Obituaries

BRUCE D. PODEWELL, 69, a member of the theater faculty at Tulane University for nearly 40 years, died Mar. 29, 2013. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and received a master’s degree from Emerson College. A co-founder and former artistic director of the Shakespeare Festival at Tulane, he had also served as the associate artistic director of the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane, and was the longtime director of Tulane Center Stage, the theater department’s former summer-stock company. The author of Shakespeare’s Watch, a handbook on Shakespeare’s plays, he was also an accomplished jazz musician, often playing banjo in the French Quarter. He founded the Patchwork Players, a children’s theater troupe that is now led by his daughter. Among those who survive are his wife, Banu Gibson, his daughter and son, and two sisters.

PHILLIP L. MARTH, 72, an educator who taught in public schools for 30 years, died Mar. 16, 2013. He was a member of Gamma Psi and received a master’s degree from the University of Hartford. An expert gardener and amateur hybridizer of miniature roses, daylilies and canna lilies, he was an active member and past president of the Central Florida Daylily Society and member of the Connecticut Daylily Society. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Trudy Foster Marth, one daughter, one son, a granddaughter, three brothers, and many nieces and nephews.

HENRY L. ERNSTTHAL, 72, a leader in the association management field, died May 20, 2013. He was a member of EQV and received his law degree from Stanford University. Formerly the executive director of the California Dental Association and the executive director of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, he was the director of the MAM (master’s of association management) degree program at George Washington University. He was a well-known speaker and consultant on association governance and corporate structure, strategic planning, board management, trend forecasting, ethical behavior, and contemporary legal issues, as well as the author of Principles of Association Management, the primary text in the field. A fellow of the American Society of Association Executives, in 1994 he was called one of the “Heroes of the Profession” by the association’s magazine. After retiring, he continued to volunteer with national health advocacy groups. Survivors include his wife, Mary Lynn Miller Ernstthal, two children, and two grandchildren.

EDGAR D. MANN, an international marketing executive, died Mar. 6, 2012, at age 72. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he received his degree with distinction in economics and later received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was involved with international sales and marketing for the Ford Motor Company, Cummins Engine Company, and Parker-Hannifin Corporation. Among those who survive are his wife, Dorothy Smith Mann, three children, two grandchildren, and a sister.

JOHN C. FOSTER, a glass company executive, died Jan. 30, 2013. He was 76. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he received an MBA from Harvard University. He worked for many years at the Diamond Glass Company, rising to the positions of vice president and corporate director. He left Diamond Glass to found Foster Glass, a glass manufacturer in Salem, N.J. Subsequently, he started Foster Credit Company, which he headed until his retirement. Survivors include his daughter, two sisters, two stepsons, and an extended family.

ROBERT C. BENDER, 75, the retired CEO of Bender-Loudon Motor Freight, a multi-state trucking company, died Mar. 24, 2012. A member of Eclectic, he was a U.S. Army veteran and studied at Northwestern and Harvard universities. While he was in line for Wesleyan graduation, he was signed to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, which he did for a year. He was a trustee of Western Reserve Academy for 16 years. Among those who survive are his wife, Donna Reycraft Bender, four children, two sisters, and eight nieces and nephews.

FREDERICK D. BANFIELD, M.D., a physician and avid athlete, died May 24, 2013, at age 77. He was a member of Psi Upsilon and received his medical degree from Temple University. After serving in the U.S. Public Health Service in Alaska, he moved to Rochester, Minn., where he eventually founded two family medicine clinics. He was very interested in physical fitness and in racquetball. After having started a racquetball league in Rochester, he was inducted into both the Rochester Racquetball Hall of Fame and the Minnesota Racquetball Hall of Fame. He is survived by his wife, Gilda (Jill) Lepone Banfield, five children, 12 grandchildren, and two sisters.

SCOTT AIKEN, 77, a corporate communications counselor, former journalist, and the owner of Aiken Public Relations, died Mar. 6, 2013. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received his degree with high honors and with distinction in history. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and received a master’s degree from Columbia University, after which he spent a year in France on a Fulbright Fellowship. After working abroad for the New York Herald Tribune and as a bureau chief for Radio Free Europe, he joined the staff of the Cincinnati Enquirer as a foreign news analyst and writer. He then moved to public relations, first working for corporations and then as the owner of his firm. Survivors include his wife and partner, Anne Aiken; five children; three stepchildren; and eight grandchildren.

JOHN H. LYONS, the president of a family sawmill equipment business, died Feb. 2, 2013. He was 78. A member of Eclectic, he was a four-year veteran of the U.S. Navy flight program and the youngest pilot, at age 22, to log 200 landings on an aircraft carrier. He earned a business degree from the University of Florida and later returned to Pennsylvania to run Lyons Equipment. Two sons, a grandson, and two sisters are among his survivors.

GERALD EAGER, 77, professor emeritus of art at Bucknell University, died Feb. 14, 2012. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he received a master’s degree from Columbia University and a PhD from the University of Minnesota. He liked to demonstrate that art is a living subject that reflects both the world we live in and our view of it, and he taught that art is for everyone, not just the scholar. He was also involved in the Lewisburg community. Predeceased by his wife, Patricia Anne Bell, he is survived by two sons, one grandson, two sisters, and a close friend, Dorris Keen.