Author: Randi Alexandra Plake

Peter C. Reed, a corporate executive, died Aug. 10, 2017. He was 72. After receiving his degree cum laude, he received an MBA from the University of Rochester in operations research. A two-time NCAA wrestling champion at Wesleyan, he worked summers as a road construction foreman on the I-87 Northway. As a CFO and CEO, he had a diverse career spanning computers, military equipment, and aerospace. He is survived by his wife, Brona Barnes Reed, two sons, three brothers and sisters, and an extended family.

Kirtland C. Mead, 74, an international management consultant, died Nov. 26, 2017. He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi and received his degree magna cum laude. Elected to both Phi Beta Kappa and to Sigma Xi, he was a Fulbright Scholar and then received a master’s degree from Stanford in physics and a PhD in engineering from MIT. During his varied and successful international management consulting practice, he lived for a time in Paris and in London, and wrote guides to these and other European cities that he shared with friends and family. He was also an expert in European history. Survivors include his wife, Susan Eldredge Mead; two daughters; four grandchildren; two brothers, including his twin; as well as a large extended family.

Michael O. Smith, M.D., a psychiatrist, acupuncturist, addiction specialist and public health planner who was the director of New York City’s Lincoln Hospital Recovery Center from 1974 to 2011 when he retired, died Dec. 24, 2017, at age 75. He was a member of the John Wesley Club. After receiving his degree magna cum laude and with high honors from the College of Letters, he received his medical degree from the University of California Medical School in San Francisco. An associate professor of psychiatry at Cornell Medical School, now Weill Cornell Medicine, he was certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine. He was internationally known for developing the use of acupuncture in the field of chemical dependency. More than 2,000 treatment programs worldwide use the Lincoln Hospital model. As chairperson of the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association, he provided consultation to city, county, state, federal, and United Nations agencies in more than 100 settings. He was the first person selected for the National Drug Court Hall of Fame. Among those who survive are two daughters, including Joanna S. Smith ’00.

John G. Sommer, 76, the dean of the study abroad program at the School for International Training from 1981-1999, died Nov. 11, 2017. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in letters. He also received a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School for International Studies in 1968. His career, dedicated to advancing international understanding and development, began as a volunteer building schools in South Vietnam. Co-author of the 1969 book, Viet Nam: The Unheard Voices, he chronicled a growing concern about U.S. action in Vietnam during the late ’60s. From 1970-1975 he served with the Ford Foundation in India, and from 1975-1980 in Washington, D.C., where he had senior positions at the Peace Corps and USAID. In 1981 he joined SIT, where under his leadership more than 14,000 students participated in more than 40 countries. In his honor, SIT established a scholarship in his name. He also served as vice president of Eisenhower Fellowships, an exchange program for emerging world leaders, based in Philadelphia. In 2007 he returned to Vermont. In addition to two children and five grandchildren, he leaves his partner, Ann Wright-Parsons; his former wife, Wendy Solmssen Sommer; and his brother.

Walter C. Wheeler, a broadcast journalist, died Dec. 2, 2017. He was 76. A member of Gamma Psi, he served in the U.S. Army after which he began his broadcast journalism career working for radio stations in Connecticut. In 1968 he joined NBC News in New York City as a radio and TV reporter and news anchor. His career included stints with UPI and CBS, where he was chief political reporter for more than a decade. He was also vice president of news at Empire State Network, a state radio network serving stations across New York, which he founded along with colleagues from WCBS. Later, he served as deputy chief of public affairs at New York State’s Division of Military and Naval Affairs, where he participated in various emergency management exercises, and was the spokesman and webmaster. After retirement he created and maintained websites for commercial, non-profit and municipal entities; he was also a firefighter for many years. Among those who survive are his wife, Linda Wheeler, two daughters, a stepson, two granddaughters, a brother and two sisters, and a large extended family.

Jan S. Hogendorn, Grossman Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Colby College, died Oct. 10, 2017, at age 79. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he received his degree with high honors and with distinction. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship. After receiving a master’s degree and a PhD from the London School of Economics, he joined the faculty of Boston University briefly before moving to Colby. Born in Hawaii and evacuated by flying boat after Pearl Harbor, he grew up in Oskaloosa, Iowa, where he was a champion high school debater, won the 1956 Voice of Democracy contest, and addressed that year’s Democratic convention. In 1958 he was in the inaugural group of students to visit Africa as part of Operation Crossroads Africa. Inspired by the promise of economic growth in Africa, he decided to major in economics. His PhD subject was British colonial agricultural policy in northern Nigeria. In 1966 he became assistant professor of economics at Colby. He later served as chair of the economics department and was appointed the Grossman Professor of Economics in 1977. He visited Nigeria and Britain several times, including a visit to Oxford University on a Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship. During his career he published more than 50 articles and essays; multiple editions of textbooks in introductory, international, and developmental economics; and three books on the history of agriculture, slavery, and abolition in West Africa. Later, he participated in local politics, serving several times as moderator of the Vassalboro (Me.) Town Meeting. He is survived by his wife, Dianne Hodet Hogendorn; his son, Christiaan, associate professor of economics at Wesleyan; his daughter-in-law, Erika Naginski; and two grandchildren.

80. Wayne Harbinger, an osteopathic physician who specialized in musculoskeletal problems, died Dec. 25, 2017, at age 80. He was a member of Chi Psi and graduated from the Kirksville College of Osteopathy. During his 50 years in private practice, he also served in leadership roles for the American Osteopathic Association and the New York State Osteopathic Medical Society. At the Albany Academy, he was team physician and initiated a student trainer program. He spent many years coordinating and teaching EMT and First Aid/CPR programs in his area, and he was appointed chairman of the advisory council on physician assistants by three New York State governors. Survivors include his wife, Joyce Daudel Harbinger, three children, and six grandchildren.

William H. Higgins, a teacher and psychologist, died July 31, 2017. He was 80. A member of Chi Psi, he received a master’s degree from the University of Connecticut and an EdD from Columbia University. After teaching high school English, he worked as a psychologist and college psychology professor. An avid athlete, he coached baseball and soccer. His wife, Alice Dostal Higgins, survives, as do three children and three grandchildren.

Duncan Wall, 84, a retired librarian, died Jan. 9, 2018. He was a member of Delta Upsilon and received his degree with honors and with distinction in English. After receiving a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University, he began a long and distinguished career as a librarian at public and university libraries. A leader in the transformation of library science through technology, he developed a unique expertise in planning and developing user-friendly library buildings, and in taking cataloguing systems online. He also honored obscure library history, writing about the library innovations of Maria Mitchell, better known as a professional astronomer. In 1967 he and his family moved to Ontario, Canada, where he integrated the province’s university libraries into a single system. An advocate of reproductive health information, while director of the library at Kent State University he founded a free clinic for students to access reproductive health services. A baseball fan and former player at Wesleyan, he was also known for his prodigious newspaper reading each day. Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Carol Carter Wall; three children, including Suzanne L. Wall ’80; several grandchildren; his sister; and his half brother.

John M. Williamson, a retired packaging engineer at Eastman Kodak, died Jul. 31, 2016. He was 85. A member of Gamma Psi, he was a U.S. Army veteran. His wife, Joanne Siegenthaler Williamson, survives, as do three children and seven grandchildren.