RODERICK K. McLUCAS, 56, a theater director and faculty member at Marymount Manhattan College, died Mar. 28, 2013. He was an actor, director, and choreographer, and he also translated plays. His classical and experimental works were staged in many venues here and abroad. Survivors include two sisters; his brother, Dr. John C. McLucas ’74; several cousins; and his former wife, Margaret Tucker Ackroyd, and her daughter.
ADRIENNE WIENER BERNARD, an attorney and special counsel with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, LLP, died Mar. 17, 2013, at age 56. She received her degree magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving her law degree from New York University, she served in the New York City Department of City Planning’s Office of the Counsel. In 2003 she joined Fried Frank, where she specialized in land use, planning, and environmental and zoning law. Among those who survive are her husband, Mitchell Bernard; three children, including Hannah S. Bernard ’15; and a cousin, Pamela G. Dorman ’79.
MICHAEL E. NEWTON, a systems analyst in Seattle, Wash., died Sept. 26, 2012. He was 57. He received his degree cum laude and with honors, and attended graduate school at Washington State University. An avid outdoorsman, he was a member of the Mountaineers and enjoyed exploring the mountains of the Northwest. He is survived by his wife, Mira Zalokar-Newton ’79, D.V.M., three children, his mother, five brothers, one sister, and a sister-in-law, Nadja Z. Golding ’77.
ARTHUR C. CLAFLIN, an attorney in Seattle, Wash., died May 23, 2013, at age 62. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa, he received his degree magna cum laude and then received his law degree from Yale University. He had been with the law firm of Bogle and Gates for 25 years, and since 2000 was with Hall, Zanzig, Claflin, McEachern. He had an interest in current events, great literature, and history, and he was an avid runner, having completed several marathons, including the Boston Marathon. Among those who survive are his wife, Gretchen Anders Claflin, two daughters, his brother, and several nieces and nephews.
JEFFREY WEINSTEIN, M.D., a neuro–anesthesiologist at JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J., died Sept. 30, 2009. He was 52. He attended Wesleyan for three years before being accepted into a B.A.–M.D. program at Johns Hopkins University, from which he received both degrees. Survivors include his wife, Karen Blum Weinstein, his father, two daughters, and his brother and sister.
RALPH B. WILSON III, 52, died Mar. 11, 2007. Among those who survive are his mother, his sister, and countless friends.
The first-born child of Elmo Riley Willard, III and Patricia Ann Willard, Elmo Michael Willard, was born on November 17, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois–his mother’s hometown. As a newborn, Michael moved with his parents to Washington, DC, where his father began law school. His first three years were spent in the nation’s capital.
In 1954, the young family relocated to Beaumont, Texas, and shortly thereafter, Michael began school at Our Mother of Mercy Elementary. In 1965, following completion of the eighth grade, he embarked upon an illustrious four years at Hebert High School. During his time there, Michael participated in numerous activities including debate, junior varsity basketball and his true passion, golf. In his senior year, Michael was co-captain of the varsity golf team. His success at Hebert, however, was not confined solely to extracurricular activities, for he was inducted into the National Honor Society during his junior year. The following year, 1969, Michael was graduated from high school as a National Achievement Scholar.
As a result of his scholastic standing, Michael was recruited by Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut,–a part of what is referred to as the “Little Ivy League”–and was awarded a partial scholarship. His appearance in Connecticut was noteworthy. Michael was part of the newly burgeoning wave of African-American students attending Ivy League colleges for the first time in large numbers in the nation’s history. He helped open the doors of opportunity to African-Americans for generations to come. In 1973, Michael was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University.
Upon graduation, Michael returned to the city of his earliest years by enrolling in Georgetown University Law Center located in Washington, DC. But law was not to be his calling, and soon after Michael returned to his hometown of Beaumont.
After deep reflection, Michael decided that he needed a complete change of direction. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1979. That proved to be both a blessing and a curse. Michael successfully completed basic training and was shipped to Germany for assignment. It was in Germany that his mental disability of schizophrenia was diagnosed. That illness would alter the course of his remaining years. Michael was twenty-eight.
The next several years were fraught with tension and discomfort as he fought to contain and understand the illness that was slowly gaining control of his life. It must be said that Michael fought valiantly. There were deep reserves of courage and strength within him.
In 1997, Michael moved to Houston where he found some measure of comfort and peace. He chose to live in a personal care home which allowed him independence while providing a safe and secure living environment. Michael garnered joy from the love of his family, his church and belief in God, and his newly formed friendships at The Gathering Place. Although his was not a life he would have chosen, he found contentment in his later years. Elmo Michael Willard departed peacefully in his sleep on Friday, January 21, 2005.
The gift of Michael’s life is celebrated by all whose lives he touched. He was preceded in death by his father, Elmo R. Willard, III, Esq. and is mourned by his mother, Patricia A. Willard; his brother, David A. Willard; his aunt, Shirley R. Simeon, PhD; his cousins, Percy Willard, Joyce Willard, Blandon Willard, Joy Willard, Nora Lee Alexander, Quentin C. Simeon, Mark J. Simeon, Lawrence Green, Monica Brown, Stephanie Campbell, Mary Quash, William Quash, Shawn Quash, Vaughn Quash, and many other relatives and friends.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Michael’s memory to the Julie Rogers “Gift of Life” Program, PMB 46, 148 S. Dowlen Rd., Beaumont, TX 77707-9898.
JAN M. WOUTERS, a nuclear physicist who was associated with Los Alamos National Laboratory for much of his career, died Apr. 2, 2010. He was 56. After receiving his degree cum laude and with high honors, he received a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. An accomplished musician, he played a Bach organ fugue at his Wesleyan Commencement. His specialty at Los Alamos was computer data analysis in physics. Survivors include his wife, Laura Moltz Wouters, two children, his mother, his brother, and his sister, Dr. Annemarie V. Wouters ’79.
GEORGE B. von der LIPPE, 61, professor of German at St. Anselm College for 26 years, and chairman of the foreign language department, died Nov. 2, 2009. He received his PhD from Brown University, where he did groundbreaking literary detective work comparing Edgar Allan Poe and E.T.A. Hoffmann. The author of many scholarly articles, as well as a critical study of Martin Luther, he translated Max Schmeling’s autobiography and also an important World War II novel critical of the Nazi regime. Survivors include his son, his mother, and his former wife, Angela von der Lippe.
Dena (Seibert) Thomas of Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., and Chatham, MA died on April 21, 2005 after a valiant battle with leukemia. She was 49. Dena was born in New York City, the daughter of Wilson and Susan Seibert. She was raised in Croton on-Hudson and graduated from Hackley School in Tarrytown in 1973. Dena received a BA in American History from Wesleyan in 1977. She then attended The Fashion Institute of Technology before embarking on a successful career in the fashion and accessories field, which began at Bloomingdales and included a decade with Bally of Switzerland. Mrs. Thomas served as a Trustee of Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining. Dena spent her summers on Cape Cod in Chatham. She will be remembered for her generosity of spirit towards all with whom she came in contact, as well as for her fierce loyalty to her family, especially her two sons. She is survived by her husband of 20 years David B.Thomas ’77, her sons William S. and Spencer W., her mother Susan H. Seibert of Chatham, MA and Naples, FL, sister Sara A. Seibert of Redondo Beach, CA, brother Andrew W. Seibert of New York, NY, sister and brother-in-law Susan S. and John T. Cooney, Jr. of Ossining, one niece and one nephew Sara W. and Jack T. Cooney. Predeceased by her father Wilson A. Seibert, Jr. who died on April 20, 2005.
