Necrology
David “Snakes” Edmund Mason '61
Jul. 7, 1939-Aug. 9, 2022
David “Snakes” Edmund Mason ’61, P'93,’96, GP'25 died on Aug. 9, 2022, in Northbrook, Ill. Born in Watertown, N.Y., on July 7, 1939, he came to Hamilton from Olean (N.Y.) High School. On the Hill, he majored in history and was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.
During his first year, David’s father died of cancer, leaving his family with limited financial resources. David met with Dean Tolles, who put together a package of financial aid, combining a scholarship from the College to provide tuition assistance and a Seward Scholarship from Alpha Delt to cover his room and board. David would always remember the generosity of both the College and his fraternity, and would return it many times over.
While on the Hill, David was active in the College Choir: he sang all four years, edited its alumni newsletter as a sophomore, was the assistant publicity manager as a junior, and was promoted to publicity manager for his senior year. While a junior, he was a resident advisor for first-year students. Additionally, he was the steward and social chairman for Alpha Delt.
From Hamilton, David proceeded to the University of Chicago Law School, assisted by a scholarship established to help a Hamilton alumnus entering that program. He earned his Juris Doctor in 1964. During this time, he met Margaret Ann “Peggy” Krasberg. They married in her hometown of Winnetka, Ill., on April 23, 1966.
Armed with his new law degree, David became legal counsel to the Washington National Insurance Co. in Evanston, Ill. Three years later, in 1967, he became a director of the Krasberg Corp. of Des Plaines, Ill., owned at the time by Peggy’s father and uncle. It manufactured metal products and assemblies for various high-technology companies, including Xerox, IBM, and Dell. It also had investments in a variety of commercial enterprises, including real estate and oil and gas drilling. Two years later, he was elected vice president and assistant to the president, and, in 1972, he became president and CEO of the corporation. He also held a significant interest in Republic Industries at the same time. David sold Republic in 1995 and Krasberg in 1999.
Throughout this period, David and Peggy were closely engaged in the College’s development both as generous donors and benefactors. David corresponded regularly with members of the Communications and Development Department as well as with a succession of College presidents, beginning with Martin Caravano, who assumed the role in 1974, and continuing to the present office holder, David Wippman.
A beneficiary of others’ generosity at a formative time in his life, David, along with Peggy, became a generous philanthropist. He was a trustee of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago beginning in 1987, and of its foundation starting the following year. He also chaired its investment committee and was a member of the Bishop & Trustees Real Property Committee. In 1989, he became president of The Cradle Society of Evanston, a private adoption agency through which they had adopted their own children. Following the sale of the Krasberg Corp., he and Peggy founded the Krasberg Foundation to support several charitable organizations.
But it was to Hamilton that David was most generous because, as he wrote in a letter to the College in 1989, “I came to Hamilton as a shy, unsophisticated kid from rural New York State. The support of both faculty friends and fellow students, especially my Alpha Delta Phi classmates, gave me considerable confidence, both academically and socially. These traits have been invaluable personal resources throughout my life. The College also broadened my horizons in music, art, and literature, the pursuit of which continues to be a great source of inspiration and relaxation to me.”
Beginning in 1967, when he was just out of law school, he began regularly contributing to the Hamilton Fund. He also made special donations to a succession of capital campaigns. A man of strong faith, David established the Mason Fund for Spiritual Awareness in 1990, “to provide opportunities to the College community for the exploration of spiritual issues in the Judeo-Christian tradition.” The fund’s programs included inviting speakers to discuss theological and spiritual issues, arranging for ecumenical worship services and programs, organizing seminars and retreats on Judeo-Christian thought, and supporting the chaplains in their efforts to enlarge student attendance.
David was insistent that all faiths have equal access to campus facilities. In 2008, he advocated for the Muslim community to ensure it had office space for meetings of its student association and access to a space for prayer. He was assured by the College that all faiths would be equally welcome, and that none could claim exclusive use of meditation space or leave ritual material in a shared venue.
Among his final contributions to the College, he was a significant donor to the Chapel renovation. Earlier, he sponsored the effort to refurbish the unused space on its third floor. In 1995, he helped to purchase bleachers and an electronic scoreboard for the women’s soccer field located near the former Kirkland College campus. In recognition of his role, the site was named Mason Field.
David paid tribute to the assistance he received from his fraternity. “I have never forgotten, and will always be grateful to, Alpha Delta Phi for its important role in allowing me to stay on the Hill among a group of brothers I had grown to admire and love,” he wrote in 2004. That same year, he established the David E. Mason Scholarship.
He also provided support for the Sidney Wertimer Professorship and for the Edwin B. Lee Prize in History. The College valued not only David’s philanthropy but also his vision: he was elected as a charter trustee in 1994 and as a life trustee in 2002.
David E. Mason was predeceased by Peggy, who died just seven months before he did. He is survived by his son, Bruce E. Mason ’93, P’25, his daughter, Sarah C. Mason ’96, and four grandchildren, including Avery B. Mason ’25.
