Obituaries | 1960-1969

WILLIAM D.S. DICKSON, a teacher at the Haverford (Penna.) School, died of cancer Apr. 2, 2003. He was 61. A member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, he also received specialized educational administration degrees from West Chester University and from Immaculata College. He taught at the Episcopal Academy for 22 years before joining the faculty and administration at the Haverford School, where he received the school’s Outstanding Teacher Award. Survivors include a daughter, a grandson, a brother, and a sister.

H. RICHARD DIETRICH JR., a philanthropist and well-known collector of early American decorative and fine arts, died Aug. 30, 2007, at age 69. A member of Psi Upsilon, he attended Columbia University’s business school until he was called home to run the family business when his father died. From 1974 to 1980 he was a member of Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees. President of the Dietrich Corporation, a conglomerate that was sold to the Hershey Company in 1986, he then retired and devoted himself to philanthropy, conservation, and collecting high-quality objects both for the Dietrich American Foundation and for private use. Works from the foundation’s collection have been lent to more than 50 institutions, making them available to the public. He was particularly active with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and served as board chairman there for 35 years; the museum’s curatorship of American decorative arts is named in his honor. Survivors include two sons, a daughter, a granddaughter, two brothers, and his former wife, Cordelia Frances Biddle. (See further information in the New York Times of 9/10/07.)

WILLIAM P. CONNER, 67, the owner of C&C Machining in New Hampshire, died Nov. 29, 2011. A member of Chi Psi, he served in the U.S. Air Force. He received his master’s degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Among those who survive are his wife, Eleanor Yoder Conner, two sons, his mother, six grandchildren, and several siblings.

JOHN S. CRAIG III, noted photojournalist, photo-historian, and Daguerreian author, died Feb. 25, 2011. He was 67. A member of Delta Sigma, he received his degree with honors. His interest in antique photography began when he was a photographer and reporter at the Hartford Courant as well as with his own retail camera shop. Eventually, in addition to photographing historical events and personages, he became one of the first full-time dealers in photographica in the U.S., renowned for his enormous collection of instruction manuals, catalogs, and other interesting photography items. In 1994 he published the first of three editions of Craig’s Daguerreian Registry, the acknowledged reference work among dealers and collectors. He is survived by his wife, the Hon. Joyce Krutick Craig (retired), a son, a stepson, and a granddaughter. His daughter predeceased him.

Bill Chodoff, beloved husband of Louise Barteau Chodoff, died November 26 peacefully at home after a long battle with Merkel Cell Carcinoma. Third generation in a family of Philadelphia doctors, he was a much loved left-wing Philadelphia pediatrician for 25 years before becoming Pediatric Medical Director at Keystone Mercy Health Plan in 1997. He was a tender spouse to his first wife Joan Horan who pre-deceased him after her own long struggle with cancer. A truly kind and generous man, he was loved by all who knew him and leaves many grieving friends and relatives. Two weeks before he died his wife Louise dedicated her current art and environmental project GROVE to him in a public ceremony.

More photos of Bill are available at the GROVE website www.treemaker9.com.

REGINALD P. BRIGGS, a geologist and author, died Apr. 29, 2009. He was 80. A member of the John Wesley Club, he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. A founder of the Geological Society of Puerto Rico, where he had worked for a number of years, he was active in professional organizations. Among those who survive are his wife, Rita Ferris Briggs, three children, and several grandchildren.

DAVID BURSTEIN, a retired Arizona State University astronomy and astrophysics professor, died Dec. 26, 2009, at age 62. He received his degree cum laude and with honors in physics. A member of Delta Sigma and Kappa Alpha, he was elected to Sigma Xi. He received his PhD from the University of California, Santa Cruz. A faculty member at ASU since 1982, he specialized in the structure of galaxies and the populations of their stars. His work contributed to a team of seven astronomers who spent nearly a decade researching how the universe was expanding. He is survived by his wife, Gail Kelly Burstein, two children, and a grandson, in addition to a cousin, Julie A. Burstein ’80.

WILLIAM T. BROMAGE, whose 40-year career in banking began at Hartford National Bank and culminated as President and Chief Operating Officer at Webster Bank, died Sept. 14, 2009. He was 63. A member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, he served in community leadership roles, particularly with Junior Achievement and Connecticut Public Broadcasting. Among those who survive are his wife, Kathleen Leary Bromage, three sons, four grandchildren, and a large extended family, including cousins Edward S. Bromage ’59 and Sally Van Dusen Bromage Suhr ’84. Other cousins include the late Arthur W. Bromage of the class of 1925, and the late Willard G. Bromage of the class of 1935.

ROBERT B. BUSSEY, owner of Bridgham & Cook, Ltd., and the former headmaster of Miss Hall’s School, died Aug. 19, 2012. He was 68. A member of Psi Upsilon, he received a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University. After teaching at The Pomfret School and The American School in Switzerland, he was appointed as headmaster at Miss Hall’s, the youngest boarding school headmaster in the country at that time. He left Miss Hall’s after eight years, and he and his brother opened Bridgham & Cook, Ltd., a purveyor of British goods, in Freeport, Maine. Survivors include his wife of 23 years, Anne Norment Bussey, two children from his previous marriages to Karen Back Bussey and Lisa S. Bussey, three grandchildren, three brothers and sisters, and a large extended family.

MICHAEL B. BURTON, 60, died Jan. 29, 2005, nine days after suffering a cardiac arrest. The son of the late Jackson K. Burton ’36, he was a member of Commons Club and had received a master’s degree in business administration from Iona College. A marketing executive, he was the executive vice president for finance and administration of Advantage International, a sports marketing firm, until it became Octagon in 1999, after which he continued as executive vice president of the Connecticut office. An accomplished athlete and the winner of four national platform tennis championships, he was twice ranked the number one tennis player in the New England Division of the USTA. Survivors include his wife, Linda Setapen Burton; three daughters, Betsy Burton ’90, Carly Burton ’97, and Amy Burton; two grandchildren; his mother; four brothers, including Leslie M. Burton ’72 and Steven B. Burton ’74; one sister; his uncle, Rollin B. Burton Jr. ’49, and twelve nieces and nephews, including Matthew Burton ’04.