Obituaries | 1990-1999

LEONARDO O. SMITH, a math and science tutor, and a dance performer, died June 5, 2006. He was 33. At Wesleyan he majored in physics. Among those who survive are his parents.

MATTHEW SHANE, a mathematics major at Wesleyan who received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Boston University, died Dec. 11, 2006. He was 34. Predeceased by his father, he is survived by his mother, stepfather, and three brothers.

LUCAS PORTILLA, who was a psychology and sociology major, died June 20, 2003. He was 32. At the time of his death he worked in market research in Madrid, Spain. He is survived by his mother, his father, a brother, and his grandmother.

DOUGLAS FEENEY-GALLAGHER, a professor at Three Rivers Community College in Norwich, Conn., died of cancer Nov. 4, 2003. He was 32. A history major at Wesleyan, he received a Ph.D. from SUNY-Binghamton. Among those who survive are his wife, Colleen M. Ryan-Feeney; a daughter; his father and stepmother; his mother and stepfather; his paternal grandmother; and a brother and sister.

DONALD LACOSS, 46, died Jan. 31, 2011. A history major at Wesleyan, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2001. Among those who survive are his son; his partner, Susan Crutchfield; his parents; a brother; and a large extended family.

ANGELA HAILEY-GREGORY, 39, a professor of literature, most recently at SUNY Morrisville, died Aug. 14, 2009. After graduating from Wesleyan she toured nationally as an actor. She received her master’s degree in English Literature from SUNY Cortland, and was studying for her PhD at Binghamton University. Granddaughter of the late novelist Arthur Hailey, she shared his talent for writing. Survivors include her husband, James Gregory ’90; two daughters; her mother and stepfather; her father; her grandmother; her sister; her in-laws, including her father-in-law, Peter B. Gregory ’57; and a large extended family.

Mark Smuckler, a PhD student in organic chemistry at UCLA, died April 30, 2008. He was 38. A chemistry major at Wesleyan, he worked for DuPont in Boston before returning to his studies in 1994. He lived in Los Angeles for 12 years, where he was able to indulge his passions for music and film. Survivors include his parents and sister, Abby Smuckler ’89.