Obituaries | 1950-1959

ROBERT H. BERLS, 81, a manager for the U.S. Department of Education and an active member of the Anglers’ Club of New York, died Sept. 1, 2014. He received a master’s degree from Yale University. In addition to editing the Anglers’ Club Bulletin and winning several club awards, he served on their board of directors and was also a member of the Flyfishers’ Club of London. Survivors include his wife, Janet Wolf Berls, and his brother.

ROBERT F. SAYRE, emeritus professor of English at the University of Iowa, died Apr. 16, 2014. He was 80. The son of Harrison M. Sayre of the class of 1916, who was the founder and publisher of My Weekly Reader, and the brother of the late James W. Sayre ’46, M.D., he served in the U.S. Navy after receiving his degree with honors and distinction. He earned his PhD. From Yale University. After teaching at the University of Illinois and as a Fulbright Scholar in Sweden, he received a Guggenheim award to conduct research at Princeton University. In 1965 he moved to the University of Iowa, whee he taught in the English department and American Studies program for 33 years. His primary academic focus was autobiography, and his anthology, American Lives, was published in 1994. His love of Iowa’s natural and social history led him to edit a series of books that championed a greater appreciation of his adopted home state, and he did the same for Fire Island, New York, where he and his family summered. He was also active in many sports and in community organizations and causes. Among those who survive are his wife, Hutha Colby Sayre, whom he married in 1988; three children, two stepchildren, and seven grandchildren. He was also the uncle of Dixon F. Miller ’69, Robert K. McNamara ’73, Jean S. McNamara ’77, and of Elizabeth W. McNamara ’83.

VICTOR H. LANE III, a retired language teacher, died June 26, 2014, at age 80. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and a PhD from New York University. He taught at Nebraska Wesleyan and the City University of New York, among other places. His wife, Caroline Warram Lane, and one son are among those who survive.

JAMES R. MILLER JR., an attorney and former Maryland legislator, who spent 15 years as a federal district judge in Baltimore, died June 25, 2014. He was 83. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he received a law degree from Georgetown University and joined his father and stepmother in private practice. While a member of that firm, Miller, Miller & Canby, he began his long career of public service, which included time as president of the Rockville (Md.) Chamber of Commerce, president of the Bar Association of Montgomery County, and a member of the Governor’s Commission on Reorganization of the Government of the State of Maryland. He also chaired the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee and he served a four-year term in the Maryland House of Delegates. In 1970 he was sworn in as a federal judge and in 1991 rejoined his firm as a counselor and adviser. He also remained active as an arbitrator and mediator on the national level. His first wife, Jo Anne Trice Miller, died in 2006. Survivors include two sons and two daughters, including Katherine T.M. Goldberg ’89; 12 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; a brother; and Patricia L. Chapman, his companion of more than seven years.

DAVID B. JENKINS, 83, the former chairman, president and CEO of Shaw’s Supermarkets and a Wesleyan Trustee Emeritus, died June 17, 2014. He was the son-in-law of Wandell McM. Mooney of the class of 1918. A member of Eclectic, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in English, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving an MBA from Harvard Business School he served in the U.S. Navy and then joined his family’s firm, a maker of fiber-based materials. He then transitioned to the grocery business, which he learned from the ground up. Among his accomplishments at Shaw’s was the creation of the Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) model, a revolutionary inventory management method that became a standard in the grocery industry. He served as chairman of the Food Marketing Institute from 1990 to 1992 and also chaired FMI’s ECR committee, and he received the Sidney Rabb Award for his commitment to the industry. He served on numerous boards of directors, both for corporations and for non-profit organizations, and took on leadership roles for several institutions. As a Wesleyan Trustee, he chaired the Alumni Fund as well as the Campus Affairs Committee. He received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Wesleyan, as well as a Distinguished Alumnus Award. His wife, Joy Mooney Jenkins, predeceased him. Survivors include his wife, Shirley Muirhead Jenkins; two children, including Susan Jenkins Warren ’83; five grandchildren, including Hannah Jenkins ’15; a brother, George O. Jenkins ’56; several nephews, including Stephen E. Mooney ’80 and John B. Mooney ’82; several nieces, including Gail J. Farris ’84 and grandnieces Kimberley B. Farris ’14 and Jennifer G. Farris ’16; and several stepchildren, including Susan M. Bates ’78 and Judith Kiplinger ’81.