In Memoriam

Obituaries Index

At the time of our 25^th Reunion in 1987, I prepared obituaries for those classmates then deceased. The experience was so rewarding that I readily agreed to assume this assignment for our 40^th. Fifteen years ago we knew of but thirty-four classmates who had died. The ensuing years have added forty-nine more. However, Alumni Records also list almost fifty classmates as "lost." The odds are that some are deceased. Thus, this collection of short sketches is likely incomplete.

As of 1987, accidents had claimed more that a third of our thirty-four deceased classmates. Combat in Vietnam claimed only one - Richard D. B. Shepherd. Three others died during the War while in military service elsewhere: Clyde Edgar, Ron Schuster and John Wilson. Suicides also claimed the lives of at least four during the first quarter century.

Regrettably, over the past fifteen years, accidents have continued to take a toll. Jim Donohue died in a boating accident, and Pierce Gerety perished in the crash of Swissair Flight 111. One of us, Dr. Mike Lutz, was killed in an avalanche while helicopter skiing in British Columbia. In addition, several more classmates have taken their own lives. However, most deaths since 1987 have resulted from the predictable ills of our age - heart attacks, cancer and disease.

Compared to 1987, the task of retrieving information was more difficult but also more intense and rewarding. Our classmates led useful and varied lives, marked by contributions to profession, community, and family - careers and lives that those who benefited from them have remembered with scholarships, monuments and tributes. As I obtained the records, it became apparent that those who have gone before us answered the calls to service that Bill Coffin and A. Whitney Griswold sounded in September 1958. Their stories related here are intended to help us all share what they did.

Numerous classmates - too many to mention lest I inadvertently omit someone - helped by gathering information. I have taken the liberty of quoting directly many of their remarks. I must acknowledge also the heartfelt assistance of widows, sons, daughters, friends, family who contributed recollections, clippings, memorial tributes and photographs. They too I have quoted liberally and at length. My appreciation also goes to the A.Y.A. and to two special persons who performed essential research - Holly Swirsky (wife of classmate Gerry) and Yale undergrad Stephanie Dolmat-Connell. To them, and to all who helped, thank you. However, I alone bear responsibility for each biography. Any errors or omissions are unintentional.

In addition to the forty-nine new memorial essays, I have rewritten many of the original thirty-four to add new information learned since 1987 and to correct omissions. All are presented in alphabetical order.

We who are now in our sixties celebrate the forty years since our graduation in the Spring-time of our lives. It is altogether fitting that we do so. But as we celebrate, let us also pause now to recall with fondness and pride our classmates who have gone before us. Let us share in the pleasure of their achievements. And let us celebrate their lives.