May 10, 2006: Memorials


JOSEPH HOLLAND BURCHENAL ’34

Joe Burchenal, whose pioneering work with drug treatments for leukemia and other forms of cancer earned him, in 1964, one of the first three of our Awards for Outstanding Achievement, died March 8, 2006, at age 93. (The other two winners were Butch Fisher and Johnny Oakes.)

According to a two-column obituary in The New York Times, Joe “arrived at what is now the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in the late 1940s, when the primary therapies for cancer were surgery and radiation. In the 1950s, he and others experimented with pharmaceutical solutions and used them in path-breaking trials.”

Before retiring in 1983, Joe became vice president of Sloan-Kettering Institute and head of its applied-therapy laboratory. He was also a professor of medicine at Cornell.

Surviving are Joe’s wife of 58 years, Joan Riley Burchenal; three sons, Caleb W., David H., and J.E.B. ’84; three daughters, Holly Nottebohm, Jody Nycum, and Bobbie Landers; a sister, Betty Maxfield; 16 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

The Class of 1934

 


Augustus Dixon Adair III ’36

Dick died Sept. 10, 2005. He was 92.

A graduate of the Lawrenceville School, he majored in political science at Princeton and also was a member of Cap and Gown. In 1950 he received a law degree from Emory University Law School. During World War II he served six years in the Army Air Corps in this country and in Europe, rising to the rank of colonel.

In 1957 he joined Magic Chef Inc. That year he and his family moved abroad, where they spent a total of 21 years in Venezuela, Spain, and Italy, and Dick was president of five separate Magic Chef operations. In 1978, the family moved to Atlanta, Ga., where Dick was named Magic Chef’s president of international operations. He retired in 1985.

His community interests in Atlanta included serving on Emory University’s Board of Visitors, and on Emory’s Michael C. Carlos Museum and the Historic Oakland Cemetery. Dick’s main hobbies were international travel and photography. Several of his photos taken on an around-the-world trip soon after his graduation from Princeton are in the Carlos Museum.

He is survived by a daughter, Lee Adair Lawrence ’77, sons Cameron and Augustus Dixon IV, seven grandchildren, and two step-grandchildren.

The Class of 1936

 


C. Keating Bowie ’36

Keats died of cancer June 30, 2005. He was 92.

A graduate of the Gilman School, at Princeton he majored in economics, was a varsity wrestler for three years, and was a member of Tower Club. Early in our freshman year our class Cane Spree team lost to the Class of 1935 team. Only Keats won his match for our team and thus was the first in our class to wear the class numerals.

Keats graduated from Harvard Law School in 1939. He practiced corporate law until retiring in 1986. In the 1940s he served as an assistant Baltimore City Solicitor and was on the boards of the Legal Aid Society and the Peale Museum. During the 1960s he served as an adviser on housing matters to Baltimore mayors and was appointed by the Maryland governor to lead a 10-member commission on the revision of the corporate laws of the state. He also served 31 years in leadership positions at Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Library, ending as chairman.

For many years, Keats was a dedicated collector of Maryland maps.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, the former Alice Forbes; sons Keating III and Walter W.W.; daughters Elizabeth Fesperman and Helen B. Campbell; a brother, Robert R. ’31; and five grandchildren.

The Class of 1936

 


Mark A. Beltaire ’37

When Mark died Dec. 1, 2005, at his home in La Jolla, Calif., he was called one of the “best-loved chroniclers” of the Detroit Free Press.

His career could have been predicted from an early age: He served on the publications board at Cranbrook School, majored in English at Princeton, had a column in the Princetonian, and was vice president of the Press Club. While at Princeton, as an Associated Press stringer, he reported on the Hindenburg disaster in Lakewood, N.J. He often talked about his thwarted attempt to interview Albert Einstein.

Mark was hired as a sportswriter at the Detroit News and covered everything from the Red Wings to golf, sandlot baseball, and football. Mark began writing his “Town Crier” column at the Detroit Free Press in 1945, covering stories about both ordinary people and celebrities. During the column’s 35 years, he won many accolades, and in 1967, shared a Pulitzer for team coverage of the Detroit riots. At our 50th reunion, Mark was proud of his scoop of Anwar Sadat’s assassination, while he was in Egypt in 1981.

Mark’s wife, Beverly Ann, predeceased him. He is survived by his sons, Mark IV and Jeffrey; daughters Barbara and Suzanne; and two grandchildren. The class offers them sincere sympathy on the death of this very interesting man.

The Class of 1937

 


Robert L. Edwards ’37

Bob Edwards of West Hartford, Conn., died Jan. 15, 2006. He was 91.

Born in Auburn, N.Y., he was a direct descendant of Thomas Hooker, Jonathan Edwards, and Hartford founder William Edwards. His mother, author and educator Margaret Dulles Edwards, was John Foster Dulles’ sister.

Bob was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at Princeton, earned a master’s in history from Harvard in 1938, and received a master of divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in 1949. During World War II he served five years as an Army intelligence officer, separating as a captain and earning a Bronze Star.

After graduation he was minister of the First Congregational Church of Litchfield, Conn., and of Immanuel Congregational Church, retiring as minister emeritus in 1980. He was president of the Greater Hartford Council of Churches, a trustee of Hartford Seminary, and on the boards of numerous organizations. He wrote several hymn texts and books, including Of Singular Genius, Of Singular Grace, a biography of Hartford pastor Horace Bushnell, and his own autobiography, My Moment in History.

Bob is survived by his wife, Sarah A. Edwards; a daughter, Edith H.; a son, James D.; a grandson, Lansing Charles Edwards; a brother, Richard; a sister, Mary Parke Edwards Manning; several nieces and nephews; and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews.

The class mourns the loss of our good and generous president and sends sincere sympathy to his family.

The Class of 1937

 


R. Burton Parker ’37

Burt died Nov. 6, 2005, at his home in Sewickley, Pa. He was 91.

Burt lived most of his life in Ben Avon, Pa. He came to Princeton from Exeter, majored in politics, and was a member of Tiger Inn. After graduation, he worked for H.H. Robertson until 1959, with time out during World War II to serve four years in the Navy on the destroyer USS Davidson as a lieutenant j.g. He eventually became a partner with the Kay Richards brokerage firm that later became Parker/Hunter. He retired in 1999 at age 85.

Burt served as an elder of the Presbyterian Church of Sewickley, was a member of the Duquesne and Princeton clubs and the Allegheny Country Club, and was an original member of the 300 Baseball Club. An avid golfer, he won several tournaments in his early years.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Mary Wettach Parker; daughters Ann Parker Demong and Joan Elaine Parker; two grandsons; and one great-grandson. His daughter Sallie Louise Parker predeceased him.

At his memorial service, Burt was remembered as a warm, compassionate family man and a caring friend to many. We also remember him that way and offer our sincere sympathies to all.

The Class of 1937

 


Thomas Dimond ’39

Tom died Dec. 18, 2005, in New York City, which had always been his home.

After Princeton, Tom received an MBA at Harvard Business School in 1941. He then served until 1945 as a captain in the Army Air Force. He resumed postgraduate study in finance and economics at Penn from 1947 to 1948. From there he joined the faculty of Wharton Business School to teach economics under his former Princeton adviser, Professor C.R. Whittlesey.

All this prepared him for an unusually successful career as a financial adviser to a number of companies, including Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. In 1960 he became president of Humes-Schmidlapp Associates, where he served until 2003. All this time he contributed articles to professional publications and served on the boards of numerous foundations. He was a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts, the Racquet and Tennis Club, and the Downtown Association.

His final words to us in our 50th book were: “I have a number of godchildren, all men, and most of them married now, which is some solace to an old bachelor. I have so many god-grandchildren, I forget they are not my godchildren.” To all this extended family, we offer our sincere sympathy.

The Class of 1939

 


George Robertson Livermore Jr. ’39

Afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease that became steadily worse in the past year, George died Sept. 14, 2005, in a nursing home in Memphis, Tenn.

In Memphis he had been in private practice as a physician-surgeon for his entire active career after earning his MD at Harvard in 1943 and his MS at Minnesota in 1952. He served two and a half years as a captain in the Army Medical Corps. His long private practice as a surgeon ended in 1982, but he continued to teach five mornings a week.

Music was George’s hobby and he particularly prized his affiliation with the Memphis Opera Theatre as a member of the board for many years and its president for two. He also was president of the local American Cancer Society and a member of the vestry of the Calvary Episcopal Church. But most of all he loved his family. He and Nancy were married for 62 years and had four children, six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

George looked forward each year to the annual six-week stay in their summer house in Duxbury, Mass., where they were joined by large contingents of their wonderful family. To all the family, and especially to Nancy, we offer our warmest sympathy.

The Class of 1939

 


Brooks M. Jones ’40

Brooks died from a massive brain hemorrhage Feb. 17, 2006.

He prepared at University School and the Hill School. At Princeton, he majored in English, was a member of the varsity baseball team (where he received the William J. Clark Cup for Proficiency) and 150-pound football teams, was treasurer of I.A.A., secretary of the Westminster Association, and was president of Cottage Club.

Brooks saw service in both the Atlantic and Pacific as a lieutenant in the Navy during World War II. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1947 and immediately joined what was to become Jones, Day, Cockley & Reavis. He became a partner in 1958.

His activities included business directorships, bar association membership, and memberships in opera and astronomical societies. He was a past president of the Princeton Alumni Association of Northern Ohio. Brooks was a skiing, tennis, and travel enthusiast who did a bit of spelunking on the side.

To his survivors — his wife, Anne; daughter Lissy; sons Brooks Jr. and Thomas H.; stepchildren Dexter and Carol L. Cheney — his classmates offer their sincere condolences. There will be a memorial service for our Midwest vice president at 4 p.m. June 2 at St. Christopher’s Church in Gates Mill, Ohio.

The Class of 1940

 


CARLOS IGNACIO ARCAYA ’42

Belatedly the class learned that Carlos died May 21, 2002, in Caracas, Venezuela.

Carlos left us in our sophomore year to return to Caracas. Since then he practically lost contact with Princeton and the class. It was not until he received our Fifty Years Later book that he sent the following biography to class treasurer Bob Lowry: “It is true that I’ve had little if any contact with my class. This is due to the fact that I left in sophomore year and my trips since then have been very short trips, usually on business. Upon my return to Caracas, I entered Venezuela Central University, graduating as a doctor in law in 1946, the year in which I married my wife, Alice Smith. We now have seven children and, to date, nine grandchildren.

“Since my graduation I’ve been in private practice — mostly in corporate and tax law. This practice has only been interrupted by a forced stay of five years in Spain (1952-58), due to a common problem in our country, political exile, although I’ve never held elected or appointed public office of any notice.”

Alice died in 2005. Carlos’ children, Pedro Manuel, Maria Ines, Rosa Elina, Ana Cecilia, Alicia, Carlos, and Jose, and his grandchildren survive. To his wonderful large family, the class extends sincere condolences.

The Class of 1942

 


STEPHEN CROUSE HART ’42

Steve, who engaged in religious work throughout his career, died Feb. 25, 2006, at the Florida Hospital in DeLand.

A graduate of Asheville (N.C.) School, he earned honors in mathematics at Princeton, served on the Princetonian board, taught Sunday school at Jamesburg, and was a member of Court Club. During World War II, he spent two years with the American embassy in Buenos Aires and the remainder of the war with Pratt & Whitney Aircraft.

After earning a law degree at Cornell and admission to the New York bar, Steve went to work as minister/administrator for the Gospel Association for the Blind at New Testament Christian Church in College Point, N.Y. Three years later he joined Word of Life Fellowship in Schroon Lake, N.Y. Six years later he joined Life Messengers and finally spent 25 years with Operation Mobilization, until retiring in 1987 and moving to Florida. He became a member of the Alliance Chapel of DeLand and devoted his retirement to special missionary projects.

Steve never married, so he left us no children. But he did leave us with this thoughtful aphorism:

“Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

To his brother David and many friends, the class extends deepest sympathy.

The Class of 1942

 


CHARLES WILLIAM STOCKTON ’51

Charles was born Feb. 22, 1927, in New York, the son of Kenneth E. Stockton ’14. He suffered major organ failures and died June 10, 2005, in Las Vegas.

A 1945 graduate of Deerfield, he served in the Naval Reserve prior to coming to Princeton. Charles majored in electrical engineering, went out for JV football, was a member of Cannon, and roomed with Scott Helm, Richard Ferris, and Lee Christen.

Following graduation he spent eight years with the Central Intelligence Agency, stationed in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Jordan. In 1957 he married Colleen Murphy. After two years with RCA as its Beirut, Lebanon, representative, he bought a radio telephone network in St. Thomas, which he later sold. For the last 10 years of his career, he was planning engineer on the Eastern Shore for the University of Maryland, overseeing the new construction of its expanded campus. He retired at 62 to his family’s house in Martha’s Vineyard, and in 2001 relocated to Las Vegas.

Charles’ marriage ended in divorce. He is survived by his children, Robin Appello, Kenneth, and Keith; his sisters Susan, Anne, and Mary; and by grandchildren Patrick, Amber, and Ryan.

The Class of 1951

 


WILLIAM MARTIN WOLFF JR. ’52

Five horrific months after surgery to replace an aortic valve, Bill died of heart failure Sept. 3, 2005. He suffered a stroke a week after surgery, followed by pancreatitis and a staph infection surrounding the new valve. His requiem was in his parish church, St. Clement’s-by-the Sea, in which an alternative verse for the submarine corps was added to the Navy hymn. His ashes were committed to the sea off Dana Point, Calif., with family and friends in Bill’s 38-foot trawler, the Scrimshaw.

Commissioned an ensign at graduation, Bill married his beloved Robbie in 1952 and joined the USS Radford in Pearl Harbor. Following his transfer to submarine service, he was accepted for nuclear training under Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. He completed a brilliant naval career as a captain, having command of USNCOS sub groups, including command of the USS Whale. In this latter command he planned and executed the trip on which the USS Whale surfaced through the polar ice at the North Pole April 6, 1969.

Bill’s life was testament to his watchwords: husband, father, and sailor. He is survived by his loving Robbie; sons William, Douglas, and Robert; five grandchildren; and a great-grandson. To them, the class extends deepest sympathy.

The Class of 1952

 


GEORGE HENRY STAUSS ’53

George died Dec. 21, 2005, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

Born in East Orange, N.J., March 25, 1932, he moved with his family to Alexandria, Va., in 1947 to the house he was living in at the time of his death. In 1948, he first worked at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). He graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 1949. At Princeton, he majored in physics and sang in the freshman glee club.

After Navy service he entered Stanford as a physics graduate student. He did his research in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) under Felix Bloch, 1952 Nobel laureate for the discovery of NMR. Today, NMR is used in a valuable medical tool, MRI. At Stanford, George joined Princeton classmate Roger Miller and other students Tom Midford, Janet and Roger DeBar, Helen and Peter Graham, Bob Traughber, and Jim Pearson.

Mary Oberg, also a student, married George in 1959. He received a Ph.D. in physics in 1961 and returned to NRL working on NMR. In 1991, he retired from NRL and joined Mary’s patent business, from which they retired in 2001. He enjoyed community activities, opera, travel, and reading.

George is survived by Mary; his children Cady Alan Stauss and Karen Stauss; and four granddaughters.

The Class of 1953

 


Peter A. Freeman ’65

Peter died March 3, 2005, after a valiant 8 1/2-year battle against multiple myeloma.

He graduated from New Canaan (Conn.) High School, received his degree in electrical engineering, and took his meals at Cottage Club. Peter was an enthusiastic Princetonian who valued the lifelong friendships from his undergraduate years. After graduation he held a number of management positions in the computer industry. At the time of his death, he was an IT consultant.

Peter’s courage, will, and determination were inspirational. During his long illness, he never surrendered or complained. His understanding of his disease and its treatments were a testament to his intellect and his desire to live well. Anyone seeing him then found a man living life to the fullest, his sense of humor, smile, and spirit intact.

Peter committed much time and energy to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as a board member and mentor.

Peter is proudly survived by his partner of 13 years, Karen McCaffrey; two sons, Tyson and Peter; daughter Carrie and son-in-law Eric; grandchildren Jack and Luke; his father, John; and a sister, Susan. The class extends its sympathy to them on the loss of this fine, warmhearted man.

The Class of 1965

 


James R. Hilbert Jr. ’82

Jim Hilbert died unexpectedly at his home June 1, 2005.

Born and raised in East Lansing, Mich., Jim came to Princeton as a promising football player and track athlete. Classmates remember a boisterous and engaging character. As a friend, Jim was loyal and affectionate; as a competitor, he was tenacious. In 1985, Jim obtained a law degree from Thomas Cooley School of Law in Lansing, graduating third in his class. While in law school, he clerked for the Michigan attorney general.

After school Jim practiced as a member of the Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps. Electing to stay in the Army Reserve, he held the rank of lieutenant colonel at the time of his death. From 1991 to 1994 he was a federal prosecutor in the Tampa Civil Division. He then developed an extensive trial practice in negligence and personal injury, including numerous actions against the federal government. Jim maintained his passion for physical fitness and sports throughout his life.

He is survived by daughters Chrissy and Caroline; his mother, Virginia Hilbert; brother Doug; and sisters Jennifer and Alex. The class extends its condolences to them and to Jim’s many friends.

Donations in Jim’s memory may be made to the Sparrow Foundation in Lansing (www.sparrowfoundation.org).

The Class of 1982


Graduate Alumni


RICHARD E. SMALLEY *74

Nobel Prize-winning chemist Richard Errett Smalley died of leukemia Oct. 28, 2005, in Houston. He was 62.

Born in Akron, Ohio, Smalley shared his mother’s love of science and his father’s mechanical bent. After graduating from the University of Michigan, he worked for some years as an industrial chemist and then earned a Ph.D. at Princeton in chemistry.

At Rice University, where he began his career in 1976, he established himself as a highly creative scientist who opened up new fields of research about every two years. Having conceived a new approach to some phenomenon, he constructed the necessary apparatus, demonstrated the potential of his method, and, typically, moved on.

In 1985 Smalley and two colleagues discovered a geodesic dome-like form of carbon called buckminsterfullerenes, for which they won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1996. With the subsequent isolation of related carbon nanotubes, Smalley focused on placing the new field of nanotechnology on firm ground. Even as he battled cancer, he worked tirelessly to convince Congress and the world that nanotube technology held tremendous promise for advances in medicine and energy.

Smalley is survived by his wife, Deborah; two sons; two stepdaughters; and a granddaughter.


ERNEST G. SCHWIEBERT JR. *60 *66

Ernest Schwiebert, architect and piscatory expert, died of renal cancer Dec. 10, 2005 in Princeton, N.J. He was 74.

Schwiebert spent his childhood in the Midwest, attended Ohio State University, and earned two doctorates at Princeton in architecture and the history and philosophy of architecture. Having served in the Air Force, he specialized in planning airports and military bases. Traveling on business, he also visited some of the world’s best fishing streams, feeding a passion that had begun during boyhood vacations on the Pere Marquette River in Michigan.

Schwiebert wrote volumes about angling. As an undergraduate, he made his first original contribution to the sport in Matching the Hatch (1955), in which he advised making artificial flies in imitation of just-hatched insect nymphs that swim en masse at the water’s surface. In addition to numerous articles, he is perhaps best known for Trout (1979), a seven-pound book on the history of fly-fishing, with the author’s own illustrations.

A founder of Trout Unlimited, Schwiebert advocated the release of caught fish — only fitting for a traditionalist who professed that “trout were gentlemen.”

Schwiebert is survived by his wife, Sara; his son, Erik; and two grandchildren.


Graduate alumni


THEODORE P. WILLIAMS *59, Chemistry, May 2, 2003

DAVID L. BOWLER *64, Electrical Engineering, Dec. 22, 2005

ROBERT W. CARRUBBA *64, Classics, Dec. 12, 2005

HALUK M. DERIN *72, Electrical Engineering, Feb. 24, 2002

JOSEPH L. GREENBERG *77, English, Nov. 6, 2005

ALBERTO O. MENDELZON *79, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, June 16, 2005

CURTIS W. LASELL *80, Music, Dec. 20, 2005.

NORMAN P. WILL *83, English, Sept. 15, 2005

KARL P. PETERSON-BUENGELER *87, Woodrow Wilson School, Nov. 30, 2005

WAYNE O. WILSON *98, Religion, Nov. 1, 2005

DAMIEN DIXON *00, Electrical Engineering, Nov. 25, 2005

MICHAEL D. CAROLUS *05, Chemistry, Nov. 29, 2005 end of article

 


HOME    SITE MAP
Current Issue    Online Archives    Printed Issue Archives
Advertising Info    Reader Services    Search    Contact PAW    Your Class Secretary