William M. Becker Jr. ’50
Bill suffered from dementia and died on Nov. 18, 2023, in White Plains, N.Y., at the age of 94. Before Amherst, he was at the Kew Garden School. A member of Chi Phi, he joined the Army in 1951 and became an infantry officer.
During the Korean War, Bill saw a lot of heavy combat and suffered from PTSD well into later life. Following the Korean Armistice in 1953, he had a remarkable military experience. The French were trying to convince the Eisenhower administration to support their war in Vietnam against the Viet Minh. The centerpiece of the French effort was their military outpost in Dien Bien Phu. In late 1953, Army Intelligence sent Bill, alone, to Dien Bien Phu for three days to evaluate the French position. Intelligence wanted somebody with recent combat experience, intimately familiar with communist weapons and tactics. The French generals wouldn’t tell him anything; thus, he mingled with the French sergeants, and they helped convince him that Dien Bien Phu could not hold out.
After discharge, Bill partnered for many years with his father in putting together the Sears, Roebuck catalog and related advertising. His hobby was sculpting.
Bill is survived by his wife of 35 years, Marie; two sons from his first marriage; and three stepsons. —John Priesing ’50
Frank J. Alpert ’51
Frank died on Nov. 10, 2023, near his condo in Ossining, N.Y., in Westchester County, just north of NYC.
He came to Amherst from Brookline, Mass.; participated for a year or so in football, swimming and wrestling; and majored in math. After Amherst, he studied actuarial science and became an actuary with New York Life Insurance Co. By chance, some six years ago I met a retired chief actuary at New York Life who knew Frank well, working with him for many years; he commented that Frank was excellent in his actuarial work. Frank and his wife, Jeanne, who were married for 67 years until her passing, were avid birders, traveling frequently from their White Plains, N.Y., home to Jamaica Bay, just behind JFK airport, to see migrating birds, and then, in later years, to the Long Island Sound, closer to their home, for similar viewing. Their two children never took up the activity but would report as best they could on what they had chanced to see, flying by.
In retirement, Frank organized and, for a time, was president of a men’s professional group known as “The Old Guard of Westchester,” which met monthly for lunch, to hear a speaker and to settle world affairs.
Frank is survived by his children, Stephen (Sharon) and Karen; his grandchildren, Lauren (Arthur) and Naomi; brother-in-law Ed; nieces Liz (Steve) and Suzy (Dave); and grandnieces and grandnephews Emily, Ryan, Abigail, Kyle and Lucy.
—Everett E. Clark ’51
Charles “Hobie” Cleminshaw ’51
Hobie died on Sept. 12, 2023, from pneumonia, exacerbated by underlying health conditions.
He is survived by wife Cynthia, known as “Cynie,” whom he married in 1961, and their son, Andrew ’92. Hobie spent most of his youth in and around Cleveland, graduated from Western Reserve Academy and matriculated at Amherst in the fall of 1947. He was a member of the wrestling and cross-country teams, worked with the Student staff and knew just about everyone.
After Amherst, he went to the University of Michigan Law School, then to the Army as a clerk-typist. Because he was top of his class, he got his choice of postings to a chateau in France with an intelligence agency, a convenient jumping-off point for European adventures, often attended by Amherst friends. Then back to Cleveland with the law firm of Baker-Hostetler, becoming a partner in due course. He fondly recalled working with the company that held the rights to the Peanuts comic strip and with its creator, Charles Shulz. Hobie traveled the world pursuing counterfeiters of Snoopy dolls and enforcing copyright standards.
Cynie and Hobie found a house in Moreland Hills, Ohio, that they enjoyed for decades, and had Andrew and a series of dogs to be aired along their 400-foot driveway.
Hobie loved the outdoors, camping and hiking. He enjoyed a summer (fishing) house on Lake Temagami, some 200 miles north of Toronto. Through childhood and his young adult years, Andrew accompanied Hobie on western and Alaskan trips. Hobie excelled at photographing wildlife and vistas.
After retirement, Hobie and Cynie took hiking trips to the Pyrenees, Mont Blanc, Patagonia, Romania and Armenia. In recent years, when traveling was out, he shared stories of his travels with residents of his retirement village. He lived an interesting and full life of 94 years. —Everett E. Clark ’51, with input from Andrew Cleminshaw ’92
Robert F. Groff Jr. ’51
Bob Groff died on Nov. 2, 2023, as the result of a fall in his kitchen in March 2023 that caused a brain injury. He spent his last months in a 24/7 medical facility that treated such illness.
He grew up in Lancaster, Pa., and lived most of his life there. At age 13, he went off to Culver Military Academy in Culver, Ind.; then to Amherst, graduating with us. His marriage to Jean Carraci was followed by Army enlistment, and, at age 21, he became attached to the Counterintelligence Corps stationed in Philadelphia. By age 23, Bob and Jean had two children. After military service, Bob attended mortuary school and then moved his family back to Lancaster, where two more children arrived.
Bob succeeded to the funeral business started in Lancaster in the late 1800s by his grandfather. He worked for 45 years as a respected, highly regarded funeral director. In retirement, he assisted three of his children and one of his grandchildren in starting their own funeral businesses.
Bob and Jean divorced. He married Ellen Watt in 1976 and brought her two children into the family. She was an artist who helped him with his community activities, church volunteer work, and local college and Lancaster Symphony fundraising. Ellen died unexpectedly in 2012 at age 67. In 2017, Bob married Linda Frankenfield, who was a spiritual advisor to her own church community and a gifted wife with whom he shared his life, curiosity and spirit.
He displayed his financial acumen by helping many organizations raise funds, including our own Amherst class: he undertook the class agent position for several years prior to his passing.
Bob was an outgoing, “let’s get it done,” always active classmate and human being. —Everett E. Clark ’51, with input from Linda Groff
William F. Krusell ’51
Bill Krusell left us on April 12, 2023, but no information about his passing was known until this writer stumbled on it by way of Google.
Bill grew up in North Brookfield, Mass., just east of Ware, located on the same Route 9 that runs through Amherst, about 20 miles west. He graduated from Williston Academy in Easthampton, Mass., in 1947 and with us in 1951. He had a somewhat quiet, unassuming personality that erupted with friendship and good spirits for those he knew or with whom he worked.
After Amherst, he acquired a 600-acre wooded area with its four-bedroom home in Scituate, Mass., less than a mile off the ocean, where he could enjoy his 30-foot seagoing sailboat. He owned and operated a paper and woodworking shop, using the name Rapid Service Press in Scituate, until he passed on.
Bill’s first wife, Cynthia, died when their children were young, and then his second wife, Sally, passed away, leaving him a widower with his three grown children. Thereafter, he enjoyed the companionship of a good lady friend who was “first mate” when they sailed, particularly on overnight trips each summer to Bar Harbor, Maine.
During the winter season, Bill, with a number of local friends, reconstructed old, worn-out seacraft to seaworthy condition. He loved to garden and had an extensive display adjacent to his home.
In 2022, Bill contracted COVID-19, for which he was treated but from which he never fully recovered. It was the primary cause of his death.
Bill was happy with his life, his work, sailing, and showing relatives and friends around his 600 acres. It just fit him perfectly. —Everett E. Clark ’51
George A. Scanlan Jr. ’51
After a short illness, George passed away, age 96, on Aug. 15, 2023.
After graduating from Choate in Wallingford, Conn., in 1945, George then enlisted in the Army, serving as a surgical technician at Tilton General Hospital in Fort Dix, N.J.
He joined our freshman class in 1947, majored in economics and met his wife-to-be, Barbara Bell, who was attending Mount Holyoke College. They were married in July 1952 in Scarsdale, N.Y., and thereafter Barbara and George lived in Hockessin, Del., for many years while raising their four children.
For two summers while at Amherst, George worked for the DuPont company, and he joined it as a permanent employee in 1951 at its Seaford, Del., facility for nylon manufacturing. He remained at DuPont for 42 years, with various positions in manufacturing, technical services, and sales and marketing in its Textile Fibers Department. He was proud to have helped develop the market for Tyvek, a material for packaging sterile medical products.
George was a member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church near Hockessin, where he served as a deacon and managed its Saturday Morning Breakfast Club. After retirement, George spent many years volunteering in the operating room of Chester County Hospital in Hockessin and at the Ronald McDonald House in Wilmington, Del., a place to stay for relatives of children hospitalized across the street. He relished summertime, vacationing on China Lake, Maine, accompanied by various of his descendants, where he was the reigning champion in croquet, cribbage and horseshoes.
He always had a smile, a quick wit and a twinkle in his eye and was a devoted husband to Barbara for 71 years until she passed away earlier in 2023. He is survived by their four children and four grandchildren. —Everett E. Clark ’51
John N. Snell ’51
John passed away on Sept. 13, 2023.
He left Amherst after junior year to attend MIT under the five-year program between the two institutions. At MIT, he took classes in engineering and economics. Before completing the program, he was drafted into the Army and served as chief of communications for a battalion near Busan, Korea. Thereafter, he returned for a final semester to graduate with a B.A. from Amherst and a B.S. from MIT.
While working with the Agency for International Development (1955–64), he went to Spain, where he met and married Ana Maria de Diego Jáuregui. Their daughter, Elena, was born a year later in Libya. John’s final posting was in Uganda.
Believing that his independent work on the structure of the world of knowledge was important, John resigned from AID and studied information science at several U.S. universities. From 1967 to 1976, John worked as chief of program development for Baltimore’s Department of Housing and Community Development. He received an M.A. in planning and administration from Antioch after attending evening classes and writing a thesis on what is now called the Earned Income Tax Credit. From 1977 to 1992, John was a principal economic planner for the Baltimore Regional Planning Council. Subsequently, he and his wife taught adult educational classes at the Renaissance Institute in Baltimore.
John was interested in ideas in all major fields of knowledge insofar as they can help improve life on Earth for mankind. He was thankful that his wife could obtain her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1976 and teach courses in Spanish until her retirement in 2001. Their daughter married in 1988 and had four wonderful children who were of consuming interest to both grandparents, prompting a move to the Denver area, where their daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren lived. —Charles A. Tritschler ’51
Frederick S. Allen ’52
Professor Frederick “Dick” Stetson Allen passed away on Feb. 23, 2022, in Denver.
He roomed with Jim Spencer ’52, a classmate from William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia. One of the highlights of Dick’s senior year at Amherst was meeting Robert Frost and touring him around the campus. Dick graduated magna cum laude with an A.B. in history and literature.
Inspired by Professor Packard, Dick was engaged in learning and teaching throughout his life. He was in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from 1948 to 1954. He then completed a Ph.D. in history and politics of modern Europe at Harvard. Dick subsequently taught modern European history and world history for 40 years at Bowdoin College, Boston University, Wheaton College and finally, for many years, the University of Colorado on the Boulder and Denver campuses. He loved to research history and share it with others in his lectures, published articles, books and conversations with students and colleagues.
He spent several sabbaticals in Europe with his family, which were highlights in his life. He thoroughly enjoyed traveling and visited many countries on five continents. He enjoyed hiking, skiing, reading history books, listening to classical music and singing. He was an active Unitarian Universalist. The strength of his singing Amherst songs was particularly powerful in his last few days.
Dick’s second wife, Betty Shuttleworth-Allen, and his brother, Lewis, preceded him in death. He leaves his first wife, Nancy Beal Allen; their children and grandchildren; and Betty’s family. He is survived by his sister, Brooke, and his brother, Steve. —Elizabeth “Betsy” Perry Allen
Richard D. Frary ’52
Dick grew up in Longmeadow, Mass., but moved to Barrington, R.I., before graduating from Exeter with his lifelong friend Ben Davis ’52. He joined Theta Delt, played soccer, and focused intensely on biology and pre-med with Dick Elton ’52 and Bob Darrow ’52, fondly recalling cellular biology classes with a then-young instructor, Tom Yost.
Following four years at BU School of Medicine, Dick squeezed in two years of internship/residency before the now-forgotten Berry Plan (allowing deferment for medical students and residents) assigned him to the Navy as a lieutenant at St. Albans Naval Hospital as admitting officer for all East Coast tuberculosis cases.
Dick nearly decided on a Navy career, but a growing family made constant moving unattractive, so he finished a residency and fellowship in cardiology at Rhode Island Hospital before opening a private practice in 1962 in Providence. His patients will long remember him for taking late-night calls, making home visits and mastering the latest medical advances.
An early faculty member at Brown University’s medical school, Dick served as president or board member of several Rhode Island medical societies.
In Dick’s words, “The best decision I made along the way was to marry Joan (Smith ’53), who has had all the heavy lifting to do, raising a family of four boys.” Family dinner conversations, backyard cookouts, close friends, the Red Sox and Patriots, and a Pearson 33 sailboat for cruising and racing gave constant enjoyment. “Saildoc” became Dick’s distinctive email address. He served as harbor commissioner for years.
Dick practiced five more years after cancer hit suddenly in 1988. He retired, disenchanted by government overregulation of the medical system. Dick died on Oct. 16, 2023, at Rhode Island Hospital.
Dick’s son Steve ’82 shares our mutual Reunion schedule and has become a valued friend of ’52. —Nick Evans ’52
Frederick F. Marston ’52
Fred was born in White Plains, N.Y., and raised in Scarsdale, N.Y., and Indianapolis (a Park School graduate), and moved often in his career, but his roots were firmly Down East coastal Maine. His father was from Portland and a loyal University of Maine graduate, and his mother maintained her 1878 family home for summers in Sargentville, an unincorporated village named for her family.
At Amherst, Fred was an English major. Active with the Christian Association, Debating Council and Student newspaper, he was commodore of the Sailing Club and joined Beta. He received his ’54 MBA from Harvard.
Fred’s career focused on precision metalworking, increasing in complexity from hand tools in every hardware store to thin-wall stainless steel investment castings and bearing assemblies for jet engine and automotive components. As VP of international sales and marketing, he became comfortable with Brazilian, Dutch, English and German cultures.
Fred married Ginnie Hardt in 1959, the year she graduated from Wellesley. By the time they attended our 30th Reunion, Ginny had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in Holland, where they lived for five years while raising three children. She died in 1998 in Maine, where she and Fred had met and married.
For our 50th Reunion, Fred wrote classmates a straightforward explanation that, as Ginnie’s situation became more acute, he realized his sexual orientation was by no means fixed. This was a huge challenge with which he was now comfortable and that his family and close friends had accepted. On retiring in 2000, he and Jim Caggiano set up their home, named Sine Nomine (a subtle reference to a notably uplifting hymn, “For All the Saints”), on Fred’s family land on Eggemoggin Reach, directly across a channel from Sargentville, the perfect summer setting for six grandchildren. Fred died peacefully on June 18, 2023. —Nick Evans ’52
Peter Rowland ’52
His family’s move from Pittsburgh, Pa., to Great Neck, N.Y., in 1940 was a very good one for Peter. It placed him in the exact locale of the iconic Jazz Age novel The Great Gatsby, where he attended a top-rated high school and met Patricia Paton, to be his wife of 62 years.
At Amherst, Peter joined Phi Gam; majored in history under our most popular professors, Packard and Salmon; ran cross-country and track; and filled the key function of layout editor for our 1952 Olio.
Peter’s career as a copywriter and vice president for several leading advertising agencies involved finding creative solutions by first understanding the needs of a wide variety of businesses: P&G, Cunard and other leaders in the automotive, steel, food and oil industries. His popularity, longevity in a high-turnover profession and number of coveted Addy Awards, recognizing the finest creative output, attest to his remarkable success.
Peter and Pat moved to Port Washington, N.Y., for an easier commute and productive outlets for their energetic lifestyle. Pat taught music and American history at Buckley Country Day School and became a devoted member of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, where Peter served as warden, vestryman, lay minister and co-producer with Pat of many church cabaret nights, in addition to being president of the Community Chest.
The family embraced jazz music and the light opera of Gilbert and Sullivan and kept season tickets for the Philharmonic. They were world travelers and skilled sailors with their boat moored at North Shore Yacht Club, where Peter was commodore for two terms. Adventures aboard included retracing segments of Columbus’ voyage on its 500th anniversary.
After moving to a retirement home in 2012, Pat died on Sept. 11, 2015, and Peter on May 7, 2023, supported by Jeff, Liz, grandchildren and many friends. —Nick Evans ’52
Addison Ault ’55
Ad came to the College from Newton High School. As an undergraduate, he ran cross-country and lettered on the track team. He was a member of Kappa Theta and a chemistry major. Upon graduation, Ad went to Harvard, earning a Ph.D. in 1959.
Chemistry was Ad’s life work. After Harvard, he taught at Grinnell College for two years and then spent a year at the Argonne National Laboratory doing research. There he met the chair of the chemistry department at Cornell College in Iowa. That led Ad to a teaching position at Cornell.
In his 50 years at Cornell, Ad taught organic chemistry, including lab courses at introductory and advanced levels. He wrote many articles for chemistry publications. His lab manual for experiments in organic chemistry went through six editions. Ad taught summer school at several institutions, including Dartmouth, Harvard and Wisconsin.
Ad had interests in music, reading, gardening and travel. At age 50, he taught himself how to play the cello. In 2000, Ad participated, as part of Cornell’s team, in a popular bike ride where thousands of participants rode from one end of Iowa to the other. Ad is also known to have played touch football with students on the front lawn of the chemistry building.
In the summer of 1956, Ad did research at Phillips Petroleum’s facility in Bartlesville, Okla. There he met Janet Ruth Meade, who was about to begin her first year at Smith College. A romance developed that summer, and they were married in 1958. In spite of living in Iowa, the Aults were regulars at our class Reunions from the 25th to the 60th. They also became part of a group of ’55ers nicknamed “The Fossils” who gathered on Cape Cod just after Labor Day for a lobster boil and reminiscing. —Rob Sowersby ’55
Richard Van Wyck Buel Jr. ’55
Dick Buel died at age 90 on Nov. 22, 2023, in Essex, Conn. Growing up in Morristown, N.J., he graduated from Groton School with Al McLean, and they joined the Amherst class of 1955. Dick became a Theta Delt, played
lacrosse, lettered in hockey, majored in history and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He then undertook graduate work at Harvard, where he received a Ph.D. in history in 1962 and became a mountain climber along the way.
For the next 40 years, Dick taught American history at Wesleyan University, chairing the history department from 1977 to 1980. He authored six books, edited and reviewed many others, and contributed numerous chapters and articles to books and journals. Dick served for 22 years as associate editor of History and Theory. Along the way, he attended many academic conferences in the U.S. and Europe and received fellowships from a number of institutions, including the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. For a decade after retirement, Dick continued teaching in Wesleyan’s prison education program. Beyond the university, he served as president of the New England Historical Association and as a member of several Connecticut historical bodies.
Later, Dick became very active in his community of Essex, serving on boards for the library and two musical enterprises. He worked as a hospice volunteer and presided over the Essex Meadows Scholarship Foundation until his death. An enthusiastic dinghy racer, Dick competed at the Pettipaug Yacht Club for many years and was its commodore in 1990–91. He continued racing into his 80s at the Essex Yacht Club.
In 1964 Dick married Joy Day, who predeceased him in 1987. He married Marilyn Ellman in 1992, and she died in 2014. Dick is survived by a daughter, a stepdaughter and his beloved companion of his last years, Kay Knight Clarke. —Dave Lemal ’55
James H. Hammons ’56
James Hammons died on Aug. 29. He was 89. Jim was a beloved member of the faculty at Swarthmore College for 33 years. He is remembered as a great mentor and teacher by all who knew him.
Jim decided to major in music in his junior year. His welcome addition made our number of music majors increase by 25 percent. While walking up from a cup of coffee in Valentine to the Octagon for class, Jim and I would take turns singing the melody and countermelody to Bach’s Cantata Number 140, “Sleepers, Wake! A Voice Is Sounding.” Jim, along with Steve Lustig ’56 and me, toured the music festivals of Europe with Professor Ludington in the summer of 1955.
I can’t imagine that there are too many scholars who majored in music and went on to be the chair of chemistry at a fine school like Swarthmore.
Jim is predeceased by Lis, his wife of 64 years, who died in 2020. He is survived by their children, Laura Hammons and Jamie Hammons. —Arnie Poltenson ’56
Charles B. Hochman ’56
Charles B. Hochman—B.A. Amherst College 1956, magna, Phi Beta Kappa; J.D. Harvard Law School 1959, honors, Law Review; LLM Stanford Law School 1961, teaching fellow; retired senior partner and head of the tax department at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan—finally closed his eyes on June 10, 2023.
His education was financed by scholarships, fellowships, prizes and hard work. This last included flipping burgers at a Jersey Shore boardwalk stand and working as the only bellhop in a six-story hotel with no elevator. He unloaded beer trucks at the Ballantine brewery in Newark, N.J., where he was a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
His loves were his family, travel, fine restaurants and great theater. After years of suffering and unrewarded loyalty, he sold his season tickets to the Giants and took the family out to dinner. He despised bad grammar, poor proofreading, intellectual laziness and phony tax shelters. He is survived by his wife, Fredrica; his children, Hilary, Thomas (Devon Lockie) and Christopher; and his granddaughters, Ruby and Una. If you would honor his memory, contact someone you haven’t seen or spoken with recently, and say hello. —Fredrica, Hilary, Thomas and
Christopher Hochman
Franklin D. Sanders ’57
Franklin passed away peacefully on Oct. 26, 2023, in the company of his family and his dog Hansel, after living a full and wonderful life. Franklin matriculated at Amherst in fall 1953, was a member of the varsity crew team and Kappa Theta fraternity, and served as a technical director at the WAMF radio station. Franklin once tried to record Robert Frost, who winked at my father in acknowledgment. After graduation, Franklin attended Harvard Business School, graduating with his MBA in 1959.
Franklin is survived by his wife of 63 years, Jane; their four children and six grandchildren; and his sister, Susan. Franklin loved Jane, his family, his dogs, the Boston Red Sox, a cold beer with his lunch, skiing, traveling with the Wally Byam Airstream Club and anything he could do to be outdoors.
Franklin remained a dedicated Amherst alum his whole life. I still remember how thrilled he was when I matriculated at Amherst. Franklin’s Amherst armchair was a beloved fixture in his home and now mine. —Nancy (Sanders) Harper ’91
Akira Arai ’58
I, with sadness, report to you the passing away of Dr. Akira Arai, a member of the Amherst class of 1958, on the morning of Oct. 9, 2023, in Fujisawa, Japan.
Arai studied at Amherst as the second Uchimura Scholar. (The scholarship is in honor of a 19th-century Japanese Amherst graduate, Kanzo Uchimura 1887, the first Uchimura Scholar being Susumu Kawanishi ’56.) Arai became prominent in the studies of English and American literature in Japan. Arai’s specialty was John Milton. Besides his academic monographs and numerous articles, especially on Milton’s heroism, Arai’s solid but superbly readable translations of Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained are a great contribution to the more general reading public interested in, but perhaps feeling intimidated by, the works of the 17th-century poet.
After teaching at Nagoya University and Tokyo University of Education (two national universities) and then at Otsuma and Japan Women’s Universities (two private), Arai assumed the presidency of Keiwa College, a small Christian liberal arts college founded much in the spirit of what Arai must have experienced in Amherst in the ’50s.
I first met Arai in the interview when I myself applied for the Uchimura Scholarship, which eventually brought me to Amherst in 1992–94. (The embarrassingly hard-to-answer questions he fielded as an interviewer were very Amherst-like, or Amherst-English-like, or so they seem to me, in hindsight.) Later I came to see him regularly at the meetings of the Milton Center of Japan, where he shared his erudition as well as his passion for Milton with the younger Japanese Miltonists.
I wrote this note in the hope it would come to the attention of the members of his class, especially those who majored in English like Akira, to remember him and the hours spent with him in Amherst English classrooms. —Kensei Nishikawa ’94 (the 20th Uchimura Scholar)
Frederick F. Monroe ’58
Frederick Fales “Tad” Monroe died on Sept. 10, 2023.
Tad came to Amherst from Rye, N.Y. He majored in geology; pledged Psi Upsilon, where he was house manager; and joined the Outing Club. After earning his bachelor of arts degree at Amherst, he obtained a master of science degree at the American University and a master of arts at the University of Miami, followed by his Ph.D. at the American University.
After securing his professional geology certificate, Tad took a job with the U.S. Geological Survey. This led to a 40-year career with the State Department in Washington, D.C., specializing in Soviet intelligence. (If the State Department seems an unlikely venue for a geologist, consider the political significance of uranium deposits and strategic oil reserves.) Before retiring from the State Department in 2001, Tad was awarded a Career Achievement Medal to go with the Meritorious Honor Award he had received in 1983.
Tad then began studying at Virginia Tech to become a professional naturalist, adding the study of flora and fauna above the ground to his understanding of the geology below the surface. By 2016, he was listed by Who’s Who as a retired geologist and oceanographer at George Mason University in Arlington, Va. (Tad is listed in a number of Marquis Who’s Who volumes: Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, and Who’s Who in the World.)
Tad is survived by his widow, Lori Rose Monroe, of Falls Church, Va., and by their five grown daughters and eight grandchildren scattered across the country. —Ned Megargee ’58
Stephen L. Schwartz ’58
Stephen Schwartz died on June 18, 2023, at the age of 86 in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Steve came to Amherst from Flushing, N.Y. He pledged Phi Alpha Psi fraternity, majored in chemistry and biology, played squash and track, and played in the band.
After graduation, Steve went to NYU dental school, commuting by subway at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. He then entered private practice with his father and later started a second practice in the suburbs. He continued his dental studies, was on the staff of Queens Hospital and was a charter member of the Queens Chapter of the Academy of General Dentistry. In later years, Steve wrote that his Amherst education influenced his practice of dentistry by developing sensitivity, enabling him to “see the person behind the tooth.”
Steve married Doris Fechter of Maryland, a Holocaust survivor, in December 1959. They had two children, Jeffrey ’83 in 1961 and Beverly in 1963, both of whom are now married, with successful children of their own.
After practicing dentistry for 39 years, Steve retired and moved to Florida in 2002. “Life became very social,” he wrote, and he and Dora enjoyed travel. However, he continued his involvement in his synagogue and community service, including with the Lions International, the Exchange Club, the Jewish Federation and the community library, among other organizations. “My dental school education prepared me to make a living, but my Amherst education prepared me to live a life,” he wrote in our 60th class yearbook. —Ned Megargee ’58
Howard R. Wolf ’58
Howie Wolf, whose beloved daughter Alexis lived with her family in Israel, died in Buffalo, N.Y., on Oct. 7, the day of the Hamas attacks. He succumbed to a rapid onset of lung cancer.
Howie received a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and taught his entire career in the English department of SUNY Buffalo. But he loved teaching American letters, culture and life to foreign students, so he earned Fulbright lectureships in Turkey and South Africa; taught in India, Malaysia and Hong Kong; and lectured in another 15 countries, including Australia, Finland, Japan, Thailand and Slovakia.
A dedicated writer, Howie composed at his desk every morning in a wide variety of genres: novels, short stories, plays, poetry, autobiographical essays and social criticism. He published some dozen books and scores of articles in journals, both scholarly and of general interest, as well as writing a column on local issues for the Buffalo paper.
He was a deeply compassionate teacher, conceiving of his role as expanding the horizons of his students, since he believed a humane and humanistic literary education would enlarge their views and offer vistas otherwise closed to or unperceived by them.
In later years, he became a dedicated gardener and wrote about gardening’s pleasures, as if experience took on an even richer life in the exercising of his imagination.
One of his proudest accomplishments was creating a large collection at Amherst of his papers, hoping that an Amherst student in the 22nd century might chance upon the cache of a 20th-century man of letters.
He was a great friend of mine for 68 years. We wrote a book together and exchanged hundreds of letters and thousands of emails. Howie and my other senior roommate, Miller Brown ’58, died within 10 weeks of each other. Enormous grief and emptiness. —Roger Porter ’58
Richard A. Abeles ’59
Rick Abeles died peacefully of congestive heart failure at his newly adopted home in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2023, surrounded by three other Amherst alumni—daughter Liza (Abeles) Lutzker ’01, son-in-law Bobby Lutzker ’01 and goddaughter Sabina McBride ’94 (daughter of Robin McBride ’59).
As a freshman, Rick roomed with Boniface “Bon” Wadors ’59 and Stan Lelewer ’59 (a childhood buddy), and the three remained roommates when they joined Delta Upsilon. Rick majored in physics, served as social chair of DU and co-hosted a popular radio show on WAMF.
After Amherst, Rick graduated from Harvard Law School and served in the U.S. Army. He then returned to his hometown of Chicago, where he practiced law with Altheimer & Gray. In Chicago, he met Kathy (Michigan ’67), and they married in 1968.
Rick and Kathy traveled around the world in 1969 and moved to Santa Fe, N.M., in 1975. Rick worked as a commercial transactions lawyer and served on numerous boards, including many years as board president of both the Santa Fe Children’s Museum and the Santa Fe Community College Foundation.
In 2021, they moved to Walnut Creek to be closer to Liza and her family. After 54 years of marriage, Rick’s beloved Kathy passed away in December 2022.
Rick was both worldly and down-to-earth, and he was known and loved by many. He had an incredible memory, a wonderfully wry sense of humor and an insatiable curiosity. He enjoyed travel, music of many genres, reading and technology. He was a prodigious family genealogist and loved skiing and playing basketball and pickleball.
Rick was active in Amherst alumni functions, including Reunions, “Big Game” telecasts in Santa Fe and, more recently, monthly Zoom sessions with classmates. —Liza (Abeles) Lutzker ’01 and Claude Erbsen ’59
Joseph L. Andrews Jr. ’59
Joseph L. “Joel” Andrews Jr. died, surrounded by family, on April 24, 2023.
Joel was an ardent scholar and a student of life, full of knowledge of many different topics that he was eager to share with others. He was outgoing and engaging, persistent and tenacious, always questioning the status quo and figuring out how to overcome obstacles.
Joel’s Amherst education and friendships provided a strong foundation and were an incredible source of pride for him throughout his life. He stayed an active alumnus at events and Reunions and kept in touch with many of his classmates.
During his time at Amherst, Joel couldn’t decide whether to become a physician or a writer, so he pursued both. After graduating from the University of Rochester School of Medicine, he trained in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine and cardiology at Boston City Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. He drew on his Amherst English major studies to fuel his avocation as a medical, history and travel writer. In addition to authoring numerous articles for periodicals and medical journals, Joel wrote and published two books about Revolutionary and literary Concord, Mass.
Joel practiced internal and pulmonary medicine for many years at Lahey Clinic in Boston and Burlington, Mass. He also founded and chaired the pulmonary section at New England Deaconess Hospital, conducted clinical research, and taught as an assistant clinical professor and lecturer in medicine at Harvard and Tufts Medical Schools.
Joel passionately explored the rich history of Concord, where he lived for more than 25 years. He was a founding director of a historical walking tour company in Concord that has hosted visitors from around the world.
Most importantly, Joel was a loving and supportive father to his three children and adored his five grandsons. He will be sorely missed. —Sara Andrews ’97
John M. Demcisak ’59
John Michael Demcisak died in Woodstock, Ill., on Feb. 5, 2023. He was 85.
He was born June 29, 1937, in Pottstown, Pa., and graduated from Girard College, a high school in Philadelphia.
After Amherst, where he majored in political science, he earned a law degree from Columbia in 1962.
While at Amherst, John was a member of Chi Phi and earned his room and board working as a College student-photographer. Many of his images, distributed by the College, appeared without credit in newspapers and magazines. He continued his photographic efforts at our reunions, including two informal ones at Roger Hull ’59’s winery in California, documenting the wedding of Lou Greer ’59 and Dee Shields.
John married Marian Griffiths (Columbia School of Nursing) in 1962.
He worked for Philadelphia law firms before opening a solo practice in nearby Hatboro, Pa., in 1973; moved his office to Willow Grove, Pa., in 1981; and retired in 2002. He continued to serve family and friends from his home in Hatboro until moving to Woodstock in 2019.
Throughout his life, John was committed to working for the benefit of his community. After moving to Hatboro, he spent 51 years immersed in the civic life of the borough. He served 12 years as the lone Democrat on the seven-member Borough Council and was the primary author of a revised zoning code. He was also active in multiple other civic, political and cultural organizations.
A strong proponent of public education, he worked for the improvement of area schools and was active in the Girard College Alumni Association, receiving its Award of Merit in 1990.
A talented amateur photographer, he was also a woodworking enthusiast and avid do-it-yourselfer.
He is survived by his wife; three children, Michael, Suzanne Steinberg ’89 and Andrew; and five grandchildren. —Claude Erbsen ’59
R. Thomas Green Jr. ’59
Robert Thomas Green Jr., age 86, passed away surrounded by his family on Oct. 18, 2023. Tom leaves, to cherish his memory, his wife of 59 years, Gretchen; four children, Wendy, Bob, Kate and Greta; and seven grandchildren.
Tom was born in 1937; grew up in Shelby, Ohio; and went on to boarding school at Western Reserve Academy class of ’55. He graduated from Amherst College in 1959 and was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, where he treasured those lifelong friendships. He extended his love of the College by spearheading class fundraising, social events and reunions over the years. In 2001, Tom received the prestigious Medal for Eminent Service from the Amherst Board of Trustees, presented to an alum who has demonstrated extraordinary devotion to the College.
After Amherst, Tom married his love, Gretchen; started a family; and began his career in sales and marketing with a division of U.S. Steel. In 1965, he joined Cleveland-based mining and shipping company Oglebay Norton, where he advanced to ultimately take the helm as president and CEO. He retired in 1999 after 34 years of service.
When Tom retired, he was really just getting started with his life’s work. Tom committed himself to the service of others, focusing on advancing education and supporting the Episcopal Church. Tom was active as a trustee of Western Reserve Academy as well as serving in numerous leadership positions at Christ Church Episcopal in Hudson, Ohio; the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio; and the board of trustees for the Episcopal Preaching Foundation. In addition, Tom was honored to serve on various boards and in other leadership positions for the Cleveland Growth Association, The Cleveland Orchestra, Hiram College and Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, supporting one of his passions in addition to antique fire trucks: trains. —Greta Foster
James Wyly ’59
“James Wyly is a 21st-century painter about whom little is known. He lives in southern Mexico with his wife and dog.” That is how Jim described himself on the website where you can see his remarkable portraits and mythological scenes. But he was an artist in a larger sense—musician, writer, healer, therapist, and aficionado of Old and New World Spanish culture. His was a deep, probing, complicated mind. When, on Oct. 15, he died of leukemia that had been in check for years, the city of Oaxaca lost one of its most creative souls, and the class of 1959 one of its dazzling intellects.
Jim came to Amherst from Kansas City. More than for most of us, the College offered him an escape, not just from the provincialism he perceived around him but also from a damaging family environment. He remembered his father as an abuser, bigoted and racist. Jim had wounds to heal, and in college he kept pretty much to himself. Most of us hardly knew him. His single good friend, the brilliant Kelly Edey ’59, with whom he shared a sense of alienation, is long gone. At Amherst, Jim majored in English, but music was his passion. A gifted keyboard artist, he particularly loved the harpsichord and, after earning his doctorate at Missouri, taught musicology for years at Elmhurst and then Grinnell College.
At an early music symposium at Chicago’s Newberry Library, an attractive young librarian took the seat next to him. During their years in Chicago—Mary as associate librarian at the Newberry, Jim as a licensed Jungian psychoanalyst (oh, yes, he did that training as well!)—they spent many vacations in Oaxaca. There, after retiring, they built the handsome, earthquake-proof house where, surrounded by a widening circle of friends, they spent several happy decades. Lately, Jim connected monthly by Zoom with a group of ’59ers. We finally got to know him, and he us, with admiration and pleasure. —Werner Gundersheimer ’59
James R. Bookwalter ’61
The class lost a gem of a man when Jim Bookwalter died on Oct. 4, 2023, after a long illness. His charm, intelligence, sharp wit, warm smile and unfailing good humor made him a joy to be around. We at Chi Psi were particularly fortunate to have Jim as a “brother.”
Jim was at a gathering in New York in 1973 that included Henry Neal ’60, a recent graduate of NYU Law School who had taken a job with the McKay Commission to investigate the Attica prison revolt. Henry knew the commission chairman and that it was difficult to hire staff given the uncertain duration of the work and its remote location. He called out, “Hey, Bookwalter, do you want a job with the McKay Commission?”
“My life was transformed,” said Jim. He moved to remote Attica, conducted interviews of inmates with New York State Police troopers and edited the PBS documentary. Later, he received a call inviting him to apply for a job as a correctional ombudsman in Connecticut. In response to prisoner demand, an ombudsman position had been created outside the state government. “I donned the mantle of expert, but no one, including me, knew what a correctional ombudsman might do.” When the independent agency folded, Jim established the Connecticut Correctional Ombudsman program to continue; it was funded by the legislature until 2011, when budget considerations moved the independent ombudsman into the corrections department. After 37 years, the ombudsman service ended. “I have the satisfaction of believing that I have done something useful and worth doing.”
In 1973, Jim said, “If you buy this (a salad bowl), it means you’ve settled.” He met Fredrika “Fi” Neaverson, a teacher; bought a house; and married Fi in 1977. They had four children: three daughters and a son. —Bob Barrett ’61 and Anna (Bookwalter) Hildreth
Charles B. “Tim” Cohler ’62
Our dear classmate and extraordinary friend Charles “Tim” Cohler died on July 15 after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke while on vacation with his wife, Anne, and a grandchild. Tim and Anne would have celebrated their 40th anniversary on July 30. He is survived by Anne, his son Richard and daughter Deborah, Anne’s daughter Analisa and son Iain, and Tim and Anne’s beloved grandchild Raini. Grandson Xavier died in 2015.
Born and raised in Chicago, Tim attended Harvard School for Boys and, after Amherst, Harvard Law School. He began his law practice in San Francisco, eventually co-founding his own firm, Lasky, Haas, Cohler & Munter. Tim had a brilliant career involving complex corporate litigation and antitrust issues and, in the process, became an expert in European antitrust law. Tom Woodhouse ’62 was with Tim at Harvard Law and in their law practice, also enjoying a close connection throughout his retirement.
Tim, an avid reader and writer, taught himself bridge; he and Anne became expert players, participating in many competitions. He traveled extensively around the world, even becoming an expert chef. Always dedicated to scientific inquiry and the advancement of knowledge, Tim donated his body to UC San Francisco for medical research. He lived a life he often described: according to his principles, based on questioning, examining and logical argument. An extraordinary number of people considered Tim a loyal friend, always available to them, knowing that he saw them for who they are, open to exploring and learning together.
He will be sorely missed by his Amherst classmates, especially all of his former Beta fraternity brothers (and sisters) with whom he remained in close contact. His memory will live on through his beloved family and the many friends and colleagues he had in his personal and professional life. —Tim’s Amherst Fraternity Family
Editor’s note: The above remembrance of Mr. Cohler is a reprint from the magazine’s previous issue. In its initial printing in Winter 2024, the heading was not correctly formatted. We apologize for the error.
Stephen N. Hurley ’66
Stephen Nash Hurley, 80, of Boston, died peacefully, surrounded by his family, on Aug. 5 after a lengthy illness. Born to Miriam (Greene) and Donald J. Hurley, he was a graduate of The Cambridge School of Weston, Mass., and began college at Ohio University. Stephen transferred to Amherst his junior year and went on to Harvard Business School. He also served in the U.S. Coast Guard.
At Amherst, Stephen became lifelong friends with Ed Fisher ’68. Ed stayed close with Stephen throughout the years, attending his children’s weddings and spending time by his side as his illness progressed. At Stephen’s memorial in Boston this past fall, Ed reflected on his friend’s qualities: “His encouragement was always to recognize the various realities of our lives, not kid ourselves, but to focus on what we could do, being realistic and being happy.”
Professionally, Stephen had a talent for financial markets. He was an investor in the global forest products industry for more than 30 years and was the founder, chairman and CEO of Xylem Investments Inc., an international forest products investment firm based in Boston. Stephen played a pivotal role in the Fletcher Challenge Forests / Southeast Asia Wood deal, and his advocacy for New Zealand’s forests was recognized in Xylem’s partnership with the World Wildlife Fund.
Stephen is survived by his four children: Kimberly Hurley Birmingham and Nash Else Hurley (by his first marriage) and Patricia Rockefeller Hurley and William Pumroy Hurley (by his second marriage). He also leaves four grandchildren.
Known for his intellect, love of tennis and unmistakable laugh, Stephen was happiest fishing on the waters near his childhood summer home in Chilmark, Mass. His captaining of small craft around Martha’s Vineyard will be missed. —Nash Hurley and Ed Fisher ’68
Alexander M. Meiklejohn ’66
Alexander “Sandy” Meiklejohn died on June 1, 2023, of a lung infection.
During his four-year struggle with a blood disorder, he continued as a master teacher until his heart could beat no more. For more than four decades, Sandy inspired law students to learn by tackling real problems, digging into case studies and engaging in deep discussion, as he learned best at Amherst College. He eschewed the in terrorem, fake Socratic method abused by so many other law professors.
After graduating, like many in our class, Sandy wandered: a year at Chicago Law School; a year at VISTA, serving in Watts; two more years at Chicago, earning a J.D.; several years teaching tennis and working non-law jobs in Vermont; and five years of general law practice in Woodstock. In 1981, he found his calling: teaching, at Bridgeport law school, which he helped forge into Quinnipiac University School of Law in 1992.
On May 20, 2023, Sandy joined—virtually, from his deathbed—more than 200 current and former students, colleagues and relatives in a celebration of his life as a teacher and mentor.
Their outpouring of affection and respect for Sandy offers another testament: to how fortunate we are in the class of 1966 to have shared such extraordinary classmates, coaches and teachers for four years together so long ago. To a great classmate, teammate and friend: Bless you, Sandy, including for reminding us to “gather closer, [for the] time draws near when we must part; still the love of College days will linger ever in each heart.” —Paul Dimond ’66
Jay H. “Jerry” Calvert Jr. ’67
One of the most beloved members of our class, Jay “Jerry” Calvert, died on Sept. 2. Jerry was from Darien, Conn. He possessed a gift that enabled him to become close friends with a wide spectrum of classmates, from his DKE fraternity brothers, to the denizens of the Frost Library, to the athletic fields as a member of the undefeated 1967 lacrosse team.
Jerry’s sociability, combined with intelligence and strong work ethic, led to his successes after Amherst. After graduating from the University of Virginia law school, he became a rising star at prestigious Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Philadelphia and eventually became the global firm’s first full-time managing partner.
At Amherst, he was a dorm proctor with Scott Searl ’67, whose girlfriend (now wife), Margie Barkin, introduced Jerry to Ann Eberly (Smith ’69). Ann became Jerry’s lifelong love, best friend and wife of 54 years. Together they contributed to the betterment of the world through volunteer work with many organizations. He was an agent and officer for the class of 1967. He was chairman of the board of the Philadelphia Zoo for more than 10 years. Tony the rhinoceros would smile whenever he heard Jerry’s voice. Jerry’s love of animals began at an early age at his grandfather’s farm. As an adult, he herded cattle on summer vacations in Montana and established a second home on a working farm in New Hampshire.
His greatest challenge came when he was diagnosed with the often-fatal idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In 2018, he underwent bilateral lung transplants and was able to enjoy five meaningful years with friends and family, but then died suddenly from a heart attack at his beloved farm.
He is survived by Ann, three daughters and seven grandchildren. His life was a blessing to all who knew and loved him. —Scott Searl ’67, Dave Dembe ’67, Ann Calvert, Mike Boxer ’67 and Kit Kaufman ’67
Stephen B. Cohen ’67
On Sept. 29, 2018, family and friends gathered to remember a man unassumingly brilliant, unfailingly generous, quiet and impassioned; a playful man who loved musical theater, opera, Cheerios, high-tech gadgets, giving gifts and, above all, his wife and family; a man who did not want to die of pancreatic cancer, but who did not fear death; a man grateful for the opportunities he had been given and the engaged life he had lived. Here are snippets from tributes about how Steve touched the lives of thousands.
Cheerleader: At the first home football game freshman year, he jumped from the stands with a megaphone and yelled with his hallmark sense of humor, “What’s the best small liberal arts college in Western Massachusetts?… Give me an A… Give me an M…”
Political activist: He led rallies against the war in Vietnam, for Eugene McCarthy and against apartheid, and led the successful campaign to allow female guests to stay in our dorm rooms overnight.
Teacher: Voted Teacher of the Year his first year at Georgetown Law, Steve went on to teach some 15,000 students from 80 countries and 50 states. One student tribute: “His line-by-line review of student papers was the single best writing exercise I’ve ever done. All courses should be taught like this. Hands down, the best course I ever had.”
Writer: “For someone who claimed he was ‘not a real writer,’” said Steve’s son Max, “Steve wrote more than 100 pieces for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times and more.”
Steve’s good friend Bill Wang ’67 adds, speaking for all, “His passing leaves an immense void.”
Steve is survived by his wife, Laura Sager; his children, Samara and Maxwell Neely-Cohen; his stepchildren, Jessica and Matthew Sager; and Jessica’s daughter, Sophia. —James Levine ’67
Samuel Young Harris ’67
A decade has passed since Samuel Young Harris succumbed to esophageal cancer. Ten years earlier, Sam and Celine, Amy and Charlie Roehrig ’67, Arlene and I had met in a Philadelphia restaurant for an evening of reminiscing and renewal. Conversation details are long forgotten, but Sam remained that smooth Southern gentleman with a mischievous and seductive smile we had known at Amherst.
A fine arts major, Sam earned master’s degrees in architecture and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a law degree from the University of Maryland. He lived and worked as an architect and structural engineer in Philadelphia for more than 40 years, specializing in historic preservation. A founding partner of Kieran, Timberlake, and Harris, he was also the principal of S. Harris Ltd., a preservation design firm.
Sam’s career had been interrupted years earlier by the war in Vietnam, where he had served as a medical evacuation helicopter pilot. He flew more than 600 rescue missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and multiple Air Medals for bravery under fire. He retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a lieutenant colonel.
Sam taught what he practiced as an adjunct faculty member at Penn in the architecture and historic preservation programs. Teaching seemed to suit him. In 1994, he was an Eero Saarinen Distinguished Visiting Professor at Yale. In 2000, he received the G. Holmes Perkins Award for distinguished teaching at Penn. His book, Building Pathology (2001), was an authoritative text on the nuts and bolts of building deterioration, diagnostics and intervention. One pet long-term project was the restoration of the famous Eastern State Penitentiary in North Philadelphia. Once home to Willie Sutton and Al Capone, it is now a National Historic Landmark. It was the site of Sam’s 2013 memorial service. —Dave Andrews ’67
Jonathan W. Lehrman ’67
In November, the class of ’67 and Beta Theta Pi lost a beloved classmate. Jon was known as “Si” through high school and college.
His family roots go back to Ellis Island and to Eastern Russia before that. He was raised on Long Island before attending Amherst.
Si was beyond “well liked,” a quiet leader both on the basketball court and in his fraternity.
He completed med school (School of Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo), an internship (Cambridge Health Alliance) and residency and returned to Amherst environs to practice medicine at UMass, a position envied by his friends.
He could have become a prosperous urban physician anywhere he chose. But he headed west to spend 52 years as the proverbial “country doctor” in Placerville, Calif., a small, underserved community that embraced him and his wife, Penny, and later his children, Evan, Alex and Julia, and held them close for decades.
A brief 2012 article about Si can be found online, titled “Jon Lehrman, MD: practice made perfect.” —The Betas, class of ’67
Christopher W. Nugent ’67
First, his voice—clear, deep and expressive. It broadcast his character, his concern, his delight in a story, his wide-ranging passion for life. At Reunions, I sought out Chris, confident of a conversation without an awkward moment.
Chris had a conscience, not worn on his sleeve but radiating from within. He didn’t censor our bad ideas; he just did the right thing. He went to church without making a show of it. What did show was his interest in others. When talking with Chris, you felt you were the most interesting person he could imagine. He was the more interesting for that, and you wanted to follow his lead.
Chris had several careers. With an M.A. in teaching, he taught in public schools. In the 1970s, he supported a maverick Democrat running for governor of Illinois, defying the Daley machine and winning. Chris held influential positions within Dan Walker’s administration, including managing the state’s unemployment program. Later, Chris found that nonprofit institutions had special insurance needs, formed his own firm and managed its success for years.
For our 50th Reunion, I assembled a panel called, derivatively, “And Now for Something Completely Different”—a discussion among classmates who had changed careers in midstream. Chris talked about his acting career, doing voice presentations and appearing in not-quite-Hollywood films. He was, of course, a natural at relating to an audience, even if unseen, conveying the script’s message. After watching several videos, I realized I’d been had. Chris had not changed careers. He was being Chris in a different medium.
A friend remarked that dying in your 70s is sad but not tragic. Chris’s passing seems more than sad to me, though. He lived his life to the fullest and left a fine legacy, but also left us longing to hear him again. —Bill Fischel ’67 with Bill Shaw ’67, Bill Ryerson ’67 and Carson Taylor ’67
David A. Clapp ’69
You couldn’t ignore Thunder. He was a force. He could take over a football game (two long touchdown receptions in a come-from-behind win against Trinity). He played lock/jumper on a rugby club that beat Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth (twice), Old Blue, Rutgers, and a Bermuda all-star team and made speed bumps of Williams, Wesleyan and MIT.
Dave chose Amherst because it had a scholarship for anyone named Clapp who was “qualified” and would agree to major in classics. Well, it wasn’t that simple. He was wait-listed. So he fought for it, hitchhiking to the College from Syracuse to meet Dean Wilson. Problem solved—Wilson had a gift for getting it right.
Later, Dave was wait-listed at UVA law school. Went to see the dean. This time the dean passed but introduced him to the dean of the business school. It turned out that UVA’s B-school had a rugby team and the B-school dean felt Dave would be a good fit. Accepted. Majored in marketing. Got a job with the “madmen” of Young & Rubicam. Moved to Coca-Cola, rose to VP of marketing and tried his damnedest to talk the president out of the infamous “New Coke” rebranding strategy.
As much as Dave battled, he was a gentle giant. He died Sept. 18, 2023, leaving his rock-solid archeologist/writer son, Alex, and lovely daughter, Arden, who stood by his side as those early rough-and-tumble years finally caught up with him. Bud Cox ’75 said Dave, his Latin teacher in high school, became a lasting friend and mentor: “Dave was an athlete and a reserved intellect. Dave was a dorm master who was incredibly open and generous with his time. I loved to hear his Beta tales—there were some wild ones, to put it mildly.”
Goodbye, Mr. Chips. Yours in-kai-. —Bob Haldeman ’68 and Ted Fowler ’69
Edward A. “Ted” Tombs ’71
The class of ’71 lost one of its “brethren” on April 26, 2023, with the passing of Ted Tombs, of Johns Island, S.C. Ted had been diagnosed eight years ago with Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a rare genetic disease.
At Amherst Ted earned his degree in history, of which he was a voracious reader, and he was a member of Chi Phi and captain of the hockey team. One of his proudest moments on the ice was in his senior year, leading the team to victory over Williams at home—a tradition not well established by “pucksters” in those days.
Ted grew up in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto. Once he came to Amherst, the U.S. became his adopted home. After graduation, Ted earned an MBA from Syracuse University and, with degree in hand, indulged in a brief respite, playing hockey in Europe.
Upon returning to the U.S., Ted industriously immersed himself in the retail merchandising business, with Sears, Roebuck and later with Meade. Given his strong entrepreneurial spirit in the early ’90s, Ted launched Merchandising Resources Inc. (MRI), specializing in display fixturing and retail merchandising initiatives. Through a couple of joint ventures, he successfully pioneered, designed and developed countertop and small floor-standing beverage display coolers. His two sons, Drew and Devin, joined the distributorship, and the business grew and prospered under their joint stewardship. The business was sold in 2012, and Ted retired.
Ted is survived by his wife, Laura; their six children, Drew, Tory, Devin, Cate, Lauren and Callie; brother Terry; sister Susan; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
With Ted’s passing, we lost a good person, a loyal and unconditional friend and college-mate. To that I would add: a teammate, a Phi brother and “best man.” Ted, you are dearly missed. —Peter French ’71
Stephen J. Anspacher ’74
In the course of our search for lost classmates, I told Bill Weaver ’74 that my letter to Steve Anspacher was returned undeliverable. Within an hour of finishing our meeting, Bill sent me Steve’s memorial piece from the New School. He passed away some time ago, Aug. 26, 2012, in my hometown of Pittsburgh. His obituary in the local paper was very brief, citing a surviving spouse and son.
The New School piece was laudatory. Steve became involved with the New School while pursuing a doctorate in education at Columbia University. His dissertation explored online education. His actual efforts extend much further, into developing the software that made remote education possible. He launched the New School’s program and perhaps many others.
Steve occupied the single directly below me in James. I remember him most for his beautifully furnished room—I was especially jealous of his overstuffed leather chair. He typified the stereotype of the Amherst student that most terrified me: a wealthy preppy. The door to his room was often open, and when I passed by, he cheerfully asked that I stop by for a drink. Eventually, I did. Our conversation was entertaining and pleasant; completely absent the expected disdain for my coal-mining background.
Steve left us after one semester at Amherst, and absent the words cited above, I know nothing of his life. I find myself somewhat surprisingly saddened by the loss of a classmate I barely knew. I do know he was a part of us, a part of that “only to be spoken of in superlatives” time of our first semester. I am sad that I will never hear his story. —David Werner ’74
Michael T. Fitzgerald ’75
We lost our good friend Mike Fitzgerald on Oct. 26, 2023. A memorial was held on campus Homecoming Saturday, just before the football game. Fond memories of Mike over the past 50 years were shared by many friends and classmates in attendance.
Fitzy was a special guy—extraordinary in so many ways as a friend, husband, father, grandfather and businessman. He had been battling chronic traumatic encephalopathy for the past seven years, and though his decline was steady, his family and close friends were able to enjoy time with him throughout.
I first met Mike in fall 1971, about a week into our freshman year, when a bunch of us were gathered in the basement of Stearns. I remember when Mike walked in and held court as only he could. Not showy or loud, but in a way that drew others in. I thought, I have to meet this guy. We would become friends for life.
When Mike graduated, he went to work for IBM before attending Harvard Business School. He went on to success in venture capital, eventually starting his own firm, Commonwealth Capital.
He had a wonderful marriage to Betsey (Hill), and they had three daughters—Meghan, Kate and Molly—and five grandsons. The girls considered themselves Mike’s “curveball in life” and kept him on the straight and narrow.
Mike played football and golf at Amherst and captained both teams. But golf was special. Taught by his dad, Mike lived all the discipline and integrity that golf demanded. In his last few years, golf brought a group of us together—old, good friends. Those were special times and special relationships.
I don’t think we’ll ever play golf again without thinking of Mike. The memories that he gave us in golf and in life will live on. —David Hixon ’75
Douglas C. Moses ’79
Doug Moses died suddenly on Sept. 26, having squeezed more life out of his 24,175 days than most of us would with twice as much time. I met him through freshman football days, and I am sure I never knew as fierce an athletic competitor on the gridiron or rugby pitch. Son of Abe ’55 and brother of John ’81 and P.J. ’86, he loved the College, and he helped shape our years there, and, for many of us, those after. He convinced at least a half dozen who had never played rugby to commit, relentlessly, to that sport, and to the drinking and singing afterward, and our senior-year New England College Championship was a highlight that glows still in memory and that was a singular triumph belonging more to Doug Moses than anyone else.
Doug was a close friend to me and to so many—his Langley crowd, who’d known him for even longer than I had, and his Rye cronies, who knew him only after he met and wed Carol Kelty Moses, with whom he raised three beautiful, strong and loving daughters, Carlee, Liza and Annie. I always felt that Carol and the girls channeled Doug’s indomitable life force into a deep and passionate commitment to his family. They made him happier and, most of the time, a bit more responsible.
George Herbert’s line “An old friend is the best mirror” lingers. Weeks before Doug died, several of us spent an early fall weekend at the Moses family’s vacation home in Truro, Mass. Those precious days of good food and drink, of lots of love and laughter, would become, unknowingly, the celebration of our friendship. At the funeral, his brother John said Doug had a special power to create community. We all agreed. —John C. Gulla ’79
Hayden W. Anderson ’92
From his first days at Amherst, it was obvious that Hayden William Anderson, or simply “H,” was one of a kind. He was charming, intelligent, funny and quietly charismatic and soon became the center around which our group of friends formed. H made his way around campus holding a cup of black coffee or a Frisbee, a thin collection of note cards in his back pocket, a pen clipped to the back of his T-shirt collar, incisive wit always at the ready.
H was an exceptional student, albeit deceptively so. He always carried a notebook to class but rarely took notes. He was very serious about coursework but always willing to go to a party, go for a hike, go on a 1,000-mile road trip, co-host a late-night radio show or spend a weeknight sipping bourbon and chatting. The following day, H was unruffled, the professors receiving his full attention. H made it look easy. He graduated magna cum laude in philosophy.
After Amherst, Hayden earned a Ph.D. from Notre Dame. Eventually he settled into the philanthropic sector, spending the last decade of his career as executive director of the Maine Humanities Council.
Hayden also had a lighter, whimsical side. He loved parades, Rubik’s Cubes, juggling, Easter egg hunts and dressing up for Halloween. He was a studious and skillful baker of pies and an enthusiastic motorcycle rider. He always kept a kite in the car, just in case.
After a year battling cancer, Hayden died peacefully at home surrounded by his wife, Meredith; children Gus and Lucy; and his mother, Betsy. He was an extraordinary and loyal husband, father, brother, son, uncle and friend. True to form, H asked that people remember him by baking a pie to bring to their local firehouse. —Banks Shepherd ’92
Dana A. Perry-Hunter ’00
Dana Alexis Perry-Hunter passed away peacefully on Aug. 17, 2023, in Pottstown, Pa.
Dana was a cherished friend who built communities everywhere she went. A lifelong learner, smart, thoughtful, philosophical and a great debater, she loved her time at Amherst. Majoring in political science, she was a passionate student of American politics, law, jurisprudence and social thought. Beyond educational pursuits, she loved her time at Amherst because of the friends she made who became family.
Dana made friends easily. People gravitated toward her big, easy smile, quick wit and contagious laugh. She loved her friends fiercely and made sure we always knew it. She was your first call on birthdays and often the only one to remember some random anniversary or milestone. She would reach out—often via handwritten letter—just because she was thinking of you.
Dana found her calling in education. A beloved employee at The Hill School, she served as associate director of admissions. During 22 years at Hill, she embraced countless other responsibilities, including serving as adviser and dorm parent. Over two decades, she admitted and mentored hundreds of students, her reach extending far beyond campus.
Dana was always in service of others. Struggling with multiple sclerosis for more than 20 years, she was particularly sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities and actively supported organizations focused on cures and accessibility. She was also an animal lover, supporting organizations helping animals in need. She lived life knowing it was a precious gift, never taking one day for granted. When she was diagnosed with MS young, she never dwelled on it, never felt sorry for herself, never let it define her. While MS may have robbed her of some physical abilities, it never dimmed her light.
Dana will be deeply missed but never forgotten. —Karen Silberg Richman ’00