Tag: 1953

Categories Obituaries, Obituaries | 1950-1959Posted on

David E. Berlew ’53, P’79

David E. Berlew, a retired psychologist and management consultant specializing in organization change, management development, and entrepreneurial behavior, died on September 28, 2022, at his home at Kendal at Hanover in Hanover, NH. He was 91.

David was born in Orono, ME,  in 1931 to Lillian (née Kingston) and Herman Berlew.  They were both Methodist ministers. After the family moved to New Bedford, MA, when David was 13, he and his older brother Kingston attended the local high school in New Bedford, MA, where David lettered in football. Of his many accomplishments, few gave him as much pride as his induction years later into the New Bedford High School Football Hall of Fame.  David started college at Iowa State and eventually graduated from Wesleyan University, but only after two years with the Army in Germany. He married his first wife Diane (née Lehnhardt) in 1956. David went on to obtain a PhD in Organizational Psychology from Harvard University. He taught at both Wesleyan University and the MIT Sloan School of Management. In the mid-1960s, he served tours in Turkey and Ethiopia as country director for the Peace Corps.

In 1968, David started McBer and Company in Boston, a research and consulting firm, with his Harvard mentor David McClelland. Their firm specialized in mapping the competencies of entrepreneurs and managers across the world. This work enabled him to travel all over Europe, Asia and Latin America. Another early member of McBer was Richard Boyatzis, with whom David worked on leveraging McClelland’s work on achievement, affiliation and motivation. David authored and co-authored many books and articles with Warren Bennis, Richard Boyatzis, Douglas Hall, Roger Harrison, David Kolb, Earl Rose, Irwin Ruben, Ed Schein, Fritz Steele and others.

In 1976, David, Roger Harrison and Earl Rose founded the company Situation Management Systems, built around the Positive Power and Influence Program that they created. They worked with many Fortune 500 companies and the US government, licensing programs and trainers all over the world.

David was a mentor and friend to many during his long life. He is remembered by his many friends, colleagues and clients as a person who injected energy into every situation. His laughter and quirky meeting observations are legendary in the many businesses he helped.  He was a magnet for emerging consultants and had a significant role in starting many consulting companies. Years later, he served in leadership roles with “Instructional Systems Association,” the professional association of consulting/training companies.

David and Diane hosted many get togethers at their home in Newton, MA. These included Sunday morning touch football games, where he pioneered taping his glasses to his (hairless) head; dinners and holiday parties that featured competitive games of twister and dancing; and poker tournaments. True to David’s Maine origins, he, Diane, and their children vacationed on the Downeast coast with close family friends. These vacations were famous for raucous costume and dinner parties.

After some years of living in Maine with his family, David returned to Massachusetts and eventually settled in Duxbury, MA, with his second wife Jennipher. There they made a beautiful home overlooking Duxbury Bay. These were peak fishing years, when David brought many friends and family members on (mostly) successful outings.  He also expanded his fishing interests to include both fresh and saltwater fly fishing. During this time David also reconnected with old university friends like Jack Hoy. In addition to fishing, David loved following New England sports teams and was often seen at Celtics games in the original Garden with his old friend and colleague Dan Ciampa.

After retiring, David eventually moved to New Hampshire, where he enjoyed writing stories, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and long walks with his third wife Meryl and later with his good friend Joan.

David is survived by his first wife Diane Berlew; his children Christopher Berlew (Linda) of Washington, DC; Katherine Berlew Santopadre (Kevin) of Round Rock, TX; Lucinda Berlew (Christopher) of Houston, TX; Michele Berlew of Houston, TX; and Adam Berlew (Janesta) of Redwood City, CA; as well as seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.  His second wife Jennipher Mills and good friend Joan Kidder also survive him.  Another grandson died in 2019.  David was predeceased by his parents Herman (1974) and Lillian (1992), and by older brother Kingston (2021).  His third wife Meryl Louis died in 2011.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Kendal at Hanover Emergency Staff Relief Fund at:

https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=kendal&id=104

Categories Class Notes, Class Notes | 1950sPosted on

CLASS OF 1953 | 2022 | SPRING ISSUE

I’m sorry to report the passing of several classmates: Phil Olsen died on March 18, 2021, and Sam Brown died on July 21, 2021. Ed Lifset, a DKE brother and a government major, passed on October 22, 2021. And Dana Pearson passed away on February 15, 2022.  Dana was Alpha Delt and majored in American Studies. Dana and I first met in competition as hurdlers while we were at different prep schools. At Wesleyan, I recall that he excelled in soccer and was president of the glee club. My condolences to their families and their classmates.

Categories Obituaries, Obituaries | 1950-1959Posted on

Edward W. Lifset ’53

Ed Lifset

Edward Wrubel Lifset ’53 of Oceanside, California, passed away on October 22, 2021 at the age of 90. He was born on August 25, 1931 in Schenectady, New York. He was the son of the late Theodore and Dorothy (Wrubel) Lifset. Edward spent the majority of his childhood in Middletown, Connecticut. He graduated with a BA degree from Wesleyan University in 1953 where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Edward received an additional BS degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida and a MS degree from American University in Washington, D.C. He served 27 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, primarily in the aviation, engineering, and intelligence fields, and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1979. Before joining the Marines, he was CEO of three construction and land development corporations in Volusia County, Florida. After retiring from the Marine Corps, he spent another ten years as a senior staff engineer and general program manager in the aerospace industry with the Lockheed Corporation.

In his retirement, Ed was an avid world traveler, proudly visiting over 120 different countries. Some of the more exotic countries he visited were Albania, Afghanistan, Libya, Romania and Iran. He especially enjoyed visiting China, Hong Kong and Japan, revisiting them multiple times. Ed enjoyed fixing and tinkering with things. There was nothing he couldn’t repair with duct tape.

He is survived by his wife Patricia (Mathews) Lifset; four daughters, Deborah (McKee), Nancy (Linskey), Regina (Resnick) and Lauren; and one son, David. Ed is also survived by his beloved grandchildren; Rachel, Ella and Jude. Ed was predeceased by one daughter, Judith.

Following cremation, a private family service will be held. Internment will take place at Miramar National Cemetery, San Diego, California.

Memorial contributions may be made to the National Museum of the Marine Corps. (www.usmcmuseum.com).

Categories Class Notes, Class Notes | 1950sPosted on

CLASS OF 1953 | 2021–2022 | WINTER ISSUE

Received from “The Mouse,” aka Richard Levinson: has yet to reach 90, continues with his firm practicing law throughout New Jersey, and regularly, poorly but energetically, plays tennis. His wife, Susan, continues to write nonfiction and blog for Psychology Today. Like all of us, he misses the guys that made Wesleyan a great place.

From Washington, D.C., the restaurants, after more than a year, are beginning to welcome, inside, Walter Cutler and his wife Didi for dinners out. He is planning a family reunion on the Wesleyan campus with his Cutler granddaughters, Grace ’24, from Evanston, Illinois, and Nina ’24 from New York.

I sincerely hope everyone has been well and staying safe during these pandemic times. Please consider sharing your news—good or bad—or your Wes memories with me for the next edition of the magazine. I look forward to hearing from you. Be well!

 

Categories Class Notes | 1950sPosted on

CLASS OF 1953 | 2021 | ISSUE 1

Jerry Zachin, having received the Wesleyan alumni magazine the last week of February, felt compelled to announce the birth of his second great-grandson, Alden Michael Roose, just a week earlier in Portland, Oregon. Proud Wesleyan family are parents Katie ’10 and Robbie Roose ’05 and grandparents Michael and Mary (Nastuk) Zackin, both ’80. This past year has limited Jerry and his wife, Sandy, to Sarasota, Florida and Yarmouth, Cape Cod, as trips to the Danube and Mississippi Rivers and a voyage from Singapore to Sydney were cancelled. Australia was to have been his last continent. They hope for a trip to Japan in the fall. They keep busy with golf and online bridge.

     By landline telephone George Anderson requested contact information for Warren Oscar Eastman. (George states that this is the extent of his communication skills.) Warren passed away February 17, 2021 at 90, just six days before George’s request. Warren was born in Middletown, lived in Cromwell, was a member of Sigma Chi, and a chemistry major. He spent his career with General Electric at several locations in research and corporate planning activities ending up at headquarters in Fairfield, Connecticut. After retirement he and Patty became snowbirds living in Osprey, Florida and Frye Island, Maine. As a member of St. Andrews UCC church in Sarasota, he was active in the local community. Warren is remembered as our aggressive class agent for many years following graduation. He is survived by a daughter and a son, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

     Warren’s fraternity brother and lifelong friend Basil Gideon Anex, 88, died August 12, 2019, in Seattle, his birthplace and retirement home. As high school valedictorian, he hitchhiked across the country to join our class. Basil was a Sigma Chi and chemistry major. After a PhD at the University of Washington and a postdoc at Indiana University, Basil held positions at Yale, at New Mexico State University, and at the University of New Orleans, where he remained until retirement in 1995. As an avid jogger and recycler he was featured in Runner’s World for collecting 400 pounds of refuse during neighborhood runs. He is survived by his wife, Gretchen, of 60 years, a son, two daughters, and five grandchildren.

   Samuel Graham Macfarlane, 88, Pittsburgh, a Sigma Nu and a government major, passed away April 21, 2020 in Baltimore of multiple myeloma. Following graduation he served in the Army’s security agency as a code transcriber for three years, before joining Travelers Insurance in the underwriting department. In 1959 he was persuaded to join Waverly Press, owned by his father-in-law. Studying accounting nights at Johns Hopkins University, he became a CPA and eventually CFO of the Press until retirement in 1998. He was a vestryman of the Emmanuel Episcopal Church. He served as president of Maryland’s American Lung and Mental Health Associations. As empty-nesters, he and his wife Susan invited Peabody Institute graduate students to live with them and also sponsored up-and-coming opera singers (opera was Sam’s passion). They visited opera houses around the world and took time to play golf at St. Andrews Old Course in Scotland. He was a Pittsburgh Pirates fan until the Baltimore Orioles defeated them in the 1979 World Series. After 20 years he had become a true Baltimorean. Sam and Susan had a daughter and two sons.

Condolences of the class to all three of these families.