Obituaries | 1990-1999

RACHEL MELCHIOR HENDERSON FALLS, the national hotline director for the National Abortion Federation in Washington, D.C., died of brain cancer Aug. 24, 2008, at age 40. She received an MFA from the University of Iowa, worked as a stage manager, lighting designer, and dramaturg, and taught in the theater departments at the University of Iowa and the International School in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. Diagnosed with brain cancer in 1989, she was an inspiration to many through public speaking and counseling for brain cancer patients and their families. Several awards have been created in her honor. She is survived by her husband, William Falls, whom she married in 2001, her mother, three sisters, including Mary Hannah Henderson ’95, her stepmother, three nieces and nephews, and her cousin, Wesleyan Professor of English, Emerita, Gertrude R. Hughes.

BETSY BURTON, 38, a doctoral student in clinical psychology at The Wright Institute in Oakland, Calif., died Dec. 17, 2006. She had battled manic depressive illness for some years and committed suicide. An outstanding athlete and vice president of the senior class, she was also a resident adviser at Wesleyan and played #1 singles in both squash and tennis. She received the Jones Award as the top player in both tennis and squash. Throughout her short career she worked with children in a variety of settings. Predeceased by her father, Michael B. Burton ’65, she is survived by her mother, Linda S. Burton; two sisters, including Carly Burton ’97; her paternal grandmother; her brother-in-law; a niece and nephew; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

JOSHUA KEMENY, 36, died Feb. 23, 2009. After graduation from Wesleyan, he worked in advertising in New York and Chicago and won a number of awards in 2003 and 2005. He is survived by his wife, Madeleine Klein, his son, two half-siblings, his mother, and his grandparents.

ANDREW I.K. WEBER, 34, who had worked as a marketing coordinator for a financial firm, died Jan. 17, 2012. His mother, Sylvia Weber, and many aunts, uncles and cousins survive.

JORDAN S. GREENBERG, 30, a systems analyst at Morgan Stanley, died Feb. 1, 2008. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he majored in philosophy. He is survived by his parents and sister, Jennifer Greenberg ’01.

TARAS PETROVICH GAPOTCHENKO, 26, died April 12, 2005 of complications from cancer. An economics major at Wesleyan, he received his master’s degree from the university in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Survivors include his father and a niece.

VANESSA J. CABRERA, who worked as a chef after graduating from the Natural Gourmet Cooking School, died Feb. 22, 2012, at age 34. In addition to working as a chef, she pursued her many dreams: natural food and cooking, natural healing, and entrepreneurship. Survivors include her parents; her sister, Melissa Cabrera ’96; her brother; her nephew; her aunt; and several cousins.

Submitted by C. Anne Brockelman ’96 on behalf of Vanessa’s family:
After graduating from Wes (‘99), Vanessa went on to graduate from the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City.  From that point on, Vanessa worked as a vegetarian chef in a variety of ways: running her own cafe (for a short time), teaching cooking to young people, working as head chef at Rockin’ Raw in Williamsburg, traveling to India and working as a chef for the Purple Valley Yoga Retreat, and more.

Upon returning from her work in India, Vanessa discovered she had breast cancer.  She waged a gallant, private battle, demonstrating extreme courage and strength. Vanessa ultimately lost her battle as a variety of complications from her treatment became too much to overcome.

Her funeral service was held in her hometown of Montclair, NJ.  Among the attendees were her sister, Melissa Cabrera ‘96, and classmates: Nichole Morris ‘99, Janelle Bryan ‘99, Farrah Darbouze ‘99, and Rebecca Reeves (formally Elliot) ‘99.

Vanessa from a cooking demo she ran at the New York Botanical Garden just following her diagnosis in the summer of 2010.  She loved to cook!  It was her art.

ALEX T. HANDLER, 31, died July 5, 2007. He had majored in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Among those who survive are his parents, Dr. Mark and Leslie Handler, two brothers, his grandmother, and a cousin, Julie A. Burstein ’80. (For more information, contact Vielhauer-Clepper funeral home.)

JARRETT TAHIR SEALS, 27, died June 9, 2003. He had majored in art history. Among those who survive are his mother, his father, a brother, a sister, and several aunts and uncles.