Obituaries

HERBERT GRANDAGE III, 89, who retired as vice president and general manager of the Samuel Moore Company, died Aug. 28, 2010. He was a member of Psi Upsilon and served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. An active alumni volunteer, he received the Wesleyan University Service Award. After his retirement in 1979 he and his wife traveled extensively around the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Alaska. He is survived by his wife, Jan Grandage, four children, 10 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Houghton “Buck” Freeman, a trustee emeritus of the university, died Dec. 1, 2010. He was 89. Please see his obituary on page 8.

JOHN W. FISHER, 82, an underwriter for the Hartford Insurance Group, died April 27, 2004. He was a member of Sigma Chi and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. His brother, C.E. Fisher, was in the Navy V-12 program. He is survived by his sister-in-law.

DAVID FICKER, 90, the owner of Ficker Records, Old Greenwich (Conn.) Printing, and Ficker North Advertising, died Nov. 11, 2011. He was a member of Sigma Chi and served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. A musician, he was involved in community activities. His wife, Elizabeth Chamberlain Ficker, predeceased him, as did a grandson. Survivors include four children, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

CHARLES J. DAYTON, M.D., who practiced medicine in Cheshire, Conn., for more than 40 years, died Mar. 31, 2003 at age 81. A member of Phi Sigma Kappa, he received a medical degree from Temple University. He was a U.S. Army veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Thomas Dayton, 11 children, 13 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

WILLIAM H. DAVENPORT JR., a world-renowned chemist who worked on the Manhattan Project at Princeton University, died Apr. 14, 2005, at age 83. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. After leaving Princeton, he became a research chemist at Monsanto, at Chase Brass and Copper, and later at Kennecott Copper. He was known for his research in rhenium. Survivors include his wife, Mary Garratt Davenport, and two children.

PETER V. CURL, 89, who retired as a historian with the U.S. State Department, died May 17, 2010. He was a member of Sigma Chi and, after serving in the military during World War II, received his PhD from Cornell. The author and editor of collections of documents on foreign relations, he wrote an abridgement of Homer’s Iliad. His parents and sister predeceased him.

HAROLD B. CHASE JR., a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, died Aug. 4, 2006, at age 86. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta and received degrees from Boston and Syracuse universities. During World War II he served in the Army Air Forces in the Pacific. Then, after a break in service, he joined the Air Force and served overseas as well as in the U.S. He retired from the Air Force in 1970 and joined the Department of Defense, where he served as an intelligence officer with the Army, Navy and Joint Chiefs of Staff. Survivors include his wife, Caroline Mills Chase, two children from his first marriage, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

LIVINGSTON VAN DE WATER JR., 85, a retired sales manager of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, died Aug. 2, 2006. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi and served in the U.S. Navy as an aviator during World War II. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ellen Chamberlain Van De Water, three children, seven grandchildren, and a sister.

GEORGE S. BYWATER, 88, a sales executive and the retired president of Sales Motivating Associates, Inc., died Mar. 19, 2010. A member of Alpha Chi Rho, he received an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He was the son of Wilfred McK. Bywater of the class of 1916. During World War II he served in the U.S. Navy. He was also a competitive tennis player from age 11 to 77. Predeceased by his former wife, Lorah Jordan Harney, and one son, he is survived by one son, two granddaughters, a great-granddaughter, and his sister.

POYNTON K. BISHOP, 90, an investment executive who was a gold life master as well as a published author about the game of bridge, died Feb. 27, 2010. A member of Sigma Nu, he received a master’s degree from Wesleyan. During World War II he served in the U.S. Navy. Predeceased by his wife, Lois Pratt Bishop, he is survived by three sons, a daughter, six grandchildren, and four great–grandchildren.