Author: Caroline Liu '18

MICHAEL Z. HEILPERN, the founder of a Web consulting company, died Feb. 15, 2014, at age 63. An innovative and accomplished musician, he studied at the Berklee School of Music and played several instruments before becoming a dedicated amateur jazz vibraphonist in recent years. The company that he and his wife founded serves membership organizations, public agencies, and local businesses. In 2004 he received an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management in Claremont, Calif., where he was an active conservationist in addition to serving on local boards. He also created several online communities, including LAjazz.com, a resource for jazz musicians and aficionados across southern California. His wife, Linda Weber Heilpern, survives, as do his daughter and a brother.

DAVID CROCKETT, who worked in finance overseas, died Nov. 24, 2014. He was 68. A member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, his professional life started in Seattle and then brought him to Switzerland, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and Macau. During his lifetime he visited more than 100 countries. In addition to traveling both for business and pleasure, he was an avid runner, golfer, and rower. At Wesleyan he rowed with the Founder’s crew. His first wife, Stephanie Crockett, predeceased him. Survivors include his wife, Kitty Crockett; two children; two stepchildren; two grandchildren; two step-grandsons; and his brother, John R. Crockett ’63.

STEPHEN A. HASS, a self-employed certified public accountant, died July 31, 2014, at age 72. He received accounting degrees from both Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania, and was active in professional organizations. Among those who survive are his wife, Jean Patterson Hass, four children, seven grandchildren, a great-grandson, and two siblings.

JOHN E. PETERSON, a business trial attorney, died Jan. 30, 2015, at age 73. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. After serving in the Peace Corps in Ghana, he received his law degree from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He was the former president of the Fresno (Calif.) County Bar Association and later served on the Board of Directors of the California State Bar Association, in addition to serving for 14 years on the Board of Directors of the Fresno Art Museum. He is survived by his wife, Mary Randall Peterson, four children, three grandchildren, and three brothers.

RICHARD R. DONAT, the former general manager of Marshall Field & Co. in Chicago, died Oct. 29, 2014. He was 74. The grandson of A.E. Osborne of the class of 1896 and of Emma L. Reed of the class of 1899, he was a member of Beta Theta Pi. He began his career as a buyer with Marshall Field and later served as general manager for 14 years. Among those who survive are his wife, Charlotte B. Donat, four children, and two grandchildren.

WELDON J. SMITH, a finance attorney, died Aug. 5, 2014. He was 74. A member of Chi Psi, he received his law degree from the Washington and Lee University Law School and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He was self-employed. His wife, Nancy Bryan Rhodes Smith, predeceased him. Survivors include two children, his sister, and his brother-in-law.

ROGER W. CYRUS, M.D., a family practice physician for 35 years, died Dec. 17, 2014. He was 75. After receiving his medical degree from the State University of New York College of Medicine Downstate, he finished an internship and then entered the U.S. Air Force as a commissioned medical officer. After his discharge he completed a fellowship at Yale New Haven Hospital and then established a family practice in Westbrook, Conn. He was certified by the American Board of Pathology and the American Board of Family Practice. Among his many interests were music and opera, books, art, and travel. He is survived by his wife, Ann Elaine Pothin Cyrus; her four children and their families; and two cousins.

OSCAR E. LANFORD III, a mathematical physicist, died Nov. 16, 2013. He was 74. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa and to Sigma Xi, he received his degree with high honors and with high distinction in physics. He received master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton University, as well as an honorary degree from Wesleyan in 1990. He had been a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, then at the IHES in France, and since 1987 at the ETH in Zurich, where he retired in 2005. He continued teaching at the Courant Institute until 2012. Several of his papers have influenced the direction that mathematical physics has taken. Among those who survive are his wife, Regina Krigman Lanford; his daughter; his brother, Henry C.S. Lanford ’65; and his niece, Brook Wilensky-Lanford ’99.

MARTIN J. JASKOT JR., who retired as president of Theo Davies, died Nov. 4, 2014, at age 77. He was a member of Chi Psi and received his degree with honors. After receiving his MBA from the University of Chicago, he joined Peat Marwick Mitchell as a CPA in Hawaii. In 1972 he joined Theo Davies as a controller and in 1999 retired as president and CEO. He is survived by his wife, Theresa (Terry) Piccirillo Jaskot, two children, and a large extended family in Connecticut.

WILLIAM G. HOPKINS, professor emeritus of plant physiology at the University of Western Ontario, died Nov. 30, 2014. He was 74. A member of Delta Sigma, he was elected to Sigma Xi. After received his PhD in plant physiology at Indiana University he was a post-doctoral fellow at Brookhaven National Laboratory before joining the faculty at Western Ontario. Among those who survive are his wife, Karen Olsen, and two children.