1960s
John Dobrasz ’62
John Dobrasz ’62, for 21 years a U.S. Air Force officer, grew up in Niagara Falls, N.Y., where he was born on Feb. 20, 1939. A son of Anthony Dobrasz, employed by the city, and the former Lottie Moskal, he was graduated from Niagara Falls High School in 1957. That fall, having declined an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy, he enrolled at Hamilton and became a member of Gryphon (formerly Lambda Chi Alpha). By the end of his junior year, burdened by the loss of a scholarship as the result of a “dismal academic record,” in his own words, he decided to take a year off. Dean Winton Tolles reluctantly agreed to let him go, provided that he would promise to return. After a year of full-time factory work and night-school courses at the University of Buffalo, he took Professor Channing Richardson’s advice and spent a summer in Germany as a volunteer with the American Friends Service Committee. He came back to the Hill in the fall of 1961, newly cosmopolitan and humbled, sporting a full beard, and “resolved to repair my academic record,” which he did. Having majored in Russian history, he became his family’s first college graduate in 1962.
Two weeks after receiving his diploma, John Dobrasz went on active duty with the Air Force. Commissioned as an officer, he was assigned to Intelligence and carried out assignments that took him from Washington and West Berlin to Japan and Thailand. He remained in uniform for 21 years, retiring with the rank of major in 1983.
Married on April 24, 1965, to Geraldine J. “Gerry” Mezzocchi, a registered nurse, in Westwood, Mass., John Dobrasz settled with his wife and family in Tampa, Fla., following his retirement. He was employed in defense contracting as a senior systems analyst and consultant for Virginia-based firms, followed by a few years as a branch bank manager. His final employment for another few years before completely retiring was in health care administration.
In the meantime, John Dobrasz had moved to Charlottesville, Va., where he continued to enjoy golf, gardening and reading. He also collected coins and stamps. Twice he went to Poland, the land of his ancestry, to teach conversational English as part of the Global Volunteer program. Ever devoted to Hamilton and generously supportive of the College, he never missed a class reunion and stayed in close touch throughout the years with his fellow alumni.
John Dobrasz, who had been residing in Atlanta since 2005, died on Oct. 20, 2014. He is survived by his wife of almost 50 years. Also surviving are two sons, John, Jr. and Gregory Dobrasz; a daughter, Karen Dobrasz; and three grandsons, a brother and a sister.
David Starr Stevens ’65
David Starr Stevens ’65, a lifelong resident of LeRoy, N.Y., southwest of Rochester, was born in nearby Batavia on Jan. 31, 1943. His parents were Earl T. and Ardis Starr Stevens. He entered Hamilton in 1961, following his graduation as class valedictorian from LeRoy Central School, and joined Gryphon. After two years he left the College and later earned a B.A. degree from the University of Rochester as well as a master’s in library science from the State University of New York College at Geneseo.
David Stevens served on the board of trustees of the First Baptist Church of LeRoy and sang in its choir. For many years he was also an active member of the LeRoy Volunteer Ambulance Service. Known in the community for his eagerness to acquire knowledge and for his vast storehouse of information on LeRoy’s history, he would often be seen pursuing his latest interests in the town library.
David S. Stevens died on Oct. 18, 2014, while hospitalized in Batavia. He is survived by his twin sister, Deborah Lincoln, and three nieces.
Mitchell Denker ’69
Mitchell Denker ’69, a lawyer engaged at one time in the tourist business in Key West, Fla., was born on June 12, 1947, in New York City. A son of Arnold S., a sales manager, and Nina Seymonova Denker, a sculptor and art gallery owner, he entered Hamilton in 1965 from East Rockaway, N.Y., as a graduate of Lynbrook High School. Mitch Denker affiliated with Sigma Phi. His “animal spirits” brought him before the Judiciary Board, leading to probation and eventually his suspension from the College in December 1967. He was readmitted to Hamilton the following fall and named a freshman advisor, a clear expression of the College administration’s confidence in him, based on his considerable personal ability and charm. He remained on the Hill until the fall of 1969, when his continued lack of “self-discipline” led to his departure.
After leaving the Hill, Mitch Denker “bummed around” for a couple of years, first in California, where he sampled life in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury and later in touring Europe. Thereafter he managed to gain admission to law school and acquire his J.D. degree in 1974 from the University of Florida. He established his practice in Key West and engaged primarily in trial work. Some years later, he was drawn into the city’s thriving tourist business, becoming president of Tortuga Adventures.
His spirit of adventure never quelled, Mitch Denker continued to travel extensively for several months in the year, never missing an opportunity to engage in such activities as sailing the Nile or trekking in northern Thailand. Back in Key West he participated in the local Waterfront Theater as a director and sometime actor, and was president for a time of a Montessori school. His recreational diversions included tennis and scuba diving as well as coin collecting.
The son of an international chess grandmaster and two-time U.S. champion, Mitch Denker also played the game with a passion and enjoyed teaching it to elementary school children. A trustee for several years of the U.S. Chess Trust, he honored his father’s memory by sponsoring the annual Arnold Denker Chess Tournament for high school students. The winner received a scholarship to the University of Texas.
In 1994, Mitch Denker moved to Belleview, Fla., where he turned his attention from law and business to charitable activities and served as president of the Haas Fund, a charity supporting athletics and the arts for needy children. He also became president of Shepherds Lighthouse, a live-in facility for battered women. The last two years of life were spent in Wilmington, N.C., where he continued to be involved in charitable endeavors.
Known to his friends and associates as “kind, witty and generous,” Mitchell Denker, a supportive alumnus, died on Aug. 24, 2013, in Leland, N.C., as the College has recently confirmed. He was survived by his wife, Jaye Holt Denker; a son, Dylan Denker; and a stepson, a sister and a brother. He was predeceased by his daughter from a previous marriage, Jana Denker.
