Alfred Howard Schrashun Jr. ’45
Al died on June 2 at Covenant Village of Northbrook, Ill., after celebrating his 95th birthday. Al will be remembered for his dedication to community service, his curious mind, intellect, love of music (especially jazz), voracious reading and devotion to family, all of which had foundation at Amherst.
He spent his childhood in Detroit, graduating from Detroit University School before entering Amherst in 1941 as a scholarship student. After his sophomore year, he served in the Air Force for two years.
He returned to Amherst and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa his junior year. He attended Harvard Business School ’49 and joined the J.L. Hudson Co. that year. He served in several executive leadership positions, retiring in 1983 as vice president in charge of store development.
Al remained an Amherst enthusiast and was a member of the 1821 Society, contributing continuously for over 70 years. His grandson, Doug Schrashun, graduated in the Amherst class of 2006.
A community volunteer, Al served as president of Family Services of Detroit and was an early board member of Services for Older Citizens in Grosse Pointe, as well as a longtime board member of Adult Well Being Services in Detroit and the Red Cross of Southeastern Michigan. He also was a longtime member of Christ Church Grosse Pointe, where he served on the vestry.
He also served as past chairman of the Witenagemote Club and was a member of Beta Theta Pi and Phi Beta Kappa and a lifetime member of the Grosse Pointe Club.
As a scholarship student himself, Al continued to focus energy on scholarship initiatives and served on the board of the Stephenson Foundation, which provided college scholarship money.
Al is survived by his wife, Carol; two daughters; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his son, John Douglas Watkins Schrashun. —Chris Gretchko
Walter L. Benson ’49
After a long and fruitful life, Walter died last February at age 92 in Sonoma, Calif. He is survived by his wife, Lu Williamson Benson; four children; four grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
At Amherst, he was a member of Phi Alpha Psi and a three-year member of the wrestling team and sailing club. He was also active in a host of other campus activities and still found time to earn his Phi Beta Kappa key. This was a foretaste of what was to come.
He flew planes and raced cars, but mostly drove pickup trucks while planting and maintaining vineyards, constructing homes and working in land development of his own concept, design and implementation.
He created Bennett Ridge and The Ranch in Sonoma County. His land-planning concepts set a higher standard for hillside design with building envelopes for homes and dedicated open space for the remainder of the parcel.
The Sonoma Historical Society gave him an award in recognition of his hillside preservation planning. He was a “dynamite guy,” literally, in his creation of an underground winery in 1976 after replanting
the Snyder Vineyard in the historic Buena Vista Viticultural District—a century after the phylloxera devastation.
He worked the vine rows and the winery in old Ford pickups, co-piloted by a succession of black Labs over a 50-year period. Additionally, he worked with student groups at Sonoma State University, was involved with sculpture and mentored students in his profession. Not surprisingly, his home is an early passive solar design. Along the way, he patented early LED lighting fixtures and designed varied artworks.
His was a singular and rewarding life—not foreseen, I’ll wager, while at college. Very impressive. —Gerry Reilly ’49
Frank C. Boyer Jr. ’49
Frank passed away on Jan. 4 at age 92. That is all the actual data I have, since the witty postcard that came with the news only advised the following: New address—Heaven, and for the email address—N/A.
Frank’s connection to our class is clear; he established this with his response for our 50th-year yearbook. He said that he feels like he is a part of the class though he was there for just three semesters.
Frank spent nine months at Franklin & Marshall before going into the Air Force and then four years at the architectural school at Yale, but he insisted that all the customary “warm and fuzzy” feelings that are associated with college were imprinted at Amherst.
Apparently, it was Professor Lowenstein who made this strong impression on him. Each semester, it seems, there was another revelation. One was that he realized he did not want to go to MIT to become an aeronautical engineer. Then he learned enough to scare his father with quotes from Lowenstein about “The Future in Perspective.”
Finally, he determined that he did want to become an architect and thus to Yale. While at Yale, he one day visited Professor Baird at his home, which had been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. He says he became a dedicated “problem solver” and enjoyed that immensely ever since.
Along the way he managed to do some of the usual things—got married, fathered two girls, got divorced, got married again, became a widower after 20 years and later spent his time mowing the grass, playing tennis and visiting his daughters, their children and his two stepchildren. He concluded with the observation, “Every day the sun rises.”
A very interesting fellow. I wish I had known him. (Bear in mind that all of my remarks date from 1999.) —Gerry Reilly ’49
Boardman Warren Brown ’50
Fellow DKE brother Boardman Warren “Slats” Brown died in 2013.
Slats was born on Aug. 15, 1927, in Seattle. While a student at the Lakeside School in Seattle, at age 16, he served as a page in the U.S. House of Representatives. At Amherst he was a member of the Pre-Law Club and A.P.A.
In 1950, soon after graduating from Amherst, Slats married Nancy Freese. They resided in Seattle, where Slats attended the University of Washington Law School. After graduating, he worked for 10 years at the Boeing Corp. During those 10 years, Nancy and Slats had five children.
In 1961 the family moved to Pasadena, Calif., where Slats went to work first for Bendix Corp. as a contract lawyer and later for Northrop Corp. as a corporate lawyer. After his marriage with Nancy ended in 1978, he married Marilyn Oliver. They traveled extensively for Northrop and spent two years living in Saudi Arabia. Marilyn died in 1994.
In 1996 Slats met his “last partner in life,” Carol Bressler. They spent the rest of his life together.
Slats was an avid golfer. He loved the game and the walk and talk with friends. He was a member of the San Gabriel Country Club and served as its president in 1998. He also served on the board of the Humane Society in Pasadena.
Friends reported that Slats loved conversation and was an interesting storyteller. In his obituary they stated that his sense of humor was truly an art and that they will miss him. —Andy Scholtz ’50
Richard K. Clarahan ’50
Dick was 85 when he died in 2013 in Hackettstown, N.J. Born in St. Louis, he attended the John Burroughs School prior to Amherst, where he pledged Phi Delta Theta.
For many years he was a national sales manager for the Norfolk and Southern Railroad in New York City. An avid golfer, he was president of the Eagles Mere Golf Club as well as the Lions Club in Eagles Mere, Pa.
Dick and his wife, Martha (deceased before him), produced five daughters, Susan Benoit, Mary Layton, Marjorie Bevins, Lisa Alarcon and Martha Jane Method, and four sons, Michael, Richard, Robert and Steven. He is also survived by18 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and a sister, Doris John. —John Priesing ’50
Richard I. Keeler ’50
Rick died on July 7, 2016, in Palm Beach, Fla., at the age of 88. A graduate of Phillips Exeter, he transferred to the University of Virginia, graduating in 1952.
Rick was a private investor throughout his career. He managed to live on a boat in Florida during the 1980s while serving as the principal partner in a Boston-based venture capital firm, Rainbow Ventures.
Surviving are his wife, Debra; a son, R. Bradbury; two daughters, Wendy Keeler and Elizabeth Milan; and eight grandchildren. —John Priesing ’50
Stuart Leeb ’50
Stu, 88 years old, passed away in Portola Valley, Calif., in January 2017. He grew up in the Cleveland area and attended Western Reserve.
At Amherst, Stu was a varsity swimmer and cheerleader and pledged Beta Theta Pi. He served as our class president in the 1990s. He was also head of the Amherst Association of Northern California and an active fundraiser for the College.
Shortly after graduating from Harvard Business School in 1953, Stu decided to “go West” and strike out on his own in real estate rather than stay with the family business.
He became a successful developer of research and development buildings in Silicon Valley (e.g., for Intuit) as well as garden offices. He also had properties near airports, which tied in with his interest in flying small planes.
I lived in the Bay Area in the late ’50s and saw Stu a number of times. You could always count on good conversation, laughter and enthusiasm about the many advantages of the West.
He was involved in state Republican politics and served on the San Mateo Human Rights Commission. Skiing and scuba diving were major interests. He enjoyed homes in Palo Alto, Calif., and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he was instrumental in starting and funding a foundation for the local library.
But what gave Stu his greatest satisfaction was his involvement with and the presidency of Cedars of Marin, a residence for people with developmental problems. His daughter, Betsy, suffered from Down syndrome and died there.
Stu was divorced and is survived by son Jon, daughter Carrie, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. —John Priesing ’50
Roger A. Neuhoff ’50
Roger was a risk taker. After Amherst he joined the Central Intelligence Agency. He was deployed behind enemy lines during the Korean War to rescue downed American pilots.
Back in civilian life in 1955, he bought a radio station in Charlottesville, Va., for $210,000 after an apprenticeship in media sales. Roger built on this, adding television and radio outlets to his company, Eastern Broadcasting.
In 1989 he sold Eastern Broadcasting for $65 million, which was one of the largest media transactions of the time, according to the Washington Post. He got back in the business in 2003, forming Neuhoff Communications, a chain of radio stations mostly in the Midwest.
Roger came to Amherst from Andover, following in the footsteps of his brother, John ’46. A member of Psi Upsilon, he was a hammer thrower on the track team, played freshman football and was a member of the Masquers. He noted wryly that, as his career as an actor progressed, his roles seemed to diminish.
Roger was a fervent supporter of Amherst, where he had “almost” his best years, as he said in our 50th reunion notes. He contributed a running track to the College.
Until 1989 Roger lived in Washington, D.C. Then he moved to West Palm Beach, Fla. For five decades, summers were spent on Martha’s Vineyard, where he belonged to the Edgartown Yacht Club and was a founder of the Chappaquiddick Beach Club.
A longtime cancer survivor, he died at 87 in October 2015.
He is survived by his wife, Louise; two sons, Alexander and Eric; a daughter, Louise Harkins; 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother, John ’46, and a son, Geoffrey. —John Priesing ’50
Robert A. Newton ’50
Bob came to Amherst from Deerfield with a rich Amherst heritage, including his father, Francis C. (class of 1915), brother Francis C. Jr. (1947) and grandfather Darius A. (1879). While a pre-med he majored in English and had a lifelong love of literary criticism. He was a member of Phi Alpha Psi.
Bob got his M.D. from Cornell and specialized first in urology and then in andrology, the study of male fertility. He practiced as a physician in the Boston area for 58 years, was a pioneer in reproductive therapy and was founder and medical director of the New England Cryogenic Center.
He was chief of urology and president of the medical staff at Newton Wellesley Hospital. He practiced at Peter Bent Brigham and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals and the Lahey Clinic, and taught and lectured at Harvard and Tufts Medical Schools. Bob served in the Medical Core Reserves. He was an accomplished equestrian and an ardent hunter and fishermen.
One colleague said of Bob, “He was very warm and kind and always quick with a clever retort and friendly smile.” His classmates and brother Phi Psis would concur. We often disagreed on the substance, but the discussions on so many varied issues were always good-natured, a pleasure and enlightening.
In retirement Bob lived in Waterville Valley, N.H., and Sudbury, Mass., where he died on April 3, 2016. He is survived by daughters Diana and Jennifer, son Daniel, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. —John Esquirol ’50
Irwin L. Park Jr. ’50
“Bro” passed away in May 2018 at age 89 in Pinehurst, N.C., from complications from dermatomyositis—a terrible disease with no cure and a long end.
Bro was one of three brothers (along with Dick ’49 and Jack ’53) to go to Amherst from Penn Charter in Philadelphia and join Alpha Delta Phi. Bro played soccer, managed the varsity basketball team and participated in the Glee Club and choir. If ever there was anybody who enjoyed people, it was Bro. His warmth and quick wit won him many friends throughout his life.
Bro was a vice president at Provident Bank in Philadelphia before joining National Life Insurance Co. in Vermont as vice president. When he retired from National Life, Norwich University appointed him executive director of university relations and development. Then Bro and his wife, Dee, bought a thriving kitchenware store in Lebanon, N.H. For many years they were true partners in business before leaving for Pinehurst, where they were active in their church and the local Republican Party.
Bro was a roommate in college and a loyal friend ever since. I admired his devotion to family, his values and his joy for life.
His pastor said at his service that he had never seen anybody with as much courage.
Bro is survived by Dee, his wife of almost 37 years, and three sons, Win, Bob and Doug, whose mother was Audrey, Bro’s first wife. Bro was predeceased by his son Jeff and brothers Dick ’49 and Jack ’53.
Dee’s three sons, Kevin Clewley, Jeffrey Clewley and Timothy Clewley, were very much part of his life. Dee and Bro shared 17 grandchildren. —John Priesing ’50
Arthur R. Roy Jr. ’50
Art Roy died in November 2013 at the age of 85 in Houston. Art, a graduate of Bordentown Military Academy, left Amherst in 1948 but returned to finish in 1952.
He became a navy Corsair pilot and afterwards, with a wife and two children, came back to be one of the last residents of G.I. Village. A lifelong friend was Professor Colston Warren.
As Art put it in our 50th reunion notes, “I spent a 40-year career as chief lending officer in commercial banking from Wall Street to Miami, Houston, the Carolinas and Tennessee. The last two stops found me participating in the infamous savings and loan bailout. (The Resolution Trust Corp.) Many of those years were with various banks in South Florida as a senior officer and director.”
Art received an M.B.A. from New York University in 1959. He retired from the U.S. Navy Reserves in 1963 as a lieutenant commander. Golf and University of Miami football were his keen interests.
With his first wife, Joyce, he had five children: Jeffrey, Michael, Arthur III, Karen Vissage and a daughter who died at 15. He also leaves his second wife, Donna, and seven grandchildren. —John Priesing ’50
James F. Williams ’50
Jim Williams left our class after freshman year and graduated from the University of Minnesota—Duluth in his home state in 1955.
He became an F-86 Sabre jet pilot and later joined the Air Force aerobatic team. Competitive trap shooting was his game. He was elected to the Minnesota State Sporting Clay Hall of Fame in 2007 after significant accomplishments in the sport on a national and state level.
Jim died in November 2015 at age 87 in Grand Rapids, Minn., where he had lived for 60 years. He is survived by his wife, Joan; children James and Mary Maragos; and four grandchildren. —John Priesing ’50
James Robert Wimmer ’50
Jim Wimmer was born in Chicago on July 6, 1928, and died on Oct. 18, 2016. He grew up in Gary, Ind., where he was on the Horace Mann School debate team that won the Indiana State Championship—honing his talents for the law.
At Amherst he majored in philosophy, nurtured by Lyne Few, Gail Kennedy and Sterling Lamprecht; he was junior Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude.
His head was not always in the clouds; I remember his entertaining us in the Kappa Theta bar with an old British folk song with the refrain, “Now in jail I sit … Just for windin’ up her little ball o’ yarn.”
Ray Vigneault ’50, Jim’s roommate, introduced Jim to Gertrude Anderson, Mount Holyoke ’51, so Breezy Evans, Smith ’51 and I saw a lot of them our senior year. They were married in June 1951, and we were that November, and then the four of us partied together again at our 55th class reunion.
Jim went to Yale Law, where he was Order of the Coif. He clerked for Justice Sherman Minton when the Supreme Court decided the case of Brown v. Board of Education. Then he began his career with Lord, Bissell & Brook in Chicago until 1999, where he was partner, of counsel, president and member of the executive board. He was involved in many community programs and had a broad range of interests.
He and Trudy had four children—Karen O’Hayer, Joanie Wimmer, Cynthia Riewski and Thomas Wimmer—and eight grandchildren.
They have lost a witty, wise and loving man, a pillar of common sense, common decency and infectious joy, and we have lost a good friend. —Kingsley Smith ’50
David Cameron Esty ’54
Dave Esty died of sepsis following cardiac surgery on Jan. 19, 2018. A “townie” with a long New England family history, he delighted in recalling an ancestor who was a Salem witch. The family connection to Amherst began with a great-grandfather, class of 1860, and many Estys followed.
Dave prepped at Governor Dummer Academy and joined Psi U. He proudly served as “gofer” for Robert Frost, majored in history and was commissioned in the USAF after graduation as an AFROTC product and served for three years. He was later a reservist, reaching the rank of captain.
His service to the College was abundant: He was a member of the executive committee of the Alumni Council, an alumni admission adviser, an associate class agent, an honorary commencement marshal and our class president from 2004 to 2009. He received the College’s Distinguished Service Award.
When Andy Galef ’54 developed the Commitment to Teaching Fellowship in 1994, Dave became its voice through 2017. That presentation is on the class webpage.
Over the years Dave had extensive experience as an advertising executive and with various nonprofits. He held membership in the New York Athletic Association, among many others.
In 1971 he authored Someone Close to You Is on Drugs. Several other publications on drugs followed. He was an adviser on drug abuse to the Departments of Defense and Justice and NYC Addiction Services. He was a critical incident stress counselor and was recognized for his leadership course.
Dave was an avid skier, a longtime member of the National Ski Patrol, president of Tuckerman Ravine Association, an EMT and a member of the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team.
Dave is survived by his wife, Elizabeth “Betsy”; sons David Jr. and John; daughters Virginia and Lisa; stepson Gordon; stepdaughter Jennifer; and eight grandchildren. —Hank Tulgan ’54
Raymond Bush Hanselman ’54
Another member of the class of 1954 has left us. Ray Hanselman passed away on Jan. 5, 2018. He was 85.
Ray entered Amherst from White Plains (N.Y.) High School along with his twin brother, Jack, who died in 1996. Jack was my freshman roommate in James, and Ray lived across from us in Stearns, and in the days before cell phones they would communicate by opening the windows to talk (loudly—there was no other way)!
Were we that primitive in 1950? I guess so. It did leave the room pretty cold in winter.
The twins both joined Theta Xi, where Ray was pledge master and representative to the HMC. A chemistry major, he was on the lacrosse team. Following Amherst, Ray attended MIT, where he received a Ph.D.
He worked on the Mercury Space Program for AVCO in New Jersey and then relocated to Concord, Mass., where he was employed by Polaroid, Waters Milipore, Active Impulse Systems and Lingo Motors in leadership roles in research and development. During his years in Massachusetts, he served Concord on the library committee and board of assessors, and as an election officer. He is also remembered for his love of the outdoors, travel and the family farm in Vermont.
Ray’s survivors include his wife of 60 years, Judith; three sons, Eric (wife Carol), John (wife Rachel) and Ted ’85 (wife Carolann); and seven grandchildren. They remember him for being supportive of all their goals. He is reputed to have told them that any challenge could be met by a combination of intellect, industriousness, duct tape and epoxy glue! What good advice! —Hank Tulgan ’54
Bradley F. Henke ’54
Brad could have attended any Big or Little Ivy League school—his natural abilities and the quality of his Lakeside prep school guaranteed that. He chose Amherst, following his brother Harry ’52.
We became friends as freshmen and enjoyed the long trips we took between Amherst and Seattle. We would drive day and night, stopping only for meals and a ferry ride across Lake Michigan.
The roads were mostly two-lane, and the Northern Plains were fresh green in spring. We rode in Brad’s car, and he was not judgmental when I somehow got off the road in a storm and scraped a fender on a barbed-wire fence.
Brad and Don Lindberg ’54 put on coats and ties to appeal to President Cole about my suspension for the second semester of our junior year. They didn’t change his mind, but I appreciated their loyalty.
Charming, energetic Judy was part of Brad’s life from his early days. He wrote her regularly during his first two years at Amherst. They dated in his last two, while she attended Smith College for her first two years in college.
Their wedding in 1957 brought more than 60 years of married life. Brad embarked on a successful career in corporate law in Seattle, where they raised their family.
Brad and Judy welcomed me to their house throughout the years. Children and grandchildren were there as Brad showed himself to be their good paterfamilias.
May Judy find solace in the life the two of them lived. Judy is still skiing years after her contemporaries have stopped. May she find good snow. —Peter Amacher ’54
Edward W. “Ted” Tayler ’54
Our charismatic classmate Ted, the Lionel Trilling Professor in the Humanities Emeritus at Columbia University, died of heart failure on April 23. He was born in Berlin in 1931 and raised in Westfield, N.J. Ted earned his Ph.D. in English with distinction in 1960 at Stanford, where I had joined him as a graduate student in 1957.
Ted’s promise was immediately recognized when he was appointed to succeed the legendary scholar and teacher Marjorie Nicolson as the university’s specialist in the literature of the English Renaissance, especially Shakespeare and Milton.
Ted and I had the great good fortune to be at Amherst at the moment that the College had a superb English department: Reuben Brower, Caesar Barber, Ted Baird, Armour Craig and the young Ben DeMott. Ted amazed the rest of us with the prowess he showed in mastering the puzzling challenges of Baird’s English 1. That experience evolved to inspire Ted’s course, “Logic and Rhetoric,” which became a crucial part of Columbia’s core curriculum.
In addition to courses in his specialty, Ted was devoted to the other standby of the core curriculum, “Literature Humanities,” a survey of the Western canon that gave him full scope to exercise his wit and erudition in a manner that gripped and moved generations of students.
He was also in great demand as a thesis adviser for graduate students. He received all of the university’s awards for exceptional teaching. His four published books showed his own power as a writer and established his reputation as a critic and scholar.
Ted is survived by his loyal and beloved wife, Christina Lee Moustakis; three children from his first marriage to the late Stanley Craig Tayler; two children from his second marriage to Professor Irene Smith; and five grandchildren, including Emma Buchsbaum ’12. —Tom Blackburn ’54
Lawrence E. Morway ’55
Those of us who entered Amherst in the early ’50s found a college still proud to host a few veterans of the Second World War even as the conflict in Korea was heating up. Into this environment Larry arrived from Bethlehem Central High School in Albany, N.Y.
An excellent athlete, he played football and baseball at Amherst and lettered in both sports.
Larry was friendly and outgoing in his relationships, in class, on the playing field and as a member of Chi Psi fraternity, where we were roommates his junior year. Common sense generally prevailed, although the shared decision to have a pet dog in a fraternity house proved problematic at the time.
Like many of his classmates, Larry joined the Air Force ROTC unit at Amherst, was commissioned upon graduation and began a seven-year involvement with the U.S. Air Force as a pilot, a reservist and finally as an active duty reservist when he was called back in 1961.
His business career included management positions with Diebold and other companies serving the financial services industry.
Among them were start-up ventures, new market opportunities and turn-around challenges. He retired in 1998 and moved to Hot Springs Village, Ark.
During his later years, Larry could often be found enjoying a good book, often a history or biography, on their deck.
Larry maintained an interest in sports throughout his life as a golfer and tennis player. He took particular pride in his wife’s skills on the tennis court. He enjoyed accompanying Pat on many trips. Larry carried her tennis gear and was referred to as the “team mascot.”
In addition to Pat, his wife of 52 years, Larry is survived by their two daughters, Tracey and Paige; Scott, his son by a previous marriage; and seven grandchildren. —Tom Little ’54
Anthony J. Wise ’55
Jake learned to fly at age 14 and served 20 years as a pilot in the U.S. Navy and Navy reserve, mostly flying Lockheed anti-submarine patrol aircraft on long patrols from Brunswick, Maine. He earned the rank of commander. Jake then flew for TWA from 1966 to 1989.
While a resident of Pawcatuck, Conn., from 2003 to 2016, he was an active volunteer at Mystic Seaport. From 2014 to 2016 he was president of the Library Fellows of the G.W. Blunt White Library of the Seaport and from 2012 to 2014 served as vice president. In 2016 he received the Library Fellows Award, recognizing his contribution to the library and his years of service.
Jake was an avid reader with a particular interest in maritime history, and he was a reviewer of articles submitted for publication in Coreolis, an online journal of the Mystic Seaport.
Defined by curiosity and a passion for science and history, Jake never stopped learning and educating himself about how the world works. In retirement he took classes at Western Connecticut State University, Norwalk Community College and the University of Connecticut. He read constantly and cared deeply about nature, including animals, plants and the weather. He loved every single one of his many pets.
I met Jake early in freshman year and stayed in touch through the passage of time with meetings at football games, visits to current residences and via email. Our “steadies,” who were invitees to Psi Upsilon weekend gatherings in the ’50s, became our wives and mutual friends, which further strengthened the bonds of friendship.
Jake’s steady demeanor and enthusiastic approach to life’s challenges always assured you that time spent with him would be engaging and positive.
Just a very nice guy—one who is missed but will always be pleasantly remembered. —Jim Schumacher ’55
Birchard C. Fossett ’56
Birchard “Bud” Fossett was born in Waterville, Maine, and came to Amherst from Hebron Academy. He joined the Navy three months after graduation and served for 32 years, retiring as a captain. He credits freshman roommates and fellow Phi Psis Pete Schramm ’56 and Harry Gotoff ’56 with widening his horizons from his circumscribed small-town Maine upbringing.
Further heavily influenced by English I Professor Theodore Baird and his Amherst years in general, post-Navy, Bud continued his learning, garnering approximately 300 credits and three associated degrees and honors.
Bud described his Navy career in part: “I seemed to be associated with just about every calamity that befell the Navy. I drafted the message that ordered the USS Liberty to its position just off the Sinai Peninsula, where it was attacked by Israeli patrol boats and fighter aircraft in 1967, and that was followed a decade later by a special assignment, organizing the direct national cryptologic support to the Iranian hostage rescue attempt, and on and on—some can be told; some cannot.”
Bud lost his loving wife, Joan, 12 years ago. He is survived by three children, Leon, Stuart and Sabrina; their spouses; and eight grandchildren.
Bud put his heart and soul into his family, education and the Navy. —Peter Levison ’56
John Hillyer Condit ’58
Our beloved friend, roommate and fraternity brother John Condit died May 16 after a long struggle with cancer.
John came to Amherst from Montclair (N.J.) High School, majored in English and graduated cum laude—though getting his honors thesis in was definitely a last-minute blitz! Like the three of us (but nicknamed “the Panther”), John was not a “star,” just one of those solid citizens every college needs. He was loyal, a supportive member of Phi Gam and an enthusiastic participant in bull sessions and arguments. Bisch remembers heated discussions over Algeria’s fight for independence from France; Bisch was on the wrong side of that argument, and John never let him forget it.
After graduation, John received a Harvard master’s degree in education. Following a stint in the army, he worked for Chase Manhattan Bank’s marketing department. Teaching was his true calling, though; he taught English at Milburn (N.J.) High School and then achieved a doctorate in education from Columbia University (1983).
He became a professor of English at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, retiring in 2003. The short story was one of his interests (he even tutored Bisch in same). Mysteries were also a genre of interest; Norcott recalls John giving him tips on authors of note.
Upon retirement, John and his wife moved to Ft. Myers, Fla., where, among other things, he developed skill as a poet. (His work may be accessed at Floripoet.blogspot.com.) He was an active alumnus of Amherst, Harvard and Columbia and a frequent attendee at telecasts of the Amherst/Williams game.
John is survived by his wife of 41 years, Ruth (née Rudnicki) Condit, and two sons, Bryce of Rochester, N.Y., and Kyle of New York City. We’d all seen each other frequently over time; we will miss him greatly.
—John E. G. Bischof ’58, John M. Miller ’58 and Richard B. Norcott ’58
Richard M. Blystone ’59
Richard “Dick” Blystone, a longtime AP and CNN correspondent who covered the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam war and myriad other news stories around the world, died in London April 17 of cardiac failure following a stroke. He was 81.
In a possibly unprecedented tribute, CNN produced a five-minute mini-anthology of his work, anointing him as “the poet laureate of network news.”
It was my good fortune to work at various times with Dick during his 15 years at AP, until he joined CNN in 1980, three weeks before the network went on the air. He covered plague and pestilence, politics and diplomacy, disasters and human triumph over adversity but was especially well known for his wry commentaries on the human condition and his eye for the telling detail that explained and illuminated complex issues.
And sometimes he went beyond the story.
After the fall of Phnom Penh to Pol Pot’s murderous Khmer Rouge, Bly flew in a chartered plane to the city’s deserted airport to rescue a Cambodian AP staffer and his family, pulling them into the moving aircraft as it revved up to take off from the shell-cratered runway.
A native of Elmira, N.Y., Bly graduated from the Loomis School and was a member of Theta Delta Chi at Amherst, where he ran cross-country and track.
He also served as art editor of the Amherst Student and frequently contributed mordantly witty cartoons. After Amherst, he served in the Navy on anti-submarine patrol planes. Later, after a stint as AP bureau chief in Bangkok, he was an Edward R. Murrow fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Together with his wife, Helle, who survives him, he lived in London for three decades. He is also survived by a daughter, Julia, aka “Titi,” and two sons, John and Daniel. —Claude E. Erbsen ’59
Joseph Victor Glass ’62
Joe was born in the Bronx in January 1943. He majored in English, played the clarinet, was in the Amherst band and was a member of the Smith Amherst orchestra. Joe was a loner and a gentle person with a keen and brilliant intellect. The Sadlers report that Joe developed an interest in the game of squash in our junior year and reported on it for The Amherst Student. He hung out at practices and attended matches, including many away matches. Gerry Fink’62 recalls that Joe was an avid New York Giants fan and quite astute about game strategies.
Nick Prigge ’62, among others, vividly recalls Joe’s chapel talk freshman year, but no copies have turned up. Nick describes it as a “send up/parody of an intellectual speech. … The content was somewhere between Dr. Irwin Corey (the world’s greatest authority) and Norm Crosby, the master of the malapropism.”
Bruce Farnum ’62 has shared a story about Joe in Professor Roger Sale’s classroom. He says that Joe “could play ideas Ping-Pong with the best of them. While the rest of us held back until Sale had asked a question or at least finished a sentence, Joe showed no hesitation in interrupting him mid-thought. …
“Sale would smile … and turn to the rest of us with a look that said, ‘Why aren’t the rest of you doing that?’ and then reply to Joe in mock disbelief with something like, ‘Mr. Glass, Mr. Glass, surely you don’t believe that!’ This would prompt a long no-holds-barred bout between the Champ and the Contender.”
Bruce admits that Joe may have never won any of those exchanges but may have on occasion fought Sale to a draw, an incredible achievement.
—Sandy Short ’62 (with special thanks to Craig Morgan ’62 and Stu Filler ’62)
Emanuel Marritt ’63
Emanuel “Manny” Marritt worked in three medical specialties during his lifetime. He died Feb. 26 at his home in Denver.
After graduating from New York University Medical School in 1967, he undertook a residency in psychiatry at the University of Colorado. He worked for a time in Los Angeles, where he met Ellen Orecchio of New Jersey—to whom he would be married 43 years. They moved to Camarillo, Calif., where Manny worked at the state psychiatric hospital.
In 1975 Manny switched to dermatologic surgery and hair transplantation. He returned to Colorado and was in private practice in Denver for 30 years. He once said he found applications for his psychiatric training in his new practice. “A guy who isn’t bald doesn’t think about it, while a guy who is bald thinks about nothing else.”
Manny was a member of the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery and other professional organizations. He wrote several articles and books and co-authored The Hair Replacement Revolution: A Consumer’s Guide.
After retirement Manny delved into oncology to find drugs that might help the body’s immune system fight cancer.
He was born May 30, 1941, in Watertown, N.Y., son of physician Samuel Marritt and Ruth Miller Marritt. He attended Stuyvesant High School in New York City. Majoring in biology at Amherst, he pledged Beta Theta Pi and sang in the Glee Club.
Wythe Holt ’63 fondly remembers spending a Thanksgiving holiday with Manny and his family. “Manny energetically took me under his wing, and we saw lots of New York City and some of Long Island over that long weekend. … My fondest memory is of the Thanksgiving dinner Mrs. Marritt served—she made a Brooklyn version of southern fried chicken for me,” Wythe wrote.
Manny is survived by his wife, Ellen; a daughter; a stepson; and two grandchildren. —Neale Adams ’63
Stephen C. Dunn ’71
Stephen Cameron Dunn, age 68, passed away on April 12 near his home in Taos, N.M.
He lived life on his own terms, with incredible generosity and compassion. A sailor, builder, teacher, friend and father, he led his life with infinite curiosity, and as a teacher he inspired all his students to embrace that same quality.
His true desire to help the world be better for all was further exemplified by his nonprofit work with development of public housing in San Francisco and as the controller for the California Wildlife Foundation.
Stephen is survived by Sage Elizabeth Dunn of Taos; Robin Cameron Dunn and two grandsons, Talus Cameron Polin and Pike Henry Polin, of Hansville, Wash.; and two brothers, Robert Dunn of Santa Fe and Kevin Dunn of Boston.
He was preceded in death by a sister, Deborah Conrad of Galveston, Texas.
He always took the time to really listen and to quietly respond to what was actually said, and, most of all, he did it with so much class.
Stephen leaves all those who loved him with clear memories of a man who carried forgiveness, love and gratitude in his heart. He lived and died facing into the wind. —Jerry Romano ’71
Peter N. Reusswig ’82
We are deeply saddened to report the passing of our dear friend and classmate, Dr. Peter N. Reusswig, on Feb. 2. Pete passed away following a graceful and courageous battle with a rare terminal illness. The sincere condolences of the entire Amherst community are extended to his dear wife, Emy; his two beloved sons, Tyler and Blake; his mom, Nancy; his brother, Dave (and sister-in-law, Liz); his sister, Cindy (and brother-in-law, Guy); his uncle, Lee Lane; his nieces and nephews; and his countless friends and professional colleagues. Pete’s father, William “Nort” Reusswig ’56, passed away in 2017.
After Amherst, “Wig” graduated from New York Medical College, before serving as a U.S. Navy doctor. He founded one of the leading anesthesiology practices in the Denver area and became one of the country’s most widely respected pain management practitioners. One of Pete’s professional colleagues perhaps best summed up the high esteem in which the medical community held Pete by remarking, “There are a lot of good doctors out there, but Pete stood apart. What made him truly exceptional was that he cared for his patients perhaps more than any doctor I know.”
Wig’s energy, enthusiasm and zest for life made him a leader at Amherst and someone whom everyone he met wanted to be around. Pete rowed, sang in the Glee Club, was a leader at Chi Psi and throughout his too-brief but full life pursued his passion for playing the drums, frequently performing during his Amherst days and continuing for his entire life, including frequent appearances during reunion weekends. Pete loved to travel adventurously and was also an avid skier, frequently skiing with his family and hosting friends at his beloved family retreat in Vail.
We miss Wig intensely. But more than anything, we are blessed to have had him in our lives.
—Bruce Chesebrough ’82, Brian Furbish ’82, Monty Cleworth ’82, Paul Theiss ’82 and David Cohen ’82
Mark Whitney Allen ’85
Mark came up from Guilford High School. He brought with him a lively mind, an enterprising outlook, a self-effacing joy—and a stutter. Although he achieved lifetime friendships and loving relationships at the College, and although the stutter loomed larger in Mark’s mind than to those who knew him, the impediment subtracted from what he could take from—and give to—his classes. It held him back from all that he wanted to say. He was unimpaired in drama and dance. And in the Glee Club he sang a robust bass.
In his junior year, his speech therapist counseled him to go somewhere far away, to exercise speaking slowly—no matter the occasion or the audience—and then to come back. His semester in Edinburgh, speaking deliberately to any and every one, granted benefit.
His challenges were central in Mark’s decision to become a speech therapist himself.
After college, he completed the Ph.D. program in speech/language pathology at Northwestern. He taught for 25 years in a high school, created a successful private practice, came out with a book and traveled the country presenting workshops to other speech-language pathologists. (Videos of Mark, playful and purposeful, in his “Speaking Freely” workshops can be viewed on the Internet.)
In his 40s, Parkinson’s came upon him. He submitted to a range of treatments. Increasingly, he struggled to function. He endured the incurable disease for 13 years. He pursued and accomplished an accompanied suicide with the Dignitas organization, in Switzerland. As Mark left, he wrote, “I am truly fortunate to have the opportunity of this physician-assisted suicide. There are countless persons who would like to have the opportunity to die with dignity, but are unable to do so because of legal, financial, practical or logistical reasons.”
—Robert Allen ’55 and Timothy Melley ’85