Author: Anne Marcotty

EDGAR D. MANN, an international marketing executive, died Mar. 6, 2012, at age 72. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he received his degree with distinction in economics and later received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was involved with international sales and marketing for the Ford Motor Company, Cummins Engine Company, and Parker-Hannifin Corporation. Among those who survive are his wife, Dorothy Smith Mann, three children, two grandchildren, and a sister.

JOHN C. FOSTER, a glass company executive, died Jan. 30, 2013. He was 76. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he received an MBA from Harvard University. He worked for many years at the Diamond Glass Company, rising to the positions of vice president and corporate director. He left Diamond Glass to found Foster Glass, a glass manufacturer in Salem, N.J. Subsequently, he started Foster Credit Company, which he headed until his retirement. Survivors include his daughter, two sisters, two stepsons, and an extended family.

ROBERT C. BENDER, 75, the retired CEO of Bender-Loudon Motor Freight, a multi-state trucking company, died Mar. 24, 2012. A member of Eclectic, he was a U.S. Army veteran and studied at Northwestern and Harvard universities. While he was in line for Wesleyan graduation, he was signed to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, which he did for a year. He was a trustee of Western Reserve Academy for 16 years. Among those who survive are his wife, Donna Reycraft Bender, four children, two sisters, and eight nieces and nephews.

FREDERICK D. BANFIELD, M.D., a physician and avid athlete, died May 24, 2013, at age 77. He was a member of Psi Upsilon and received his medical degree from Temple University. After serving in the U.S. Public Health Service in Alaska, he moved to Rochester, Minn., where he eventually founded two family medicine clinics. He was very interested in physical fitness and in racquetball. After having started a racquetball league in Rochester, he was inducted into both the Rochester Racquetball Hall of Fame and the Minnesota Racquetball Hall of Fame. He is survived by his wife, Gilda (Jill) Lepone Banfield, five children, 12 grandchildren, and two sisters.

SCOTT AIKEN, 77, a corporate communications counselor, former journalist, and the owner of Aiken Public Relations, died Mar. 6, 2013. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received his degree with high honors and with distinction in history. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and received a master’s degree from Columbia University, after which he spent a year in France on a Fulbright Fellowship. After working abroad for the New York Herald Tribune and as a bureau chief for Radio Free Europe, he joined the staff of the Cincinnati Enquirer as a foreign news analyst and writer. He then moved to public relations, first working for corporations and then as the owner of his firm. Survivors include his wife and partner, Anne Aiken; five children; three stepchildren; and eight grandchildren.

JOHN H. LYONS, the president of a family sawmill equipment business, died Feb. 2, 2013. He was 78. A member of Eclectic, he was a four-year veteran of the U.S. Navy flight program and the youngest pilot, at age 22, to log 200 landings on an aircraft carrier. He earned a business degree from the University of Florida and later returned to Pennsylvania to run Lyons Equipment. Two sons, a grandson, and two sisters are among his survivors.

GERALD EAGER, 77, professor emeritus of art at Bucknell University, died Feb. 14, 2012. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he received a master’s degree from Columbia University and a PhD from the University of Minnesota. He liked to demonstrate that art is a living subject that reflects both the world we live in and our view of it, and he taught that art is for everyone, not just the scholar. He was also involved in the Lewisburg community. Predeceased by his wife, Patricia Anne Bell, he is survived by two sons, one grandson, two sisters, and a close friend, Dorris Keen.

JOHN C. HOY, 79, the dean of admissions at Wesleyan in the 1960s who oversaw a radically new commitment to expanding racial, religious and economic diversity on campus, died July 9, 2013. Hoy, who also held an MALS degree from Wesleyan in 1961 and was the parent of two alumni from the classes of 2003 and 2005, was deeply involved with Wesleyan for nearly his entire adult life. As an undergraduate, he majored in history, competed on the swim team, and was a member of the Eclectic Society fraternity. He returned to his alma mater a year after graduating, as assistant director of admissions, a post he held until 1959. In 1960, he was appointed director of admissions at Lake Forest College in Illinois, and in 1962, he became dean of admissions at Swarthmore College. Hoy returned again to Wesleyan in 1964, serving as dean of admissions and freshmen, assistant to the president, and dean for special academic affairs. In the latter position, he was responsible for implementing new approaches to teacher education, international education, urban education, Upward Bound, and the development of new doctoral programs. In 1966, he traveled to several countries in Africa under the auspices of the African Scholarship Program of American Universities (ASPAU) to interview promising students, who would be given scholarships and placed in American schools. Above all, Hoy was committed to enhancing diversity on campus, and his efforts reverberated throughout the Northeast and nationally as other colleges followed Wesleyan’s lead. Writing in The Wesleyan University Alumnus in May 1965, he noted that though Wesleyan’s student body had included black students for generations, the number of minority and economically disadvantaged students applying to the school each year remained in the single digits. “We discovered that we had falsely expected these students to seek entrance to Wesleyan, although they probably had never had occasion to hear of the college and if they did would most certainly conclude they could never afford to come,” he wrote. The decision to recruit more minority and low-income students “meant we would have to visit schools never before solicited by Wesleyan representatives. It meant increased alumni awareness and participation in cities like New York, Detroit, and Chicago.”

“One of the greatest strengths of this college has always been and remains the extraordinary breadth of backgrounds represented on the campus: religious, racial, geographic, social, economic, and just plain diversity of opinion,” Hoy wrote. “Wesleyan is a stronger college for having maintained this tradition of excellence and diversity.” “Jack Hoy had a historic role in the story of modern Wesleyan,” said Steven Pfeiffer ’69, a student when Hoy oversaw admission and later chair of the Board at Wesleyan. “Jack set Wesleyan on a course of leadership in equal access and racial diversity in American higher education, from which it has not departed over the past almost half century. Under Jack’s leadership, Wesleyan was the first of the top tier colleges and universities to give African American students of talent and potential a fair shot at what private institutions of higher education like Wesleyan had to offer young Americans.” In 1969, Hoy left Wesleyan to serve as vice-chancellor of student affairs, and later as vice-chancellor of university and student affairs, at the University of California, Irvine. In 1987, he was appointed executive director of the New England Board of Higher Education, a position he held until 2001.

Hoy remained involved with Wesleyan, serving as a member of the Boston President’s Council from 1998-99, and as an Alumni Elected Trustee from 1998 to 2001.

He authored several books, including Choosing a College (1967); The Effective President (1976); and New England’s Vital Resource: The Labor Force (1982, co-authored with Melvin Bernstein).

In 1985, Wesleyan honored Hoy with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. He also was awarded honorary degrees from North Adams State College, Franklin Pierce College, Notre Dame College and Bryant College.

He is survived by his wife, Marie, as well as seven children, including Elizabeth Hoy ’03 and Peter Hoy ’05, and seven grandchildren.

JOHN E.P. BORDEN, who retired as vice president of operations at Gorton’s, a division of General Mills, died Apr. 16, 2013. He was 79. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he received his degree with distinction in economics. After serving in the U.S. Army intelligence service, he received an MBA from Harvard University and joined General Mills. He served both as the selectman and as town moderator of Topsfield, Mass. Predeceased by his wife, Margaret Leith Borden, he is survived by two sons, including John E.P. Borden Jr. ’80; and grandchildren, including Adele Borden ’12.

BRUCE M. WHITTLES, a sales executive and video producer, died June 26, 2013, at age 80. The son of Lee J. Whittles of the class of 1919, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. Fluent in Spanish, he worked for Colt Firearms and Heublein in international sales. He also started a video production business. Among those who survive are his twin brother, Douglas P. Whittles ’54, three children, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.