Obituaries | 1960-1969

ROGER A. YOUNG, a geophysicist and associate professor at the University of Oklahoma, died Oct. 13, 2009, at age 66. He was a member of EQV and received his degree with high honors in geology. After receiving a master’s degree from Stanford University, he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Map Service). In 1979 he received his PhD from the University of Toronto and became best known for his work in near-surface geophysics. He received the Stubbeman-Drace Presidential Professorship, given to outstanding faculty on the basic of teaching, willingness to mentor, and dedication to research, creative activity and service. Survivors include his wife, Frances Anne Bovee Young; his father, Dr. John A. Young ’40; two sisters; and a large extended family.

WILLIAM W. LEWIS JR., 66, who worked in community development and who had worked in the alumni office at Wesleyan, died May 19, 2013. He received an MALS from Wesleyan in 1982. He worked for Community Action of Greater Middletown until the agency closed, then was employed by The Middletown Press and most recently by Kuhn Development Opportunities. Survivors include his mother, Frances Lewis, a cousin, and several close friends.

ALAN B. NICHOLS, a freelance writer who specialized in golf travel reviews, died July 6, 2013, at age 67. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta and had majored in English. Among those who survive are his sister and a lifetime friend.

ROBERT R. BLAKE, 66, a development economist with the World Bank, died Feb. 9, 2013. He received his degree cum laude and with honors in economics. After receiving his PhD in economics from the University of Michigan, he worked in Washington, D.C., for the U.S. Treasury in various international affairs departments for 15 years before taking a job as a development economist at The World Bank. He concentrated on Africa, and following postings in Cameroon, Uganda, and Madagascar, he retired in 2009. Among those who survive are his wife, Claudia Kobles Blake, two children, two grandchildren, and his sister.

ROBERT L. CASEY, an energy service representative at Northeast Utilities, died Jan. 13, 2013, at age 69. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1966 to 1970. Active in his Turners Falls, Mass., community, he served on the school committee. Survivors include his wife, Jo-Ann Sojka Casey, two children, four grandchildren, and his sister.

BRUCE D. PODEWELL, 69, a member of the theater faculty at Tulane University for nearly 40 years, died Mar. 29, 2013. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and received a master’s degree from Emerson College. A co-founder and former artistic director of the Shakespeare Festival at Tulane, he had also served as the associate artistic director of the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane, and was the longtime director of Tulane Center Stage, the theater department’s former summer-stock company. The author of Shakespeare’s Watch, a handbook on Shakespeare’s plays, he was also an accomplished jazz musician, often playing banjo in the French Quarter. He founded the Patchwork Players, a children’s theater troupe that is now led by his daughter. Among those who survive are his wife, Banu Gibson, his daughter and son, and two sisters.

PHILLIP L. MARTH, 72, an educator who taught in public schools for 30 years, died Mar. 16, 2013. He was a member of Gamma Psi and received a master’s degree from the University of Hartford. An expert gardener and amateur hybridizer of miniature roses, daylilies and canna lilies, he was an active member and past president of the Central Florida Daylily Society and member of the Connecticut Daylily Society. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Trudy Foster Marth, one daughter, one son, a granddaughter, three brothers, and many nieces and nephews.

HENRY L. ERNSTTHAL, 72, a leader in the association management field, died May 20, 2013. He was a member of EQV and received his law degree from Stanford University. Formerly the executive director of the California Dental Association and the executive director of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, he was the director of the MAM (master’s of association management) degree program at George Washington University. He was a well-known speaker and consultant on association governance and corporate structure, strategic planning, board management, trend forecasting, ethical behavior, and contemporary legal issues, as well as the author of Principles of Association Management, the primary text in the field. A fellow of the American Society of Association Executives, in 1994 he was called one of the “Heroes of the Profession” by the association’s magazine. After retiring, he continued to volunteer with national health advocacy groups. Survivors include his wife, Mary Lynn Miller Ernstthal, two children, and two grandchildren.

EDGAR D. MANN, an international marketing executive, died Mar. 6, 2012, at age 72. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he received his degree with distinction in economics and later received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was involved with international sales and marketing for the Ford Motor Company, Cummins Engine Company, and Parker-Hannifin Corporation. Among those who survive are his wife, Dorothy Smith Mann, three children, two grandchildren, and a sister.

BRUCE R. WOLMER, the longtime editor and publisher of Art & Auctionmagazine, and an expert on the intricacies of the international art world, died Aug. 11, 2007, at age 59. He attended graduate school at Johns Hopkins University. Before joining Art & Auction, he was the executive editor of ARTnews magazine and an editor at Art & Antiques. He is survived by his wife, Colleen Babington, and his mother. (For more information, see the New York Times, August 16, 2007.)