Obituaries | 1960-1969

PHILIP G. PUTNAM, 76, a financial executive for more than 40 years, died June 25, 2017. A member of Psi Upsilon, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in English literature. He received an MBA from Harvard University, after which he joined Smith Barney & Co. in New York City. He subsequently held a variety of positions, including as executive vice president of Brean Murray and managing director of Flagstone Securities. For many years he was on the Board of the Middleby Corporation. He served as class agent and fundraiser for many years, for which he received the Wesleyan University Service Award. A classroom in the career center was also named in his honor. Active in his local Essex, Conn., community, he was a volunteer for a variety of local organizations. Survivors include his partner Jeanne, two daughters, his granddaughter, and his sister. His wife, Thea C. Putnam, predeceased him.

MICHAEL H. BLAKE, a corporate executive, died Oct. 3, 2017, at age 81. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and was a U.S. Naval Reserve veteran. He started his career with the Budd Company in Philadelphia, then moved to Boston with the former Bache & Co. After executive roles at Lowden Tree & Landscape and Dalton Electric, he completed his career with Harvest Capital Management. He was an avid athlete. Predeceased by his second wife, Penelope Stowell, he is survived by his former wife, Susan Livingston; four children; two grandchildren; his sister; and several nieces and nephews.

NICKOLAUS E. LEGGETT, a proponent of the low-power FM movement in the U.S., died Apr. 26, 2017. He was 72. A member of Kappa Alpha, he was an electronics technician, analyst, technical writer, and inventor who held multiple U.S. patents and may be best known as one of the original petitioners for microstation radio broadcasting, which grew into the low-power FM movement (LPFM). He also lobbied for reform to amateur radio antenna rules, as well as petitioning the FCC to look into very low-power localized radio signals, which could be helpful in case of emergencies when electric power is unavailable. He suggested that the agency use AM radio to enable inner-city neighborhoods to provide local neighborhood broadcasts. This would help minority groups organize and utilize the talents of local residents. His wife, Judith Fielder Leggett, survives.

STEPHEN P. HORVAT JR., a corporate attorney, died May 19, 2017, at age 70. A baseball player at Wesleyan, he served as team co-captain in his senior year and won the Walter MacNaughten Award. After four years in the U.S. Army he attended the Northwestern University School of Law, graduating with honors in 1973. He began his law career at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., where he was vice president and general counsel until 1985, when he joined the Franklin Life Insurance Co., and served in several administrative capacities. After a short time in private practice he joined the Sammons Financial Group as senior vice president (legal) for Midland National and the North American Co. for Life and Health Insurance, where he remained until his retirement. He was the chairman, secretary, and former president of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel, and also served as a board member of numerous insurance and bar associations. In addition to his legal practice, he served on the boards of several local businesses and school board committees. He is survived by his wife, Kathleen Meehan Horvat, two children, two grandchildren, and was awaiting the birth of his third grandchild.

JOHN J. HARTER, a career Citibank employee, died Aug. 29, 2016. He was 72. A member of the Commons Club, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He spent his entire career in a variety of roles with Citibank. Among those who survive are his wife, Lynda Harter, four children, eight grandchildren, and a brother.

PAUL S. LARSON, an equity analyst and portfolio manager, died Jan. 24, 2017, at age 73. He was a member of Kappa Nu Kappa and received an MBA from the University of Rochester. A U.S. Navy veteran, he served in the Naval Reserve as an officer. He began his career as a securities analyst at Chase Investors Corp., was then an assistant vice president at the General Electric Pension Fund, and finally an equity analyst/portfolio manager with General Reinsurance. He was active in his community, both before and after retirement. Survivors include his wife, Molly Schumann Larson, three children, four grandchildren, three siblings, and several nieces and nephews.

BARRY K. SIMPSON, an architect, designer, and inventor, died Apr. 4, 2017, at age 75. He was a member of Chi Psi and received a master’s degree in architecture from Yale University. Upon graduation he and several of his fellow students moved to the Mad River Valley (Vermont) area and led the design/build movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He was an owner of the Bobbin Mill in Warren, Vt., a former wood-turning mill that he turned into an incubator facility for young entrepreneurs in a variety of startup businesses. His own business, Dirt Road Company, designed and manufactured a variety of wooden products. Dedicated to public service, he volunteered for the fire department, the ambulance service, and the Cub Scouts, and he served the town of Warren for 37 years, first as a planning commissioner for 20 years and later on the board of selectmen. At the time of his death he was entering his 10^th year as the director of public works and the road commissioner. One son predeceased him. Among those who survive are his wife, Claire Walker Simpson, two daughters, two brothers, and an extended family.

WILLIAM M. CURTIS, an attorney who specialized in corporate securities, mergers, and acquisitions, died Mar. 27, 2017, at age 76. A member of Sigma Chi, he received his degree with distinction in history. He received his law degree from Duke University, after which he began his law career in New York City. In 1972 he moved to California, where he practiced until his retirement. He is survived by his second wife, Rhobie Reed-Curtis, three children, two stepchildren, and seven grandchildren.

CHARLES W. SMITH, a sociologist and author who specialized in social theory and economic sociology, died May 31, 2017. He was 78. After receiving his degree with honors and with distinction in philosophy, he received both master’s and PhD degrees from Brandeis University. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Beginning his career as an instructor at Simmons College, in 1966 he joined the faculty of Queens College, CUNY, where he began his pioneering work in contemporary economic sociology. He had a long and very productive career, with many accomplishments in research and teaching, scholarly journal editing, and academic administration. Best known internationally for his work as a social theorist and economic sociologist, most notably within the sociology of markets, he combined a wealth of insights derived from decades-long practice with astute field observation. He was also a pioneer of sociological research on auctions and valuation processes. In social theory, his interests were anchored in the traditions of pragmatism and critical realism. He was fascinated by the puzzle of how limited knowledge can underpin, and even make possible, human action. In his last book, What the Market Teaches Us: Limitations of Knowing and Tactics for Doing, he wove together ethnographies of financial trading, sports, and surgery in order to show how incomplete knowledge can support human action. Interested in problems of value, he was one of the earliest proponents of the view that the social organization of interactions shapes the price of the financial instruments being traded. He believed that the intense experience of financial markets also opened a window on the nature of human judgment, more so than any other social context. In addition to his scholarly work, he edited the Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour [sic] for many years. He had been chair of the department of sociology and dean of social sciences at Queens, as well as professor in The Graduate Center, CUNY. He was active in his synagogue and various other community organizations. Survivors include his wife, Dr. Rita Cope Smith; his children, Dr. Abigail C. Saguy ’92, and Dr. Jonathan C. Smith ’94; four grandchildren; three siblings; and a nephew, Dr. Paul D. Weintraub ’81

WILLIAM F. OCHS, a scholar, performer and teacher of Irish traditional music, especially the tin whistle, died Oct. 5, 2016. He was 70. A cum laude graduate who earned high honors in French and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, he earned an MFA in theater at Sarah Lawrence College. He dedicated his life’s work to playing, teaching, and understanding the history of Irish wind instruments: the tin whistle, wooden flute and uilleann pipes. He sought out teachers in the U.S. and Ireland at a time when almost nobody in the U.S. was playing the instrument. The recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to study in Ireland for six months, he was also involved with the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan, where he taught for more than 40 years through 2015. Throughout his long career, he explored many aspects of traditional music: performing, researching and writing, producing albums of other musicians, creating transcriptions of tunes, and teaching. In addition he was a political activist as well as an outdoorsman. Among those who survive are his partner, Margaret Vetare, and his sister.