Author: Cynthia Rockwell

LYNNE MacFARLANE, a corporate human resources executive, died Nov. 1, 2013. She was 61. A pioneer in women’s rights and civil rights in the corporate setting, she started her career at Aetna Life Insurance Company, worked for several other large corporations, and ended it with Jones Apparel as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Nine West Division. In addition to her work in human resources, which included working extensively with executive, senior managers, and Boards of Directors to optimize the culture, morale, and productivity of their workforces, she managed mergers and acquisitions, store and plant openings and closings, union negotiations, building and relocating corporate headquarters operations, associate communications, and public and community relations. She was also a graduate of the Cornell University human resources executive program. Survivors include her husband, George W. Jett Jr. ’72, her son, two stepchildren, three brothers, and a large extended family.

JAMES A. EATON JR., 60, an owner and chief financial officer of Eaton Office Supply, died Oct. 24, 2013. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and earned his MBA from the University of Buffalo. Before joining the family business, which is the largest independent family office supply company in the Buffalo, N.Y., region, he worked for Price Waterhouse. He was also an active community volunteer.

DOUGLAS S. MAYNARD, 65, the owner and operator of Investment & Tax Strategies, died Nov. 1, 2013. He was a member of Chi Psi. An avid lacrosse player, he had an outstanding lacrosse career at Wesleyan and continued to coach lacrosse at the high school and college level. His wife, Lorrie Cook Maynard, survives, as do four siblings and many nieces and nephews.

DAVID B. SULLIVAN, 66, a retired judge on the New Hampshire Superior Court, died Aug. 18, 2013. The son of Charles B. Sullivan of the class of 1943, and the brother of the late Luther G. Sullivan of the class of 1973, he was a member of Alpha Delta Phi. He received his law degree from Boston University Law School. He began his law career at what is now the McLane Law Firm in Manchester and joined his father and brother at Cheever and Sullivan in Wilton, N.H., in 1978. Appointed to the New Hampshire Superior Court in 1991, he retired in 2007, but continued to serve as an active retired judge. He was involved in community service. Among those who survive are his wife, Elizabeth Bloomberg Sullivan; three children, including Danforth B. Sullivan ’06; his daughter-in-law, Gina M. Tassone ’05; three grandchildren; his mother; and two brothers.

SIBLEY P. REPPERT, a trial attorney who was also a competitive rower and blue-water sailor, died Aug. 21, 2013. He was 68. A member of EQV, he received his degree summa cum laude and with high honors from the College of Social Studies. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and continued his education at Christ Church, Oxford, where he received a degree in politics in 1969. After several years in the U.S. Navy, he earned a law degree from Harvard University and joined a law firm in Boston. His career as a litigator spanned three decades, and he won major cases in patent litigation, as well the national asbestos property damage litigation, breast implant cases, and in large construction, insurance, and professional malpractice cases. During his career he was a partner at several law firms, most recently Pearl, Cohen, Zedek, Lazter, Baratz. A lifelong competitive rower, he was a founding member of the Wesleyan University crew team. He rowed for the Union Boat Club in Boston, competing in hundreds of regattas around the U.S. and internationally. He also sailed extensively, crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as cruising extensively along the Atlantic seaboard and throughout the Caribbean. Survivors include his wife, Christine Ann Vezetinski; two daughters, including Victoria C. Reppert ’04; his sister, and two nephews.

GUNTIS V. LEMESIS, 69, a corporate executive who specialized in employee compensation and benefits, died Jan. 13, 2013. He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi. After working for New York State Electric and Gas, Honeywell, and United Airlines, he rose to the rank of vice president at GTE, and then retired from Scientific-Atlanta. After retirement he worked as a consultant, mainly for nonprofits. During his career he taught courses and published articles in his field. He is survived by his wife, Susan Durden Lemesis, one daughter, two grandchildren, his brother and sister, and several nieces and nephews.

MICHAEL S. PALMER, M.D., a physician and best-selling novelist who helped popularize the genre of medical thrillers, died Oct. 29, 2013. He was 71. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University and served in the U.S. Public Health Service. He served as a clinical instructor in medicine at Tufts University and was on the faculties of Harvard Medical School and the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine. At the time of his death he was an associate director emeritus of Physician Health Services. His debut book, The Sisterhood, sold millions of copies worldwide and is still in print today. He wrote 19 more New York Times best-selling novels that have been translated in 35 foreign countries. Extreme Measures, his fourth novel, was made into a movie in 1996. He was an accomplished bridge player, adventurous traveler, and a musician. Survivors include his companion, Robin Broady; three children, including Matthew A. Palmer ’88; four grandchildren; and two sisters.

JOHN A. REEDER JR., 71, an attorney who was chief counsel for British Petroleum Alaska for 22 years, died July 23, 2013. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta and received his law degree from Southern Methodist University. After serving in the Peace Corps for two years and working as house counsel for a small energy startup in Dallas, he moved to Alaska, where he spent three years as the chief attorney in the Anchorage branch of the Attorney General’s office. He then joined BP, where his work spanned most of the major issues the industry has faced, including the development of the Prudhoe Bay oil field and the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. After leaving BP, he served several more years as an independent oil and gas consultant. His wife, Loisann Lindemood Reeder, survives.

JAMES M. MATTSON, a real estate appraiser, died July 23, 2013, at age 72. He was a member of Kappa Nu Kappa and served in the U.S. Coast Guard. His career in real estate spanned more than 40 years. Survivors include three children, three grandchildren, two sisters, and a large extended family.

F. PARKER BARTLETT III, a banker and real estate agent, died Aug. 6, 2013. He was 74. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he served with U.S. Army Intelligence. As vice president of Chemical Bank, he opened their first branch in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, later moving to Maine, where he became a real estate agent and was active in the Lincoln Arts Festival. He is survived by his wife, Frances Matko Bartlett, two children, and a large extended family.