Tag: 1970

LEROY O. MOORE, who spent more than three decades smoothing the pathway for more minority students to succeed in college, died Jan. 18, 2010. He was 62. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he also received a degree from the College of William and Mary, where he was associate dean of students. In 1980 he joined the University of Tennessee in his native Memphis, and held several positions until his most recent one as assistant vice chancellor in the Center of Health Sciences, where he oversaw the Office of Health Career Programs. Survivors include his wife, his mother, three children, one grandson, his uncle, and a large extended family.

PETER B. MARTIN, 57, a psychologist who specialized in educational assessment, died Apr. 8, 2005. The son of the late Lewis B. Martin ’41, he was a member of Kappa Nu Kappa and received both master’s and doctoral degrees in counseling psychology from Boston College. He had a private practice as a licensed psychologist and was the founder of Psychological Services of Northfield (Mass.), where he focused on the assessment and support of children and adolescents with learning disabilities. More recently, he trained other professionals in educational assessment. Survivors include his wife, Molly Scherm, a daughter, two sons, and two brothers.

John D. Ketcham ’70 passed away May 11, 2006, Kinnelon, N.J., from the effects of cancer of the pancreas. He was raised in Westfield, N.J. His father, Frank, was a Wesleyan graduate, Class of 1936 and captain of the football team. John had four siblings, iincluding another Wesleyan graduate, his brother Mike ’67, who was captain of the swim. Team.

John graduated from Westfield High School in 1966, an All-American High School Swimmer in a number of events; Eastern Interscholastic Swimming Champion in multiple events; and at the millennium was voted onto the 1960’s decade team of best swimmers in New Jersey.

While at Wesleyan, he majored in economics and was a member and treasurer of Delta Tau Delta. He earned his varsity swimming letter in his sophomore, junior and senior years, and was team captain senior year. He held numerous team and pool records, many of which stood for years after his graduation. He won New England titles in multiple events and excelled in the backstroke, winning the small college nationals (now Division III) three years running and placing second in the Division I nationals in his junior year. He was named New England Swimmer of the Year in March 1970.

After graduation John went to Hong Kong to work in a YMCA camp, returning to the States to get his MBA from The Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth. After a stint with Price Waterhouse, he joined his father’s accounting practice in Westfield, N.J.

John raised his four children in Kinnelon, N.J. Three of these were with his first wife, whom he had met in Hong Kong, and his youngest child was from his second marriage, to Jody Davis, who is also from Westfield, N.J.

Throughout his life, John stayed very active with the YMCA, having grown up swimming at the Westfield YMCA (particularly Frost Valley YMCA). Additionally he served on a number of boards and volunteered in programs throughout his community.

He built his father’s business into a thriving tax/accounting practice in northern New Jersey, which his one son, Steve, has joined in the past several years. John also became very accomplished in home construction, through his renovation and addition projects over the years.

John stayed a self-effacing, honest, straight forward and loyal friend to the end?always more concerned about others than himself. Over the final months, his many Wesleyan friends came back together, culminating in an overflow crowd at his memorial service on May 20, 2006, at which John would have been quite uncomfortable being the center of attention.

He is survived by his wife, Jody, four children, five grandchildren and four siblings.

DANA B. JOHNSON, who was the chief economist and senior vice president of Comerica Inc., died Apr. 29, 2012, at age 64. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi and received a Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University. After beginning his career in economics at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C., he joined the First National Bank of Chicago (eventually Bank One), where he was managing director and head of research for Bank One Capital Markets. He joined Comerica in 2005. Survivors include his wife, Susan Hering, his son and daughter, his father, two granddaughters, and his sister.

JONATHAN GRAY, a mortgage and finance analyst for the investment firm of AllianceBernstein, died Oct. 29, 2007. He was 59. After receiving an MBA from New York University, he joined Sanford C. Bernstein and Co. (later AllianceBernstein) as a securities analyst following the savings and loan industry. He stayed with the firm his entire career, expanding his coverage to include other enterprises as well as the mortgage industry, and was frequently called to testify before Congress on pending finance regulation. Among those who survive are his wife, Bonnie Ellin Gray, two sons, his mother, and a sister.

WARD T. DEWITT, who retired as second-in-command of the New York State prison system and who went on to be the executive director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Institute for Nonviolence, died June 12, 2010, at age 62. A member of Eclectic, he began his career as counselor and then became a criminal justice adviser to the New York State Governor. He served on the Albany, N.Y., school board for five years, including as chair, and he helped to lead the board of the New Covenant Charter School, Albany’s first charter school. Survivors include his wife, Mary Ferguson DeWitt, four children, two grandchildren, three sisters, and a large extended family.