JOHN PFEIFFER JR., who worked at Bell Laboratories, died Mar. 3, 2017, at age 87. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi and received a master’s degree from Georgia State University. During the Korean War he served in the U.S. Army and then joined the Bell Telephone System in 1954, where he remained until he retired in 1985. He was active in sports and civic affairs. Predeceased by his wife, Nancy Vandiver Booth, survivors include three children and seven grandchildren.
JÉRÔME MONOD, a French business executive and political adviser, died Aug. 18, 2016. He was 85. A graduate of Sciences Po and the Ecole nationale d’administration, he was the chairman of Lyonnaise des eaux, later known as Suez-Lyonnaise, from 1980 to 2000. An adviser to French President Jacques Chirac, he was a co-founder of the Rally for the Republic and the Union for a Popular Movement, two center-right political parties in France. He was also a member of the European Round Table of Industrialists. His wife, Françoise Gallot, and three children are among those who survive.
JAMES E. McKEON, a chemist and technology consultant, died Nov. 13, 2016, at age 87. He received his degree with high distinction in chemistry and was elected to Sigma Xi. After receiving a master’s degree from Wesleyan, he received a PhD in organic chemistry from Yale University. He joined Union Carbide as a research chemist in 1959 and became vice president of the specialty chemicals division in 1984, after a long career there in research and development. The holder of U.S. and foreign patents,, he published numerous articles in scientific publications. After his distinguished career at Union Carbide, he began his own technology consulting business, Baseline Technologies. He was a member of the American Chemical Society, the New York Academy of Science, and was very active politically, having served as Selectman for the town of New Fairfield (Conn.) in 2005. Among those who survive are his wife, BettyLou McKeon, four sons, 12 grandchildren, two siblings, three stepsons, and many nieces and nephews. Other survivors include his stepdaughter-in-law, Jacquelyn M. Roberts ’82, and his step-granddaughter, Simone Roberts-Payne ’20. His first wife, Patricia Tuttle McKeon, and two brothers predeceased him.
ROBERT GARDNER, an honored science teacher and administrator, who wrote numerous science books for children, died Apr. 3, 2017. He was 88. A member of Sigma Chi, he received his degree with honors and was elected to Sigma Xi. He also received a master’s degree from Trinity College and a Certificate of Advanced Study from Wesleyan in 1963. From 1957 to 1979 he was granted National Science Foundation and Department of Energy stipends for summer study at Wesleyan University, Bowdoin College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Providence College. While on sabbatical in 1983-1984, he was a Klingenstein Fellow at Teachers College, Columbia University. He taught science and coached football and baseball at the Salisbury School from 1952 to 1989, and chaired the school’s science department from 1959 to 1989. He also served as the Salisbury Summer School’s Director of Admissions from 1976 to 1987. The physics lab at the school bears his name, as does an annually awarded athletic medal. While on leave from the school, he worked as a staff developer at the Education Development Center’s Elementary Science Study (ESS) and the Physical Science Group (PSG), where he was involved in the development and writing of ESS science units and the development, writing, and pilot teaching of Introduction to Physical Science and Physical Science II. After retiring from teaching in 1989, he moved to Cape Cod where he pursued a second career as an author of science books for children of all ages. During his lifetime, he wrote or co-authored over 200 books. In 2010 he received a lifetime achievement award for hands-on science writing. Bob was an inveterate cyclist who spent many hours exploring Cape Cod’s bike trails, and walking them in cold weather. He was well known for the many ways he volunteered: driving the Eastham Council on Aging’s shopping van weekly; taking people to medical appointments for FISH and Roads to Recovery; serving on and presiding over various boards at the Eastham COA, Eastham Library, the Eastham Water Advisory Board and the Eastham Forum, where he served as their newsletter editor for a number of years. In 2001 he was named Senior Citizen of the Year by Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands. Predeceased by his wife, Natalie Sanford Gardner, in 2000, he is survived by his wife, Patsy; a son, John T. Gardner ’74; a daughter; four grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; two sisters; and several nephews and nieces.
CHARLES F. WALDEN, who worked for Phillips Petroleum, died Apr. 14, 2017, at age 88. He was the son of Donald M. Walden of the class of 1916. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. A 25-year employee of Phillips, he was active in his community. His wife, Sally Lacock Walden, survives, as do five children, 13 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
FRANK L. GRUSKAY, a longtime pediatrician in the New Haven, Conn., area, died Dec. 18, 2016. He was 87. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in biology. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and to Sigma Xi. After receiving his medical degree from Yale University, he completed a residency in pediatrics and also served in the U.S. Army for two years. Moving to New Haven, he entered private practice and in 1961 co-founded the Milford Pediatric Group, where he continued to work for 55 years. A man of many interests, his kind and gentle manner drew his patients to him. His wife of 61 years, Bette Gordon Gruskay, died in 2013, and his daughter, Susan G. Warford ’80, died in April 2016. Among those who survive are two children; two sons-in-law; six grandchildren; his brother, Robert H. Gruskay ’54; a niece, Holly D. Gruskay ’83; and his companion, Gilda Lender.
JOHN F. SNOW SR., a former English teacher, died Feb. 23, 2017, at age 92. He was the son of the late Professor of English emeritus Charles Wilbert Snow, and the brother of Charles W. Snow of the class of 1947 and of Nicholas Snow of the class of 1949. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he left college to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps and served in the Pacific during World War II. After the war he completed his degree in English at UCLA and returned to his family’s summer home in Maine, where he worked at a cement plant and as a lobsterman. In 1967 he entered graduate school and received an MAT from Wesleyan in 1968. He then taught high school English in Middletown for 11 years. Predeceased by his second wife, Lyn Seagraves Sampson, he is survived by five children, seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, his youngest brother, three stepchildren, and a niece, Caitlin S. Clark ’03.
DAVID L. PIERCE, a public relations executive, died Mar. 16, 2017. He was 89. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he was a U.S. Army veteran and served during the Korean War. After the war he received a master’s degree in journalism from the Columbia University School of Journalism. He co-founded Pierce Brown Associates, a public relations firm in Rochester, N.Y. He also played Dixieland jazz trombone. Survivors include his wife, Elaine Smith Pierce, three children, and six grandchildren.
THEODORE B. PATCHEN JR., a retired executive with Travelers Insurance, died Feb. 19, 2017, at age 94. He was a member of Alpha Chi Rho. As a U.S. Army Air Corps captain and navigator during World War II, he and his crew were shot down and captured. He remained a prisoner of war until liberated at the end of the war. He worked for Travelers for more than 30 years. Among those who survive are his wife, Constance Butwell Patchen, two daughters, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
ROGER E. KNAPPE, a pharmaceutical chemist, died Mar. 17, 2017. He was 89. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. After serving in the Pacific, he returned to his career as a pharmaceutical chemist and worked for American Cyanamid for more than 40 years. He was also an avid sailor. Predeceased by his wife, Margaret Gallagher Knappe, survivors include five sons, seven grandchildren, and his sister.
