Author: Cynthia Rockwell

Cynthia Rockwell, MALS ’19, P’11
Categories Obituaries | 1940-1949Posted on

J. ALDEN NICHOLS ’41

J. ALDEN NICHOLS, 95, a retired professor of European history at the University of Illinois who had taught at Wesleyan, died June 28, 2014. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received his degree with high honors and with high distinction in history. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. During World War II he served as a conscientious objector. After receiving his master’s and PhD degrees from Columbia University, he taught at Wesleyan and at Skidmore College before returning to Wesleyan where he taught and was the managing editor of Daedalus, the journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which was then published by Wesleyan. In 1961 he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois. An authority on German history, he also created a new course at the University of Illinois that incorporated the music, art and literature of the Romantic period. An avid amateur musician, he was an active participant in local groups. His wife, Barbara Tuttle Nichols, and one son predeceased him. He is survived by a daughter-in-law with whom he lived, two daughters, five grandchildren, several step-grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Categories Obituaries | 1930-1939Posted on

JOHN BAIRD ’38, trustee emeritus

One of Wesleyan’s most distinguished alumni, Trustee Emeritus John Baird ’38 P’69’78, died on Dec. 27, 2013, in Glenview, Ill., after a brief illness. He was 98.

“His life of service to Wesleyan, his community, and his country serves as a standard for us all,” said President Michael S. Roth ’78.

After graduating from Wesleyan in 1938 and receiving his MBA from Harvard in 1940, he served with distinction as a captain in the U.S. Army during WWII.

After the war, he joined his family’s prominent Chicago real estate firm, Baird & Warner, where he worked for the remainder of his life. At Baird & Warner, he served as president and eventually chairman of the board, overseeing the growth of the company to $5 billion in annual revenue. More remarkably, he used his voice as a real estate leader in Chicago to pioneer civil rights. As president of the Metropolitan Housing and Planning Council in the 1960s, he fought prevailing views of the time to champion anti-housing discrimination, leading to the passage of the open-housing ordinance in 1963. As a Chicago business leader, he remained active in civic affairs throughout his career, spearheading the efforts of many urban revitalization projects and serving on the board of the Trust for Public Land.

Baird generously offered his time and resources in support of Wesleyan throughout his lifetime. He served as an alumni-elected trustee from 1966–69, and a board-elected trustee from 1971–83. From 1980–1983 he was vice chairman of the board. He was a founding director of the Hill Development Corporation, which was originally established by the Wesleyan Board of Trustees in 1967 to create the Wesleyan Hills housing development in Middletown. He was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1970 and the Raymond E. Baldwin Medal in September 1983. In his honor, the Wesleyan Club of Chicago established the annual John Baird Lecture in 1987.

He was predeceased by his wife, Marion, and is survived by his daughter, Katherine Baird Mann, and sons Orrin ’69, Wyllys ’78, and Stephen, whose wife is, Susan Baird ’74, and many grandchildren. He came to campus this past May for his 75th Reunion.

Categories Obituaries | FacultyPosted on

THOMSON WHITIN, the Chester D. Hubbard Professor of Economics and Social Science, Emeritus,

Thomson Whitin, 90, the Chester D. Hubbard Professor of Economics and Social Science, Emeritus, died Dec. 9, 2013.

Whitin had already achieved distinction when he joined the Wesleyan faculty as a professor of economics in 1963. He graduated from Princeton University in 1943 and served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II on the aircraft carrier the Bon Homme Richard. Having obtained a doctorate in economics from Princeton University, and teaching there until 1952, he joined the faculty of M.I.T. as an assistant professor. While on leave from M.I.T. from 1956–58, he served as Chief Economist of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission; subsequently he rejoined the M.I.T. faculty 1958–60 before joining the University of California, Berkeley, as a full professor in 1960. During his long tenure at Wesleyan, he twice served as a visiting professor of administrative science at Yale University and received fellowships from the National Science Foundation and the Ford Foundation. He retired in 1993.

The author of two books, The Theory of Inventory Management (Princeton University Press, 1953) and Analysis of Inventory Systems, co-authored with George Hadley (Prentice-Hall, 1963), Whitin also published dozens of scholarly papers and reviews. He served as a consultant to numerous organizations, including the RAND Corporation, Stanford Research Institute, and the U.S. Navy.

The Economics Department will be offering the inaugural Barber/Whitin Prize this spring for the best undergraduate paper in economic theory or institutional economics.

Whitin served as an advocate for the mentally ill through his association with the Connecticut chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Predeceased by his wife, Edith Osborn Sherer, he is survived by four children and three grandchildren.

Categories UncategorizedPosted on

PAUL J. MATHIS, MALS ’85

PAUL J. MATHIS MALS’85, an educator in the Lower Cape May (N.J.) Regional School District, died June 17, 2013. He was 61. A summa cum laude graduate of Assumption College, he received his MALS from Wesleyan and worked in the same school district for 38 years. His wife, Violande Mathis, survives, as do two children, a grandson, his mother, and his sister.

Categories UncategorizedPosted on

MARGARET R. FETE, MAT ’70

MARGARET R. FETE, MAT ’70, a professor of Modern Romance Languages at Ohio Wesleyan University, died Dec. 24, 2011, at age 65. She received her BA from the University of Colorado-Boulder, master’s degrees from Wesleyan University and Middlebury College, and her PhD from Ohio State University. Survivors include two children, a grandchild, and a large extended family.

Categories UncategorizedPosted on

KATHARINE T. COLEY, MA ’63

KATHARINE T. COLEY MA’63, an ardent conservationist and co-founder of The Connection, one of Connecticut’s most successful social-service agencies, died Aug. 19, 2013, at age 89. An alumna of Smith College, she began her career as a reporter and later a columnist for The Washington Times-Herald. She then moved to New York and worked for the United Nations in public relations for UNICEF, where she was instrumental in starting several UNICEF programs. In 1952, she moved to Connecticut with Wesleyan Professor Emeritus of English William Coley, her former husband. She received a master’s in psychology at Wesleyan for her research on Navajo tribal government and then taught anthropology at Middlesex Community College. After volunteering at Connecticut Valley Hospital, her experiences with young heroin addicts led to the founding of The Connection in 1972. A small initial program of counseling and support has become a statewide, multi-million dollar social service agency, on whose board she remained for 41 years. She was also one of the founders of The Independent Day School in Middlefield, Conn. A long and distinguished career of environmental activism followed, one that brought her to Washington to lobby Senators and Congressmen, to join with numerous Connecticut-based organizations as an environmental advocate, and to participate in the preservation of large swaths of open space in Middletown and elsewhere. She, along with others, spearheaded the preservation of the Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estate, a Middletown landmark, and served on its Parkland Committee. She served on the Middletown Conservation Commission and the Steering Committee of the Connecticut Land Conservation Council. Survivors include two daughters.

Categories UncategorizedPosted on

EDWIN B. RICHARSON MALS ’60

EDWIN B. RICHARSON MALS ’60, a teacher and administrator who retired as a senior admissions officer at Harvard University, died July 22, 2012. He was 83. An alumnus of Harvard, he taught at the Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven before becoming headmaster at the Harvey School in Katonah, N.Y. He then joined the admissions staff at Harvard. An active community volunteer, he was also an accomplished sailor. More recently, he worked at Milton Academy where he assisted alumni fundraising efforts. His wife, Anne Lindsay Miner, predeceased him. Among those who survive are three children, six grandchildren, his sister, and his companion, Linda Foehl.

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JAMES C. LUITWEILER JR. MALS ’57

JAMES C. LUITWEILER JR. MALS’57, a retired teacher, died Sept. 6, 2013, at age 93. He received degrees from the University of Wisconsin and Plymouth (N.H.) Teachers College, and he served in the U.S. Army in World War II. Predeceased by his wife, Erika O. Luitweiler, survivors include two children, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Categories Obituaries | 1970-1979Posted on

GEORGE D. NAYLOR IV ’71

GEORGE D. NAYLOR IV, a freelance writer and author of plays, short stories, and books about the counterculture and his time as a farmer, died Nov. 8, 2013, at age 65. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he received his degree with honors from the College of Letters. After serving in the U.S. Army, he received an MFA degree from Columbia University. His sister and a niece survive.

Categories Obituaries | 1970-1979Posted on

FRANCINE R. SMITH ’79

FRANCINE R. SMITH, 55, a science teacher and consultant, and the longtime head of the science faculty at Worcester (Mass.) Academy, died Sept. 10, 2013. She received her PhD in biology from Johns Hopkins University in 1985, where she was also a postdoctoral fellow. She was both a postdoctoral fellow and an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, after which she joined the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. An adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in 2002 she joined the Worcester Academy science faculty, where she remained until 2012. In addition to teaching at the high school and university levels, she provided science consulting and was an invited lecturer at several schools. She published widely and received awards from numerous academic, research, and philanthropic organizations. She was also a patient advocate at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and an organizer of the Jimmy Fund Walk and Rock, an annual cancer fundraiser. In 2002, several weeks after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, her husband, Dr. David Echelman, was killed in an automobile accident. Her three sons and a brother survive.

Marcie Greenfield Simon ’79 offers this October 2013 reflection:

Fran Smith became my friend in August, 1975, on our first day at Wesleyan, where we both lived in Foss Hill Five.  She became my hero in October, 2002, the day of her son’s bar mitzvah — one day after she was first diagnosed with breast cancer.  What ensued for the next eleven years was inspirational.

I have great memories of Fran in college – she was generous: always sharing her mother’s care packages of home-made cookies, or offering help with some tough assignment; she was fun: struggling through the step-shuffle-shuffle-ball-change as we auditioned for a 92nd St. Theater performance; and she was passionate about lab research: setting her alarm for 5:15 AM to be there for the hatching of the damn fruit flies.  Fran was brilliant and humble, silly and wise.  She flew from New York to Boston to surprise me for my 18th birthday. I was so happy and stunned to see her that I fell down the stairs, which dislodged a kidney stone and landed me in the hospital a few days later.  We laughed about that for years.  Fran was there for me when my father died unexpectedly at age 44 during my sophomore year.

Fran received her PhD in Biology from Johns Hopkins University, did post-doctoral work at University of North Carolina, and subsequently served on the faculty at UNC, UMass Medical Center and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.  Fran married David Echelman whom she met while at Johns Hopkins.  Fran and David’s honeymoon was planned so that partway through, they could my wedding to Richard Simons. Over the next fifteen years, Fran and David had three wonderful boys, Daniel, Matthew and Adam.
When her boys were very young, Fran found her true calling.  She wanted to bring her love of science into their preschool, so began volunteering weekly and became known as “Fran, the Science Lady.”  As her boys grew, Fran became involved in elementary school science, and eventually joined the faculty of Worcester Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts where she taught for ten years. Twice the student body dedicated their yearbook to “Doc Smith,” and she was the only teacher ever to be voted twice as “Teacher of the Year.”

Fran had an illustrious career while been published many times and receiving numerous awards and accolades –but you can read that elsewhere.  What distinguished Fran as a truly extraordinary human being was her ability to change people’s lives – literally.  A good number of today’s young scientists were inspired by Fran, their chemistry teacher.  So many adolescents, who were in pain due to personal issues and family hardships found solace because of the support, guidance and love provided by Fran.

Back to 2002.  Fran and David decided to approach the cancer treatment aggressively.  Five weeksafter the diagnosis, on the day before Thanksgiving, David was killed in an automobile accident.  He was exactly the age my father had been at his death, and now, at age 44, Fran was a widow, the mother of three boys, ages 7-13, and one who had to get up from her mourning to return to chemotherapy.

I have never known anyone stronger. Fran followed through with the plan she and David had made which included chemotherapy, radiation and a double mastectomy. She was resolute that she would get well.  And she did.  She returned to teaching, was an ever-present mom who allowed her boys to grow with independence, and, never having been a distance bike rider, trained to ride in the Pan Mass Challenge, the largest bike-a-thon fundraiser in the country, with all proceeds going to Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

In 2005, Fran became the faculty advisor of Worcester Academy’s “Walk and Rock,” a combination walk-a-thon and music festival also dedicated to raising funds for Dana Farber. This event proved to be empowering and nourishing for many of Fran’s students who had experienced their own losses.

Outside of school, Fran lived vibrantly.  There was great joy in Fran’s home, and she and the boys laughed a lot.  They hiked, kayaked, traveled, went to theater and the movies and spent time with friends.  Fran and I cherished our annual family get-togethers, dinner and game-night in the Berkshires.  Our children became like family.  Fran was the personal tutor for each of our daughters as they navigated the pleasures of AP chemistry!

About three years ago, when Fran and the boys were visiting our home, she complained that she’d been suffering pain in her arm.  We tried to hide our alarm and worry – and were devastated but not too surprised to learn a few weeks later that the cancer had returned.  And metastasized.

After signing on for a clinical trial at Dana Farber, the next big decision Fran made was to travel with Daniel, Matthew and Adam.  She had never visited Israel, and wanted to go there as a family while she was able.  The trip meant suspending the treatment for a few weeks, and it meant travelling with three strapping, athletic sons — the ultimate physical challenge.  The “Brothers”, as Daniel, Matthew and Adam refer to themselves, did test Fran every day, and she passed with flying colors.  It was a vacation of a lifetime.

Fran always went for aggressive treatment because she was adamant about living for as long as possible — wanting to see her boys graduate, first from high school, then college.  She shared with me her hopes to see them married, and maybe even become a grandmother. She knew that participating in clinical trials was risky, but she trusted her Dana Farber medical team and was willing to try anything – even when she had to travel multiple times a week through Boston rush-hour traffic, and spend 12 or 14 hours a day at the hospital.  I can’t count how many times she said, “I’ll do whatever I have to do – anything, to be here for my boys.”  Fran was blessed with the most spectacular friends and neighbors who helped her every step of the way.  Of course, to have good friends, you must be a good friend.

Back in the late ’70s, Fran, our roommate Cathy Chin and I had gone to a James Taylor concert. In 2012 Fran told me that she really wanted to see him again, and knew he performed every summer at Tanglewood, near my home.  We made a date.  By July 4th, Fran was already pretty tired. We were able to squeeze a nap in between Pittsfield’s Hometown Parade and the concert. It was a glorious day from start to finish – the kind of day you remember for years to come.

Worcester Academy invited Fran to be the graduation speaker this past May.  Her youngest son, Adam, a member of the graduating class, was a student speaker, making the day even more special. With all her wisdom and life experience, Fran’s remarks hit it out of the park; she shared important life lessons about resilience, support, perspective, friends and happiness.  Everyone in the auditorium that day knew Fran’s story.  Her presentation was tremendous – she made everyone cry, but she made us all laugh, too.

At the beginning of August, Fran wasn’t feeling well.  The doctors found brain lesions.  Even then, Fran said she was still in fighting mode and there was reason to be hopeful.  She agreed to start full brain radiation and then take whatever next steps were recommended.  At the same time, she made plans to take Adam to his first day of college.  Two weeks later, she did just that, and made his bed just as she had done for Daniel and Matthew on their first day of college.

In early September, about five days before she passed away, Fran shared with us that she was ready to go.  She knew she had fought a good fight, and didn’t want any more pain and suffering.  Even in that decision, Fran showed tremendous courage.  We took Fran to sit outside one last time. She smiled serenely and commented how beautiful everything looked, including the garden she and the boys had planted in David’s memory.

I miss Fran very much, but when I feel sad and teary, I remind myself that I can honor Fran best by emulating her, by being resilient, brave, hopeful and, above all, by finding joy in life every day.  And when I talk or visit with Daniel, Matthew and Adam, three truly remarkable young men, I know Fran, my friend and my hero, is still here on earth.