Author: Caroline Liu '18

JOHN R. GRACE, 69, former executive director of the Wisconsin Association of Family and Children’s Agencies, died Dec. 19, 2015. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta and earned a master’s degree in Religious Studies at the Hartford Seminary. He spent a year in India as a Fulbright tutor, and then three years there coordinating the University of Wisconsin College Year in India program. When he returned to the United States, he and his wife settled in Madison, Wisc., where he began his career in human services by establishing after-school day care in rural communities. He then went on to become head of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association and then executive director of the Association of Child Care Institutions, which joined ranks with another agency and became the Wisconsin Association of Family and Children’s Agencies. He served on numerous local boards and committees, and was a member and active participant in the Madison Monthly Meeting. Among those who survive are his wife, Joan Raducha; two children, including Laura Grace Thompson ’03; five grandchildren; and three brothers.

GARY S. CHORBA, 70, a supervisor with the State of New Jersey, died Jan. 17, 2015. He was a member of Eclectic and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving a master’s degree from Trenton State College, he taught high school and then served in Vietnam with the U.S. Army. He retired as a supervisor with the State of New Jersey, Division of Alcohol and Addiction Services, after 30 years there. He was an avid fisherman and longtime soccer and lacrosse referee. Survivors include his companion, Carol Czahur; four children; four grandchildren; three brothers; and his friend and former wife, Violet Harrison.

JAMES D. WELCH, a U.S. diplomat and a watercolor artist, died Feb. 4, 2016, at age 72. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa, he received his degree cum laude and with high honors in letters. After receiving a master’s and a PhD in English Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, he taught at the University of Houston until 1978, when he moved to Washington, D.C., to join the U.S. State Department. Already fluent in German, he learned Spanish and served as part of USAID in Bogotá, Colombia; Caracas, Venezuela; Mexico City; and Lusaka, Zambia. Upon retirement in 1998, he moved to Cambria, Calif., where his watercolor landscapes were exhibited in invitational shows and in a one-man exhibition in Caracas. He and high school classmate Mary Louise Lewis were married for 13 years and had three sons, one of whom died. In addition to the children of his first marriage, his wife, Sophie Streisand, and another son survive, as do two grandchildren.

The Rev. Canon STEPHEN W. PRICE, 73, an Episcopal clergy leader, died Jan. 24, 2016. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi and received his degree with honors in social studies. After receiving a master’s of divinity degree from Yale University, he dedicated himself to social justice issues, marching in Selma, Ala., in 1965, demonstrating at the 1968 Democratic Convention, and advocating for divestment from South Africa in 1972. His commitment led him, in later years, to focus on providing low-cost housing for seniors of modest means. He was a leader and member of many public-private partnerships, as well as serving administrative roles in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. His wife, Kathleen Deets Price, survives, as do four children, two stepchildren, four grandchildren, and his sister.

DAVID R. HARTMAN, the former owner of the Imprint Bookstore in Port Townsend, Wash., for more than 30 years, died Nov. 9, 2014. He was 72. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he received his degree cum laude and served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Survivors include his wife, Judith Parks Hartman.

SAMUEL McLANAHAN III, who founded and directed the Rose Garden Coffeehouse, a showcase for acoustic folk music, died Dec. 4, 2014, at age 74. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi. An advertising and marketing executive, he had been associated with Emery Advertising and Lyons Advertising after working in production for the children’s television program, Romper Room. More recently he was involved with Newslynx, a marketing consultancy. He was best known as artistic director and co-founder of the Mansfield, Mass., Rose Garden Coffeehouse. Among those who survive are his wife, Rae Ann Federici McLanahan, five children, five grandchildren, his sister, and two former wives, Alice Markell Mayn and Stephanie Weisz.

PETER NUELSEN, an architect who specialized in healthcare facilities, died Dec. 31, 2014. He was 74. The grandson of Albert E. Nuelsen of the class of 1920, he received his degree with distinction in art. He received a master’s degree in architecture from Yale University, after which he joined Arneill Associates, an architectural and planning firm in New Haven, Conn., where he became a principal, a title he retained with successor firm Stecker La Bau Arneill McManus Architects, now known as the SLAM Collaborative. During a 40-year-plus career, he was responsible for major expansions and renovations at Danbury, Sharon, and Bridgeport hospitals in Connecticut, and also did smaller projects at other Connecticut hospitals. He also served as a guest lecturer on health facility design in the health administration program at the Yale School of Public Health and co-authored a number of papers on that subject. He is survived by his wife, Joyce Luketz Morral; his former wife, Patricia Lipowski Nuelsen; two stepchildren; and two step-grandchildren.

ROBERT F. FOLLEY, D.D.S., 76, a dentist, died Dec. 27, 2015. He was a member of Psi Upsilon and received his dental degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. A U.S. Navy veteran, he practiced dentistry in Glens Falls, N.Y., for 32 years. He was an avid golfer and was a course rater and a member of the U.S.G.A. Green Committee. He was also an avid skier and was active in his community. Survivors include his wife, Georgette Laporte Folley; two daughters; four grandchildren; his brother, John F. Folley III ’60; and a cousin, Jarrett H. Folley Jr. ’63.

ROBERT G. VOTAW, a microbiologist and medical school administrator, died Jan. 26, 2016. He was 77. A member of Eclectic, he received his degree with distinction in biology and was elected to Sigma Xi. He received a PhD in microbiology from Case Western Reserve University in 1964 and taught there until 1966 when he was appointed associate professor of biochemistry and director of multidiscipline laboratories at the soon-to-be built University of Connecticut Health Center. During his tenure with the UConn Health Center, he was instrumental in the design of the multidisciplinary labs and the medical school’s first microbiology curriculum. Later, he also served as an assistant dean of medicine and led the development of the school’s first computer-based education program. After retiring from UConn he was an alternate energy project developer. He was married to the former Joye Lynn Dickens in 1961 and the couple divorced in 1988. Among those who survive are three children, a grandson, and his close friend, Norma Hartley.

GORDON A. BIDDLE, an insurance executive, died Sept. 29, 2015, at age 78. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. After graduation he joined the Traveler’s Insurance Company, and worked in their San Francisco office. In 1984 he became president of Frank B. Hall and later AON Corp. He came out of retirement to work three more years at Lockton Insurance Company. Survivors include his wife, Leona Hansen Biddle, a daughter, two sisters, his brother, and three “adopted” sons.