Obituaries | 1940-1949

HENRI R.M. SALAUN, 88, a professional squash player who was a four-time U.S. national squash champion, died June 4, 2014. At the age of 14, he and his mother fled France for England and then came to the United States. Always an excellent athlete and tennis player, he learned English and was accepted to Wesleyan where he joined Alpha Delta Phi and competed nationally in tennis and squash. After two years at Wesleyan before he was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to Germany, where he served in Patton’s 3^rd Army and was the sole survivor of a German ambush. When he was discharged he returned to Wesleyan and finished his studies, earning his degree with honors, while continuing his squash career. He won the first international U.S. Open of squash in 1954, won the U.S. championship four times, and won the Canadian Open eight times. He continued to play competitively into his 70s. A member of the inaugural class of the U.S. Squash Racquets Hall of Fame, he was also named to the first Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame class in 2008. He was the founder of Henri Salaun Sports, Inc., a sporting equipment company. Survivors include his wife, Emily Macy Salaun; two sons, including Georges V. Salaun ’85; and six grandchildren.

JOHN G. EASTON JR., a retired marketing manager for Aetna Life & Casualty, died Feb. 3, 2014, at age 87. The son of John G. Easton Sr., of the class of 1913, he was a member of Alpha Delta Phi and a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II. He attended Fordham Law School but left to begin a life-long career with Aetna, beginning in sales and moving into management positions in the Northeast. Predeceased by his wife, Geraldine Betts Easton, among those who survive are two daughters, three grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

WILLIAM B. MERVINE, former national sales manager for Kaiser Aluminum, died July 4, 2014. He was 93. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he received an MBA from New York University. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces and was later awarded the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters as well as the Presidential Citation for meritorious achievement while participating in sustained bomber combat. After his retirement from Kaiser, he worked for Alcoa. His son, Richard Mervine ’75, predeceased him. Survivors include his wife, June Miller Mervine, and one daughter.

LAWRENCE ALEXANDER, who retired as the administrative attorney for the Connecticut Supreme and Appellate courts, died June 5, 2014, at age 91. After serving in the front lines at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, he received his bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan with honors and then received a law degree from Columbia University. He was a member of Sigma Chi. He and his first wife, Colleen Spielman Alexander, the mother of his four children, moved to the Philadelphia area, where he was an executive in a family business before returning to the law as a Pennsylvania assistant attorney general. He then moved to Connecticut, where he continued his work for political and social causes. After retiring in 1993, he continued to work for private practice attorneys, taught paralegal courses, and served a two-year term as a magistrate in small claims court. Survivors include his wife, Ruth F. Alexander; four children, including David Alexander ’74; two stepchildren; five grandchildren, including Molly B. Alexander ’09 and Jaclyn Alexander ’09; two step-grandchildren; and a nephew, Marc Levin ’73. He was the brother-in-law of the late Alan M. Levin ’46.

F. EDWARD (Muzz) MOLINA, the retired president of Edward Molina Designs, Inc., died Sept. 17, 2014. He was 93. A member of Psi Upsilon, he served in the U.S. Navy as a bi-lingual flight instructor during World War II. Later, he received an MBA from Dartmouth College and began a successful career in the textile industry. An avid athlete and traveler, he was also a loyal fan of Wesleyan football. In retirement, he became a community volunteer. His wife, Margaret Shippen Grubb Molina, predeceased him, as did a granddaughter. Among those who survive are three daughters; one son; nine grandchildren, including Dana E. Matthiessen ’09; and four great-grandchildren.