Obituaries | 1950-1959

DONALD H. TREDWELL ’51, the retired president of Markwell Medical Institute, Inc, died Oct. 27, 2012. He was 83. A member of Sigma Chi, he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, after which he received an MBA from Harvard University. He spent his career in advertising, marketing, and brand management working in New York City for a number of companies, including McCann-Erickson, and Colgate-Palmolive before joining S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.

In 1981 he left the corporate world and with two others started a venture-backed manufacturing company focused on selling medical products for diabetics. Active in Wesleyan alumni affairs, he was a past president of the New York Alumni Club. Survivors include his wife, Anne Scott Tredwell, two children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

RICHARD C. TEEVAN, 86, professor emeritus of psychology at the State University of New York, Albany, died June 3, 2006. He received his degree with honors and with distinction in psychology, and he was elected to Sigma Xi and to Phi Beta Kappa. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces. He received a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. After teaching at Smith College and Bucknell University, where he won awards for distinguished teaching, he joined the faculty of SUNY, Albany, where he was chairman of the department and published prolifically. He is survived by his wife, Virginia Stehle Teevan, four children, and 10 grandchildren.

DANIEL L. TAYLOR, an executive with CBS-TV for more than 35 years, died Dec. 27, 2006. He was 80. He was member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. Born in England in 1926, hewas evacuated to the US in 1940. He enlisted in the US Army and after serving as a paratrooper, enrolled at Wesleyan. Among those who survive are his wife, Marianne Stephan Taylor; three children; six grandchildren; two brothers, George R. Forbes ’49 and Harry F. Forbes ’49; and two nephews, G. Ross Forbes Jr. ’71 and Gregory H. Forbes ’71.

The Right Reverend ROBERT G. THARP, former Episcopal Bishop of East Tennessee, died May 30, 2003. He was 74. A member of Sigma Chi, he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He received a master’s degree in divinity and a doctorate in canon law from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary; he also received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of the South, of whose Board of Trustees he had been a member. Among those who survive are his wife, Ann Bradford Tharp, two children, four grandchildren, a sister, four stepchildren, and five step-grandchildren.

HENRY S. “HANK” TAUSEND, 73, a musician known for his jazz performances, died Oct. 14, 2009. He was a member of Gamma Psi and served in the U.S. Army. A drummer and percussionist, he was also a booking agent for well-known groups. He played with several symphonies in the Chicago area, as well as playing from Big Bands to parades to Klezmer. A volunteer for the Chicago Lyric Opera, he shared his love of opera with many audiences. Among those who survive are his wife, Iris Lieberman Tausend, a brother, and several nieces and nephews.

SWIATOSLAW TROFIMENKO, 75, a chemist, died Feb. 26, 2007. Born in the Western Ukraine, he came to Wesleyan on a scholarship and received his degree with honors and high distinction in chemistry. He was a member of the John Wesley Club and was elected to Sigma Xi. After receiving his PhD from Northwestern University, he completed postdoctoral studies at Columbia University and then joined the DuPont Company in 1959. While there, he discovered the polypyrazolylborate ligands, which he named Scorpionates. He published a book on this subject in 1999, and a sequel is scheduled for publication this year. The author of numerous scientific articles, and the holder of 36 patents, he retired in 1996 from DuPont and then joined the faculty of the University of Delaware as Honorary Scholar in the chemistry and biochemistry department. Survivors include his wife, Martha Babych Trofimenko; one daughter, Zoya Trofimenko ’85; and two grandchildren.

THOMAS M. TAYLOR JR., a railroad consultant and rail enthusiast, died Aug. 29, 2010, at age 78. He was a member of Sigma Chi and received a civil engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Predeceased by one son, he is survived by his wife, Glendora Boyce Taylor, two children, three grandchildren, two sisters, and his brother-in-law, Dr. Norman A. Clemens ’55.

JAMES D. TRUMBOWER, 79, a retired high school English teacher and language arts supervisor, died June 21, 2008. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and received a MALS from Wesleyan in 1969. Survivors include his wife, Dorothy Dale Trumbower, three children, eight grandchildren, one great–granddaughter, and a sister.

G. Vance Smith Jr., an advertising, public relations, and marketing executive, died Feb. 22, 2009. He was 78. At Wesleyan, he was a member of Chi Psi. After beginning his career with Central Advertising Agency, he also served as a vice president of Standard Life Insurance Company of Indiana and retired from the Indianapolis Star in 1998. He was an Eagle Scout and served on numerous local and civic boards. His wife of 49 years, Virginia Reavis Smith, survives him. Also surviving are a daughter, a son, a sister, and three grandchildren.

GEORGE E. SLYE, 81, the co-founder of Spaulding & Slye Corporation, a national real estate company, died July 13, 2012. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and received his degree from Babson Institute. A U.S. Navy veteran, he began his career in 1958 at Texaco, Incorporated, where he worked in sales promotion and real estate—specifically, developing and executing plans to leverage the federal highway program started by the Eisenhower administration. A career in real estate planning, development, construction, and management began at Dwight Building Company of New Haven and continued at American Urban Corporation of Meriden, Conn., where he served as Executive Vice President and Secretary and oversaw numerous mixed-use and industrial park developments. Having met his future business partner, Charles Hank Spaulding, at an Urban Land Conference in 1965, George co-founded Spaulding & Slye Company in 1966 and grew the business from a local urban and suburban development concern into a nationally recognized full-service real estate platform with an active presence throughout the Boston-Washington corridor, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Birmingham among other locations. Following a planned transition of leadership at Spaulding & Slye between 1981 and 1987, he founded GESCOM, a diversified investment platform, through which he joined numerous Boards and started several new business ventures. He pursued business interests in communications, banking, and real estate. He purchased Hayden Tolzmann & Associates, which was subsequently sold to Boston Mortgage. He served as a director on two real estate investment trusts for Travelers Insurance Company, as advisor to RealEnergy and Brentwood Capital Partners, and was a trustee at Babson College, where he started the Babson Center for Real Estate and was also awarded the Babson Medal for Distinguished Accomplishment and Service. He served on the Wesleyan University Hill Committee, as well as on many other boards of educational and community institutions. Among his hobbies was modeling (railroads and buildings), and his work was seen in National Geographic as well as on public television. He is survived by his wife, Suzanne Goodwin Slye; four children, including Paul E. Slye ’84; a stepson; his brother; 12 grandchildren; and four step-grandchildren. His first wife and the mother of his children, Susan M. Mayer, predeceased him.