ALAN BRUCE MUNRO, M.D., who practiced obstetrics and gynecology for more than 40 years, died Feb. 2, 2017, at age 88. He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi and received his medical degree from Emory University. A U.S. Navy veteran, he was active for many years in all things Scottish. Among those who survive are his wife, Bettie Barrett Munro, two children, five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and his sister.
JOHN R. JAKOBSON, a private investor and former Wesleyan Trustee, died Apr. 7, 2017, at age 86. He received his degree with honors and with distinction in history. In 1952 he received an MBA from Harvard University Business School. He then pursued a career on Wall Street, purchasing a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1955, and becoming one of its youngest members. After leaving the floor of the Exchange, he maintained his own trading desk at several firms, and at his death was associated with Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co., Inc. He served on the Wesleyan University Board of Trustees for many years, and in 1989 received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Survivors include his wife, Joan Caraganis Jakobson; a son, Nicholas W. Jakobson ’05; two daughters, Jenna Torres and Maggie Wheeler, from his first marriage to Barbara Jakobson; five grandchildren; his sister; and a nephew, Peter Jakobson Jr. ’81. He was predeceased by a son, John, and by his brother, Peter Jakobson Sr.
DONALD J. DALESSIO, M.D., a neurologist, died Feb. 25, 2017. He was 85. A member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, he received his degree with honors. After receiving his medical degree from Yale University, he served in the U.S. Army and then completed his neurology training. He served for many years as chairman of the Medicine Group for the Scripps Clinic of La Jolla, where he did research and specialized in the treatment of severe migraine headaches. Upon his retirement from active practice, the headache clinic was named in his honor: The Donald J. Dalessio Headache Center at Scripps Clinic. In addition to his practice, he wrote and edited multiple editions of Wolff’s Headache, the standard text for headache pain that is used by physicians worldwide. He also wrote scholarly reports, and edited the National Headache Journal, the Scripps Clinic Personal Health Newsletter, served on the editorial board for the Journal of the American Medical Association, and was a medical columnist for the San Diego Tribune. As an educator, he was a clinical professor of neurology at UC, San Diego, the Musser-Burch Lecturer at Tulane University, and the Kash Lecturer at the University of Kentucky Medical School. He also served as president of the American Society for the Study of Headache, the National Migraine Foundation, and the Federation of the Western Society of Neurology. His wife, Jane Schneider Dalessio, predeceased him. Three children, four grandchildren, and his brother, John G. Dalessio ’60, survive.
DAVID F. TRASK, a historian who specialized in U.S. diplomatic and military history, and who taught at Wesleyan from 1958 to 1962, died Feb. 5, 2017, at age 87. He was a member of Kappa Nu Kappa and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving his degree with high honors and with high distinction in history, he received a master’s degree from Harvard University. He served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954 and then received a PhD in history from Harvard University in 1958. He taught at Boston University, Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He was the author of Victory Without Peace, The War With Spain, and numerous other scholarly treatises and articles. Following his academic career, he worked for the federal government, first as the historian for the U.S. Department of State and later as chief historian for the Department of the Army, before retiring in 1988. His wife, Elizabeth Brooks Trask, died in 1997. Two children and four grandchildren survive.
DONALD W. SHARP, a retired educator, died Dec. 14, 2016. He was 89. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He taught in Georgia and last taught at the Fayette Montessori School. Predeceased by his wife, Donajean Clark Sharp, and by one son, survivors include two children, four grandchildren, and three sisters.
JOHN PFEIFFER JR., who worked at Bell Laboratories, died Mar. 3, 2017, at age 87. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi and received a master’s degree from Georgia State University. During the Korean War he served in the U.S. Army and then joined the Bell Telephone System in 1954, where he remained until he retired in 1985. He was active in sports and civic affairs. Predeceased by his wife, Nancy Vandiver Booth, survivors include three children and seven grandchildren.
JÉRÔME MONOD, a French business executive and political adviser, died Aug. 18, 2016. He was 85. A graduate of Sciences Po and the Ecole nationale d’administration, he was the chairman of Lyonnaise des eaux, later known as Suez-Lyonnaise, from 1980 to 2000. An adviser to French President Jacques Chirac, he was a co-founder of the Rally for the Republic and the Union for a Popular Movement, two center-right political parties in France. He was also a member of the European Round Table of Industrialists. His wife, Françoise Gallot, and three children are among those who survive.
JAMES E. McKEON, a chemist and technology consultant, died Nov. 13, 2016, at age 87. He received his degree with high distinction in chemistry and was elected to Sigma Xi. After receiving a master’s degree from Wesleyan, he received a PhD in organic chemistry from Yale University. He joined Union Carbide as a research chemist in 1959 and became vice president of the specialty chemicals division in 1984, after a long career there in research and development. The holder of U.S. and foreign patents,, he published numerous articles in scientific publications. After his distinguished career at Union Carbide, he began his own technology consulting business, Baseline Technologies. He was a member of the American Chemical Society, the New York Academy of Science, and was very active politically, having served as Selectman for the town of New Fairfield (Conn.) in 2005. Among those who survive are his wife, BettyLou McKeon, four sons, 12 grandchildren, two siblings, three stepsons, and many nieces and nephews. Other survivors include his stepdaughter-in-law, Jacquelyn M. Roberts ’82, and his step-granddaughter, Simone Roberts-Payne ’20. His first wife, Patricia Tuttle McKeon, and two brothers predeceased him.
ROBERT GARDNER, an honored science teacher and administrator, who wrote numerous science books for children, died Apr. 3, 2017. He was 88. A member of Sigma Chi, he received his degree with honors and was elected to Sigma Xi. He also received a master’s degree from Trinity College and a Certificate of Advanced Study from Wesleyan in 1963. From 1957 to 1979 he was granted National Science Foundation and Department of Energy stipends for summer study at Wesleyan University, Bowdoin College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Providence College. While on sabbatical in 1983-1984, he was a Klingenstein Fellow at Teachers College, Columbia University. He taught science and coached football and baseball at the Salisbury School from 1952 to 1989, and chaired the school’s science department from 1959 to 1989. He also served as the Salisbury Summer School’s Director of Admissions from 1976 to 1987. The physics lab at the school bears his name, as does an annually awarded athletic medal. While on leave from the school, he worked as a staff developer at the Education Development Center’s Elementary Science Study (ESS) and the Physical Science Group (PSG), where he was involved in the development and writing of ESS science units and the development, writing, and pilot teaching of Introduction to Physical Science and Physical Science II. After retiring from teaching in 1989, he moved to Cape Cod where he pursued a second career as an author of science books for children of all ages. During his lifetime, he wrote or co-authored over 200 books. In 2010 he received a lifetime achievement award for hands-on science writing. Bob was an inveterate cyclist who spent many hours exploring Cape Cod’s bike trails, and walking them in cold weather. He was well known for the many ways he volunteered: driving the Eastham Council on Aging’s shopping van weekly; taking people to medical appointments for FISH and Roads to Recovery; serving on and presiding over various boards at the Eastham COA, Eastham Library, the Eastham Water Advisory Board and the Eastham Forum, where he served as their newsletter editor for a number of years. In 2001 he was named Senior Citizen of the Year by Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands. Predeceased by his wife, Natalie Sanford Gardner, in 2000, he is survived by his wife, Patsy; a son, John T. Gardner ’74; a daughter; four grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; two sisters; and several nephews and nieces.
CHARLES F. WALDEN, who worked for Phillips Petroleum, died Apr. 14, 2017, at age 88. He was the son of Donald M. Walden of the class of 1916. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. A 25-year employee of Phillips, he was active in his community. His wife, Sally Lacock Walden, survives, as do five children, 13 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
