Obituaries

ROBERT D. THORNTON, emeritus professor of English at the State University of New York at New Paltz and a State University of New York Exchange Scholar, died Oct. 24, 2006, at age 89. He was a member of Chi Psi and received his degree with honors and with high distinction in English. He received master’s degrees from Western Reserve and Harvard universities, and after service in the US Navy during World War II, returned to Harvard, where he received a PhD. An authority on Robert Burns and the cultural history of 18th-century Scotland, he taught for 45 years. He won awards for teaching and scholarship, and he collaborated with musicians on recordings of the songs of Robert Burns and Francis Hopkinson. Among those who survive are his wife, Grace Baker Thornton, two sons, and a brother, Norman M. Thornton ’41.

WILLIAM LEROY SMITH III, 83, of Skyview Manor died Saturday, Feb. 28, 2004, at 6:00 a.m. in the Fox Nursing Home, Chester, West Virginia.

He was born Feb. 1, 1921, in Chester, the son of Richard B. Smith and Belva Newell Smith. He grew up in Chester and the family later moved to West 6th Street in East Liverpool.

While attending Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia, Bill was witness to the famous and devastating tornado of 1936.

He was graduated in 1939 from The Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J., where he played football. His collegiate education at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., was interrupted by his service during World War II when he served in the Army Air Corps as a flight navigator in the South Pacific. Bill’s interest in flying continued long after the war, and he enjoyed piloting his own plane for many years. When he returned to Wesleyan, he was a member and president of Chi Psi Fraternity, played on the Red Cardinals football team and was graduated in 1946.

After returning to East Liverpool, Bill joined the family-owned Taylor, Smith and Taylor pottery. He worked in every facet of the pottery and served as president of the company until his retirement in 1975, when the pottery was sold to Anchor-Hocking Corporation. Highlights of his tenure at TS&T were the introduction of LuRay Ware and securing accounts with American Greetings and Sears Roebuck.

After retiring from Anchor-Hocking, Bill founded CMSUSA, a company that imports products for the pottery industry. He remained chairman of the company until his death.

He represented the pottery industry in many national organizations, and served as president and board member of the Association of Pottery and Glass Manufacturers up until his death.

An avid golfer, Bill was a member of the East Liverpool Country Club, learning to play there as a young boy. He was also a member of Vasari Country Club in Bonita Beach, Fla., where he maintained a residence.

Other organizations that benefited from Bill’s service were the East Liverpool YMCA Board; the Board of Potters Savings and Loan; Riverview Cemetery Board; St. Clair Land Company; and the East Liverpool Country Club Board.

He was a member of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.

Survivors include his wife, the former Virginia Purinton at home; a brother, Richard B. Smith, Jr. of East Liverpool; a sister, Shirley Smith Koenig of Huntsville, Ala.; a son, William L. Smith IV (Wink) and his wife, Dorothea, of East Liverpool, and a daughter, Barrie Archer and husband Thomas also of East Liverpool; and five granddaughters, Tristam D. Griffith, Alexis W. Dowding Wesleyan Class of 1996, Newell G. Smith, Leah S. Smith and Patricia B. Smith. A step-grandson, Patrick Archer, also survives and great-granddaughter Maya W. Griffith. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial tributes be made to Dollars for Scholars, P.O. Box 458, East Liverpool OH 43920 or the East Liverpool Area YMCA, 500 E. Fourth St., East Liverpool OH 43920.

DONALD S. SMITH JR., 91, a certified life underwriter who was associated with Connecticut General Life Insurance (CIGNA) for many years, died Jan. 6, 2009. A member of Psi Upsilon, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was a certified life underwriter and was a life member of both the President’s Club and the Million Dollar Roundtable. In 2005 he was honored by Psi Upsilon with the Bishop Herman Welch Award for Lifelong Leadership to Wesleyan and Society. His wife, Lois Alley Smith, predeceased him, as did a granddaughter and his brother, Wheeler Smith ’47. Survivors include three sons, six grandchildren, and a sister.

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.