Tag: 1965

BRUCE D. PODEWELL, 69, a member of the theater faculty at Tulane University for nearly 40 years, died Mar. 29, 2013. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and received a master’s degree from Emerson College. A co-founder and former artistic director of the Shakespeare Festival at Tulane, he had also served as the associate artistic director of the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane, and was the longtime director of Tulane Center Stage, the theater department’s former summer-stock company. The author of Shakespeare’s Watch, a handbook on Shakespeare’s plays, he was also an accomplished jazz musician, often playing banjo in the French Quarter. He founded the Patchwork Players, a children’s theater troupe that is now led by his daughter. Among those who survive are his wife, Banu Gibson, his daughter and son, and two sisters.

H. DOUGLAS WILSON, M.D., an internist in Oswego and Lake Placid, N.Y., died June 2, 2011. He was 68. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he received his medical degree from Columbia University. Among those who survive are two children, his sister, and several nieces and nephews.

DAVID A. WALTER, a reference and research historian at the Montana Historical Society, died July 19, 2006 at age 63. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta and attended graduate school at the University of Montana. He was the author and editor of numerous articles and books, and he received many awards for his work in educating people about Montana history, including an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of Montana. He is survived by his wife, Marcella, three daughters, three grandchildren, and a brother.

S. GARY (GARVER) THOMSON III, the owner and manager of the Tivoli Gardens Restaurant in Saint Croix, U.S.V.I., who was perhaps better known as “Gary” of Gary and the Wombats, died of cancer Feb. 28, 2009. He was 66. A member of Eclectic, he received an MBA from Columbia University and worked with Smith, Barney & Company for five years. He had owned and managed Tivoli Gardens since 1975. Gary and the Wombats are six Wesleyan alumni who started playing rhythm and blues and rock and roll at Wesleyan in 1962, and who played at other East Coast colleges and universities. They still perform together several times a year for charity fundraisers and private parties. He is survived by his wife, Martha; his sister; and his cousin.

John Dunton ’65 writes: With great sadness I write to tell you that Gary died Thursday, February 26 around 4 PM.

After his esophagus burst in early October, he waged a gallant, tenacious fight against infections, heart problems and failing lungs for over four months, but his weakened body was unable to overcome the latest bacterial attack.

David Dinwoodey spoke with his wife Martha Thursday evening. I paraphrase his message to me:

He had another series of infections attack his body about a week ago in the rehab facility near Patterson, NJ. Dave had seen him Tuesday afternoon and he was unresponsive but stable; whether he could hear Dave was uncertain. On Wednesday he again became unstable; his blood pressure dropped again, he was maxed out on antibiotic medicines; his heart got into difficulty and he got into systemic failure across the board trying to battle multiple problems.

Martha spent every day with him since this crisis began. She and his sister Jeannie were with him when he passed.

Since this has just occurred and Martha is dealing with the enormity of the event, there are presently no plans for a memorial service. I believe she will return to their home on St. Croix and be with their dogs, watch the sea and collect her thoughts. Sometime in the future there probably will be a gathering to celebrate Gary’s life.

We met at Wesleyan 47 years ago, became fraternity brothers and quickly became brothers in Gary and The Wombats. I have no idea how many thousand hours we have spent playing music together. Like most brothers, we laughed together, we partied together, we quarreled at times, we drew apart as life took us in different directions, and like many brothers, as we aged we drew closer.

His first health crisis with esophageal cancer occurred 10 years ago. He persevered in his battle against this horrible disease and, against heavy odds, achieved a decade of music, travel and enjoyment of good food and good friends.

In recent years he frequently came to Boston to make pilgrimage to Union Oyster House for cherrystone clams and to spend a quiet day or two visiting with Carol and me and with Dave and Mary Ellen Dinwoodey. There was an increased sweetness and mellowness in his demeanor that brought out his charming best. During these last 10 years when The Wombats would convene for a gig, he gave us his usual leadership and direction, but also was amenable to change and new approaches that he would not have embraced when we all were younger. In recent years he did not always have the stamina to perform at his best, but he always gave it everything he had. The last time we played together it was helping raise money for the ”Celebration of Hope — Wellness Community of St. Louis“ which supports the families of cancer victims.

Gary was, and will always be to me, Gary of Gary and the Wombats?my brother in music and my great and dear friend.

GEORGE R. DREHER, a banker who later became a landscape and irrigation specialist, died Aug. 11, 2011, at age 67. A member of Chi Psi, he had been associated with Chandler Leasing and Westinghouse Credit before going into the landscape business. He is survived by his mother, Caroline D. Halloran, three children, two stepdaughters, and his brother and sister.

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.

MICHAEL B. BURTON, 60, died Jan. 29, 2005, nine days after suffering a cardiac arrest. The son of the late Jackson K. Burton ’36, he was a member of Commons Club and had received a master’s degree in business administration from Iona College. A marketing executive, he was the executive vice president for finance and administration of Advantage International, a sports marketing firm, until it became Octagon in 1999, after which he continued as executive vice president of the Connecticut office. An accomplished athlete and the winner of four national platform tennis championships, he was twice ranked the number one tennis player in the New England Division of the USTA. Survivors include his wife, Linda Setapen Burton; three daughters, Betsy Burton ’90, Carly Burton ’97, and Amy Burton; two grandchildren; his mother; four brothers, including Leslie M. Burton ’72 and Steven B. Burton ’74; one sister; his uncle, Rollin B. Burton Jr. ’49, and twelve nieces and nephews, including Matthew Burton ’04.