1950s

Dana Kimball Ball '50

Dana Kimball Ball '50, a Central Intelligence Agency senior analyst who became an antiques dealer in retirement, was born on September 21, 1919, in Boston, MA. The son of Howard T. and Alta Kimball Ball, New Hampshire natives, he grew up in Claremont, NH, where his parents returned to when his father entered the family's local retail hardware business. Following his graduation in 1937 from Stevens High School in Claremont, Dana Ball attended the University of New Hampshire for two years. He was employed by General Electric in Schenectady, NY, until 1944, when he entered the U.S. Navy. He served in the enlisted ranks as a storekeeper through the end of World War II.

Discharged from the Navy in the spring of 1946, Dana Ball came to College Hill that summer and joined Chi Psi. With him was his wife, the former Eileen P. Hamilton, whom he had wed in 1941. They took up residence in "the married barracks" of North Village. Quiet and scholarly, he quickly earned the respect and admiration of fellow students, many of whom were much younger than he was. Elected president of the senior class, and to Phi Beta Kappa, he was graduated in 1950 with high honor, including honors in political science.

In 1951, after obtaining his M.A. degree from the Johns Hopkins University's School of International Studies, he began his employment with the CIA in Washington, DC. For 22 years, until his retirement in 1973, he worked as a political analyst in a variety of areas, including Africa, Western Europe, and the Middle East. Divorced from his first wife in 1967, he was married to Janet E. Hill, a fellow CIA employee, that same year.

After Dana Ball's retirement, the couple moved from the Washington area to New Hampshire, where they became antiques dealers, mostly in the Concord area, and engaged in that activity for many years. Dana, who had developed a love of history while at Hamilton, especially enjoyed reading in that field as well as genealogical research. An excellent gardener, he also did fine picture framing and photography.

Dana K. Ball, a resident of Concord, died there on August 2, 2009, in his 90th year. He is survived by his wife Janet and a nephew, David Hebert.

Frederic Alling Binder '50

Frederic Alling Binder '50, who concluded his business career as vice president of a Japanese conglomerate, was born on July 26, 1924, in Newark, NJ. One of four sons of Raymond S., a newspaper editor, and Virginia Kirkman Binder, a newspaper reporter and feature writer, he grew up in Tenafly, in northern New Jersey, where he was graduated in 1942 from Tenafly High School. Soon thereafter, in the midst of World War II, he entered the U.S. Navy. He served in the enlisted ranks as a quartermaster in both the Atlantic and Pacific theatres through the end of the war and took part in the invasion of Normandy as well as Okinawa.

Discharged from the Navy in 1946, Fred Binder followed his brother, Raymond K. Binder '42, to College Hill that summer. He joined Delta Phi, went out for baseball, played in the College Band, sang in the Choir, and dabbled in journalism with The Spectator. His summers were spent retaining his connections to the sea on duty with the Merchant Marine.

Following his graduation in 1950, Fred Binder went to work in the textile industry as a credit reporter and analyst for the National Credit Office, Inc., in New York City. He subsequently met Evelina Agosto, and they were married on April 12, 1958, in Tenafly. In 1959, while taking courses at New York University's School of Business Administration, he was promoted to assistant manager of the menswear division at National Credit. Two years later, he left the company to become a credit manager for Greenwood Mills, Inc., also headquartered in New York City.

Fred Binder remained with that textile company until 1970, when he joined Kanematsu-Gosho (USA), Inc., the American arm of a Japanese world-wide conglomerate trading company with diverse product lines, as an assistant vice president. During two decades with the corporation, later renamed Kanematsu USA, he confronted ever-changing situations in, for him, a new and different business world and found it stimulating. He became manager of the corporation's KG Specialty Steel Division in North Brunswick, NJ, and was later promoted to vice president. He retired in 1992.

Long a resident of his hometown of Tenafly, where he and Evelina reared their three children, Fred Binder took an active interest in local history as well as music and sports. Known for his ready wit and sense of humor, he was devoted to his family, whom he often entertained with amusing stories drawn from his life.

Predeceased by his wife in 1996, Frederic A. Binder, a loyal alumnus, moved to Carmel, IN, in 2000 to be closer to his loved ones. He died there on June 11, 2009. Surviving him are two sons, Gregory K. and Frederic A. Binder; a daughter, Virginia McClelland; and eight grandchildren and two brothers. He was predeceased by his brother Raymond in 2002.

Walter Patrick O'Connor '50

Walter Patrick O'Connor '50, a high school teacher who turned to real estate as a second career, was born on July 15, 1926, in Mohawk, NY. A son of Frank T., a metal polisher in a bicycle factory, and Carrie Cook O'Connor, he grew up in Mohawk, southeast of Utica, and was graduated in 1944 from Mohawk High School. A few months later, clad in uniform, he was on active duty with the U.S. Navy. Trained as a cryptographer, he was assigned to the Pacific theatre and served through World War II's end until the summer of 1946.

That fall, "Walt" O'Connor enrolled at Hamilton and joined Lambda Chi Alpha. He majored in languages, both English and French. After his junior year spent at Syracuse University and its Utica College branch, he returned to College Hill to complete his course of study and receive his diploma in 1950. After a couple of years of working at what he later described as "various menial tasks," he sought to improve his lot by becoming a teacher. He found employment teaching English and French in high schools not far from his home in Mohawk, beginning with Van Hornesville Central School in 1954. He subsequently taught in Herkimer before joining the Illion Central School System in 1962. By that time he had earned an M.A. degree in education from Syracuse University (1961) and furthered his studies at the University of Paris. While in France, he also taught military dependents at American schools in Poiters and Verdun (196162).

At Ilion High School, Walt O'Connor continued "terrorizing recalcitrant teenagers… with such weapons as irregular French verbs" for 18 years until his retirement in 1980. Over the years he had also taught adult education courses in English at the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville and Mohawk Valley Community College. Following his retirement from teaching, he "desultorily" pursued a new career as a sales representative for real estate agencies in Mohawk and Ilion. He became a member of the Village of Mohawk Planning Committee and engaged in numerous volunteer activities with community organizations. He also held several elective and appointive positions with the New York State Retired Teachers Association, including county president.

Fond of travel abroad and devoted to nature and outdoor activities in general, Walt O'Connor found pleasure as well as exercise in hiking, climbing, and crosscountry skiing, and once remarked that he would "walk anywhere, including urban areas from their fashionable avenues to blighted industrial neighborhoods." He also enjoyed sailing his small boat on a local lake and a larger one in the Bahamas.

Walter P. O'Connor, a loyal alumnus, died on July 1, 2009, while hospitalized in Utica. He never lost his "unsullied bachelor status," and his survivors are his nieces and nephews, including Paul F. Streitz '66.

Jack Eastwood Hastings, Jr. '51

Jack Eastwood Hastings, Jr. '51, a retired hardware and paint supplier, was born on April 6, 1929, the son of Jack E. '25 and Mary Harris Hastings, in Syracuse, NY. He grew up in Pennsylvania, where he was graduated in 1947 from Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, near Wilkes-Barre. Jack Hastings entered Hamilton that fall and joined his father's fraternity, Theta Delta Chi. He served on the staff of The Spectator as well as the Royal Gaboon while also earning recognition as "the college bridge champion" for his success at that game. Between classes he could frequently be spotted on the college golf course.

Following his graduation in 1951, Jack Hastings became a salesman for Harris Hardware & Supply Co. in Kingston, a family business managed by his father. On September 27, 1952, he was married to Lois D. Aierstock in Lancaster, PA. In 1956, after a year in sales with Pratt & Lambert Paint Co., he struck out on his own as a sales representative for hardware and paint manufacturers. Later the owner of Atlantic Hardware Group and Paint Sundries Supply, and a resident of Lancaster for many years, he sold his business interests in 1997 and retired to Arizona. There he continued to enjoy his two favorite leisure activities, golf and bridge playing.

Jack E. Hastings, Jr. was residing in Sun City West, AZ, when he died on July 25, 2009. His first marriage having ended in divorce, he is survived by his second wife, Nancy Rasmussen Hastings, whom he had wed in 1984. Also surviving are three daughters and a son from his previous marriage, Cynthia Anderson, Beth Hendrix, Sally Albert, and Douglas A. Hastings, as well as 11 grandchildren, and a great-grandson.

Jack Mahlon Beaven '52

Jack Mahlon Beaven '52, a retired sales promotion manager, was born on September 19, 1930, in New York City. The son of James M., a doctor of osteopathy, and Grace Fletcher Morrow Beaven, he grew up in Ridgewood, NJ, and came to Hamilton following his graduation in 1948 from Ridgewood High School. He joined Tau Kappa Epsilon and served in his senior year as sergeant-at-arms of the TKE house, where he was a faithful attendant at late-night bull sessions. He was awarded his diploma in 1952.

Interested since high school in a future career that involved writing, such as advertising or publishing, Jack Beaven, a week after his graduation, went to work for the Benton & Bowles advertising agency in Manhattan. Intrigued by developments in television, he took courses in TV production on the side and in 1954 he left his job as an advertising copywriter to head to Texas, seeking employment with local TV stations. He worked at three different stations, in San Antonio, Temple, and Fort Worth, rising to staff director. Married to Janet E. Morton on June 9, 1956, in Rockville Centre, NY, he returned the following year to the Northeast with his bride and obtained a "jack-of-all-trades" job with a small advertising agency, Reast & Connelly, in South Orange, NJ.

Jack Beaven remained with the agency until 1966, when he relocated to Rochester, NY, to join the Burroughs Corp.'s business form manufacturing division. There he moved up gradually in advertising to sales promotion manager. After Standard Register acquired the division from Burroughs in 1986, he was transferred to Dayton, OH. He stayed on with Standard Register in Dayton until 1990, when he took advantage of a "downsizing" program to retire. He subsequently engaged in freelance writing, which evolved into product newsletters and motivational communications directed at sales forces. He retired fully in 1996. Although he "never made much money" in his field of employment, he later observed that he had "fully enjoyed the work."

The last 17 years of Jack Beaven's life were devoted to a great extent to combating prostate cancer. He had looked forward to travel, tennis, reading good books, and listening to good music in retirement, but instead found himself with an "unexpected additional hobby," researching prostate cancer and, in effect, taking charge of his own treatment. As a result, he became a strong advocate for the education of cancer patients and for research on curing the disease. A faithful and supportive alumnus, he attended the 50th reunion of his class on College Hill in 2002, despite the state of his health.

Jack M. Beaven was still residing in Dayton when he died on September 8, 2009. In addition to his wife of 53 years, he is survived by three daughters, Jenny (Jen) Leibow, Julie Maddocks, and Tina Pallace, and 10 grandchildren and a sister.

Paul Marron Hogan '52

Paul Marron Hogan '52, a retired administrative law judge, was born on August 24, 1930, in Brooklyn, NY. He was the son of William J., also an attorney, and Frances Marron Hogan, a registered nurse. His father died when Paul was 5 years old, and he grew up under the guardianship of an aunt in Oxford, NY, near Norwich. He enrolled at Hamilton following his graduation from Norwich High School in 1948. On the Hill he joined the Squires Club and became much involved with music and the theatre. A member of the Choir and Glee Club, he had an exceptionally fine voice and was often a featured soloist with the Choir. He also demonstrated his thespian talents in productions of the Charlatans and was elected to the dramatics honorary Alpha Psi Omega. Married to Martha Jane Burroughs on September 15, 1951, in Alexandria, VA, he returned with his bride to campus at the beginning of his senior year, and the couple took up residence in the North Village.

Following his graduation in 1952, Paul Hogan was called into military service at the time of the Korean War. Assigned to intelligence activities in Korea, he remained in the U.S. Army until 1957, when he was discharged as a sergeant first class. With his heart set on becoming a lawyer like his father ever since he was a child, he thereafter settled in San Francisco, and entered the University of California's Hastings College of Law. He acquired his LL.B. degree in 1960 and went to work for the California Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco. Two years later, he established his private practice in Marysville, north of Sacramento.

Paul Hogan remained in private practice in Marysville for 15 years. Taking an active interest in community and church affairs, he chaired the Marysville Board of Education and served as a junior warden and vestryman of St. John's Episcopal Church. He also served as a director of the California State School Boards Association. In 1977, he accepted a civil service appointment in state government as an administrative law judge. Based in Los Angeles, he presided over a variety of administrative hearings involving more than 55 state and local agencies and concerning such matters as professional licensing, personnel, tenure, and retirement. He himself retired in 2005, after 28 years in that judicial post.

Through the years, while residing in the Los Angeles suburb of Altadena, Paul Hogan continued his interest and involvement in the performing arts. He sang with choirs and chorales as well as in Gilbert and Sullivan productions. Walking and hiking was his preferred form of exercise and, living in California, he developed a considerable interest in seismology.

Paul M. Hogan, a faithfully supportive alumnus, died on June 24, 2009, at a hospice in Pasadena. In addition to his wife of 57 years, he is survived by a son, John M. Hogan, and three grandchildren. He was predeceased by a daughter, Maurya K. Hogan.

Robert Jobe '52

Robert Jobe '52, a retired general manager, grew up in Rochester, NY, where he was born on November 27, 1929. The younger son of Frederick W. Jobe, an optical engineer who became chief of ophthalmic research at Bausch & Lomb in Rochester, and the former Martha J. Boone, he came to Hamilton from that city's Brighton High School in 1948. Also on the Hill at that time was his older brother, Frederick A. "Jim" Jobe '47. Bob Jobe joined his brother's fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha, went out for soccer, and helped cover his expenses as a dining hall waiter. Fond of building model airplanes and automobiles, he progressed while in college to "real automobiles," according to The Hamiltonian, beginning with a vehicle described as "being by Ford out of Chevrolet."

After obtaining his A.B. degree in 1952, Bob Jobe entered the U.S. Air Force. On July 18, 1953, while on active duty, he was married to Dorothy L. Meyer in Honeoye Falls, NY. Released from the Air Force in 1956, he settled with his family in the Rochester area. While working as a tool and die maker at Stever-Locke Specialties, Inc., manufacturer of wiring components for the electronic and communications industries in Honeoye Falls, he earned an associate's degree in tool engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He would remain for 33 years with Stever-Locke, a small company of which his brother Jim eventually became president and chief executive officer, until his retirement as plant general manager.

Throughout his life, Bob Jobe enjoyed fashioning things with his hands, beginning with the model planes and cars of his youth. His skill as a craftsman and his constant striving for perfection were evidenced in his collection of antique clocks and the various miniatures that he also created.

Robert Jobe, an ever-faithful Hamiltonian known for his kind nature and gentle sense of humor, was still residing in Honeoye Falls when he died on June 14, 2009. Predeceased by his wife Dorothy, he is survived by his second wife, Jane Jobe. Also surviving are two daughters, Donna Muldoon and Carrie Jobe, and a son, Glenn A. Jobe, as well as four stepchildren, 12 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. His brother Jim predeceased him in 1999.

Alan Kelsey Brown '55

Alan Kelsey Brown '55, an emeritus professor of English who left a rich legacy of scholarship on early California history, was born in San Francisco on December 21, 1933. A son of Orrin H. Brown, an electronics engineer, and Mary Electa Kelsey Brown Patterson, who taught English at Stanford University, he grew up in Redwood City, CA. As a boy, he became intensely interested in local history, especially concerning the Indians of early California, and began researching and collecting information. He came East to Hamilton following his graduation in 1951 from Palo Alto Senior High School, and joined ELS. While on the Hill he continued to pursue his historical research, which at times even distracted him from his regular course work.

After two years, a combination of health concerns and homesickness led Alan Brown to withdraw from the College and transfer to the University of California at Berkeley. He later returned to the Hill, however, to complete his requirements and receive his diploma in 1956. Following two years of service in the U.S. Army, he returned to the San Francisco Bay area, where he went to work as a research assistant at Stanford University's electronics labs. On the side he also became a research associate at the San Mateo County Historical Association and began writing up his findings for California historical journals.

While pursuing a Ph.D. in English philology at Stanford, Alan Brown served from 1963 to 1969 as an instructor in English at the University of Arizona at Tucson. He obtained his doctorate with a concentration in Old English language and literature in 1969, and the following year he began his long academic career at the Ohio State University in Columbus as an associate professor of English. He taught classes in Old English and the history of the English language, and gradually attracted a circle of devoted students who admired his profound philological expertise as well as his joy in teaching and understated sense of humor. He would make the ancient poetry come alive in the classroom by "performing" it, clad in medieval garb and strumming his self-made Anglo-Saxon lyre. He also appeared annually at the Medieval-Renaissance Fair to perform Beowulf from memory for several hours, costumed and accompanying himself on the lyre, with scores of entranced students at his feet.

With his great learning and mastery of a variety of medieval European languages as well as the contemporary English vernacular, he was the author of numerous specialized articles on medieval philology. He also continued his work on early California history and, in addition to his San Mateo County Place Naming (1965) and The Aboriginal Population of the Santa Barbara Channel (1967), he was coauthor of Who Discovered the Golden Gate? The Explorer's Own Accounts (1969). However, his most significant and award-winning work was as editor and translator of the journals of Juan Crespi and Pedro Font, Franciscan missionaries on the earliest Spanish expeditions to California. His authoritative editing of Crispi's A Description of Distant Roads: Original Journals of the First Expedition into California, 1769-1770, was published in 2001, and he was completing his edition of Font's writings at the time of his death.

Alan Brown's passion for research, combined with his meticulous scholarship, resulted in new light cast on California's early history and especially on its Indian societies. Always wearing his erudition lightly, he was a modest man who generously shared his knowledge with other scholars and inspired them to follow his lead. It resulted in his garnering an international reputation among historians of Spanish-American relations.

Alan Kelsey Brown, who retired from Ohio State in 1997, died in Columbus on September 17, 2009. He is survived by his wife, Isabel Masterton Brown, whom he had married in 1971, and a daughter and son, Meta and Stephen Brown, as well as a sister and brother.

Vincent Barry Coyle '55

Vincent Barry Coyle '55, a longtime special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, grew up in Binghamton, NY, where he was born on October 27, 1932. A son of Leo V. and Cecelia Marie Hourihan Coyle, he came to Hamilton in 1951 as a graduate of Binghamton North High School. He joined Delta Kappa Epsilon, lettered in basketball, and was elected to DT. Drafted into the U.S. Army in early 1954, after 2½ years on the Hill, "Vince" Coyle, also known as "Vinnie," obtained an officer's commission and remained on active duty for three years. Released as a first lieutenant, he returned to the Hill in the fall of 1957. He majored in psychology and was awarded his A.B. degree in 1959.

Following a three-year foray into the insurance field as a claims representative for the General Accident, Fire & Life Assurance Corp. in Binghamton, Vince Coyle became a special agent for the FBI. Initially assigned to Springfield, IL, he settled permanently in northern Louisiana in 1964, where he worked out of FBI offices in Monroe. During those years he was involved in the investigation of the "Mississippi Burning" case, stemming from the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers in that state, and "Operation Brilab," the FBI sting operation targeting racketeering.

Vince Coyle retired after 20 years with the FBI in 1983. He subsequently became a director of corporate security for Manville Forest Products Corp. while continuing to reside in Monroe. In 1985, while on assignment for the company in Mexico City, he was caught in the devastating earthquake that struck the Mexican capital that year. He subsequently recalled the event as "the biggest thing of note in my life of late." He retired from Manville in 1994 but continued to be active for many years as a part-time security consultant and private investigator. In the wake of hurricane Katrina, he also helped victims file their insurance claims.

Vince Coyle, devoted to his Roman Catholic faith and active in two prayer groups, also did volunteer work for the Ronald McDonald House. He had a particular passion for sports, especially golf, and took pride in having "shot" his age when he was 71, as well as having made a hole-in-one three times. Above all, he was deeply committed to his family.

Vincent B. Coyle, a staunchly loyal alumnus, died in Monroe on August 8, 2009. He is survived by his wife, the former Mary Elaine O'Brzut, whom he had wed on August 17, 1957, in Binghamton. Also surviving are three daughters, Nancy Hardwick, Kathryn Lewis, and Carol Regan; a son, Thomas B. Coyle; and six grandchildren and a brother.

John Goodwin Merriam '55

John Goodwin Merriam '55, an emeritus associate professor of political science at Bowling Green State University and an authority on the Middle East, was born on March 27, 1933, in Lausanne, Switzerland. His father, Gordon P. Merriam, was a career U.S. Foreign Service officer then stationed in Cairo, and his mother, Eunice Brandt Merriam, was a daughter of Schuyler C. Brandt, Class of 1889, and a sister of Schuyler B. '20 and A. Wilbur Brandt '23. After a year in Cairo, baby John and his mother moved to London, where they remained until the outbreak of World War II. At Gordon Merriam's insistence, they then returned to the United States, where John, after the war, prepared for college at Loomis School in Connecticut. He entered Hamilton in 1951 and became a member of Lambda Chi Alpha. Majoring in French, he was graduated in 1955.

After three years in the U.S. Army, during which he was stationed in Germany, John Merriam, inspired by his father's experience as an Arabist, began his Middle East studies. He obtained an M.A. degree in government from Boston University in 1961 and went on to Indiana University, where he acquired his Ph.D. in Middle East studies in 1964. Following three years as a teaching fellow at the American University in Cairo, he began his long tenure at Bowling Green State in Ohio in 1967. Joining him in the political science department at the University was his wife, the former Kathleen R. Howard, who would later earn her own Ph.D. from Indiana, and whom he had married on June 20, 1961, in Houlton, ME.

Granted tenure and promoted from assistant to associate professor in 1970, John Merriam traveled often to the Middle East and brought back first-hand information to his students about what was happening there. He also presented papers and lectured extensively on the area, as well as the politics of oil and the need for energy conservation. In addition, he contributed opinion pieces to the Toledo Blade and gave interviews for local TV news programs. In the early 1980s, while on sabbatical, he made a research trip to Pakistan and the Afghan border, and his first-hand research resulted in Afghan Resistance: The Politics of Survival, a book about Afghanistan at the time of Soviet domination, which he coauthored. It was published in 1987.

Professor Merriam formally retired in 1993, but continued to teach at Bowling Green and at nearby Lourdes College on a part-time basis until he "fully retired" in 2001. In 1993, his second marriage, to Nancy J. Fox, took place in Toledo, and the couple enjoyed trips to Europe and spending summers at their cottage in Maine. They continued to reside in Toledo, where John, who formerly chaired the Northwest Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and served on the vestry of Trinity Episcopal Church, was a member of the board of the Greater Toledo Association of Arab-Americans.

John G. Merriam, a faithful alumnus, died at his home in Toledo on September 30, 2009, of complications from a fall suffered in 2007. In addition to his wife, he is survived by two daughters and a son from his first marriage, Heather S. Merriam and Jennifer Truax, and Christopher H. Merriam; two stepchildren; and 20 grandchildren and step-grandchildren, and a sister.