Obituaries | 1940-1949

EDWARD B. WILSON II, a trustee emeritus of Wesleyan University, and a retired advertising executive who spent 30 years at J. Walter Thompson, starting in the mailroom in 1947 and retiring in 1977 as chairman of the board, died Feb. 20, 2008. He was 87. A member of Alpha Chi Rho, he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. During his tenure at J. Walter Thompson, the company pioneered the use of computers for media planning and buying, and used television as a global medium. His responsibilities at the company spanned the entire country, where he was responsible for all advertising operations before becoming president and chief operating officer, and ultimately, chairman of the board. He is survived by his wife, Mary Cregier Wilson, three children, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

FRANK T. WATERS JR., a retired teacher and coach, died Dec. 19, 2003, of emphysema. He was 85 and was the brother of the late William W. Waters ’42. A member of Psi Upsilon, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and then returned after the war to finish his degree. He also worked as a personnel director. Survivors include his wife, Barbara Waters; two sons, including Frank T. Waters III ’70; a daughter; seven grandchildren, including Matthew Manseau ’02; and several nephews and nieces, including David Stearns ’57.

EDWARD WASSERMAN, M.D., 86, a retired specialist in internal medicine, died Nov. 20, 2007. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa and to Sigma Xi, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in biology. He received his medical degree from Yale University and then served in the U.S. Army. The author of scientific papers as well as newspaper columns about medicine, he practiced in Bridgeport, Conn., for 45 years. He was the first volunteer physician at the AmeriCares Free Clinic in Bridgeport. In 2005 he was named Physician of the Year by the Greater Bridgeport Medical Association. Predeceased by his cousin Albert Weinstein ’54, survivors include his wife, Helen Bernstein Wasserman, two sons, and three grandchildren.

RICHARD DAGG WADE of Virginia Beach, Va., formerly of West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, and Mahwah, N.J., died March 28, 2004, at the age of 83.

In his life he consistently took pleasure in and demonstrated commitment to his family, his community, leadership, and engineering simple creative solutions.

He was born August 21, 1920, in New York City, the son of Roscoe Hawk Wade and Birdella Dagg Wade. He graduated from Mount Hermon School in Northfield, Mass., in 1938 and from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., in 1942, where he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. During World War II Lieutenant Wade served as a meteorology officer in the U.S. Navy stationed in the Aleutian Islands after receiving aerologic training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mr. Wade married Marion Francis Lansing in June of 1943. He lost her to cancer in 1976. They had seven children.

After the war he worked as a management consultant, primarily for the firm of Stevenson, Jordan, and Harrison. During these years the family moved often living in Connecticut, Maine, and upstate New York. In 1956 they settled in Mahwah, N.J. In 1959 Mr. Wade began a 26-year career with Prentice Hall, Inc., in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. He was promoted to vice president for real estate in 1977 and retained that title until his retirement.

Mr. Wade served on the Mahwah Board of Education for ten years (including a number of years as chairman) and later on as a trustee of the Mahwah Historical Society. In addition, he was active at Christ Church of Ramapo in Suffern N.J., serving as a member of the vestry, as a warden of the parish and as a Sunday School Administrator. An avid do-it-yourselfer Mr. Wade enjoyed home-improvement projects.

He married Rose Haag in 1978. They lived in Mahwah until 1985 when they retired to Mr. Wade’s long-time summer home on Cape Cod. Mr. Wade was active in the Hyannis Park Civic Association serving as its president for several years. He also pursued his interests in vegetable gardening and painting and enjoyed family visits highlighted by clam-digging expeditions and family cookouts. They moved to Virginia Beach in 2003 to be near Rose’s daughter.

He is survived by his wife, Rose Haag Wade, of Virginia Beach. He is also survived by six children: Elizabeth (Betsy) Whitehead of Cambridge, Mass.; Margaret (Peggy) Jacobs of Center Barnstead, N.H.; Marcia Wade of New York, N.Y.; Mary Jo Wade of Noti, Ore.; Marjorie Riordan of Vienna, Va.; and Robert Wade of Haddonfield, N.J.; as well as four step-children: Lynn Mintz of Haskell, N.J.; Nancy Savenko of Virginia Beach, Va.; Carol Cristman of San Diego, Calif.; and Robert Haag of San Rafael, Calif.; 23 grandchildren, and five great-grandsons. He was predeceased not only by his first wife in 1976, but also by his eldest son, Richard Lansing Wade, in 1991, and by his sister, Marjorie Partridge. Donations in his memory can be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 120 Wall St -19th floor, N.Y., NY 10005 or Wesleyan University 318 High Street, Middletown, CT 06459.

William R. Vanderbilt, an attorney in private practice in the firm of Vanderbilt and Siegel until his retirement in 1986, died Sept. 21, 2006, at age 85. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and a veteran of World War II. He earned his law degree from New York University and was recalled to active duty during the Korean War, serving in the Judge Advocate General’s Office in Washington, D.C. He was elected to the New Jersey Legislature and served as an assemblyman from Union County. He was the son of Arthur T. Vanderbilt of the Class of 1910, who served on the Wesleyan Board of Trustees for many years, and the nephew of Leslie L. Vanderbilt of the Class of 1915. Among those who survive are his wife of 61 years, Jean White Vanderbilt; a daughter; a son, Arthur T. Vanderbilt II ’72; and his nephew, Dr. George C. Brainard III ’73.

IRVING SOSENSKY, a professor of philosophy, died Feb. 25, 2003. He was 83. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received his degree with distinction in philosophy. He received a master’s degree from Yale University and a doctorate from Columbia University. He taught philosophy at the University of Missouri and then at Purdue University for more than 30 years and specialized in early modern philosophy and the philosophy of science and of social science. Since 1988, he had lived in Paris and was active in the Democratic Party Abroad–France. Predeceased by his wife, a daughter survives.

BENJAMIN A. RICHARDS, professor emeritus of philosophy at Ithaca College, died Feb. 22, 2011. He was 90. The son of Earle F. Richards of the class of 1919, he received his degree with honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and then received master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University. His wife, Mary Ann Lombard Richards, and a son survive.

ROBERT W. POOLEY, a plastics research and development chemist, died Jan. 21, 2011, at age 90. He was a member of Sigma Chi and the half-brother of the late Arthur B. Vincent of the class of 1936. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he joined the Ball Band Company, which later merged with Uniroyal, Inc. He held several patents, including the invention and development of Ensolite and an extruded plastic popularly used in canoes. He retired from Uniroyal in 1982 as the corporate laboratory manager in the plastics research and development division. Among those who survive are his wife, Viola Troyer, two children, three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

DAVID T. PECK, 88, a retired journalist, died Jan. 11, 2009. He was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa. An army veteran of World War II, he served with the 106th Engineer Group during the Battle of the Bulge, the Crossing of the Rhine, and the taking of Aachen. As an editor, he worked for several dailies, Wesleyan University Press, as well as for American Education Publications and for the Middletown Press. For many years he was secretary of the class of 1942. Predeceased by his son, he is survived by his wife, Pauline Ross Peck, two daughters, two stepdaughters, a stepson, five grandchildren, and a great–granddaughter.

ARTHUR E. PATERSON JR., a retired producer at CBS, Inc., died June 13, 2010, at age 89. He was the son of Arthur E. Paterson of the class of 1906 and the cousin of Marshall Bragdon of the class of 1930. Among those who survive are seven children, including Arthur E. Paterson III ’75, 13 grandchildren, and his brother and sister.