Obituaries

STANLEY H. BENHAM died Mar. 23, 2005, in Norwalk, Conn. He was 83. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he served in the U.S. Air Force after graduation, in the 35th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron in Yunnan Province, China. After the war, he founded and operated Stan Benham Photography in Norwalk, Conn. Clients over the years included Save the Children, Clarks Shoes and local entrepreneurs. In retirement, he was a devoted volunteer with numerous organizations. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Kathryn D. Benham, four children and two grandchildren.

VINCENT B. ALLISON, the retired director of music at North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka, Ill., and an accomplished musician and music educator, died Feb. 16, 2009, at age 87. He was the son of V. Blake Allison of the class of 1914 and the nephew of Foster J. Allison of the class of 1916. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he was elected to Sigma Xi. After receiving his degree with honors and with distinction in chemistry, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II and then returned to Wesleyan, where he received a master’s degree in chemistry. Then, following his passion for music, which he had also pursued while at Wesleyan, he received a B.A. in music from Yale University and a master’s in music from Harvard University. During his 35-year tenure at North Shore Country Day as well as after his retirement, he had a large impact on music in the Chicago area. He conducted, taught, and performed, often as a baritone soloist or a clarinetist, and his greatest pleasure was to hear from former students about the appreciation of music that he had instilled in them. His wife, Zelda Lackey Allison, predeceased him. Among those who survive are four children, including V. Blake Allison III ’72 and Taber D. Allison ’74; 10 grandchildren, including Emma Allison ’08; and four great-grandchildren.

VINCENT B. ALLISON: A LIFE IN MUSIC

As Vincent B. Allison prepared to begin his freshman year at Connecticut’s Wesleyan University in the fall of 1939, his mother encouraged him to pursue a career in chemistry, a profession that she thought would be relatively immune to economic turmoil such as the family had experienced during the Great Depression. Allison heeded his mother’s wishes and received a B.S. in Chemistry from Wesleyan when he graduated in 1943.

After returning from serving in the Army during World War II — now married to his college sweetheart, the former Zelda Lackey — Allison resumed his chemistry studies earning an M.S. from Wesleyan in 1946. But his heart wasn’t in it. His skill in chemistry not withstanding, Allison’s real love was music; a passion he pursued not only as an accomplished singer and student conductor in Wesleyan’s renowned glee club but as a clarinetist and occasional ringer of the University’s carillon. Fortunately, Wesleyan’s then music department chair Professor Joseph Daltry recognized Allison’s considerable musical talents and prevailed upon him to forgo chemistry and follow his heart’s desire.

Vin Allison did just that, and when he died in Lake Forest, IL on Monday, February 16th, 2009, after a 10-year struggle with Parkinson’s Disease he left a legacy of musical performance and instruction that spanned seven decades enriching the lives of countless students, choristers and audiences the length of Chicago’s north shore.

The road to a life in music was not easily traveled. Vin and Zelda had two young daughters and very limited financial resources, but he earned a B.A. in music from Yale University and then went to Harvard University where in 1951 he received an M.A. in music. It was during his time at Harvard that Vin’s talents came to the attention of noted educator Perry Dunlap Smith who had founded the North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka, Illinois. Smith was in need of a music director and had learned about Vin through a friend on Harvard’s faculty. Allison accepted Smith’s job offer, and he and Zelda moved the family — now numbering three with the addition of a son in 1949 and Zelda pregnant with their fourth child — to Chicago’s north shore in the fall of 1952.

Vin would remain at North Shore Country Day until his retirement 35 years later in 1986.

At North Shore, Allison taught high school-level, music appreciation, gave voice lessons, directed the school’s famed annual Gilbert & Sullivan productions and conducted the school chorus and numerous small vocal ensembles.

His impact on the area’s musical life was not limited solely to North Shore, however. Throughout the ’50s and ’60s, Vin directed the choirs of The Union Church of Lake Bluff; joined the first decade by Zelda ?- an accomplished pianist in her own right — who played the organ. During that time he also assumed directorship of the North Shore Choral Society. Through the Choral Society and other venues he helped introduce local audiences to major works that are now mainstays of the choral repertoire such as Johann Sebastian Bach?s “B Minor Mass,” “The Saint Matthew’s Passion” and “A German Requiem” by Johannes Brahms. In addition to conducting, he put his distinguished baritone voice to work appearing as a soloist in numerous local performances.

In 1972, Vin assumed directorship of music for Lake Forest?s Church of the Holy Spirit Episcopal Church making several recordings with the choir and taking it on tour to England. In 1978 he started the church’s “Music in the Nave,” a concert series that continues to this day. During this time he also prepared choruses for performances of choral works by the Lake Forest Symphony.

Allison retired from the church position in 1992 but remained active in music teaching voice to high school students in Libertyville and Lake Forest. In addition he kept his clarinet skills active playing on occasion with the local musicians union’s marching band in Lake Bluff’s annual 4th of July parade.

Vin’s accomplishments as a director and performer are well documented, but it was his work teaching the art of singing to young students that gave him the most pleasure. Over the years numbers of his students have recounted the debt of gratitude they owed Vin for the teaching expertise and encouragement he imparted. To the end of his life, former students spanning the length of his career remained in contact. Singing madrigals with alumni young and old or receiving a former pupil’s newest recital tape was always an occasion of great personal satisfaction for Vin. Passing on that pleasure to other generations is no doubt the greatest part of his considerable contribution to the musical life of Chicago’s north shore.

Current North Shore headmaster Tom Doar III said recently of Vin’s accomplishments and achievements, “He was a powerful educator, a gentle man and a gentleman whose passion for music coupled with his remarkable abilities as a teacher and a person.” Alumni always wanted ‘to thank him for his impact on their development as people and for the appreciation of music he instilled in them,” said Doar.

Vin was pre-deceased by his wife Zelda in August 2002. He is survived by daughter June (Robert) Irvine of Maine, daughter Linda (Robert) Haslach of Washington, D.C., son V. Blake (Nancy) Allison of New Hampshire and son Taber (Pamela Hathaway) Allison of Massachusetts. Further descendants include ten grand children and four great grandchildren.

A memorial service to celebrate Vin Allison’s life in music was held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 21st, 2009 at Lake Forest’s Church of the Holy Spirit.

In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to 98.7 WFMT, 5400 St. Louis Ave., Chicago, IL 60625.

RALPH H. WINTERS, who was associated with World Wide Beverages for many years, died Feb. 14, 2011, at age 90. A member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in history, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His wife and two sons predeceased him. Three children, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren survive.

EDWARD B. WILSON II, a trustee emeritus of Wesleyan University, and a retired advertising executive who spent 30 years at J. Walter Thompson, starting in the mailroom in 1947 and retiring in 1977 as chairman of the board, died Feb. 20, 2008. He was 87. A member of Alpha Chi Rho, he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. During his tenure at J. Walter Thompson, the company pioneered the use of computers for media planning and buying, and used television as a global medium. His responsibilities at the company spanned the entire country, where he was responsible for all advertising operations before becoming president and chief operating officer, and ultimately, chairman of the board. He is survived by his wife, Mary Cregier Wilson, three children, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

FRANK T. WATERS JR., a retired teacher and coach, died Dec. 19, 2003, of emphysema. He was 85 and was the brother of the late William W. Waters ’42. A member of Psi Upsilon, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and then returned after the war to finish his degree. He also worked as a personnel director. Survivors include his wife, Barbara Waters; two sons, including Frank T. Waters III ’70; a daughter; seven grandchildren, including Matthew Manseau ’02; and several nephews and nieces, including David Stearns ’57.

EDWARD WASSERMAN, M.D., 86, a retired specialist in internal medicine, died Nov. 20, 2007. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa and to Sigma Xi, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in biology. He received his medical degree from Yale University and then served in the U.S. Army. The author of scientific papers as well as newspaper columns about medicine, he practiced in Bridgeport, Conn., for 45 years. He was the first volunteer physician at the AmeriCares Free Clinic in Bridgeport. In 2005 he was named Physician of the Year by the Greater Bridgeport Medical Association. Predeceased by his cousin Albert Weinstein ’54, survivors include his wife, Helen Bernstein Wasserman, two sons, and three grandchildren.

RICHARD DAGG WADE of Virginia Beach, Va., formerly of West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, and Mahwah, N.J., died March 28, 2004, at the age of 83.

In his life he consistently took pleasure in and demonstrated commitment to his family, his community, leadership, and engineering simple creative solutions.

He was born August 21, 1920, in New York City, the son of Roscoe Hawk Wade and Birdella Dagg Wade. He graduated from Mount Hermon School in Northfield, Mass., in 1938 and from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., in 1942, where he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. During World War II Lieutenant Wade served as a meteorology officer in the U.S. Navy stationed in the Aleutian Islands after receiving aerologic training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mr. Wade married Marion Francis Lansing in June of 1943. He lost her to cancer in 1976. They had seven children.

After the war he worked as a management consultant, primarily for the firm of Stevenson, Jordan, and Harrison. During these years the family moved often living in Connecticut, Maine, and upstate New York. In 1956 they settled in Mahwah, N.J. In 1959 Mr. Wade began a 26-year career with Prentice Hall, Inc., in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. He was promoted to vice president for real estate in 1977 and retained that title until his retirement.

Mr. Wade served on the Mahwah Board of Education for ten years (including a number of years as chairman) and later on as a trustee of the Mahwah Historical Society. In addition, he was active at Christ Church of Ramapo in Suffern N.J., serving as a member of the vestry, as a warden of the parish and as a Sunday School Administrator. An avid do-it-yourselfer Mr. Wade enjoyed home-improvement projects.

He married Rose Haag in 1978. They lived in Mahwah until 1985 when they retired to Mr. Wade’s long-time summer home on Cape Cod. Mr. Wade was active in the Hyannis Park Civic Association serving as its president for several years. He also pursued his interests in vegetable gardening and painting and enjoyed family visits highlighted by clam-digging expeditions and family cookouts. They moved to Virginia Beach in 2003 to be near Rose’s daughter.

He is survived by his wife, Rose Haag Wade, of Virginia Beach. He is also survived by six children: Elizabeth (Betsy) Whitehead of Cambridge, Mass.; Margaret (Peggy) Jacobs of Center Barnstead, N.H.; Marcia Wade of New York, N.Y.; Mary Jo Wade of Noti, Ore.; Marjorie Riordan of Vienna, Va.; and Robert Wade of Haddonfield, N.J.; as well as four step-children: Lynn Mintz of Haskell, N.J.; Nancy Savenko of Virginia Beach, Va.; Carol Cristman of San Diego, Calif.; and Robert Haag of San Rafael, Calif.; 23 grandchildren, and five great-grandsons. He was predeceased not only by his first wife in 1976, but also by his eldest son, Richard Lansing Wade, in 1991, and by his sister, Marjorie Partridge. Donations in his memory can be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 120 Wall St -19th floor, N.Y., NY 10005 or Wesleyan University 318 High Street, Middletown, CT 06459.

William R. Vanderbilt, an attorney in private practice in the firm of Vanderbilt and Siegel until his retirement in 1986, died Sept. 21, 2006, at age 85. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and a veteran of World War II. He earned his law degree from New York University and was recalled to active duty during the Korean War, serving in the Judge Advocate General’s Office in Washington, D.C. He was elected to the New Jersey Legislature and served as an assemblyman from Union County. He was the son of Arthur T. Vanderbilt of the Class of 1910, who served on the Wesleyan Board of Trustees for many years, and the nephew of Leslie L. Vanderbilt of the Class of 1915. Among those who survive are his wife of 61 years, Jean White Vanderbilt; a daughter; a son, Arthur T. Vanderbilt II ’72; and his nephew, Dr. George C. Brainard III ’73.

IRVING SOSENSKY, a professor of philosophy, died Feb. 25, 2003. He was 83. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received his degree with distinction in philosophy. He received a master’s degree from Yale University and a doctorate from Columbia University. He taught philosophy at the University of Missouri and then at Purdue University for more than 30 years and specialized in early modern philosophy and the philosophy of science and of social science. Since 1988, he had lived in Paris and was active in the Democratic Party Abroad–France. Predeceased by his wife, a daughter survives.

BENJAMIN A. RICHARDS, professor emeritus of philosophy at Ithaca College, died Feb. 22, 2011. He was 90. The son of Earle F. Richards of the class of 1919, he received his degree with honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and then received master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University. His wife, Mary Ann Lombard Richards, and a son survive.