Tag: 1948

Gilbert Parker ’48 passed away on Oct. 29, 2019. A full obituary can be found here.

Gilbert Parker ’48, a retired literary agent who represented many of the country’s most influential playwrights over the span of nearly half a century, died Oct. 29, 2019. He was 92 and had served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. The first theater major at Wesleyan, he earned his degree with honors and distinction. Beginning his career at Liebling-Wood, Inc., as the assistant to Audrey Wood, the renowned agent who represented Tennessee Williams and other significant playwrights, Parker later joined the William Morris Agency, retiring in 2000. Parker was noted as an adviser and mentor to many young and aspiring Wesleyan theater majors, and in his honor, Thomas Kail ’99 and Claire Labine (a former client of Parker’s and creator/head writer of Ryan’s Hope) created a Wesleyan scholarship in Parker’s name in 2012. In a note to those gathered in New York City to celebrate the Gilbert Parker Endowed Scholarship, President Michael S. Roth ’78 had observed, “During your sparkling 50-year career as an agent, the Wesleyan community took pride in your reflected glory. You made this relationship with our alma mater deeper and more personal, then and following your retirement, by closely mentoring Wesleyan graduates in the theater world like Thomas Kail ’99, Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, John Buffalo Mailer ’00, and Bill Sherman ’02, among others. It’s wonderful that a group of your friends and protégés initiated this scholarship fund (and typical of your generosity, Gilbert, that you have contributed to it).”  A memorial service is planned for Parker on Feb. 3, 2020, in New York City. Those who would like more information, or would like to make a gift to the Gilbert Parker Endowed Scholarship Fund at Wesleyan University in celebration of his life, please contact Marcy Herlihy at mherlihy@wesleyan.edu; 860/685-2523; Wesleyan University Office of Advancement, 291 Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457.

Francis E. Baril ’48 passed away on Aug. 4, 2018. A full obituary can be found here.

RICHARD T. WALSH, 90, a group insurance and employee benefits executive, died July 5, 2014. A member of the John Wesley Club, he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces as a navigator, and was aboard one of the lead aircraft sent to liberate France early on D-Day, 1944. After working for several corporations as an executive, he joined INSILCO Corp. as director of personnel, from which he retired in 1986. A collector of fine art and antique automobiles, he was also an accomplished inventor. His first wife, Ruth Morris Walsh, predeceased him, as did a son. Among those who survive are his wife, Betsy Olmsted Walsh, four children, six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, his brother, and a large extended family.