1929
Erma Tetley Morton, Aug. 8, 2007
Erma Tetley Morton grew up assuming she would attend Bates. Her father, the Rev. Edmund B. Tetley, was a member of the Class of 1899, and her family visited campus often for Reunions and other occasions. She continued to visit campus throughout her life, often in the company of her daughter, Mary Morton Cowan ’61, and her grandson, Timothy Cowan ’91. Both mother and daughter were students of Professor Bobby Berkelman. Despite President Gray’s misgivings, Erma entered Bates when she was 15 years old, and four years later found herself teaching English and Latin to high school students nearly her age. After a year of teaching in Maine, she moved to Laconia, N.H., where she taught English and directed plays. Her teaching career ended when she married Hugh Morton in 1935. They lived in Westbrook for 30 years before retiring to their lakefront home in Standish. She continued to substitute teach in Westbrook and became active in both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts as her children grew. She served as president of the Greater Portland Council of Girl Scouts, and on the New England regional committee when the Kennebec Council was formed. She was also active in the First Baptist Church in Westbrook for over 70 years. She volunteered for several organizations, was a corporator of Maine Savings Bank, and vice-president of the board of directors at Westbrook Hospital. She also served as class secretary for many years. In 2005, she expressed surprise when she learned that classes were no longer held on Saturday. Her brother, Wendell, was also a member of the Class of 1929. Her son-in-law is Carl Cowan ’61, and her grandson Timothy’s wife is Marianne Nolan Cowan ’92. She is also survived by her other children, David Morton and Margaret Stires, and their families, including seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

1933
Thelma Kittredge Cote, July 9, 2007
Thelma Kittredge Cote was one of the oldest Girl Scouts in the world. A lifelong resident of New Hampshire, she ran a private kindergarten and worked for many years as the manager of the Goffstown Credit Union. Active in the 4A Players at Bates, she wrote, directed, and acted in many plays at the Mothers Club in Goffstown. She served as treasurer of First Congregational Church and was active in the Order of the Eastern Star. At Bates, she was also a member of the Debating Council, and the speaker at her Class Day. Her first husband, Paul Goodwin, died in 1941. Six years later, she married J. Henry Cote; he too predeceased her. Among her survivors are daughter Deanna Cyboron; two granddaughters; and one great-granddaughter.

Edward Joseph Wilmot, Aug. 17, 2007
“I feel that Bates opened the world for me,” Ed Wilmot wrote on a Reunion survey. It was at the College that Ed developed his lifelong fascination with geology. He played football and ice hockey, sports he continued to coach after leaving Bates. He also played tennis and was active in the Outing Club. He returned to Bates to earn a master’s in education in 1941; he also did graduate work at Yale and Boston Univ. During World War II, he rose to become a lieutenant commander in the Navy. His career was in teaching, starting out as principal at a number of high schools preceding the war. Following discharge, he joined the administration at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, first as coordinator of student services, then as director of housing, and finally as special assistant to the vice president for business. After retiring in 1973, he and his wife, Ruth Benham Wilmot ’33, moved to Florida where he had a part-time career in real estate. He was an officer in the College’s alumni organizations in both New York and Florida, and served as a class agent. Ruth passed away in 2004. Survivors include children Edward and Donald and their families, including seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

1934
Helen Goodwin Yeagle, Nov. 1, 2007
Fifty cents a lesson: That’s what Helen Goodwin Yeagle charged for a piano lesson, the same fee her parents paid for her lessons as a child. She taught piano into her late 80s, and played organ at several churches near her home in Oxford, Mass. She also sang in local groups and directed the choirs at area churches (she attended four each Sunday at one point). With a degree in Biblical literature (and membership in Phi Beta Kappa) from Bates, she studied for a year at Andover Newton Theological School and then married the Rev. Lloyd R. Yeagle, who passed away in 1993. She was active in many volunteer organizations, and in 1998 received the Oxford Woman of the Year award for her generosity and volunteer work, including organizing the local Retired Armed Forces Assn. and starting a recycling program. Her son, Vaughan, predeceased her. Survivors include daughter Louisa; three grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

1936
Doris Maxim Pike, Oct. 30, 2007
Doris Maxim Pike had deep roots with Bates: Her grandfather, Truman Francis Pike, studied at Nichols Latin School, a college prep school run by the College, during the 1860s. Her parents, Alton and Mabelle Holmes Maxim, were both members of the Class of 1905. Her favorite place on Earth was her camp on Highland Lake in Windham, just north of Portland, where she was born and raised. At Bates, she was active in many musical groups and a varsity archer. Following graduation with a degree in mathematics, she returned to Portland and taught math for a few years before joining Union Mutual. In 1941, she married Clifton Pike and became a homemaker. She remained active in church choirs and volunteered for United Way, where she “held every position from lieutenant to division chair.” She directed the children’s choir at Clark Memorial Church, and served as church treasurer there and at Christchurch of Portland. Her husband predeceased her. Survivors include daughters Elaine Pike and Joyce Jack and two grandchildren. Other Bates relatives, now deceased, include Ena Maxim Moulton, Class of 1899, and a cousin, John M. Moulton ’28.

1937
Elwyn William Graffam, Aug. 24, 2007
Joe Graffam earned a bachelor’s in business administration from Bates, and put the degree to good use. For over 25 years, he worked for S.S. Kresge Co., interrupted only by service in the Army during World War II. He managed several stores at Kresge, and then bought Summer’s Department Store in Newington, Conn., in 1961. In 1970, he became a buyer in the food service department at the Univ. of Connecticut, from which he retired in 1981. His wife, Marjorie Schaff Graffam, predeceased him. Among his survivors are daughter Dorothy Mazurek; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Thurston Homer Long, Sept. 8, 2007
Huey Long ran three miles every day well into his 80s. He also visited all seven continents and took a brisk swim in the Drake Passage to Antarctica. Staying active was the secret to his longevity, he claimed — that, and an afternoon shot of bourbon. His degree was in economics. During World War II he rose to the rank of major in the Army, and worked in the finance department. He started his career as a salesperson for Firestone, but following the war he worked in hospital administration after earning a master’s from Columbia. He was the assistant administrator at the Graduate Hospital at the Univ. of Pennsylvania and then the administrator of the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, a position he held for 28 years. He was a fellow of the American College of Hospital Administrators and a member of the board of governors of the Greater New York Hospital Assn. He served as president and as chairman of the board of the Hospital Bureau Inc. He served on the board of trustees at Mamaroneck Methodist Church, including 10 years as president. Born in Stonington, he retired to Blue Hill, where he was a corporator of Blue Hill Memorial Hospital and a volunteer for the Peninsula Ambulance Corp. His wife, Sibyl G. Long, to whom he was married 62 years, died in 2006. Survivors include daughters Nancy Long Struve ’67, Martha Pokras, and Marian Long; and three grandchildren, including Gregory Struve, a member of the College’s information and library technology staff.

1938
Ellen Craft Dammond, Aug. 12, 2007
Kaye Craft Dammond proudly traced her ancestry to her paternal great-grandparents, who escaped slavery via the Underground Railroad, lived in England for 18 years, and returned after the Civil War to buy the land on which they had worked as slaves. On her mother’s side, she was the niece of William Monroe Trotter, who confronted President Woodrow Wilson over federal discrimination and founded an influential black newspaper in Boston. She herself worked throughout her life to eliminate racism, including chairing a national meeting of black women connected to the YWCA, which resulted in the organization adopting as its goal “the elimination of racism.” She served on the national board of the YWCA and was active in the New York Urban League and the advisory committee to the New York State Commission on Human Rights. She served on the advisory committee for the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Radcliffe, and on the business advisory board of the New York City Board of Education. She was a prominent figure in the Wednesdays in Mississippi advocacy group that brought Northern and Southern women together to work on issues significant to the black community. With her daughter, Margaret Trotter Dammond Preacely, she toured the country lecturing about their family history; the story can be found in several books and in a short film. She also had a long and successful career as the personnel counselor at B. Altman, the department store in New York City that operated, under conditions of its founder’s will, to promote the social, physical, and economic welfare of its employees. She was the first “colored girl” (as she described herself) to live in her dorm at Bates. She was a debater and an officer in the politics club and the Campus Assn. As an alumna, she was a member of the College Key and served on the executive committee of the Alumni Assn. Her husband, Donald Dammond, died in 1994, and their son, Henry, in 1972. Along with her daughter, survivors include seven grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

Priscilla Jones Hawthorne, July 21, 2006
With her degree in sociology, Priscilla Jones Hawthorne went on to a career in social work in public and private agencies in four states: Maine, Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado. She retired in Denver, where she volunteered for the Denver Museum of Natural History and the Denver Botanic Gardens. She also became a master gardener through Colorado State Univ. and took classes in horticulture at a local college. She was active in the Colorado Mountain Club. In 1991, she moved to California to be closer to daughter Sarah, who survives her, as does granddaughter Christina.

Constance Snow Shepler, Oct. 6, 2007
Connie Snow Shepler attended Bates for one year before graduating from Bryant and Stratton Secretarial School in Boston. She then became secretary to the head of the mathematics department at MIT. There, she met Paul Shepler, a graduate student. They married in 1942, and Connie turned her attention to homemaking. They settled in Baltimore but visited South Thomaston every summer. In 1987, she started a 15-year career in real estate. She once said that her biggest accomplishment was raising four children “to be worthy and productive citizens.” She enjoyed long walks and swimming in the ocean well into her 80s. She was also a master duplicate bridge player and won over 130 life master points. Survivors include children Thomas Shepler, Marilee Cole, Janet Ann Vermehren-Shepler, and Virginia Shepler-Sarai; eight grandchildren, including Russell Cole ’98; and three great-grandchildren.

Eleanor Walsh Bates, Nov. 6, 2007
With eight children to wrangle, Eleanor Walsh Bates had an apt motto: “Don’t panic!” When her oldest child graduated from high school, the youngest hadn’t started kindergarten yet. Before her marriage to Thomas Bates, in 1943, she taught in Dresden Mills and Brunswick and earned a master’s in education from Boston Univ. They settled in Winchester, Mass., where she was active in her church. She earned a real estate broker’s license and worked in this field for 15 years. They retired to Auburn, where she had grown up; she found it “a joy” to return to Maine. Her husband and son Paul predeceased her. Survivors include daughters Mary Anne Shube of Greenwood Village, Colo., Elizabeth Miles of Duvall, Wash., and Margaret Butler of Orange, Conn.; sons Thomas M. Jr. of Boxborough, Mass., William E. of Acton, Mass., James F. of Arlington, Mass. and John L. of Layton, Utah; 17 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

1939
Ruth Margaret Butler, Oct. 4, 2007
When Ruth Butler was handed one of her first assignments as a social worker at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital, she immediately knew she could provide better care than the standard. Her clients were newborns blinded by retrolental fibroplasia, and their families. It was thought that with the blindness came mental retardation and that such children should be institutionalized. She felt family care was a better choice and pioneered this treatment. Working with doctors at the hospital, she proved that retardation was not related to the visual disorder. She met with such success that one of her clients, who graduated from Harvard Law with honors, was the inspiration for the play Butterflies Are Free. Her work modeled standards used today around the country. Her 1989 book Well Being: Promotional Care and Positive Intervention was a guide for health care professionals around the world. In 1949, she became a professor at Simmons College and in 1988 joined the faculty at Harvard, where she continued research into her methods. Her undergraduate degree was from Boston Univ. (she left Bates during her junior year), and her master’s in social work was from Simmons. She is survived by several nieces and nephews. Her brother was Lawrence F. Butler ’36.

Helen Carter Guptill, Jan. 18, 2007
Helen Carter Guptill left Bates after one year to study at Colby. There she met and married Nathanael Guptill, prominent in the formation of the United Church of Christ and who served as its co-secretary shortly after its founding. She taught elementary school in Connecticut and was a member of the Grace Reformed United Church of Christ. Her husband passed away nine months after she did. Survivors include children Lois Smith, Judith Simmons, and Timothy Guptill; five grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

Jean Dickson Kelley, Oct. 14, 2007
Jean Dickson married classmate Fred Kelley in the Bates Chapel just a few months after graduation. They both were teachers, and taught in Maine, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. She taught Latin and was a member of the American Classical League, the Classical Assn. of N.E., the Vergilian Society of America, and the Classical Assn. of Great Britain. She was chair of the language department at Waterford (Conn.) High School for many years. They retired to Boothbay Harbor, where Fred died in 1991. Together they served as class agents for many years; Jean was also class secretary, and they both served on Reunion committees. Survivors include daughters Ann Kelley ’66 and Sue Kelley Kinnan ’72 and sons Roy Kelley and Lee Kelley; six grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

1940
Jean Fessenden Thomas, Oct. 30, 2007
At a college known for making matches among classmates, Jean Fessenden Thomas and her husband, Les Thomas ’40, were the last couple in their class. For their 50th Reunion directory, she wrote, “Other than the excellent education that I received at Bates, I value the many friends that I made…and also a husband that I found and have valued for 50 years.” They remained close to the College following graduation: she served as class secretary and he as treasurer, and they co-chaired the Social Committee for that 50th Reunion. She built on her biology degree from Bates by earning a certificate as a medical technologist in bacteriology from what was then Central Maine General Hospital in 1941, and worked as a laboratory technician in Maine, Massachusetts, and Florida until 1954, when she became head technician at Webber Hospital in Biddeford. In the early 1960s, they returned to Massachusetts, where she continued to work in the field until she retired in 1976. She was a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. She was active in PTA, the South Deerfield (Mass.) Woman’s Club, and the South Deerfield Congregational Church. Survivors include her husband; son Peter; and two grandchildren. Another son, Paul, predeceased her.

Mark Lelyveld, Oct. 25, 2007
Mark Lelyveld was set on a career in journalism — he was business manager of The Garnet, an editor of The Bates Student, and on the staff of The Buffoon — but World War II and the cost of supporting a family convinced him instead to go into the family business: a popular shoe store in his hometown of Rockland, Mass. He had started working there when he was 5 and continued working there until he and his brother, Edward ’34, sold the store in 1979. Immediately following graduation, he earned a master’s from the Columbia Univ. Graduate School of Journalism. While in New York City, he double-dated with his roommate, who was dating a woman named Adelaide Katz. He told his roommate that night that if the roommate didn’t marry Adelaide, he would. He did, in 1944, while he was in the Army. Their first child was born a year later. The shoe store founded by his father in 1911 became a community landmark and the site of many political discussions. Mark and his brother took over the business from their father in 1946. His father also founded the Rockland Credit Union, and Mark was on its board of directors for over 25 years. He also was active in the Rockland Merchants Assn. and the Chamber of Commerce. He was instrumental in establishing the Rockland Housing Authority, and served as its treasurer. For many years, he and Adelaide funded a College scholarship awarded to a student who demonstrated strong academic achievement. His survivors include his wife; their children, Susanne Lelyveld-Wittenberg, Steven Lelyveld, and Philip B. Lelyveld; and three grandchildren. Two of his nephews are Morris Lelyveld ’64 and Louis Lelyveld ’66. His niece, who predeceased him, was Sandra Lelyveld Marill ’55.

1941
Ruth Carter Snow, June 19, 2007
One of Ruth Carter Snow’s greatest interests was gardening. Her half-acre lot was full of vegetable and flower gardens. This life-long interest was a companion to her life-long interest in Girl Scouts. Active as a volunteer while raising her children, she also worked for the organization for 14 years, first as an assistant finance director and then as controller of the Connecticut Trails Council, one of the largest in the country at the time. She served briefly as acting director and was offered the job permanently, but chose instead to retire to care for her husband, Orrin Snow ’41, who had recently suffered a stroke; he died in 1996. Survivors include children Allan Snow ’66, Barbara Snow Beverage ’71 and her husband, Robert Beverage ’70, and Marjorie Swift; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Donald Curtis Webster, Oct. 4, 2007
Baseball, basketball, track and field — Don Webster excelled at all. He owned the state record for the high jump for a while during college, and went on to play with a number of baseball teams and to coach just as many. Too tall for the Marines, he entered the Army during World War II and fought in the Pacific Theater, including under Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Following the war, he and his wife, the late Ruth Allen Webster ’39, became the entire faculty and administration of the high school in New Gloucester. But he quickly tired of the long hours and re-enlisted in the Army in 1947. During his 20-year career, he rose to lieutenant colonel and served in Germany and Turkey, where he was the assistant Army attaché. He retired in 1967, but four years later was hired by the Army to work in its Foreign Military Assistance Program. He managed the Army’s program in El Salvador, procuring and distributing military equipment and supplies. He also generously supported an orphanage housing more than 50 children, supplying them with clothing, sports equipment, and monetary gifts. He called his work in El Salvador “the most demanding job I ever had,” and put off retirement to stay with it. He received commendations from both the Army and from the Salvadoran government for his work. Among his survivors are children Donald C. Webster Jr. and Ann Webster Rea.

1941
Catherine Winne Tonis, March 5, 2007
Kitty Winne Tonis taught school for 17 years after graduating with a degree in German. For seven years, she was an instructor at several colleges and then, in 1949, became the director of physical education at a junior high school in Newton, Mass. After a break for child-rearing, she returned to teaching and taught in Hollis, Saco, and Buxton, Maine. She was secretary and president of the Ocean Park Alumni Assn. during her break from teaching. She also became very active with the Kennebunk Animal Shelter. She retired to Florida, where she taught calligraphy and made “old-fashioned” dolls, the kind with porcelain heads and glass eyes, and Fabergé-type eggs. Among her survivors are son Richard Tonis and cousin Dorothy Wheeler Holbrook ’36. Her mother was Myrtle Young Winne and her aunt Elvena Young Wheeler, both Class of 1906.

1942
Natalie Webber Gulbrandsen, Oct. 17, 2007
Nat Webber Gulbrandsen was very pleased with her criminal record: She was arrested for protesting outside a nuclear test site in Nevada. Standing up for what she believed to be right was the hallmark of her life. A member of the Unitarian Universalist Church since 1946, she and her husband, the late Melvin Gulbrandsen ’42, made a place in their home for around 50 international students (in addition to their own five). They were founders of the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) school integration program for Wellesley, Mass., environmentalists, and recipients of Wellesley’s Community Award for Distinguished Service. She was a Girl Scout leader for many years, and a Sunday school teacher. She served on the national board of the UU Women’s Federation from 1971 to 1975, then as its treasurer for two years and finally as its president for four more. In 1985, she was elected national moderator of the UU Assn. in 1985, a position she held for eight years. In 1993, she was elected president of the International Assn. for Religious Freedom, a post she held for three years. This position involved travel around the world, and she was present at one of the first religious services held in Romania after the overthrow of Nicolae Ceausescu. She was a member of the board and chair (1996–98) of the Church of the Larger Fellowship, and chair of the UU Women’s Heritage Society. In 2002, she received the Award for Distinguished Service to the Cause of Unitarian Universalism, the highest award the denomination offers. In 1996, the College awarded her the honorary Doctor of Laws degree; she received the same distinction from Meadville Lombard Theological School, which is associated with the UU Assn., in 1991. Her deepest beliefs were based in the concept of diversity, both racial and cultural, and she found in the UU Church the freedom “to keep searching for truth my whole life long.” Among her survivors are her five children and their families: Karen Bean ’67 and her husband, Donald Bean ’67, Linda Goldsmith, Ellen Williams, Kristen Morgan, and Eric Gulbrandsen; six grandsons; and five granddaughters. Her sister was the late Phyllis Webber Estes ’49.

1943
Arthur Eugene Higgins, Nov. 18, 2007
When the Rev. Arthur Higgins protested to his wife, Anne, also a minister, that ministry was about the people in the pews, she challenged him to read a certain book — the Bible. From that rereading, he said he saw that Jesus was “everywhere doing things.” This inspired him to change the focus of his ministry and become an advocate for civil rights and social justice issues. He marched in Selma and he advocated for the Great Society envisioned by President Lyndon Johnson. But he wanted to do more. In a radical step for a church organization at the time, he created within the United Church of Christ (UCC) the New Samaritan Corp., in 1971, a nonprofit builder and manager of affordable housing for elderly and low-income people. This followed his successful tenure as a parish minister, principally in Wilton, Conn., at the Congregational Church, and then at various positions within the Connecticut Conference of the UCC, culminating in two years as the acting conference minister before retiring in 1989. His first backer in his housing efforts was Charles Dana, a parishioner in Wilton; it was the Rev. Higgins who convinced Dana to broaden his philanthropy to northern colleges, including Bates (Dana Chemistry Hall bears his name, as do several professorships). In all, Arthur Higgins oversaw the construction of more than 50 housing facilities with a net value in excess of $150 million. The College recognized his work when it awarded him the Benjamin Elijah Mays Award, its highest honor, in 2002, for “distinguished service to the larger, worldwide community.” The “New Sam” corporation served as a model for other churches, as did the Connecticut Conference’s pioneering Department of Church and Society, for which he served as its first minister. He recalled the College’s influence on his future at Reunion 2002: “Professor Myhrman took our class to a prison, a home for the aging, a home for the mentally infirm. The people were all horribly warehoused. I came back to campus, and in Roger Williams I had a conversion. I decided to be a prophet. Well, I have failed. But I am glad that social justice is now on the front burner of the church in this country.” Among others, he is survived by his wife, Anne; their children, Bartley Richard Higgins, Lesley Hall Higgins-Biddle, Gerald Arthur Higgins, and Ethel Anne Higgins-Harris; and their families, including six grandchildren.

Robert Clarke Sears, Oct. 21, 2007
Robert Sears left Bates after two years to join the Army during World War II, where he was a graduate of Officer Candidate School. Following the war, he joined the advertising department at the Salem (Mass.) Evening News, eventually becoming advertising manager and then personnel manager. His wife, Henrietta Newbegin Sears, predeceased him. Among his survivors are children Robert Jr., Anne, and Richard.

William Herbert Stirling Jr., July 1, 2007
Bill Stirling completed his degree in government and history during the summer of 1942 so he could begin Navy flight training. He flew combat missions from aircraft carriers in the Pacific during the war. He returned to begin a 37-year career with New England Telephone, retiring early to enjoy travel and hiking. At NET, he held a number of positions, including traffic supervisor, personnel supervisor, and finally district manager of personnel. At Bates, he played football and, as an alumnus, was known to lament the state of football at the College. An avid sailor, he and his wife, the late Ruth Parkhurst Stirling ’44, cruised the coast of Maine for many years, sailing out of Falmouth. They also were skilled hikers who hikes on at least five continents includes the Himalayas, the Alps, and mountains in South Africa. Among his survivors are sons Craig, Bruce, Douglas, and Andrew; 11 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. His grandson, Eric Stirling, is a member of the Class of 1997.

Helen Sweetsir Willy, Oct. 5, 2007
Helen Sweetsir Willy substitute-taught in the Weymouth (Mass.) school system while her children were growing up and then took a full-time position in 1976. She also worked at her husband’s business, a tool company. Her husband was Clifford N. Willy ’43. The two were eager boaters, and she once described the “perfect cruise” they had from Weymouth to Camden, Maine. She was a life member of the Wessagussett Yacht Club in North Weymouth and a past deaconess of the First Church in Weymouth. She also served on the board of directors of the YMCA and of the Red Cross Bloodmobile. Survivors include children Clifford Jr., Jack, Scott, and Jean Willy-McCarthy; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

1944
Karl Raymond Toner Jr., Aug. 31, 2007
Karl Toner’s graduation from Bates was delayed until 1948 because of his service in the Navy during World War II. He entered the Navy in 1943 and was an aviator and flight instructor. He joined the advertising department of Dennison Manufacturing Co. after the war, the beginning of his career in this field. In 1951, he became a copywriter at Dickie-Raymond, an advertising agency, and was elected vice president of client services there in 1967. His years at D-R were interrupted when the Navy reactivated him during the Korean War, when he was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet as a helicopter pilot. He remained active in the Naval Air Reserve and was commanding officer of an anti-submarine helicopter squadron with the rank of commander when he retired. He worked briefly for Ultimate Engineering in Natick, Mass., as plant manager before retiring in 1988. He was a deacon and trustee at Plymouth Church in Framingham, Mass. Among his survivors are children Karl Toner III ’76, Allison Toner, and Curtis Toner; brother Albert; one grandchild; and his niece, Ann Toner Frey ’67.

1945
Marjorie Gregory Wright, Aug. 30, 2007
Margie Gregory Wright used her degree in chemistry to land a job right out of college selling scientific equipment. She soon left the business world to become the principal at a school in Richmond, Mass., and in 1947 moved to Baltimore to teach in a junior high there. She taught science and health on and off into the 1960s. In 1964, she was a consultant to the family-life discussion group for the Baltimore County Board of Education. Following her retirement from teaching, she worked as the assistant director of the Meals on Wheels program and as a tax preparer. An excellent musician, she sang and played piano. Her survivors include children Winona Wright, Wendy Bigelow, and Charles Wright; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Her husband, Richard, predeceased her.

Claire Murray Newman, Aug. 7, 2007
Claire Murray Newman used the typewriter as a way to introduce children to computers. She also worked closely with her husband, the late William S. Newman, on his many books and other writings on music, including his three-volume work, The History of the Sonata. He was a professor of music at UNC–Chapel Hill. At Bates, she was active in student government and the Newman Club. Survivors include a stepson, Christopher Beck.

Leona Skofield Vaughan, Aug. 2, 2007
Like many others in her class, Leona Skofield Vaughan left Bates after two years to serve during World War II. She joined the Navy and was a corpsman. Following the war, she completed her degree at Boston Univ. in 1947. She was elected to the national honor society for women in education, Pi Lambda Theta, the following year. She was the secretary at the Newtonville (Mass.) United Methodist Church for 27 years. Following retirement in 1980, she volunteered at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, where she was a member of the Kirk of Dunedin. She was a member of the Florida DAR Veterans Club and registered with the Women in Military Service Memorial Log. She also was a Plank Owner of the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. Among her survivors are husband Robert; sons Robert Vaughan and Richard Vaughan; and a granddaughter.

1946
Elizabeth Hutchins Giard, Aug. 15, 2007
Even after retirement, Betty Hutchins Giard kept her interest in libraries alive by selling children’s books to libraries and schools throughout Maine. Although she started out as a teacher, within a year of graduation she had joined the library staff at Brewer (Maine) High School. She also married Hubert (Bert) Giard. She ended her career in 2002, when she retired as the librarian at Brewer Junior High School. Following her husband’s unexpected death in 1988, she became a district manager for World Book Encyclopedia. She was a member of local, state, and national educational organizations as well as Alpha Delta Kappa, a sorority dedicated to excellence in education and world understanding. She served as secretary-treasurer of the Penobscot Bates Club in the late 1970s. Her survivors include children Joe Giard and Mary Giard, and their families, including six grandchildren.

Harrison Edward Lemont, Aug. 10, 2007

Harrison Lemont deflected any praise about his service in World War II. He was a radar operator in the Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theater who saw action during the battle to liberate the Philippines and at Okinawa. His unit was stationed close to the front to give Allied troops advanced warnings of enemy aircraft approaching. An active Rotarian, he was surprised to learn in 2001 that there was a Rotary club in Tacloban, on the island of Leyte, where he was stationed. He corresponded with the club’s president, and learned that a problem he saw every day during the war persisted: starving children begging for scraps. He still remembered the children outside the mess hall during the war: “We were given two meals a day, and I remember the children standing around in rags or with no clothes at all just waiting for the leftovers to be thrown out. They would want you to dump leftovers into their cups or tin cans. You felt guilty if you ate anything, and you felt guilty if you didn’t eat what you were given,” he told the Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald in 2001. The two Rotary clubs started a project to raise money to purchase equipment and food to feed Tacloban’s children, and Rotary International matched every dollar they raised. In 2003, he completed his memoir of the war, Never Alone Until Admiral Halsey Left…with Everyone Else: Personal Involvement — with Typhoons, Filth, Cannibalism, and Body Parts In the Biggest War of All Times. He was a public accountant for many years, working with the town of Kittery, and in 1973 opened the Pine Tree Country Store there. He was a founding member of the Kittery Chamber of Commerce and served on the board of the public library and the zoning board of appeals for many years. Survivors include wife Arline Lemont; sons Kenneth and Andrew; and two grandchildren.

1947
Barbara Berman Russakoff, Aug. 12, 2007
“My mother made me do it,” Barbara Berman Russakoff once quipped when asked why she had attended Bates. In fact, she didn’t come back after her first year. By then, she had met her future husband, Phillip Russakoff, a student at Bowdoin. (They divorced in the early 1980s.) She bypassed Bates for a nursing degree from what was then Central Maine General Hospital. Among her survivors are daughter Marcia and husband Bob Ellis; and a granddaughter.

Nancy Covey MacGregor, Sept. 20, 2007
In 1973, Nancy Covey MacGregor became the first woman elected to the board of selectmen in Merrimac, Mass., and served eight years in that position. She found other ways to serve her community: she was a member of the board at the Greater Haverhill Area Department of Mental Health and at the Northeast Mental Health Assn. She volunteered as a probation officer at the district court in Haverhill. She was a trustee of Pentucket Regional Scholarship Foundation and the Merrimac Public Library. After Bates, she earned a master’s degree from Boston Univ. In 1955, she contracted polio and spent eight months in an iron lung. She used a wheelchair from then on, traveling through the British Isles several times, summering at her beach cottage in Rye, N.H., and driving to Florida each winter. Among her survivors are husband A. Bruce MacGregor and children, Mark MacGregor and Susan MacGregor.

Harry Leroy Crowley, Aug. 16, 2007
On the final day before his fatal illness, Harry Crowley was puttering around Brandy Pond near Naples, Maine, in his 1958 wooden Penn Yan boat. Water was a factor at many times during his life. While growing up, he learned lobstering from his father. In order to attend Machias Normal School, he had to row across Moosabec Reach from Beals Island to Jonesport and then drive a Model A to Machias. During World War II, he served a year in the Coast Guard before transferring to the V-12 program at Yale and then the deck officer program at the College. The small aircraft carrier on which he served was converted to help ferry military personnel between the western Pacific and San Francisco. He returned to Bates after the war, completed a degree in mathematics, and then went on to earn both a master’s and a doctorate in psychology from Boston Univ. At his retirement in 1984, he was chair of the behavioral science department at Fitchburg (Mass.) State College. In 1981, FSC awarded him its distinguished service award. His survivors include his wife, Jane Marshall Crowley; their four children, Nancy Doolittle, John Crowley, Roy Crowley, and Cathy Walter; 12 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

1948
Phyllis Gordon Landry, Sept. 22, 2007
Phyllis Gordon Landry died within a few days of her husband, George E. Landry. Her degree from the College was in psychology, and she taught for many years at Hall Memorial School in Willington, Conn. Following retirement from teaching, she worked with her husband at his toy and miniature company, G.E.L. Products. She was a member of the United Congregational Church in Tolland, Conn. Among her survivors are her children, Ava Little and David Landry.

Maurice Leo Goulet, Aug. 31, 2007
Maurice Goulet was a tireless advocate for Lewiston, his hometown. After a very short time at Bates, he joined the war effort by using his machinist skills at a plant in Bath. He had expected to be an Army pilot but an injury put him in the 4F category. He was president of several ventures in Portland and Lewiston, including the Steer Inn and Steak House, and G+H Associates. He also was president of the first FM radio station in Maine, WCME, and had a 20-year career with Equitable Life Insurance Co. as a district manager. As part of his efforts to help revitalize Lewiston, he was involved in many development projects, including Geiger Bros., Knapp Shoes, American Trust Bank, and Raytheon. He was an advocate for the hidden treasures of Lewiston — its waterfalls and canals. He enjoyed sailing, horseback riding, and sports cars, as well as quieter days by the coast. His survivors include wife Therese Rousseau; children John Goulet, James Goulet, Marie Goulet, Marc Goulet, and Anne-Louise Goulet; and their families, including nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Clara Stover Jordan, Oct. 24, 2007
Smokey Stover Jordan earned a degree in nursing from Bates and worked as a surgical nurse at what was then Central Maine General Hospital and for a local doctor. In 1970, she returned to Arizona, where she had grown up, with her daughters and worked as a psychiatric nurse for 20 years, retiring in 1992. At Bates, she played basketball and intramural sports, and took part in musical groups. Survivors include daughters Elizabeth Rotondo, Marguerite Jordan Hinojosa ’80, Kathryn Moreno, Mary Jordan Shepherd, and R. Edith Jordan-Farias; 10 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and her sister, Elizabeth Stover ’47. Her mother was Bertha Mayberry Stover ’23.

Elizabeth Whittaker Bunnell, July 23, 2007
Elizabeth Whittaker Bunnell augmented her degree in English with a master’s in English from Columbia and another in library science from Long Island Univ. She taught briefly in Vassalboro before she and husband Robert moved to New York. There, she taught at the Greenvale (N.Y.) School and then became the reference librarian at the Westbury (N.Y.) Memorial Public Library. Following retirement, they returned to Marion, Mass., where she had been raised, the third generation of her family in Marion, and where she volunteered at the New Bedford Whaling Museum library and at the Sippican Historical Society. She also learned to play piano in retirement, and played handbells at St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church. At Bates, she was part of the editorial staff of The Bates Student and a member of the Orphic Society, the Outing Club, and the Modern Dance Club. In addition to her husband, survivors include children Karen Bullock, Ann Elizabeth Bunnell, and Robert Bunnell; two grandchildren; and her sister, Constance A. Miller.

1949
John Ramey McCune, Aug. 14, 2007
John Ramey McCune delayed college until after World War II, when he served as a paratrooper in the 13th Airborne. His degree from Bates was in German, and he went on to attend law school at the Univ. of Michigan. He re-entered the Army in 1951, during the Korean War, and served in Korea, Germany and Vietnam, retiring as a colonel in 1975. He received the Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit, and the Army Commendation Medal during his career. He and his wife, Jane Doty McCune ’47, retired to Monterey, Calif., where he put his organization skills to work for many groups. He was active with the history and art association, the Monterey Maritime Museum, the National Council of Senior Citizens. He was president of the local Alzheimer’s Assn., and chair of the Monterey County Long Term Care Planning Council and the Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council, which recognized his “remarkable dedication,” in 2002. Along with his wife, he is survived by children Lori Rieser and William McCune and their families, including three grandchildren.

Charles John Parsley Jr., Sept. 7, 2007
The Rev. Charles Parsley believed that one’s understanding of God and one’s faith could continue to grow throughout life. His experiences as an infantryman during World War II affected his ministry profoundly, and a large part of his ministry was dedicated to finding ways for people to live peaceably and to reconcile differences. Over the course of his life he became a strong supporter of the vision of the United Nations, an anti-war advocate, and a supporter of gay and lesbian rights. He and wife Jeanne Anderson Parsley ’48 attended Boston Univ. School of Theology together, where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s in sacred theology. He served several churches in Vermont, including the Congregational churches in East Barre and North Bennington, the Grafton Federated Church, and the First Baptist Church in Bellows Falls. From 1964 to 1968, he and his family lived in India as part of a program through the United Church Board for World Ministries, the overseas arm of the United Church of Christ. There, he established the chaplaincy program at Ahmednagar College and was professor of Old Testament at the United Theological College of Western India. He formally retired in 1989, but continued to preach until his death. He was active in Veterans for Peace and the social action committee of the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Burlington, Vt. Besides his wife, survivors include children Martha Parsley Barton ’75, Karen Parsley Baron, Cynthia Parsley Baehr, and Andrew Parsley; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Sondra Speer Scott, Sept. 25, 2007
An athlete at Bates, Sondra Speer Scott continued to play tennis and golf throughout her life. She also had a wide interest in the arts, both fine arts and decorative arts. In 1986, she earned a certificate in historic preservation from the Univ. of Pennsylvania. She served on the board of Surrey Services for Seniors, a nonprofit that helps adults remain in their homes, and often did the decorations for its events. She also enjoyed trips to the historic gardens at Longwood, as well as performances of various cultural groups in Philadelphia. Her husband is Richard Scott ’50. In the late 1960s, they were active with the Committee of Responsibility to Save War-Burned and War-Injured Children. She is survived by Dick, as well as children Sondra Sacchi-Scott, Richard Jr., Binh, Matthew, Christine Beard, Stacie Scott-Karas, Joan Scott-Dickey, Ruth Portonova, and Suzanne Plambeck; and 25 grandchildren.

Gwendolyn Staveley Hamlen, July 24, 2007
Gwen Staveley Hamlen was a biology major — not that common for a woman at the time — and her degree came in handy when she least expected it. Dissatisfied with the science curriculum at her daughter’s school, she scheduled a meeting with the teacher to discuss her concerns — and ended up being offered a job as a science teacher. She also served as a guidance counselor at the school, which inspired her to earn a master’s in social work from Northern Illinois Univ., in 1978. Following her retirement from teaching in 1982, she became a counselor at a clinic serving women in Chicago. Her husband is Robert Hamlen ’50; he survives her. Other survivors include children Marcille Hamlen, Roberta Cinnamon, Geraldine Hamlen, Mark Hamlen, and Kurt Hamlen; and six grandchildren. Her father-in-law was Frank H. Hamlen ’21.

Fenwick Merrill Winslow Jr., Sept. 12, 2007
An economics major, Fen Winslow played baseball, football, and basketball at Bates. He had delayed college to serve in the Navy during World War II, and because of that delay, he met his wife, Audrey Hudson Winslow ’49, when he was a student. He worked for a few years as an underwriter with Equitable Life Assurance Society and then became production manager for several manufacturing companies, including Superior Electric and Stanley Tools. He was involved with the Central Connecticut Assn. for Retarded Children, and served as president during the 1960s. In 1985, he opened a branch of the Minuteman Press in Avon, Conn. In 1997, his wife wrote a children’s book entitled My Grandpa Says…. The grandpa in the book is her husband, but she encouraged children to substitute their own. Along with his wife, survivors include children Scott Winslow and Thomas Winslow; and two grandchildren. Two children predeceased him. His cousin is Marilyn Winslow Dean ’54, whose son and daughter-in-law are William Winslow Dean ’79 and Ann Wymore Dean ’79.

1950
Philip Joseph Cifizzari, Aug. 12, 2007
Philip Cifizzari started his college career at Northeastern Univ. He left after two years to join the Navy, in which he served as a pharmacist’s mate. A Lewiston native, he transferred to Bates following the war and graduated with a degree in psychology. He also held a master’s in education from the Univ. of Maryland. He taught world history at Bladensburg (Md.) High School for many years. He also invested in real estate. Among his survivors are wife Carol Cifizzari; children Phillip Cifizzari, Michael Cifizzari, John Cifizzari, Vincent Cifizzari, Gregory Cifizzari, Christina Curl, and Stephanie Cornell; 16 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Two children, Joseph Cifizzari and Julie Cifizzari, predeceased him.

Richard Naylor Cronan, July 30, 2007
Dick Cronan held two bachelor’s degrees: one in economics from the College and one in accounting from Bryant College. With this expertise, he worked as the treasurer and purchasing agent at Automatic Machine Products in his hometown, Attleboro, Mass., for 40 years. He also was the accountant for his wife’s travel company, which enabled them and their children to travel worldwide. He served as president of United Way in Attleboro and as president and treasurer of the Lions Club there. He played basketball and softball in college, but switched to golf later, a sport he enjoyed well into retirement. Along with wife Lois his survivors include children Paul Cronan, Joanne Corkum, David Cronan, and Susan Manning; and eight grandchildren. A daughter, Catherine Cronan, predeceased him.

Richard Joseph Dick, Aug. 15, 2007
Richard Dick turned his biology degree from Bates into a D.M.D. from Tufts and operated a successful dental practice in Presque Isle for 40 years. Before turning his attention to his education, he served as a hospital corpsman in the Navy during World War II, and saw action in the invasions of Saipan and Okinawa. His hobby was restoring antique cars — anything from a Model A to a Woody. He was a member of local, state, and national dental organizations, as well as the Kiwanis and veterans groups. His survivors include wife Carlene; children Susan Dick Gentile ’77 and Matthew Dick; and four grandchildren, including Megan Gentile ’09.

Madeline Pillsbury Chrystowski, July 19, 2007
Madeline Pillsbury Chrystowski had her mind set on a teaching career while she was in college: She was an officer in Future Teachers of America while at Bates. Her degree was in French, and she also studied Spanish. With a master’s from UNH, she taught English and French for over 30 years, mostly in Ohio. She retired to Dover, N.H., which she used as a home base for travels with her sister. Her husband, Victor, predeceased her. Among her survivors are son Victor V. Chrystowski III and his family, including two grandchildren.

1954
Michael Francis Baumann, July 11, 2007
Michael Baumann once wrote on an alumni questionnaire: “I came with little, took some, gave more. I’ll leave a net positive.” He was a technician with the Nashua Corp. before joining the executive offices of Wyomissing Corp. He went on to start several successful companies in office systems, paper converting, and medical packaging, and held a number of patents in these fields. His degree was in chemistry and he also held a master’s in science from UMaine. He played intramural sports at Bates, and became an avid golfer later in life. Following retirement in 1982, he began a second career as a teacher, and taught high school chemistry for four years. Survivors include wife Glen Gledhill Baumann and children Mauri Baumann and Michael Baumann.

John Robert Griffith, Sept. 22, 2007
Bob Griffith had dreamed of attending Bates since he was 12, but service in the Army came first. He served three years in Japan as part of the occupation force, and then studied for a year at Portland Junior College before matriculating at Bates. He graduated with a degree in sociology and began a career with the YMCA. He held positions in New York State, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania before becoming the youth coordinator of the Greater New York City Youth Program and the resident camp director in Pennsylvania. He later was the youth coordinator in Needham, Mass., and the executive director of the drug abuse and treatment program in Springfield, Mass. In 1982, he completed a master’s in social work at Boston Univ. and was appointed a child welfare director for the Massachusetts Department of Social Services. He retired in 1994 as the supervisor of the South Shore investigative unit. His daughter, Robin Kelley, predeceased him. He is survived by sister Dorothy LaCasse and former wife Elaine Brilanstone.

Benoit Norman Letendre, Oct. 26, 2007
Ben Letendre served his class in just about every way possible as an alumnus. He was a class agent, a member of various Reunion committees, and served as an alumni club officer. Following graduation with a degree in French, he served in the Army for two years before working for four years in the insurance industry. He then became a social worker in adult protective services for the Maine Department of Human Services, a position he held until he retired in 1991. In 1974, he married Jacqueline Boucher ’56. She too was a social worker for the state. He was a communicant of St. Joseph’s Church in Lewiston and a member of the Elks Club and the American Legion. Jacqueline survives him, as do four sisters.

1955
Janneke Disbrow, Oct. 12, 2007
A French major, Janneke Disbrow worked for the Christian Science Publishing Society for nearly 20 years as a translator. She was the supervisor of the French section there. In 1975, she joined Downer & Co., an investment bank with worldwide offices. At the time, the company was just forming. She retired from there as executive secretary shortly before her death. She is survived by several nephews and their families.

1956
Suzanne Suckow, July 20, 2007
Suzanne Suckow attended Bates before transferring to Columbia. She later earned a degree as a dietary technician from SUNY–Albany. An artist, her drawings were exhibited for the first time shortly before she passed away. Survivors include her sister, Elizabeth Nichols.

1957
Arlene Gardner Foulds, Aug. 12, 2007
Her life was governed by a large monthly planner. Once Arlene Gardner Foulds made a commitment, she never backed away. She heaped her considerable organizational skills on her adopted hometown of Torrington, Conn., and had enough left over to plan several class Reunions and serve as class secretary. Her professional and volunteer positions were a kaleidoscope of opportunities to help others or to make things better. Professionally, she worked as a YMCA camp program director, a YMCA camp registrar, a church school administrator, and a Christian education director. She was a past president and member of the board for the Torrington YMCA and received its Golden Triangle Award for outstanding volunteer work. She served on the board of Camp Mohawk and on the National YMCA Camp Standards Committee. She was part of a team that rebuilt her church after it burned and was past president of the women’s fellowship there. She was a past president of the Torrington PTO and served on its board of education for many years. She received the Gold T award from the school system for her support of high school athletics. She was on the board of the local soup kitchen and of the youth services bureau. She co-chaired the annual convention of the Naugatuck Valley Project, a coalition of church, labor, and community groups working to improve housing, health services, and economic conditions. She also “invented” a first-night celebration in Torrington, and was a house parent to college-age athletes playing on the Torrington Twisters, a New England Collegiate Baseball League team. She once admitted that she let housework slide some days. Survivors include sons Kevin Foulds, David Foulds, and Jeffrey Foulds; one grandchild and two step-grandchildren; and two step-great-grandchildren. Her former husband is Donald Foulds ’57.

Donald Chapin Root Jr., July 21, 2007
Don Root was ready to retire from his 26-year career as a school counselor and vocational program administrator at the Edwin O. Smith High School in Storrs, Conn., when another opportunity presented itself: a chance to work as a guidance counselor at the John F. Kennedy School in Berlin, Germany. He and his wife, Patricia Campbell Root ’59, spent four years at the school, and were in Berlin when the Wall was pulled down. The bicycle-friendly countries of Europe gave him ample chances to explore Germany, Austria, and Denmark while there (his favorite ride was along the banks of the Danube from Passau, Germany, to Vienna). The ride that capped them all, though, was his 1,100-mile solo trip from Columbia, S.C., to Cape Cod when he was 64. He and Patricia had retired to Cape Cod after their return from Germany, a place they had summered for many years. In fact, he had been a seasonal park ranger at the National Seashore there for 12 years before they went to Germany. In retirement, he was active in the restoration of the Race Point Lighthouse and worked especially to bring solar power to the keeper’s house. He also continued to advise high school students about college selection and applications. In addition to his Bates degree in government, he held a master’s in guidance from Boston Univ. (1962) and a master’s in psychology from UConn (1965). Along with his wife, survivors include sons Dana Root and Mark Root and two grandchildren.

1960
Joan Celtruda Gaeta, July 17, 2007
Her children say love was more than an emotion to Joan Celtruda Gaeta. It was an action. She worked with the rural poor in Georgia through the Glenmary Home Missions and volunteered at the Nazareth Home, tutoring unmarried pregnant teenagers. She distributed food to those in need and ministered to the sick through her church. In the late 1970s she was vice president of the Roswell (Ga.) Historical Society. She also raised five children, tutored math, and substitute-taught. After her children were grown, she taught full time at St. Jude the Apostle Elementary School in Atlanta and later at St. Joseph’s in Macon, Ga. In retirement, she took up watercolor painting. At Bates, she was a dean’s list student and the co-editor of The Mirror. In addition to her degree in math from the College, she held a master’s in education from Oglethorpe College. A nonsmoker, she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2003. In response, her husband and children incorporated the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Foundation to raise awareness of the disease among nonsmokers. Survivors include husband Richard J. Gaeta; children Maria Cressler, Theresa Andretta, Richard J. Gaeta Jr., Christina Pink, and Joseph Gaeta; and their families, including 12 grandchildren.

Richard Tyson Ebert, July 20, 2007
Dick Ebert practiced medicine in southern New Jersey for more than 35 years. He graduated from Bates with a degree in biology and then earned his M.D. from Thomas Jefferson Univ. in Philadelphia in 1964. His practice was in internal medicine and cardiology. He also was a clinical assistant professor at the university. He retired from the New Jersey National Guard as a captain. Among his survivors are wife Tatiana Filatoff Ebert ’60; children Ellen Ebert Sage ’87, Christian Ebert, and Natasha Cottrell; and three grandchildren. His brother is John Ebert ’53.

Elizabeth Morse O’Donnell, Oct. 17, 2007
Betty Morse O’Donnell devoted her career as a librarian to teenagers, looking for ways to provide informal learning experiences in an informal setting. Her bachelor’s degree was in history and her master’s from Simmons was in library science. She worked at the Philadelphia Free Library and at the Contra Costa County (Calif.) Library in their young-adult divisions before returning to her native New Hampshire in 1980. She was employed by the Manchester Public Library for many years. As a member of the American Library Assn., she served as president of its youth division. She also served on the Raymond (N.H.) School Board and the town’s budget committee. She volunteered with the Drug-Free Schools and Community program, and was the organist at the Raymond United Methodist Church. Survivors include husband Michael J. O’Donnell; son Charles O’Donnell and daughter Deborah O’Donnell ’94.

1962
John Dewey Allen, Aug. 31, 2007
Three days before he passed away following a seven-year struggle with cancer, John Dewey Allen went sailing off the coast of Boothbay Harbor. “He is the most courageous person I have ever met,” said his second wife, Dana Allen, recounting the day. They met in 1994 when he worked for her at a Sears store in Florida — she was his boss. It wasn’t until she went to visit him in the hospital when he broke his hip that they became more than co-workers. He had retired by that time, after a long and successful career with Sears, but the company urged him to return to work. He had moved to Florida in 1985, taken up rollerblading and renewed his love of golf (which he played, along with soccer and running track, at Bates). An accomplished woodworker, he often built furniture with only a photograph as his guide. His second wife is among his survivors, as are daughter Jacqueline Allen Wilson and three grandchildren.

1974
John Eugene Dundas, Oct. 20, 2007
Jed Dundas lived most of his life on or near the New Jersey shore. He was a systems software manager for International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. in Union Beach, N.J., a company he was with for 26 years. He also worked as a civilian with the U.S. Marine Corps in its computer systems. He was the author of various papers on computer performance and capacity. He was active in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, and coached basketball for many years. He also enjoyed fly fishing and golf. At Bates, he was active in the Outing Club and the Campus Assn. Survivors include wife Susan Moser Dundas and sons Steven Dundas and Mark Dundas.

1995
Kim Martha Gannett, October 8, 2007
Kim Martha Gannett was an artist. Her senior thesis at Bates was a sculpture installation, and she had studied with Carole Spelic ’78, a sculptor based in New York, as part of the College’s Career Discovery internship program. In high school, she competed in the shot put, discus, and javelin. Among her survivors are parents John D. Gannett Jr. and Ute Dirks Gannett.

2001
Amadou Lamine Cissé, Nov. 19, 2007
“It’s a sadness beyond imagining,” said Czerny Brasuell, director of multicultural affairs at Bates. Amadou Cissé was murdered in the course of a robbery near his Chicago apartment. He had successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at the Univ. of Chicago on Nov. 1, 2007, and would have received the degree on Dec. 7. The degree was awarded posthumously, although members of his family in Senegal declined to be present. He had come to the United States to attend an international high school in New Mexico. He graduated summa cum laude from Bates with a triple major in physics, mathematics, and chemistry and a Phi Beta Kappa key. A Muslim, he was active in both Muslim and Hindu awareness groups. His intent was to return to Senegal and use his talent and education to help his native country. He was the author of several scientific papers. His dissertation involved a new way to study the perfusion of air and other molecules through thin films called polymers. Although he was interested only in the technical aspects of the phenomenon, his discovery had practical applications, since it is thin films like the ones he studied that are used to coat food and other material. “He gave us a new way of measuring diffusion in thin films. That’s quite an accomplishment,” said Steven Sibener, professor of chemistry at Chicago and his thesis advisor. In newspaper articles and online discussions, many remember him as a thoughtful, attentive friend, keenly aware of the world around him. “His real occupation, it seemed to me, was ‘analysis’ — of political events [and] issues of justice, race, and discrimination,” wrote Abdel Jibril ’02, on one online discussion. “We would meet at Commons, the Multicultural Center, and the prayer room and spend time talking about a host of issues — religion, politics, society — and giving each other advice,” said Saif Ahmed ’00. “He was very true to his Muslim faith, deeply spiritual and forgiving, and always saw what was good in others.” His survivors include his mother, Seynabou Cissé, two brothers, and a sister. His father, a military officer, died when Amadou was young.