ROBERT A. BAER, 89, who retired as general manager of the J.L. Hammett Company, died June 9, 2008. A member of Chi Psi, he served as a captain in the U.S. Army during World War II. Survivors include his wife, Elizabeth Lewis Baer, two children, three stepchildren, six grandchildren, and two great–grandchildren.
MYRON E. WHITE, professor emeritus of mathematics at the Stevens Institute of Technology, died Aug. 19, 2008. He was 88. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received his degree with high honors and distinction, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and to Sigma Xi. He received his master?s and doctoral degrees from Columbia University. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces. One daughter predeceased him. Among those who survive are his wife, Eleanor Solomon White, three children, and a cousin, Rabbi Harold S. White ’54.
MERRILL A. SYMONDS, 92, a retired college administrator, died Oct. 23, 2011. He was a member of Alpha Chi Rho and received his degree with honors and with distinction in English. After serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II he received his master’s degree from Boston University and his Ph.D. from Clark University. He had been employed by Florida State University, was vice president of Pensacola Junior College, president of Florida Keys Community College, and vice president and instructor at Oscaloosa Walton College, from which he retired in 1984. He was predeceased by a son. His wife, Rena Ridler Symonds, survives, as do two daughters, six grandsons, and 10 great-grandchildren.
CARL F. ROGGE JR., an attorney who practiced law for 50 years in New York City, retiring as a partner of Lord Day & Lord, Barrett Smith, died Nov. 23, 2009, at age 89. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II and then received his law degree from the University of Virginia. Among those who survive are his wife, Julia Rogge, two children, and one grandchild.
WILLIAM H. MOOK III, M.D., 87, died September 5, 2007 at home in Cooperstown, NY surrounded by his family. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and was captain of the swimming team. He participated in an accelerated medical school program during World War II at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, graduating in 1944. After completing his internship at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown in 1945, he served in China as Lieutenant (jg) in the United States Naval Reserve from 1945-46. He continued his medical training at Bassett Hospital and completed his residency in 1949. He was a Public Health Trainee in Cardiology at the University of Washington in Seattle from 1949-50. After practicing as a member of the Rip Van Winkle Clinic in Hudson, NY, Bill returned to Bassett Hospital as Assistant Physician in 1952. During the Korean War he was again called to active duty in the United States Navy from 1952-54. He resumed his medical practice at Bassett Hospital where he was an attending physician specializing in internal medicine and endocrinology and associate professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University. In keeping with his belief in the importance of education, Bill served on the Board of Education at Cooperstown Central School from 1958-73, and he presented diplomas to all six of his children upon their graduation from high school. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Barbara (Ives) Mook; a brother, six children (including William Mook ’75, Georgia Cosgrove ’78) nineteen grandchildren (including Simon Frost ’99, Emily Ramsey ’02, Louisa Mook ’05, and Leah Frost ’05) and nine great-grandchildren.
ROBERT H. MELLEN, a physicist, died Jan. 11, 2003 at age 83. He was elected to Sigma Xi and received his degree with honors and with distinction in physics. A member of Sigma Chi, he received a doctorate from the University of Connecticut and was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II. In 1980 he retired from the Naval Underwater Systems Center and at the time of his death was a physicist with Kildare in New London, Conn. Survivors include his wife, Mary Ellen Lockhart Mellen, two daughters, three grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and a sister.
A. REESE MATTESON, M.D., a retired otolaryngologist who practiced in Danville, Ill., for almost 50 years, died Oct. 10, 2007, at age 87. After receiving his degree with honors, he received his medical degree from Yale University. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army. He was predeceased by his wife, Elizabeth Dusenbury Matteson. Among those who survive are three children.
Rabbi JACOB LANTZ, 91, the spiritual leader emeritus of Temple Shalom in Norwalk, Conn., who was active in religious and community affairs, died Sept. 20, 2009. A member of the John Wesley Club, he served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. He received an MHL and a doctorate of divinity, and was ordained at the Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion. Among other honors, he was a past president of the New England Region of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. His first wife, Dorothy Weiner Lantz, predeceased him. Survivors include his wife, Shirley Jacob Lantz, five sons, five grandchildren, and his sister.
EDWIN C. JOHNSON JR., 85, a management consultant, died June 29, 2004. He was a member of Psi Upsilon and the brother of Paul Johnson ’45. He received his degree with high honors and distinction in goverment and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. A veteran of World War II, he served in the U.S. Army from 1941-48 and was chief of the denazification of the military government of Bavaria. He received a certificate from the university in Aix-en-Provence and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He had a tour of duty with the State Department in Brazil before leaving government to be a management consultant for Booz, Allen & Hamilton. He then started his own firm, Edwin C. Johnson & Associates. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Carol “Tish” Johnson.
JOHN J. HYDE, 88, the founder and president of J.J. Hyde & Associates, real estate brokers in Fort Wayne, Ind., died Jan. 25, 2007. He was a member of Chi Psi and served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. Among those who survive are his wife, Margaret Berto Hyde, two daughters, two stepsons, and two brothers, including Charles F. Hyde Jr. ’43.
