H. GILLIS MURRAY, 87, the owner of the Bennett Machine and Tool Company in Syracuse, N.Y., died Jan. 11, 2007. A member of Chi Psi, he served in the US Navy. He was an active community leader. Survivors include his wife, Letty Meachem Murray, four children, three grandchildren, and a brother.
JOSEPH G. LYNCH, an attorney and devoted Wesleyan alumnus, who in 2004 received the Raymond E. Baldwin Medal, Wesleyan’s highest honor awarded by the alumni body for extraordinary service to the University and to the public, died Sept. 10, 2012. He was 88. A member of Sigma Chi, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in government after serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and earning three Purple Hearts. He served during the 80th Congress as administrative assistant to Connecticut’s U.S. Senator, Raymond E. Baldwin of the class of 1916, a former Governor of the State of Connecticut, a Trustee of the University, and the person for whom the Baldwin Medal is named. In 1951 he received his law degree from Harvard University and joined the law firm of Halloran, Sage, Phelon & Haggarty, where he remained throughout his 60-year career. He became a noted trial attorney, concentrating in the fields of aviation law, product liability, probate, and education law. Legal counsel to the University for many years, he was also town counsel and Judge of Probate for the town of Portland, Conn. He was a member of the board of directors of the New England Air Museum, the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, and the Rockfall Foundation, and was vice chairman of the State of Connecticut Insurance and Risk Management Board. In 2003 he received the Secretary of State Public Service Award. He was a Life Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. A loyal supporter of the University’s football program, he missed only one Wesleyan football game, home or away, from the early 1950s into the 21st century, and in 1999 the University named him Fan of the Century. Predeceased by his wife, Vicky Hamilton Lynch, four children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren survive.
JOHN C. KENYON, a retired marketing manager for Aetna Life Insurance Company, died July 6, 2010, at age 87. He was a member of Alpha Chi Rho and served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II as a B-24 pilot. Forced to bail out with his crew after being shot down, he was liberated by General Patton after being taken as a prisoner of war. His entire 34-year career was spent with Aetna, now CIGNA. Among those who survive are his wife, Bernice (Kim) Jalbert Kenyon, three children, and six grandchildren.
HERBERT L. JAMISON JR., 87, retired senior partner of the large independent insurance brokerage firm Herbert L. Jamison & Co., LLC, died Dec. 2, 2011. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and received an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania, after which he joined Herbert L. Jamison & Co., the insurance firm founded by his father. In 1960 he took over as managing partner and developed the company into one of the largest insurance brokerages in the industry. He was also an active community volunteer. Survivors include his wife, Cristine Walker Jamison, two sons, five grandchildren, a step-grandson, and his sister and brother.
MONROE HIMELSTEIN, M.D., 81, a retired surgeon and chief of staff at Hartford Hospital (Conn.), died Mar. 2, 2005. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received his degree with honors. He received a medical degree from Columbia University after serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. At Hartford Hospital he served in numerous leadership roles in medical staff governance, as well as serving as a corporator and hospital director. He also taught medical students and residents at several institutions. Survivors include his wife, Faith Freedman Himelstein, two daughters, five grandchildren, and two brothers, including Morgan Himelstein ’47.
DONALD H. FORD, age 84, passed away on March 14, 2006, from complications from diabetes. Don’s education at Weselyan University was interrupted by World War II. Don served as an Army medic and married Dorothy Glander in 1944 while on leave from the Army, returned to the war in Europe and was later wounded. During his service, Don was awarded a bronze star and purple heart. After his recovery and discharge, Don resumed his studies at Wesleyan, receiving Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. He received his Doctorate from the University of Kansas and taught neuroanatomy for 25 years at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to his teaching duties, Don was also a research scientist and published author of scientific and medical textbooks. After retiring from Downstate Medical Center, Don spent 19 years as a scientific grants administrator with the Council for Tobacco Research in New York City. Don was also an accomplished painter, working in oils, acrylics and watercolors. Don and Dot were married for 54 years. Don is survived by his daughter, Linda Summerall.
JEAN FRANÇOIS-PONCET, a French diplomat, businessman, senator, and former Secretary of State and Secretary General of France, as well as a recipient of an honorary degree from Wesleyan, died July 18, 2012, at age 83. He received his degree with honors and later received a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and a law degree and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Paris. During World War II he served in the French Underground. The son of André François-Poncet, who was the French ambassador to Germany from 1930 to 1938, he quickly made a name for himself in the 1950s as a brilliant young diplomat. He worked with Maurice Faure in the negotiation of the Treaty of Rome, which created the European Economic Community in 1957. He continued in the diplomatic service under the Gaullist government, serving in Morocco and Iran. In 1971 he interrupted his diplomatic career to serve as CEO of Carnaud SA, a metal packaging business belonging to the Wendel family, to which he was connected through his wife, Marie-Therese de Mitry. With the election of President Giscard d’Estaing in 1974, François-Poncet returned to government service as Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1976 to 1978 he served as Secretary General in the office of the President, a key post in French politics, and in 1978 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, a position he held until 1981. Elected Senator from the Department of Lot-et-Garonne in 1983, he served in the Senate until 2010, chairing the Economic Affairs Committee of the Senate until 2001 and serving as Vice President of the Foreign Relations and Defense Committee. He led Senate delegations in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, China, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Middle Eastern countries. Wesleyan celebrated his achievements at the 1980 Wesleyan Commencement ceremonies, where François-Poncet delivered the commencement address and received an honorary degree. In 1981, he returned to campus to deliver the keynote address for Wesleyan’s 150th anniversary.
WALTER C. BURKE JR., who began his career as an insurance agent and later became an administrator and patient advocate for people and families recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, died Aug. 28, 2008. He was 86. A member of Sigma Chi, he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. He was an accomplished athlete and in 1998 was ranked fourth nationally in the 75+ division of the U.S. Squash championships. The brother of the late Robert C. Burke ’50, he is survived by six children and nine grandchildren.
VERNE H. BOVIE, a retired professor of English and American literature at Nasson College, died Mar. 31, 2012. He was 88. A B-26 pilot in the U.S. Army Air Forces who was shot down and imprisoned during World War II, he returned to college and received his degree from Wesleyan in 1947. He received a master’s from Colgate University and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. A literature professor at Nasson, he also was a flight instructor for many years. His wife, Everlyn Huer Bovie survives, as do four children and eight grandchildren.
WILLARD H. BONNER JR., 79, a retired research chemist, died Jan. 12, 2008. He was a member of Sigma Chi and was elected to Sigma Xi. After receiving a master’s degree from the University of Buffalo and a PhD from Purdue University, he joined Humble Oil and later duPont, where he was granted 13 patents in foam, fabric, and metal inventions. After moving to Maine, he was active in local environmental organizations. Among those who survive are his wife, Betty Cole, two children from his first marriage to Barbara Howard Bonner, three grandchildren, and a large extended family.
