Obituaries | 1950-1959

CHARLES E. LITTLE, 83, a conservationist, author, and land use expert, died June 20, 2014. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he received his degree with distinction in creative writing. He was the great-grandson of Gaybert Barnes of the class of 1869, the grandson of C.E. Little of the class of 1894, and the son of John R. Little of the class of 1926. During the Korean War he served in the U.S. Army. He was an advertising executive at Foote, Cone, and Belding until 1963, when he became chief executive officer of The Open Space Institute and published its Open Space magazine with the objective of preserving areas of natural beauty in the New York metropolitan region. His entire life’s work then became devoted to the appreciation and protection of American landscapes, rural or urban, public or private. In 1972 he joined the Conservation Foundation in Washington, D.C., and then became head of the Natural Resources Division of The Congressional Research Service, which he left in 1978 to establish the American Land Resource Association and edit its publication, American Land Forum. The author of many books, he founded Voices from the American Land, a quarterly publication of poetry celebrating outstanding landscapes of North America. Survivors include his wife, Ila Dawson Little, three children of his first wife, two stepsons, 12 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

ARTHUR A. COPPOTELLI ’55, a former instructor at Wesleyan, and a freelance writer, teacher and translator, died Mar. 5, 2015. He was 81. A member of Alpha Chi Rho, he received his degree with honors. He served in the U.S. Army and then received a master’s degree from Yale University in English Language and Literature. From 1968 through 1980 he lived in Italy, where he taught English literature and cinema for programs sponsored by Wesleyan, Trinity College, and Temple University, including the College of Letters at Wesleyan. He wrote dialogue and collaborated on numerous American-Italian movies, including on the movies Medea and Magdalen with Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini. He was the European fiction editor for Playboy magazine, translated the poems and books of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, and translated Landscape Painting in the 19^thCentury for the New York Graphic Society. During the course of his career, he was a speechwriter for President John F. Kennedy, where he authored the proposal for the youth training corps used in President Kennedy’s State of the Union address. He was also an instructor of English and humanities at Wesleyan from 1965 to 1968, where he founded the Italian program. He served as European editor for Hawthorn Books, overseeing a major dictionary and encyclopedia project for Lateran University, and held numerous editorial and writing positions with the Architecture Research Institute and Hacker Art Books. Survivors include his great-grandnephew, Alex Coppotelli. His partner, Joan Dunlop, died in 2012.

ROBERT S. ROSSON, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Hartford Hospital for 40 years, died May 8, 2015, at age 83. A member of Sigma Nu, he received his degree with honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving his medical degree from Harvard University, he continued his training in Boston and then in the U.S. Air Force before completing residencies and fellowships at Yale University and Hartford Hospital. He served as chief of gastroenterology at Hartford Hospital for 20 years and as president of the medical staff. He also served as a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and as president of the Howard Spiro Society. He was predeceased by his wife, Eileen Kaufman Rosson. Among those who survive are three children, five grandchildren, his sister, and his partner, Judith Pitt.

JOHN SEELYE, a retired professor of English and American literature, died Apr. 20, 2015. He was 84. A member of Alpha Chi Rho, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in creative writing. He also received a master’s and PhD degrees from the Claremont Graduate School. During the Korean War he served in the U.S. Navy. He taught at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Connecticut, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dartmouth College, and the University of Florida in Gainesville. He also enjoyed restoring historical homes and buildings, and his most recent project was the Veterans’ Memorial Hall in Eastport, Maine, a museum dedicated to American veterans. Two wives predeceased him. His wife, Alice Hunt Seelye, survives, as do his stepdaughter, his brother, and several nieces and nephews.

JAMES D. PLIMPTON, 84, a physicist and laboratory administrator, died Dec. 7, 2014. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in mathematics. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and to Sigma Xi, and then received his PhD from Iowa State University. He was the grandson of George L. Plimpton of the class of 1891, the son of Theodore F. Plimpton of the class of 1921, and the nephew of George L. Plimpton Jr., of the class of 1927. He worked in nuclear physics at the Sandia National Laboratories and later became an administrator there. Survivors include his wife, Donna Eide Plimpton, two children, three granddaughters, and his brother, Thomas L. Plimpton ’56.

JAMES KURT, a business executive, died Mar. 21, 2014, at age 83. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he served in the U.S. Naval Air Reserve during the Korean War. He was the grandson of Franklin T. Kurt and of Sarah T. Kurt, both of the class of 1895, and he was the son of Franklin T. Kurt of the class of 1926. He spent most of his career with the Schellens-True Corporation and joined the Dana Corporation when they acquired Schellens-True. He is survived by his wife, the Rev. Rachel H. Kurt, two sons, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Another son predeceased him.

ROBERT WONKKA, 85, professor emeritus at Vermont Technical College, died Dec. 10, 2014. He was a member of Chi Psi and received a master’s degree from Harvard University. A basketball and softball coach despite the long leg brace he wore after a bout with polio, he taught secondary school until he became the first full-time math teacher at Vermont Technical College. In his 30 years teaching there, he also served as department head and division director. He was the first recipient of the faculty advising award that now bears his name. He was also an active community volunteer. Among those who survive are his wife, Nadena Thompson Wonkka, three daughters, four grandchildren, and several siblings.

RICHARD M. SHERWOOD, an international construction manager, died Apr. 7, 2015. He was 85. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he received a BS degree in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served in the U.S. Air Force. He had a long career as a construction manager that included assignments in the U.S. and overseas. He was the author of A Field Guide to Sailboats. During the time he lived in Amherst, N.H., he served as Selectman and on several town committees. Survivors include his wife, Janet Robertson Sherwood, two sons, five grandchildren, and his sister.

FREDERICK A. LOVEJOY, 86, a management consultant and author, died July 6, 2014. He was the son of Frederick F. Lovejoy Jr., of the class of 1923, the brother of Jonathan Lovejoy of the class of 1953, and the nephew of Louis R. Arnold of the class of 1924 and of Harry M. Arnold of the class of 1928. A member of Sigma Nu, he received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He served in the both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force. After receiving his MBA he became a college professor and wrote two books, Divestment for Profit and Mergers and Acquisitions. After he stopped teaching he ran his own consulting business, the Princeton Research Institute. Two children, three grandchildren, and his brother-in-law, Roger S. Hanford ’50, are among his survivors.