Obituaries

RICHARD S. McCRAY, M.D., a pioneer in gastrointestinal endoscopy, died Feb. 24, 2017, at age 84. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and received a master’s degree in divinity from Yale University. After several years in the ministry, he entered Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, from which he received his medical degree in 1962. As a gastroenterology fellow in Boston, he demonstrated the first fiberoptic endoscope there and in 1968 introduced endoscopy to New York City. Later, a clinical professor of medicine at Columbia, he was the founding president of the New York Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and trained more than 100 physicians in the procedures. In 2005 he was given the Distinguished Educator Award by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. He retired in 2010. Survivors include his wife, Carol Ann McCray, three children from a previous marriage, and three grandchildren.

The Rev. JOHN P. GORSUCH, an Episcopal priest, died Feb. 15, 2017. He was 85. A member of Beta Theta Pi, he received his master’s degree in divinity from the Yale University Divinity School. He served churches in Washington, D.C., Kansas, and Washington State, where he served as rector at Epiphany Parish for 17 years. A member of various community groups and boards, including mental health agencies and the Urban League, he also appeared as a panelist on the weekly television program, Challenge, which featured clergymen of different faiths exchanging views on a variety of topics. During the early 1980s he became interested in the spiritual life and spent time in various religious communities. He later dedicated his time to the founding of the Center for Spiritual Development in Seattle. His book, An Invitation to the Spiritual Journey, was published in 1990. After his retirement he continued to offer workshops and lead retreats on the spiritual life. His wife, Beverly Colville Gorsuch, survives, as do two daughters, three grandchildren, and his brother.

ALAN BRUCE MUNRO, M.D., who practiced obstetrics and gynecology for more than 40 years, died Feb. 2, 2017, at age 88. He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi and received his medical degree from Emory University. A U.S. Navy veteran, he was active for many years in all things Scottish. Among those who survive are his wife, Bettie Barrett Munro, two children, five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and his sister.

JOHN R. JAKOBSON, a private investor and former Wesleyan Trustee, died Apr. 7, 2017, at age 86. He received his degree with honors and with distinction in history. In 1952 he received an MBA from Harvard University Business School. He then pursued a career on Wall Street, purchasing a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1955, and becoming one of its youngest members. After leaving the floor of the Exchange, he maintained his own trading desk at several firms, and at his death was associated with Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co., Inc. He served on the Wesleyan University Board of Trustees for many years, and in 1989 received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Survivors include his wife, Joan Caraganis Jakobson; a son, Nicholas W. Jakobson ’05; two daughters, Jenna Torres and Maggie Wheeler, from his first marriage to Barbara Jakobson; five grandchildren; his sister; and a nephew, Peter Jakobson Jr. ’81. He was predeceased by a son, John, and by his brother, Peter Jakobson Sr.

DONALD J. DALESSIO, M.D., a neurologist, died Feb. 25, 2017. He was 85. A member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, he received his degree with honors. After receiving his medical degree from Yale University, he served in the U.S. Army and then completed his neurology training. He served for many years as chairman of the Medicine Group for the Scripps Clinic of La Jolla, where he did research and specialized in the treatment of severe migraine headaches. Upon his retirement from active practice, the headache clinic was named in his honor: The Donald J. Dalessio Headache Center at Scripps Clinic. In addition to his practice, he wrote and edited multiple editions of Wolff’s Headache, the standard text for headache pain that is used by physicians worldwide. He also wrote scholarly reports, and edited the National Headache Journal, the Scripps Clinic Personal Health Newsletter, served on the editorial board for the Journal of the American Medical Association, and was a medical columnist for the San Diego Tribune. As an educator, he was a clinical professor of neurology at UC, San Diego, the Musser-Burch Lecturer at Tulane University, and the Kash Lecturer at the University of Kentucky Medical School. He also served as president of the American Society for the Study of Headache, the National Migraine Foundation, and the Federation of the Western Society of Neurology. His wife, Jane Schneider Dalessio, predeceased him. Three children, four grandchildren, and his brother, John G. Dalessio ’60, survive.

DAVID F. TRASK, a historian who specialized in U.S. diplomatic and military history, and who taught at Wesleyan from 1958 to 1962, died Feb. 5, 2017, at age 87. He was a member of Kappa Nu Kappa and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving his degree with high honors and with high distinction in history, he received a master’s degree from Harvard University. He served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954 and then received a PhD in history from Harvard University in 1958. He taught at Boston University, Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He was the author of Victory Without Peace, The War With Spain, and numerous other scholarly treatises and articles. Following his academic career, he worked for the federal government, first as the historian for the U.S. Department of State and later as chief historian for the Department of the Army, before retiring in 1988. His wife, Elizabeth Brooks Trask, died in 1997. Two children and four grandchildren survive.

DONALD W. SHARP, a retired educator, died Dec. 14, 2016. He was 89. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He taught in Georgia and last taught at the Fayette Montessori School. Predeceased by his wife, Donajean Clark Sharp, and by one son, survivors include two children, four grandchildren, and three sisters.

JOHN PFEIFFER JR., who worked at Bell Laboratories, died Mar. 3, 2017, at age 87. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi and received a master’s degree from Georgia State University. During the Korean War he served in the U.S. Army and then joined the Bell Telephone System in 1954, where he remained until he retired in 1985. He was active in sports and civic affairs. Predeceased by his wife, Nancy Vandiver Booth, survivors include three children and seven grandchildren.

JÉRÔME MONOD, a French business executive and political adviser, died Aug. 18, 2016. He was 85. A graduate of Sciences Po and the Ecole nationale d’administration, he was the chairman of Lyonnaise des eaux, later known as Suez-Lyonnaise, from 1980 to 2000. An adviser to French President Jacques Chirac, he was a co-founder of the Rally for the Republic and the Union for a Popular Movement, two center-right political parties in France. He was also a member of the European Round Table of Industrialists. His wife, Françoise Gallot, and three children are among those who survive.

JAMES E. McKEON, a chemist and technology consultant, died Nov. 13, 2016, at age 87. He received his degree with high distinction in chemistry and was elected to Sigma Xi. After receiving a master’s degree from Wesleyan, he received a PhD in organic chemistry from Yale University. He joined Union Carbide as a research chemist in 1959 and became vice president of the specialty chemicals division in 1984, after a long career there in research and development. The holder of U.S. and foreign patents,, he published numerous articles in scientific publications. After his distinguished career at Union Carbide, he began his own technology consulting business, Baseline Technologies. He was a member of the American Chemical Society, the New York Academy of Science, and was very active politically, having served as Selectman for the town of New Fairfield (Conn.) in 2005. Among those who survive are his wife, BettyLou McKeon, four sons, 12 grandchildren, two siblings, three stepsons, and many nieces and nephews. Other survivors include his stepdaughter-in-law, Jacquelyn M. Roberts ’82, and his step-granddaughter, Simone Roberts-Payne ’20. His first wife, Patricia Tuttle McKeon, and two brothers predeceased him.