Obituaries | 1950-1959

CHISOLM D. MCAVOY, an adventurer and taxi driver, died Sept. 25, 2013, at age 81. He received his bachelor’s degree from George Washington University. His sister, Mary B. Johnstone, survives.

JONATHAN F. ABEL, a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps for 27 years, died Dec. 15, 2013. He was 81. An actor and film producer, he also served in the Marines during the Vietnam War. During his 27 years of service, he was a public affairs officer, infantry officer, and training and audiovisual support officer, and he received numerous medals. He was also a singer and a member of the Screen Actors Guild. Survivors include his wife, Sandra Pirie Abel, three children, three grandchildren, and his brother.

WILLIAM DON FRIEDMAN, a seven-term Colorado state legislator and a talk radio host, died Aug. 11, 2013, at age 83. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received a master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. A successful real estate developer, as a politician he was know for his fiscal conservatism. He was a moderate on social issues, sponsoring the first clean air legislation in the nation, and was a constant advocate for a woman’s right to choose. He lost a race for elected office only once: a run for Congress against Pat Schroeder in 1976, by a narrow margin. After the legislature, he served on the Denver Water Board and consulted for the EPA and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. He was also an active community leader. Among those who survive are his wife, Jeanne Bahne Friedman, three children, seven grandchildren, and a nephew, Gary S. Davis ’75. He was previously married to Audrey Friedman Marcus.

JOHN F. DODGE, a retired executive with the Boy Scouts of America, died Dec. 8, 2013. He was 84. A member of Sigma Chi, he was the son of Arthur C. Dodge of the class of 1923. He began his career with the Boy Scouts of America in 1952, which was an extension of his early scouting years. His wife, Joanne Abbott Dodge, predeceased him. Survivors include three children, eight grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and his sister.

W. FRASER KEITH, a retired systems manager, died Dec. 4, 2013, at age 83. He was a member of Sigma Nu and received his degree from the University of Minnesota. Among those who survive are his wife, Bevelyn Gervais Keith, four daughters, two stepdaughters, 10 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and his sister.

THOMAS D. GIVEN, a retired science teacher in the Duxbury, Mass., schools, died Apr. 7, 2014. He was 84. The son of Philip L. Given of the class of 1909, he was a member of the John Wesley Club and received a master’s degree from Harvard University. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Survivors include his wife, Donna Zizek Given, and two children, David A. Given ’85, and Mary E. Given ’93.

LOUIS D’AMANDA, 84, a retired attorney, died Jan. 21, 2014. A U.S. Army veteran, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and received his law degree from Cornell University. He also attended Harvard Business School. After he passed the New York State bar exam he joined his father’s firm of Chamberlain & D’Amanda, where he practiced trial law for 40 years. In 1987 he was elected a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was an active athlete and a dedicated conservationist. Survivors include his wife, June Allis Van Voorhis D’Amanda, four children, 19 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.

DAVID J. BATDORF, 86, a retired attorney, and a community and political leader, died Dec. 15, 2013. The son of Jonathan P. Batdorf of the class of 1921, he was a member of Sigma Chi and received his law degree from the University of Tennessee. He was a U.S. Army veteran. A practicing attorney for 50 years, he was the Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 1973 to 1976. In addition to his work in the law community, he was involved in many election campaigns and in his church, where he served on national boards. A Berks County planning commissioner for nine years, he also served on the Kutztown University Board of Trustees. Among his many awards for community service, he received the Wesleyan University Service Award. He is survived by his wife, Carol Spangenburg Batdorf, three children, three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren; and three sisters.

JOHN A.H. BRISCOE, 76, the former director of development for the National Council of Churches and for Common Cause, died Dec. 8, 2013. A member of Eclectic, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in history. He received a master’s degree from Harvard University and also studied at MIT. During his career in public service, he was a Peace Corps volunteer, a teacher in Kenya, assistant to the president of Bryn Mawr College, and political candidate. He launched PennServe, a public service initiative in Pennsylvania, and he was also active in environmental causes. His wife, Kate Williams, survives, as do four children, four grandchildren, and his brother.

BENJAMIN D. DAY, who retired as a physicist after a long career at Argonne National Laboratory, died July 13, 2013, at age 76. He received his degree with high honors and with distinction in physics, and he was a member of Beta Theta Pi. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa and to Sigma Xi, he received his PhD from Cornell University. After two years of postdoctoral research at UCLA, he joined Argonne, where he was a senior physicist in the Department of Low Energy Theoretical Nuclear Physics. During his career he was an invited scholar at MIT, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Niels Bohr Institute. He later worked with Lucent Technologies (Bell Laboratories). His wife, Holliday Trentman Day, survives, as do two daughters, two grandchildren and his sister.