EDWARD B. FISCHER, a manager of information systems, who was associated with the General Electric Corporation in Schenectady, N.Y., for 35 years, died Mar. 19, 2003 at age 72. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he received his degree with honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and to Sigma Xi. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran. Predeceased by his wife, survivors include three children and three grandchildren.
DONALD C. FORD, an editor and academic publisher, and assistant director of admission at Wesleyan from 1954–1961, died Dec. 15, 2010. He was 80. A member of Eclectic, he received his degree with honors and served in the U.S. Army. He was the brother of the late Andrew E. Ford Jr. of the class of 1950. Before joining the administration at Wesleyan he was a research mathematician. In 1961 he moved to John Wiley and Sons, where he served as the first president of Hamilton Publishing Company, and published textbooks in mathematics, statistics, accounting, and business. An avid sailor, he was also a lifelong supporter of Wesleyan and was a member of the first class of inductees into the Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame. He is survived by his wife, Diana Schafer Ford, two stepchildren, three grandchildren, a brother, and a large extended family.
F. ROBERT FEKETY JR., M.D., professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a distinguished physician, teacher, author and medical researcher in infectious diseases, died Jan. 6, 2009. He was 79. A member of Sigma Nu, he received his degree with high distinction in chemistry and was elected both to Phi Beta Kappa and to Sigma Xi. He received his medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine. After serving in the U.S. Public Health Service and teaching at Johns Hopkins University, he established and was chief of the infectious disease division of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, where he was on the faculty from 1967 to his retirement in 1995. He was a discoverer of the causes and treatment of Clostridium difficile colitis, which was and is a significant problem for hospitalized patients. The University of Michigan established the Fekety Lectureship in Infectious Diseases in 1992 and the Fekety Professorship in 2008, in recognition of his commitment to education, research, and patient care. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Baker Fekety, two daughters, and a sister.
HAROLD R. FRAY JR., 84, a retired minister, died Feb. 11, 2009. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he entered Wesleyan on the G.I. Bill of Rights and received his degree with honors and with distinction in history. He was a member of Chi Psi and received his master’s in divinity from Union Theological Seminary. His experiences liberating the Buchenwald concentration camp impelled him to become involved in the Civil Rights Movement and to participate in the protests against the Vietnam War. The author of three books, he also represented the United Church of Christ at the United Nations in New York City. After retiring in 1985, he started Adventure Tours, taking seniors on trips in the U.S. and abroad, and he continued his involvement with humanitarian groups. His first wife, Harriet Ann Steinmetz Fray, with whom he had six children, died in 1973, and he married Martha Belle Wheeler Grey Fray, the mother of two children, who survives. In addition to his wife and eight children, survivors include 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Harold (Hal) Raymond Fray, Jr., died Wednesday, February 11, 2009, at home in Green Valley, Ariz., under Hospice care with family around him. He was born February 6, 1925. After serving in World War II, he entered Wesleyan on the GI Bill of rights, majoring in history. Before graduating in 1950, he was married to Harriet Ann Steinmetz and their first child was born. Harold went on to Union Seminary in New York City. After he was ordained in the Congregational Church in Milford, Conn., he served churches in Utica, N.Y., Newton, Mass., and Seattle, Wash. He and Harriet had six children. After she died in 1973, he married Martha Belle Fray, who had two children. When Harold retired, he formed his own tour company called Adventure Tours and led trips throughout the U.S. and 43 foreign countries. He served as interim minister in Casper, Wyo., and Brookline, Mass. When he and Martha Belle moved to Green Valley, Ariz., in 1998, he became the New Member Development Minister for The Good Shepherd U.C.C., and promoted the sale of Just Coffee, a fair trade Mexican coffee farmers co-op. Before he died, he had his third book publishes, Sex Under the Steeple. The couple attended his 50th Class Reunion at Wesleyan. He remained a strong supporter of Wesleyan, believing he had received a first-rate liberal arts education. Harold told many people that he had 84 wonderful years and he was looking forward to his next ”Surprise“ journey! He has had a memorial service at Good Shepherd U.C.C. and another one will be in Seattle, Wash., in May or June. His blended family includes his wife, Martha Belle, of 35 years, eight children, thirteen grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
DAVID L. FISHER, who in 1958 joined with four other freshmen at Wesleyan to form the Highwaymen, one of the most popular folk music groups of the early 1960s, died May 7, 2010, at age 69. A member of EQV, he was the son of the late Abraham A. Fisher ’34. The Highwaymen was formed when the five freshmen had to present an entertainment act for the fraternity in which they were initiates. Under his guidance they put together a folk music show. By the fall of 1961 the group had the No. 1 song in the county, “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore,” an African–American spiritual that was released under the shortened title, “Michael.” Although the group broke up in 1964, after eight albums, 10 singles, and three appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, he remained a musician, composing and arranging music for films and television and working as a studio singer and musician. In 1987, the group reunited and issued five more CDs, and he was acknowledged as their musical leader. His two previous marriages ended in divorce. Among those who survive are his wife, Dr. Elaine K. Haagen, two children from his second marriage, his stepson, and his sister.
ANN G. FARRAR, home in Wilton, CT, on the evening of July 17 of ovarian cancer. She was 49. Ann (or Nan, as she was known to many) was born Thanksgiving Day in 1956 in New Haven to William Gregg Farrar and Lucy Brady Farrar. She grew up in Guilford, CT, where she attended Guilford schools, and to which she has maintained close ties throughout her life. Ann also loved Cushings Island, Portland, Maine, and Kington, England, where she had spent significant time throughout her life. She graduated from Wesleyan University, cum laude, in 1978, and went to live in Madrid, Spain where she worked for several years for the Fulbright Commission. With this experience she began her lifelong interest in international education, an interest encouraged by her aunt, Barbara Burn, a pioneer in the field. Ann attended Harvard University School of Education, earning an M.Ed in Education Administration in 1982, and then the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University, earning an M.A. in International Development in 1984. Ann worked in international programs in Costa Rica, Mexico, Washington DC and El Salvador before joining Save the Children Federation in Westport Connecticut, as Program Manager/Operations Director for the Latin American and Caribbean Region. Ann belonged to the Congregational Church in Wilton. An optimist by nature, Ann looked for the best in every person and every situation. She had a tremendous appetite for new and different experiences, paid attention to the big picture while working to perfect the little details, and was a people person, making sure that she connected with everybody who entered her life in whatever capacity. With the onset of her cancer, this active empathy for others increased and became a sustaining force. Ann had a special talent for creating fun, and savored both the ridiculous and the sublime in daily life. Above all, Ann was a family person; her daughters, Marian and Alexandra, were the center of her world, and other family members were kept very close. Ann leaves her mother, Lucy Farrar of Guilford, CT, sisters Barbara Preneta of Farmington, CT, and Virginia Balser of Danbury, CT, brother William Farrar of South Pasadena, California, three nieces and three nephews, many aunts, uncles and cousins, her devoted former husband Jorge Obando of Washington DC, stepson Jordi Obando of Norwalk, CT, two step-granddaughters, and her most treasured daughters Marian and Alexandra Obando of Wilton CT. In lieu of flowers, Ann wished for donations to be sent to one of two organizations that were important to her. Donations in her honor to Save the Children’s programs in Latin America may be made to the Ann Farrar Memorial Fund online at www.savethechildren.org or by mail to 54 Wilton Rd, Westport CT 06880, attention Bibiana de Dios. Donations in her honor may also be made to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, 14 Pennsylvania Plaza, Suite 1400, NY, NY 10122. A celebration of Ann’s life was held at the Congregational Church in Wilton, CT, on Wednesday July 26 at 2 pm.
ROBERT H. FUNK ’57., a retired financial analyst for the Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Group, died Apr. 28, 2012. He was 77. A member of Delta Sigma, he received an MBA from the University of Connecticut. He was an avid outdoorsman and active member of the Appalachian Mountain Club, and he led major excursions for the club throughout the world. His wife, Pam Lewis, four children, eight grandchildren and step-grandchildren, two stepsons, and his sister survive
PAUL D. FLEISCHAUER, who retired as principal scientist and director of the Aerospace Corporation after a 35-year career there, died Oct. 7, 2009, at age 67. He was a member of Chi Psi and received his PhD from the University of Southern California. He is survived by his wife, Marlene Awane Fleischauer, two children, and two nephews.
WILLIAM C. FICKERT JR., 75, who owned and operated his family’s insurance company, died May 23, 2012. He was a member of Gamma Psi and was associated with the William C. Fickert Agency, now the Fickert, Howard & Wragg Insurance Agency, Inc., for his entire career. He is survived by his wife, Susan Kinlock Fickert, four children, three stepsons, 11 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and his sister.
Julia Fischer ’91 writes: “My father loved Wesleyan, and I am a member of the class of 1991. I have attached my comments from the memorial, which was last Friday as well as a photo of him and of our family home, a geodesic dome, which he was most proud of and which is a magnificent house, the existence of which he is responsible for.”
Julia Fischer ’91 writes: “My father loved Wesleyan, and I am a member of the class of 1991. I have attached my comments from the memorial, which was last Friday as well as a photo of him and of our family home, a geodesic dome, which he was most proud of and which is a magnificent house, the existence of which he is responsible for.”
I am deeply grateful to have had Richard for a father. His immense equanimity, reason, intellect, dignity, and mischievousness served as the soil in which our family grew.
In reflecting with my friends who knew him I discovered that not only did he treat me as an equal all through my life, but he made us all feel that he was genuinely interested in our thoughts and opinions, fully respected them, and expected us to have thoughtful ideas. Inherent in the interactions with him was always a reverence and respect and I feel that it made each of us want to stand a little taller, be just that much more perceptive, imaginative or knowledgeable. He inspired us moment to moment to be better selves, and he did so non-judgmentally. One friend said that if he ever had to be judged by someone, he would want it to be Richard. My father was the embodiment of fairness and reason.
And then he had this saying that he repeated so often during my childhood – “Life is fair” he would say. It used to send me into fits of frustration, discussion & contemplation. Thinking about it now, it is much like a Zen koan. A koan is an unsolvable riddle used in Zen Buddhism to force an intuitive leap which carries the student beyond the rational plane to an enlightened state. He would always say “Life is fair” or a similar statement, with the corners of his moustache doing that thing, that barely perceptible thing, with that slight extra light shining from his eyes – so much fun and mischief. He knew full well how saying “Life is fair” made me feel, and I think he felt the exact same way. I feel that for someone so mental and logical, these moments of play reveal his understanding of the wider ultimate reality and his love and joy of being.
And his creativity! The dome and his writing, and his early efforts at character recognition, his political ideas and suggestions – he was kind of quiet about these things, plugging away at them for the joy of it, the interest of it. And he was dynamic, delightfully unpredictable – he might pull into an empty parking lot to do a few doughnuts while teaching me to drive, or he might run outside in the middle of a hot shower to roll in the snow. So full of life and adventure!
As much as I was close to him, I think I speak for everyone when I say I wish I’d known him even better. He was on his own path of self-discovery, and it is a tremendous inspiration to me to have seen the dedication and strides he made even over the last year. May his memory continue to inspire and teach each of us.
Thank you.
