Obituaries
Long-time French professor Edward Harvey dies at eighty-two
John Edward Harvey, a member of the Kenyon faculty from 1948 until his retirement in 1987, died February 12 after an extended illness. Harvey, who had retired in Gambier, was eighty-two.
A native of Lewiston, Maine, where he attended French-speaking parochial schools, Harvey was a 1937 graduate of Bates College. After high-school teaching assignments in France and New Hampshire, he went on to earn master's degrees from Middlebury College and Harvard University and a doctorate from Harvard. In 1948, he arrived at Kenyon, where he was named the Samuel Mather Professor of French Language and Literature in 1958.
Although Harvey most often taught French language courses, he offered occasional courses in Italian and Spanish as well. A specialist in seventeenth-century French literature, he was a founder of the International Conference on Seventeenth-Century French Literature. Also a founder of the Advanced Placement Program in French, he served as director of Sweet Briar College's Foreign Study Program in Paris in 1966 and as a member of the Modern Language Association's journal staff in the 1960s and assembly in the early 1980s.
Presented in 1986 with Kenyon's William A. Long Award for his work in clarifying the role of athletics in campus life, Harvey won recognition in 1990 and again in 1993 from the College's Black Student Union for his support of minority students. In the citation for the honorary doctorate awarded him by Kenyon at his retirement, he was hailed as a "humanitarian and politician by nature [with an] uncommon common touch . . . a ready and sympathetic friend to colleagues and students."
Also active in the larger Knox County com-munity, Harvey served as a member of the Dem-ocratic Central Committee and the Gambier Village Council. He was a founding member of the county's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Harvey, who was interred in Gambier's Oak Grove Cemetery, is survived by his wife of sixty years, Alice Wilson Harvey of Gambier; a daughter, Janet A. Graddick of Gambier; a son, James Harvey of Cleveland, Ohio; five grand-children; one great-grandchild; and a brother, Raymond Harvey. Harvey was preceded in death by a daughter, Diane Clarke, and a brother, Robert Harvey.
A memorial service was held on February 19 in the Church of the Holy Spirit. Among those who participated were such old friends as Associate Professor of French Mortimer M. Guiney, President Emeritus Philip H. Jordan Jr., and Professor Emeritus of Religion Donald L. Rogan. Jordan remembered Harvey as an "outsider by birth who lived as a consummate insider; an egalitarian who understood differ-ence; a scholar who could also live, act, and lead with courage, especially in response to injustice; a serious and strong and kindly man."
"With Ed and Alice, friendship was always natural, unself-conscious, and rooted in serious interests," Jordan added, recalling that the Harveys were the Jordans' neighbors in their early years in Cromwell House and again in their retirement home on Gaskin Avenue. "The Harveys' natural neighborliness introduced us to life in Gambier."
"Growing up when he did, and as a young graduate student seeing Europe disintegrate in the horrors of the Holocaust, Ed was permanently committed to social justice, and he lived it," said Rogan. "I know of no one in my acquaintance at Kenyon who was more genuinely concerned about the welfare of other people--in the College, in the town, in the county, in the country--or was so steadily committed politically--as a Democrat, against all odds in central Ohio--to the cause of the common people, of whom he tacitly thought of himself as one."
After reciting a litany of Harvey's services to Kenyon, his department, and his profession, Guiney noted that "there is one more debt we owe, even harder to repay than all the others: Ed was a good man. To everyone he met, he made the gift of revealing the meaning of those simple words. Thanks to him, his colleagues, students, and friends know what a truly good man is: a man with his idealism, his honor, and his capacity to love. As long as we live, we will never meet a better one."
Memorial contributions may be made to Kenyon's Department of Modern Languages and Literatures in care of the Office of Development, College Relations Center, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio 43022-9623.
Senior Molly Hatcher dies in van accident
Molly R. Hatcher, a member of the Class of 2000, was killed in a van accident on January 13, 2000. She was twenty-one and a resi-dent of Evanston, Illinois.
Molly and ten other student members of the College's swimming and diving teams were passengers in a van returning to Kenyon from a meet at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when the driver lost control of the vehicle on icy roads near Coshocton, Ohio. Molly died at the scene, the only one to suffer fatal injuries in the accident.
A champion swimmer at Evanston Township High School, Molly joined the women's swimming and diving team upon her arrival at the College. Winner of first-year, second-year, and third-year swimming awards, she was serving as cocaptain of the Ladies team at the time of her death. A psychology major with a minor in women's studies, Molly planned to become a teacher after graduation. Her bachelor's degree was one of those awarded at Kenyon's one hundred seventy-second Commencement on May 20.
Many members of the College community joined family members and friends at a memorial service in Evanston on January 17. Among those who spoke at the service was James A. Steen, head men's and women's swimming coach, who movingly recalled his friendship with Molly.
"All things physical fade with time, while the spirit shines brighter," said Steen. "Many of us are just beginning to recognize the magnitude of Molly's spiritual presence in our lives, and in my mind this presence will live on in you for longer than you can imagine. 'Angels soar because they carry themselves so lightly': This is one of my favorites quotes, and today, it has an appropriate reference in Molly Hatcher. `Angels soar because they carry themselves so lightly.' Molly is soaring in our hearts right now because of how she negotiated her life--with high ideals, great compassion, and a gentle touch. Yes, she had her crosses to bear, just as we all do, but resolution came without a heavy hand or an indulgent attitude. She demanded little and gave much, and we, in turn, have been the beneficiaries of her brightness."
To those still coming to grips with their loss, Steen said, "In the same way Molly negotiated her life, we need to negotiate her death: with hope, with compassion, and with trust."
Molly is survived by her parents, Patricia and Albert Hatcher, of Evanston, Illinois; five sisters, Erin, Abigail, Maggie, Grace, and Emily L. Hatcher '03; a brother, Brett Hatcher; her maternal grandparents, Dorothy and Herbert Horwitz; and her paternal grandmother, Vera Hatcher. Memorial contributions may be made to the Molly Hatcher Memorial Fund, c/o Edens Bank, 3245 West Lake Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091, Attention: Robert or Linda.
Maurice Campbell '24 in 1995. He was ninety-three and a resident of West Salem, Illinois.
At Kenyon, Maurice was a member of the Glee Club and Choir and the Puff and Powder Club. After graduation, he worked for S.S. Kresge Company before joining the Syler and Syler Grain Elevator in Plymouth, Indiana, in the 1930s. In 1945, he bought an elevator and seed business in West Salem, which he operated until his retirement in 1981.
There are no known survivors.
Maurice E. Bell '32 on November 28, 1999, of natural causes. He was eighty-nine and a resident of State College, Pennsylvania.
A physics major who graduated summa cum laude, Maurey ran track and cross country at Kenyon. He went on to earn a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1937, with two years at Cambridge University as a Redfield Proctor Fellow. Maurey served with the Operations Evaluation Group in the U.S. Navy, and in 1947 was awarded the President's Certificate of Merit for Service as a civilian scientist during World War II. He began his career as a research and development engineer for Westinghouse. After the war, Maurice was appointed scientific director of the Office of Naval Research in the American Embassy in London. He then worked for Sylvania as research manager before accepting an appointment in 1956 as a professor of geophysics, director of the Earth and Mineral Sciences Experiment Station, and assistant dean for research in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Pennsylvania State University. Maurice retired from there as associate dean emeritus in 1976. He held two patents on his research, one for the treatment of bearing surfaces with lubricants, and another for a brake for a rotary anode x-ray tube, and was co-holder of a third patent for a method of applying luminescent coatings.
Maurey is survived by a son, Alan G.R. Bell '74. Memorial contributions may be made to Kenyon College, Office of Development, Gambier, Ohio 43022-9623, or to the College of Earth and Mineral Science, 116 Deike Building, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802.
Henry Burr '33 on January 3, 1997. He was eighty-five and a resident of Skokie, Illinois.
At Kenyon, Hal was an economics major and a member of Alpha Delta Phi. He earned a law degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City in 1938. During World War II, Hal served in the U.S. Air Force in both the European and Pacific theaters. His career included the presidencies of Missouri General Insurance Company, Consolidated Underwriters, and Mastin Insurance Group. He was also a director of Union National Bank and a member of the Board of Directors for St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City.
Hal is survived by a daughter, Elisabeth Minor Burr; a son, Louis Clinton Burr; and three grandchildren.
James R. Alexander '35 on July 16, 1999. He was eighty-five and a resident of Pinelake Nursing Center in Whispering Pines, North Carolina.
At Kenyon, Jim was a member of Beta Theta Pi and manager of the football team. He held many executive positions with the Quaker Rubber Company and the Thermoid Company. Jim retired as a vice president of New Jersey Zinc in 1975.
Jim was active in alumni affairs, serving for many years as class agent for the Class of 1935.
Jim is survived by his wife, Kathryn Prenter Alexander; a daughter, Ann Poist; three grand-sons, Jay and Scott Alexander and Jamie Poist; and a brother, William T. Alexander '39.
G. Robert Langford 1935 on January 4, 2000, of cancer. He was eighty-six and a resident of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
After attending Kenyon, Bob went on to graduate from the University of Michigan in 1935. He was a member of Psi Upsilon. Bob worked for his father's company, Economy Baler, before founding his own company, Dura-Bond, a pioneer in the remanufacturing of automotive brake shoes. After that company was sold in 1955, he developed property in the Ann Arbor area. Bob was a donor of the thirty-one-acre Kuebler-Langford Nature Area there. He was a long-time member of the Portage Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America. An avid sailor who had sailed all over the Caribbean, Bob continued after his retirement to indulge this hobby from a second home in the Bahamas.
Bob is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Hegge Langford; a daughter, Nancy Hague; a son, Larry Langford; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the Boy Scouts of America, Box 152079, Irving, Texas 75062-2079.
Harold A. Sparks '37 on August 28, 1999. He was eighty-four and a resident of Williamsburg, Virginia.
At Kenyon, Sparky was a member of Psi Upsilon and the varsity baseball, tennis, and track teams. Prior to World War II, Sparky was employed at the Newport News Shipyard. From 1943 to 1946, he was on active duty in the U.S. Navy as a PT-boat commander, first in the European Theater and then in the Pacific. While serving in a joint British-American PT squadron, Sparky participated in the Normandy Invasion. He returned to his job at the shipyard as a reserve officer and left as a lieutenant commander in 1948. That same year, Sparky joined the staff of Colonial Williamsburg, eventually becoming vice president and director of merchandising. He retired in 1981.
Sparky is survived by two daughters, Katherine Sparks Williams and Caroline Lee Sparks; a son, Philip L. Sparks; and four grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to Kenyon College, Office of Development, College Relations Center, Gambier, Ohio 43022-9623.
Robert W. Tuttle '37 on October 23, 1999, of prostate cancer. He was eighty-four and a resident of Quechee, Vermont.
Bob was a founding member of Kenyon's polo team and a member of Alpha Delta Phi. He was active in alumni affairs and served as chair of his fiftieth reunion committee. Bob entered the aviation industry in 1939, serving with American Airlines in Cincinnati, Ohio, New York City, and Washington, D.C. In 1950, he became president of the Airline Terminal Corporation, based in New York City. Bob left Airline Terminal in 1966 to manage his own business interests in Rutland, Vermont, but returned to the airline business in 1968 as assistant to the president of Northern Airways. He was elected president of The Wings Club, the most recognized aviation club in the world, in 1964. After his retirement, Bob served as director of development for the Vermont Law School. A freelance writer of documentaries, profiles, and short stories, he originated and wrote a column, "Around Quechee Lakes," for the Vermont Standard. He was also an occasional contributor to the Bulletin.
Bob is survived by a daughter, Barbara Tuttle; a son, Robert W. Tuttle Jr.; two grandchildren; and a nephew, Richard S. Tuttle Jr. '63. Memorial contributions may be made to the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, One Medical Drive, Lebanon, New Hampshire 03756, or Ottauquechee Health Center, 32 Pleasant Street, Woodstock, Vermont 05091.
Charles D. Jenkins 1940 on September 8, 1999. He was eighty-three and a resident of Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
Chuck was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma at Kenyon. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, earning a European Campaign ribbon with four battle stars and an Asiatic Campaign ribbon with six battle stars.
Married to Jean M. Munns, Chuck had at least one son, Thomas N. Jenkins. No further information was available about his career or survivors.
Jack Lloyd Jones 1940 on October 16, 1999, after a long battle with cancer. He was eighty-two and a resident of Tampa, Florida.
Jake attended Kenyon for two years and joined Alpha Delta Phi. He served in the U.S. Army from 1941 to 1946. In 1938, Jake joined the family business, Van Dorn Iron Works Company in Cleveland, Ohio, and spent his entire career with the firm. He was president of the company's Davies Can Division for thirty years, until his retirement in 1982.
Jake is survived by a son, Jeffrey Jones, and a brother, Lawrence C. Jones. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1148 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland 44115.
John N. Puffer '40 on August 4, 1999. He was eighty-two and a resident of Pawleys Island, South Carolina.
A political-science major, John was a member of the varsity track team and Alpha Delta Phi. He served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. After the war, John worked in the wholesale lumber and shingle business. He retired in 1976 as chairman of Philadelphia Wholesale Lumber.
John is survived by his wife, Eileen Nelson Puffer, and a daughter, Holly Puffer Davis.
James P. Rowley 1940 on July 26, 1999, following an extended illness. He was eighty and a resident of Mount Vernon, Ohio.
Jim grew up in Gambier and attended Kenyon for one year. He was employed as branch sales manager for Motorist Insurance in Cincinnati, Ohio, for twenty-five years. Following his retirement, Jim returned to Gambier and developed his family's farm into Tomahawk Golf Course.
Jim is survived by his wife, Evelyn Woolard Rowley; a daughter, Marilyn Chabot; a son, Terry Rowley; three grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Rt. Rev. Lloyd E. Gressle B'43 H'58 on December 7, 1999. He was eighty-one and a resident of East Quogue, New York.
A 1940 graduate of Oberlin College, Lloyd received a bachelor of divinity degree in 1943 from Bexley Hall and did graduate work at Harvard University. Kenyon awarded him an honorary doctorate in divinity in 1958, and Lehigh University presented him with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree in 1980. As dean of the Cathedral Church of St. John in Wilmington, Delaware, from 1956 to 1968, Lloyd served on the Delaware Biracial Commission and the Delaware Commission on the Handicapped. Consecrated the sixth bishop of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1971, he served in that diocese for thirteen years. A member of the National Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, Lloyd chaired that body's long-range planning council. For humanitarian service, he received an award of recognition from the National Conference of Christians and Jews. After retiring to East Quogue, Lloyd was elected to the local school board and served on the Hampton Bays Library board. He also served as chaplain to the East Quogue Fire Department.
Lloyd is survived by his wife, Marguerite Gressle; a daughter, Katherine D. Haritos; two sons, Richard L. and E. Mark Gressle; and six grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lloyd Gressle Scholarship Fund, Diocese of Bethlehem, 826 Delaware Avenue, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015.
Leonard W. Snellman '43 on October 21, 1999, of cancer and heart failure. He was seventy-nine and a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah.
A mathematics major, Len graduated cum laude and joined Delta Phi. He was active in Kenyon Singers and the cross-country and track teams. Len joined the U.S. Air Force immediately after graduation and served throughout World War II and again in the Korean War. He completed graduate work in meteorology at the University of Chicago. Len spent thirty-nine years as a meteorologist for the U.S. government and seventeen years as the chief scientist for the Western Region of the National Weather Service. He was also an adjunct professor of meteorology at the University of Utah. In 1986, Len was the meteorologist in charge of Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager's around-the-world, nonstop flight of their Voyager aircraft.
Len received an award from the American Meteorological Society in 1989 for his efforts in the successful initiation of the periodical Weather and Forecasting as well as gold and silver medal awards from the Department of Commerce, the American Meteorological Society award as the outstanding weather forecaster, and the Dale Gates Memorial Award for outstanding service to the community.
Len is survived by his wife, Evelyn Snellman; two daughters, Karen L. Snellman and Kristi Snellman Stauffer; two sons, Robert A. and Leonard W. Snellman III; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to Mount Olympus Presbyterian Church, 3280 East 3900 South, Holladay, Utah 84124-2160.
Walter P. Southard Jr. '43 on November 27, 1999. He was seventy-nine and a resident of Goleta, California.
An honors philosophy major at Kenyon, Bud was a member of Delta Tau Delta, editor of Hika, a baseball player, and secretary of the Kenyon Review. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, attending Navy Language School in Boulder, Colorado. He then served in the Aleutians and in China. In 1948, Bud joined the Central Intelligence Agency, where he worked for thirty years as a political analyst on problems associated with Sino-Soviet relations and the Chinese Communist Party. His reputation was such that, in his recent book A Great Wall, former New York Times Beijing bureau chief Patrick Tyler refers to Bud as "the legendary analyst." In addition, Bud published several poems and short stories, and he expressed his lifelong love of baseball through coaching Little League.
Bud is survived by his wife, Kathleen Kane Southard; a son, Jonathan Southard; and a sister, Patricia Gourlay. Memorial contributions may be made to the Goleta Valley Library, 500 North Fairview Avenue, Goleta 93117.
Dwight F. Williams Jr. 1943 on January 9, 2000. He was seventy-seven years old and a resident of Northfield, Minnesota.
Dwight, a mathematics major, commuted to Kenyon from Mount Vernon. After serving in World War II, he was employed as a product manager with Arvey Corporation in Naperville, Illinois, and later as a product engineer with Sheldahl, Inc., in Northfield, from which he retired. In 1994, the city of Northfield presented Dwight with the Mary Wood Award for Volunteerism. He was active in the American Red Cross, the Northfield Lions Club, and the Boy Scouts of America. Dwight also sang with the Troubadors.
Dwight is survived by his wife, Jean; two daughters, Barbara Enderle and Nancy Simonson; two sons, David and James E. Williams '65; eleven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
William A. Vogely '45 H'72 on October 31, 1999, in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He was seventy-five and a resident of Warriors Mark, Pennsylvania, and Meredith, New Hampshire.
An economics major at Kenyon, Bill graduated cum laude with highest honors. He was a member of Delta Phi and the recipient of the College's highest honor, the E. Malcolm Anderson Cup, awarded to the undergraduate who has done the most for Kenyon during that year. He went on to earn both master's and doctoral degrees in economics from Princeton University. Kenyon awarded him an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1972. Bill's early career was with the U.S. government, including service in the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Mines, and the Bureau of Land Management. He served as director of the Office of Economic Analysis from 1971 to 1973 and as acting deputy assistant secretary of energy and minerals with the interior department in 1974. From 1974 to 1991, Bill was professor of mineral economics at Pennsylvania State University, serving as chair of the department from 1975 to 1988.
Bill is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Kevin Vogely; a daughter, Margaret K. Krall; a son, Robert K. Vogely; three grandchildren; a brother, Emil H. Vogely; and two sisters, Maxine Vogely and Jean V. Werner. Memorial contributions may be made to Kenyon College, Office of Development, College Relations Center, Gambier, Ohio 43022-9623; the William Vogely Award Fund, College of Earth and Mineral Industries, Department of Mineral Economics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802; United Methodist Church, Route 550, Warriors Mark, Pennsylvania 16877; or The Hope Lodge of Central Pennsylvania, 125 Lucy Avenue, Hummelstown, Pennsylvania 17036.
James W. Pratt '47 on December 12, 1999, of complications from pneumonia. He was seventy-five and a resident of San Francisco, California.
A political-science major, James was a member of Delta Tau Delta and Philomathesian. He attended Kenyon from February 1943 until February 1944, a period in which he was also enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force, and again from April 1946 until June 1947, after being discharged from active duty. He had also studied at the University of Akron. After receiving a law degree from the University of Michigan in 1950, James practiced law in Akron for two years. He earned a master's degree in public law and government at Columbia University in 1954 and completed all course work for his Ph.D. In February 1954, James was appointed to the research staff of the Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia. After a period as a faculty member at Wesleyan University and executive director of Connecticut's Citizenship Clearing House, he joined the faculty of Lafayette College as an assistant professor of government and law. Two years later, in 1961, James was appointed assistant professor of political science at San Jose State College, a position he held until his retirement.
James is survived by his mother, Ruth Rawling Pratt; two daughters, Anna Pratt Hanson and Carrie Pratt Meer; a sister, Joanna Pratt; a brother, David Pratt; and two grandchildren, Matthew and Rachelle Hanson. Carrie Meer would welcome correspondence from anyone who knew her father. She may be contacted via e-mail at meer@jps.net or regular mail at 1275 Aspen Drive, Pacifica, California 94044.
Robert L. Willis Jr. 1948 on July 5, 1999. He was seventy-one and a resident of Miami Beach, Florida.
Robert attended Kenyon for one year and went on to earn a medical degree from Wayne State University in 1951. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and then practiced radiology in Florida.
Robert is survived by his wife, Patricia Willis. Memorial contributions may be made to the Fort Wayne Zoological Society, Heart of the Zoo, Attention: Norma, 3411 Sherman Boulevard, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46808.
John B. McFeely 1949 on September 29, 1999. He was seventy-three and a resident of Delray Beach, Florida.
At Kenyon, Jack was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Jack spent thirty-five years working in sales for U.S. Steel Corporation.
Jack is survived by his wife, Sally Smith McFeely; a daughter, Marion Brooks Friedman; a son, John T. McFeely; and two grandchildren, Alexandra and Michael Friedman.
Spencer E. Danes 1950 on May 29, 1999. He was seventy-three and a resident of Alexandria, Virginia.
Spence entered Kenyon from service in the U.S. Merchant Marine and became a member of Psi Upsilon. In 1948, he transferred to the University of Cincinnati, where he earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts in radio education. After thirteen years with Storer Broadcasting in Miami, Florida, Spence joined the Voice of America (VOA) as a news correspondent and writer. A member of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the National Press Club, he was the assignment editor in the radio newsroom from 1978 until his retirement in 1990. Spence continued to work for VOA on weekends from the time of his formal retirement until his death. Also in his retirement years, he and his wife, Adele, established Tender Loving Pet Care Connection, a pet-sitting service in Virginia, which Adele continues to operate.
For several years, Spence served the College's Career Development Center as an extern sponsor. Also active in alumni admissions work for Kenyon, he was recognized with the Alumni Admissions Award for 1989-90.
In addition to his wife, Spence is survived by a son, Gregory S. Danes, and two stepchildren, Alicyn and Jan Robert. His father, A. Spencer Danes, was a 1921 graduate of the College.
David L. Farnsworth '50 on November 5, 1999, of Alzheimer's Disease. He was seventy-two and a resident of Beaumont, Texas.
David, a political-science major and a member of Psi Upsilon, entered Kenyon following World War II service in the U.S. Navy. He also served in the Korean War. David spent his career in the steel industry. He worked for twenty-five years at North Star Steel Texas Inc., starting as a salesman and retiring in October 1997 as executive vice president.
David is survived by his wife, Linda H. Farnsworth; two daughters, Melanie Farnsworth and Pamela Withrow; a son, David M. Farnsworth '87; and eleven grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, Development Division, 919 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1000, Chicago, Illinois 60611-1676.
William Forbes Barton 1951 on October 13, 1999, following a three-month-long illness. He was seventy and a resident of Arlington Heights, Illinois.
At Kenyon, Bill was a member of Beta Theta Pi. He also attended Beloit College. A design engineer, Bill was the co-owner of Grisbey-Barton Manufacturing Company, manufacturer of electronic relays. After selling this business, he owned a woodworking company called Barton Designs.
Bill is survived by his wife, Janice Mott Williams; a daughter, Jane Barnett; three sons, Scott, Paul, and Christopher Barton; a step-daughter, Peggy Langness; two stepsons, Steven and Robert Williams; thirteen grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and three sisters, Betty Lou Ross, Peggy Malloy, and Patsy Von Ranson. Memorial contributions may be made to the Oncology Wing, Rockford Memorial Hospital, 2400 North Rockton Road, Rockford, Illinois 61103, or Court Street United Methodist Church, 215 North Court Street, Rockford.
John F. Furniss Jr. '52 on November 2, 1999. He was seventy-one and a resident of Lancaster, Ohio.
John enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1946 and served ten months of his enlistment with the Army of Occupation in Japan. Upon his discharge in 1948, he enrolled at Kenyon, following in the footsteps of his father, John F. Furniss '26, who was inducted into the Kenyon College Athletic Association Hall of Fame in May 1999. John was a recipient of the E. Malcolm Anderson Cup, the College's highest undergraduate award. After graduation, he worked as an intern for U.S. Congressman Thomas A. Jenkins before being named aassistant director of admissions at Kenyon. During his four years with the College, John also held the positions of assistant dean, director of sports publicity, and director of scholarships and student aid. In 1956, he became an associate of J.F. Furniss and Company, a Lancaster insurance firm founded by his father. John retired as a partner in the firm in 1988.
A member of Alpha Delta Phi, John remained active in fraternity affairs as an alumnus and also founded the Lancaster Kenyon Alumni Association.
John is survived by a daughter, Marian B. Furniss; a son, John F. Furniss III '97; and his former wife, Judith Bininger Groff. Memorial contributions may be made to The Georgian, 105 East Wheeling Street, Lancaster 43130-3706, or to St. John's Episcopal Church, 134 North Broad Street, Lancaster 43130-3701.
James P. Rentschler '52 on October 16, 1999, of a heart attack. He was seventy-one and a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio.
At Kenyon, Jim majored in history and was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. A member of the Dramatic Club, he also was involved with riding and with Nu Pi Kappa. Jim's career in interior design lasted nearly fifty years. In 1960, he became president and owner of James P. Rentschler Associates, Inc., an interior-design firm. He was also a member of the board of trustees of the American Music Scholarship Association.
Jim is survived by his wife, Ann Taylor Rentschler; two daughters, Susan Okin and Ann Kuhlmann; two sons, Jamie Rentschler and Jeffrey M. Rentschler; nine grandchildren; and a brother, William H. Rentschler. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Music Scholarship Association, 1030 Carew Tower, Cincinnati 45202.
Robert B. McAlister '54 on December 9, 1999, of a stroke. He was sixty-seven and a resident of Columbus, Ohio.
A political-science major at Kenyon, Bob was a member of the football team and Beta Theta Pi. In 1957, he earned his law degree from the University of Michigan. Bob started his lifelong career as a Columbus attorney in the firm of Alexander, Ebinger, Fisher, McAlister, and Lawrence, where he ultimately was named a partner. In 1987, he moved as a partner to the firm of Baker and Hostetler. Deeply involved in Democratic politics, Bob chaired George McGovern's Ohio primary campaign in 1972. At the time of his death, he was helping to co-ordinate the central Ohio presidential campaign of Bill Bradley. Bob drew national attention in 1985 when Ohio Governor Richard Celeste appointed him to take over Ohio's Division of Savings and Loans following the closing of all seventy-one privately insured, state-chartered savings and loan institutions. His efforts in that appointment earned him the nickname "Reopening Czar." Bob was known to his family and close friends as "Bullet."
Bob is survived by a daughter, Betsy Harger; two sons, Peter D. and Michael R. McAlister; three granddaughters; and a sister, Sandy Schraub. Memorial contributions may be made to Mount Carmel Hospice, c/o Mount Carmel Health System Foundation, 793 West State Street, Columbus 43222-9988.
Robert E.V. Kelley '57 on July 21, 1999, after an extended illness. He was sixty-five and a resident of Eldorado, Illinois.
An English major, Bob participated in many productions of the Dramatic Club, earning membership in the Hill Players, and joined Delta Phi. He spent the majority of his sales and marketing career in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, moving later to southern Illinois.
Bob is survived by a daughter, Elizabeth V. Kelley; two sons, Robert E.V. Kelley Jr. and Lt. Col. Douglas Eaton Kelley; six grandchildren; and a sister, Katherine K. Cremer.
William N. Whisner '60 on December 29, 1999, of complications from thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a rare blood disorder. He was sixty-one and a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah.
An honors philosophy major at Kenyon, Bill was a member of Beta Theta Phi who made the College's merit list every semester. A four-year member of the football team, as well as a base-ball player, he wrote for the Collegian in his freshman and sophomore years and served as secretary of Student Council in his junior and senior years. Bill, who earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Texas, joined the faculty of the University of Utah in 1964, retiring at the end of the 1999 fall semester, shortly before his death. He had also taught at Union College and the University of Cincinnati. A professor of legendary status whose introductory courses were so popular that as many as four hundred students enrolled in them, Bill was famous for getting to know all of his students by name and making each feel personally involved in his class. He was the recipient of many awards at Utah, including the Ramona Cannon Award for Teaching Excellence in the College of the Humanities in 1980; the Distinguished Teacher Award in 1983; the Distinguished Honors Teaching Award in 1990; and the Calvin and Jeneal Hatch Prize in Teaching in 1997. Bill was named Professor of the Year for the state of Utah for 1994-95 by the Carnegie Endowment and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. The founding director of the University of Utah's Center for Teaching Excellence, Bill conducted teaching workshops for the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1986 through 1990 and served as a member of the editorial board of the journal Teaching Philosophy. He was recently named one of the seventeen greatest professors in the one-hundred-fifty-year history of the University of Utah. In addition, Bill conducted research in the area of philosophical psychology and published widely in journals of philosophy, psychology, and educational theory.
Bill is survived by his wife, Mary Reddick. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10004-2400, or to any cause that advances social justice.
Thomas D. Clarke '64 on June 21, 1999. He was fifty-six and a resident of Medfield, Massachusetts.
A biology major, Tom was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma. He was a member of the varsity baseball team as well as the wrestling and rifle teams and the Chapel Choir. Tom served in the U.S. Air Force, attaining the rank of captain. The recipient of a fellowship from the National Institutes of Health, he completed his doctorate at the University of Mississippi. At the time of his death, Tom was a consultant in the field of instrumentation research.
Tom is survived by his mother, Margaret Alling Clarke; his wife, Mary Rebecca Geiger Clarke; a daughter, Deborah L. Clarke; a son, Thomas A. Clarke; and a cousin, Roger Alling Jr. '56.
Mark H. Houser Jr. '65 on January 15, 2000. He was fifty-six and a resident of Everett, Washington.
An honors political-science major at Kenyon, Mark was a member of Alpha Lambda Omega, a writer for the Collegian, two-year chairman of the Student Peace Union, and a member of Kenyon Students for a Democratic Society. After graduation, he worked as a legislative aide to U.S. Congressman Lloyd Meeds (Democrat of Washington) in Washington, D.C. Meeds referred to Mark as "a walking Univac computer. And when he gets his teeth into an issue, he's an absolute bulldog." While working for Meeds, he helped draft such environmental legislation as the Alpine Lakes Wilderness bill and Youth Conservation Corps. Returning to live at home near Seattle after Meeds's retirement in 1978, Mark did freelance writing for horticultural magazines and mobilized a lengthy protest against the U.S. Navy's proposal to build a home port for the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in Everett.
Mark leaves no known survivors.
Robert D. Lehmann '66 on November 16, 1999. He was fifty-six and a resident of Bethany, Connecticut.
At Kenyon, Bob majored in English and joined Psi Upsilon. He received a master's degree in social work from Columbia University in 1988. Bob was a psychiatric social worker in the Connecticut State Department of Mental Health, from which he retired in 1997 after several years serving the department as a consultant in forensic psychiatry. In addition, Bob pursued a career as an artist, exhibiting his work in California, Connecticut, and New York City. A joint exhibition by Bob and his wife, artist Janet Lehmann, took place at the University of Connecticut in 1979.
Bob is survived by his wife, Janet Comey Lehmann; a son, Dwight T. Lehmann; and a sister, Hilde M. Lehmann.
Richard L. Mueller '74 on July 13, 1998, of a heart attack. He was forty-five years old and a resident of Plantation, Florida.
A history major at Kenyon, Richard was a member of Delta Tau Delta who participated in a variety of intramural sports, including basket-ball, bowling, football, golf, ping pong, and track. He assisted New Hope patients on a volunteer basis and graduated cum laude. Richard joined Ernst and Whinney in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1978, and earned his master's degree in accounting from the University of Akron in 1980. In 1983, he joined Ryder System, Inc., in Miami, Florida, becoming a manager of corporate control and analysis. Richard assisted in establishing accounting policies and procedures for the company and its subsidiaries. He opened his own accounting practice in 1989, providing consulting and accounting services to small- and medium-sized companies.
Richard is survived by his mother, Suzanne Mueller; his father and stepmother, Robert and Susan Mueller; his wife, Janet Mueller; and three brothers, Edward, Mark, and Robert Mueller Jr.
Irwin A. Michelfelder (Wynn T. Scott) '77 on October 3, 1999. He was forty-four and a resident of Temple, New Hampshire.
An English major at Kenyon, Wynn went on to earn a master's degree at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He later completed a master's degree in counseling psychology at the Antioch University campus in Keene, New Hampshire. After working in real estate, Wynn owned and operated the Scott Forester Floral Shop of Merrimack before taking up the counseling profession. At the time of his death, he was employed as a counseling therapist at the Dimock Medical Health Center of Boston, Massachusetts, while maintaining a private practice in Boston.
Wynn is survived by his mother, Martha Michelfelder Scott; his father, Kenneth Scott; and a brother, Mark Scott. Memorial contributions may be made to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, c/o Patient Memorial Fund, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215.
Mark E. Wiltshire '82 in 1997. Mark was thirty-seven and a resident of Anniston, Alabama.
A biology major at Kenyon, Mark was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma and Sigma Xi, the scientific research society. Awarded the College's Robert Bowen Brown Jr. Prize in his senior year, he went on to earn his medical degree at the Medical College of Georgia. Following an internship at the University of Alabama School of Primary Care in Huntsville, Mark completed a residency in family medicine and began private practice in Anniston in 1989.
Mark is survived by his wife, Charlotte, and a stepson, Jason Hodges.
Brian D. Schneider '92 on November 22, 1999. Brian was twenty-nine and a resident of Seattle, Washington.
A chemistry major at Kenyon, Brian was a member of Peeps o'Kenyon, played ultimate frisbee, and studied in Leningrad during his junior year. Graduate work in chemistry at Rutgers University led Brian to a career in pharmaceutical chemistry. He was employed at Hoffman LaRoche in Branchburg, New Jersey, and at Sonus Pharmaceuticals in Bothell, Washington. An avid animal lover, Brian also enjoyed music, skiing, and computer programming. Brian and Lynne Taddeo Schneider '93 were married at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Gambier on August 21, 1999.
In addition to his wife, survivors include his parents, Sandra and Irwin Schneider; four sisters, Linda Wharton, Elizabeth Rothenberg, Bertye Dietrick, and Wendy Schneider; and his maternal grandmother, Laura Alston.
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