Obituaries | 1950-1959

WILLIAM W. CHRISTOPHER, an actor who played Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H in addition to numerous other roles, died Dec. 31, 2016. He was 84. A member of Sigma Chi, he was a U.S. Army veteran. He began his career in regional plays and later had roles in off-Broadway plays. When he moved to California he pursued guest-star roles on television series, including The Andy Griffith Show, Death Valley Days, The Patty Duke Show, and Good Times. He had recurring roles not only on Gomer Pyle, but also That Girl and Hogan’s Heroes. In 1972 he succeeded another actor in playing the Rev. Francis John Patrick Mulcahy on M*A*S*H*. That became his best-known role. After M*A*S*H* went off the air in 1983, he played Father Mulcahy on the two-season spinoff, AfterMASH. He also had several film credits, including The Fortune Cookie, The Shakiest Gun in the West, and With Six You Get Eggroll. More recently, he was seen on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, in a recurring role in 2012, again as a man of the cloth. His wife, Barbara O’Connor Christopher, survives, as do two sons.

RICHARD G. BERTINI, M.D., a retired orthopedist in Rhode Island and former trustee of Talladega College, died Jan. 27, 2017, at age 84. He was a member of Sigma Nu and received his degree with honors. After graduating from Albany Medical College, he trained as an orthopedic surgeon and went on to practice orthopedics in Pawtucket (R.I.) Memorial Hospital for more than 40 years. He was chief of the Department of Orthopedics before retiring in 1999. Upon retirement he received the Emeriti Award from the Brown University School of Medicine. He served Talladega College for 14 years in multiple chairs on the Board. He was also a past president of both the Rhode Island Medical Society and the Pawtucket Medical Association, and he was honored with the Dr. Charles L. Hill Award in 1996. A volunteer in his community, he also helped in Haiti and in the former Soviet Union through various programs. His wife, Lois D. Higgins Bertini, survives, as do three children, five grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, his sister, and a niece and nephew.

JOHN R. PARSONS, the founder of Parsons, McKee & Company, and a long-tenured member of the American Academy of Actuaries, died Jan. 27, 2017. He was 85. A member of Sigma Nu, he received his degree with honors and served in the U.S. Army ordnance corps from 1953 to 1955, after which he began his 50-year career as an actuary. In addition to founding Parsons, McKee, he was a long-tenured member of the American Academy of Actuaries and was known as an expert on pension plans. He also volunteered in his community. His wife, Mona Violette Parsons, predeceased him. Among those who survive are his wife, Joyce Parsons, five children, 12 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

WILLIAM A. McCLUSKEY III, the founding headmaster of Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif., died Dec. 25, 2016. He was 88. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he received his degree with distinction in writing. His father-in-law was the late Theodore H. Banks, professor emeritus of English. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran and later a member of the Marine Corps Reserve, he began his career as an English teacher at Tabor Academy. In 1958 he moved to Havana, Cuba, to work for a housing development company, but that position was interrupted by the 1959 Cuban Revolution. He then returned to teaching and educational administration at schools in California, New York State, and Indiana. In 1972 he became the founding headmaster of Marin Academy and led the school until his retirement in 1984. The school grew from a starting enrollment of under 60 students into a thriving educational community. He had many hobbies, including piano playing, woodworking, gardening, and other outdoor activities. Survivors include his wife, Elizabeth Banks McCluskey, two daughters, two grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

WILLIAM E. HICKS III, a retired flooring industry executive, died Oct. 31, 2016, at age 86. A member of Psi Upsilon, he started his career in the flooring industry at Armstrong World Industries. He was then drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as an intelligence officer during the Korean War. During his successful sales career he led numerous sales teams and earned personal recognition for himself. An outstanding athlete, he was also an avid fan of several teams. His wife, Virginia McGovern Hicks, died, and he is survived by his daughter, two grandchildren, and two nieces.

H.J. RICHARDSON, who retired as the business manager for Meads of Greenwich, died Oct. 26, 2016. He was 91. A member of Sigma Nu, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Franus Richardon, two sons, and two stepchildren.

ROBERT L. MACK, a retired businessman, died Sept. 20, 2016. He was 87. After graduation he joined the U.S. Army and served both on active duty and in the Reserves. A successful businessman for many years at the Sealright Corporation in upstate New York, he taught briefly at a local high school and then took over and expanded a lawn care franchise in the Syracuse, N.Y. area. He is survived by his wife, Mary Smith Mack, four children, 12 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

RICHARD N. LUCAS, M.D., a retired U.S. Air Force physician, died June 25, 2016, at age 87. He was a member of Sigma Chi and received his medical degree from New York University. After spending 20 years with the U.S. Air Force as a pathologist, where he served in Texas, Colorado, Washington, D.C., and Germany, his last post was in Fairfield, Calif., where he also worked as a pathologist prior to his retirement. Survivors include his wife, Joan Britten Lucas, four children, eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

REUBEN K (“Ken”) KENIGSBERG, M.D., a pediatric surgeon, died Sept. 27, 2016, at age 87. The brother of Nathaniel Kenigsberg, M.D., of the class of 1934, he received his degree with high distinction in biology, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and to Sigma Xi. After receiving his medical degree from Harvard University, he served in the U. S. Army Medical Corps. A pediatric surgeon in private practice for 40 years, he was chief of pediatric surgery at North Shore University Hospital. He performed one of the first successful separations of conjoined twins in the United States, and he received a patent for a gastroesophageal reflux diagnostic tool. He also researched the causes of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and treatments for Crohn’s disease; and he initiated the push for legislation mandating the installation of safety glass throughout New York State. A poet and a lover of the outdoors, he enjoyed skiing, diving, sailing, bird-watching, and fly fishing. During the Yom Kippur War in Israel in 1973, he volunteered in the Israeli medical corps. Among those who survive are his wife, Abby Bogin Kenigsberg; three sons, including Matthew B. Kenigsberg ’89; seven grandchildren; a nephew, Richard Lopatin ’70, M.D.; a nephew, Daniel Kenigsberg ’74, M.D.; a great-niece, Rebecca A. Lopatin ’01; a great-niece, Alison M. Lopatin ’03; and a large extended family.

JAMES MUTRIE JR., the former Capitol bureau chief of the New Haven Register, died Oct. 26, 2016. He was 89. A U.S. Army veteran, he received his degree with honors. After working for a few years in Albany, N.Y., he and his family returned to Connecticut when he was hired as a journalist by the New Haven Register. He ultimately became the Capitol Bureau Chief in Hartford, a position he held for many years until his retirement after more than 30 years with the newspaper. He was well known in state political and journalism circles as the Dean of the Capitol Press Corps. Predeceased by his wife, Rose Marie Weller Mutrie, and by his son, survivors include his daughter and her husband, his daughter-in-law, three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, his sister, and a large extended family.