Obituaries | 1960-1969

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.

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.