Deaths
(This is a listing of deaths of which word hasbeen received since the previous issue. Full notices, which are usually written by the class secretaries, may appear in this or a later issue.)
Phillip Rich Comey '17, November 20 Alfred Andrew Whitaker '17, November 17 Roland Cheswell Batchelder '21, Dec. 22 Charles Sutherland Tapley '22, Dec. 13 Francis Joseph O'Gara '23, October 22 Lewis Ford Foote '24, December 27 Jay Charles Elder '25, December 27 George Gunther Zahm '25 January 7 Ralph Clarence Drews '26, May 8, 1987 Philip Roland French Jr. '27, October 29 Timothy Paige '28, November 22 Wesley Frederic Patience '28, December 12 John Wesley Wood '28, November 10 Frank Everett Small '29, November 11 Clifford Edgar Harris '31, November 9 Victor Josiah Herwitz '31, November 21 George Harlacher Miller '31, September 12 Carl Eugene McGowan '32, December 21 Adrian Jesup Nitschelm '32, January 11 Herbert Edward Pike '32, January 3 Donald Howard Brockell '33, Feb. 28, 1987 William Richmond Jones '33, November 25 William Ray Page Jr. '33, December 11 Harry Arthur Cohen '34, November 23 Lionel Hubert O'Keeffe '34, December 20 Robert Lynn Busey '35,December 4 Harold Joseph Kennedy '35, January 10 Lloyd Blair Rainey '36, November 24 Ronald William Brown '37, November 30 William Hays Newburger '37, December 11 Raymond H. Berquist '38, January 3 Thomas D. Goodrich '38, March 5, 1986 William Baldry Hardwicke '38, June 7, 1987 William Atwood Mowry '38, March 9, 1987 Ralph Nading Hill Jr. '39, December 10 William Henry Fitzell '40, October 2 Robert Todd Foss '40, December 15 John William Schleicher '40, January 5 Perry Weston '40, November 9 John Victor Delander '4l, September 15 George Elmer Flather Jr. '41, December 19 Everett Mellen Stevens '4l, August 16 Alfred Whittlesey Newton '43, July 31,1984 Warner Everett Mills Jr. '44, October 1 antiHoward Wesley Pennington '44, Dec. 28 Harold John Weeks Jr. '44, December 21 Ralph Blackburn Jr. '45, December 15 Carl William Hagelin '46, July 28 Jasper C. McGrew '46, February 11, 1987 John Joseph Rankin '46, December 16 Richard Wilson '46, November 27 Edward Gordon McNeil '49, January 1 Lewis Patrick Dolan '5O, December 7 James Torrey Fredericks '51, December 21 Albert Fred Streelman '51, August 31 Jose Barroso Jr. '52, December 8 Allan Gemmill Baxter '52, November 26 John Robert Grady '55, November 24 Harry Ward Bailey '56, January 13, 1976 Donald Lyman Bush '56, December 2 Robert Stephen Taft '56, December 9 George Myro '57, December 19 Jean Marc Timsit '57, August 10 Stephan Robert Rheingold '58, December 16 Thomas Robert Lennox '59, November 25 Paul David Matusow '59, December 7 Robert Dana Redington '61, January 2 Michael Alfred Stratton '69, November 14 Robert Allan Levenson '71, November 25 Homer Mitchell Branch Jr. '75, Nov. 10 William Evan Houser '78, October 22
Faculty
NOYE MONROE JOHNSON, professor of geology and one of the scientists involved in the identification of the phenomenon that has come to be called "acid rain," died of cancer on December 27 at the age of 57. Prof. Johnson is survived by his wife, Dolores, acting director of student activities and the College's Collis Center, and by two daughters, Deborah and Anne '85.
Born in Milwaukee and a graduate of the University of Kansas, Prof. Johnson served as a naval pilot in the Korean War. Subsequently, he earned his master's in science and his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin.
He joined the Dartmouth faculty in 1961 and chaired the earth sciences department from 1969 to 1971. A geologist by training, Prof. Johnson traveled widely in the U.S. and abroad on projects ranging from environmental studies to the dating of fossils. His most recent work, providing data for constructing models showing the formation of petroleum basins in the Andes, is being carried on by graduate students who helped him with the original field work. It is part of a distinguished body of work that Prof. Johnson leaves.
1917
PHILIP RICH COMEY died on November 20, aged 94, at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Mansfield, Mass., the town in which he had been born and raised. Following graduation from Mansfield High School he came to Dartmouth, graduating in 1917. He lived in various places after that before returning to his native town. He was a civilian employee of the Ordnance Department in Boston, having been kept from active service by impaired hearing. Later he worked for the Industrial Rayon Corporation in Cleveland. He leaves a nephew, Robert C. Achorn.
ALFRED ANDREW WHITAKER died on November 17 in Long Beach, Calif. He had been living most recently in Colorado, but before that had called Sacramento his home for 66 years. A1 was at Dartmouth for only one year. His A.B. was from Western Reserve, where he also studied law. He was a lieutenant in the infantry during the World War, then spent a dozen years in the construction business in the West. In 1933 he became a civil servant and was California's deputy state liquor administrator until 1956, when he resigned to become a lobbyist in Sacramento.
A1 was married in 1925 to Bernice Baker, who died in 1981. A son and daughter survive.
1920
From the Lawrence, Mass., Eagle-Tribune we learn that HORACE CHARLES MASSE, 91, died on October 22 in Thomaston, Conn. Like many of his time, Horace left Dartmouth in his freshman year to join the armed forces, serving 18 months in submarine convoy work along the French coast. He subsequently completed his college education at Columbia. After retiring in 1956 from his supervisory position with Western Electric Company, he became active in civic affairs (planning, conservation, and recycling commissions) in Litchfield. He is survived by his wife, Justine; a daughter; a son; and 12 grandchildren.
1922
CHARLES SUTHERLAND TAPLAV, 88, insurance executive, well-known Boston North Shore historian, genealogist, and author, died December 13 in a Danvers, Mass., hospital.
Charlie was a native of Danvers and he entered Dartmouth from the local high school. In college he was a member of the Student Army Training Corps, lived in Hitchcock, and was an affable classmate. Throughout life he was a loyal alumnus and an assistant class agent for many years.
His buiness career began with C.R. Tapley and Co., a Boston insurance firm. He continued in the insurance field throughout his life except for the duration of World War 11, when he served in the U.S. Navy. At the time of his death he was executive vice president of Hasting Tapley Insurance Inc., headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., with offices in 10 north-of-Boston communities.
Charlie loved local history and he was a fervent and articulate guardian of it. He was a town historian of Danvers and trustee of its Peabody Institute Library. He was also a trustee of the Essex Institute of Salem, the Saugus Ironworks and the Crane Memorial Reservation of Ipswich. He was president of the Massachusetts chapter of the Children of the American Revolution and also the Mayflower Society.
He leaves an appreciative community for his interest in and his contribution to the preservation of local history. It was indeed appropriate just a year ago when Salem State College awarded him a doctorate in humane letters.
1923
FRANCIS JOSEPH O'GARA died on October 22 at his home in Atlanta. Even though we have not heard from him since 1973 it does not mean that he has not had a very active and colorful life.
After two years at the University of New Hampshire he transferred to Dartmouth and graduated with the class. Following several smaller jobs he signed up with R.H. Macy and remained with them for 20 odd years. Then, after a stretch with the Air Force, he was appointed regional commissioner of the General Services administration and later won the agency's Distinguished Service Medal as recognition of outstanding services, a medal given only for performance above and beyond the call of duty. Before joining with GSA he was assistant to the regional director of the U.S. Post Office in Atlanta.
He had been president of the Dartmouth Club of Atlanta, a member of the Exchange Club, and participated in many civic activities.
Frank had a brother in the class of '18. His wife predeceased him. A daughter lives in Atlanta.
GEORGE ROBERT MCKEE was the greatest golfer of the class of '23. It is. with great regret that we report his death occurred on October 7 at the Green Mountain Nursing Home in Winooski, Vt.
George was the College champion for four years. He then went on to Harvard Law School, following which he joined Schrafft's and then established his own law office in Burlington, Vt.
He was a member of the American Bar Association and many state and local organizations. He married Loraine Frenier and there were two daughters and a son. A fourth child died young.
During WWI George had served as a private in the army. At the age of 71 he received the coveted honor of being invited to participate in the International Seniors Golf Championship Tournament at Gleneagles, Scotland.
To quote from George's philosophy in life, he said that one of his responsibilities was to do justice to all men. Another of his bits of philosophy appeared in the BostonPost (April 27, 1925). It read, "Courtesy is one of man's greatest assets, which cannot be too lavishly spent."
JOHN GREGORY SLOAT, a two-year member of the class of '23, died February 12, 1985 at his home in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. Apparently he had retired from his business of hydraulic dredging in Louisiana. He had graduated from the University of Miami. We believe he is survived by his wife, Diana, and three children.
1924
LEON ISRAEL ROTHSCHILD died on November 5 in Los Angeles, where he had lived ever since graduation. For many years Leon was known as Mr. Dartmouth of Southern California. To quote from the Alumni Award given to him in 1966, "For 25 years (1929-1953) you were secretary of the Dartmouth Alumni Association of Southern California—excepting one year when you were its president. On April 28, 1953, you were given a surprise ovation by the largest assemblage of alumni ever to attend a West Coast gathering. At that time you were made honorary president of the association for life, and informed of your selection as a member of the Alumni Council for a fouryear term."
Leon was also the longtime national enrollment chairman for Southern California and Arizona and co-chairman of the capital gifts campaign. Within the class Leon has been a class agent right up through the 1987 campaign. He has also served as a member of the executive committee and as a vice chairman of the bequest committee.
Leon spent his entire business career as a special agent for Northwestern Life Insurance Company and was a life member of the Million Dollar Round Table. He was an active participant in many community fund raising activities. His wife, Bess, died in May of 1982. He is survived by a daughter, Judith A. Katz of Encino, Calif.
1925
CHARLES PERKINS FITCH died October 31 in the Brookside Nursing Home, Wilder, Vt, after a long illness. "Perk" attended Lehigh 1923-25 after leaving Dartmouth, then went to work for the N.J. Bell Telephone Co. in Newark, where he remained for 47 years. At his retirement he was serving as secretary and treasurer, 'living in Plainfield, N.J. He was a member of the American Secretaries Association and the recipient of a citation from the American Management Association, and served as treasurer of the N.J. Public Utilities Association and as president of the Plainfield Visiting Nurse Association. He was also a member of the Tri-County Dartmouth Club of N.J., the Essex Club of Newark, N.J., and. the Community Service Council of Plainfield.
Upon his retirement in 1975 he moved to Hanover, where he resided until his death. He is survived by his wife, Kathryn (Howell) Fitch of Hanover, two daughters, Margaret Mac Donald of Mount Desert, Maine, and Anne Trippe of Pound Ridge, N.Y., a stepson, Charles H. Lott, of Old Wick, N.J., a stepdaughter, Jean Lottjupp, of Houston, Tex., 12 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and seven step great-grandchildren.
KARL PRESCOTT LIPSOHN died October 27 in Winona, Minn., after a brief illness. Karl came to Dartmouth from Kimball Union Academy. After graduating he briefly taught English and French in Williamstown (Vt.) High School, then was employed by New England Telephone, Boston Chamber of Commerce, and a small advertising agency. Following that there were several years as assistant to the president of the University of Vermont before finally handling public relations and development for the College of Saint Teresa at Winona, Minn., until his retirement in 1972. He was a member of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, the Civil War Roundtable, and the League of Women Voters of Winona. He was also a member of the Hiawatha Valley Audubon Society, past president of the Winona Rose Society, and past president of Kiwanis Club of Winona.
He is survived by his wife, Eleanor (Brinley) Lipsohn, two sons, Karl Jr. of Winterport, Maine, and Paul of Bellflower, Calif., and five grandchildren.
1926
RALPH CLARENCE DREWS died May 8, 1987, as recently reported by his son James. Ralph came to Dartmouth from Passaic, N.J., where he graduated from high school. He was with our class for two years and was a member of Alpha Chi Rho. It is not known where he earned his undergraduate degree, but he graduated in 1930 with his doctor's degree in medicine from College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York. He was a major in the United States Army, 1942-46.
Two sons, George and James, survive.
NORMAN MILLER PIERCE, whose home was in Hampton, N.H., died on September 30. He was born in Binghamton, N.Y., grew up in the Buffalo area, and graduated from Nichols Preparatory School. At Dartmouth Miller enjoyed an active undergraduate career, being a member of Alpha Delta Phi and Dragon senior society, and playing freshman football and basketball.
He was on Wall Street after graduation and then was in advertising and public relations during most of his business years, being a partner in William Barton Marsh Company, New York. Miller and his wife, Adelaide, made their home in Bedford Village, a suburb of New York, where Miller was president of the local school board, active in the Bedford Lions Club, a volunteer fireman, and on the PTA executive committee. He was in the U.S. Air Force from 1942 to 1945.
He is survived by his wife, by daughters Nancy and Susan, and by his nephew Jack L. Billhardt '56.
1928
MAXWELL CARLSON died September 4 in Seattle. He became one of the youngest men to head a large metropolitan bank when, in 1948, he was elected president of the National Bank of Commerce of Seattle at the age of 42. He held the position until he retired in 1971, and continued to serve as chairman of Marine Bancorp, the bank's parent company, until 1973. Later the bank was renamed Rainier Bank.
Max was born and went to school in Aberdeen, Wash. He graduated from the Moran School and at Dartmouth majored at Tuck School. After receiving his master's degree in 1929 he went to work as a teller at a subsidiary of the National Bank of Commerce in Aberdeen. He climbed the ladder rapidly and was described as a quiet, keen student with a gift for organization. He was a former president of the Washington Bankers' Association.
He married Willadee Hart in Aberdeen in 1931. She survives, along with a son, a daughter, and four grandchildren.
JOHN WILLIAM NOELTNER of Clarence, N.Y., died October 10.
A native of Buffalo, John graduated from Peddie and at Dartmouth was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He left Dartmouth after two years and worked in Buffalo-area industries. He became a real estate broker in 1964 and remained so until he retired. He was active in Clarence community affairs, serving as secretary of the Rotary Club for several years. His hobbies were gardening, music, and travel. He was interested in Dartmouth and returned for reunions.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret (Kuhn), a son, a daughter , and six grandchildren. Robert H. Noeltner '30 was his brother.
1929
JOHN YOUNG ANDREWS died on October 21 at Crouse Memorial Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., after a long illness.
John came to Dartmouth from Central High School in Syracuse and left to graduate from Syracuse University of Engineering. He belonged to Delta Kappa Epsilon at Syracuse.
For 43 years he worked for Niagara Mohawk Power Company in construction, maintenance, labor relations, and as director of safety. He was active in founding the Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church and in many community activities. He was also active in the Manufacturers Association of Syracuse, the Edison Electric Institute, and the American Gas Association.
He leaves his wife, June, a son Thomas '60 of Rowley, N.C., a daughter Joyce (Mrs. Charles Weil '66) of Minnetonka, Minn., and three grandchildren.
WILLIAM MCCAW died of cancer on October 19 at his home in Southbury, Conn. Bill came from Shaw High School in Cleveland, Ohio. He belonged to Psi Upsilon, Casque & Gauntlet, Green Key, and majored in economics. He was an outstanding backstroker on the swimming team and was named Ail-American in 1928.
After seven years with General Electric he had a distinguished career in government and with the United Nations. Beginning with the War Production Board, the Social Security Board, and the Department of Labor, he became advisor to the U.S. Reparations Commission, the Deputy Secretary General of the Interallied Reparations Agency.
In 1950 he began a career in the U.N., giving assistance to underdeveloped countries. Until 1970 he was deputy controller of the U.N., administering peacekeeping forces in many areas of the world with the assimilated rank of major general. Next he was special representative for the U.N. Secretary General for the peace operation in Bangladesh.
He leaves daughters Sandy McCaw of Southbury, Janet Bond of Cleveland, a sister, and three grandchildren.
1931
LEE KITTREDGE ABBOTT died on October 10, 1981, in Astoria, Ore., after a short illness. News of this was received by the College only late in the fall of 1987.
Lee came to Dartmouth from Hebron Academy but left before finishing to enter the hotel and wholesale businesses. From 1942 to 1962 he served in the U.S. Army Ordnance, from which he retired as a master sergeant. After having been posted at many stations both here and abroad, his final assignment was in Las Cruces, N.M. He then was employed by the U.S. Post Office in that city. We last heard from him when he returned a questionnaire for the 1981 Alumni Directory, in which he listed himself as retired.
He is survived by his sons, Lee Jr. and Mark, to whom the class extends its sympathy and its regrets for having learned so late of their loss.
CLIFFORD EDGAR HARRIS died on November 9 at his home in Wilmette, 111.
Clif came to Dartmouth from Omaha, majored at Tuck, and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. After graduation from the College he took a year at Tuck, and then was employed by Economy Fuse & Manufacturing in Chicago until 1936. During the next several years he set about consolidating his business skills by working in accounting with several firms, and by obtaining his CPA in 1937. In 1943 he rejoined Economy Fuse as assistant secretary and became owner of the firm before selling it to Federal Pacific Electric Company in 1959. He then continued as division manager of that firm before retiring as senior vice president in January 1980.
A longtime resident of Wilmette, he was a member of the Board of Education there, and belonged to both the Westmoreland Country Club and the Michigan Shores Club. Although Clif had in the past expressed great interest in retiring to the Caribbean, Virginia and he located in Naples, Fla., in the early '80s. There he served as vice president and as public information chairman of the local Dartmouth Club.
He is survived by his widow, Virginia; by sons Alton and Stephen; by daughters Susan and Kathleen; and by five grandchildren. To them the class extends its sympathy.
VICTOR JOSIAH HERWITZ died on November 21 at Mount Sinai Hospital Center in New York after a long illness.
Vic's outstanding career in the law was set forth in the "Give A Rouse" column in the May 1987 issue of the Alumni Magazine, and again in the class notes of the Summer 1987 issue, reporting the New York State Bar Association's 1987 Fifty-Year Awarda s ingular and great honor—given to him. His obituary in The New York Times of November 23,1987, which headed that section of the paper, listed many achievements of his career in which our class has taken great pride.
He is survived by his widow, Harriet; a daughter, Ellen; a brother, Oren '27; a sister, Edith; and three grandchildren. To all of them the class extends its sympathy in their great loss.
GEORGE HARLACHER MILLER died on September 12 in Peoria, 111., of a heart attack.
George majored in physics at Dartmouth, and, after graduation, put in a year at the School of Pure Science at Columbia. Changing fields he entered the insurance business, becoming life actuary with Security Mutual Life in Binghamton, N. Y., until 1958 when he took over the same responsibility with Illinois Mutual Life and Casualty in Peoria. He remained with that firm until retirement.
A couple of his many witty comments will bring pleasant memories of him to classmates. When asked about his military service, for example, he replied, "None. I was either an essential man in a non-essential industry, or vice versa. I forget which." On another occasion, when asked about his civic contributions: "Citizens committee for better schools. (We got 'em!)"
He is survived by his widow, Ruth, and by daughters June and Melissa, to all of whom the class extends its sympathy.
EDWIN ALLYN WEST died suddenly at the home of his son in Pittsburgh on October 26. His wife, Adah, had predeceased him him by only a few weeks. His son Charles wrote that he had been preparing to move to New Hampshire, and had plans for restarting his life.
Red came to Dartmouth from nearby Lyme by way of Phillips Exeter. He majored in chemistry, and was a member of the chemistry society, Alpha Chi Sigma, of Alpha Sigma Phi, and of Cabin and Trail.
Red left the field of chemistry during the Depression, entering technical sales work which he followed, except for a stint with American Bosch during the war years, until his retirement in 1975 as Pittsburgh branch manager of Federal Products Corporation, manufacturers of precision measuring equipment.
Along the way in his business career Red contributed plenty of time and energy into the activities of the Jaycees, Lions, his church, and even served as chairman of a township zoning appeals board. All this was in addition to helping his wife raise three fine sons. After we found out that he was a superb class agent for Phillips Exeter's annual giving we put him to work as assistant class agent for the Alumni Fund in the western Pennsylvania-Ohio area, a job he performed equally well.
Red is survived by sons Edward Jr., Charles, and Paul. To them and their families the class extends its sympathy.
1932
HARRY EATON LITZENBERGER died on September 13 at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Denver. Harry came to Dartmouth from Shattuck Military School. An English major, he was also a persistent athlete for all four years, winning his "D" in both football and lacrosse. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and of Sphinx, as well as president of Deutscher Studenten Verein.
After graduation Harry returned to his native Denver, leaving that city only during active duty in the U.S. Navy. He rose to the rank of lieutenant commander. While in the service he was named Man of the Year by the Denver Junior Chamber of Commerce. In 1981 he was again named Man of the Year by the Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau.
From graduation until 1959 Harry was with H.H. Tammen Company, manufacturing, where he became president. Then he devoted himself to the Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau—a non-profit civic promotional and service organization—first as assistant manager and finally as chairman of the board. Meanwhile he found time for other service organizations: Big Brothers, Boy Scouts, YMCA, and Red Cross.
Harry is survived by his wife, Katie, his sister, Carol Anderson, five stepchildren, and 13 grandchildren.
1933
JOSEPH PRESTON SEARING JR., retired financial executive and resident of Sanibel, Fla., died October 29 at Fort Myers Community Hospital after open-heart surgery.
He had moved to Florida in 1975 upon retirement from Associated Dry Goods Corporation, for whom he had worked for 30 years, first in New York City, then in Baltimore. His position at retirement was director of customer accounts and services.
Joe was born in Brooklyn in 1912 and came to Dartmouth from Poly Prep Country Day School with his friend Paul Burtis '33, who died in 1986. At Dartmouth Joe joined Theta Chi, majored in psychology, and was active in the Players, the Arts, and the Press Club. He was also a scrappy boxer, winning the intramural championship in his weight class.
This versatility of interest and activity was characteristic of his professional, civic, and family life. He served as president and director of the Credit Bureau of Greater New York, taught psychology at Pace College in Brooklyn for eight years, joined Company K Seventh Regiment of the New York National Guard. In Sanibel he served on the planning commission and was a director of both the Lions Club and the Sanibel Rocks Civic Association. Along with writing vigorous Ogden Nash-like letters to the Sanibel newspaper on civic affairs, he played an equally vigorous game of tennis, his favorite sport. And in the months before his death, he was taking up karate.
The flag at Sanibel Elementary School, where Joe had taught Spanish as a volunteer, was flown at half-staff on news of his passing. The Sanibel newspaper carried tributes in prose and verse, reciprocating his frequent pithy contributions.
Joe was married in 1938 to his Brooklyn sweetheart, Ruth Michel, who survives, as do their two daughters, Carolyn Duff of Colorado and Sally Burns of Maryland, and four grandchildren.
NED LORD '33
1934
HARRY ARTHUR COHEN died at his home in Brookline, Mass., on November 23. Quinny, as he was known to our class, came to Dartmouth from Revere, Mass., as a graduate of Revere High School, and was a zoology major. After graduation Brookline was his primary base and real estate investment his chief line of work. He headed the Marco Realty Trust with offices in Boston initially and then in Brookline, and was active in related associations.
There was one period when he was in another field—the navy called him into service in 1942. He was a line officer with duty in New York and the Pacific, ending in 1945 as lieutenant commander. Aside from real estate and a growing family that stayed close, the other competitor for his devotion and time was horse breeding.
In 1941 he married Myra Hootstein. She survives him along with their sons, Kenneth, Richard, James, and Jeffrey, four grandchildren, and his three sisters. Quinny and Myra were with us for our 50th Reunion.
DAVID LORING MURPHY SR. died of respiratory failure on October 20 after a lengthy illness. His home was Milton, Mass., where he had lived most of his life. He was born in West Roxbury, had attended Milton High School, and came to Dartmouth as a graduate of Phillips Exeter. He was a philosophy major and member of Delta Kappa Epsilon.
After graduation, he joined the family wholesale leather business and ultimately headed the firm as president and treasurer. Early on he had taken time off to attend Boston College Law School and, in 45, for service as a lieutenant in the navy. He was active in the Milton High PTA and Aquinas House at Harvard. For over 15 years he interviewed prospective Dartmouth students in the Milton-Canton area.
David is survived by his wife, Dorothy, by their sons David Jr. '60, Richard, Peter, Philip '73, by daughter Dorothy, by grandchildren, and by his brother Robert P. Murphy '38.
LIONEL HUBERT O'KEEFFE died on December 20 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston after a brief illness. He was a native of Roxbury and came to Dartmouth as a graduate of Roxbury Latin School. He lived in Brookline for many years, but Hyannisport was his vacation home and that became his chief residence in 1973.
Lee was a member of Phi Kappa Psi and of Dragon, and Greek was his major study. After graduation he went to work with First National Stores, the grocery chain founded by his family in Somerville. He was with them continuously, retiring as a senior executive. There was one interruption that Uncle Sam provided—Lee was with the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps from 1943 to 1946, ending service as a captain.
He served faithfully over the years as a trustee of Roxbury Latin School and of Faulkner Hospital. Recently he was a corporator of the Cape Cod Hospital. When time permitted he was on the golf course challenging fellow members of Oyster Harbors Club and Hyannisport Club.
Lee married Harriet Stone in 1941 and she survives him along with their daughter, Karen McDonald, their sons, Timothy '66 and Peter '68, and five grandchildren. His brothers, Bernard '28 and Adrian '31, predeceased him.
1935
JOHN BOYER LYON died on August 4,1987, of unknown causes in Harrisburg, Pa., where he spent most of his life. John left college before graduation and worked with a family firm of coffee merchants.
His wife, the former Mary K. Jean, predeceased him. There have been no contacts with the class for a few years and we have been unable to reach his survivors—there were three daughters. We send regrets and sympathy in any case.
FRANK WALTER VAN KIRK JR. died of heart problems on October 21 in San Francisco. Our most recent questionnaire in 1980 ascertained that he was a specialist in internal medicine and that he was in the Inspector General's office in the Presidio in San Francisco. He was born in Janesville, Wis., and received his medical degree at Rush Medical in Chicago. Frank did his residency in San Francisco. After five years of military duty he served first at the University of Wisconsin, then spent five years in Los Angeles. Then he returned to San Francisco, where he spent the rest of his career. Aside from his practice he served as medical advisor to California Blue Shield and taught at the California Medical School.
His hobby was botany, and since his wife had majored in it at the University of lowa, they must have had many happy days "going out from their cabin in the redwoods."
He is survived by his wife, the former Phoebe Ann Green, a daughter, and two sons. We send our sympathy to them all.
1937
RONALD W. BROWN was born in Waterville, Maine, December 2, 1912. He died in Lincoln, Maine, on November 30 of multiple causes but immediately from cardiac arrest. He is survived by a sister, Shirley, of Waterville.
Ronald attended Waterville High School and Hebron Academy, where he starred in football and track. He entered Dartmouth with our class but left college to join his father in the administration of the very successful men's wear business "Dunham's of Maine." While at Dartmouth, Ronald played freshman football and was a varsity track star running in the 100-yard and 220yard dashes.
During his many years at "Dunham's of Maine" he was a pioneer in the field of catalog sales. His issues were sent all over the world and his company became the largest single distributor of Hathaway shirts in the nation.
Ronald was a member of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, the Lion's Club of Waterville, and many other civic organizations. He was a driving force in the rehabilitation and restoration of downtown Waterville.
His wife, Harriet, who died in 1980, was a prominent golfer, having won the TriState Women's Golf Championship several times.
CHARLES O. BLAISDELL '37
JAMES ALFRED CLEGG died July 5,1987, as a result of being hit by a railroad train in the early morning hours in Manhasset, Long Island, where he resided.
James came to Dartmouth from Brooklyn Poly Prep, and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta. He graduated from Tuck School in 1938.
Most of his career was spent with Kerr Steamship Company, Inc., working several years in Manila. He was drafted in 1941 and received an air corps commission after O.C.S. in 1942. James was stationed at Mitchell Field, then Richmond Air Base, where, during field training of recruits in demolition work, he suffered an accident, and the loss of his right hand.
He hadn't been back to Hanover since graduation, but occasionally attended football games. Jim is survived by his daughter, Kathleen Farde, and two grandchildren.
WILLIAM HAYS NEWBURGER died December 11 in Cavendish, Vt. Bill, who came to Dartmouth from Tabor Academy, majored in history and was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. During World War II he spent time on Guam in the air force and was recalled for 17 months during the Korean War. His entire business career was spent with G. Fox & Co., Hartford, Conn., until his retirement as merchandise manager in 1973.
For our Golden Jubilee Report Bill wrote, "Retirement in Vermont has been a pleasure—wintertime skiing, spring and fall harvesting firewood, summer gardening, and all year a few sheep to keep us occupied and with our reward at lambing time."
Upon retirement in Vermont Bill soon became a participant in the community as an incorporator of Springfield Hospital, a board member of Mental Health Services of Southeastern Vermont, a board member of the Black River Health Center, and board member and executive director of the Fletcher Farm Foundation of Ludlow, Vt. He also served as chairman of the board of selectmen in Cavendish and filled in as interim town manager.
Bill and Dorothy were regulars at '37 reunions and mini-reunions. Bill was a loyal classmate who loved Dartmouth. We will certainly miss him. The class extends sympathy to Dorothy.
1939
BENJAMIN KIMBALL AYERS JR. died of cancer of October 25 at the Lakes Region General Hospital, Laconia, N.H. Kim came from a family with a close association with Dartmouth, having had a great great-uncle who was graduated in 1850, an uncle in the class of '06, his father in the class of '11, a brotherin-law, Herb Mattlage '39, and a nephew, Stefen Mattlage '72.
Kim came to Dartmouth from Vermont Academy where he participated in football, skiing, glee club, dramatic club, and camera club. At Dartmouth he was no less active. He majored in geology, was a member of the varsity ski team, the Players, the Dartmouth Union, DOC Carnival Committee, and was a brother in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
He earned an M.S. at Thayer and a master's in teaching at the University of New Hampshire.
After more than five years in the navy in WW 11, doing salvage, diving, and firefighting, he specialized in offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and the Persian Gulf. He is credited with erecting the first bow mooring to be installed for Exxon in Libya in the early 1960s so that tankers for the first time didn't have to be docked for loading. Prior to retirement, Kim taught science at Holderness School for five years, and helped with the skiing program.
In retirement Kim worked constantly to uphold the quality of the lakes, most prominently Winnipesaukee and Squam. Shortly before his death, Kim was advised that the Lakes Region Planning Commission honored him by creating an annual Kimball Ayers Environmental Award.
He was town moderator of Moultonboro for two years, a past president of the Winnipesaukee Association, and a director of the Lakes Region Clean Water Association. Surviving are his wife, Jean, daughters Bonnie D'Orlando and Deborah Ayers, and a son Alan.
RALPH "ZEKE" NADING HILL JR., 70, historian, author, and preservationist, died of a stroke on December 10 at the Vermont Medical Center Hospital, Burlington. Zeke was born and raised in that city and attended Burlington High. At Dartmouth he was in Beta Theta Pi, associate editor of TheDartmouth, undergraduate editor of the Alumni Magazine, on the editorial board of The Dart, and active in experimental theater.
He entered the Army Intelligence Corps in 1943, serving in the European theater until 1945. From 1957 until his death Zeke served as an editor or advisor of Vermont Life magazine, and was a co-founder of Vermont Public Radio. His first success as an author came in an article in SaturdayReview in June of 1949. Publication of his first book, The Winooski, in the Rivers of America Series, followed in the same year. From that point forward he produced over two dozen books, innumerable magazine articles, and general commentary. Within the Dartmouth community he is best known for editing The College on the Hill, a history of Dartmouth's first 200 years.
Zeke was instrumental in organizing and nurturing the Shelburne Museum, on whose board he served since 1951. He spearheaded the preservation of the museum's Lake Champlain sidewheel steamer, Ticonderoga.
Among Zeke's many awards and distinctions were an honorary doctor of letters degree from Dartmouth in 1964, an Alumni Award in 1971, and the Classmate of the Year Award from the Class of 1939 in 1984. He was awarded an honorary degree in humane letters from the U. of Vermont in 1979 for his extraordinary and sustained exertions on behalf of Vermont and its history.
Among the boards Zeke served on: Green Mountain Power, Fort Ticonderoga, Champlain-Hudson Bicentennial Commission, Burlington Historic Sites, Vermont Historical Society, Ethan Allen Homestead Trust, Newcomen Society, Vermont Archaeological Society, and Champlain College. He chaired the Governor's Council on the Future of the Vermont Heritage in 1982.
Zeke was never married. He leaves a sister, Janet Shaw, three nephews including Richard Shaw '72, a niece, and five grandnephews.
1940
PERRY WESTON died on November 9 at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Mass., after a long illness. He was 69 years of age.
Perry came to Dartmouth from Springfield Tech. High School in Springfield, Mass. He was active in the band and a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. After graduation in 1940, he continued at Tuck School, receiving his M.B.A. in 1941.
In the U.S. Navy during WW II, he was discharged in 1946 with the rank of lieutenant (j.g.). Following the war, Perry worked with the Tarbell-Waters Company, moving from there to Warren Pumps, Inc. He was assistant production manager at the time of his retirement.
A former trustee of the Brimfield, Mass., Congregational Church, he also served as a trustee of the Hitchcock Free Academy in Brimfield. He was a past member and chairman of the Brimfield Planning Board and a past member and president of the Wantastiquet Trout Club in Weston, Vt.
He is survived by his wife, Olive (Dickey), a son Peter '68, daughters Audrey Weston and Marcia Haas, a sister, and two granddaughters.
1941
JOHN V. DELANDER JR. succumbed to cancer on September 15 after a long and valiant fight. He is survived by Ann, his loving wife of 44 years, son John V. 11l '66, daughter Karen Hazak, and five grandchildren.
At Dartmouth Jack majored in economics and was a member of Psi Upsilon, Casque & Gauntlet, and Green Key. He earned his "D" rowing crew and captained the squad in his senior year. After graduation Jack entered the U.S. Navy Air Corps and served as a fighter bomber pilot aboard the U.S.S.Hornet in the Pacific. He was awarded two distinguished flying crosses and four air medals for his World War II service.
Jack and Ann were married in Boston-where he had been raised—during a leave of absence in 1943. Upon returning to civilian life, Jack joined Shell Oil Company for a career of activity in various offices on the East Coast. He retired in 1974, moving with Ann to southern California to play golf and watch their grandchildren grow. These were 13 good years. Vic DELANDER '66
1943
HORACE ENSIGN ROCKWELL, a retired lawyer, died in Toledo, Ohio, on October 30 after a brief illness. He was 67.
A native of Claremont, N.H., he was known at Dartmouth as "Rock." He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with most of the class in 1942, served briefly in the army and graduated from Yale Law School in 1947.
Most of his professional career was in Hartford, Conn., where he was counsel to the Connecticut Bankers Association and the Savings Bank Association of Connecticut. He also was a director of the Hartford YMCA, the Visiting Nurse Association, and the Hartten-Salmon Clinic.
He was seriously disabled in the late 1950s and subsequently moved to Toledo from his home in West Hartford.
He leaves his wife, Dee, of Toledo, a son Peter of Bellevue, Wash., and two daughters, Nancy of Simsbury, Conn., and Elizabeth R. Booth of Harwinton, Conn. He is also survived by two sisters, a brother, two grandchildren, and two stepchildren.
1944
WARNER EVEREST MILLS JR., 65, died October 1 in Fort Collins, Colo., from complications following heart surgery. A longtime government professor at Beloit College in Wisconsin, Warner was participating in a new Beloit shared-professorship program in Colorado at the time of his death.
He was born in Kirksville, Mo., and came to Dartmouth from Kirksville High. In Hanover he worked for The Dartmouth, played in the band, and graduated cum laude with distinction in mathematics. He served over three years with the U.S. Navy, with service as a lieutenant in the Pacific Theater.
He received his M.A. from Yale University in 1948 and his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1956. On his way to his doctorate he taught at Johns Hopkins, Rice Institute, and the University of Texas.
Warner joined the Beloit political science faculty in 1956, where he became a popular professor and advisor. He was a pre-law advisor to students considering a legal profession as a career, and he served as secretary to the Academic Senate and the faculty and graduate scholarship committees. He was the author of Martial Law inEast Texas and co-author of another book on small-city government.
In Beloit, he was active in the Episcopal Church, the YMCA, Boy Scouts, Rotary, and the Democratic party.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, three sons, and a daughter.
1955
WILLIAM GEORGE DELANA died on November 9 in the Hartford-Hospital. He had been a partner in the law firm of Day, Berry & Howard in Hartford since 1963, specializing in corporate and tax law, and served his community in many ways. He was a trustee of Wadsworth Atheneiim, Renbrook School, Miss Porter's School, and Mount Holyoke College, and a member of the board of Hartford Hospital. He was a member of the Connecticut Bar and a director of Loctite Corporation, The Montgomery Company, and Dynage, Incorporated.
At Dartmouth Bill was on the varsity crew, rowing for all four years at Dartmouth and serving as captain of the crew his senior year. He was vice president of Beta Theta Pi, a member of Casque & Gauntlet, and a Rufus Choate Scholar.
Upon graduation from Dartmouth, Bill served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army and then attained his J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School.
In recent years Bill was a class agent for the Alumni Fund and area chairman of the Hartford region in the Campaign for Dartmouth.
At a service attended by several hundred of Bill's friends, President Elizabeth Kennan of Mount Holyoke spoke of Bill's contrbutions, his courage, his ability to inspire others.
In part President Kennan said: "Bill DeLana knew not simply how institutions work but why they must do so. He had a great grace which transferred his public vision into private influence. It was such fun to be with him. He reveled in the codes, the grammar, the rules of our civilized discourse as much as he did in the surprise of natural beauty. He knew how to reach out with all senses."
Bill is survived by his wife, Alice, and two children, Elizabeth and Charles. To them the class extends its sympathy. We will miss Bill's exuberance and participation.
1961
Word has just been received of the death of BARRY WILFRED "BEAR" PRATHER in an automobile accident on September 5, 1987, at The Dalles, Oregon.
Barry, who owned two retail businesses in Ellensburg, Wash., was perhaps best known for his avocations—glacier research and mountain climbing, including participation in America's first expedition to Mt. Everest.
A May 1983 account of the 1963 Everest expedition in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine described him as a "bear of a man in every which way . . .
"Since Everest, he has climbed in Alaska and continued glacier research there every summer. He has been on four Arctic and Antarctic trips, been married twice and fathered five children, been named the state's outstanding Farm Bureau and Kiwanis president, built his own house, become a volunteer soccer coach, finished his M.S. in geophysics at Michigan State, been a custom harvester for 16 years with his own combines, become a district Boy Scout chairman, and spent 15 years on the board of directors and as a trustee for the Foundation for Glacier and Environmental Research. And he has run a television appliance and repair service since 1973 . . ."
Dr. Maynard Miller, director of the Glacial and Arctic Sciences Institute, with whom Barry spent virtually every summer since 1958 as part of the Juneau Icefield Research Project, said a mountain in the icefield would be named in his honor.
Miller wrote, "Barry was a giant of a man . . . physically, mentally and spiritually. He loved the icefield and the programs there . . . Barry left a positive impression on everyone he met. He was wonderfully like-able, considerate, optimistic, joyful, loyal, and selfless, with a clear vision and clarity of purpose ..."
He is survived by his wife, Kay, and seven children and stepchildren.
1976
ERIC HARGRAVE FRONDORF of Stock-/bridge, Mass., died on September 22 of multiple injuries resulting from a hit-and-run accident. At the time of his death Eric was visiting his parents, Robert Frondorf '41 and Joan Hargrave Frondorf, who had just moved into a new home in West Chester, Pa.
Eric was born in Tokyo and lived most of his life in the Far East. After spending some time in New Jersey, his family later moved to the Philippines. Later, Eric prepared for Dartmouth at the Hill School, as had his father and brother John before him. At Dartmouth, Eric was a member of Gamma Delta Chi fraternity, and he lived in the house for part of his time at the College. His major was religion. For the past six years Eric lived in Stockbridge, where he owned a home and was in the grocery business. He has left behind many good friends who will miss his gregarious, cheerful, and friendly nature.
Eric is survived by his parents, his two brothers, John '69 and Steve '71, who is living in Saudi Arabia, his sister-in-law, Victoria, and three nieces. To Eric's family and friends, the class of 1976 extends its greatest sympathies.
