CLASS OF 1963 | 2026 | SPRING ISSUE
1963 ARCHIVES | HOME
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It is with regret that I report the passing of four of our classmates: Jim Dresser, Ron Tallman, Terry Irwin, and George Tapley. With the exception of George, their full obituaries—as well as an unabridged version of this note—can be found online at classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu. I think, however, they are all deserving of a mention in our notes.
James van Benschoten Dresser, died peacefully on September 22, 2025. After graduation, he served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force. After leaving active duty, he received an MBA from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business and an MA from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He joined the Boston Consulting Group and retired early from it as chief financial officer. In retirement, Jim devoted considerable time to civic affairs in his hometown of Salisbury, Connecticut, but the real focus of his activities was Wesleyan. Jim was the third generation to attend Wesleyan, and he showed his loyalty by first serving as interim vice president for University Relations and Finance. He then served on the Board of Trustees from 1990–1993, 1995–2001, 2003–2005, and as chair from 2005–2009. He was elected chair emeritus in 2009. He received Wesleyan’s Outstanding Service Award in 1993 and was awarded Wesleyan’s honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2013. Jim was a lifelong Cardinal baseball fan, and in recognition of his service to Wesleyan, Dresser Diamond on Andrus Field bears his name. Jim is survived by his wife, Laura, a son, and his brother and sister.
Ron Tallman died on March 3, 2025, after a short illness. Although recorded as a member of the Class of 1964, because he took a year off to travel around Europe with a friend (reputedly on 50 cents a day), his allegiance was always to the Class of 1963. After Wesleyan, Ron worked for the Bangor Daily News while earning an MA in 1969 and a PhD in history from the University of Maine in Orono. Ron taught and served at various times as provost and dean for the next 35 years at several universities, retiring in 2007 as Seymour Logan Professor of North American History at Roosevelt University in Chicago. After retirement, Ron created and directed the Canadian American Center at the University of Maine, which was the largest program of Canadian studies in the United States. Ron was an avid golfer, and maintained a 4 handicap until he was 58, when he developed cervical dystonia. He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Noel, a brother, two daughters, and five grandchildren.
After writing about some of Terry Irwin’s activities in the most recent edition of this magazine, it was a shock to learn of his sudden and unexpected death on October 15, 2025. We all knew him as Terry, but, in fact, he was christened Henry Franklin Irwin III. Terry studied English at Wesleyan, played varsity lacrosse, and captained the varsity soccer team. After graduation, he remained at Wesleyan, earning a master’s degree in English while coaching the freshman and, later, the varsity soccer teams. After his marriage to Cynthia Wilson Axton in 1965, Terry taught at Northfield Mount Hermon School, where he taught English and coached varsity soccer and lacrosse. After moving to Jacksonville, Florida, he taught at the Jacksonville Episcopal High School for three years. He left teaching for financial advising at Northwestern Mutual. Terry moved a last time to Concord, New Hampshire. Terry’s life was filled with service to others: building homes for Habitat for Humanity, fundraising for Boy Scouts of America Urban Scouting program, and serving on the board of directors of the North Florida Land Trust among many other charitable activities, of which the most notable was his 15-year association with the Ascentria Care Alliance and Overcomers Refugee Service, working with new Americans to help them build a new life in the United States. Terry is survived by his wife, Cynthia, a son, Tom ’89, a daughter, Carol, their spouses, four grandchildren, and a brother and sister.
Wesleyan has not received an obituary of George Tapley, who majored in art at Wesleyan, and received a certificat d’assiduite from La Sorbonne, an MA in painting from the University of California, Berkley, and a PhD in art history from the University of Minnesota. He taught art history at a number of academic institutions, the most recent being professor of art history at Fullerton College, which ended in 2008. He was the recipient of several grants, and his works are included in several permanent collections, including Wesleyan’s. Perhaps one of our classmates can enlarge on this.
My classmates and brothers at Delta Tau Delta fraternity have been participating in Zoom meetings recently, an activity initiated by Bill Roberts and implemented by Dean Schooler’s daughter, who has the technical ability to get us all up on Zoom at the same time. Those of us who have survived are all in reasonably good shape, subject, of course, to the common afflictions of advancing age. I would recommend Zoom as a good way to reconnect or remain connected with your fellow alumni.
Tucker Anderson reports that small ship cruises are the way his wife, Karen, and he have chosen to travel extensively and learn about new places while only having to unpack and pack once during the trip. Last June they took a Viking Cruise from New Orleans to Memphis with an extension to Nashville and checked off four items on their bucket list and a few more that should have been. Most notable were first visits to New Orleans and Graceland and second-row seats at the Grand Ole Opry. Tucker reported on his athletic activities: “On November 2, I completed my 47th NYC Marathon (56th overall) despite a nagging Achilles injury. Since I will never finish first in any serious athletic competition, my goal is to outlive the other competitors and eventually become the oldest finisher. Last year I was one of the 14 oldest among the 59,000-plus finishers, so making progress.” As you are reading this, he has taken the annual trip to his winter home in Scottsdale, having driven the family Winnebago Travato, sleeping with the big rigs on rest stops along the way.
Don Sexton reports that he has been learning to play the djembe drum and has been invited to play and sing at a concert in NYC in January. He continues to have four to five shows of his artwork each year and continues to develop and perform his stand-up comedy sets. The 9/11 Memorial will be accepting 25 paintings of Ground Zero for their permanent collection, and a jigsaw puzzle company wants to make puzzles of some of his paintings. He has a website for his paintings: www.sextonart.com.
Please, keep your classmates knowledgeable about your recent activities; we were a small class—smaller now—and I, at least, am interested in all of what you are doing.
Harvey M. Bagg Jr. | Harveybagg@gmail.com | 917/833–8452