Complete obituaries are available in the Memorials section of Yale1961.org
Richard Dick Charles Albright passed away on November 11, 2019 following a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis. He majored in American Studies and Economics at Yale, received his MBA from Harvard Business School and since 1964 was a partner at an investment advisory firm. Dick was inspired as an undergraduate at Yale by Vincent Scully’s class on modern architecture, which kindled his lifelong passion for art. In the 1960s, he became a collector of post-war American fine art and, in the 1970s, an avid collector of 18th century New England furniture. Dick was a Trustee for the Yale University Art Gallery and member of the Advisory Board for Skinner Auctioneers.
John (Fred) Frederick Matthews Grassle of Princeton, NJ and formerly of Woods Hole, MA died on Friday, July 6, 2018. Fred had a degree in zoology from Yale and a PhD from Duke. He pioneered research in hydrothermal vents at the sea floor. At Rutgers University’s Cook College, he helped to establish the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences. He was one of the founders of the Census of Marine Life and Ocean Biogeographic Information System. He has had six species and one genus of polychaetas, three species of mollusks, and three species of crustacea named after him.
Col. David Perry Montague US Air Force, retired, art and craft collector, patron of the fields of classical music and opera, died November 17, 2019. He was a magna cum laude graduate of Yale, with a MS from Auburn University, and is a graduate of the Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute. A career Air Force officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency, his final assignment was chief of the Director’s Staff Group. After retirement in 1985, he and his wife, Clemmer, also an Air Force officer, were involved in many art and craft support organizations and the Washington Concert Opera.
John Walsh receives The Yale Medal, the highest honor presented by the Yale Alumni Association. “No Yale graduate has played a more influential and enduring role in the growth, success, and popularity of the Yale University Art Gallery than Walsh, who has given his time to its governing board for more than 40 years. In the past 15 years, after his retirement as director of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Walsh served as chair of the governing board’s Education Committee. A fervent advocate for the unhurried examination of works of art in the original, Walsh has been a sought-after lecturer, speaker, and instructor. He has given seminars for the History of Art Department as a visiting professor and has participated in the intensive annual training of graduate students at the Gallery. Over the past six years, he has been presenting a public lecture series that not only attracts overflow audiences to the Gallery auditorium, but also is followed by tens of thousands via the Gallery’s website and YouTube channel. His commitment to the power of art and to the nurturing of aspiring scholars has benefitted students, the Gallery, and the Yale community immeasurably.”
Bruce Butler writes “In August of this year my wife and I spent two weeks near Boothbay Harbor, Maine with our oldest daughter and granddaughter. During that period, Marilyn and I visited Mike and Mary Stevens who live quite close to the Pemaquid Lighthouse in Maine.” Mike has transitioned from his former minister duties to become a furniture maker of some quality.
From Tom Davenport “I started in 2002 with folklorists, filmmakers, archivists, and American history folks to curate, preserve and stream important documentaries about American Folk and traditional cultures.” Go to www.folkstreams.net to view the films and filmmakers or contact Tom at folkstreamsva@gmail.com for a suggested playlist.
Norman Finkelstein, and his wife Dianne, still enjoy travelling to new and exotic destinations. “Although we had been to Yugoslavia several times in the past, we visited the fragments of that country this past fall. I believe we set a class record of visiting five countries in one day—-with leisurely meals in three – more a statement of their nationalistic tribal lunacy than our frivolity.”
Extracts from John Hansman’s Christmas card. “We went to Costa Rica and Panama, with visits to the rain forests to see howler monkeys, anteaters and sloths. We then boarded a Ponant (French) cruise ship and sailed down the west coast of Costa Rica and Panama and through the canal. In August, we took a Viking ocean cruise of the Baltic Sea, with added days in Norway. John serves on the finance committee at our Unitarian congregation and is treasurer of his retired County employees association.”
From Robert Hackman, “My wife, Jane, and I are now living part of the year in three places: Bend, OR and Salt Lake City, UT to be close to young grandchildren, as well as Lenox, MA, where we raised our children. If we have a reunion in 2021, I expect to make it. I was sorry to have missed the mini gathering of McManus, Egan and Davenport earlier in the year. I am working to revive my knowledge of spoken and written Chinese – a long and slow haul. “
Jim Stewart notes “My wife, Ginger, and I have wound up a very successful season of growing tomatoes in a ‘hoop house’ (50 plants!), mushrooms in oak logs (shitake) and oyster in aspen logs”.
From Dick Strub – “Several months ago Hugh Eaton, with Sam Webb, cooked up a fabulous visit to the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC, owned by Sam’s cousins. Off to ‘Yale at the Biltmore’ went John Cogswell, Boyce Budd, Ken MacLean, Hardy Will, Bruce Smith (YC 60) and yours truly for a delightful two days with wives. We were treated to 4 hours of behind the scenes tours. Ken and his architect wife examined every bolt and screw in the place. We had two wonderful dinners, sampling the fine Biltmore wines. We were also treated to Mike Pyle‘s movie of the history of Yale football.
Jim Tripp sends news about a discussion group that meets monthly in New York City. “On December 4, Vince Teti, Dick Stewart, Richard Weinert, Andy Marks, Sherwin Goldman with Andrew Barnes, Steve Kass, Doug Rosenthal, Alan Blanchard, and myself joined Mark Lebow, the host, to hear Mark Lebow’s wife, Patti Harris, speak about the formation and major priorities of the Bloomberg Foundation of which she is the Executive Director. Patti is now spending a lot of her time overseeing the Michael Bloomberg campaign so, of course, that was an item of discussion. Our next three meetings, which start at 11:00am, will be the first Wednesdays of February, April and June. Doug Rosenthal will host the February 5 meeting, with a focus on healthcare, at 335 Madison Avenue, 9th floor. The topics for April and June are urban education and economic inequality, respectively. Any and all classmates are welcome. We generally adjourn to the Yale Club to continue the discussions.”
Frost Walker sends “As a Yale senior, I found one of the few attractive young women on campus and married her in 1961 in Miami beneath crossed swords, me in dress whites. I met Trubey Walker in the NROTC unit. On many cold winter nights, we watched the snow drift silently down past my single room in Trumbull. From there, we embarked upon a four year tour in the Marine Corps. In 1965, son Jack (Yale ’87; Trumbull) was born in Miami, where Trubey and I relocated after the Marine Corps. Oldest granddaughter, Angelica, is a junior at Yale and lives in Trumbull, in the same room assigned to me senior year. It is comforting to know that Trubey, Angelica’s grandmother, is there now in spirit with Angelica again watching the snow fall on Elm Street from the same Trumbull window. Youngest granddaughter, Jacqueline, has applied to Yale for early admission.”
Fred Wright notes that “I do the website for the Yale Club in New Mexico. At Lakeside School, in Seattle, where I taught for many years, I was in charge of computers when we first started using them in the 60’s. My students, including Bill Gates and Paul Allen, taught me far more than I taught them. I ended up teaching and learning C++ with my students. I enjoy helping friends (including classmate Curtis Johnson and his wife) with their computer questions.”
Upcoming Mini-Reunions:
Charleston, SC March 24-27, 2020; Kansas City, MO October 15-18, 2020
LPA & JWM for WHS