ARTHUR B. VINCENT, a chemist, and the brother of Robert W. Pooley ’42, died July 18, 2003. He was 88. He was a member of Sigma Chi and had been a chemist with the Stanley Chemical Company for 30 years. Among those who survive are his wife, Louise Dowling Vincent, four children, and his brother.
AUSTIN F. STEPHAN, 95, the retired executive vice president of Insurance Management Inc., died Jan. 17, 2010. He was a member of Delta Upsilon and was active in civic activities in the New Haven, Conn., area. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Parmelee Stephan, two children, five grandchildren, and three great–grandchildren.
GEORGE C. SNYDER, a Methodist minister and former English teacher, died Oct. 19, 2006. He was 91. A member of Sigma Chi, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in philosophy. He received both a master’s degree and a theology degree from Boston University. Among those who survive are his wife, Shirley Bell Snyder, and three children, including James G. Snyder ’62.
RICHARD P. SMITH, 91, the retired vice president, general counsel, and secretary of the Board of Directors of the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company, died Apr. 27, 2006. After receiving his degree with high distinction in economics, he received a law degree from the Hartford College of Law (now the University of Connecticut Law School). He was a member of Alpha Chi Rho and served in the U.S. Army during World War II as Judge Advocate General of the 9th and 71st infantry divisions. After the war he wrote several articles about the Nuremberg trials. Active in politics, he served a term as the mayor of West Hartford. Survivors include his wife, Elizabeth Taylor Smith, two daughters, and two grandsons.
STEWART P. SEIGLE, M.D., a gastroenterologist who was a founding member and past president of the American Society of Internal Medicine, died Dec. 10, 2003, at age 88. A member of Alpha Chi Rho, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in biology and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received a medical degree from Harvard Medical School. During World War II he served in the U.S. Navy. He practiced internal medicine and gastroenterology in Hartford, Conn., for 33 years, after which he volunteered in medical clinics. Predeceased by his wife, Elizabeth Seigle, survivors include a son, Peter M. Seigle ’71; three daughters; three grandchildren; and his longtime companion, Barbara Ekster.
ABRAHAM SCHLOSSMAN, M.D., 87, an ophthalmologist and the co-discoverer of the Posner-Schlossman syndrome, died May 30, 2005. A member of Commons Club, he received his degree with distinction in economics. He earned a master?s degree from Columbia University and a medical degree from N.Y.U. The founder and first president of the Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists, he was the author of numerous publications and a faculty member at several medical schools. Among those who survive are his wife, Carolyn Sondheimer Schlossman, and a daughter.
ROBERT E. RUTHERFORD, 93, who retired as general manager of the Carnation Company, died Jan. 25, 2008. He was a member of Chi Psi and received degrees from Whitworth College and Gonzaga University, where he also taught. He was active in community organizations that helped to care for the less fortunate. Predeceased by a daughter, among those who survive are his wife, Barbara Jenney Rutherford; two children, including Robert E. Rutherford Jr. ’64, M.D.; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Blake Reynolds, exuberant lover of life and father of three, died at home surrounded by his family September 8 in Damariscotta, Maine. He was 93. Mr. Reynolds was born in Mount Vernon, NY, graduated from Wesleyan University in Connecticut (class of ’36) and received a Masters from M.I.T. His love of and loyalty to Wesleyan caused him recently to grant six full scholarships per year to the University.
Mr. Reynolds was an aeronautical engineer for Pratt & Whitney, assigned to the 3000-HP Twin Wasp Engine, and Lawrance Aeronautical Corporation where he worked on the auxiliary power plants used in the Elco PT boats. He moved on to Texaco Development Corporation where he worked first as a combustion engineer and then a chemical engineer until his retirement. His varied career and later life interests proved that he enjoyed learning throughout his life.
He married Sally Sergeant of Nutley, NJ, and began married life in Montclair, NJ, where two daughters were born, Laurie and Jancie. The couple then moved to Riverside, CT, and had a third child, a son George. They joined the Riverside Yacht Club and began their long love affair with boats and the water. Mr. Reynolds joined the Power Squadron and became an all-course member, also teaching half the courses offered. Fitted with such knowledge, the couple enjoyed sailboat racing and cruising New England and other areas. They lived in Riverside for 57 years.
After a four year stop at Evergreen Woods, a retirement community in North Branford, CT, the couple moved to Damariscotta, ME, where Mrs. Reynolds entered an Alzheimer’s unit of Miles Health Care and Mr. Reynolds an apartment at Schooner Cove, also part of Miles. With two daughters living in the area, Mr. Reynolds stated: “I now reside 3-minutes walk from Sal, 14 miles from Laurie and 10 miles from Jancie. I’m not moving!” Mrs. Reynolds died in 2003.
Mr. Reynolds is survived by his daughters, Laurie Asche of Wiscasset, Maine, Jancie Olson of Bremen, Maine, and son George Reynolds of Santa Cruz, Calif., and four grandchildren; Lucy and Hilary Olson and Jamandru and Judah Reynolds.
Services will be private. Arrangements are entrusted to the care of the Strong Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 612 Main Street, Damariscotta.
CARL E. POTTS, 90, an analytical chemist who retired after 40 years with the Anaconda American Brass Company, died Nov. 3, 2004. He was a member of Delta Upsilon. At the time of his retirement was the supervisor of the laboratory in Ansonia, Conn. Survivors include his wife of 66 years, Joyce Watson Potts, three children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
BAXTER S. PATRICK, 98, director of alumni relations at Wesleyan from 1956 to 1968 and an avid amateur violinist, died Aug. 12, 2011. A member of Delta Sigma, he received a master’s degree from Columbia University. After teaching high school English for several years, he pursued an administrative career that include service as an FBI agent during World War II, a personnel officer, and a dean at Antioch College, in addition to his position at Wesleyan. He later became a commercial real estate broker and entrepreneur. In 1983 he moved to North Carolina, where he was a strong supporter of music and continued to perform on the violin. His wife, Grace Farley, predeceased him, as did one son. He is survived by two sons, including James B. Patrick II ’66, and a granddaughter.
