Author: Randi Alexandra Plake

MATTHEW D. LAMOTHE, a film producer, died Jan. 16, 2017, at age 30. A government major, he started his career working at Interactive Creative Management before becoming a producer at a private film production company. He later joined Tommy V Films. Notably, he was the executive producer for the award-nominated I’ll See You in My Dreams, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival; Intruders, which screened at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival; and most recently, London Town. He enjoyed sports of all kinds, watching movies, and traveling around the world to exciting places where he met new people and experienced great opportunities. Among those who survive are his parents, Laura Beaudin Lamothe and Henri Lamothe ’80, M.D.; five siblings; his maternal grandparents; and many uncles, aunts, and cousins.

MARK P. ANDERSON, a corporate attorney, died Dec. 20, 2016, at age 57. After earning his law degree at the University of Connecticut School of Law, he worked for Shipman and Goodwin before joining the Travelers Insurance Company Special Liabilities Group, where he spent 26 years. At Wesleyan he was an All-American shortstop; he was inducted into the Wesleyan Baseball Wall of Fame. He was an avid reader and he also coached his sons’ youth baseball teams in Hebron, Conn. Survivors include his wife, Juleann Quigley Anderson ’81, MAL’98; his parents; two sons; his sisters; several aunts; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

GARRETT J. DELEHANTY JR., an attorney who specialized in commercial real estate law, died Nov. 13, 2016. He was 64. A graduate of Columbia University Law School, at the time of his death he had just celebrated his fortieth anniversary practicing commercial real estate law. He began his career in private practice in California, served as counsel for a hotel chain headquartered in Georgia, and held several further positions, both in law firms and in-house, before joining Kroll, McNamara, Evan & Delehanty LLP, in West Harford, Conn., where he had been a partner since 1999. He was also an avid golfer, traveler, and reader. Among those who survive are his wife, Sharon Lowman, his daughter, a grandson, and numerous cousins.

OSCAR L. LOOK JR., a lobster fisherman, died July 10, 2014, at age 63. Known for his skill and passion for fishing, he was a mentor, friend, and storyteller to many. He had an extensive literary knowledge and also wrote prose and poetry. As well, he was an active community volunteer. Survivors include his mother, Virginia Mitchell Abbott Look [who died in 2015], four brothers and sisters, a large extended family of nieces and nephews, and a close friend, Elyse Beth Rudner.

GREGORY L. MAIRE, an architect and interior designer, died Oct. 4, 2015. He was 67. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and received a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard University. He had a long career as an architect and designer until he closed his first studio, Gregory Maire Architect Ltd., in 2005. His homes and designs can be seen on Chicago’s Gold Coast and throughout the North Shore suburbs. His firm was the consulting architects for renovations at The Baha’i Temple in Wilmette, and his international work reached as far as Saudi Arabia. Equally well known for his historically accurate detail or innovative design, his work has been published in a number of architecture and design magazines, as well as The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune. He was a board member and past president of DIFFA, the Design Industry Foundation for AIDS for many years, and he worked pro bono for the Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest helping to design a handicapped-accessible artist studio for their residency program. In recent years, he began to paint prolifically and had several shows. He was also instrumental in helping to create “Michael’s Museum: A Curious Collection of Tiny Treasures,” which went on to become a permanent exhibit at the Chicago Children’s Museum on Navy Pier. He is survived by his partner of more than 40 years, Michael Horvich, and a brother.

WILLIAM F. OCHS, a scholar, performer and teacher of Irish traditional music, especially the tin whistle, died Oct. 5, 2016. He was 70. A cum laude graduate who earned high honors in French and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, he earned an MFA in theater at Sarah Lawrence College. He dedicated his life’s work to playing, teaching, and understanding the history of Irish wind instruments: the tin whistle, wooden flute and uilleann pipes. He sought out teachers in the U.S. and Ireland at a time when almost nobody in the U.S. was playing the instrument. The recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to study in Ireland for six months, he was also involved with the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan, where he taught for more than 40 years through 2015. Throughout his long career, he explored many aspects of traditional music: performing, researching and writing, producing albums of other musicians, creating transcriptions of tunes, and teaching. In addition he was a political activist as well as an outdoorsman. Among those who survive are his partner, Margaret Vetare, and his sister.

DAVID A. BERRY, a playwright and screenwriter, died Dec. 16, 2016, at age 73. A member of the Commons Club, he enlisted in the U.S. Army shortly after graduation. He studied theater and European history, but did not set out to write plays. When he was writing a novel inspired by his Army service in the Vietnam War, his former wife, Robin Schmidt, urged him to turn it into a play. It became G. R. Point, which ran off-Broadway before moving to Broadway in 1979. The play earned him an Obie award for distinguished playwriting. In 1980 his play, The Whales of August, was presented at the WPA Theater in Manhattan, and in 1987 he wrote the screenplay for the movie version, which starred Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, and Ann Sothern. After the success of his two plays he continued to write and teach at several institutions, including the National Theater Institute in Waterford, Conn., and more recently, the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. In addition to his former wife, he is survived by his sister, his brother, and a stepdaughter, Julia Lee Barclay-Morton ’86.

ROBERT E. KILLHEFFER, who retired as a Yale University librarian, died Oct. 2, 2016. He was 72. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa, he received his degree cum laude and with honors in letters. He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi. After receiving master’s degrees in history and in library science, he went on to a career than spanned more than 35 years at the Yale University libraries as a catalogue librarian and team cataloguer, manager, and mentor to many. He made significant professional contributions throughout his career, supporting the organization of the Yale Library collection, participating actively in the American Library Association, and serving as a liaison between Yale’s Sterling Library and the Library of Congress. He also collected rare books and special editions. After his retirement from Yale he volunteered as a cataloguer in the Hamden, Conn., library. Survivors include his wife, Anne Blankenbaker; four children from a previous marriage; eight grandchildren; and his sister and brother.

WILLIAM A. HAUSER, an outdoorsman and musician, died Oct. 21, 2016. He was 72. A member of Eclectic, he received a master’s degree in Slavonic and Eastern European Studies from the University of London. During the Vietnam War he served in the U.S. Army stationed in Germany as a Russian interpreter. In addition to his love of the outdoors, he played the trumpet, sang, and acted in numerous community productions. A former Outward Bound instructor, he volunteered for the Forest Service and fought fires; he also volunteered for the annual loon count in Minnesota. His wife, Sharon Angel Magliulo, survives, as do a stepson, his sister, and several nieces and nephews.

WILLIAM B. GROSSMAN JR., a Methodist minister, died Oct. 22, 2016, at age 75. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he received master’s and doctoral degrees in divinity from Drew University. He served as pastor of many Methodist churches in upstate New York, and returned from retirement to become interim pastor of several churches. Active in Rotary International, he was a member for 48 continuous years and was a former district governor. He also played the trombone in community bands. Survivors include his wife, Laura Allene Stewart, three children, two stepdaughters, eight grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, three siblings, and a large extended family.