Frank Priest Conant, 98, of Easthampton, died Wednesday, March 2, 2016, in his home.
He was born Oct. 28, 1917, in Littleton, the son of the late Harold W. and Dorothy Priest Conant. He was a graduate of Williston Academy class of 1935 and Wesleyan University class of 1939.
He was vice president of International Operations for the United Elastic Corporation retiring in 1969, then becoming a trust officer at the First National Bank of Northampton retiring in 1977.
Frank served in the army during World War II; a Massachusetts National Guard member federalized one day after Pearl Harbor. He served for the duration of the war, five years to the day, attaining the rank of major.
He was a member of Southampton Congregational Church, UCC serving as a church leader in various capacities. He was a trustee of Williston Academy and Williston-Northampton School in Easthampton, Ferrum College in Virginia, and Childs Park in Northampton. He served on numerous Southampton school and building committees and the cemetery commission. He was also a member of the American Legion, Franklin Harvest Club and Easthampton Rotary Club. He was the author of several local historical books including “God’s Steward” a history of Williston Academy.
Frank was predeceased by wife Jessie Phillips Conant who died in 1944 and by wife Ruby Bowlin Conant who died in 2002. He is survived by two sons, Dale B. Conant of Martinsburg, West Virginia, and John W. Conant (Sally) of South Deerfield, and two daughters, Ann C. Leatherman (Stephen) of Indianapolis, Indiana, and the Rev. Mary P. Conant (Robin) of Sunol, California; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by two sisters, Elizabeth C. Cook and Lucy H. Conant.
A memorial service with military honors will be held Tuesday, March 8, at 2 p.m. at the Southampton Congregational Church. There will be no calling hours. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Camp Fleur de Lis, 120 Howeville Road, Fitzwilliam, NH 03447, or Edwards Public Library, 30 East St., Southampton, MA 01073. www.mitchellcofuneralhome.com.
To sign a Guest Book, express condolences, share memories and read other obituaries, go to www.gazettenet.com/obituaries.
David Novak MA ’99, assistant professor of music at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has released his work, Japanoise, after more than a decade of research in Japan and the United States. In his book, David traces the “cultural feedback” that generates and sustains Noise, an underground music genre made through an amalgam of feedback, distortion, and electronic effects that first emerged in the 1980s.
Bill Carbone MA ’07 writes, “I will cap off a busy summer of music festival performances with a trip to Europe to perform at the 24th annual Zappanale music festival in Bad Doberan, Germany. The festival invited my trio, The Z3, who perform the music of Frank Zappa rearranged for a trio of Hammond organ, guitar, and drums, to headline the second day of the festival and host the jam session on the third day. The festival also features more than a dozen alumni of the bands Zappa led between 1967 and 1992.
Just before Christmas 2015, I received a message on behalf of Bob Foster from his daughter, Kathryn. After WWII service in the Army, Bob graduated in 1947, but at heart has remained a ’45er. He and his wife, Sally Ann, currently live at an assisted-living facility in West Caldwell, N.J. Bob spent his entire career with Prudential Insurance, assisting the firm with mathematical research and analysis. Now 91 and long retired, he continues to enjoy sports, especially the Yankees and NY Giants. Bob keeps track of current events and enjoys his three children and seven grandchildren. Kathryn ended her note: “Wesleyan has been a source of pride to him for decades and it’s a treat to be able to thank Wesleyan…for all the joy it has brought him.” Thank you, Kathryn, for sharing Bob’s enthusiastic life with us.
The previous issue carried Walt Pilcher’s ’63 amusing account of a 1960s Robert Frost visit to campus. Back in my pre- and post-WWII years, Frost visited Bill Snow and we lucky ones were occasionally invited to the Snow home for an evening of conversation about the nature and nurture of poetry—and some criticism of our own creative abilities. We called those wonderful occasions “Warm Nights with Frost and Snow”; later, after Robert Coffin became part of visitations, we redubbed to “From Frost to Snow to Coffin.” I was not fond of Frost, the caustic and testily critical man; I rather liked Coffin because of his fine speaking voice and showman’s manner. Bill Snow’s classes were an inspiration to me, his political views always stirred my thinking, and his service as my distinction tutor made my time at Wesleyan a great influence on my academic career. Even today, I find that my talks about Frost, Snow, Coffin, and John Neihardt please those audiences who remember when poetry demanded more than slinging words down the page. Slán go fóill
Class of 1949 Norm Daniels Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship
Adrian Reifsnyder ’16, Psychology
With the diminishing number of classmates to report on, it was a pleasant surprise to receive a letter from George Forbes. As I read his letter, it was interesting to note the number of similarities in his life and activities to mine. George retired many years ago (1991) as did I (1981); he had four children, as did my wife and I; he had bypass heart surgery, as did I; he has cut back on downhill skiing and bicycling but continues to play golf, as have I; he and his wife have traveled extensively, as have my wife and I; he approaches the age of 90, while I approach the age of 91; and, on a sad note, his brother (Harry) passed away several years ago, as did mine (Hap); and, finally, he states that his “hearing is marginal and his short term memory is far from satisfactory:” (My wife complains to me about my problem with this last item.)
Of course there have been differences in our lives. He has had many more grandchildren (11) and great-grandchildren (16) than I. Sadly, his first wife passed away after “61 wonderful years together.” On his 85th birthday, he married a longtime friend who had lost her spouse. He spends the winters in the Florida Keys (fishing and playing golf) and the rest of the year in Colorado, Northern Wisconsin and Michigan.
George sends best wishes to all, and he expresses the hope, as do I, that his letter will engender responses from some of our remaining classmates.
Last fall, Margie and I drove from St. Simons Island to Savannah for a weekend visit with Janet and Fred Irwin ’51, who was celebrating a birthday. Fred was my roommate at Delta Tau. We had a great time wining and dining, and they took us to the Jepson Center for the Arts, featuring Impressionist paintings, including several by Monet.
Shortly after Christmas, I telephoned Bob Fithian and his wife, Becky. Bob was the president of Delta Tau Delta our senior year. Bob and Becky live in Marietta, Ga., where they were part-time antique dealers. Unfortunately, Bob broke his hip and back, and Becky is recovering from a stroke, so they now have permanent caregivers, but we enjoyed reminiscing about our Wesleyan days.
I had a nice talk with Bill Malamud, a fraternity brother at Delta Tau Delta. He is a retired psychiatrist and now lives in LaSalle Village in Massachusetts. His wife, Camille, died several years ago, but they had five children and a very happy marriage. He said that he is “very active and still has all his hair.” It was good to talk with him after all these years.
I am sorry to report that Bob Metz died of pneumonia on Dec. 13, 2015. Bob was a member of Sigma Nu. He loved theater and was very active in plays at Wesleyan. He was “proud of being a native New Yorker and of never living anywhere else.” He was president and CEO of United Media, a licensing and newspaper-syndication company.
Roger Haskell was kind enough to inform me of the passing of his friend Warren Kaufmann: “Dear Bud, This is to inform you that Warren R. Kaufmann, Sigma Nu, died quietly in his sleep on Feb. 18, 2016, at his home in Sarasota. He was preceded in death by his son. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Cynthia, three other children, nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Warren was retired from the Chemical Bank of NYC after a long and successful career as a vice president. I could give you much more info about his life, since Warren and I maintained a very close friendship over all those years
“I am a retired physician from the US Public Health Service, after 16 years providing medical care to Native Americans all over the western U.S. I am enjoying my retirement with my wife, Edna, in Greer, S.C. Warm regards.”
We also regret the loss of Fred Pitts, who participated in football and wrestling, and was a member of Chi Psi. He was an art major, but later changed his focus from art to medicine. He specialized in neurological surgery. After retiring from medicine, he relocated to Costa Rica, where he ran his sheep ranch for 35 years. He died a year ago, but a memorial service was scheduled for March 21, 2016, at Arlington National Cemetery.
It was hard to know in mid-winter how many ’51 classmates would attend our 65th Reunion, but Barney Kathan will be there for sure. He doesn’t miss many Reunions. Last year he sat at the seniors table with Dave Mize, who also plans on coming.
Barney continues to research and his article on “Horace Bushnell and the Religious Education Movement” appeared in the Journal of Religious Education in 2013. His article on the National Council on Religious and Public Education will be published this year.
Bob Gardner wrote that he stays in touch with Biff Shaw and Neil Keller. All three hope to attend Reunion. Bob is still writing science books for kids, more than 200 so far.
Bill Churchill and his wife, Maggie, also plan to attend Reunion. Bill wrote that he twisted Bob Switzgable’s arm and he’d be coming as well. Bill is still enjoying Tarheel Country, but has been escaping the summer heat by retreating to a cottage on the shore of Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts.
Biff Shaw and his wife, Jean, will be attending too. The Shaws have been enjoying a busy life at a retirement community in Essex, 20 miles downriver from Middletown.
Dave Mize will be coming from Vermont and Les Aroh from Kentucky. Ted Bartolotta was thinking about coming but he has had health issues and wasn’t sure he could make it. Art DeGraff said he’ll definitely be coming. His wife, Sandy, has a reunion of her own to attend, but plans to join us for dinner Saturday. The DeGraffs have spent winter weekends in Vermont and Art says he still skis.
At the time I was compiling this report, Dave Jones was hoping health issues wouldn’t keep him from coming. The Reunion wouldn’t be the same without him.
Michael Glasser ’16, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Hal Buckingham writes: It is with enormous regret that I open these class notes with this sad news. We have lost two of the giants of our class, Susie Wasch and Charlie Rogovin.
Susie died Feb. 6, 2016, after a battle with cancer she fought with constant grace to a peaceful end. While technically not a member of our class, in every other respect she was one of us. She was the wife of our class president, Bill Wasch, and while we never referred to her as our “first lady,” she was fully that and much more. For decades there was not a Reunion or other gathering of classmates when Susie was not a fully involved participant. She graciously threw open the Wasch Middletown home for our Reunion parties and, for that matter, any Wesleyan alumni and their guests returning to the campus. She was never without a captivating smile and warm greeting. Susie’s contributions to the Wesleyan and Middletown communities are too numerous to mention here, but they were extraordinary. A gifted platform tennis player, she won several national championships and was inducted into the American Platform Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 1996. One of her lasting legacies is the Susan B. and William K. Wasch Center for Retired Faculty at Wesleyan, which Susie cofounded with Bill. A proud moment for our class was when Susie, after years of raising her family and hosting the world, returned to school, enrolled in Smith College’s Ada Comstock Scholars Program (for nontraditional women students), lived in a dorm and obtained a bachelor’s degree in 1999—46 years after graduating from high school! Besides Bill, Susie leaves Christina, Bill Jr. ’84, Heidi ’84, Heidi’s husband Bob Leversee ’85, Frederick ’92, and six grandchildren, including a 5-day-old granddaughter that Susie was able to see. Our hearts pour out to the entire Wasch family, with gratitude for all that Susie has meant to our class.
Charlie “Rogo” Rogovin, our quintessential MC of Reunion banquets, warm-hearted skewerer of everyone present, and unforgettable life of class gatherings, died Jan. 10, 2016, of a suspected heart attack. He had an extraordinary career after college and law school. Early on, he was a law enforcement official at state and federal levels, specializing in organized and white collar crime. Charlie served as assistant attorney general and chief of the criminal division under Massachusetts Attorney General Elliot Richardson. That led to various prosecutorial positions in Philadelphia. He was appointed to the President’s Commission on Organized Crime during the Reagan Administration. In his Philadelphia Inquirer obituary, there is a classic photograph of our “Rogo” presenting the final report of that Commission to President Reagan in 1986. He served as vice chairman of the Pennsylvania Crime Commission and was instrumental in the investigation that led to the 1995 conviction for mail fraud of the former Pennsylvania Attorney General Ernest D. Preate Jr. Perhaps Charlie’s greatest legacy is the influence he had on generations of Temple Law School students. He was a highly regarded and beloved professor, adviser, and mentor there from 1977 until his retirement in 2009 when he was named professor of law emeritus. Charlie leaves his wife, Marcy, an attorney and a former dean of students at Temple Law School, a son, three daughters, and a younger brother. His former wife, Amy Rogovin, also survives. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to all of Charlie’s family on their great loss, in which we, too, share.
A note from Walter Pories reports with his typical self-deprecation, “As if the world doesn’t already have enough cartoons, someone has somehow managed to get the American College of Surgeons to publish my most recent volume, Is There a Surgeon in the House?, a compilation of cartoons mocking surgeons, academia and even science. It should be available by March or April [2016] from the ACS or Amazon.” Walter goes on to say that the ACS probably caved in and published his volume because, somehow, he was recently elected second vice president of the organization. Walter confesses that he had this cartooning aberration even at Wesleyan where, instead of paying attention, he would just sit and doodle. I have one of his Wesleyan-era cartoons and it is a treasure. This may bring to mind the Cardinal/Douglas Cannon caricature Walter designed for our “Wesleyan Class of 1952—As Venerable As the Douglas Cannon!!” T-shirt regalia we have worn at recent Reunions.
There is good news. Seth Rosner writes that for the last five years he has been living in the happiest time of his life, the result of his relationship with his beloved Judith Ehrenshaft. They finally decided it was time to solemnize their friendship and on June 15, 2015, went downtown to Saratoga Springs City Hall and asked their friend and Saratoga Springs Mayor Joanne Yepsen to conduct their wedding ceremony in the City Council Chamber. Seth always was a bit slow getting things done! We rejoice that we can extend our sincerest congratulations to Judith and Seth at last.
Ken Taylor and his wife, JoAnne, recently entertained retired Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong, the renowned prolific author and lecturer with a progressive slant on contemporary Christian issues. Bishop Spong was in the West Hartford, Conn., area to deliver lectures. Ken and the Bishop were classmates at Virginia Theological Seminary and they and their wives have remained close friends over the decades.
A news-filled letter from Nancy and Bill Morrill indicates that they are nicely settled in Pennswood Village, a retirement community in Bucks County near Philadelphia. Bill’s travel is now restricted, but his mind is as active as ever and he remains involved in various activities and committees.
Finally, other than what appears in class notes, Wesleyan magazine no longer includes more than a brief notation of the death of an alumnus. A more complete obituary is usually available in Wesleyan’s online magazine at classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/obituaries-2/. And go to classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/class-of-1952/ to see a photo of John Gannon ’86, who used to work at Wesleyan (some of you may remember), and Barbara Schubert, the widow of Roger Schubert. John was wearing a Wesleyan T-shirt when visiting his parents in Florida, and Barbara struck up a conversation. Check out their great Wesleyan smiles! Bill Wasch recalls, “Roger was a fellow tackle with me on the Wes team in the early ’50s.”
John Gannon ’86 and Barbara Schubert enjoyed their impromptu Wesleyan get-together.
Some of us happily live day-to-day, whereas others plan ahead. Among the latter is Jerry Zackin and his wife. Sandy. In addition to spending winters (seven months) in Sarasota and summers on Cape Cod, they travel quite a bit: “Caribbean in March, Mediterranean in July, and Elbe River from Berlin to Prague in October. Next year we are planning on the Far East (Bangkok to Hong Kong), Rhine River, and Romania, Bulgaria, etc. It’s a tough life, but someone has to do it.” Then our 65th Reunion in 2018. During Homecoming last fall his granddaughter (Wesleyan class of ’10) discovered in the bowels of the gym a photo of the 1953 swimming team that includes Jerry and yours truly. Not sure whether it was ever seen by us, since it is the 1952 team that appears in our ’53 Olla Pod.
Many of us maintain mobility by carrying around pieces of metal, i.e., a knee or a stent or a new hip, as does Bob Lavin since last fall. He is reported doing well.
I will be in St. Joseph, Mich., over Memorial Day for my second and last granddaughter’s wedding before traveling to our N.Y. farm for the summer.
Those of you who occasionally see classmates are the envy of us in the hinterland. Drop me a note to share your good fortune.
JOHN W. MILLER | Jwalmiller@aol.com
306 Autumn Court, Bartlesville, OK 74006 918/335-0081
As I complete these Notes at the onset of Real Winter in January, I find that most of us seem to be “running in place” as we observe life around us.
Bud Johnson writes that he and Lynn’s biggest thrill right now is the upcoming graduation of their oldest grandchild from the University of Chicago, all set to join Goldman Sachs in June.
Terry Hatter sends greetings to all of us from “Sunny Southern California.” On New Year’s Day, Terry saw Bill Christopher and his wife, Barbara, at the Rose Parade. Terry’s oldest grandson just started at Georgetown Law, following his graduation from Williams. The young man’s sister is soon to graduate from Claremont McKenna College, from which she will head to Queen’s University in Northern Ireland. Terry’s two other grands, a boy and a girl, are both 11 years old; Terry calls them “fraternal twin cousins.”
Bill Drury reports that all is well in Nashua, N.H.
Ken Davenny reports from Washington State that “the weather is behaving and all are in good health.” Ken is a director and treasurer of a local nonprofit that just received a statewide award for excellence of service to the community. Ken says he keeps in touch with Ed Dewey and “Mo” Dietzer.
Your Scribe, Bob Carey, saw a third granddaughter graduate from college last December, this time at the U. of Colorado in Boulder. Libby and I also traveled during the fall of 2015 to the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, San Diego (daughter and family), Boston (daughter and family), Bentonville, Ark. (son and family), and to NYC to tour the most impressive September 11th Museum at Ground Zero. Off to Sanibel Island for January and February…All the best to all of you.
BOB CAREY | bobcarey@optonline.net
618 W. Lyon Farm Dr., Greenwich, CT 06831 | 203/532-1745
