1950s
Donald Joseph Gregory ’50
Donald Joseph Gregory ’50, who retired after 37 years in the insurance industry, was born on June 17, 1925, in Worcester, Mass. A son of Joseph V., a life insurance agent, and Estelle Youngling Gregory, he grew up in New Rochelle, N.Y., where he was graduated in 1943 from Iona Preparatory School. He entered the U.S. Army immediately thereafter and served through World War II. A medic, he was stationed in occupied Germany at the war’s end. Discharged as a corporal in 1946, he came to Hamilton, along with his younger brother, Thomas D. ’50, that fall. Already on the Hill was another brother, Richard F. ’48. Don Gregory joined his brothers, who were also World War II veterans, as a member of the Emerson Literary Society.
Described by The Hamiltonian as “likeable, sociable and studious,” Don Gregory was chosen freshman class president and elected to the Student Council. A member of the Newman Club, he went out for swimming and played football, but focused most of his athletic attention on golf, lettering in the sport and becoming captain of the varsity team. His brothers Dick and Tom also played on the team, and he would be succeeded as captain by Tom. Having accelerated his course of study, Don was graduated in 1949.
Married on Sept. 13, 1947, to Jeanne S. Moberg in New Rochelle, N.Y., Don Gregory settled with his family in Buffalo, where he found employment as a special agent with Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. In 1953, he joined Insurance Company of North America (later INA Corp.), also in Buffalo, and became its resident manager as well as a vice president. He retired at the end of 1987 as vice president and head of the Buffalo office, which he had established, of Montgomery & Collins, Inc., also a subsidiary of CIGNA Corp.
Don Gregory, a past president of Scalp and Blade, a fraternity sponsoring high school scholarships, took an active role in other community affairs, serving as a director of United Way, the Boys Club and the Psychiatric Clinic of Buffalo. He was also at one time vice president of Junior Achievement and the Niagara Frontier Vocational Rehabilitation Center, as well as a division leader of Catholic Charities.
An avid tennis player and, above all, a sailing enthusiast, Don Gregory purchased a condominium on the water in St. Petersburg, Fla., following his retirement. Thereafter, he and his wife, the former Jane Flanagan, whom he had wed on June 14, 1963, in Buffalo, divided the year between Florida and their summer cottage on the Canadian side of Lake Erie. He enjoyed sailing in both locales, served on the racing committees of the Buffalo Yacht Club and the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, as well as that of the Buffalo Canoe Club. In addition, he was director of junior sailing for the yacht club in Buffalo.
Donald J. Gregory, an exceedingly devoted and supportive alumnus who assisted the College with its fundraising activities, died on March 15, 2013, at a hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla. He is survived by his wife of 50 years. Also surviving are a son, Donald J. “Josh,” Jr.; a daughter, Karen, and a son, Kevin, from his first marriage; and four grandchildren, a sister, Patricia O’Connell, and his brother Richard. His brother Thomas predeceased him in 2009.
Francis Haas Musselman ’50, LL.D. (Hon.) ’05
Francis Haas Musselman ’50, LL.D. (Hon.) ’05, a prominent attorney-at-law, a life trustee of Hamilton and former chairman of the board of Kirkland College, was born on Aug. 3, 1925, in Utica, N.Y. A son of John Joseph Musselman ’17 and the former Kathryn A. Haas, he grew up in Watertown, in New York’s North Country, where his father operated a confectionary store and restaurant and originated and manufactured Frutang, a locally popular soft drink. Fran Musselman, one of three brothers to follow their father and uncle, Francis C. R. Musselman ’25, to Hamilton, was graduated in 1942 from Immaculate Heart Academy in Watertown. A year later, in the midst of World War II, he entered the U.S. Navy. A gunner’s mate in the Pacific theater, he served aboard a destroyer that took part in the invasions of Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Released from active duty in 1946, after the war’s end, Fran Musselman enrolled at Hamilton that fall. He joined Lambda Chi Alpha, his father’s fraternity, as well as the Newman Club. Active in debate, he was elected to the forensic honor society Delta Sigma Rho. On June 22, 1948, while in college, he was wed to Marjorie L. Balme, a nurse, in Oneida, N.Y. They took up residence in the North Village, and their twin daughters, Kathryn and Martha, were born during Fran’s junior year. The marital union would endure for more than a half-century until Marjorie’s death in 2004.
Following his graduation from Hamilton in 1950, Fran Musselman entered the Columbia University School of Law, where he earned his LL.B. degree in 1953. He remained in New York City and immediately began his long and distinguished career in the law as an associate with the prestigious firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. Made a partner in 1960 and serving as its managing partner from 1970 to 1984, he would remain with the firm throughout his career. Specializing in bankruptcy law, corporate reorganizations and international business transactions, he won wide recognition as an authority in those fields. In 1980, he opened the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. Before retiring from the firm in 1990 and until 1993, he took on the challenging task as court-appointed trustee presiding over the spectacular bankruptcy of Finley Kumble, et al., one of the nation’s largest law firms before its demise. A pioneer in the use of computers in law practices, he also remained a consultant on law firm management until his death. Guided by the motto, “Always put the client first,” he well earned the high esteem of colleagues and clients alike.
Active in the New York State and American Bar Associations, Fran Musselman was also a former president of the Panfield Corp., chairman of the Milbank Memorial Fund and a director of other corporations and foundations. In the field of education, he served on the boards of Barnard College, Mater Dei College and Wadhams Hall Seminary, which awarded him an honorary L.H.D. degree, and chaired the Mater Dei College Foundation.
However, Fran Musselman’s primary dedication was to the educational institutions on College Hill. Named a trustee of Kirkland College in 1971, he chaired its board from 1972 until it was combined with Hamilton in 1978. During that time of painful transition when tough decisions had to be made, he contributed crucial leadership that resulted in Hamilton’s emergence as a highly successful coeducational institution. Appointed to Hamilton’s board after the merger, he remained an ardently articulate advocate for women’s education on the Hill. During his tenure on the board, he chaired the 175th Anniversary Campaign, which provided funds for the endowment and supported construction of the Schambach Center and Bristol Pool as well as the renovation of the old James Library into Christian A. Johnson Hall. As for his personal contributions to Hamilton, they were generous beyond measure, not only in financial terms but also in time and effort, from helping to recruit students for the College, to making phone calls in solicitation of funds, to hosting College gatherings at his summer home at Oak Point on the St. Lawrence River. His extraordinary dedication, wise counsel and exemplary integrity in the service of his alma mater have been to its great and lasting benefit. Tall in stature, genial by nature and with his sly sense of humor ever present, he will be missed on College Hill.
Francis H. Musselman was residing at Oaks Point in his beloved North Country when he succumbed to lung cancer on April 3, 2013. He is survived by three daughters, Kathryn A. Bourbonniere, Martha C. Sheridan and Carol E. Kuntz K’75; a son, John F. Musselman; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; and a brother, John J. Musselman, Jr. ’47. His nephews include Mark P. ’89 and Stephen S. Musselman ’90. He was predeceased by his brother, Bernard C. Musselman ’54, in 2003.
John Frederick Russell ’50
John Frederick Russell ’50, a retired insurance company executive, community leader and former trustee of the College, was born on Feb. 15, 1929, in Tremont, Pa. A son of Frederick D. Russell, president of Security Mutual Life Insurance Co., and the former Ruth E. Bomberger, Jack Russell moved with his family to Binghamton, N.Y., when he was 2 years old. The city would become his permanent home and he one of its most prominent citizens.
Jack Russell enrolled at Hamilton following his graduation from Binghamton Central High School in 1946. He joined Delta Kappa Epsilon as well as the College Band, in which he played for four years. He went out for swimming and served for two years as manager of the team. President of the Deke house his senior year, he also chaired the Chapel Board. Surrounded by older students, veterans of World War II, he “grew up in a hurry, learning to study as well as to party.” The numerous friendships he made while on the Hill continued throughout his lifetime.
After his graduation in 1950, Jack Russell was employed for a few months as a clerk for his father’s company, Security Mutual, before being drafted into the U.S. Army upon the outbreak of the Korean conflict. He served for two years and was stationed in Germany. Discharged as a sergeant in 1952, he briefly returned to his old job at Security Mutual before joining Couper-Ackerman-Sampson, Inc., the general insurance firm in Binghamton formerly headed by Edgar W. Couper ’20. Jack Russell would move up its ranks from secretary and treasurer to vice president, president and owner, and remain with the firm for 45 years until he sold it and retired in 1998. His company had provided the College with its insurance for most of those years.
Professionally, Jack Russell, a chartered property-casualty underwriter, was a leader in state and national organizations. He served as president of the Association of Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers as well as the Associated Risk Managers, both of New York State, and was president of the National Association of Casualty and Surety Agents in 1987-88.
Within the greater Binghamton community, Jack Russell was highly active, serving on numerous boards and chairing several foundations. He was president of the Roberson Museum board and later headed the Roberson Foundation. He also served as president of the Binghamton University Foundation, was a founding member of the University’s Harper Forum, aimed at strengthening the bonds between the campus and the community, and the Community Foundation of South Central New York. In addition, he chaired the Harper Forum as well as the Hoyt Foundation, dedicated to benefiting Broome County citizenry through philanthropic grants.
However, Jack Russell took the greatest pride in the contributions he made to his community in the health field. He served as president of the board of managers of Binghamton General Hospital and took a major role in the consolidation of that hospital with Wilson Memorial Hospital to form United Health Services, of which he became the founding chairman and later chairman of the United Health Services Foundation. He also headed many fund drives, such as those for the United Fund and the Binghamton University Foundation.
Jack Russell was the recipient of numerous awards for his dedication to community service, beginning in 1958 when he was named Young Man of the Year by the Binghamton Chamber of Commerce. In 2003, he received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Baden-Powell Council of the Boy Scouts. He was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Binghamton Rotary Club, and the John T. Russell Community Room at Binghamton General Hospital was dedicated in his honor.
Jack Russell’s dedication to his community was more than matched by his devotion to Hamilton. An alumni trustee of the College from 1969 to 1975, he was also a past president of the Southern New York Alumni Association. He was always a willing and eager participant in fundraising activities on behalf of the College and in organizing and chairing reunions of his class.
John F. Russell was still residing in Binghamton when he died on July 15, 2013. He was predeceased in 2011 by his wife, the former Mary G. Meltzer, whom he had wed on June 2, 1951, in Dallas while he was in military service. He is survived by a son, Frederick C. Russell; two daughters, Kathryn K. Methfessel and Carolyn M. Russell; and two grandsons and his brother, Richard B. Russell ’59. A memorial service was held at the United Presbyterian Church of Binghamton, where Jack Russell was an elder.
James Barry Nickel ’52
James Barry Nickel ’52, whose way with words led to a highly successful career in advertising and as a freelance writer, was born on Oct. 4, 1930, in Evanston, Ill. The only child of Curt J. Nickel, engaged in sales promotion, and the former Lydia E. Barry, he grew up in Manhasset on Long Island and was graduated in 1948 from Manhasset High School. Jim Nickel, who was introduced to professional writing as a teenager by means of a weekly sports column he contributed to the Manhasset Press, came to Hamilton in the fall of 1948, intending to prepare for a career in journalism or advertising.
On the Hill, Jim Nickel joined Delta Phi. As its corresponding secretary he founded and became the “fighting editor” of the Delphic Oracle. He also wasted no time in joining the staffs of The Spectator and The Hamiltonian as a news and sports writer. Having majored in English and French literature, he was graduated in 1952.
In that Korean War era, Jim Nickel immediately entered the U.S. Marine Corps. Commissioned as an officer, he served as an air traffic controller for the First Marine Air Wing in Korea. Released as a first lieutenant in 1954, he studied TV production at the Television Workshop in New York City and obtained a job writing copy for WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Mich. While there on a blind date, he met Myrna L. McWethy, and they were married in Grand Rapids in 1956.
Jim’s experience in creating daily live TV commercials for the WOOD station’s local advertisers led to his appointment as a copywriter for Young & Rubicam in New York City in 1958, at a time when the advertising agency was just making the transition from print to television. At Young & Rubicam, he worked on major campaigns, and his commercial, The Birds, for Eastern Air Lines, is now in the Copywriters Hall of Fame. He received the Gold Key Award for excellence in television from the Advertising Writers Club of New York, as well as festival awards for his contributions to films.
In 1968, after a brief stint as creative group supervisor for Gardner Advertising, Inc., Jim Nickel went west to become creative director for McCann Erickson in Los Angeles and later as director of creative services in its Chicago office. Back in New York and affiliated with a few more agencies, he decided in 1974 to venture out on his own by freelancing advertising copy for agencies and corporations from his home in Darien, Conn. The rise of corporate TV led to his writing and occasionally directing of more than 180 marketing, motivational and educational videos, many award-winning, in the three decades that followed. Having remarked that he had originally turned to writing because he was “not all that crazy about hard work,” he said he would retire only “when people stop paying me to write.” He continued to craft words until virtually the end of his life.
Jim Nickel, who fondly remembered his days at Hamilton and the solid grounding it provided, remained a devoted alumnus, although one not uncritical of its “politically correct” tendencies. He took a prominent role in arranging reunion gatherings for his class and delivered a superb half-century annalist’s letter at it 50th reunion as well as producing a video, Our Times, Our Hamilton, for that occasion. He also continued to utilize his writing skills as class correspondent for this magazine until his life’s end.
An avid tennis player and golfer, Jim Nickel also enjoyed sailing and horseback riding. A lifelong devotee of classical music, he, along with Myrna, regularly attended the Metropolitan Opera and the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. He was gifted with a sharply honed wit and irrepressible sense of humor constantly employed, and his geniality as well as his generosity of spirit will long be remembered.
James B. Nickel died after a long and stoically confronted battle with prostate cancer on April 30, 2013. He leaves his wife of 56 years. Also surviving are two sons, Scott and Dale Nickel, and two grandchildren.
Willis Burkhard Carman, Jr. ’53
Willis Burkhard Carman, Jr. ’53, a lawyer and former mayor of his hometown of Farmingdale, N.Y., was born in nearby Amityville on Dec. 24, 1931. A son of Willis B., Farmingdale village judge for 30 years and later a district court judge, and the former Marjorie Sosa, the family’s Long Island roots went back to 1643 when John Carman arrived as one of the island’s first European settlers. Young Willis, known as Bill, grew up in Farmingdale and was graduated in 1949 from Farmingdale High School, where he had been president of the Student Council. Already determined upon a career in the law, he entered Hamilton that fall and joined Delta Upsilon. He played tennis, lettered in soccer and was active in debate. Energetic, personable and popular, he was elected to D.T. Having accelerated his course of study as a history and French major before entering the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict, he was already on active duty in the Far East when his A.B. degree was granted in absentia in 1953.
Bill Carman served in the Army for two years and was stationed in Korea as a military policeman. Following his discharge as a corporal, he returned to Farmingdale, where he and Hilda Kurner, his grade-school sweetheart and houseparty date at Hamilton, were married on Aug. 29, 1954. Shortly thereafter, Bill Carman enrolled in the Fordham University School of Law. After obtaining his LL.B. degree in 1957, he joined his father’s law firm, Carman and Callahan (later Carman, Callahan & Carman) in Farmingdale.
In addition to practicing law (he took “any case that came in the door — except matrimonial”), Bill Carman soon turned to public service as assistant district attorney of Nassau County. He would serve on the Farmingdale village board for 30 years and as mayor for eight of them, beginning in 1984. Known as levelheaded and considerate of other’s opinions, he led an administration that updated the village’s zoning master plan and championed historical preservation as well as community beautification, one of his pet projects. He also carried through a senior citizens housing project while stabilizing taxes. Upon his retirement in 1992, he was hailed as “one of the best mayors” in Farmingdale’s history.
In addition, Bill Carman, as a trustee of the Friends for Long Island’s Heritage, gave support to local museums, helped establish the U.S. Cradle of Aviation Museum and chaired the oral history committee of the Farmingdale Historical Society. He also encouraged the growth and prosperity of Farmingdale State College.
Bill Carman, whose trademark banjo invariably accompanied him to village events, was an ardent fan of Dixieland. Besides “picking and plucking” his banjo, he was avidly devoted to tennis. Despite battling cancer, he continued to strum his banjo, make trips to his old law office, now Carman, Callahan & Ingham (whose partners include his son Willis and nephew Michael F. Ingham ’74) and attend community events until virtually the end of his life.
Willis B. Carman, Jr., a faithfully supportive alumnus, died on Oct. 2, 2013. Besides his wife of 59 years, he is survived by two daughters, Laura J. Carman and Christina Black; his son, Willis B. Carman III; and eight grandchildren and his brother, Gregory. Family and friends, as well as his law clients, remember Bill Carman “as a compassionate and caring man with a twinkle in his eye and a great joy in life.”
Courtney Albert Furman ’53
Courtney Albert Furman ’53, a Presbyterian minister and professor emeritus of philosophy and religion at the College of the Ozarks, was born on May 13, 1931, in Towanda, Pa. The eldest of five children of Albert D., a carpenter and foreman, and Mary Elizabeth Potter Furman, he grew up in Oswego, N.Y. He was graduated from Oswego High School as salutatorian of his class in 1949 and arrived on College Hill that fall. A scholarship student, “Corky” Furman worked his way through the College and became head waiter at Commons as well as resident advisor in South Dorm. A member of the Squires Club, he also trouped with the Charlatans, served on the Chapel Board and played intramural sports. He was known for his abundant energy and determined effort in everything he undertook. Displaying “a Christian spirit that should be an inspiration to all of us,” in the words of The Hamiltonian, he had already determined as an undergraduate upon the pursuit of a religious calling. The recipient of the Babcock Prize, he majored in philosophy and history, and was graduated in 1953 with honors in philosophy. On Aug. 22 of that year, he and Judith C. Hammonds, a nurse, were wed in Syracuse, N.Y.
Corky Furman, who would acquire a B.D. degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 1960 and a Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1963, was ordained that year into the ministry of the United Presbyterian Church. He had earlier worked on the staff of the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship in Chicago from 1955 to 1958, and had thereafter served as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Fair Haven, N.Y., until 1962.
In 1963, Courtney Furman accepted a position in the religion department of the College of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Ark., where he also served several Presbyterian churches in the surrounding area. After seven years, he heeded a call to St. Paul, Minn., as pastor of the Warrendale Presbyterian Church. While there, he also taught theology at Bethel College. In 1979, he began his 31-year tenure at the College of the Ozarks, first to teach at the then School of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo., as assistant professor of philosophy and religion.
Courtney Furman, who achieved promotion to associate and then full professor, chaired the school’s humanities division for some years. In 1988, he earned a D.Min. degree from Covenant Theological Seminary. His doctoral studies led to the writing and publication of A Surprising Light: the Christian Hymn in Contemporary Usage (1997), an affectionate tribute to 52 long-cherished English hymns. In 1998, he was honored by being named to the M. Graham Clark Chair of Christian Nurture. He retired in 2010, at the age of 79.
While residing in Branson, Mo., near Point Lookout, Courtney Furman also served from 1979 to 2011 as pastor of the Hollister (Mo.) Presbyterian Church. Not only as a teacher and pastor, but also as a counselor and mentor to students, younger faculty colleagues, and members of his congregation, he was utterly and thoroughly dedicated. Caring and compassionate, and with a sincere and personal interest in all of them as individuals, he is fondly remembered as “a pastor in everything he did.” Known for his joyful whistling as he walked across campus, he made a point to become personally acquainted with his students as well as his church congregants, and was their shepherd and often their advocate. In the course of his long career in service to his God and his fellow human beings, he impacted for the better the lives of thousands.
The Rev. Dr. Courtney A. Furman, an ever faithful alumnus who regularly attended class reunions, including his 60th last June, died on Aug. 17, 2013, at a Presbyterian retirement community in Olathe, Kan., where he had resided since 2012. He is survived by his wife, the former JoAnn “Jody” Scott Cain, whom he had married in 1982. Also surviving are two sons and a daughter from his first marriage, Courtney Arthur and Andrew N. Furman, and Carolyn Olagbaju; a stepdaughter and two stepsons, Terry Cain Eaves, and Clifford and Richard Cain; and 10 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and two sisters.
Robert Tissot Payne ’53
Robert Tissot Payne ’53, a longtime insurance broker, was born on Sept. 21, 1931, in Astoria, Queens, N.Y. His parents were Malcolm T. Payne, also in the insurance business, and the former Flora M. Tissot. Bob Payne prepared for college at Mt. Hermon School in Massachusetts and enrolled at Hamilton from East Williston on Long Island in 1949. He joined Psi Upsilon and played three varsity sports, basketball, lacrosse and soccer. He was also fond of playing bridge at the Psi U house, as well as touch football. Elected to D.T. and Was Los, he majored in history and economics, and was graduated in 1953.
Bob Payne, who enlisted in the U.S. Army that year, served for 16 months in Korea. Discharged as a sergeant in 1956, he was briefly employed by Connecticut General Life Insurance Co. before joining the family business, the Malcolm T. Payne Agency, in Long Island City, later Jericho, N.Y. He was married to Jeanette Amadei on Oct. 25, 1964, and the couple took up residence in Glen Head, also on Long Island. They became the parents of a daughter, Barbara. Bob retired from the Payne Agency after many years as an insurance broker.
Robert T. Payne, a highly devoted and supportive alumnus, retired to Holmdel, N.J., where he continued to enjoy playing golf. He was on the golf course on Jan. 14, 2013, when he collapsed and died of cardiac arrest. Survivors include his wife of 46 years.
Dick Philip Skaer II ’53
Dick Philip Skaer II ’53, a business executive who carved out a highly successful career in the cordage industry, grew up in Evanston, Ill., where he was born on Dec. 17, 1931. His parents were Dick Philip Skaer, a fire protection engineer employed by Cook County, Ill., and the former Waldean F. Smith. At the urging of George C. Kingsley ’33, a family friend, Phil Skaer applied for admission to Hamilton following his graduation from Evanston Township High School in 1949. Accepted into the College, he joined Chi Psi and went out for lacrosse. His initial enthusiasm for geology cooled by the time he was a senior, and he decided upon a career in business instead.
Phil Skaer, who left College Hill with his A.B. degree in 1953, took courses in business administration at Cornell University before entering the U.S. Navy. Trained in meteorology and commissioned as an ensign, he served for two-and-a-half years as a weather officer stationed in the Philippines and the South China Sea. Released as a lieutenant (j.g.) after four years in the Navy in 1957, he returned to his home state where he was briefly employed in investment securities by the Illinois Co. in Chicago. On Nov. 29, 1957, he and Jul E. Johnson, a United Airlines stewardess, were married in Minneapolis. They had met on a San Francisco-Chicago flight when he was on his way home from naval service in the Far East.
In 1958, Phil Skaer began his career in the cordage industry with Broderick & Bascom Rope Co. of St. Louis. He soon worked his way up from district to national sales manager for the steel wire rope manufacturer. He left Broderick & Bascom after 13 years in 1971 to join Jackson Rope Corp., a fiber rope manufacturer originally founded in Reading, Pa., in 1829. Appointed vice president for marketing, he later became the company’s general manager with headquarters in Austin, Texas. In 1980, he was appointed vice president for marketing of Wall Rope, one of the largest synthetic rope manufacturers in the nation. Promoted to president and chief executive officer of the company, which he relocated to North Carolina in 1985, he also served as president of the cordage industry’s North American trade association, the Cordage Institute, from 1994 to 1996. He was known for his expert knowledge of rope manufacture, and after his retirement, he established Ropetech, Inc., his own consulting practice, and served as an expert consultant in legal cases involving accidents in which rope played a part.
In 1998, following his retirement after 13 years as president of Wall Rope, Phil and Jul Skaer settled in Austin, where Phil continued to enjoy golf, woodworking and gardening, and Jul coped with the abundance of his vegetable crop each year. D. Philip Skaer, a faithful alumnus, was still residing in Austin when he died on March 29, 2013. Predeceased by his wife of 54 years in 2011, he is survived by a son, Christopher P. Skaer; two daughters, Susan Tanner and Karen Soh; and six grandchildren.
Jean-Paul David Freyss ’54
Jean-Paul David Freyss ’54, an Emmy Award-winning television producer and director, was born on Jan. 20, 1933, in Morristown, N.J. The son of Jean-Paul Gustave Freyss, a native of France, and the former Beatrice Strobel, his father was employed as a French writer and editor for the international department of the Columbia Broadcasting System and later at the United Nations. Young Jean-Paul, known as David, grew up in Carmel, north of New York City, and was graduated in 1950 from Carmel High School, where he had been president of the Honor Society. He enrolled at Hamilton that fall and joined Tau Kappa Epsilon. He also turned to dramatics with the Charlatans and at one time rehearsed for his role in Henry IV, Part I, in the attic of the infirmary while recovering from chicken pox. He became the troupe’s assistant director in his senior year and earned election to the honorary dramatics society Alpha Psi Omega. Majoring in French, he had participated in Hamilton’s Junior Year in France program at the Sorbonne in Paris.
Four months after his graduation in 1954, David Freyss entered the U.S. Army. He served for two years in the enlisted ranks and was stationed with the Counter Intelligence Corps in Southern France. He subsequently settled in New York City, where he was employed for 18 years as a TV-commercial producer and art director with such leading advertising firms as McCann Erickson, Benton & Bowles and J. Walter Thompson. Along the way, in 1959, he acquired an M.B.A. degree from Columbia University’s Business School.
While at the Central Park Zoo in Manhattan, David Freyss happened to meet “a beautiful Swede,” Eva-Kersti Ström, from Gothenburg. They were married in New York City on May 30, 1964. The couple later moved to Connecticut. Commuting to Manhattan, David Freyss produced several shows for the Children’s Television Workshop and won an Emmy in 1980 for his work on Sesame Street.
The following year, the Freyss family moved to Virginia Beach, Va., where David became executive producer for the Christian Broadcast Network’s US am, a news and information program. He also produced Doris Day’s Best Friends and Gerbert, a children’s program, as well as many other shows for the Family Channel. In addition, he established his own company, David Freyss Productions, in Virginia Beach.
David Freyss, a former president of the Broadcast Advertising Producers Society of America, retired to paint, which had been his avid interest since his college days when, as a senior at Hamilton, the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute in Utica paid $50 for one of his paintings to add to its permanent collection. In Virginia Beach he co-founded the Artists Gallery and also worked as business and licensing manager with his wife’s photography studio, Foto by Eva. In addition, known for his “booming voice,” he was involved in many local theater productions, acted and recorded voice-overs, and sang in the choir of his Methodist Church. For tranquility he turned to the sea and sailing.
Jean-Paul David Freyss, a faithful Hamiltonian, was still residing in Virginia Beach when he died on Oct. 5, 2013. He is survived by his wife of 49 years. Also surviving are two daughters, Eva-Katerine Miller and Anika Wallace, and five grandchildren and a sister. They and his many friends will long remember and deeply miss the warmth of his personality.
Charles Fiske Graaskamp ’55
Charles Fiske Graaskamp ’55, a retired publisher and former president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, was born on Jan. 14, 1934, in Evanston, Ill. A son of Lester W., a vice president of the American Can Co., and Dorothy Fiske Graaskamp, he grew up in Evanston and prepared for college at Hackley School in Tarrytown after his family had moved to the New York City area. He came to Hamilton from Irvington, N.Y., following his graduation in 1951 and joined Sigma Phi. Charley Graaskamp, also known as “Chuck,” played squash and tennis, and lettered in soccer. He also served on the Press Board and, a convivial sort, gained membership in Nous Onze.
Soon after leaving the Hill with his A.B. degree in 1955, having majored in history and political science, Charley Graaskamp entered the U.S Navy. He served for four years and went to sea in the Pacific on the destroyer U.S.S. Agerholm, followed by a year of teaching at a Navy school. He was discharged as a lieutenant (j.g.) and jobless at the time, which made his family-owned newspaper in distant Wisconsin, where he had been a summer intern while at Hamilton, suddenly an attractive prospect. Married on March 8, 1958, to Joanne S. Stearns in Elmsford, N.Y., he moved to the Badger State with his bride and began his distinguished career in publishing with the Eau Claire Press Co. as classified ad manager for the Eau Claire Leader. He would remain with the company until his retirement 42 years later.
Charles Graaskamp became advertising manager of the Eau Claire Press Co. in 1962 and general manager in 1968. Named publisher in 1981, he took over as president of the company, which published the daily Eau Claire Leader-Telegram as well as the statewide farm weekly, The Country Today, in 1991, and retired 10 years later as president-publisher. Known for his championship of freedom of information, he had been elected president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association in 1997. His career spanned the revolutionary transition in printing from hot metal to computer-produced cold type. In his determined efforts to keep his newspaper technologically up-to-date and maintain its growth, he oversaw the construction of a new printing plant. The newspaper, one of the few still family-owned in Wisconsin, and employing more than 300 people, continued to be operated by the next generation of his family after his retirement.
A leader within the Eau Claire community, Charles Graaskamp was an intensely active supporter of the L.E. Phillips Library and its literacy program. A past president of the Eau Claire Community Foundation, he established its Acorn Fund to promote literacy. He also served on the boards of the Eau Claire YMCA and the United Fund. His associates in those causes, as well as his employees, knew him for his congeniality, approachability, unassuming nature and unfailingly infectious smile.
Fond of travel, Charles Graaskamp had been to every continent except Antarctica. He and Joanne had gone sight-seeing in Vilnias and Mombasa in their world travels, and Charley enjoyed fishing trips with fellow publishers to Alaskan rivers and the waters of Baffin Bay. An avid and competitive athlete, he continued to enjoy racquet sports such as tennis, squash and paddleball, and took pride in having been the national men’s doubles paddleball masters champion for two years running. He also took stabs at golf and never lost his affection for his beloved, if hapless, Chicago Cubs. Above all, he enjoyed spending time with his family at their summer cottage with its nine bedrooms and sleeping porches, sipping coffee while doing The New York Times crossword puzzle (in pen) or playing cards or croquet. However, his favorite activity was teaching his kids and grandkids how to sail.
Charles F. Graaskamp, an ever faithful and generously supportive alumnus, died at his home in Eau Claire on Oct. 8, 2013, having lost a bout with cancer. He is survived by his wife of 55 years. Also surviving are two sons, Pieter F. and Daniel S. Graaskamp; a daughter, Carolyn Carlson; and eight grandchildren and his brother, John. Memorial services were held at Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) in Eau Claire, where Charley had been a lector.
Ronald H. Hovey ’56
Ronald H. Hovey ’56, a retired manufacturer’s representative, was born on Oct. 21, 1934, in Utica, N.Y. A son of Louis M., a mill foreman, and Myrtle Lois Miller Hovey, he grew up in neighboring Whitesboro and was graduated in 1952 from Whitesboro High School, where he lettered in three sports, baseball, basketball and football, and was elected president of the senior class. Ron Hovey came up to College Hill that fall and joined Psi Upsilon. After giving basketball and football a try, he settled on baseball. He lettered in the sport and became the varsity team’s starring pitcher as well as co-captain, and won the most valuable player award. A choir singer and brass horn player in the band in high school, he continued his musical interests on the Hill, singing in the Choir and with the Buffers in his senior year. Also credited by The Hamiltonian with being “a stellar performer in many a bridge all-nighter,” he overcame academic hurdles to be graduated with his class as a philosophy major in 1956.
After brief employment with Lennon’s Jewelers, Ron Hovey went to work for General Electric Co. in Utica as a purchasing agent. On Dec. 29, 1956, he and his high school sweetheart, Gertrude I. Briggs, were married in Whitesboro. He remained a buyer with GE until 1966, when he joined Bowser & Sapecky Associates, based in the Syracuse area, as an electronics manufacturer’s sales representative. He later established his own company, R. H. Hovey Associates, in Holland Patent, N.Y., where he was then residing. He retired in 1995.
After leaving College Hill, Ron Hovey remained actively athletic by pitching semi-pro baseball for Marcy State Hospital for 10 years and Mohawk Containers for two. He became and remained a die-hard New York Giants and Yankees fan. He also bowled and played tennis and golf, and enjoyed cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and curling with the venerable Utica Curling Club. In addition, he coached Little League baseball, girls’ softball and grade school basketball. A past president of the Skenandoa Country Club, he also served as president of the Whitesboro Central School Alumni Association and founded the annual Whitesboro Alumni Golf Tournament, which helps fund scholarships for Whitesboro graduates.
Ronald H. Hovey, known for his quick wit, engaging smile and devotion to his family, died at his home in Holland Patent, north of Utica, on Oct. 15, 2013. He is survived by his wife of 56 years. Also surviving are two daughters, Linda Schmitt and Barbara Novaes; two sons, Ronald H., Jr. and Roger A. Hovey; and 11 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and a brother, Robert. Funeral services were held at Grace Church (Episcopal) in Utica, where Ron had been a member of the vestry and a senior warden.
Richard Floyd Plotka ’56
Richard Floyd Plotka ’56, an attorney-at-law and part-time jazz musician, was born on Sept. 5, 1935, in Utica, N.Y. He was a son of Maxim J. Plotka, owner of a women’s clothing store, Ritz Apparel, and the former Marian LaPoten. Dick Plotka came up to College Hill as a graduate of Utica Free Academy in 1952. He joined the Squires Club and went out for golf. An enthusiastic golfer as a teenager, he had already won trophies in the sport while in high school. He lettered in golf on the Hill as a member of Coach Don Jones’ varsity team. He was active in debate and a banjo player for the Dixieland jazz band, the Oriskany Rhythm Kings. When that student band needed a banjo player, he bought a banjo in a hock shop in Utica and taught himself how to play it. Beginning as a premedical major before switching to prelaw, he concentrated in history and left the Hill in 1956 with his A.B. degree and “a guitar over one shoulder and his clubs over the other,” according to The Hamiltonian.
After a brief tour with a jazz band after leaving Hamilton, Dick Plotka obtained admission to Harvard Law School, where he earned his LL.B. degree in 1959. He established his practice in Bay Shore on Long Island, and on Aug. 24, 1961, he and Laurinda Jane Hicks were married in New York City. With the firm of Flower and Plotka, he specialized in litigation and tried many matrimonial and family law cases as well as major personal injury lawsuits. In addition, he handled criminal cases ranging from drug prosecutions to murder, and commercial litigation for companies listed on the New York and American Stock Exchanges. He lectured extensively and appeared on television and radio, and was a guest columnist for USA Today.
Active in numerous professional organizations, Dick Plotka was also a member of the board of charitable and health-care institutions. Besides practicing law (he maintained a second office in Pompano Beach, Fla.), he enjoyed a wide range of interests, including flying, underwater photography and golf. He also pursued his lifelong musical interests by playing banjo with jazz bands, most notably the New Orleans-style Constitution Jazz Band in the New York City area. On occasion he played with fellow lawyer and jazz aficionado Richard C. Sherman ’53 during that Dixieland band’s summer gigs at the Kismet Inn on Fire Island, where Dick Plotka had chaired the Fire Island Advisory Commission for a time.
Richard F. Plotka, a generously supportive alumnus whose contributions to the College included gifts of art works to the Emerson Gallery, had been dividing his time between Bay Shore and Pompano Beach in recent years. He died on March 13, 2013. Surviving are his sons, Richard M. and Jeffrey J. Plotka; two grandsons and a brother, Edward; and his longtime companion, Diana Williams. A New Orleans-style jazz celebration of his life was held on Long Island in the spring.
Walter Joseph Smith, Jr. ’58
Walter Joseph Smith, Jr. ’58, for many years a trial lawyer in Washington, D.C., was born on Feb. 23, 1936, in New York City. A son of Walter J., an insurance broker, and Florence Watson Smith, he was a grandson of Alfred E. Smith, governor of New York and Democratic candidate for the presidency of the United States in 1928. Young Walt Smith grew up in New York City and on Long Island, where he was graduated from Westhampton Beach High School in 1954. Despite his family’s preference for Princeton, he opted to enroll at Hamilton that year. He arrived on College Hill from Westhampton Beach, determined to pursue prelaw studies. A member of Delta Upsilon, a denizen of the South Dorm, and a talented athlete, he played varsity basketball and football, but abandoned the court and field in his junior year to “settle down to some serious study.” Secretary of the Newman Club and known for his “keen sense of righteousness,” in the words of The Hamiltonian, he left the Hill with his diploma in 1958, bound for law school at Columbia University.
After receiving his LL.B. degree in 1961 and “having run out of deferments,” Walt Smith entered the U.S. Navy and was commissioned as an officer after graduation from Naval Justice School in 1962. However, the Berlin crisis and the Cuban blockade of that era had led to a shortage of line officers, and he spent the first three years of his naval career on a destroyer. Subsequently assigned to the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, Lt. Smith remained in the Navy until 1967, when he entered the private practice of law in Washington.
For 20 years, Walt Smith was a partner in Wilson, Elser, Edelman & Dicker, a national law firm based in New York City, and managing partner of its Washington office for 10 of those years. By 1996, having become “disenchanted with the practice of law and the quality of life in a big firm,” he opened his own law office, specializing in trial work. He gradually eased out of “the grind of litigation” and turned to “the more mellow aspects of the law”: arbitration and mediation. Admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, he served in recent years as a mediator with the Superior Court in the District of Columbia.
Outside of the law, Walt Smith enjoyed reading “good fiction and almost any nonfiction on matters of interest.” He also raised English setters, “who keep me in the field and away from the couch or easy chair,” and had a passion for English classic cars. The author of Let’s Look at the Record: A Grandson’s Reflections on Alfred E. Smith, he was also devoted to exploring his grandfather’s ancestry as well as traveling with his “peripatetic wife,” the former Felicitas von Zeschau, whom he had met in Washington and married in Nuremberg, Germany, on Oct. 5, 1968. She was descended from an old German knightly family that dates back to the 12th century.
Walter J. Smith, Jr. died on June 5, 2013, at his home in Gainesville, Va. He is survived by his wife of 44 years. Also surviving are two daughters, Caroline Pickering and Alexandra Smith, as well as three grandchildren, three sisters and a brother. His youngest child and only son, Christopher P. Smith, was tragically killed in a boating accident at the age of 31.
John Joseph Brennan, Jr. ’59
John Joseph Brennan, Jr. ’59, professor emeritus of biology emeritus at Hamline University, grew up in Oswego, N.Y., where he was born on Jan. 10, 1937. The eldest of four children of John J., a physician, and Margaret Dain Brennan, he enrolled at Hamilton in 1955, following his graduation from Oswego High School. With ambitions of following his father into medicine, he majored in biology and chemistry. A member of Gryphon, John Brennan, fond of hunting and fishing since his youth, was active in the Outing Club. With summer courses taken at Syracuse University, he had completed his graduation requirements before entering the U.S. Army in 1959. He served for a year on active duty and was released in time to receive his Hamilton diploma in 1960.
That year, John Brennan became a research assistant at the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, and in 1965 he began graduate studies in physiology at the College of Forestry of Syracuse University. In 1970, he earned his Ph.D. degree in entomology from Syracuse’s College of Environmental Science. Thereafter he joined the entomology department of the University of Wisconsin in Madison as a research assistant.
In 1973, John Brennan began his long career at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., as an assistant professor of biology. Promoted through the ranks to full professor, he chaired the biology department for a time. His research included studies of insect behavior and the neuropharmacology of antiepileptic drugs. He also engaged in research on pain. Dr. Brennan, who taught physiology and biochemistry at Hamline, retired in 2001.
John Brennan, who continued to enjoy hunting as well as canoeing, devoted his leisure time to “puttering around with shotgun and camera” at his camp on a lake in the woods north of Duluth. He continued to reside in Hugo, Minn., not far from St. Paul. He remained a loyal Hamiltonian who once credited the College with transforming him from “a bookish and reticent geek into a garrulous rabble-rouser” and one who aspired to emulate the best of his College Hill professors in his own teaching.
Belatedly, the College has learned of John J. Brennan, Jr.’s death on Dec. 22, 2011. He is survived by his wife, Carol Iffland Brennan, to whom he was wed in 1967. Also surviving are two brothers, Thomas and Alan Brennan, and a sister, Mimi Brukenfeld.
Edward Scott Finegan, Jr. ’59
Edward Scott Finegan, Jr. ’59, who devoted 40 years to high school teaching and coaching, was born on June 22, 1937, in Brooklyn, N.Y. The son of Edward S., a lawyer, and Elizabeth Chrisp Finegan, he moved with his family to Garden City on Long Island when he was 12 years old. Scott Finegan grew up there and was graduated in 1955 from Garden City High School, where he lettered in three sports, baseball, basketball and football.
Scott Finegan came to College Hill that year and joined Psi Upsilon. He played baseball for four years as well as football, lettering in both. Although a top hitter on the diamond, he was especially proud of being a starter on Coach Don Jones’ undefeated ’59 football team. In future years his athletic background would provide him with the tough-mindedness and perseverance that enabled him to deal with a number of serious illnesses over a long period of time while remaining alert, interested and engaged in the world around him. Another heritage of his College days was a love of history, his major, instilled in him by such professors as David M. Ellis, Edgar B. Graves and William D. Starnes.
Following his graduation in 1959, Scott Finegan went on to Teachers College at Columbia University, where he earned an M.A. in social studies education in 1960. That year he began a teaching career at Herricks High School on Long Island that would extend through four decades. In addition to teaching history, government and economics, he coached the high school’s baseball and football teams. He very much enjoyed both teaching and coaching, and took great pleasure in the accomplishments of his students and the younger teachers whom he mentored. Known for his dry wit, keen sense of humor and delightful storytelling, he is remembered by students as a dedicated educator who valued each of them as individuals and spoke to them, not as children, but as emerging adults.
In his early days at Herricks High School, Scott Finegan met Virginia Duvall, who was teaching English there. They were married in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 15, 1961. In 1967, they moved to the home in Garden City where Scott grew up. Their three children would also grow up in that house, and Scott and Virginia would reside there for the rest of their lives.
A voracious reader of history, politics, biography and satire until his life’s end, Scott Finegan was also an avid baseball fan and student of the game. Never quite forgiving the Dodgers for leaving Brooklyn, he transferred his affections to the Mets and was their fan forever after. Devoted to his family, he took much pride in the achievements of his children and grandchildren, in whom from an early age he instilled his formula for success in life, “Get in early, make friends with the janitors, and learn the long snap.”
E. Scott Finegan died in his sleep at his home in Garden City on May 22, 2013, of complications from diabetes and metastatic prostate cancer. Predeceased by his wife in 1996, he is survived by a daughter, Elizabeth Finegan Menges ’84, wife of Peter Menges ’85; two sons, Michael S. and Thomas W. Finegan; and 12 grandchildren, including Andrew W. ’12 and Jake D. Menges ’17. Also surviving is his sister, Pam Betterton. Among his nephews and nieces are John M. Merrill ’92, Michael G. Crary ’95 and Elizabeth Crary Robinson ’96.
