1950s

Jerome Lee Huff ’51

Jerome Lee Huff ’51, whose working life was largely spent in the materials handling and storage business, was born on January 21, 1929, in Sayre, PA. The son of Leigh S., a locomotive crane engineer, and Mabel Pitcher Huff, he grew up in nearby Waverly, NY, became an Eagle Scout, and was graduated in 1947 from Waverly High School. “Jerry” Huff entered Hamilton that fall and became a member of the Band as well as the Young Republican Club. He later led cheers for the Continentals on the football field and, in 1950, helped establish Delta Phi’s chapter on College Hill. Known for the “shiny new Plymouth” he bought from money earned as a summer salesman, he acquired a Phi Beta Kappa key along with honors in history, and left the Hill with his diploma in 1951.

Jerry Huff went on to the Harvard Business School, where he obtained his M.B.A. degree in marketing in 1953. He settled in Rochester, NY, and worked in sales, becoming sales manager for Hartman Metal Fabricators. In 1962, after two years of exposure to Wall Street as an assistant investment and real estate manager for a large estate, he returned to Hartman, later Hartman Engineering/ Manufacturing, as a general marketing manager. In 1979, after three years as Eastern manager for Unarco Materials Storage, he established his own independent consulting business in the planning, designing, and laying out of warehouse and distribution centers. Called Cubic Resources, Inc., and located in Canandaigua, NY, its clients included major retailers. He maintained his consulting business for more than 20 years.

An active Rotarian and a Paul Harris Fellow, Jerry Huff was also a former chairman of the board of the Canandaigua YMCA. In addition, he served on the board of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Foundation. His recreational interests included the stock market and travel. He resided across the street from Highland Park in Rochester and its lavish lilac display, and he enjoyed sailing at his summer cottage located at Port Bay on Lake Ontario.

Jerome L. Huff, long a faithful supporter of the College, was still residing in Rochester when he died on May 29, 2012. He is survived by his wife, the former Mary Louise Hoffman, whom he had wed in Rochester in 1956, as well as nieces and a nephew. 

John Percy Landolt ’51

John Percy Landolt ’51, a retired vice president of Chemical Bank, now J.P. Morgan Chase, in New York City, was born in that city on March 25, 1929. His parents were Percy E., a chemical engineer, and Marie Allison Landolt. He prepared for college at Hackley School in Tarrytown, NY, as well as Southern Arizona School, and came to Hamilton from White Plains, NY, in 1947. He joined Psi Upsilon and concentrated in economics and political science. Described by The Hamiltonian as “charming, worldly,” and with a “discriminating taste in choice of apparel,” he was graduated in 1951.

Soon after leaving the Hill, John Landolt entered the U.S. Army. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Infantry, he served for two years during the Korean conflict. On January 24, 1953, while still on active duty, he and Marion M. Berresse were married in White Plains.

Following his discharge in 1953, John Landolt began his 37-year career with Chemical Bank New York Trust Co. Starting in the domestic credit unit of the bank, he became administrative assistant to the chief credit officer. Promoted to assistant secretary in the international division in 1961, and later to assistant vice president, he was named a vice president in 1967. He retired as a vice president of international finance in 1990.

John P. Landolt died at his home in White Plains on April 1, 2012. He is survived by three children, Madelene Piat-Landolt, J. Robert Landolt, and Virginia Anne Henning, born of his 34-year marriage, as well as eight grandchildren. 

Isaias Powers ’51

Isaias Powers ’51, a Passionist priest, itinerant preacher, and prolific author of Roman Catholic devotional works, was born Joseph Raymond Powers on March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day), 1928, in Oswego, NY. He was the younger son of David E. Powers, Jr. ’18, an athletic director who became legendary for his success as a basketball coach at Oswego High School, and the former Rose Mary Farricy. One of his uncles was Thomas A. Powers ’20. Young “Ray” Powers was graduated from Oswego High School in 1945, and thereafter entered the U.S. Army in the waning days of World War II. He served with the Signal Corps and was stationed in Nanking, China, at the time of General George C. Marshall’s ill-fated postwar attempt to reconcile the warring Communist and Nationalist factions.

Discharged from military service in 1947, Ray Powers followed his father to College Hill that fall and joined Delta Kappa Epsilon. A highly versatile athlete, he went out for basketball, football, and, later, baseball, and as the football quarterback, he not only lettered in the sport but became the team’s co-captain. In addition, he demonstrated a flair for writing and captured the Kellogg Essay Prize. Majoring in English literature, he wrote verse as well, and contributed poetry to the Continental, which he also edited. “This offshoot of old Erin” was aptly described by The Hamiltonian in one word: “eclectic.”

After leaving the Hill with his A.B. degree in 1951, Ray Powers spent a year in advertising with Young & Rubicam in New York City. Quickly deciding that it was the wrong field for him, he “bummed around” in Canada for another year, working as a farmhand and lumberjack, and even on the steel gang constructing a hydroelectric dam in Niagara Falls. In 1953, he “stopped running away” from his vocation and embraced his religious calling. He entered the Congregation of the Passionists’ monastery, professed his vows, and took the name Isaias in 1954. Ordained a priest following his graduation from St. Michael’s Seminary in Union City, NJ, in 1961, he was assigned to the radio and television ministry at the ­Passionist Monastery in West Springfield, MA. He subsequently pursued a preaching mission in Scranton, PA, and Sudbury, Ontario, and became an associate editor of Sign magazine. In 1967, he was appointed vicar of the Passionist Monastery in Jamaica, NY, for a year.

Father Powers resided at the Passionist Residence in Philadelphia, PA, from 1968 to 1972, while traveling extensively to preach retreats to high school and college students. Thereafter he continued in the retreat ministry in various locations until 1979, when he settled down for 15 years in the Passionist Monastery and Retreat House in West Springfield again, and began his literary career, writing works of devotion. Beginning with Advent Prayers and Scriptural Meditations in 1981, many books and innumerable meditation booklets for Lent or Advent followed. To date, more than three million copies have been sold, not counting audio books and videos.

At the same time, Father Powers continued to be engaged in a highly active preaching ministry as a retreat master, lecturer, and director of college programs of spirituality. Affectionately known as “Father Ike,” he was a dynamically gifted preacher as well as a sensitive pastoral counselor. With his “rich sense of Irish wit and storytelling,” he gained immense popularity with Catholic audiences far and wide.

In 2000, Father Isaias Powers, who had previously sojourned for five years in Florida, had moved to Immaculate Conception Monastery in Jamaica, NY, where he continued to minister until his retirement in 2006. He died there on October 26, 2011. There are no immediate survivors.

Thomas Arthur ’52

Thomas Arthur ’52, who practiced corporate law in Chicago, IL, for 40 years, was born in Chicago on June 12, 1930. His parents were John W., vice president of the Wacker Corp., a real estate management firm, and Hazel Welsh Thomas. He was a grandson of Thomas Arthur, a chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, after whom he was named. “Tom” Arthur grew up in the Chicago suburb of Glencoe, where he would reside for most of his life, and was graduated in 1948 from the highly regarded New Trier High School in Winnetka. He arrived on College Hill that fall and joined Sigma Phi. Most of his extracurricular time was devoted to racquet sports, squash and especially tennis, in which he lettered. He was a member of the 1951 team that went undefeated, the first Continental tennis squad to achieve that distinction since 1905. Affable Tom Arthur, having majored in history and political science, was graduated in 1952.

Promptly drafted into the Army during the Korean War, Tom Arthur was commissioned as an officer in the Artillery and served for 18 months as a battery executive officer with the 61st Field Artillery in Japan. He was released from active duty as a first lieutenant in 1955. With a warm recommendation from Dean Winton Tolles, he entered Northwestern University School of Law, where he obtained his J.D. degree in 1958. While still in law school and during a summer trip to Europe, he met Jane Thompson of Winfield, KS, and they were wed in that city on September 15, 1956.

With his law degree newly acquired, Tom Arthur joined Gardner, Carton & Douglas (now Drinker, Biddle & Reath), a venerable Chicago law firm established in 1910. As a partner, he would remain with the firm until his retirement in 1998. His practice mainly concerned corporate securities, including tax-exempt bond financings, private placements, and public offerings. In addition, he served on his firm’s management committee and was active in recruiting its lawyers. Outside of the firm, he served on bar association committees.

Tom Arthur’s non-professional life encompassed an array of interests. He was remarkably multitalented, and besides tennis, golf, and duplicate bridge, he enjoyed woodworking, painting, and sculpting, as well as fabricating jewelry out of silver. From wood, he carved and painted songbirds and fashioned Windsor chairs. During the 12 last years of his life, he made dozens of terra-cotta portrait busts as well. In recent years, he added still another to his many interests: fiction writing. His Korean War novel, Destiny in the Land of the Morning Calm, was published in 2010, and he was working on a new novel at the time of his death.

Tom and Jane Arthur often combined world travel with hiking and mountain climbing. They hiked the Grand Canyon and the Rocky Mountains numerous times, and Tom once carried a Hamilton “Block H” pennant up 19,340 feet to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. When not traveling, the Arthurs maintained a home for 50 years in Glencoe. In 2011, they sold it and took up full-time residence in Palm Desert, CA, where they had wintered for many years.

During his time in Glencoe, Tom Arthur chaired the board of trustees of Glencoe Union Church, served as president of the Glencoe Historical Association, and was a member of the board of the Friends of the Glencoe Public Library. He also served as president of the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago as well as a member of the national association’s board. He was presented with the Lung Association’s Herbert DeYoung Medal and the James H. Douglas Award for Community Service.

Thomas Arthur, a faithful and generously supportive alumnus, remained vigorously active until shortly before his death. In 2010, while undergoing chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, he shot his age and achieved a hole in one in golf, and also won a bridge event, all in the same week. Long afflicted with prostate cancer as well, he died on June 5, 2012. He is survived by his wife of 56 years. In addition, he leaves two daughters, Lisa Nichols and Julia Arthur, and a granddaughter.

William Beaman Ashland Jr. ’52

William Beaman Ashland Jr. ’52, a retired marketing and sales manager, was born on April 16, 1930, in New York City. The only son of William B., a salesman, and Monica Carson Ashland, he attended Trinity School in the City and came to Hamilton from the Bronx in 1948, following a year’s attendance and graduation from Trinity-Pawling School in Pawling, NY. “Bill” Ashland joined Alpha Delta Phi, sang in the Choir, and took part in productions of the Charlatans. He also played junior varsity baseball and football. Known for his piano playing and for making parties livelier with his presence, he was graduated in 1952.

Bill Ashland proceeded to Harvard Business School, where, interrupted by two years of military service, he acquired his M.B.A. degree in sales management in 1956. He thereafter worked for automotive and industrial sales companies and became district manager in Memphis, TN, for Federal-Mogul Corp. in the late 1960s. The College has no information regarding his subsequent employment, except that he retired in 1996 to Pine Knoll Shores, NC, after ­living and working for many years in Connecticut.

William B. Ashland, Jr., whose leisure activities included golf and boating, as well as playing the piano, was still residing in Pine Knoll Shores when he died on June 20, 2012. He is survived by his daughter, Susan Crowson, born of his first marriage, in 1955, to Marilyn J. Macek, and two grandsons. Also surviving are three stepdaughters and six stepgrandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Jane Ashland, and his son, William B. Ashland III.

John Hartshorn McMillan ’52

John Hartshorn McMillan ’52, a newspaper editor and publisher, and above all a journalist whose high professional standards earned him enormous regard, was born on May 16, 1931, in White Plains, NY. The elder son of John B. McMillan ’14, an insurance company special agent, and the former Grace E. Hartshorn, he was a grandson of the Rev. Arthur C. McMillan, Class of 1886, and nephew of George S. McMillan ’16. John McMillan grew up in Scarsdale and in Delmar, NY, where he began his distinguished career in journalism as a 15-year-old student at Bethlehem Central High School, covering youth sports and adult bowling for Delmar’s weekly newspaper. After his graduation from Bethlehem in 1948, he came to Central New York, where his family had roots, and followed his father and grandfather to Hamilton.

On the Hill, John McMillan joined Lambda Chi Alpha and soon gained a reputation as being not only well-rounded in his interests and knowledge but “at least five-sided,” in the words of The Hamiltonian. His already awakened interest in journalism led him to The Spectator and to its editorship in his senior year. A member of the Publications Board and elected to the journalism honor society Pi Delta Epsilon, he also served as secretary of the Chapel Board and manager of the football team. On the side, he reported on College sports for the Utica newspapers. Tapped for Pentagon, he majored in history and political science, was awarded the Putnam Prize in American History, and earned honors in political science upon his graduation in 1952.

John McMillan immediately found employment in journalism as an office boy for the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, MA. However, within a few months, he was in a U.S. Army uniform. Carrying out his two-year military obligation during the Korean War era, he received commendation for his public-information work at Brooke Army Medical Center. While stationed in San Antonio, TX, he met Carolyn W. Crossen, who was also in military service. They would begin their 54-year marriage in St. Louis, MO, on November 30, 1957.

Discharged from the Army as a sergeant in 1954, John McMillan returned to the Telegram & Gazette as a reporter. He became the managing editor of the daily Worcester Telegram in 1967. Six years later, he joined the Gannett Co.’s chain of news­papers as executive editor of the Advertiser and Herald-­Dispatch in Huntington, WV. In 1975, he became executive ­editor of the Oregon Statesman and the Capital Journal in Salem, OR. Named their publisher in 1979, he obtained authority from Gannett to consolidate the two newspapers in order to use resources more efficiently and better serve readers. The merger was effected in 1980, and two years later, the resulting Statesman-Journal was judged the best newspaper in the ­Gannett chain.

In 1985, John McMillan returned to Central New York when he was appointed publisher of the Utica Daily Press and the Observer-Dispatch, for which he had been a reporter while in college. His genuine commitment to improving the Utica community, as well as the quality of its newspapers, was quickly reflected in the pages of the two publications. His primary interest was focused on the newsroom, and his efforts to expand space for news led in 1987 to the merger of the morning and afternoon Utica papers into one, the Observer-Dispatch. At the same time, he expanded space for readers’ letters and introduced guest opinions to the editorial pages in an effort to provide the reader with greater diversity of opinion. It was in accordance with his firmly stated view that “freedom of the press belonged to the public, not the owners of the newspaper.”

In looking back 50 years after his graduation from Hamilton, John McMillan reflected that the College’s impact on him was “learning to venerate skepticism and distrust revealed truth.” That lesson was never forgotten in his pursuit of his craft. With the intense curiosity and probing mind of a born journalist, he could be challenging, gruff, and slightly intimidating, but also inspiring to colleagues young and old. No-nonsense, forthright, and demanding, he was at the same time considerate, understanding, and tolerant of differences in thought and opinion. To his colleagues, this “terrific old-school journalist” with a larger-than-life personality was always highly professional but not without humor, and greatly respected for his passion for good journalism and especially good writing and reporting, and for his candor and lack of pretension.

John McMillan retired in 1989 to accept a year’s appointment as a senior fellow at the Gannett Center for Media Studies at Columbia University. That same year, he was the first recipient of the Gannett Co.’s Wiliam Ringle Outstanding Special Achievement Career Award, named for William M. Ringle ’44, who had himself just retired as Gannett’s chief correspondent. In 1991, after John’s year at Columbia, he and Carolyn moved back to Salem, OR, where they both plunged into community activities as enthusiastic volunteers. John served on the Salem Library Advisory Board and helped revitalize the Salem Downtown Association. In 1998, he and Carolyn were joint recipients of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual First Citizen Award in recognition of their contributions.

John McMillan also busied himself teaching as an adjunct professor of writing for 12 years at the Atkinson School of Management at Willamette University. In 1996, his centennial history of Salem Hospital was published. In addition to teaching, writing, and gardening, he found time to compose class notes for this magazine. When the then editor (this writer) had the temerity to ask him in 1986 to take over the modest post of class correspondent, he willingly and graciously accepted, and dutifully submitted his notes for the next dozen years.

John H. McMillan, a devoted alumnus who always took a keen but not uncritical interest in his alma mater, died on April 26, 2012, at his Salem home, of cancer. Besides his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Carrie McMillan Klein ’85, wife of Jason C. Klein ’87, and Grace McMillan; two grandchildren; and his brother, David K. McMillan ’58. In July, family and friends gathered on campus to fondly recall and reminisce about John the remarkable man and the impact he had on their lives.

Charles Miller Cole ’53

Charles Miller Cole ’53, a retired purchasing manager and former mayor of Wyckoff, NJ, was born on July 17, 1931, in New York City. His father died when he was young, his mother remarried, and he grew up in various places where his step­father, C.B. Roach, was employed. “Charlie” Cole was graduated in 1949 from Ridley College, St. Catharines, Ontario, and entered Hamilton from Bogota, Colombia, that fall. He became a stalwart of the Emerson Literary Society and ultimately its president. A ­member of the soccer team, he majored in psychology and political science, and left the Hill with his A.B. degree in 1953.

Charlie Cole went to work for Western Electric Co. in New York City as a staff trainee, which marked the beginning of his 37 years with American Telephone & Telegraph Co. and its successors. Promoted to government contracts specialist at Western Electric, he later worked for NYNEX and retired in 1992 as purchasing manager for Verizon in New York City.

On October 20, 1956, Charles Cole was married to Alice G. Lawton in Ridgewood, NJ. The couple took up residence that year in nearby Wyckoff, where, for the rest of his life, Charlie would make innumerable contributions to the benefit of that community. He served on the Township of Wyckoff planning board for many years, as well as on the Township committee from 1981 to 1984. He was mayor of Wyckoff in 1983. In addition, he was highly involved in fire protection for the community. He worked his way up from line officer to deputy chief of Protection Fire Company #1, and became president of its association. He was three times elected Wyckoff Fireman of the Year.

Charles M. Cole, a faithful alumnus, was still residing in Wyckoff when he died on July 21, 2012. He is survived by his wife of 55 years. Also surviving are three sons, Mark M., Robert, and Matt Cole; a daughter, Kathleen Burke; and nine grandchildren.

Edward Michael Walsh ’53

Edward Michael Walsh ’53, whose varied career took him from a medical laboratory to a garden center, was born on March 1, 1931, in Westport , CT. A son of Joseph A., a sales executive, and Emma Collins Walsh, he grew up in New Jersey, where he was graduated from St. Peter’s College High School in Jersey City. He enrolled at Hamilton from Leonia, NJ, in 1949 and completed three semesters before dropping out in the spring of 1951. Thereafter he served as a medical lab technician in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Back on the Hill following his discharge in 1954, he completed a year of study before leaving again.

For a time, Edward Walsh remained in the Utica area, working at Faxton Hospital and as a bacteriologist at the Utica State Hospital. He later settled in Massachusetts, where he was employed in personnel by Tech Aid Corp. in Norwood. After his retirement, he worked at Mahoney’s Garden Center in East Falmouth. In addition to being an avid gardener, he was fond of classical music, and also enjoyed hiking, camping, and furniture finishing.

Edward M. Walsh, formerly of East Falmouth, died at his home in Plymouth, MA, on May 7, 2012. Predeceased by his wife of 55 years, Nancy Schnitt Walsh, in 2011, he is survived by a son, Michael E. Walsh; four daughters, Carolyn A. Grace, Kathleen E. Brown, Ann M. Walsh, and Ellen B. Arpino; and seven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and a brother and two sisters.

Albert Chiappinelli, Jr. ’54

Albert Chiappinelli, Jr. ’54, an entrepreneur in the computer field and later a management consultant, spent his childhood in Mt. Kisco, NY, where he was born on August 10, 1932. A son of Albert and Rose Di Micco Chiappinelli, he grew up above the grocery store run by his parents, and learned the value of industry from his immigrant father, who started out as a storekeeper and became a ­general contractor. “Chip” ­Chiappinelli worked in the family store after school hours and during summers while attending Mt. Kisco High School. He enrolled at Hamilton following his graduation as valedictorian of his class in 1950. He joined the Emerson Literary Society and participated in its intramural sports as well as its ping-pong tournaments. Having majored in mathematics and economics, he was graduated in 1954.

Chip Chiappinelli promptly donned a U.S. Army uniform to fulfill his military obligation. Discharged in 1956 after service in the Panama Canal Zone as a statistical analyst in the comptroller’s office, he began his employment in the nascent computer industry as an electronic-data programmer for UNIVAC-Sperry Rand. In 1958, while taking courses at New York University’s Graduate School of Business Administration, he joined the GPL division of Singer Co. as a program analyst and project leader. In 1961, after a year as a project leader with the teleprocessing division of IBM Corp. in White Plains, NY, he co-founded, with two partners, Computer Methods Corp., a data-processing consulting and operations company.

“With no more than a dream and two friends,” Chip Chiappinelli soon built CMC, headquartered in White Plains, into a highly successful company with hundreds of employees. Beginning as CMC’s secretary-treasurer, he became vice president and senior consultant, and later headed the company as president and chief executive officer. In 1971, after a busy entrepreneurial decade, he decided to sell CMC and retire early. Thereafter, he kept busy as an independent data processing and management consultant, chiefly to American Express Co., and as a private investor.

Chip Chiappinelli’s retirement interests, beyond the financial markets and investing, included tennis and a daily walk with his wife, the former Roseanna N. “Mitzi” McQuade, whom he had wed on November 16, 1957, in New York City. He also enjoyed his Irish wife’s Italian cooking and a good bottle of wine as well as good music, both jazz and classical. Besides an occasional night at the opera, he took pleasure in watching New York Giants or Rangers games. He also took an active role in the Katonah, NY, community, where he and Mitzi would reside for 49 years, and in his Catholic parish, St. Mary of the Assumption.

While his later years were devoted to a valiant battle against cancer, Albert Chiappinelli, a faithfully supportive alumnus, “never lost the drive and passion to excel in whatever he did and to foster those same qualities in his own children.” He died on June 1, 2012, while hospitalized in Mt. Kisco. Besides his wife of 54 years, he is survived by a daughter, Lisa Sutherland; four sons, Andrew, John, Peter, and Brian E. Chiappinelli ’92; nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild; and a brother and two sisters.

William Taggart Cline ’54

William Taggart Cline ’54, a retired bank executive and lifelong resident of Indianapolis, IN, was born in that city on November 28, 1931. A son of Frederick B., a Realtor, and Florence Taggart Cline, he prepared for college at Belmont Hill School in Massachusetts and entered Hamilton in 1950. “Bill” Cline joined Alpha Delta Phi, played baseball and lettered in basketball, and was elected to DT. In 1952, he left the Hill to serve in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict. Assigned to a construction engineering group in Korea, he attained the rank of sergeant. Discharged from the Army after two years in 1954, he returned to the College to resume his studies and earn his diploma, majoring in history and political science, in 1956.

Bill Cline, who had been married to Ann T. Mahaffey in Indianapolis on June 18, 1955, returned to his native city, where he found employment with an insurance agency. He later turned to banking and began in 1968 his long career with American Fletcher National Bank & Trust Co. Named an assistant vice president in its installment credit department a year later, he was promoted to vice president and placed in charge of the department in 1970. He subsequently became division manager of consumer lending and retired in 1989 from what was then part of Bank One Corp. as vice president of consumer affairs.

Active in numerous professional organizations, including the American Bankers Association and the Consumer Banking Association, Bill Cline was a past president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Indiana. He and his second wife, the former Anne Weddle Wahle, divided the year between their homes in Vero Beach, FL, and Higgins Lake, MI, with Bill playing golf “whenever possible.”

William T. Cline, a faithfully supportive alumnus, died on July 16, 2012, following a long illness. In addition to Anne, his wife of 21 years, he is survived by two daughters and two sons from his first marriage, Jane Ferguson, Katheryn Waltman, and Mark T. and Thomas F. Cline. Also surviving are three step­children, 13 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and a sister. He was predeceased by another son, William T. Cline, Jr.

John Peter Friedler ’55

John Peter Friedler ’55, whose cosmopolitan background paved the way for an international business career, was born on March 11, 1933, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He was the son of Frans W. and Nellie Mastbaum Friedler. The family fled Europe and the Nazis in 1939, on the eve of the Second World War. Not welcomed into the U.S. because of the prevailing immigration quota system, they settled in Mexico instead, where John’s father became a textile manufacturer. At the age of 14, John Friedler came to the United States to prepare for college at Westminster School in Connecticut. He enrolled at Hamilton following his graduation in 1951 and joined Theta Delta Chi and later that troupe of thespians, the Charlatans. Known to classmates and fraternity brothers as “a charming, dynamic guy,” he was elected president of TDX in his senior year.

Soon after his graduation in 1955, having majored in history, John Friedler set off for Europe to become a trainee in the import and export business with Bunge & Born, international grain traders and shippers, in Hamburg, ­Germany. Two years there was followed by a year each in Paris and London. In 1960, he was transferred by the company to New York City, and on February 14 of that year, he and Maruta Eisenberg were married in Millburn, NJ. After six months in New York, he was sent by Bunge & Born to their offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he remained until 1965.

That year, John Friedler returned to the U.S. and joined a Wall Street investment banking firm, New York Hanseatic Corp., as an associate in its corporate finance department. In 1970, he became a U.S. citizen. By 1975, having had “enough of Wall Street,” he joined Techint, Inc., an Italo-Argentinian engineering, construction, and steel ­manufacturing firm, with headquarters in Buenos Aires. While based in its offices in New York City, he traveled extensively for the company in Europe and Latin America. Promoted to vice president, he was Techint’s chief financial officer during the last nine of his 18 years with the company. While residing in ­Summit, NJ, he served as a trustee of Temple Sinai as well as the Summit Art Center.

His 15-year first marriage having ended, John Friedler was wed on October 10, 1979, to Carole Wolf, a social worker, in Rye, NY. The couple bought a house in Bedford, NY, where John enjoyed a “rural” life of leisure after his retirement at the end of 1992. Welcoming the chance to be his “own boss” as an independent investment manager, he enjoyed quality time with his family and the pursuit of multiple interests. They included antique car collecting and repairing, especially MGs, sailing catboats off Cape Cod, gardening, cross-country and downhill skiing, and hiking with his aging poodle, Blackberry. Within the community, he presided over a successful private investment club, was a volunteer with the Westchester Land Trust, and involved with Bedford’s master plan. He continued to travel extensively for fun, if not for profit, as well.

John P. Friedler, a dedicated and supportive alumnus who is remembered by his family and his many friends as “an elegant, dapper gentleman with sparkling blue eyes and a bow-tie,” led a remarkably active life for virtually all of his 79 years. He died at his home in Bedford on April 22, 2012. Besides his wife Carole and their daughter, Elizabeth, he is survived by a son and daughter from his first marriage, Mark A. ’86 and Nicole Friedler, as well as two grandchildren and a sister.

Mark Levin Heller ’55

Mark Levin Heller ’55, long a practicing attorney in Albany, NY, who embodied the highest ideals of his profession, was born on February 14, 1934, in nearby Troy. A son of Julius J., a news­paper reporter, and Sally Levin Heller, he grew up in Albany and entered the College in 1951 as a graduate of Albany Academy, where he had been senior class president. He joined Tau Kappa Epsilon and was elected house president in his senior year, “on the strength of his soprano sax playing,” in the whimsical words of The Hamiltonian. As a photographer, he also contributed to The Spectator, and was an active member of both the Debate Club and the Charlatans. Having majored in English, he was graduated in 1955.

Warmly recommended by Dean Winton Tolles, Mark Heller gained acceptance to Harvard Law School. He received his LL.B. degree in 1958 and thereafter “entered the profession for which I was born,” as he would observe many years later. He began his career as an associate with a law firm in New York City, but after a few years he returned to his home area, where he became a founding partner in 1964 of Nolan & Heller in Albany. He practiced with the firm for more than 40 years until he was named senior counsel, and “enjoyed every minute,” as he later recalled. By that time, Nolan & Heller had gained recognition as one of New York State’s preeminent business law firms.

Mark Heller commented in retirement that “when I was a young lawyer, I valued intelligence and analytical ability above all things, but over the years, experience taught me that good character was the most important attribute.” In his own practice, he exemplified that attribute. Respected by clients and colleagues alike for his integrity and sound judgment, as well as his collegiality, he became a mentor to young attorneys, for whom he set the highest professional standards. He also impressed them with his remarkably wide-ranging knowledge and intellectual interests, combined with a great humility and generosity of spirit, He was also known for his sense of humor and infectious laugh.

Mark Heller’s interests were legion A voracious reader, he took to skiing and to piloting a plane in his late 30s. He also became a champion skeet shooter, and, later in his life, adept with a rifle as well, with a gunroom in his basement. He was passionate about New Orleans jazz since his teenage years, and he loved to play all kinds of musical instruments and took great pains to learn how, from the piano and concertina to the recorder and dulcimer, and, of course, the saxophone. He had studied the banjo for the last 15 years of his life, and, most recently, the autoharp. He retained a love of the classics since his first introduction to that field by Professor John ­Mattingly on College Hill, whom he credited with kindling in him his lifelong enthusiasm for learning. He continued to read Latin with ease, and in his 50s, having decided to learn classical Greek, he diligently studied that language for the next 20 years. In addition, he developed a vast expertise with computers later in his life.

Beyond his professional and myriad personal interests, Mark Heller was engaged with his community. He formerly chaired the board of trustees of the Saint Anne Institute in Albany and served on the boards of the College of Saint Rose and Albany Memorial Hospital. At home, he was utterly devoted to his family, especially his wife, the former Carolyn Patchen, whom he had married on August 10, 1959, in New Rochelle, NY, while he was still in law school.
Mark L. Heller, a loyal and generously supportive alumnus, long a resident of the Albany suburb Loudonville, died on April 19, 2012. Predeceased by his wife of 50 years in 2009, he is survived by two daughters, ­Cynthia B. and Martha P. Heller ’88; two sons, Justin A. and Jason M. Heller ’91, husband of Alison O’Brien Heller ’91; and 11 grandchildren and a brother.

Edgar James Smith, Jr. ’56

Edgar James Smith, Jr. ’56, who served as vice president, general counsel, and secretary of two multibillion-dollar corporations, was born on November 17, 1934, in New York City. His parents were Edgar J., an engineer and business executive, and Mildred Hewig Smith. He was a nephew of William E. Ferry ’28. Ed Smith, also known as “Gar,” came to Hamilton in 1952 from Manhasset, NY, as a graduate of Manhasset High School. He joined Alpha Delta Phi and promptly began four years of singing with the Choir under the direction of the now legendary John Baldwin. It kindled in him a passion for choral singing that would remain with him the rest of his life. On the Hill, he also took to the stage with the Charlatans, and among the roles he undertook was Willy Loman’s son Hap in Death of a Salesman. He was known for his “remarkably agile and creative mind,” in the words of The Hamiltonian, and his engaging wit and bonhomie propelled him into membership in Nous Onze. Having majored in English and philosophy, he was graduated in 1956.

Ed Smith’s next stop was Columbia University’s School of Law, where he acquired his LL.B. degree in 1959. He began his long career in corporate law soon thereafter as assistant counsel for New York Air Brake Co., later merged with General Signal Corp. Appointed assistant general counsel of General ­Signal in 1967, Ed commuted to its Stamford, CT, headquarters from his home in Hastings-on-Hudson, where he served on the village planning and zoning boards. In 1980, he was promoted to vice president and general counsel, and, in 1984, corporation secretary was added to his responsibilities.

Ed Smith retired from ­General Signal after 36 years in 1996. Two years later, he was lured out of retirement to take on a “temporary” assignment as ­general counsel of Witco Corp., a manufacturer of specialty chemicals headquartered in Greenwich, CT. By 1999, he was named vice president, general counsel, and secretary. He retired for a second time not long thereafter.

In 1963, Ed Smith added his voice as second tenor to the ­venerable University Glee Club of New York City, long under John Baldwin’s direction. For almost 50 years, Ed remained a stalwart “brother in song,” while also devotedly serving the Club as its secretary and member of its executive committee. Ed’s musical interests extended also to playing the bagpipes, and when he was nearing 70, he decided to take piano lessons, adding that instrument to his repertoire. He also enjoyed his summer retreat on Long Island, where he could put his boat in the water and do some sailing. While at home in Stamford, he did volunteer work for non-profit organizations, such as the National Executive Service Corps.

Active in alumni affairs since leaving the Hill and an enthusiastic and highly generous supporter of the College, Edgar J. Smith, Jr. died in Stamford on May 23, 2012. His marriage, on May 12, 1964, in Hudson, OH, to Suzanne Kremser having ended in divorce some years previously, he is survived by a daughter, Allison Smith Dworetzky ’89, wife of David V. Dworetzky ’88; a son, Andrew W. Smith; five grandchildren; and his companion, Charlotte Droeger.

Dominick Paul Tocci ’56

Dominick Paul Tocci ’56, a lawyer who practiced in Albany, NY, was born in Utica on July 1, 1934. A son of Joseph A. Tocci, a barber, and the former Theresa Lovaglio, he grew up in Utica, where he was graduated in 1952 from Proctor High School. “Dom” Tocci came up the Hill to Hamilton that fall. He served on the Press Board and was active in the Debate Club. As president of Delta Phi during his senior year, he also served on the Interfraternity Council. Cited by The Hamiltonian for his “practical individualism,” he majored in economics and history, and left the Hill with his A.B. degree in 1956.

Dom Tocci went on to Syracuse University College of Law, where he earned his LL.B. summa cum laude in 1958. He began his law practice in Gloversville, NY, that year, and was soon engaged in community affairs. He became president of the Gloversville Junior Chamber of Commerce and also served for several years as assistant city judge, beginning in 1966.

By the 1970s, Dom Tocci had settled in the Albany area, where he became a founding partner in the law firm of Tocci, Parker & Tocci. During his career he gained recognition as tirelessly devoted to protecting the rights and benefits of working people. A former panel arbitrator for the New York State Mediation Board and the American Arbitration Association, he also served as an instructor in Cornell University’s School of Labor Relations.

Dominick P. Tocci, long a resident of the Albany suburb of Delmar, died on May 1, 2012. He was predeceased in 2007 by his wife, the former Celia Zizzi, whom he had married in Utica on August 15, 1958, while he was a student in law school. Surviving are two daughters, Charmaine Veldhuis and Jennifer O’Neil; a son, Richard Tocci; and five grandchildren and two brothers.