1970s
Dennis James Dempsey ’72
Dennis James Dempsey ’72, an attorney-at-law, was born on April 16, 1951, in Binghamton, N.Y. The youngest child of Timothy J., a schools superintendent of buildings and grounds, and Mary Milchanosky Dempsey, a secretary, he grew up in Binghamton and earned money delivering newspapers and later working as an office boy in a law firm while attending Binghamton Central High School. The law firm experience helped pique his interest in a future career in that field. Following his graduation in 1968, Dennis Dempsey arrived on College Hill. He joined Delta Phi and became a member of the Newman Club. Having concentrated in history, he left the Hill with his diploma in 1972.
Dennis Dempsey went on to Albany Law School, where he acquired his LL.B. degree in 1976. In subsequent years he practiced law in Warsaw, N.Y., New York City, and Union, N.J., specializing in wills, trusts and estates. At one time he also worked with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York City in connection with charitable causes. He was known for his “gentle kindness, keen intellect, and wry humor.”
Dennis J. Dempsey, a resident of Asbury Park, N.J., died on April 20, 2014, while hospitalized in Newark, following a battle with heart disease. He is survived by his life partner of 22 years and spouse since last December, Arthur M. Segal, a retired psychiatrist. Also surviving are a son, David K. Dempsey, and a daughter, Sarah K. Dempsey, as well as a brother and a sister.
Frank Dickel III ’72
Frank Dickel III ’72, a retired medical sales specialist, was born on July 6, 1950, in Bryn Mawr, Pa. The elder son of Frank W., an industrial engineer, and Evelyn Case Dickel, a school nurse, he grew up in Horseheads, N.Y. An Eagle Scout and highly active in scouting as a teenager, he also played the French horn and trombone in the brass ensemble and concert band at Horseheads High School. Following his graduation in 1968, he came to College Hill. Frank Dickel joined Tau Kappa Epsilon as well as the varsity swimming team and the Sailing Club. He also served on the Chapel Board. He is fondly remembered as social chairman of the TKE house and especially for his now legendary home-concocted sangria. Having already set his sights in his youth on a career in medicine, he majored in biology. He was graduated in 1972.
His hopes of attending medical school dashed, Frank Dickel turned instead to the pharmaceuticals field as a sales representative for the Upjohn Co. Based in northern New Jersey and the New York City area, he continued to work in pharmaceutical and later medical device and equipment sales until his career took him to Greensboro, N.C., more than 20 years ago. He remained in Greensboro after taking early retirement for reasons of disability. Last associated with MCI, he provided information services for MCI/WorldCom.
Despite a difficult life on his own because of his disabilities, such as limited mobility, Frank Dickel continued to reach out to people, including many Hamilton alumni, helping them to reconnect with the College and old friends through him. He also stayed connected with the world via the Internet, and he worked on providing home computers to families so that their children could benefit from Internet access. In addition, he helped provide laptop computers to nursing home residents. He was known as an amiable, sincere and caring person, “with a deep good will for everyone he met.”
Frank Dickel III died in Greensboro on Dec. 16, 2013. Survivors include his father and his brother, Douglas Dickel.
Pegram Anne Johnson K’73
Pegram Anne Johnson K’73, a biochemist and product manager, was born on Oct. 14, 1951, in Allentown, PA. Her parents were Thomas M. Johnson, a high school English teacher, and the former Ella Laura Lamont, a writer. Peg Johnson grew up in Goshen, N.Y., and was graduated in 1969 from Goshen Central School, where she enjoyed choral singing. That fall, she entered Kirkland College. She majored in biology and was an active member of the Outing Club. After spending her senior year pursuing studies at the University of Vermont, she was graduated from Kirkland in 1973.
Peg Johnson then moved to Montreal and enrolled in graduate study at McGill University. She acquired her Ph.D. in biochemistry from McGill in 1981, followed by postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1987, she began 12 years of employment with EMC Corp.’s bioproducts divisions in Rockland, Maine, and later in Philadelphia. She managed product and sales development for specialty gelling polymer products that are made using a substance in seaweed. While in Rockland, she met Christopher Egolf, a patent attorney from Philadelphia. It led to a marriage that would continue for 26 years until Peg’s death.
The couple moved to Pennsylvania and took up permanent residence in Wayne. Peg enjoyed family vacations along the coast of Maine, where “the combination of being on the ocean and having the woods and the wilds close by appealed to her,” as her husband has recalled. She also continued to enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing and kayaking. At home, she was “engrossed in the arts,” busily engaged in drawing, painting and studying modern dance. She was known for her sense of humor and quietly engaging personality.
In 2003, Dr. Johnson underwent a transplant for treatment of liver disease. The transplant failed, and a second liver transplant in 2004 resulted in complications. Despite the perilous state of her health, she continued to pursue her interests and activities. She was most recently employed as a senior product manager for Cambrex Bio Science, specializing in development of gelling polymers used in research and in laboratory separation of proteins and DNA.
Pegram A. Johnson, faithfully supportive of Hamilton, was still residing in Wayne when she died at her home of liver failure on Nov. 25, 2013. In addition to her parents and her husband, she is survived by a son, Peter A. Egolf, and a sister.
James Thomas McManus, Jr. ’78
James Thomas McManus, Jr. ’78, a digital inventory manager for The New York Times, grew up in Albany, N.Y., where he was born on July 26, 1956. The son of James T., an insurance broker, and Beatrice Tully McManus, a secretary, he was graduated in 1974 from Vincentian Institute in Albany. That fall, Jim McManus enrolled at Hamilton, where he continued the German studies he had begun in high school. In the spring of his junior year he increased his fluency in German by spending a semester in Vienna on a Colgate University program. While on the Hill he served as circulation manager for The Spectator and business manager for campus radio station WHCL. He also served as an admission office tour guide and as an assistant in the German department. Majoring in German as well as economics, he was the recipient of the Duell German Prize Scholarship and the Wyld Prize in German.
Known on campus for his varied interests as well as his wry sense of humor, Jim McManus was graduated cum laude and with department honors in German in 1978. The following year he acquired an M.B.A. degree from Rutgers University. Thereafter he remained in New York City, ultimately settling in Brooklyn Heights. After working for a small accounting firm, he moved to American Express, which enabled him to indulge his love of travel. He was subsequently employed by the Bank of Montreal in New York.
In 1990, Jim McManus joined the marketing department of The New York Times, where he specialized in advertising rates. He also participated actively when the Times developed and changed its sections. He especially welcomed the challenge provided by his move to the “digital paper,” with its virtually infinite opportunities for customized advertising.
While enjoying the many cultural and culinary delights of the city, Jim McManus took every opportunity to travel, especially in Europe. He was a frequent visitor to Germany, where he made lifelong friends. Those friends introduced him to Spain, which prompted Jim to take evening lessons in Spanish after work in New York. Barcelona soon became an annual vacation destination for him, later supplanted by Mexico City “when crossing the Atlantic got to be too much.” Jim’s eldest sister happened to live with her family in Toulouse, and mastering a third foreign language became another of Jim’s goals. He achieved fluency in French through evening and weekend study in New York and polished it further by many visits to France over the years.
Employed by The New York Times for 22 years, and a resident of Brooklyn Heights for 33, James T. McManus, Jr., an ever faithful and generously supportive Hamiltonian, died on Aug. 13, 2013. He is survived by his mother and three sisters, Ellen Laurencin, Mary McManus and Bridget Honeycutt.
— information contributed by John Staugaitis ’78 with our thanks
