Obituaries | 1960-1969

DAVID A. BERRY, a playwright and screenwriter, died Dec. 16, 2016, at age 73. A member of the Commons Club, he enlisted in the U.S. Army shortly after graduation. He studied theater and European history, but did not set out to write plays. When he was writing a novel inspired by his Army service in the Vietnam War, his former wife, Robin Schmidt, urged him to turn it into a play. It became G. R. Point, which ran off-Broadway before moving to Broadway in 1979. The play earned him an Obie award for distinguished playwriting. In 1980 his play, The Whales of August, was presented at the WPA Theater in Manhattan, and in 1987 he wrote the screenplay for the movie version, which starred Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, and Ann Sothern. After the success of his two plays he continued to write and teach at several institutions, including the National Theater Institute in Waterford, Conn., and more recently, the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. In addition to his former wife, he is survived by his sister, his brother, and a stepdaughter, Julia Lee Barclay-Morton ’86.

ROBERT E. KILLHEFFER, who retired as a Yale University librarian, died Oct. 2, 2016. He was 72. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa, he received his degree cum laude and with honors in letters. He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi. After receiving master’s degrees in history and in library science, he went on to a career than spanned more than 35 years at the Yale University libraries as a catalogue librarian and team cataloguer, manager, and mentor to many. He made significant professional contributions throughout his career, supporting the organization of the Yale Library collection, participating actively in the American Library Association, and serving as a liaison between Yale’s Sterling Library and the Library of Congress. He also collected rare books and special editions. After his retirement from Yale he volunteered as a cataloguer in the Hamden, Conn., library. Survivors include his wife, Anne Blankenbaker; four children from a previous marriage; eight grandchildren; and his sister and brother.

WILLIAM A. HAUSER, an outdoorsman and musician, died Oct. 21, 2016. He was 72. A member of Eclectic, he received a master’s degree in Slavonic and Eastern European Studies from the University of London. During the Vietnam War he served in the U.S. Army stationed in Germany as a Russian interpreter. In addition to his love of the outdoors, he played the trumpet, sang, and acted in numerous community productions. A former Outward Bound instructor, he volunteered for the Forest Service and fought fires; he also volunteered for the annual loon count in Minnesota. His wife, Sharon Angel Magliulo, survives, as do a stepson, his sister, and several nieces and nephews.

WILLIAM B. GROSSMAN JR., a Methodist minister, died Oct. 22, 2016, at age 75. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he received master’s and doctoral degrees in divinity from Drew University. He served as pastor of many Methodist churches in upstate New York, and returned from retirement to become interim pastor of several churches. Active in Rotary International, he was a member for 48 continuous years and was a former district governor. He also played the trombone in community bands. Survivors include his wife, Laura Allene Stewart, three children, two stepdaughters, eight grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, three siblings, and a large extended family.

CARL F. SYRIALA, a aquaculture specialist, died Nov. 12, 2016. He was 78. He was a member of Chi Psi and received an MBA from the University of Chicago. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard and working at New England Merchants Bank, he returned to Cape Cod, where he was born, and founded Finn Farms in West Barnstable, digging steamers and quahogs, and raising oysters. He was also the treasurer of the West Barnstable Fire Department. Among those who survive are his brother, two nephews, and his close friend, Helen Ranta.

RICHARD H. HUDDLESTON, a former director of development at Wesleyan, and an executive in nonprofit educational institutions, died Jan. 5, 2017, at age 78. He was a member of Eclectic and received his degree with honors. An American Field Service Exchange student in Athens, Greece, he was also a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Florence, Italy, and an Italian History Research Scholar in Rome, Italy. He received master’s and PhD degrees in European history from the University of California, Berkeley. He worked at the University of North Carolina and at New College before returning to Wesleyan, where he directed annual giving and then development. Serving Wesleyan both as a volunteer and as an employee, he was secretary for his class for many years, co-class agent, and Reunion co-chair. In addition to his 22 years at Wesleyan, his professional career was solely in the nonprofit world, with service to such organizations as Winrock International, a Rockefeller international agricultural research and development foundation, as well as World Learning, and Save the Children. Survivors include his wife, Lindsey Hall Huddleston, and two children, including Michael A. Huddleston ’90.

MICHAEL BOTEIN, 71, a professor at New York Law School and the director and founder of the Media Center, died Aug. 3, 2016. He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi. After receiving his J.D. degree from Cornell University in 1969, he received an L.L.M. in 1972 from Columbia University and a J.S.D., also from Columbia, in 1979. A scholar in telecommunications, cable television and regulation, he was the author of multiple treatises, casebooks and articles, and shared his expertise as a Fulbright Senior Scholar and a visiting professor in law schools around the world. His wife, Kris Fischer, survives, as do two children, including Elizabeth Botein Walker ’99; their spouses, including his son-in-law, Ike Walker ’99; and four grandchildren.

SPURGEON L. (Lee) ROBINETTE III, a journalist, public relations specialist, and drummer for Gary and the Wombats, died June 5, 2016, at age 73. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he received his degree cum laude and with honors in English from the College of Letters. In 1967 he received an M.S. from Columbia University. During the middle and late 1960s he worked for several news and international trade organizations in New York City and Seattle. In 1969 he joined Weyerhaeuser Company’s communications department and worked at their Washington headquarters before transferring to Hot Springs, Ark., in 1980. He retired as the corporate communications director in the South for Weyerhaeuser in 2006. He was a lifelong, accomplished rock ‘n’ roll drummer who played several times each year with Gary and the Wombats, his college band. Preceded in death by his wife, Venda, he is survived by four sons and a loving and extended circle of family and friends.

DAVID G. ALLEN, M.D., 75, a retired oncologist, died May 23, 2016. He was a member of Eclectic and received his M.D. degree from Duke University in 1967. After an internship at Duke, he entered the U.S. Air Force, serving from 1969 to 1971. He then completed a fellowship in oncology at the University of Michigan and joined the Pinehurst Medical Clinic as the first board-certified oncologist in Moore County, N.C. In retirement he continued to make patient care visits and oversaw the clinic laboratory. In 1979 he co-founded, with a local clergyman, Sandhills Hospice, now FirstHealth Hospice and Palliative Care. For this, the governor of North Carolina awarded him the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. In the last days of his life, he was served by the organization he founded and championed. Among those who survive are his wife, Kathleen Allen, a son, his sister, and many friends.

DIRCK E. WESTERVELT, 75, a retired social worker who worked for years counseling at-risk youth, died Mar. 18, 2016. A member of Delta Sigma, he received his degree with distinction in history and later received an MSW from the Hunter College School of Social Work. His social work career was prompted by his early commitment to civil rights and social justice, which started as a participant in a lunch counter sit-in in the South as a college student. He worked for more than two decades for New York State’s Office of Mental Health, specializing in the treatment of adolescents, including incarcerated youth and young adults. He also volunteered for years as a counselor for Vietnam veterans. He had a lifelong passion for the history, culture, art and architecture of the Middle East, and he attended the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. As part of that graduate program he moved his young family to Saudi Arabia for a year to study in an Islamic culture. He had a love of the outdoors as well. Survivors include his three children, four grandchildren, his sister, and his former spouse, Joanne Westervelt.

---

Dirck E. Westervelt, a retired psychiatric social worker, who worked for years counseling at-risk youth, died March 18 in Brewster, MA. The cause was complications of congestive heart failure. He was 75.

Mr. Westervelt was born in Schenectady, NY and had been a longtime resident of New York’s Hudson River Valley before moving to Cape Cod in 2014. He worked for more than two decades for New York State’s Office of Mental Health, specializing in the treatment of adolescents, including incarcerated youth and young adults. He also volunteered for years as a counselor for Vietnam veterans.

A 1962 graduate of Wesleyan University with a B.A. in History, Dirck always encouraged intellectual and geographic exploration. He had a lifelong passion for the history, culture, art, and architecture of the Middle East, and attended the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.

As part of that graduate program, he moved his young family to Saudi Arabia for a year to study in an Islamic culture. That was when goats still roamed the dusty streets of Riyadh, before the oil boom. He once hitchhiked to Rome to see the Pope installed, and traveled widely throughout his life, including to the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, Central America, and Europe.

Dirck later earned an MSW from Hunter College in New York and began his social work career. This interest grew out of his early commitment to civil rights and social justice which started as a participant in a lunch counter sit-in the Deep South as a college student.

Dirck grew up camping, canoeing and fishing in upstate New York, particularly the Adirondack Mountains. That instilled in him a love of the outdoors that he passed on to his three children. He rafted whitewater rivers in New England and across the West including the Grand Canyon. In addition to Cape Cod, his other passions included collecting Asian and Middle Eastern art, cabochons, and exotic knives; sailing; gourmet food and ice cream.

He is survived by his children: Lisa Westervelt of Provincetown, MA, Gerrit Westervelt of Denver, CO, Eric Westervelt of Berkeley, CA; his sister Deidre Westervelt of Savannah, GA; as well as grandchildren: Aidan, Evan, Olivia, Zuzu and former spouse Joanne Westervelt of Schenectady, NY.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in any amount be made in his name to Doctors Without Borders donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/tribute.cfm or to the Sierra Club sierraclub.org/giving/commemorative-gifts

A private family burial will take place at Vale Cemetery in Schenectady, NY. A memorial celebration of his life is planned for early summer on Cape Cod.

Expressions of condolence for the family may be left in the guest book at gatelyfuneralservice.com.