia. He is survived by his wife Dagmar and three children: Gordon Marshall III, Terri Bristol, and Dana Burton. His widow can possibly be reached at the last address of record we have: 6395 Spinnaker Lane, Alpharetta, GA 30005.

—JMB

R. McNicol "Rex" Robbins (September 23, 2003)

(posted on October 17, 2013; originally published October 2, 2003 in the New York Times)

Obituary, New York Times, October 2, 2003

Rex Robbins, who performed on stage, in movies and in more than 300 commercials, died on Sept. 23 in Pierre, S.D., while visiting relatives. He was 68 and lived in Manhattan.

The cause was a subdural aneurysm, or a ballooning blood vessel in the brain, said his daughter Mary Victoria Robbins.

A product of Yale's undergraduate theater program, Mr. Robbins was a versatile actor who appeared in 18 Broadway shows from 1963 to 2000. He was the put-upon but decent agent, Herbie, in the 1974 revival of "Gypsy" with Angela Lansbury; the scheming Buckingham in the 1979 "Richard III" with Al Pacino; and a pompous member of Parliament in the 1993 "Sisters Rosensweig."

Mr. Robbins often performed at the Williamstown Summer Theater Festival and the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven. He traveled nationally in "Gypsy" with Ms. Lansbury, "Hello, Dolly!" with Carol Channing and "Into the Woods" with Cleo Laine. His movie credits include "The Royal Tenenbaums," "1776" and the original "Shaft."

He is survived by his wife, Patricia; their daughters Margaret Robbins and Mary Victoria Robbins, both of Manhattan; their son, Timothy, of Brooklyn; and a brother, Bill, of Maple Plain, Minn.

Isaac Harter III (November 4, 2000)

I write to convey more information about Ike Harter—information that I've gathered with the help of Ned Baldwin (Ike's freshman year roommate and St. Paul's School classmate), Merrell Clark, Wayne Holman, Bill Clinton, John North, and Jerry Jones. As you may have gathered, while Ike's death was reported in the YAM in April 2001, for some reason the alumni records office didn't send me information about his decease until roughly 10 days ago. What follows is a precis of his life.

After St. Paul and a year at Yale, Ike attended the University of Michigan for two year. He didn't however take a degree there but instead took a job with Newport News Shipbuilding, 1960, where he enjoyed a career of 37 years. The nautical bug apparently bit him early in life, for John North reports "some escapades with Ike and Ned Baldwin while at Yale, not the least of which was a sail through the Cape Cod canal at night on the Harter family's 69 ft sloop." John goes on to say that "Ike was very interested in anything nautical and so it was not a surprise to learn he eventually went to work for Newport News Ship Building. I remember he always wanted to build a real live steamboat and eventually learned that he did so in his back yard in Norfolk." He died at the age of 65 on November 4, 2000, at his retirement home in Minnesota. At the time, he was survived, according to an obituary then, by his wife JoAnn Zgonc Harter of Brooklyn Center, MN, his daughter Susan Gail Smith and her daughter Andrea Smith of Apple Valley, MN, his son William Isaac Harter of Green Bay, WI, his mother, Mrs. Isaac Harter Jr. of Nantucket, MA, and his first wife and mother of his children, Gail Crissinger. A burial service was held in Nantucket, MA on November 9, 2000.

—JMB

David Sawyer (October 24, 1997)

(posted on September 9, 2013; originally published October 24, 1997)

David Sawyer died on Friday, October 24, 1997. Born in Brooklyn on February 12, 1936, he received a B.S. degree in from Yale University, Class of 1957. He received an MBA from Harvard University in 1970. His early career was spent with Exxon Corporation in the Southern tier of the country. In 1970, he joined Gerald D. Hines Interests as president of a new division for that firm, GreenMark. While with organization, he was made president and CEO of First Colony in Sugar Land, Texas.

In 1977 he founded Sawyer Development Companies, doing a broad range of real estate development projects, primarily in Texas and Colorado.

He was a lover of the outdoors, a hiker, a marathon runner, and a world traveler.

Survivors are his sons, Michael Bryan Sawyer and Charles Kimberly Sawyer, and their mother, Sandy Sawyer.

A memorial will be held on Sunday, November 9, 1997. 2501 Sunset Boulevard. Memorial are requested to be directed to M. D. Anderson Hospital and Cancer Research Center. P.O. Box 297153, Houston, Texas 77297.

—JMB

Charles R. Flanagin (October 1, 1993)

We've learned very tardily of the death on October 1, 1993, of Charles R. Flanagin. He died at home in Glenview, Illinois. We can learn little of his life and career. Charlie entered Yale with us, as can be ascertained in our Freshman Register, which notes that he roomed in Wright Hall with John Neumark, Jim Parsons, and Maury Ryan. But he seems to have stopped out at some time--our reunion book carrying no profile of him--before returning to graduate with the Class of 1960. What he did in the interim is not known. A brief published obituary indicates that he was an executive with Kemper Corporation in Chicago and Long Grove, Illinois, for over 20 years, an active Republican, and engaged in community sports programs for children. At the time of his death, Charlie was survived by his wife, Augusta; a son, Norris; three daughters, Mary Maul, Elizabeth Gallagher, and Sara Smith, and others.

—JMB

George Alexander (July 1970)

Through the skilled detective work of Talbott Huey, we have almost certainly identified and learned a bit of the life of George Alexander, one of our heretofore "lost" classmates. It seems that he was born George Alexander Lobodzinski in Poland on November 2, 1926 (although Yale carries his date of birth as November 20th, probably a clerical error given the confirmation of November 2nd in Social Security records). He emigrated to the US in 1949, having arrived in New York by boat from Italy. During the Korean War, he served in the US Army as an Airborne Ranger in the 7th Ranger Company (whose records carry him as deceased without further information). In 1953, having left the army, he became a naturalized citizen (presumably on the strength of his military service), changed his name by dropping Lobodzinsky, and entered Yale with '57, where is listed as having been a resident of Berkeley College. Yet he did not graduate with us, and his subsequent career is unknown. But, according to Social Security records, someone of his name and birth date died in West Haven in July 1970.

—JMB