Charles M. Johnson ’49
Charles “Charlie” Johnson of Springfield, Mass., passed away on Jan. 21 following a brief illness.
Charlie was born on Feb. 2, 1928, and his childhood was spent in the picturesque farming hamlet of Hockanum on the Connecticut River in Hadley. After graduating from Amherst College in 1949, he entered the family firm, Johnson’s Bookstore, on Main Street in Springfield. There he met the love of his life, Dorothy “Dottie” Allen. He became a partner in the business and was the company’s third president.
He was a devoted father, grandfather, great-grandfather, business owner and community servant. In Springfield, Charlie was active in the Chamber of Commerce and the United Way, as well as a supporter of the Springfield Symphony and the Majestic Theater. While at his retirement community, Reeds Landing, he was an enthusiastic participant, working on the Vista Project, which opened up views from the rear of the building to Watershops Pond, and spearheading the effort to get a new grand piano donated for the common room. Fittingly, he also coordinated their library for many years.
He was predeceased by his wife, Dottie, and his brother Stephen. He will be greatly missed by his son Clifton ’73 (Sarah), father of Luke (Timur), Adrian (Elizabeth) and Nicholas (Megan); and his second son, Paul ’75 (Sue), parents of Adam, Stewart, Samuel and Abigail (David), who in turn are parents of Charlie’s four great-grandchildren. He will also be deeply missed by the sunshine of his life for the past six years, Buffy Mayo of Wilbraham, Mass. —Clifton “Chip” Johnson ’73 and Paul Johnson ’75
Thayer A. Greene ’50
Thayer Ainsworth Greene, of Amherst, died peacefully, surrounded by his loving family, on Jan. 5.
Thayer majored in history, graduated magna cum laude and belonged to Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. He earned a B.D. and Th.M. at Union Theological Seminary, NYC, and a Ph.D. in psychology at Union Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio. He studied at the C.G. Jung-Institut, Zurich, Switzerland, graduating from the C.G. Jung Institute, NYC.
At age 18, in September 1944, Thayer shipped to Europe to serve in the U.S. Army, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division. He fought in the Battle of Cologne. April 11, 1945, he helped liberate the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp, Nordhausen, Germany. His war years shaped the trajectory of his life.
Thayer met his beloved Anita (Mount Holyoke) on a blind date that blossomed into a 70-year marriage. Partners in life and work, they raised three girls and shared travel and adventures.
Thayer served as chaplain at Amherst College, and associate and then interim pastor at First Church in Amherst. He served as full-time pastor at First Church from 1954 to 1962. After earning his Th.M. at Union Seminary, he changed his career path. In 1965, he packed up his family to study at the C.G. Jung-Institut in Zurich. Upon returning to NYC, he started a career in Jungian psychotherapy.
Thayer shared his profound soulfulness with congregants, clients, friends, colleagues and family. He was committed to civil rights, social justice and democratic politics. He was co-founder of the Jung Association of Western Mass and the C.G. Jung Institutes of New England and of New York. He did individual, couples and group therapy.
Summers spent in New Hampshire at his ancestral home connected him to a community of friends and family. Thayer was passionate about tennis, golf and the Red Sox. —Rachel Greene-Lowell ’80
Russell M. Lane ’50
Russ passed away on Nov. 21, 202 in his home in Sunderland, Mass., where his family had ties dating back to 1715.
Russ, with an M.D. from the University of Rochester, spent the bulk of his career serving education institutions in their health departments. From 1966 to 1972, it was the University of Maine, and then it was on to the University of Massachusetts Amherst until retirement in 1995. During this period, he was also director of Health Services at Amherst College for 12 years. I remember Russ as an outgoing, optimistic guy who had to have appealed to his many young patients.
Russ grew up in Pawtucket, R.I. He joined the class of 1950, pledged Chi Psi, won his A in cross country and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After medical school, where he graduated with honors, he served as a medical officer with the Navy before going into private practice. He also served as assistant superintendent of the Blue Hill Hospital in Maine from 1961 to 1966.
Russ led an active outdoor life. He biked to work at UMass and spent many winter days skiing and helping with ski races, including the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid in 1980. In Sunderland, he was active in the Swampfield Historical Society and the Congregational Church, sitting in his grandfather’s pew.
Russ’s wife, Blake, passed away in 2011. He is survived by a sister, Janet Morrison, and four children—Patricia, Kathleen, Nancy and Michael—plus four grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Our sympathy goes out to the family. —John Priesing ’50
John P. Munn III ’50
John Pier Munn III passed away at home on Jan. 8, surrounded by his loving family.
John, a New Jersey native, graduated from Summit High School in 1946. At Amherst, John majored in history and, over the years, happily reminisced with his family about his time at Amherst. Like his father before him (John P. Munn Jr., class of 1922), John was a member of the Phi Psi fraternity. After graduating, he married his college sweetheart, served during the Korean War and then worked as a Prudential Insurance special agent for more than 50 years. His family has fond memories of his playful spirit, love of jazz and walks in the woods, as well as the plenty of his vegetable garden.
John is survived by his wife of 71 years, Joann; his sister, Suzanne Schoenfeld; his three children, Dave (Cele), Barb (Ron Wirgart) and Bill (Elizabeth Chapman); his eight grandchildren (Mike, Emily, Nick, Eric, Devin, Alexandra, Corbin and Jackson); and his four great-grandchildren (Harper, Violet, Ella and Lily). —Barb Munn
Charles F. Frey ’51
Charlie Frey died at home near Sacramento, Calif., on Feb. 7. He had multiple health problems the last few years of his life, including the recurrence of cancer.
Charlie was born in the Bronx, N.Y., on Nov. 15, 1929. He graduated from Scarsdale High School in 1947. After the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944, Charlie and friend John Edmonds ’51 cleared trees with a two-man saw. John later married Anne Tower, and Charlie married Anne’s sister, Jane Tower (Smith ’56).
During high school junior year, Charlie and Don Cameron ’51 visited Williams College. Charlie found Williams dull compared to Amherst but had not applied to Amherst. While he was waiting in Amherst’s admission office for Don’s interview, the secretary encouraged Charlie to apply. After an on-the-spot interview with Dean of Admission Eugene Wilson, Charlie was admitted with Don. They roomed together in James with Herb Erf ’51. Charlie followed a pre-med track, desiring to do something useful and needed.
Charlie completed his Cornell M.D. in 1955. After a patient presented with hemorrhagic pancreatitis and died for lack of a known treatment, Charlie found his calling: “Studying and learning about pancreatitis was like what Robert Frost said about taking the path less traveled.” He finished general surgery training in 1963, including serving two years as USAF chief of surgery at Homestead AFB in Florida. After 12 years in Michigan’s Department of Surgery, Charlie moved to California, becoming vice chair of UC Davis Medical Center’s Department of Surgery. He was a pioneer in trauma, EMS and the study of pancreatic diseases, publishing more than 250 articles and presenting work at meetings worldwide. He was a founder of the Pancreatic Club and its chairman from 1975 to 1995, before retiring in March 1997.
Jane and Charlie have five children, nine grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. —Robert Frey ’86
George Fowler Whiting ’51
George died Jan. 25 with family at his side. Husband, father, grandfather, Navy veteran, classmate, fraternity brother, entrepreneur, successful businessman, marksman, world traveler, bridge enthusiast, airplane pilot, hiker, tennis player, active church leader—all partially described George, but he will be best remembered and missed by his family and friends for his warm smile, ever-present cheerfulness, kindness, friendliness and dedication to honesty. He was a true gentleman.
George was born in Springfield, Mass., and lived mostly in New England. After graduating from Deerfield, he spent two years in the Navy before entering Amherst. Upon graduation, he went to work at the family business, Whiting Paper Co., founded by his great-grandfather in 1865. George said in his article in his class’ 50th reunion book: “Whiting Paper Co. continuously produced high-grade papers sold all over the world. Holyoke was the paper capital of the world. … This euphoria was short-lived. … The mill was closed in the late 1950s, and several years later, most of the other mills in the city also halted.” George continued, “In 1970, I launched my own business …. This was an arduous task, but rewarding. I do not believe things would have developed so well if I did not have the tireless energy of youth. Amherst prepared me well for the challenges I encountered. I am grateful for this.”
George married the love of his life, Gunnila, from Sweden, in 1960. A chance meeting on the sidewalk in Stockholm in 1957 led to a 65-year romance that grew into a family.
George retired in 1989. He leaves Gunnila, their three children, their children’s spouses and seven grandchildren. —George F. Whiting Jr. ’85 and John E. Kirkpatrick ’51
Charles S. Trefrey Jr. ’52
Chuck died Sept. 28, 2021 in Annapolis, Md., where he had lived for 30 years, including a move to a resident-owned retirement community that featured an active lifestyle on Chesapeake Bay, perfect for the avid sailor he was.
He grew up in Newton Highlands, Mass., and graduated in 1946 from Tabor Academy, where he rowed stroke on the 1945 crew that “was not to be equaled in many schoolboy circles,” defeating both Harvard and MIT.
Chuck joined the U.S. Army straight from Tabor and was stationed in Korea during a period of political and economic chaos when the U.S. Military Government was the official ruling body of the southern half of the peninsula.
At Amherst, Chuck majored in English and joined Chi Psi, a fraternity that enjoyed the social side of college life and had a good share of varsity athletes.
Chuck then embarked on a long career in the pharmaceutical industry. He served as president and CEO of the National Wholesale Druggists Association with a goal of achieving safe, cost-effective distribution of health care products to thousands of independent retail drugstores. His sweeping, broad-winged mustache and matching smile opened many meetings and minds.
St. John’s College in Annapolis became the lucky beneficiary of Chuck’s considerable energy after he retired in 1992. He participated in executive seminar programs and served on the board of the Friends of St. John’s College for many years, including a term as president. He was made an honorary member of the class of 2019 and the St. John’s Alumni Association.
Chuck’s wife, Barbara, died in 2013. His family includes two daughters, two granddaughters and one great-grandson. —Nick Evans ’52
Edward Tredick Catlett Jr. ’53
On a cold, wet November day in 1952 in Williamstown, Dick became a hero by blocking a punt, enabling an Amherst touchdown, and also by kicking all three conversion attempts while Williams missed two, to make the score 21–19.
Having prepared for Amherst at Episcopal Academy, where he was a three-letter athlete, Dick majored in economics, joined Chi Psi, was named All New England Defensive End and sang in his rich bass voice with the beginning Zumbyes and with the Glee Club and Choir. Recently Dick said singing for two years with the Zumbyes was one of the great experiences of his life.
A Navy pilot for four years, in the Pacific he flew single-pilot and prop Skyriders off the carrier Yorktown.
He began his business career with Towle Silver and then headed a succession of famous companies, from Royal Doulton to Izod Lacoste to Aquascutum.
With Ruth Anne, his high school sweetheart and wife of 65 years, and their four children, there was a rich and long love of skiing every year on a variety of mountains in Vermont and New Hampshire. Dick also loved tennis and ping-pong. In the couple’s retirement on Cape Cod, Dick especially enjoyed taking lots of lifelong learning courses and playing golf.
Having taken woodworking classes early in his life, Dick made wonderful furniture, such as armoires, blanket chests and tables, often as wedding presents for his children—and also whimsical things like cuckoo clocks and toys.
Dick was passionate about his family and lifelong friends, ever outgoing, enthusiastic and positive.
Dick died in Harwich, Mass., on Jan. 12. Ruth Anne preceded him in 2020. He leaves his daughter Cathleen (Bill), son John, daughter Elizabeth (Michael), son David (Lorie) and six grandchildren. —The Catlett family, Robert Brinker ’53 and George Edmonds ’53
Michael C. Palmer ’53
Mike wrote that, before Amherst, he attended 12 schools, but he quickly found community by introducing himself to every one of his 250 freshman classmates and making friends with four faculty families. As was said of Mike, “he never met a stranger” because of the way he befriended everyone. And could he talk! Stories, comments, questions, positions—good at all. For later class reunions, Mike would call everyone to urge attendance.
Everywhere “Mr. Gregarious” went, and in many ways, he engaged people—with his five children and the Cubs and Indian Guides and hiking and canoeing in the Pine Barrens in New Jersey; with the glassblowers where he worked at Corning; on trips with family members to Russia and to China to visit places where he had grown up and, with classmates, to Italy; during summers in Sebasco with fellow Trekkers of Maine, people at the pro-shop and strangers on the street; and in Durham, N.C., with homeless residents of the church’s inn, people at the YMCA, breakfast group and book club.
At Amherst, Mike majored in economics and joined Psi Upsilon. He was active as manager and member of the championship tennis team, as co-manager of football and as a member of several student publications. After his tour of duty with the Army, Mike earned his MBA at Harvard, where he also met his love Paula Pederson Holden. The MBA led him into executive positions in the glass and chemical industries. With Paula for 64 years, he had five wonderful children and five grandchildren he adored
Mike died on Jan. 27 and leaves his wife, Paula; daughter Martha (Gary); son Gordon (Mary Lou); daughter Ellen (Martin); son Michael (Meagan Muse); son Thomas (Lyn); and five grandchildren. All will miss Mike’s voice. —The Palmer family and George Edmonds ’53
Robert Gustave Peterson ’53
Born in Cleveland, Bob passed peacefully at home in Mount Arlington, N.J., on Jan. 7, 2022.
A Chagrin Falls, Ohio, native, he captained his football and baseball teams at Western Reserve Academy.
At Amherst, Robert played baseball and football, played clarinet in band, sang in Glee Club, was a proud member of Delta Upsilon and majored in economics.
Bob spent two years in the Army and then earned an MBA at the University of Michigan. There he met and married Wanda Michaels, his wife of 52 years.
He started his career with the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Co. in Troy, N.Y. In 1962, Bob joined Glens Falls Insurance, later Continental Insurance, and moved up the ranks as a senior executive in Continental’s corporate office in New Jersey until his retirement in 1992.
Bob was a devoted husband and father, coach and cheerleader for his children, and organizer of a girls’ softball league. He had an unparalleled generosity of spirit, a quick sense of humor and a gift for long talks with friends and strangers alike. His attention to detail in gift giving was legendary.
Many of the last 30 years were spent traveling to reunions with family, and he cherished his annual jaunts to various places with Amherst friends Tom Swanston ’53, Bill Kenney ’53, Carl Apthorp ’54 and Allen “Sabu” Burns ’55.
An avid Amherst Mammoths fan, Bob attended as many events as he could, particularly women’s basketball games. As his eyesight began to fail, so did his ability to travel, but that didn’t stop his spirit. Up until his final moments, he had his family calling out play-by-play moments for every Amherst athletics game he could stream.
Bob is survived by children Kirsten (Dan Leslie), Erik (Lenette) and Zoe (Todd Ward) and five grandchildren. —Zoe Peterson Ward
Peter Ames Goodhue ’54
Pete Goodhue passed away on Nov. 23, 2021. A native of Fort Fairfield, Maine, he came to Amherst after a postgraduate year at Hebron Academy. He was a pre-med biology major, very active in campus activities. From our earliest days, and then at reunions (he was our 55th reunion chair), Pete was a raconteur par excellence of Downeast Maine humor and surely could have had a successful career as an entertainer.
Following Amherst, Pete studied medicine at the University of Vermont, where he won the Carbee medical prize in 1957. This was followed by residencies in ob-gyn at Bellevue Hospital, N.Y.; Tulane; and Grace-New Haven Community Hospital. He served in the USAF from 1962 to 1964 and then established his ob-gyn practice in Connecticut near Stamford Hospital. He had a distinguished career as a practitioner and was chairman of the Connecticut State Maternity Mortality Committee and president of the Connecticut Society of the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Stamford Medical Society. He was an associate clinical professor at New York Medical College and authored numerous professional articles.
Pete married Ann Helfenstein, another Mainer and a BU graduate, in 1959. Ann and Pete loved to travel often, returning to northern New England for skiing and waterskiing behind his lobster boat with family. Pete also was an avid racquetball player and made time to go to the gym three times a week till the end of his life.
When Ann developed pancreatic cancer, Pete retired from practice when he was 80 and devoted all his energy to caring for her until her death in 2017. His survivors include daughter Lisa Hughes (Chris); son Scott Goodhue (Betsy); and grandchildren Ali and Peter Hughes and Richard and Charlie Goodhue.
Somewhere people are being entertained by Pete even now. —Hank Tulgan ’54
Guy W. Wilbor ’54
Guy Wilbor died on Jan. 3. He prepared for Amherst at the Ravinia School and Highland Park (Ill.) High School.
He was a direct descendant of two early colonists, William Wilbor and Francis Wyman, and proud of his heritage. He often returned to the historic landmark Wilbor House in Little Compton, R.I., which dates back to 1690.
As an undergraduate, Guy joined Kappa Theta, earned his A for crew and was a member of the band. He majored in economics, graduating cum laude, and attended many reunions. Following graduation, he earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps as a second lieutenant from 1956 to 1958, stationed throughout the country.
Guy married Ardie Lowry (now deceased), whom he met on a transatlantic cruise in 1958. They returned to Illinois, where Guy spent the remainder of his life. Ardie was the mother of his three children. After that marriage ended in divorce, he developed an 18-year relationship with Constance Addington (now deceased), widow of our late classmate Keene.
Guy’s career was in advertising, public relations and marketing sales, and he was the founder of a financial services company, GWW Associates.
Guy was known as a “fixer-upper,” worked with Habitat for Humanity and served as an usher at the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, Ill., and later the Community Church of Lake Forest & Lake Bluff. He was a golfer and involved in politics.
His survivors are his three children, Scott (Kathy), Jenny Carraher (Chris) and Glenn (Lisa); grandchildren Lauren, Kylie, Collin, Chase and Conner; and his companion, Margaret Steed.
Guy was a Green Bay Packers fan and spent the last day of his life watching a Packers win. —Hank Tulgan ’54
Donald J. Marcus ’55
Donald was the elder son of Robert Saul and Rita Hite Marcus. He attended West Philadelphia High School and then, at Amherst, majored in English and played soccer and lacrosse. He joined Delta Upsilon and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Donald graduated from medical school at the University of Pennsylvania in 1961. He spent a year at St. Anne’s Hospital in Paris and completed a residency in psychiatry at Temple in 1967, followed by practice in Philadelphia. He then changed course and did a residency in neurology at the Pennsylvania hospital, finishing in 1975. He went to the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta as an assistant professor, where he wrote about nerve conduction in rats before returning to Pennsylvania at the VA Hospital in Coatesville. There he served as section chief until retirement in 2008. Donald remained at Coatesville, working part time in mental health until final retirement in 2020. He was fully board-certified in both neurology and psychiatry.
Donald enjoyed hiking, reading French poetry, stamp collecting and playing the cello poorly. He also studied the Welsh language, attending the program of Cymdeithas Madog each summer and chairing the scholarship program of the Welsh Society of Philadelphia.
While at Amherst, he admired greatly Chaplain John Coburn, and he continued to find comfort in the services and fellowship of the Episcopal Church throughout the rest of his life. He served as a reader at St. Peter’s in the Great Valley and found many friends at St. Luke and the Epiphany in downtown Philadelphia.
Donald enjoyed robust good health until the last years of life, when he suffered from pulmonary sarcoidosis. He is survived by his nephew, Bryn Evan, and his sister-in-law, Valerie Blodwen. —Donald Marcus ’55
Stephen A. Schapiro ’55
Although Steve spent only his freshman year with us before completing his education at Bard College, his love for the Amherst countryside stayed with him forever. He felt fortunate to have had a great conversation with Robert Frost and to have studied with Benjamin DeMott. Around the time of our 50th reunion, Steve and his wife, Maura, lived in Amherst and attended our reunion banquet. He said Amherst was an awakening experience for him.
At age 9, Steve became interested in photography at summer camp. That inspired his life’s work. He was a world-renowned photojournalist, shooting some of the most enduring images of the latter half of the 20th century. Steve began as a freelance photographer for Life and Look magazines. His interest in the struggle for racial equality across the Jim Crow South resulted in his widely seen photos of such individuals as Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin and a young John Lewis. When Lewis died in 2020, Steve’s portrait of him appeared on Time’s cover. Steve believed his civil rights images stood out because so few photographers were covering the movement.
The day that King was killed, Steve was the first person to get inside King’s hotel room. He also photographed items in James Earl Ray’s nearby room, including a vivid handprint. As the interest in great photo magazines faded, Steve moved to Los Angeles, where he photographed the making of movies, publicity materials and posters. He shot the cover for the debut issue of People magazine in 1974.
Steve felt maybe the camera would become obsolete (due to cell phones taking photos), but he said, “It is the photographer who counts, not the camera!” He was a spirited person, empathetic and giving; his primary motivation was to help the world be a better place. —Rob Sowersby ’55
Roger A. “Tony” Schultz ’55
Tony came to Amherst from Bayside High School. As an undergraduate, Tony joined Phi Gam, majored in political science and was the manager of the varsity soccer team. Seth Frank ’55 remembers Tony: “He had a very appealing chemistry, and I don’t think anyone ever disliked him. Tony was the moving force behind the full-size fire engine Phi Gam acquired junior year. It was capable of starting more fires than it could put out!”
Tony went on to earn an L.L.B. from Columbia and an L.L.M. from NYU School of Law. He practiced corporate law for several years and then joined the legal department of J.B. Williams. He said he had lots of warfare with the FDA and the FTC. Tony retired as general counsel after 22 years when the company was sold. He then took a year off and lived on an old fishing boat, cruising the Caribbean. He had been captaining that vessel as a tuna-fishing charter boat out of Freeport, Long Island, for several years.
Back in New York after the Bahamas year, Tony connected with ESPN, helping to produce several specialized sporting events. He moved to Miami Beach in 1987 and began selling television broadcasting rights to NFL games for ESPN. He retired in 1995 and, for many years thereafter, ran a charter boat operation with his own craft.
Reflecting on his Amherst years, Tony felt his time there was the most important and positive experience of his life. At our 50th reunion in 2005, Tony and Bill Vance arrived in a rented RV in which they lived, situated in the Alumni House parking lot. They invited envious classmates to stop in for a tour. Tony died on Feb. 22, 2022, after a year of declining health. —Rob Sowersby ’55
Douglas Barnes Rhodes ’56
Doug passed away at home in Chatham, Mass., on Aug. 19, 2021, gazing out over Stage Harbor. He leaves behind his loving wife of 63 years, Nancy (a blind date from Smith); three children, Timothy, Benjamin and Susanna; and a gaggle of grandchildren—Brittany, Katie, Emily, Samantha, Holden, Isabelle, Lila and Posey—plus his great-granddaughter, Isla. An avid birder, naturalist, woodworker and globetrotter, Doug was also a comedian and prolific storyteller. Coming from Andover to Amherst, he was a football lineman, AD and English major. With his wide smile, a booming voice and a twinkle in his eyes, he delivered one-liners that often had his family and friends doubled over with laughter. He loved watching and playing sports. He ran or biked almost every day of his life before his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Doug loved all beings furry or feathered. The family dogs were always curled up at his feet during the all-important cocktail hour. He journeyed to Churchill, Manitoba, to meet and study polar bears. But his real passion was for birds. Doug traveled the world bird-watching with Nancy by his side—to South America, Africa, Antarctica and Nebraska for the great migration of sandhill cranes.
He served on the board of the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island and was also board chair of The Gordon School in East Providence, R.I., which his children (and many grandchildren) attended. Much of his career was spent in book manufacturing at Federated Lithographers and Alpine Press and then catalogue publishing with Museum Collections. More recently, Nancy and Doug moved to their summer home in Chatham full time, and while Doug wasn’t boating, birding, woodworking or running anymore, he was breathing the salt air, sitting on the deck and turning his face up to the sun. —Peter Levison ’56
Clark Rumrill ’56
Clark was not ill. He was in the hospital in early July for routine heart valve replacement and went into cardiac arrest on the table. Clark grew up in Pittsford, N.Y. After Amherst, he served two years in the USAF, then joined the State Department for 30 years in some of the most demanding and engaging postings in the Foreign Service: Chennai, Kabul, Saigon, Jerusalem, Lahore, Cairo and Colombo. He continued to explore the world after retiring and enjoyed Hungary, for his son’s wedding; Kabul, to tour old haunts and visit a friend; Auckland, for the sheep; Antarctica, for the penguins; Tristan da Cunha, for isolation and the vigor of the people; New Delhi, for business and friendship; and, most recently, Mexico, for his grandson’s wedding.
Clark was intrigued by the world and fascinated by people. He loved telling, writing and listening to stories. He published in both The Washington Post and American Heritage on topics from U.S. policy and tribalism in Afghanistan to the nuclear bomb dropped on Mars Bluff, S.C. He loved to tour the country, visiting his children in Virginia, New York and South Dakota. Other road trips took him to friends in Sargentville, Maine; any Rochester Redwings game he could find; and eclectic eateries such as Cartwright’s Maple Tree Inn in Angelica, N.Y. He enjoyed the Reston Community Center pool, where he swam with friends each week.
Clark was wonderful at keeping in contact. He often talked about, visited and corresponded with friends from Pittsford-Sutherland High School, from Amherst’s class of ’56 and Theta Delta Chi, and from his many travels. He is greatly missed by his children, Katharine Rumrill Teece, Charlie, Richard and Dudley; his nine grandchildren; and his lifelong friend and former wife, Meriwether. He will be inurned at Arlington National Cemetery. —Katharine Rumrill Teece
John Lotter Young ’56
John “Champ” was proud to be an Amherst man, and cherished his lifelong college friendships.
He was an ironman linebacker and team captain for the Lord Jeffs and always led the team in tackles. John came to Amherst via St. John’s Prep and went on to earn an MBA at Dartmouth.
He later met the love of his life, Donna Coffey, in a bar, and in their 56 years of marriage, they created phenomenal friendships, had worldwide adventures and amassed a lot of stuff.
John signed up with Cabot Corp., where his first “foreign” assignment was Pampa, Texas. He then lived in São Paulo, where he was managing director of Cabot’s Brazilian plant, and later Paris, where he was director of finance for Cabot Europe. This was also great marketing for the College, as he would often sport Amherst threads as he traversed the globe.
He was happiest in his dream home in Hingham, Mass., overlooking the ocean, where he and Donna would host legendary dinner parties.
He told his kids they could go anywhere they wanted for college, “but nothing beats an Amherst education.” He was thrilled when daughters Pauline ’88 and Stephanie ’90 followed his lead.
He is also survived by his son, Jake, and eight grandkids.
While he lived an extraordinary life, John is most remembered for his kindness, generosity, quiet but strong humor, and loyalty. The month before he died, he reunited on Zoom with his beloved Amherst guys.
Not a day goes by without us thinking of him. Not a day goes by without us missing him. His beloved Donna died of a broken heart two months and three days after him, marking the end of an era. —Stephanie Young Rosen ’90 and Pauline Young Rush ’88
James E. Anderson ’57
James Anderson died unexpectedly in Skillman, N.J., on Jan. 9.
At Amherst, Jim engaged in American studies, writing an award-winning thesis on the evolution of the hero in American literature. He was an avid singer in Glee Club and church choir, the latter of which he continued throughout his life.
He also met Sally Whittaker (Mount Holyoke ’59) on a blind date that became 63 years of marriage. They moved to a fourth-floor, one-bedroom walkup in Boston, where Jim attended Harvard Law School, then to Simsbury, Conn., where they raised Beth (middle name Hadley, Mount Holyoke ’82), Stewart ’84 and David ’92.
After his career at Connecticut General / Cigna, Sally and Jim retired to a hilltop in Pawlet, Vt., where they lived for 23 years. Jim named their home Solla Sollew, “where they never have troubles, at least very few.” The Pawlet house was an idyllic
family retreat that provided many special memories for Jim, Sally and the growing families of their children.
This time also allowed Jim to focus on his loves—volunteering at church, Pawlet school board, pro bono legal services and walking (or snowshoeing!) in the woods with his beloved yellow labs, Abby and then Andy. Jim sang in barbershop quartets, church choir and community musicals. He also had passions for nature, theology, politics, sports and enjoying time with Sally, friends and family.
Jim and Sally moved to Vero Beach, Fla., in 2013. There he was active at church and enjoyed family visits, tennis and twice-daily beach walks. Eventually, it became important to live near their children, so Jim and Sally returned to their New Jersey roots.
Jim’s was a life of Terras Irradient, striving to share kindness and knowledge wherever he went. His family and his many friends will miss him dearly. —Sally Anderson, Beth Anderson Coogan, David Anderson ’92 and Stewart Anderson ’84
Donald C. Brown ’57
Don Brown passed away on May 21, 2021. He was a pre-med at Amherst who then attended Western Reserve (now CWRU) medical school. He practiced general surgery and served two terms as a board member of the Pennsylvania Medical Society. He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Sara, in Greensburg, Pa.
—Carl Gray ’57 and Bill Patrick ’57
James D. Constantinople ’57
Jim was born in Washington, D.C., and died on Sept. 9, 2021, at his home in the West Village in New York City. He was educated at St. Alban’s School and Amherst College and earned his law degree at George Washington University.
After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard and working briefly for private law firms in Washington, Jim moved to New York City, drawn by its vast cultural resources. Jim worked there as a lawyer for the Legal Aid Society and as an administrative law judge. He collected art, art books, art catalogs and ephemera of New York City. He studied at The Art Students League for more than 50 years and was deeply knowledgeable about the history of art as well as painting techniques. Jim could stand before a single work (often to the consternation of his companions) and then eagerly discuss its many features without pretense.
His nieces, nephews and then grandnieces and nephews were enthralled by his comments, insights and wit, as were his surviving sister Anne and brothers George and Nick. He eschewed the usual pathways of career advancement in the law and remained devoted to his collections as well as to his longtime partner, Eliana Cesori, whom he first met in 1969. He lived a cultured life, without compromise. —Nick Constantinople
Joseph Patrick Derby Jr. ’58
Joseph Patrick Derby Jr., 85, died peacefully in his sleep Dec. 2, 2021, in Simsbury, Conn. He left his body to science at UConn Medical Center.
Joe attendedlocal schools in Springfield, Mass., before matriculating at Amherst in 1954. There he majored in economics and pledged Chi Phi fraternity.
Gregarious and fun-loving, Joe was better known for making mischief and having fun than for his scholarship or chapel attendance. After he played “The Saints” on the Stearns Steeple carillon at 2 a.m., Dean Porter suggested a “military sabbatical.”
After three years in the Army, during which he was commissioned a second lieutenant, married and started a family, Dean Porter readmitted Joe to Amherst. “Living above Cliff Allen’s store and working five separate jobs made schoolwork enjoyable,” Joe later wrote.
Joe was justifiably proud of his work ethic, having worked continually at jobs ranging from picking tobacco to high finance since the age of 12. After graduating from Amherst in 1961, Joe began his business career in Hartford, Conn., first in banking and then in real estate. He took great pride in providing loans to families and business leaders and, later, in developing housing and commercial properties that contribute to the beauty of greater Hartford and the Amherst area.
“I have had three lovely wives and have three great children along with three grandchildren,” Joe wrote, reflecting on his life. “I’ve seen it all and done it all. I’d live it all over again—and still cause lots of problems.”
Joe leaves behind his beloved wife and loving partner of 45 years, Hope Sorensen Derby; three children—Kim, Joe III and Kenwyn—and their respective families; and a huge circle of extended family members, dear friends and classmates. He is missed by all. —Kenwyn Derby ’93 and Ned Megargee ’58
Hutchin D. Tibbetts ’58
Hutchin David Tibbetts Sr., our class president in the 1980s, died Dec. 28, 2021, at Woodland Creek Memory Care in Dresher, Pa., surrounded by his family.
Hutch was born in Cooperstown, N.Y., the son of Hutchin Henry and Marjorie Tibbetts. An outstanding athlete, Hutch entered Amherst from Saratoga High School, where he played baseball, basketball and football; was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame; and was named to the 1954 National High School All-American All-Stars team.
At Amherst, Hutch majored in psychology and biology and pledged Theta Delta Chi. He was in the band, ran track and won freshman 1958 numerals in wrestling but was best known for his prowess in football, in which he won numerals or lettered every year. In 1956, Hutch was named a national “player to watch” in the Sports Illustrated annual football issue.
After graduating from Amherst, Hutch first pursued a business career in the Boston area, receiving management training at Mobil Oil and Home Life Insurance. He served in the Air National Guard during the Berlin crisis in 1961 and played semi-pro football until 1966.
In the mid-1960s, Hutch changed careers, married and started a family. After taking education courses at UNH and studying for his doctoral degree at SUNY Albany, Hutch became a teacher, guidance counselor and football coach at Guilderland High School in Schenectady, N.Y., where he served 35 years before retiring in 1998.
In 1967, Hutch married Marian, the love of his life. Their first child, Hutch Jr., was born in 1969. Identical twins Lori and Amy arrived in 1971, 20 months later. Hutch and Marian were married 54 years and had seven grandchildren by the time Hutch died.
Hutch will be missed by his classmates and all who knew him.—Ned Megargee ’58
J. Roger Hull Jr. ’59
James Roger Hull Jr. died peacefully on Jan. 3. At Amherst, Roger played varsity hockey, was a member of Beta Theta Pi and was active in the Christian Association.
Roger then attended Princeton Theological Seminary from 1961 to 1964 and was ordained in the Presbyterian Church shortly afterward. From 1964 to 1988, he served churches in the Bronx, Manhattan and San Francisco. Roger also earned his master of theology degree from Princeton in 1969 and his doctorate of ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1984. From the beginning, Roger’s ministry was characterized by a deep commitment to social justice and outreach to the marginalized. Throughout life, he sought out opportunities to serve “the least of these” in and out of his parishes.
After a serious illness in 1987, Roger changed career paths and joined forces with a seminary classmate whose family owned Field Stone Winery in Healdsburg, Calif. While working as Field Stone’s sales manager, he remained connected to the church, helping found Windsor Presbyterian Church in 1990. Roger also loved serving as board member and then board chair of Alliance Medical Center in Healdsburg, a community clinic serving mostly uninsured and underinsured farmworkers.
Amherst held a special place in Roger’s heart. He served as class agent for several years and hosted numerous pre-reunion gatherings at his home in Healdsburg and at Field Stone.
Roger is survived by his wife of 54 years, Judy Hull; daughters Deborah Hull ’91, Abigail Koenig and Hannah Burbery and their families; sister and brother-in-law Rosemary and David Mace ’60; brother-in-law David Hall; and many beloved nieces and nephews. Roger also leaves behind a large and extraordinary circle of friends, whose love and steadfastness through thick and thin serve as a remarkable testimony to the beauty and sustaining power of friendship. —Paul Dodyk ’59
Michael E. McGoldrick ’59
Michael Earles McGoldrick passed away on Dec. 12, 2021. He is survived by Maryann Terry Galpin-Plattner, his partner since 1999. Michael suffered a stroke seven years ago and, more recently, cancer.
From Seattle, Michael lived in Colorado for about 35 years, most recently in Evergreen, with forest, animals and trout stream around his house. He was a lifelong fly-fisherman, traveling the world in search of trout.
On the train from New York City to Amherst, Michael introduced me to the world of personal investing. As there weren’t any brokerage offices in Amherst, we traded at the local bank.
We were roommates freshman year. Although Michael left Amherst for Stanford after his sophomore year, he was a faithful donor to Amherst.
We were roommates again at Stanford when we were both Ph.D. candidates in economics. While writing his dissertation, Michael worked at Transamerica and taught economics at the University of Oregon. I believe that he never finished his dissertation because there wasn’t a hard deadline! He also taught and served as director of development at Lakeside, his prep school in Seattle, and at the American University in Bulgaria. Michael loved to teach. However, he was primarily a personal investor in the stock market, particularly attuned to market trends.
On a trip to Mexico, Michael adopted a kinkajou, a rain forest mammal related to raccoons, and wanted to bring it to Los Angeles. When the customs official told him it’s not allowed, Michael asked to see the statute. Since there was no statute specifically prohibiting the importation of kinkajous, the official had to allow it!
Michael loved education, the arts, human rights and the rule of law. He volunteered for these causes and donated to them. —Ruslan Morris ’59
Paul N. Vonckx Jr. ’59
I first met Paul Nelson “Skip” Vonckx in fall 1955. Standing in front of Stearns Hall, I saw across the quadrangle a “mammoth” figure striding toward me, hands held high and wide, with a giant smile on his face. He opened with “Hi ya, roomie!” He was right on—Skip and I clicked from the very start and decided to be roommates for all four years at Amherst.
Skip had an effervescent personality. He was consistently upbeat. He loved to make new friends, and he was good at it. He was very goal-oriented, which explained his success at Amherst, at Harvard Business School and in international banking and finance.
Skip loved to “play.” He and I “owned” the Phi Gam 1935 American LaFrance fire engine that we drove to football games and often to Smith. With Skip at the helm, it took three people to drive it, and there were normally 40 to 50 people on the truck. We ran a hose from the truck’s water tank and tried to siphon as much water into the radiator as was leaking out. Since the tailpipe had many holes in it, flames shot out the entire length of the truck.
Skip was modest. Only in response to questions would he say, for example, that he had just returned from Mongolia, where he had been working on an international banking assignment, or that he had just returned from a vacation in some far-off country. Once I told him I had just climbed Mount Washington in New Hampshire on my 50th birthday. He said he was very impressed. He added, “I have been doing a little mountain climbing myself. Recently, my daughter, Liz, and I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.”
Skip was a very special person. It was an honor to be his “roomie.” I will miss him. —Paul Younger ’59
Joseph Cady ’60
Joseph Cady led a remarkable and versatile life, charting a course that was distinctively his own.
His childhood was not easy, growing up in the suburbs of New York City in a family sometimes pressured by illness and economic need. But he persevered and gained admittance, with support, to Amherst, where he prospered socially and intellectually. He pursued graduate study, receiving his Ph.D. in American literature at UC Berkeley. His first post was at Columbia University, and he went on to positions at Rutgers and then at the University of Rochester, where he taught pioneering courses in medical humanities.
He was never a cloistered academic, always insisting on engaging real-world issues in his university service and in pursuing points of connection between personal commitments and academic research. Most notably in this regard were his explorations of gay experience and culture, first in American literature and ultimately in world literature as well. His continuing theme was the continuity and unity of gay male experience across the centuries. He never shirked—and, in fact, fully embraced—the daunting dimensions of this task. He published a number of articles setting out segments of his design and enjoyed honors including a term as New York Public Library Fellow. He was still working on the full project at the end—but he never wavered in his commitment to the vision he wished to convey.
Along the way, he explored and demonstrated other talents. He was a published, and admired, poet. Certified by the Ackerman Institute, he maintained a decade-long practice as a family therapist. In his latter decades, he settled in Westbeth, a Manhattan artists’ establishment. There and beyond, he enjoyed many loyal friendships. All who knew him honored his exemplary integrity, even as they delighted in his exceptional, and indelible, charm. —Paul Strohm ’60
Edward S. Todd ’61
Our class lost a special member when Ed Todd died on Aug. 24, 2020, preceded by Dorothy. The son of Irish immigrants, Ed grew up on the South Side of Chicago and became a patternmaker, a highly skilled tradesman who turned drawings into wooden prototypes. Ed was earning $9,000 a year when he applied to Amherst in 1957. His arrival in September was delayed because he became draft-eligible when he resigned as a patternmaker, so Ed didn’t report for active duty at Amherst until February 1958. He was a friendly bear of a guy, five years older than the rest of us and challenged by an academic curriculum for which he was ill prepared but in which he came to excel. Ed was calm and mature. He was comfortable in his own skin.
Ed left patternmaking because he believed in education. He succeeded at Amherst and went on to assume teaching and administrative positions at the Rochester Institute of Technology, then becoming provost and president during a period of extraordinary growth of the SUNY College at Old Westbury. After 25 years of administration, he returned to teaching.
During my 15 years on Long Island, Ed and Dorothy and I became good friends. Ed credited his demeanor and ready laugh as useful in dealing with the issues he faced leading major universities. “Staying busy, given my heart as a patternmaker, I remain committed to craftsmanship as a practicing woodsmith,” he said. He built extensions on their house and made furniture. “I keep the Missus and seven grandchildren happy with the output.” He said he enjoyed a beer, good friends, hearing Bach and Mozart, sitting on the beach, and especially reading and learning new ideas and skills. “I have had a privileged, a good, a useful and a lucky life,” he said. —Charley Updike ’61
Frank Tilden Boesel ’62
Frank Boesel died on April 1, 2020, in Milwaukee. He matriculated at Amherst after attending Milwaukee Country Day School, where he was the president of his class. While at Amherst, he played hockey, was on the ski team and was a member of the Chi Psi fraternity. He is remembered by his classmates as an affable, seemingly unflappable guy with a smile for everyone. He was known to have a wry, offbeat sense of humor. His first-year roommate, Paul Abodeely ’62, remembers that he “could often sense what I was feeling and how to make me feel better.”
Sam Teachout ’62 recounts that he and Frank took a trip to Mexico in 1961. Frank was seriously injured in a vehicle accident near Querétaro City while they were hitchhiking and was hospitalized. Upon his recovery, he took a year off from Amherst and took a trip around the world. Following graduation in 1963, he joined the Peace Corps for two years and taught math and physics in Lagos, Nigeria.
Sam, while teaching at the University of Washington in Seattle, remembers running into Frank some years later. Frank had developed skills working with metals and perfected a way of making brass belt buckles from sand molds. Frank’s sister reports that, subsequently, Frank became “the proprietor of
Exper-Metals-Custom Bronze Works, which involved the restoration of chandeliers and lighting fixtures” and that his work “can be seen in a number of state capitols: Montpelier, Vt.; Nashville, Tenn.; Montgomery, Ala.; and the Supreme Court justices’ chambers in Madison, Wis.” The Milwaukee Sentinel Journal obituary concludes, “Frank was highly respected in his field” and “a resource for other artisans in the restoration business.” —Sandy Short ’62
James F. Dunphy ’62
Jim Dunphy passed away on Jan. 8 after a prolonged illness.
He was a graduate of Milton (Mass.) High School. After Amherst, Jim graduated from Tufts Medical School. Following the completion of his medical training in radiology, he served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force.
Jim co-founded the Milton Radiology practice, also in Milton, Mass., from which he retired 30 years later. Subsequently, he worked and taught at the Veterans Administration in several of its eastern Massachusetts facilities. His children say he particularly loved the teaching part.
Jim married Katherine Haynes after courting her beginning in middle school. She became a computer technician and was quite active in Milton politics, serving as the first woman “selectman” for six years. Sadly, she died several weeks after Jim’s death. Jim and Katherine raised four talented, high-achieving children—Jim, Susan, Laura and Libby.
Jim’s interests were many. From an early age, he was fascinated by the radio. In fact, on the sly for a time during freshman year, he operated (until it was closed by campus police) a renegade amateur radio facility from the attic of Stearns dormitory that interfered with WAMH, the College’s radio station.
Jim was an avid carpenter, but his favorite hobby was sailing. He loved being out on the water, usually Buzzards Bay. Renting a boat and sailing around the Virgin Islands with family members put him in seventh heaven. On one memorable June adventure to Maine, also on a rented sailboat, the family encountered winterlike conditions, including sleet. Laura and Libby remember that Jim, in a near-frozen condition, discovered his long underwear, which had been dutifully packed by his wife, on the last day of the trip. —Sandy Short ’62
Robert Harbison ’62
Bob Harbison died from an inoperable brain tumor on July 4, 2021. Bob got his doctorate in English literature from Cornell in 1969. He then moved to London, where he lived for more than 50 years.
Bob was a professor of architecture at London Metropolitan University for more than 30 years. He was a key member of its history and theory of architecture team. He was a well-published author. Some of his more famous publications included Eccentric Spaces and Thirteen Ways, both published by the MIT Press.
Professor Harbison was a highly sought-after lecturer. His lectureships included the Modern Art Museum in NYC, the University of Toronto, Stanford University, Cornell University and the Architectural Association in London, amongst others.
Bob and I got to know each other as we were both part of the ’62 DU pledge class. We roomed together junior and senior year. During those last two years, we went out for beers multiple nights a week after we were finished studying. This might explain my 20-pound weight gain during that period.
I was an efficient student; Bob was a scholar. In retrospect, it seemed like an unbalanced relationship. I got so much more than I gave. But I never got the feeling that Bob felt cheated. He seemed to find so much more in what I said than I thought I intended.
As I have been thinking about writing this piece, I have come to recognize how much Bob has impacted my life. Two of my most serious interests, outside my family and my job, are architecture and gardening. Both of these interests were fostered by Bob. We spent countless hours looking at pictures of buildings, towns and gardens and trying to dissect what made them spectacular.
Thank you, Bob. —Mark W. Pasmantier ’62
Edward Francis Xavier Hughes ’62
My report of Ed’s sudden death generated an outpouring from classmates sharing my grief. None of us could believe this joyful, caring, passionate soul had left us. Classmates urged that this memoriam convey how close he remained to so many of us over the decades.
Ed and I were big-city public school kids assigned as roommates freshman year. Ed was pre-med (choosing Amherst over Harvard because he planned to go to Harvard Med—and did). He was a crew coxswain, philosophy major, political organizer and active member of Phi Psi. After a cross-country road trip visiting classmates, we roomed together senior year and were first man at each other’s weddings. Our families remained close over the decades. We miss him dearly.
During surgical training, Ed became interested in health policy and equity and earned an M.P.H. He founded the Northwestern University Center for Health Services and Policy Research and became a thought leader in the development of “managed care,” traveling the country as a sought-out speaker.
“I adored Ed Hughes,” said Northwestern President Morton Schapiro. “[H]is countless devoted students can attest to his brilliance and his humanity.” Ed was preparing for his remote class of 75 students worldwide when he suffered a heart attack at his Cape Cod home.
Ed and his beloved wife, Sue, met as children. They purchased their house and the neighboring historic homestead in West Falmouth, close to the neighborhood on the Cape where they grew up and played together. Every year, after the Falmouth Road Race, they hosted a fabulous lawn party, enjoyed by classmates, friends and neighbors.
Ed is survived by Susan (a nationally recognized gerontologist and professor at UIC and his wife of 55 years); children Edward, John ’95 (Kristen Welker) and Dempsey ’01; granddaughter Margot; and siblings Betty Craig and Paul Hughes.—Henry Freedman ’62
Richard Recher Nugent ’62
Dick Nugent died on Jan. 30 of lung cancer, surrounded by his loving wife, Cathy, and their children, Stephanie, Erik and Benjamin. Born in Reading, Pa., Dick majored in English at Amherst; earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania; trained in obstetrics and gynecology at the UVM Medical Center in Burlington, Vt.; received his master’s degree in public health from the University of North Carolina; and was board-certified in preventative medicine.
Dick and I spent considerable time together when he was in medical school in Philadelphia; traveled to the Great Smokies together in his spanking new Volvo, “Calvin,” in 1966; and were in each other’s weddings. He was a kind, faithful and understanding friend.
His career in public health, researching, devising and implementing programs to lower infant mortality rates, was extraordinary. Dick was medical director of the North Carolina Statewide Perinatal Program and assistant chief of women’s health in that state before moving on to become the director of maternal and child health for the Bureau of Public Health Program for the Arkansas Department of Public Health for 28 years.
The awards and tributes he earned for the advancement of perinatal care, particularly in Arkansas, for those in rural and/or underserved communities, and his contributions to the health of mothers and children are enumerated in his extended obituary, which can be found on his College webpage. One professional colleague wrote, “Dick was one of the best of us. Committed to doing good for others … not a mean bone in his body” and “always there to help and teach others, while at the same time modest and not expecting anything in return.” Another wrote that Dick was “a joy to work with [and] a brilliant physician and professor.” —Sandy Short ’62
Jeff Tripp ’65
Jeffrey Tripp passed away on Jan. 30 from a cerebral hemorrhage, the “Damoclean sword” he would say he lived under, which followed a heart valve replacement in 2008.
Jeff grew up in Philadelphia, graduated from Penn Charter in 1961 and was a member of our class of 1965, despite leaving for good in fall 1964 on his motorcycle, just months shy of graduation.
His nomadic professional career was highlighted by his involvement in music, which began with designing guitar bridges popular on the colorful ’70s music scene. He then moved with the times into the world of digital sound, designing sound modulation tools still in circulation today, including the Tripp Strip ribbon controller, Kurzweil MIDIBoard and NoteBender.
Jeff was a talented guy who could fix appliances, engines and musical instruments. The breadth of his general knowledge was at times almost shocking, even if his discourse on subjects of all kinds was, well, infamous. He could not talk about a young Tom Brady without saying “triangulate.” He would simply assume in conversation that you had read The Playboy of the Western World.
His proudest accomplishment was raising his two boys, fervently engaged with their lives and academic/athletic development.
He lived in a great many places before moving to the North Shore of Massachusetts in March 1980, but after taking up residence there, his adoption was complete and devotional until what proved a final chapter by Pleasant Pond in Wenham.
He is survived by his two sons; Noel’s wife, Liza, and their girls, Lorelei, Ariel and Matilda; Lyle’s wife, Hazel, and their children, Sienna, Walter and Briar Rose; and his niece, Abigail, her husband, Frank Talarico, and their boys Tripp, Abe and Clive. We carry with us his love of basketball, Van Morrison and the vagaries of the English language. —Paul Ehrmann ’65
John M. Vine ’66
John Vine of Washington, D.C., passed away on Dec. 1, 2021, from complications due to Parkinson’s disease. John grew up in Trenton, N.J., and graduated from the Lawrenceville School, Amherst College and Harvard Law School.
He relished his years at Amherst, where he assumed leadership roles within his beloved DKE fraternity (president) and in the student body at large (head of the House Management Committee). A photo of John with his typewriter on the DKE lawn one Spring Weekend, with a jazz band in the background and partygoers all around, perfectly illustrates his magna cum laude Amherst experience.
After Harvard, John went to Washington to clerk on the U.S. Tax Court and spent his legal career at Covington & Burling, where he was instrumental in shaping important aspects of the U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), enacted in 1974. He represented some of Covington’s most significant clients before both houses of Congress, the Treasury Department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and in seminal cases in the Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals. Colleagues described him as “a giant in his field.”
In addition to his groundbreaking work in the areas of employee benefits and executive compensation, John was a role model for generations of younger lawyers.
In retirement, John was an enthusiastic photographer and world traveler. He published and spoke widely about his book, A Parkinson’s Primer, which has helped thousands of Parkinson’s disease patients and their loved ones. At his 50th reunion, John was proud to participate in a panel on “Living and Degenerative Disease.” He remained a role model, especially for fellow Parkinson’s patients, until the end.
John is survived by his wife, Joanne; his brothers, Hugh and Ed; his sons, David and Adam ’01; and his stepsons, Brian and Todd Levin. —Adam Vine ’01
Allen R. Walker ’68
Al Walker was a phenomenally consequential welcomer of me to Amherst when I transferred in my junior year. We shared many appreciations over our two years together, among them early-morning coffees at Valentine, bookended with late-night coffees wherever we might find them and post-class comparisons of the hours in between. He was perhaps one of Amherst’s best ambassadors for transfers. He introduced me to his dad’s Yale campus on several visits together. He introduced me to Phi Gam and a whole new spin on campus living. He introduced me to that community of friends and to Paul Morgan ’69 and Bill Kelly ’68, who have remained friends through the years—especially important for one not part of the bondings of freshmen and sophomore years together.
Al was literally a gentle giant, huge in stature, diminutive in ego, the proverbial teddy bear. I never heard a critical word from him with malignant intent. He was smart, incisive and thoughtful, and as much I was inclined to diminish and malign those with whom I took issue, Al was magnanimous; I think he never yielded to blame, preferring understanding. His future in doctoring made all of the sense of the world as it should be.
I think he and I may have agreed that some of our favorite times together were hours and hours dabbling in photography. We would amble out in the sunset hours searching for photo- worthy landscapes, pondscapes, moonlit architecture—or, in the wee small hours of the morning, for sunrises, fogginess and moonsets. These outings resulted in us side by side in the 24/7 campus darkroom at all hours, celebrating our presumed delusional creativity.
Al toned me down, lifted me up and inspired me. He was a major influence in defining my Amherst experience. —Richard Lewis ’68
Paul D. Finn ’69
Our dear friend and classmate Paul Finn died Feb. 7 in Melrose, Mass., of a pulmonary embolism. Paul was football captain at Malden High and played football and rugby at Amherst. He returned to Malden High to teach and, at 25, became the youngest head football coach in eastern Massachusetts. His Malden teams won several titles. Paul was inducted into the Massachusetts Football Coaches Hall of Fame. The Boston Globe noted, “Malden has lost a beloved coach.”
Paul retired in 2005 and joined Dickinson Development. He treated people in a wonderful way. His success in life was measured not by his bank account but by the lives he influenced. This humble guy was immensely proud of the young people he coached, helped to graduate and led to meaningful lives, but his greatest successes were his marriage with Marian, his three children and his six grandchildren. Simply the best grandfather ever.
Paul’s son, Chris, eulogized his father: “He was the best public speaker I’ve ever heard … and could better command a room than any CEO I’ve met.” While a newcomer with Dickinson Development, I asked Paul to keynote a major company event. He held the crowd in the palm of his very large hand with his wit and wisdom: “They clap louder when you sit down than when you stand up!”
His funeral drew a packed house. All were touched by Paul Finn. Our eloquent classmate, Father Jurgen Liias ’69, officiated at the mass. Paul, a devout Catholic, and Jurgen had developed a strong bond, forged upon their Catholic beliefs, good humor and love of golf. We played late last fall in Lynnfield, Mass.—Paul, Jurgen and I, joined by Bob Santonelli ’64. So much fun. Hard to believe it was our last round. —Mark Dickinson ’69
Jon Lind ’69
Jon Lind, who entered Amherst with the class of 1969, passed away on Jan. 15, following a two-year battle with cancer. Jonny claimed that he had been an indifferent student at Oyster Bay High School, but that Admissions Dean Eugene Wilson was fascinated that he had spent high school singing folk songs in Manhattan coffeehouses with Judy Collins, Tom Paxton and Dave Van Ronk. His music buoyed us all. He had a marvelous voice and was a virtuoso guitarist. He sang everywhere, even in the stairwell, and was usually the last person to go to bed.
Jon left Amherst after our first year to study at the Mannes School of Music, and he continued to perform. Over the next decade, he signed recording contracts with three different bands, but, as he told an interviewer in 2012, their albums “flopped.” “Our material was way too eclectic,” he recalled, “sort of Crosby, Stills and Nash meets folk songs of Bulgaria.” Relocating to Los Angeles, he turned to songwriting. His first hit was “Sun Goddess,” recorded by Earth, Wind & Fire, followed by The Emotions’ “Boogie Wonderland” and Madonna’s single “Crazy for You.” Through the 1990s, Lind’s music was snapped up by many stars, including Vanessa Williams (“Save the Best for Last”), Cher, Cheap Trick, Aaron Neville and Pete Townshend.
Not surprisingly, such a versatile and resilient talent had another chapter ahead. In 1998, he joined Hollywood Records and focused on mentoring young talent. Over the next two decades he worked with BBMak, Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez and many others. “Study the songs and records you love,” he told them. “Be fearless and keep going.” He did—and we are all the better for it. He is survived by his wife, Sue Drew, four children and three grandchildren. —Fred Hoxie ’69
Robert Knowlton ’70
Robert Gentry Knowlton died peacefully at his home, surrounded by family, on Nov. 27, 2021. As the son of a career army officer, Rob grew up all over the U.S. and the U.K. He graduated from Amherst with a degree in biophysics and, following several years in the U.S. Navy Reserve, entered graduate school at the University of Colorado Boulder. After earning his Ph.D. in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, Rob continued there as a postdoctoral researcher. He made many friends, thrived in a department with smart and exciting colleagues, and, at the same time, discovered the exhilaration of hiking and camping in the Colorado mountains. There, he met and married fellow graduate student Kaye Edwards, who became his beloved life partner for 40 years.
Rob and Kaye moved east, first to the Boston area and then to Radnor, a suburb of Philadelphia, where they settled for 31 years and raised their three sons. He co-authored more than 60 peer-reviewed research articles in biomedical and scientific journals.
Rob was a loving and engaged father who coached T-ball and soccer, kept score during basketball games, chaperoned camping trips with Boy Scouts and YMCA programs, built sets for school productions, and proudly attended all his sons’ musical and theater performances. Rob was also a baritone with great comic timing, and he channeled those talents into community theater, singing and dancing in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and Broadway musicals.
In 2006, Rob and Kaye purchased a second home an hour west of Denver, from which they had easy access to great hiking, made wonderful mountain friends, joined the Peak to Peak Chorale, began making pottery and shared their love of the mountains by hosting friends from other states. —Bob Spielman ’70
Steven E. Ward ’70
On the morning of Jan. 19, legendary and longtime Roxbury Latin faculty member Steve Ward died—peacefully, and at home—after a long illness. Beginning when he was hired in 1976, Steve had a significant impact on the lives of countless Roxbury Latin boys. When Steve retired in 2014, he was appropriately celebrated for his distinctive and effective style as a teacher of history, highly successful varsity wrestling coach, lighthearted coach of junior varsity baseball, devoted adviser and fair-minded dean of students.
An inveterate storyteller, and a master weaver of seemingly disparate references (often involving baseball or Yogi Berra!), Steve made his classes meaningful and memorable. While the usual business of history was attended to, his courses were never about names, places and dates but about the forces that shaped the events and the patterns of institutions, governments and people that were evident time and time again.
For 13 years, Steve served as dean of students. Outside the classroom, however, Steve’s most famous contributions to the life of the school were as a coach. Steve was for 36 years the head coach of the varsity wrestling team. The statistics only begin to tell the tale, but they are remarkable. He was the second-winningest coach among the New England Independent School Wrestling Association coaches, with 393 career victories. A remarkable motivator, Steve was impressively able to shape what is by nature an individual sport into a team sport. The loyalty he engendered among his wrestlers one for another was a logical extension of the values and attitudes that he himself modeled.
Steve will be greatly missed by many. The Roxbury Latin and Amherst communities offer their condolences to his wife, Pat Rogers; his daughter, Barrett; his granddaughter, Ophelia; his brothers; and other relatives. —Bob Spielman ’70
Richard M. Eggers ’72
Rick Eggers died on Jan. 8 at NYU Langone medical center. He was active and serving on civic boards through December, quietly opting out of a budget meeting as he was heading off to surgery.
After receiving an M.A. from Syracuse and a J.D. from George Washington, Rick worked for the IRS in pension taxation, then for TIAA in NYC before retiring in 2006.
He loved traveling internationally, often as the photographer assisting a freelance travel writer. For 20 summers, he spent a week every July with family at Blue Mountain Lake in the Adirondacks. More adventuresome travel took him to Egypt, Israel, Morocco and China in his later years.
In addition to being an expert photographer, Rick became an accomplished chef, hosting NYC dinner parties for close friends and amazing his family at gatherings on Canandaigua Lake.
His passions were serving on and, in 2015–16, chairing Community Board Six (East Side of Manhattan) and advancing policy through the Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club. He was noted for advocating city capital projects, senior services and transportation upgrades, for adding a lawyerly bent to discussions and for being “a dear friend and mentor to many, simultaneously injecting decorum and humor into his civic work.”
With his siblings, Rick established a family foundation to support the arts, education and hospitals in Upstate New York and NYC, including Children of Bellevue Inc. and NY City Center.
The class of ’72 extends heartfelt sympathies to Rick’s family. —Bill Eggers
Thomas S. Urban ’72
It was with great sadness that the class of ’72 learned of the passing of Tom Urban on Nov. 8, 2019. Tom started out in James Hall as a graduate of Yorktown High School in Arlington, Va. Many remember his quick wit, friendly smile and avid interest in political science and religion. I roomed with “Urbs” during our initial year at Boltwood House.
Life at Boltwood House became a new family for us, with our new live-in faculty adviser Mel Kuntz and his wife, Karen. Tom enjoyed the various service projects the house sponsored. Several of his Boltwood buddies—Tom Moss ’72, Jeff Craven ’72, Jim Maitland ’72 and Greg Ellis ’72—fondly recalled Tom channeling Hugh Hefner: walking around while smoking a pipe, wearing a robe and holding his latest issue of Playboy. Greg recalled receiving a phone call at his law office in 2010 from someone looking for “The Unmade Bed,” a nickname Tom coined for Greg while at Boltwood. Greg hadn’t heard from Tom since graduation but was moved by Tom reaching out to congratulate him for the publication of his first novel.
I kept in touch with Tom during his years as a municipal planner in Northern Virginia and D.C. He was married briefly to Vicki (Mount Holyoke ’72) right after graduation. Tom attended my wedding in 1989 and retired early, at age 55. We lost touch soon after. I was able to locate some history on his high school’s 50th reunion site. Pictures showed Tom with a walker and notes describing his failing mobility issues and his love for his high school days.
His Boltwood buddies will miss him, his smile, his snarky wit and his fellowship. He concluded his high school reunion comment with “May we always have what we may never know again.” —Peter Shea ’72
Anna J. Leider ’81
Anna Leider passed away on Feb. 12 after a two-year struggle with brain cancer.
Anna embraced all aspects of life at Amherst. She majored in American studies, competed on the swim team, helped produce the Olio and was a Phi Delt.
Anna ran a publishing house that specialized in books on paying for and applying to college. This was natural, as Anna was likely the first woman to attend college on an NFL scholarship, which she earned in an essay contest. Later, Anna served Alexandria, Va., as an election official for 22 years, including six years as the city’s general registrar and director of elections. Anna helped to manage 41 elections with her calm and organized manner.
Anna embraced an eclectic mix of interests. She had season tickets to the ballet. She traveled with her mother and aunt to every continent except Antarctica. Anna also loved the kitsch of Las Vegas, traveling there many times with grad school friends and attending Adam Lambert concerts.
Sports were Anna’s great love. She rowed and taught crew during high school and graduate school and with Alexandria Community Rowing. She followed several cyclists on Twitter during the Tour de France. She taped Team USA’s curling games each Winter Olympics. Anna adopted the KU basketball team, because her aunt was a professor there, and traveled to many tournaments. Above all, Anna was a dedicated baseball fan—a season ticket holder from the moment the Washington Nationals came to town in 2005. I will be forever grateful that Anna was able to experience the Nats’ World Series Championship run. We traveled several times to spring training.
Anna is survived by her mother, Kit Leider, and her beloved cat, Sammie. I will sorely miss her loyal friendship, her dry wit and our shared adventures. —Karen Bizier Smith ’81
Hugh Silbaugh ’83
In January, we lost Hugh Silbaugh of Putney, Vt., to cancer. Hugh was a gifted teacher, educational leader and mentor, telemark skier, mountain biker, outdoorsman, reader, winner of games and solver of puzzles.
At Amherst, Hugh rowed, studied literature and sang enthusiastically in the Glee Club. We remember Hugh as a devoted husband, father, brother, friend, supporter and role model to the many lives he shaped.
Teaching, for Hugh, started as an act of rebellion, turned into an act of love and became an act of faith. He was an independent-school teacher and administrator, notably at Phillips Andover, Crossroads School, Putney School, Milton Academy and Northfield Mount Hermon. In 2012, concurrent with his day job, Hugh became a founding program director in the Independent School Teaching Residency master’s program at the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught and mentored hundreds of Penn Fellows as they launched their teaching careers. Hugh earned a master’s degree in education from UCLA and a second master’s degree from the Harvard School of Education.
Hugh is survived by his wife, Cor Trowbridge; children Jay ’15 and Harry; sister Kate Silbaugh ’85, as well as Kate’s husband, Daniel Jurayj ’86; Cor’s siblings, Jamie Trowbridge, Bea Trowbridge Sanders ’87 and Phil Trowbridge; brother-in-law Dylan Sanders ’87; uncle Morgan Silbaugh ’57; cousin John Silbaugh ’85; and 10 loving nieces and nephews. Son of the late Jane and Hugh Silbaugh ’54 and brother of the late Harriet Silbaugh, Hugh is also survived by an adoring extended family and countless students and teachers at schools across the country who were influenced by his passion for the craft of teaching; his love of Shakespeare, poetry and singing; and his signature belief in the people around him and their goodness. A recording of his service may be found at vimeo.com/event/1733727. —Kate Silbaugh ’85
Joseph B. Schneider ’97
Joseph Benjamin Schneider, M.D., passed away on or around April 25, 2021, in his hometown of Albany, N.Y. He was buried next to his father, Allan Schneider, and his grandmother Edie Schneider on April 30 at the Agudas Achim Cemetery in Livingston Manor, N.Y. Joe was a philosophy major while at Amherst and received an M.D. From Albany Medical College.
Joe was an extraordinary athlete. He was graceful and coordinated and was the Division III New England diving champion on the 3-meter diving board when he competed for Amherst. Joe was gifted at skiing, and every other leisure sport, for that matter.
Joe was an epicurean—an unapologetic bon vivant, a lover of the good life, good wine and delicious food. A lover of beauty in all its forms. His joy for living well was infectious and was a joy to be around. He surfed in Spain, climbed mountains on every continent other than Antarctica and was a great outdoorsman. Joe loved music, and we saw hundreds of shows of all sorts together. Joe spread music and joy and happiness and good food and wine everywhere he went.
Joe eventually chose emergency medicine because, at base, Joe was an ethical, decent and extremely caring and loving person who liked people and liked helping them. He was kind and approachable. He was honest and decent. A lover. He put people at ease. He forgave. Joe was brilliant, and his retention of knowledge was unparalleled. A great doctor and even better human.
Joe embodied the goodness in the world, the love that permeates us all and the entire universe. Joe is survived by his mother, Mary Jane Schneider; his brother, Henry; his sister-in-law, Julie; and his niece and nephew, Edie and Gus. —Louis Kessler ’97
Omar W. Brown ’13
On Jan. 4, Omar Wallace Brown passed away, surrounded by loved ones, following a sudden illness. The recollections that his classmates shared reflect Omar’s important impact on our class—an impact that Omar also had on his colleagues and his own students.
Omar’s compassion and social commitment shined through in his work and studies. After majoring in sociology and music at Amherst, he earned his master of theological studies degree from Boston University in 2016. The next year, he ministered at Youth with a Mission, a Christian youth ministry, leading programs for children, teens and college students around the United States. Between 2017 and 2019, Omar supported students as chaplain of Boston Trinity Academy and assistant director of the academy’s Trinity Institute for Leadership and Social Justice. At Boston Trinity, Omar also taught humanities and Bible studies courses.
Most recently, in 2019, Omar joined St. Paul’s School as a humanities teacher, quickly becoming an affecting presence—a man St. Paul’s vice rector says he would seek out for prayer.
The thoughtfulness and humor that defined Omar were apparent in the thoughts his classmates shared. Bernardo Rios ’13 recalls Omar’s “calm and soothing” voice and “laughter” that “reverberated loud and clear.” Jake Samuels ’13 writes that one “left every interaction with him, no matter how brief, feeling better than before.”
Shortly after Omar’s passing, Roshard Bryant ’14, Daniela Fragoso ’13, John Cho ’13, Julia Kim ’13 and Nifemi Kolayemi ’13 wrote of their “heavy hearts” and prayers for Omar. Jeremy Simon ’13 merely wishes that “every acquaintance from college that I gave a ride to would start a multi-hour conversation about life and faith, with some McDonald’s to boot.”
Due to space limitations, Amherst cannot include his classmates’ thoughts in full. However, the College has published those remembrances at amherst.edu/amherst-story/magazine/in_memory/2013/omarbrown. —Jake Samuels ’13