Obituaries

HALCYON G. SKINNER, an attorney who spent his entire career at the New York City law firm of LeBoeuf & Lamb, now Dewey & LeBoeuf, died Sept. 16, 2010, at age 92. He was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa. After receiving his degree with honors, he received his law degree from Yale University and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Until recently, he had regularly attended both Homecoming and Commencement each year. His wife, Eleanor Fuller Skinner, predeceased him. He is survived by two sons, Halcyon E. Skinner ’68 and Christopher C. Skinner ’73; four grandchildren, including Halcyon G. Skinner ’92; and two great-grandchildren.

BANNING REPPLIER, a public relations and advertising executive, died Aug. 30, 2007, at age 90. He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi and served as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army during World War II, participating in the Los Banos prisoner-of-war rescue in the Philippines, which was memorialized in the PBS film, Angels at Dawn.After working for other agencies, he formed the Banning Repplier Advertising Agency, and was later vice president of the First New Haven National Bank. He and his wife also owned the Lambert’s Cove Country Inn for 23 years. Active in the New Haven (Conn.) community, he also served as Wesleyan alumni fund chairman and on other alumni committees. He had recently spoken at Wesleyan, recounting his World War II experiences. Survivors include his wife, Elizabeth Morgan Repplier; four children, including Peter K. Repplier ’77; three stepchildren; his former wife, Marjorie Hemingway; 10 grandchildren, including Ian Applegate ’04, Michael Repplier ’09, and Austin Applegate ’97; and a large extended family.

FRANK W. PUTNAM, distinguished professor emeritus of molecular biology at the University of Indiana and a pioneer in the study of proteins found in human blood, died Nov. 29, 2006. He was 89. Orphaned at age 3, he was raised in an orphanage in New Britain, Conn., and supported himself through Wesleyan on scholarships and by winning academic prizes in a variety of disciplines. Elected to Sigma Xi and to Phi Beta Kappa, he received his degree with honors and with high distinction in chemistry. He was a member of the John Wesley Club. After receiving a master’s degree from Wesleyan, he received a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and later received an honorary degree from Cambridge University. During World War II he served as a civilian in the U.S. Chemical Warfare Service. A faculty member and researcher at Duke University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Florida, where he developed new techniques for analyzing the amino acid sequences of proteins, in 1965 he joined the faculty at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he founded one of the first programs in molecular biology. His research team published the first complete primary structure of human gamma globulin in 1967, and he subsequently published the first complete structure for two additional classes of immunoglobulins, IgA and IgM. He was the recipient of numerous national and international awards and honors. Predeceased by his wife, Dorothy Linder Putnam, he is survived by his son, Frank W. Putnam ’69, M.D., a daughter, and five grandchildren.

WAYNE L. McKUSICK, a retired research scientist with Eastman Kodak and the co–founder of a lifelong learning program at the Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology, died Aug. 9, 2009, at age 91. He received his degree with honors and with distinction in physics. A member of Alpha Chi Rho, he was elected to Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa. Predeceased by his wife, Betty Hayford McKusick, and by a son, among those who survive are three children, seven grandchildren, and one great–grandson.

JAMES E. MCCABE, 90, a former trustee at Wesleyan who chaired a presidential search committee, and whose career included important posts in government, business, and education, died May 25, 2007. A member of Eclectic, he received his degree with honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received a master’s degree from the Maxwell School of Government at Syracuse University. During World War II he served in Washington, D.C., at the Defense Housing Agency and the War Production Board. After the war he became an executive at Merck and Company, where he worked for 26 years. Prior to his retirement from Merck, he began his service as a Wesleyan trustee and became interested in higher education. This led to his appointment as vice president and treasurer of Skidmore College in 1970. He also led the search committee to fill the president’s chair at Skidmore and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws there in 1991. In 1974 Wesleyan honored him as a Distinguished Alumnus. Survivors include his wife, Elisabeth Rhoades McCabe, three children, six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and a brother and sister.

LEONARD I. LUTWACK, professor emeritus of English at the University of Maryland, died Apr. 1, 2008. He was 91. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in English. He received a master’s degree from Wesleyan and later a Ph.D. from Ohio State University. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army. A specialist in American literature and literary criticism, he taught at the University of Maryland for 32 years. He was an active member of the Audubon Society and wrote a book focused on birds in literature. He was also the author of The Role of Place in Literature. Survivors include his wife, Ruth Taylor Lutwack, a daughter, and two grandchildren.

THEODORE F. KING, 87, a retired office manager, died Apr. 21, 2005. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he received his degree with distinction in history and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Predeceased by his wife, Priscilla Spenser King, survivors include three daughters and four grandchildren.

HENRY W. JARVINEN, an intelligence analyst who retired from the Central Intelligence Agency in 1976 and then taught cello and worked part-time as a musician, died Sept. 9, 2003. He was 86. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received his degree with honors and then received a master’s degree from Columbia University. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army as an intelligence linguist. He joined the C.I.A. after the war and was later assigned to Finland and the East European desk. Predeceased by his wife, Dorothy, he is survived by three sons, including Matthew L. Jarvinen ’79, and six grandchildren.

RODNEY HUCK, who retired as a research specialist at the Monsanto Chemical Company, died Sept. 4, 2009. He was 93 and was a member of Delta Upsilon. Survivors include his wife, Edith Huck, two children, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

PROCTOR W. HOUGHTON, the president of Houghton Chemical Corporation, longtime secretary for his class, and the recipient of a Distinguished Alumnus Award from Wesleyan, died Jan. 12, 2012, at age 95. He was a member of Alpha Chi Rho. During World War II he worked with Allied Chemical to start new defense plants. Active in a variety of business, educational, and charitable organizations, he was a director and past president of the Ford Hall Forum, the oldest free public educational lecture series in America. At Wesleyan he funded the annual Houghton Scholarship Award. He was also an active participant and supporter of various Quaker organizations, especially the American Friends Service Committee, as well as a cofounder and director of the Newton Arts Center. His wife, Eloise Kautz Houghton, predeceased him. He is survived by four children and five grandchildren, including Jessica Houghton ’08.