1950s
William Henry Bloomer, Jr. ’51
William Henry Bloomer, Jr. ’51, founder and president of Binghamton Steel Erectors, Inc., was born in Binghamton, NY, on October 22, 1928. The son of William H., a manufacturer, and Irene Dennis Bloomer, he prepared for college at Phillips Exeter Academy and enrolled at Hamilton from Binghamton in 1947. Bill Bloomer joined Delta Kappa Epsilon and contributed his voice to the Choir. “Known for his wit and gesticulating agility in argumentation,” according to The Hamiltonian, he majored in English and economics, and was graduated in 1951.
Bill Bloomer soon joined the U.S. Navy during the Korean War era, and obtained a commission as an officer. He served in uniform for five years and primarily taught navigation as a lieutenant (j.g.) at the Naval Station in Newport, RI. Thereafter he joined his father’s company, Binghamton Steel & Fabricating, Inc., becoming its secretary-treasurer. He later established his own company, Binghamton Steel Erectors, which was engaged in steel erection, crane service, and heavy rigging for the construction industry. He headed the company until his retirement in 1999.
Bill Bloomer, who enjoyed skiing, golf, tennis, and sailing, spent summers with his family at “Toad Hall,” their cottage in Silver Lake, PA, and winters in Jupiter, FL. While at home in Binghamton, he sang in the choir of Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church. Known as “Billy” to his family and friends, he had valiantly fought a battle with cancer, enduring much surgery over many years.
William H. Bloomer, Jr., a faithful alumnus, died at his home in Binghamton on November 25, 2012. He is survived by his wife, the former Patricia Ann Trinkino, whom he had married in Binghamton on February 6, 1960. Also surviving is a son, Christopher W. Bloomer; a daughter, Elizabeth Nesvold; and a granddaughter and a sister.
Maxwell Lester III ’51
Maxwell Lester III ’51, a banker who retired as vice president of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co., grew up in Summit, NJ, where he was born on July 1, 1928. His parents were Maxwell Lester, Jr., a stock broker, and the former Katherine Libby. Max Lester, who attended Summit High School and prepared for college at the Choate School in Connecticut, entered Hamilton in 1947. He joined Chi Psi, played varsity lacrosse, and became assistant manager of the hockey team. After two years, he withdrew from the College and transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his B.S. degree from the Wharton School in 1951. On June 16 of that year, he and Mary R. Pennywitt were wed in South Orange, NJ.
Also in that year, Max Lester began his long career with Manufacturers Trust Co. (later Manufacturers Hanover Trust) in Manhattan as a credit department trainee. In the early 1980s he was promoted to commercial loan officer and manager of the bank’s branch office in the former Union Carbide building. During that time he could be seen in television ads greeting bank customers with a handshake and a smile outside his branch office. He retired after 35 years with Manufacturers Hanover in 1986.
Max Lester, president of the local Young Republicans during Richard M. Nixon’s campaign for the presidency in 1960, served on the board of the United Way of Summit. Later, while residing in Mantoloking, along the New Jersey shore, he was treasurer of Mantoloking Yacht Club and a trustee of St.-Simon-by-the-Sea Church. As president of the Mantoloking Beach Association during the 1970s, he led the fight to protect and conserve the community’s beaches.
Avidly devoted to outdoor activities, especially fishing, Max Lester shared that pleasure with his family at New Jersey’s Barnegat Bay and at Charlotte Harbor, near Boca Grande, FL. He was also fond of duck hunting and collected antique duck decoys. When it came to sports, he was a soccer fanatic who attended the 2008 World Cup in Germany to root for the U.S.A.
Maxwell Lester III, who retained great affection for Hamilton and was highly supportive of the College, divided his time in recent years between Boca Grande and Topsham, ME, one of his favorite fishing locales. He was in Maine when he died on October 17, 2012. In addition to his wife of 61 years, he is survived by a daughter, Tara Raynolds; a son, Luke F. Lester; and four grandchildren.
Charles Delavan Lord ’51
Charles Delavan Lord ’51, a retired bank vice president, was born on October 17, 1928, in Bainbridge, NY, northeast of Binghamton. A son of Delavan M., a machinist, and Mildred Colwell Lord, a postal clerk, he grew up in Bainbridge, which became his lifelong residence. He was stricken with infantile paralysis as a teenager, but recovered to be graduated from Bainbridge Central High School in 1947. He entered Hamilton on scholarship that fall and joined the Squires Club as well as the Choir. A waiter in Commons and known, according to The Hamiltonian, as “an avid crossword puzzle fiend,” his conveyance was an aged 1937 Chevrolet named “Libby.” Along with three student friends, he had purchased the car for $25, and for several years it provided many Hill students with transportation. He majored in French and German, and practiced teaching in French at Clinton Central School.
Following his graduation in 1951, Chuck Lord found employment not in education but with the National Bank & Trust Co. of Norwich, NY. Called into military service a few months later, at the time of the Korean War, he was assigned as a message center clerk to an ordinance depot in France. When his two-year hitch ended in 1953, he returned to the Norwich bank, where he would remain for 37 years until his retirement at the end of 1990.
Employed in the bank’s branch in Bainbridge, Chuck Lord was promoted from assistant cashier to assistant vice president and branch manager in 1969. Ten years later, he was transferred to the bank’s main office in Norwich to head a newly formed training and development department. He soon took over supervision of the employee benefit plan department as a vice president of what is now the NBT Bank. An alumnus of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University, he was manager of employee benefits until his retirement.
Highly active in community affairs, Chuck Lord served as village historian of Bainbridge for 31 years and was a past president of the Bainbridge Rotary Club as well as the Free Library. A past commander of the American Legion Post, he also chaired the administrative board of the First United Methodist Church of Bainbridge and sang in its choir. In addition he served as treasurer of several local organizations, including the Bainbridge Development Corp. President of the Bainbridge United Way and chairman of the area’s Red Cross drive, he took particular pleasure in being the “main force” (everything from cook to treasurer) of the Bainbridge Soup Kitchen. For 15 years he and his wife owned and operated Cara Cattery, which raised, showed, and sold Siamese cats throughout the Northeast.
Charles D. Lord, a former president of the Chenango County Bankers Association, died on December 1, 2012, while hospitalized in Sidney, NY. He was predeceased in 2007 by his wife, the former Carolyn J. Wood, a high school English teacher whom he had wed on March 12, 1955, in Binghamton. Surviving are a son, Kevin C. Lord, and a grandson, a sister, and two brothers.
David Perrin Ver Nooy ’51
David Perrin Ver Nooy ’51, a Methodist minister who served congregations in numerous localities in his native state, was born in Cortland, NY, on June 10, 1929. A son of Charles Depew Ver Nooy, a plant supervisor, and the former Ruth Perrin, a librarian, he grew up in Cortland, where he was graduated in 1947 from Cortland High School. He enrolled at Hamilton on scholarship that fall and joined the Emerson Literary Society. A member of the Band as well as the staff of The Spectator, he was manager of the soccer team and served on the Chapel Board in his senior year. He excelled in math and science, and was awarded both the Edward Huntington Mathematical Scholarship and the Tompkins Prize in Mathematics. He was graduated with honors in math and physics in 1951.
After brief employment as a mathematician with the U.S. Government’s Naval Ordnance Laboratory, David Ver Nooy prepared for his future calling by earning a B.D. degree in theology from Drew University in 1954. On February 5 of that year, he was married to Eleanor R. Truscott, a social worker, in Scranton, PA. In the ensuing years he was called to Methodist churches in Crown Heights, Springfield Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, Mount Vernon, Seaford, Manhattan, and Peekskill, NY. In 1959, he earned an M.A. in sociology from New York University.
The Rev. David Ver Nooy, a onetime chairman of the board of Christian Social Concerns for the New York East Conference of the Methodist Church, also served on the Nassau County Youth Board. He, along with his wife, enjoyed travel on mission trips abroad, including Haiti, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Ireland. He was residing in Beacon, NY, when he retired after 40 years in the active ministry. In retirement he continued to participate in church and community affairs as well as teach at the Fishkill Correctional Facility. Fond of music and highly interested in astronomy, he was devoted to his family and faithfully supportive of Hamilton.
David P. Ver Nooy, long afflicted with Parkinson’s disease, died at his home in Beacon on December 22, 2012. In addition to his wife of 58 years, he is survived by three daughters, Linda Ver Nooy, Diane Gallagher, and Crystal Mayer; a son, David S. Ver Nooy; and nine grand children and a brother.
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Henry DeWolf Pope ’52
Henry DeWolf Pope ’52, who operated a plow business in his beloved Adirondacks, and whose family included many Hamilton alumni, was born on May, 17, 1928, in Utica, NY. A son of Thomas B. Pope ’22, a business executive, and the former Helen DeWolf Smyth, he was a grandson of Delos DeWolf Smyth, Class of 1890, president and chairman of the board of Utica Mutual Insurance Co. and president of Clinton Metallic Paint Co. His uncles included George V.W. Pope ’16 and John L. Pope ’31. Henry Pope, known as “Andy,” grew up in Chicago, IL, and Clinton, NY, where he attended Clinton Central School. In 1946, after preparation for college at Wooster School in Connecticut, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in Korea following World War II.
Released from the Army in 1948, Andy Pope enrolled at Hamilton that fall. His older brother, Thomas V.W. Pope ’49, was already in residence, and Andy joined his and their father’s fraternity, Sigma Phi. In 1950, after having completed two years of study on the Hill, Andy Pope was recalled to active duty as an Army reservist during the Korean War. He was severely injured in a training accident, followed by many surgeries. As a 16-year-old he had worked at the Higby Club on Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks and had fallen in love with that mountainous area. Consequently, after his recuperation from his surgeries, he decided to return to the Adirondacks, where he settled permanently in Eagle Bay.
During the ensuing years, Andy Pope worked on road and trail construction, and engaged in various outdoor jobs, including assistant caretaker of Kamp Kill Kare. He was especially proud of having been the last post master of the former Big Moose Post Office. As to his plowing business, he continued to maintain it until his death.
Henry DeWolf Pope, a loyal alumnus, died on January 22, 2013. He is survived by his daughter, Anne Stacey, born of his marriage, in 1966, to Barbara Atwell, which ended in 1987. Also surviving are two stepdaughters and five grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother Tom in 1983.
Byrne George Kinney ’53
Byrne George Kinney ’53, a retired brokerage firm executive, grew up in Syracuse, NY, where he was born on August 21, 1931. His parents were George L., a bakery owner, and Teresa Byrne Kinney. He entered Hamilton in 1949 from Onondaga Valley Academy in Syracuse, where he had lettered in several sports, and joined Delta Kappa Epsilon. Later sergeant-at-arms of the Deke house, he played defense on both the varsity football and hockey teams, and co-captained the golf team as well. He was graduated in 1953.
After two years of military service with the U.S. Marine Corps, Byrne Kinney found employment as a sales representative with International Business Machines Corp. It was followed by 33 years with the brokerage firm of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, at its offices in Hartford, CT. He retired from Merrill Lynch as first vice president of institutional sales.
Byrne G. Kinney resided for many years in Connecticut while maintaining a vacation home at Sugarbush in Vermont. He was an enthusiastic skier as well as an avid golfer who, already in his college days, had achieved a hole-in-one. For years a generously supportive alumnus, he was residing on Daniel Island, SC, near Charleston, when he died on November 28, 2012. He is survived by his former wife and caregiver, Jean Kinney; a daughter, Kristen A. Lysik; two sons, Byrne J. and Gavin B. Kinney; and three grandchildren.
Samuel Baird Stevenson, Jr. ’53
Samuel Baird Stevenson, Jr. ’53, who practiced dentistry in Darien, CT, for 36 years, was born in not-far-distant Old Greenwich on July 18, 1931. A son of Samuel B. and Anne Elizabeth Gourley Stevenson, he grew up in Old Greenwich, where his father, an Irish immigrant, owned and operated a grocery store with his brother. Young Sam Stevenson came to College Hill in 1949 from King School in Stamford, CT. He joined Theta Delta Chi and later served as treasurer of the TDX house. He also played junior varsity hockey and sang for four years in the Choir, earning the sobriquet “Singing Sam.” Known for the green Plymouth in which he customarily drove around campus, he concentrated in mathematics and economics, and was graduated in 1953.
Drafted into the U.S. Army that fall, Sam Stevenson served most of his two-year hitch as a clerk for a Military Police company at Ft. Benning, GA. Following his discharge, he worked for a year as a clerk in the men’s department of Bloomingdale’s department store in Manhattan. In 1957, after a year of teaching at Oxford Academy in Pleasantville, NJ, he made preparations for his future career by enrolling in the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. Upon receiving his D.D.S. degree in 1961, he established his practice in Darien.
Sam Stevenson became active in community and church affairs, serving on the board of the local Red Cross chapter and as a lay reader and Sunday School teacher. He was a deacon and elder of the Noroton Presbyterian Church and also sang for many years in its choir. For relaxation he took to the water, having developed a consuming passion for sailing and sailboat racing. Affiliated with the Noroton Yacht Club, he took part as a crew member in numerous races from Cape Cod to Bermuda and the Caribbean. He was also devoted to Bible study and became a student of Transactional Analysis. His politics were conservative, and he found such trends as “political correctness” highly troubling.
Samuel B. Stevenson, Jr., a former president of the Western Fairfield County Dental Society, retired in 1997. A loyal alumnus, he assisted Hamilton with its fundraising activities for many years. Afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease during the last years of his life, he died while hospitalized in Bridgeport, CT, on September 3, 2008, as the College has only recently learned. He was survived by his wife, the former Julia A. Loyd, whom he had married on February 25, 1961, in Larchmont, NY. Also surviving were two daughters, Bonnie Sparrow and Sandra Norelli; twin sons, Peter B. and Andrew C. Stevenson; and four grandchildren, a brother, and two sisters.
Frank Elkington Sacco, Jr. ’54
Frank Elkington Sacco, Jr. ’54, who taught high school biology for 32 years, grew up in Utica, NY, where he was born on March 6, 1932. The son of Frank E., a lawyer and New York State Workmen’s Compensation Board referee, and Sybil Balme Sacco, a teacher, he came up the Hill to Hamilton from Utica Free Academy in 1950. He joined Lambda Chi Alpha and became active in the Charlatans and the Newman Club. He also managed the track team and skated for Lambda Chi’s house hockey team. With aspirations to attend medical school, he majored in biology and chemistry, and was graduated in 1954.
Soon called into military service, Frank Sacco remained in the U.S. Army for two years until his discharge in 1956. Thereafter he enrolled at the State University of New York College at Albany, where he acquired an M.A. in biology education in 1959. By that time he was settled in Rochester, NY, and teaching at West Irondequoit High School. On August 13, 1960, he and Mary E. Heeks were wed in Rochester.
Frank Sacco continued to teach at the West Irondequoit school until his retirement. A resident of the Rochester suburb of Fairport, he was an active member of the Church of the Assumption as well as the Knights of Columbus. As to recreational activities, he especially enjoyed camping.
Frank E. Sacco, Jr. was still residing in Fairport when he died on December 28, 2012. He is survived by his wife of 52 years. Also surviving are four sons, John F., Andrew P., Matthew D., and Frank Sacco; two daughters, Sybil Owens and Marie Calla; and eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and a sister.
John Dorrance Warnock Tirrell ’54
John Dorrance Warnock Tirrell ’54, who found employment in sales in three disparate industries, was born on August 28, 1932, in Danbury, CT. A son of David A., a preparatory school teacher, and Constance Warnock Tirrell, he was graduated in 1949 from St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont, where his father was school principal. After a year of further preparation at Trinity-Pawling School in Pawling, NY, John Tirrell, known as “Spider,” came to Hamilton. He joined Alpha Delta Phi and, a “sports nut” throughout his life, lettered in hockey and lacrosse. Unusually tall and often mistaken for a basketball player rather than a puckster, much to his chagrin, he concentrated in English and economics, and overcame academic challenges with encouragement from Dean Winton Tolles to graduate with his class in 1954.
John Tirrell began his employment as an adjuster in the claims department of Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. He soon moved on to Pitney-Bowes, the business equipment manufacturers, and was first assigned to the sales staff in its Boston, MA, office. On February 27, 1960, he was married to Silvia Faccio in West Englewood, NJ.
By the mid-1960s, after 10 years with Pitney-Bowes, John Tirrell, an ardent skier, turned his avocation into gainful employment by entering the ski business, both wholesale and retail. For a time he was with Hickory & Tweed, a ski shop in Windham, NY, and sales representative and manager for Lund’s Ski Shop in Syracuse. He later resettled in Connecticut and, by the 1970s, had begun a new career in the retail automobile field, becoming sales manager for Riverbank Motors Corp. in Stamford, as well as other dealerships over the years until his retirement.
In addition to golf and tennis, John Tirrell enjoyed auto racing. Skiing, however, remained his particular passion. A certified ski instructor, he spent his weekends during the winter months teaching at Windham Mountain.
John D. W. Tirrell, a longtime resident of Bethel, CT, and a faithful alumnus, died on September 3, 2012. His first marriage having ended, he was wed to Patricia Bean on July 9, 1978, in Kent, CT. She survives him, along with three sons, Roger C., David F. and Seth D. Tirrell, from his first marriage; two stepdaughters, Suzanne Walker and Cindy Choyce; and six grandchildren and a brother.
Ronald Northrup Woodward ’56
Ronald Northrup Woodward ’56, who retired as chief financial officer after 31 years with Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., was born on January 9, 1935, in Springfield, MA. A son of Theodore F., an accountant, and Helen Clark Woodward, he grew up in Longmeadow, south of Springfield, and prepared for college at Phillips Exeter Academy. Ron Woodward entered Hamilton in 1952, joined Alpha Delta Phi, and went out for soccer until sidelined by injury. He subsequently turned to golf and lettered in that sport. Credited with a “cutting wit” and known to enliven a party, he majored in history and acquired his diploma in 1956.
After a brief stint in the U.S. Army, Ron Woodward found employment as an accountant in Boston, MA, and pursued a career in financial management with various companies until 1966, when he began his long tenure with Addison-Wesley, the textbook publishing company headquartered in Reading, MA. Beginning as an accountant, he advanced to controller and treasurer. He was executive vice president and chief financial officer as well as a director of the company at the time of his retirement in 1997. During those years, as Addison-Wesley expanded its operations throughout the world, he found the ensuing challenge not only rewarding but also enjoyable. In addition, he was extensively invested in publishing industry trade associations, and, as a venture capitalist, took an interest in several start-up companies.
Ron Woodward’s leisure-time interests were varied and wide-ranging. He particularly enjoyed cross-country skiing on family outings to Vermont and cruising on the family’s sailboat in Maine as well as off Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. He was also very fond of travel, which took him from Antarctica to the Galapagos in addition to Europe. Passionate about music, from jazz to classical, he was an opera lover who often traveled to Manhattan for performances at the Met, and who was no stranger to the opera houses of Europe. He was a member of the board of governors of Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society, and assisted in the children’s outreach program of that noted choral group.
Ron Woodward, ever open to acquiring new knowledge and skills, “dabbled” in a number of things after his retirement, including the construction of two wooden boats. He also continued to travel, “fly fish more often,” and “grow better roses.” Long a resident of Marblehead, MA, where he had been treasurer of the Marblehead Historical Society, he was an unfailingly devoted and generously supportive Hamiltonian.
Ronald N. Woodward, known to his family and friends as “witty and irreverent, with a wry sense of humor, a natural leader endowed with creativity and vision,” died at his home in Marblehead on December 28, 2012, following a long illness. He is survived by his wife, the former Jean H. Lampton, whom he had married on August 22, 1964, in New Orleans, LA. Also surviving are a daughter, Allison Woodward MacCormick ’87; two sons, John H. and Clark L. Woodward; and five grandchildren and a brother.
Earle Louis Schemerhorn ’57
Earle Louis Schemerhorn ’57, a journalist who rose from carrier and mail room assistant to become managing editor of his hometown newspaper, was born in Auburn, NY, on September 5, 1926. The son of Arthur H. Schemerhorn, a machinist, and the former Ethel Mae Frisbie, a seamstress, he grew up in Auburn, where he delivered the Auburn Citizen-Advertiser and worked in the newspaper’s mail room while attending Central High School. Following his graduation in 1944, he entered the U.S. Maritime Service as a seaman. He served in the Pacific theater during the final stages of World War II in 1945. Thereafter, he returned to The Citizen-Advertiser as assistant circulation manager. However, in 1951, he was back in uniform during the Korean conflict, serving in Japan as a corporal in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. With the financial assistance of the “Korean G.I. Bill,” he decided to get a college education following his release from the Army in 1953, which led him to College Hill.
The “wise old man” of his class at the age of 27, Earle Schemerhorn was already determined upon a future career in newspaper journalism. He soon joined the staff of The Spectator and became its managing editor as a junior and its editor-in-chief in his senior year. A member of the Publications Board and elected to the journalism honor society Pi Delta Epsilon, he was also tapped for Pentagon and chosen to join the ranks of that convivial band, Nous Onze. Affiliated with Chi Psi, and having majored in English, he was graduated in 1957.
Earle Schemerhorn promptly returned to his native Auburn and rejoined the staff of The Citizen-Advertiser. He was a reporter, wire editor, and assistant news and sports editor until 1962, when he received the promotion to news editor. Appointed managing editor of the newspaper (renamed The Citizen) in 1975, he retired from that post in 1981. He subsequently served as a counselor to the Cayuga County Employment and Training Agency until his final retirement in 1988.
Within the Auburn community, Earle Schemerhorn was highly active in the Westminster Presbyterian Church as an elder and deacon. He also served on committees of the Presbytery and as a General Assembly commissioner. In addition, he was a trustee of the Seymour Public Library as well as the Finger Lakes Library Association, and for many years a tutor, board member, and president of Literacy Volunteers of Cayuga County. His chief form of recreation was league bowling, in which he regularly participated for 40 years.
An intensely loyal and generously supportive alumnus, Earle Schemerhorn also faithfully served his class for 16 years as its correspondent for this magazine. An ever genial and gently witty man, he was always a highly welcomed presence at any gathering on the Hill.
Earle L. Schemerhorn, a lifelong resident of Auburn, died in that city on November 2, 2012. He is survived by his wife, the former Elizabeth Jean Ogilvie, whom he had married in Auburn on September 1, 1959. Also surviving are a daughter, Ellen D. Schemerhorn ’83; a son, Robert A. Schemerhorn; and three grandchildren.
John David Crosier ’59
John David Crosier ’59, who, as head of the New Hampshire Business and Industry Association, contributed importantly to the economic development of that state, was born on April 21, 1937, in North Adams, MA. The younger son of Walter S., a manufacturer’s sales representative, and Felicie Strickland Crosier, he was a grandson of John L. Strickland, Class of 1904, a trustee of the College, and nephew of John L. Strickland, Jr. ’30. John Crosier prepared for college at Lenox School in Massachusetts and enrolled at Hamilton from Grafton, MA, in 1955. He was accompanied by glowing recommendations from Lenox as a leader and “one of the top boys” at the school. “Crose” joined his older brother Walter’s fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi. He soon became active in campus governance as a member of the Student Senate and later its treasurer, and chaired the rushing committee. A leader of his fraternity and advisor to freshmen in South Dormitory during his junior year as well, he was tapped for Pentagon.
John Crosier, who majored in economics, left the Hill with his diploma in 1959. He found employment back in Massachusetts as a sales representative and later supply sales manager for Crompton & Knowles Corp., chemical manufacturers in Worcester. Over the course of 15 years, he would hold marketing and general management positions with three Massachusetts manufacturing companies, including the vice presidency of American Steel and Aluminum Corp. The experience he gained led to his appointment as director of the state’s Division of Employment Security in 1974.
Two years later, John Crosier was named commissioner of the Commonwealth’s Department of Commerce and Development. In that post he promoted the state as a good place to do business and acted as a mediator between the business community and state government. In 1980, after two years as executive vice president of Jobs for Massachusetts, he became executive director of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, an organization of the state’s top business leaders that facilitated the development of public policy. Earlier he had served, by appointment of Speaker of the House Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, as a member of the National Commission on Unemployment Compensation.
While residing in the Worcester area, John Crosier took a prominent role in the community, serving on planning boards and as president of the Worcester Young Businessmen’s
Association and chairman of the board of the Worcester Cooperative Council. He was also vice president of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce and vice chairman of the board of Worcester Memorial Hospital.
In 1989, John Crosier left his home state when he became president and chief executive officer of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire. He took up residence in Concord and, for the next 16 years, became, in the words of Governor (now U.S. Senator) Jeanne Shaheen, “a tireless advocate for New Hampshire business, big and small…” He established countless fruitful relationships within the business community as well as with state legislators and officials, and earned their respect for his bipartisanship. That respect was evidenced in 1997 when he was named Business Leader of the Year by Business NH Magazine and the New Hampshire Chamber of Commerce Association.
Called New Hampshire’s “business guru,” John Crosier was appointed by both Democratic and Republican governors to serve on public and advisory panels. In 1989, then Republican Governor Judd Gregg named him to a blue ribbon commission on health care issues, and in 2006 he was selected by Democratic Governor John Lynch as a member of a committee to study the state welfare system. In 1998, he was appointed by Governor Shaheen to the University System of New Hampshire’s board of trustees, and at the time of his death he was its longest serving member.
John Crosier, who retired as president of the Business and Industry Association in 2005, took great pleasure in golfing as well as spending summers with his family at Lake Winnipesaukee. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2000, he engaged in a long struggle with the disease until his death.
John D. Crosier, a loyally supportive alumnus, died on November 18, 2012, in Dover, NH, where he had long resided. He is survived by his wife, the former Judith Ann Decker, a schoolteacher, whom he had wed on September 9, 1969. Also surviving are two sons, John D., Jr. and Michael D. Crosier, and two grandchildren. He was predeceased by his twin sister, Jane, and, in 2010, by his brother, Walter S. Crosier ’55. Memorial services for John Crosier were held at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Durham, NH, where he had been junior warden of the vestry.
Carl David Merkel ’59
Carl David Merkel ’59, who practiced surgery in his hometown of Saranac Lake, NY, for more than 30 years, was born on March 7, 1937, in Rochester, NY. A son of Carl G. Merkel, also a surgeon, and the former Ruth G. Cann, he grew up in Saranac Lake and was graduated in 1955 from Saranac Lake High School. He enrolled at Hamilton that fall and joined Tau Kappa Epsilon. Already determined to follow his father into the field of medicine, he pursued premedical studies, especially chemistry, while also finding time for the Choir and Brass Ensemble, as well as playing hockey and lacrosse, in which he lettered.
Aided by an enthusiastic recommendation from Dean Winton Tolles, C. David Merkel was admitted to the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, following his graduation from Hamilton in 1959. After acquiring his M.D. degree in 1963, he served his internship and surgical residency at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut. In 1969, he returned to Saranac Lake, where he joined his father in the private practice of general and thoracic surgery with the Adirondack Surgical Group.
During his career, Dr. Merkel served as chief of surgical services, president of the medical staff, and a trustee and member of the executive committee of the Adirondack Medical Center. He was also instrumental in the establishment and development of High Peaks Hospital for the terminally ill, and was its volunteer medical director for many years. In addition, he served as medical director of St. Joseph’s Rehabilitation Center.
Dr. Merkel, who was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve in 1965, became the chief of professional services of the 310th Field Hospital Unit 1, based in Malone, NY. Named commander of the Unit in 1987, he received numerous commendation awards for his military service, including the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. He retired from the Army Reserve in 1997 as commander of the 376th Combat Support Hospital with the rank of colonel.
Dr. Merkel, a former Boy Scouts of America scoutmaster and, with his wife Ann, a Girl Scout troop leader, took full advantage of the Adirondacks to pursue his passion for outdoor activities, from boating, canoeing, and hiking to skating, snowshoeing, and mountain biking. He was also fond of hunting and particularly enjoyed the years he spent from 1985 to 1997 as medical director of the U.S. Bobsled Federation.
C. David Merkel, an ever supportive alumnus, died at his home in Saranac Lake on September 15, 2012. He is survived by his wife Ann Bethel Merkel and daughter, Suzanne McGregor ’86, wife of Charles K. Neimeth ’85; three daughters, Jill Mortenson, Erica Thomason, and Sara Cameron, from his previous marriage, in 1963, to Linda Mason; and seven grandchildren and two sisters and two brothers.
