WEBB A. COOPER, the founder and chairman of the board of Belting Industries Company, Inc., in Kenilworth, N.J., died Apr. 19, 2009. He was 93. A member of Alpha Delta Phi, he served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He was the son of the late Webb G. Cooper of the class of 1902 and the brother of the late Johnson G. Cooper ’33. Survivors include his wife, Catherine Ehlers Cooper, three children, five grandchildren, and two great–grandchildren.
JOHN B. CARROLL, a former psychology professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, died July 1, 2003 at age 87. A member of Phi Sigma Kappa, he received his degree with high honors and with high distinction in classics and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, after which he joined the Department of the Army as a research psychologist. He later became a professor at Harvard University and a research psychologist at the Educational Testing Service before joining the faculty at the University of North Carolina, where he was the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Psychology and Director of the L.L. Thurstone Psychometric Laboratory. In 2002 he received the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the science of psychology from the American Psychological Foundation. Predeceased by his wife, Mary Searle Carroll, survivors include a daughter, two grandsons, and two sisters.
VINCENT W. BROWN, a retired insurance underwriting manager, died May 21, 2005, at age 89. He was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Predeceased by his wife, Gladys Whitehead Brown, he is survived by three children and several grandchildren.
PHILIP N. BRIDGES, 92, a code-breaker for the National Security Agency and its predecessor agencies for 30 years, died Dec. 7, 2007. He was a member of Delta Upsilon and received his degree with honors and with distinction in biology. Elected to Sigma Xi and to Phi Beta Kappa, he received a master’s degree from Columbia University. Prior to his recruitment by the U.S. Navy as a civilian cryptanalyst during World War II, he worked on a Carnegie Foundation grant to complete his late father’s work: mapping the chromosome of the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster; these findings were later published. After his retirement as a cryptanalyst, he started a printing business focused on scholarly quarterlies. Predeceased by his wife, Marjorie Lismer Bridges, and his brother, Nathan Bridges ’43, survivors include three daughters, a granddaughter, and a sister.
THOMAS R. BODINE, a former commissioner and chairman of the Hartford (Conn.) Housing Authority, and a social and community activist, died Mar. 28, 2005 at age 89. A member of Psi Upsilon, he received his degree with high honors and with distinction in history and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He was the son of George I. Bodine Jr. of the class of 1906, and the brother of the late Robert C. Bodine ’31 and the late John W. Bodine ’33. After receiving his degree he joined Connecticut General Life Insurance Co., now CIGNA, from which he retired as assistant secretary. Exceptionally active in the Hartford community, he initiated the formation of a Quaker worship group, which led to the establishment of the Hartford Monthly Meeting of Friends in 1940. As a conscientious objector during World War II he helped relocate Japanese youths from internment camps to schools and served in war relief in France with the American Friends Service Committee. He served in leadership positions in numerous community and Quaker organizations. Among those who survive are nine nieces and nephews, including Cornelia B. McCann ’76 and Susanna B. Holahan MAT ’69, and his friend, James T. Gould.
SEWELL BIGGS, an attorney and art collector, died Jan. 16, 2003. He was 88. A graduate of the University of Delaware and of the University of Virginia Law School, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. In 1988 he signed an agreement with the state of Delaware, creating the Biggs Museum of American Art in Dover to house his collection of Delaware and Delaware Valley fine and decorative arts. He is survived by one brother.
PAUL S. BANCEL, a retired aeronautical engineer, died Apr. 26, 2011, at age 95. He received his degree with honors and was elected to Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he worked for many years as an aviation expert, particularly on the T-56 and C-31 engines. Survivors include his wife of 71 years, Joan Spangler Bancel; three children; seven grandchildren, including Carolyn B. Myslewski ’07; and two great-grandchildren.
