Obituaries

It is with great sadness that we report the death of DARIA DONNELLY, Class of 1981. Daria died in Boston, Massachusetts on September 21, 2004, three years after her first symptoms of multiple myeloma, cancer of the bone marrow. She leaves her husband, Steven Weissburg, and two children, Leo and Josephine.

A native of Pittsburgh, she received her elementary and secondary education from Mercy nuns. After majoring in religion at Wesleyan University, Daria taught in an inner-city high school, cooked for a Catholic Worker house in Rochester, NY, and spent a year studying (Hebrew and religion), traveling, and dog-watching in Jerusalem. A love of literature and desire to integrate that with religious studies led Daria to a PhD in English and American Literature from Brandeis University. She studied nineteenth-century American poetry and theodicy under the MacArthur genius grantee Allen Grossman. Teaching (at Boston University), research, and writing followed. In 2000, she joined the staff of Commonwealth Magazine, an independent journal of opinion edited and managed by lay Catholics, as Associate Editor At Large and Poetry Editor.

WILLIAM U. COPELAND, 77, the owner of Bird Bay Realty in Venice, Fla., died Nov. 12, 2006. He was a member of Psi Upsilon and received his degree from the University of Nebraska. During the Korean War he served in the US Air Force. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Logan Copeland, two sons, three stepdaughters, six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and a brother.

DONALD G. CONRAD, a financial executive who more recently was senior adviser to the president of the World Bank in Washington, D.C., died Aug. 9, 2008. He was 78. After attending Wesleyan, he received his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi. After four years as a U.S. Navy officer, he joined Exxon as CFO of Esso Europe. He then spent 18 years with Aetna in Hartford, Conn., as chief investment officer, CFO and a member of the board. In 1988 he became part owner and CEO of the Hartford Whalers hockey club, which he sold in 1991. He was a founder of the Greater Hartford Arts Council and chairman emeritus of the American Council of the Arts, now Americans for the Arts. Among those who survive are his wife, Stephania Conrad, four children, a stepdaughter, a sister, and six grandchildren.

LEE (LIBERATO) CASSELLA ’50, D.D.S, a specialist in oral surgery, died Mar. 11, 2013. He was 88. A member of Sigma Chi, he received his degree with honors and received his dental degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. After 13 years of practicing general dentistry, he returned to the University of Pennsylvania and received postgraduate training in oral and maxillofacial surgery. He practiced oral surgery in Hamden, Conn, until his retirement in 1987.

He was a member and officer of numerous professional boards, and was a Fellow of the American College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. His first wife, Rita Rose Ives Cassella, predeceased him. Among those who survive are his wife, Joan Jansen Cassella; four children; five stepchildren; five grandchildren, including Luci Lee Cassella ’11; and 13 step-grandchildren.

WILLIAM S. COGAN ’57, a retired teacher, died July 17, 2012, at age 77. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and worked for NASA on what became the Project Mercury program before leaving to pursue a career in teaching. He taught at Brockton (Mass.) High School for 30 years. Among those who survive are his wife, Dorothy Ferrick Cogan, three children, three grandchildren, three step-grandchildren, and two brothers.

WILLIAM P. CONNER, 67, the owner of C&C Machining in New Hampshire, died Nov. 29, 2011. A member of Chi Psi, he served in the U.S. Air Force. He received his master’s degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Among those who survive are his wife, Eleanor Yoder Conner, two sons, his mother, six grandchildren, and several siblings.

F. REED CUTTING ’55, a retired high school teacher, died May 27, 2012, at age 79. He was a member of Alpha Chi Rho and received his master’s degree from Colgate University.

A science teacher for more than 35 years, he taught on Nantucket and in Marblehead, Mass. The Introduction to Physical Science course that he developed is still taught nationally. In 1984 he won a Fulbright to study in Oxford, England. Survivors include his wife, Katharine Conway Cutting, five children, and five grandchildren.

JOHN S. CRAIG III, noted photojournalist, photo-historian, and Daguerreian author, died Feb. 25, 2011. He was 67. A member of Delta Sigma, he received his degree with honors. His interest in antique photography began when he was a photographer and reporter at the Hartford Courant as well as with his own retail camera shop. Eventually, in addition to photographing historical events and personages, he became one of the first full-time dealers in photographica in the U.S., renowned for his enormous collection of instruction manuals, catalogs, and other interesting photography items. In 1994 he published the first of three editions of Craig’s Daguerreian Registry, the acknowledged reference work among dealers and collectors. He is survived by his wife, the Hon. Joyce Krutick Craig (retired), a son, a stepson, and a granddaughter. His daughter predeceased him.

Bill Chodoff, beloved husband of Louise Barteau Chodoff, died November 26 peacefully at home after a long battle with Merkel Cell Carcinoma. Third generation in a family of Philadelphia doctors, he was a much loved left-wing Philadelphia pediatrician for 25 years before becoming Pediatric Medical Director at Keystone Mercy Health Plan in 1997. He was a tender spouse to his first wife Joan Horan who pre-deceased him after her own long struggle with cancer. A truly kind and generous man, he was loved by all who knew him and leaves many grieving friends and relatives. Two weeks before he died his wife Louise dedicated her current art and environmental project GROVE to him in a public ceremony.

More photos of Bill are available at the GROVE website www.treemaker9.com.

JOHN CARROLL, a retired teacher of German and Spanish, died Oct. 6, 2011. He was 79. The recipient of a master’s degree from Central Connecticut State College, he taught at Bristol (Conn.) Central High School for more than 30 years. Survivors include his wife, Erika Weipotner Carroll.