These obituaries and accompanying tributes and memorial notes supplement those that, by limitations of frequency and space, are published in the class notes of the Yale Alumni Magazine. Some obituaries have been compiled or written by members of the class; others originate in published obituaries; in some cases, more than one obituary is posted. Where possible, an obituary's authorship or source of previous publication is noted. Obituaries are added to the site as soon as they become available, usually shortly after a death notice has been sent to those on the Class email list and often before a notice of decease appears in the columns of the Yale Alumni Magazine. If you wish to add an obituary or memorial tribute to someone deceased before this page was created, please contact the corresponding secretary at jbanner@aya.yale.edu.

For information regarding recently deceased classmates, please click here.

Edmund P. (Pete) Smith (posted June 25, 2008)
Richard P. Lewis (posted June 14, 2008)
William O. (Don) Miller (posted June 13, 2008)
William Pratt Laughlin (posted May 7, 2008)
John D. (Jock) Newbold III (posted April 20, 2008)
Hiram A. (Tony) Bingham (posted April 2, 2008)
Robert H. Joost (posted February 22, 2008)
George J. Dunn (posted February 20, 2008)
Hiram P. Maxim II (posted January 16, 2008)
Peter H. Hare (posted January 13, 2008)
Harold L. Daniel (posted January 6, 2008)
Albert C. Jerman (posted October 19, 2007)
Christopher Dobbins (posted August 22, 2007)
Emil Buhler II (posted August 7, 2007)
David J. Richardson (posted May 22, 2007)
Erwin J. Fleissner (posted May 17, 2007)
Paul C. Hoffman (posted April 25, 2007)
Stanley L. Jackson, Jr. (posted February 9, 2007)
Charles L. Grimes (posted February 9, 2007)
Russel H. Goddard (posted February 8, 2007)
Richard M. Finley (posted February 8, 2007)
David H. Lipsher (posted February 8, 2007)
Hugh Hampton Young II (posted November 27, 2006)
Robert H. West (posted October 30, 2006)
Thomas T. Crumpacker (posted August 17, 2006)
Peter B. Fritzsche (posted July 31, 2006)
Brayton Wilbur, Jr. (posted April 5, 2006)
John L. Hurley (posted March 24, 2006)
Harry King Cross, Jr. (posted January 24, 2006)
Richard Maxwell Sargent, Jr. (posted January 19, 2006)
Robert M. Driscoll (posted December 20, 2005)
Christopher Foote (posted December 5, 2005)
William J. Keen (posted November 10, 2005)
Francis A. Slowick, Jr. (posted October 30, 2005)
Isaac Harter III (posted October 18, 2005)
Rufus S. Goodwin (posted September 13, 2005)
Charles H. Mee, Jr. (posted June 7, 2005)
Charles V. Guidotti (posted May 21, 2005)
Albert J. Butler (posted April 17, 2005)
Gerald C. Neary (posted March 6, 2005)
Gordon Marshall (posted March 2, 2005)
Michael Kenefick (posted February 22, 2005)
Michael Poutiatine (posted January 4, 2005)
Patrick W. Child (posted December 23, 2004)
Leonard S. Slaughter (posted November 10, 2004)
Richard S. Arnold (posted September 29, 2004)
Stephan M. Mandel (posted July 7, 2004)

Edmund P. (Pete) Smith (posted June 25, 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

Richard P. Lewis (posted June 14, 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

William O. (Don) Miller (posted June 13, 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

William Pratt Laughlin (posted May 7, 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

John D. (Jock) Newbold III (posted April 20, 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

Hiram A. (Tony) Bingham (posted April 2, 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

Robert H. Joost (posted February 22, 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 (posted February 20, 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 (posted January 16, 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 (posted January 13, 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 (posted January 6, 2008)

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

Albert C. Jerman (posted October 19, 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 (posted August 22, 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

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 (posted August 7, 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

David J. Richardson (posted May 22, 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

Erwin J. Fleissner (posted May 17, 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 (posted April 25, 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

Stanley L. Jackson, Jr. (posted February 9, 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

Charles L. Grimes (posted February 9, 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

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."

Russel H. Goddard (posted February 8, 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

Richard M. Finley (posted February 8, 2007)

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

David H. Lipsher (posted February 8, 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

Hugh Hampton Young II (posted November 27, 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

Robert H. West (posted October 30, 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 (posted August 17, 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 (posted July 31, 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. (posted April 5, 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 (posted March 24, 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. (posted January 24, 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. (posted January 19, 2006)

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 (posted December 20, 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

Christopher Foote (posted December 5, 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.

William J. Keen (posted November 10, 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. (posted October 30, 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

Isaac Harter III (posted October 18, 2005)

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

Rufus S. Goodwin (posted September 13, 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

Charles H. Mee, Jr. (posted June 7, 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 (posted May 21, 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,