Deaths
[A listing of deaths of which word has been receivedwithin the past month. Full notices may appear in thisissue or may appear in a later number.]
Earle, Willis '89, April 4, 1944. Weston, Fred M. '96, January 24, 1944. Wentworth, Joseph '00, April 7. Smith, Ephraim J. '06, April 1. Kirkpatrick, Robert H. '12, April 7. *Shaffer, Howard '17. McCraw, Nelson S. '19, February 17. Dorney, J. Frank '20, March 30. Smelzer, Carl B. '29, October 11. *Dempsey, Robert C. '40, July 9, 1943. *Bruce, Donald W. '45, April 8. McLean, William C. '93 m, July 1, 1942. Don, Herbert B. '84hon, March 18. Cobb, Irvin S. '19hon, March 10. Leacock, Stephen B. '20h, March 28. * Died in war service.
In Memoriam
1879
FRANK ELIJAH CARTER died January 23, in Jamaica Plain, Mass., at the age of 76. Carter was the son of a well-known restaurant keeper in Hanover and was in college two years. He was then in business in Hanover and later in Boston. At his own request his body was cremated, and his ashes taken to Hanover for interment.
1889
WILLIS EARLE died at his home at North Thetford, Vt., on the morning of the fifth of April, and was buried on April 7 in the family lot in North Thetford.
He was born at the old homestead in North Thetford, on November 21, 1863, the son of Otis and Angeline (Cummings) Earle. This homestead, of some 80 acres, was part of the Cummings farm, originally of several hundred acres, settled and owned by the Cummings family, on the banks of the Connecticut River. It had remained in the family since the first settlement, and came to Willis through his mother. Willis fancifully called the house and farm "Cummings Manor." Several years ago the house was provided with every modern convenience, and the flower garden, on Route 5, was widely known.
Willis was educated at Thetford Academy, "on the hill," and later he spent a year at St. Johnsbury Academy. He entered Dartmouth with the class of 1889. Although handicapped while in College by ill health, it was necessary for him to earn his way. This he did, partly by work during vacations, and partly by work in the College. For several years he was private secretary to President Bartlett.
After graduating from college, Willis turned to teaching. He taught first at Worcester Academy, then at the Garden City Boys' School, then at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, where he remained until his retirement. Rather to his annoyance he was known, during his last years of teaching, as "Mr. Chips."
Willis had a genius for friendship. The pupils of Erasmus Hall never forgot him. When I went South with him last November I was amazed at the number that greeted him either at the railroad station or in our hotel room, as we paused for a day in passing through New York. He had a faculty for geniality combined with dignity, which was irresistible.
Since he retired, he has spent his winters in Florida and his summers at the old homestead. His health had been failing for some months, but he wished to return to North Thetford, and made the trip comfortably six weeks before his death.
On my last visit to Willis at North Thetford he told me that the greater part of his estate would, after his death, go to Dartmouth College.
ARTHUR CHASE.
1892
WILLIAM GEORGE STOUGHTON died January 31 in New York City. He had not been well for some time, but continued at work until he collapsed on the street and was taken to a hospital in the Bronx, where he failed to recover.
He was born August 24, 1863, in St. Sylvester, Que., the son of Peter and Charlotte (Fairfield) Stoughton, and prepared for college at St. Johnsbury Academy. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, Casque and Gauntlet, and Phi Beta Kappa.
From 1892 to 1894 he was professor of Mathematics and Physics at Drury College, Springfield, Mo. He then returned to Dartmouth as assistant professor of German, spending the first year abroad in study at the University of Berlin, and going again in the summer of 1896 for further study at Gottingen. On tendering his resignation in 1899 he was offered a full professorship in Mathematics, but preferred to enter business. Thereafter for the rest of his life he was a dealer in securities in New York City.
September 3, 1906, he was married to Frieda Hoppe of New York City, who died in 1918. They had one son, Richard George.
The burial was in Whitefield, N. H.
1919
Capt. NELSON STEWART MCCRAW died February 17 in Italy from injuries received in an airplane accident.
He was born in North Adams, Mass., October 8, 1897, the son of William and Mina (Stewart) McCraw, and prepared for college at the local high school. He was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa.
He left college in March 1917 to serve in France in the Dartmouth Ambulance Unit with the French forces. In September 1918 he transferred to the U. S. Naval Aviation force.
On his return to America he attended the Columbia University School of Finance, and received the degree of B.S. in 1921. For the next year he held a position with the American Tel. and Tel. Co. in New York, and then returned to North Adams to become connected with the North Adams Savings Bank, where at his resignation in 1934 he was assistant treasurer. He was next with the Springfield district office of the WPA, and became chief field supervisor. He next went to Chicopee, where he was secretary to the mayor and executive director of the Chicopee Housing Authority.
In April 1943 he was commissioned captain in the U.S.A., and served with the AMG in Italy.
While in North Adams he was a member and president of the city council, and in 1926 was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor. He was active in the American Legion.
October 25, 1919, he was married to Verne Armstrong of Troy, N. Y. A second marriage was to Kathryn F. Maher, who survives him, with a daughter, Joan, of the first marriage.
1920
JOHN FRANCIS DORNEY died March 31, 1944, at his home in East Milton, Mass. Frank was stricken after finishing his day's work and died within two hours.
Born in Newtonville, Mass., June 24, 1897, the son of John and Mary (Cook) Dorney, he prepared for Dartmouth at Newton High School, where he captained the football team and played on the baseball team.
In college Frank was a member of Casque and Gauntlet senior society and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He played guard for two seasons on two of Dartmouth's best football teams. He also was a member o£ the hockey team. Frank's college career was interrupted when he enlisted in the Navy during the first World War, and he consequently graduated with the class of 1921.
After graduation Frank was line coach at Dartmouth for a short time, and also did some football officiating. For a couple of years he was with the New England Telephone Com- pany, but in 1923 he was employed by the Walworth Company, manufacturers of valves and pipe fittings. In 1938 he was appointed manager of the Boston plant of this company, which position he held at the time of his death.
Frank was a member of the Boston area War Manpower Commission and a district chairman o£ the Red Cross. He was also a director of the New England Foundrymen Association and the National Foundrymen Association.
On April 10, 1926, he married Dorothy Parsons of Springfield, Mass., who survives him with their daughter, Marilyn, 15 years of age. He also leaves his mother and a brother, Dr. William A. Dorney.
Representing the class at the funeral were Murray Harvey, George Fiske, Roger Pope, Richard Southwick, Eben Wallace, and Raynor Hutchinson.
RUSSELL BAXTER HENDERSON died in a drowning accident on December 22, 1943, at West Gloucester, Mass.
The son of Walter and Julia Ann (Hadley) Henderson, he was born in Gloucester on October 26, 1896. He prepared for Dartmouth at the Gloucester High School. At Dartmouth, Russell was a member of Chi Phi fraternity, and during the first World War served as an ensign in the U. S. Navy.
Russell was a field geologist in Mexico for four years. His talents as a chemist resulted in developing certain paints, which caused his firm to expand from copper paint manufacture to the making of other paints. He was associated with Henderson and Johnson, paint manufacturers of Worcester, Mass., for the past 15 years, and was president of the firm at the time of his death.
Russell was a victim of accidental drowning while duck hunting in the West Gloucester river section. It is believed that he had waded into the river to collect decoys and lost his footing because of the muddy bottom, and then fell face down into the icy water, the shock of which overcame him.
He leaves his parents, his wife, Doris Riggs Henderson, and two sons, Russell Jr., 5 years old, and Thomas, about 11/2 years.
1934
LELAND (Lee) BEN EGGLESTON died at his home in New York on February 19, 1944. He had been ill for several weeks with pneumonia.
Lee was born in Rochester, N. Y., November 16, 1911, the son of Edward Mason and Ethel (Leland) Eggleston, and prepared for college at the Jamaica, N. Y., High School.
He left school before graduation, and was an artist manager in New York City until 1937, when he went with the New York Telephone Company. He remained there until 1941, and then became a salesman for the Automatic Electric Sales Corporation for two years. In 1941 he was promoted to the post of industrial sales engineer, which he held until his death. While at college he was a Sigma Chi.
He was married January 17, 1941, to Mary Phillippa Hodges of Plandome, L. 1., N. Y., and is survived by his wife and his mother.
1935
WILLIAM WILSON BRADT, while being transferred from McCloskey General Hospital, Temple, Texas, to Downing Veterans' Hospital, Waukegan, 111., was killed when he jumped from an army ambulance near Fort Sheridan, 111., at an unreported date.
The son of William Calvin and Grace (Bell) Bradt, he was born in Milwaukee, Wis., July 11, 1913, and prepared for college at Shorewood High School, Milwaukee. He was a member of Sigma Nu.
For two years after graduation he was a special agent of the Federal Union Insurance Cos. of Milwaukee, and then was assistant secretary of the Beacon Federal Savings and Loan Association in Milwaukee.
He was inducted into service July 2, 1942, and was serving as warrant officer with the 97th Infantry at Camp Swift. April 25, 1942, he was married to Jane A. Mohaupt of Milwaukee, who survives him, as do also his parents.
1937
Lieutenant JEAN HEROLD WOLFS, MC USNR, died in action at the Anzio-Nettuno beachhead, in Italy, on February 26, 1944.
The son of Dr. Jean F. and Florence (Herold) Wolfs, he was born in Newark, N. J., March 11, 1915, and prepared for Dartmouth at the Newark Academy. As an undergraduate he was a member of Chi Phi fraternity, and an outstanding member of the Glee Club. He received an A.B. from Dartmouth in 1937, and a certificate from the Dartmouth Medical School the following year. He was vice-president of the Alpha Kappa Kappa medical fraternity. From Hanover, he went to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where he received his. M.D. in June 1940. Here again he was the vice-president of Alpha Kappa Kappa. The following two years were spent as a surgical intern at Kings County Hospital, Brooklyn.
Jean was married May 30, 1942, to Carolyne Allen, of Old Lyme, Conn. After Jean went overseas, Carolyne joined the SPARS, and is now an ensign. His sister, Marie Louise, is an ensign in the WAVES.
In July 1942, Jean became a lieutenant (jg) in the medical corps of the USNR. After service at Newport, R. 1., he was assigned to the amphibious forces, and trained at Norfolk, Little Creek, and finally Long Beach, N. Y. He went overseas in March 1943 as medical officer on an LCT. He was in North Africa a short while, in the Sicilian invasion, in the Naval hospitals at Salerno and Naples, and finally in the Anzio-Nettuno invasion. He lost his life when his LCT was blown up offshore. Jean made the rocky shore successfully, but in an attempt to go back and rescue others, he was drowned. He was buried in the American Cemetery on the island of Ponza, Italy.
A letter from the commanding officer of his ship has this to say of him: "As the days passed, I valued him more and more highly. He was always so cheerful, so calm, and nothing daunted that delightful sense of humor. He always took things lightly, and I never knew him to show the slightest fear. He was occupied with looking out for the other men, and I don't think he had a thought for his own safety." His death was, indeed, one of courage and devotion to duty, according to the highest ideals of both medicine and the Naval Service.
It is not enough that Jean should be twice mourned because he died so young. It is not enough that we should revere his memory. It will only be enough when we who remain take, as Lincoln counseled many years ago in the same sort of days as we are now again in, an increased devotion to the task which lies before us. For Jean Wolfs, that task has ended in nobility. For us, the duty remains.
SEYMOUR FISKE OCHSNER '37.
1939
THEODORE KNAPP JOHNSON, better known to his closest friends as "T.K.," died of wounds received in action on February 3, 1944, during the Marshall Islands invasion.
Ted was born in Boston, Mass., March 13, 1916, the son of Oscar Burton and Louise (Knapp) Johnson. He graduated from Newton High School, where he was class president, and prepared further for college at Morristown (N. J.) School. While at Dartmouth he majored in Sociology and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and the Dragon.
Upon graduation he went with W. T. Grant Company, where he became assistant manager of the Buffalo store.
He enlisted in the Marines in February 1942, and trained at Parris Island, and later was stationed at Panama for six months. He was then recommended for Officer Candidates School, Quantico, Va., and graduated there in December 1942.
Thence he was sent to New River, N. C., and then to Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, Calif-, where he was made executive officer of his company in July 1943. The following month he was made a first lieutenant. At the time of his death his papers were in for captaincy.
He became engaged last December to Miss Margaret Morgan of Los Angeles, Calif.
He is survived by his two brothers, Capt. Signal Corps and Wallace of Arlington, Mass., Charles F., now serving in England with the and by a sister, Mrs. Edward J. Ball Jr. of West Newton.
1940
Capt. ROBERT CLARK DEMPSEY was killed in action in Sicily on July 9, 1943. He has been awarded posthumously the Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Purple Heart.
The son of John Stanley and Lyda (Huling) Dempsey, he was born in Harvey, 111., October 19, 1918, and prepared for college at Morgan Park Military Academy. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi. He left Dartmouth and completed his course at Knox College.
He married Caroline Bartsch at Kelly Field, Texas, December 12, 1941, the day he received his wings in the Air Corps.
1941
ALBERT REED KING II was killed in the crash of his training plane while an aviation cadet at Corsicana, Texas, October 19, 1943.
The son of George E. and Lovene (Brosnihan) King, he was born in Chicago, Ill., August 5, 1919. The family home was early removed to Minneapolis, where he was a friend of mine since high school days. He graduated from Washburn High School, where he was an athlete of high repute. Reed was a great competitor, and I always enjoyed playing against him.
After entering Dartmouth with us. and winning his freshman numerals in football, he decided to finish his schooling elsewhere after the first semester. Once a Dartmouth man, always a Dartmouth man, and it is with deep regret that I note his death.
He was with the Bethlehem Steel Co. until he joined the Army Air Corps in 1943.
June 14, 1941, he was married to Phyllis Anderson, who survives him with their son, A. Reed 111, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph A. Eiler of Lake Minnetonka, Minn.
V. R. E.
1942
Lt. JOSEPH GATES NASON was killed in action over Bougainville in the South Pacific on October 23, 1943.
He was born in Worcester, Mass., June 27, 1919, the son of Noah and Lucy (Gates) Nason, and prepared for college at Pawling School and Worcester Academy.
He left college to enlist in the Naval Air Corps, was commissioned ensign while at Pensacola, and was promoted to lieutenant (jg) while in the South Pacific.
He is survived by his parents.
1944
First Lt. ROGERS BLOOD, U. S. Marine Corps, was killed in action, February 18, in the attack on Eniwetok Island in the South Pacific.
Rog was born in Manchester, N. H., on January 29, 192 a, son o£ Robert M. (Dartmouth 1906) and Olive (Nickerson) Blood. Before entering Dartmouth, he attended the Manchester public schools and New Hampton preparatory school, graduating from both with honors.
While at Dartmouth, he maintained his high scholastic standing, and was known as one of the hardest workers in the DCAC competition, from which he would have become track manager had he stayed in school. He was a member of Theta Delta Chi fraternity.
Rog left school right after Pearl Harbor to join the Marines as a private. After receiving his boot training at Parris Island, S. C., he served there as a drill instructor, reaching the grade of sergeant. He was sent to Quantico, Va., for officer's training; and here, again, became one of the leaders of his class, ranking near the top at graduation. This position gave him a permanent commission as a second lieutenant in January 1943. Rogers was promoted to first lieutenant shortly before he was killed.
Rog is the second in his family to give his life in this war. His older brother, Nickerson '41, first lieutenant in the Army Air Corps, and a pilot instructor at Waco, Texas, was
killed in January, 1943, when his plane crashed near the training field.
Their sister, Elizabeth M. Blood, is a lieutenant, junior grade, in the WAVES, and is stationed at the Naval Training School, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.
Rog's death comes as a great blow to the class, which had come to know him as typical of the real Dartmouth spirit. Friendly, courageous, ambitious—Rog always knew what he wanted in life, and was willing to work to the utmost to reach that goal.
Besides his sister, Rog is survived by his parents and a grandmother.
1945
Lt. WILLIAM MASSON BRICK was killed in action July 28, 1943, when the Flying Fortress he was navigating was struck by flak while returning from a raid over Germany.
He was born in Montclair, N. J., September 18, 1923, the son of Harry Joseph and Joan Lansing (Masson) Brick, and prepared for college at Montclair High School.
He left college in February 1942 to "volunteer for the Air Corps, and after training went overseas in June 1943.
1890
DR. JOHN CHELLIS HAM died of cerebral arteriosclerosis February 17 at the Veterans Facility, Togus, Me., where he had been a patient for several months.
He was born in Brooks, Me., May 28, 1869, the son of Benjamin and Betsey (Reynolds) Ham. He graduated from Freedom Academy.
After his medical course he practiced on Cape Cod about two years, then a short time in his native town, and then removed to Belfast. During his practice in Belfast he also studied law at the University of Maine. In October 1917 he entered the Medical Corps with the rank of captain. In July 1918 he was sent to Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. While there he was taken ill and received a discharge, and had been since totally disabled, making his home in Belfast.
November 7, 1889, he was married to Emma L. Rowe of Lebanon, N. H., who died January 28, 1927. One daughter survives them, Mrs. Helen Larrabee of Belfast, and a granddaughter.
1901
DR. WILLARD ASA BATES died suddenly from coronary occlusion while attending a patient in Dalton, N. H., February 8, 1944.
The son of Erastus and Eliza (Lewis) Bates, he was born in Oakland, Me., November si, 1877. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy and was for a time a student at Colby College.
His first practice was at Solon, Me., and he was then for five years in Neola, lowa, and then for some years in Texas. He entered the Medical Corps with the rank of first lieutenant August 15, 1917, was promoted later to captain and major, and served at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., and other camps. After his discharge, he settled in 1920 at Littleton, N. H., where he remained until his sudden death.
Dr. Bates was a member of the Methodist church, a 32d degree Mason, a Shriner, president of the Littleton Lions Club, and a past commander of the local post of the American Legion.
August 15, 1906, he was married to Jennie Bertha, daughter of Charles Perley and Jane (Macllroy) Pollard of Cold Springs, Ill., who survives him. They had no children.
LT. JEAN H. WOLFS '37 (MC) USNR died during the Anzio beachhead battle, Italy.
LT. THEODORE K. JOHNSON '39, USMCR, killed during invasion of the Marshalls.
LT. ROGERS BLOOD '44 USMCR, who was killed in action last February, during the attack on Eniwetok Island in the Marshalls.
Medical School
Dartmouth College matriculated its first Negro student in 1824, upon a petition from the student body to the trustees who had refused him admission for fear of undergraduate objection.
