1940s

Roderick Allen McLean ’42

Roderick Allen McLean ’42, an obstetrician and gynecologist who continued to be engaged in medical practice until the age of 90, was born on Feb. 26, 1920, in Waterville, N.Y. A son of Charles W., a funeral director, and Mary Allen McLean, he grew up in Waterville, south of Clinton, and was graduated in 1938 from Waterville High School. Rod McLean enrolled at Hamilton that fall and joined Psi Upsilon. He worked his way through the College, washing dishes and waiting tables, supplemented by summer employment, laboring on county roads. On the Hill he played varsity sports, including soccer, baseball and football, and performed with the Band. He also served as vice president and rushing chairman of his fraternity. A premedical student with his heart set on a career as a physician, he passed up an opportunity to try out for the Philadelphia Eagles pro football team to enter the Syracuse University College of Medicine following his graduation in 1942.

Under U.S. Navy auspices during that era of World War II, Rod McLean pursued his medical studies and served his internship at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse. In that city, on June 24, 1944, he was married to Suzanne Greeley. He went on active duty with the Navy as a lieutenant (j.g.) after acquiring his M.D. degree in 1945 and was stationed at a veterans’ hospital in Tennessee.

Released from the Navy in 1948, Dr. McLean returned to Syracuse and St. Joseph’s for postgraduate training in obstetrics and gynecology. He established his practice in Syracuse, and during the ensuing 37 years, putting in long hours and responding to middle-of-the-night calls, he delivered more than 15,000 babies. He also found time to serve as president of the medical staffs of both St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s hospitals, as well as chairing the obstetrics departments of St. Mary’s and Community General Hospital. In addition, he was a clinical professor of obstetrics at Upstate Medical Center, where he helped found the Obstetrical High Risk Clinic.

A fellow of the International College of Surgeons and of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. McLean was also active in professional organizations. A past president of the Onondaga County Medical Society, he formerly chaired the maternal and child welfare committee of the Medical Society of the State of New York. The author of numerous research papers on maternal health, he is credited with pioneering in the performance of inter-uterine blood transfusions for the RH factor problems of the unborn fetus as well as the invention and development of the disposable illuminated speculum, a surgical gynecological instrument now widely used.

Rod McLean retired from his practice to help care for his seriously ill wife, Suzanne. She died in 1987, after 44 years of happy marriage, to which four children were born. In 1988, Dr. McLean was married to Marilyn J. MacDonald, who brought four of her own children to the newly extended family. The couple settled down on Hilton Head Island, off the coast of South Carolina, where Rod especially enjoyed golfing on the local links. An elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Hilton Head, he also enjoyed woodcarving and observing the wildlife on the island.

However, Rod McLean did not stay away from medicine for long. He joined a monthly social gathering of retired physicians, and out of discussions at those meetings evolved the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic on Hilton Head. Staffed by retired professionals as volunteers, it became a free clinic for the uninsured and underserved, and a model for many similar organizations established elsewhere. Dr. McLean, a founding member, chaired the clinic’s department of gynecology and presided over its medical staff’s executive committee as well as serving on its board of trustees. Although he no longer delivered babies after his retirement, he continued, with his customary dedication, to see gynecological patients at the clinic until the age of 90, in 2010.

Roderick A. McLean, a devotedly loyal and supportive alumnus, died on Jan. 17, 2015, in his 95th year. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn. Also surviving are three sons, Roderick G., Douglas A. and Scott H. McLean; a daughter, Barbara Ward; and four stepchildren, 11 grandchildren, five step-grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and a brother, Douglas. His brother, Bruce C. McLean ’46, predeceased him in 2009. Among other family members are a nephew, Gardner H. McLean ’74, and a great-niece, Carolyn Y. McLean ’04.

Robert McChesney Coyle ’43

Robert McChesney Coyle ’43, who practiced medicine in the Pittsburgh area for almost 60 years, was born in that city on Nov. 4, 1920. The only child of Edwin A., a life insurance agent, and Alice McChesney Coyle, he grew up in Pittsburgh and prepared for college at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio. While there, he set his sights on a future career as a physician and came to ­Hamilton in 1939 to pursue premedical studies. While on the Hill he joined Delta Upsilon and participated in debate. After three years, he returned to his hometown and enrolled in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Robert Coyle, known to family and friends as “Mike,” acquired his M.D. degree in 1945. Following service as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, Dr. Coyle established his practice of internal medicine and cardiology, and served on the staff of local ­hospitals in the Pittsburgh area. He became known to patients and colleagues alike for his care and consideration, both personal and professional.

Robert M. Coyle was residing in the Pittsburgh suburb of Canonsburg when he died on Jan. 1, 2015, at the age of 94. He is survived by his wife, Joyce Gallagher Coyle. Previously ­married to Sophie Jean Coyle, he was predeceased in 2005 by their son, Michael M. Coyle ’69, also a physician, as well as two daughters. Other survivors include two grandsons, Alexander M. and Andrew M. Coyle, sons of Michael.

Elwood Gordon Dreyer ’43

Elwood Gordon Dreyer ’43, who retired after 24 years with the Central Intelligence Agency, was born on Oct. 9, 1921, in Brooklyn, N.Y. The only child of Edward P., securities department manager for a brokerage firm, and Elsie Taylor Dreyer, he enrolled at Hamilton in 1939 from Ridgewood, N.J., following his graduation from Ridgewood High School. Woody Dreyer, who joined Tau Kappa Epsilon, focused on his studies to the virtual exclusion of extracurricular activities, except for becoming an ardent member of the ­“Rubber-of-Bridge-After-Dinner Club.” He volunteered for the U.S. Army Enlisted Reserve Corps while in college and was called up for basic training soon after receiving his A.B. degree with honors in history in January 1943.

Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps after completing a nine-month course in meteorology, Woody Dreyer was stationed as a flight control officer with the Air Transport Command in Anchorage. There he took part in the operations that ferried some 10,000 planes through Alaska and Siberia to the Soviet Union, our country’s ally during World War II.

After his demobilization as a captain in 1946, following the war’s end, Woody Dreyer contacted Edgar B. Graves, his former history professor at Hamilton, asking for advice on his career future. Professor Graves suggested that he consider the School for Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. Acting on that advice, he entered the school and, majoring in the Middle East and African areas, obtained his M.A. degree in 1947. He then joined the Central Intelligence Agency and became a specialist in the African area. In 1951, he added to his expertise by acquiring a Ph.D. in history from Georgetown University. His dissertation was on “The Federalist Movement in British Central Africa.” During his CIA career, his assignments took him on numerous occasions to the African continent.

In 1971, Woody Dreyer retired from the CIA and moved from Arlington, Va., to Bradenton, Fla. There he did volunteer work for the local Chamber of Commerce, compiling economic statistics, and also did work for a private realty appraisal firm. In addition, he was active in the Presbyterian Church as a deacon and elder. In retirement, he continued to enjoy extensive worldwide travel, so much so that his neighbors in Bradenton referred to his brief stays at home as “visits.” It was estimated that during his lifetime he had paid “visits” to some 170 countries.

Elwood G. Dreyer, a faithfully supportive alumnus, died on Sept. 7, 2013, in Bradenton, at the age of 92. He was unmarried, and there are no immediate survivors.

Kurt Louis Hoch ’44

Kurt Louis Hoch ’44, a ­combat veteran of three wars who retired with the rank of colonel after 31 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, was born on May 16, 1921, in Steinenstadt, Baden, Germany. The younger son of Franz Erwin Hoch, a butcher, and the former Marie Antoinette Rimmele, he emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of 2. His parents, who became naturalized citizens, settled in the Utica, N.Y., area. Kurt Hoch, along with his brother, Armand H. “Army” Hoch ’42, attended Utica Free Academy. After his graduation in 1939, Kurt spent a year working before following his brother to the Hill in 1940. He joined the Squires Club, later becoming its president, sang in the Choir and played varsity football, along with his brother Army, William M. “Mac” Bristol III ’43 (the future chairman of ­Hamilton’s Board of Trustees) and the now legendary Hamilton all-around athlete Milton H. “Milt” Jannone ’43.

Elected to Quadrangle and D.T., and winner of the Duell German Prize Scholarship, Kurt Hoch left the College to go on active duty with the Marines. Assigned to the Navy’s V-12 program at Colgate University, he was commissioned as an officer and served in the Pacific theater during World War II. On Nov. 13, 1944, he and Martha Lee Phillips were married in Portsmouth, Va. Released from the Marines after the war’s end in 1945, he returned to Utica after a couple of years as a construction foreman in California. In his hometown he became an agent for the New York Life Insurance Co. and later opened his own general insurance agency.

In 1950, upon the outbreak of the Korean conflict, Kurt Hoch, as a lieutenant in the Marine Reserve, was recalled to active duty. Compelled to sell his insurance agency, he decided to make his career in the military. He served in Korea and later alternated sea duty and small unit commands within the 6th Marine Division. In 1958, Major Hoch applied for and was given permission to return to the Hill to resume his studies. Wearing his uniform to class, he completed his course requirements in a semester and was granted his A.B. degree in 1959.

Kurt Hoch was subsequently assigned to larger unit commands as well as administrative posts with the Marines. His most challenging and rewarding leadership role came in Vietnam in 1967, when he took command of the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines. For almost nine months during the height of combat in that country, he led his battalion across Vietnam from the South China Sea, past Khe Sanh, and into Laos. Upon his return to the States he was named deputy director of the 9th Naval District, headquartered in Kansas City, Kan., and responsible for Marine recruiting in 14 states. While in that post in 1969, he was promoted to full colonel. A recipient of the Bronze Star, he retired in 1973.

Kurt Hoch and his family returned to Central New York and their home in Oriskany Falls, where he was active in St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church and the Rotary Club. Having acquired an M.A. in educational administration from Roosevelt University in Chicago in 1972, he also turned to teaching and was principal for two years at Madison High School. Martha Lee, his wife of 33 years, died in 1977, and Kurt, long an avid horseman, gave up academics and turned to training horses and harness racing. In 1979, he and Pauline C. Conover, a lifelong acquaintance, were wed. They soon settled into retirement, dividing the year between Florida and the Adirondacks. They also traveled abroad, once visiting Kurt’s birthplace in Germany, where he found eight cousins previously unknown to him. At his summer home in Remsen, north of Utica, he continued to be involved with horses and became an expert in restoring 19th-century horse-drawn carriages and sleighs. Other favorite activities included golfing, piano playing and woodworking.

Kurt L. Hoch, a generously supportive alumnus who had established the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines Scholarship at Hamilton in honor of the unit he commanded in Vietnam, died on Nov. 22, 2014, at a nursing facility in Boonville, N.Y., at the age of 93. Family and friends will remember Col. Hoch for his “quick wit, esprit de corps and tenaciousness” in achieving any goal he set for himself. Predeceased by his second wife, Pauline, he is survived by a son and a daughter, (Armand) Lee Hoch and Gretchen Makowski, from his first marriage. Also surviving are six grandchildren and a sister. His brother Army predeceased him in 1984. Other family members include a nephew, Gregory S. Hoch ’70, and a great-niece, Kimberly Sykes Jeffris ’88.

Robert Francis McDermott, Jr. ’44

Robert Francis McDermott, Jr. ’44, who practiced law in Oneida, N.Y., for more than 50 years, was born in that city on June 8, 1922. A son of Robert F., a highway maintenance foreman, and Nora Sheehan McDermott, he enrolled at Hamilton from Oneida High School in 1940. Bob McDermott joined the Charlatans and participated actively in debate, gaining election to the forensic honor society Delta Sigma Rho. After three years on the Hill, he withdrew to go on active duty with the U.S. Navy. Assigned to its V-12 program at Colgate University and later Midshipmen’s School in New York City, he was commissioned as an ensign and served in the South Pacific during World War II.

Following his release from the Navy, Bob McDermott returned to Hamilton in the fall of 1945 to complete his studies. A member of the Squires Club and former manager of the varsity hockey team, he was graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with honors in romance languages in 1946. He went on to law school at Cornell University and acquired his LL.B. degree in 1948.

Bob McDermott began his law practice in Little Falls and then Chittenango, N.Y., before returning to his native Oneida. In 1954, he became a partner in the firm of Santry, Nemeti & McDermott and practiced with that firm until his retirement. During his long career he served as attorney of Madison County and attorney for the cities of Oneida and Sherrill as well as several other municipalities and school districts. A past president of the Madison County Bar Association and of the Federation of Bar Associations of the Sixth Judicial District, he was a member of the Knights of Columbus and Past Exulted Ruler of the Oneida Elks Lodge. His chief leisure activity, ardently practiced, was golf.

Robert F. McDermott, a faithfully supportive alumnus, died on Jan. 26, 2015, at the age of 92. Predeceased by his wife of 54 years, Lorraine Lemire McDermott, he is survived by a daughter, Mary Ambruster; a son, Dennis McDermott; and five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Laurence Stanley Hubbard (né Stanley Lawrence Hubbard) ’45

Laurence Stanley Hubbard (né Stanley Lawrence Hubbard) ’45, a retired writer and editor, and longtime resident of Switzerland, was born on Aug. 16, 1924, to Lawrence S., an insurance agent, and Ruth Woodruff Hubbard, in Wellsville, in New York’s Southern Tier. Reared by his mother and an aunt after his parents separated, he grew up in Hornell, N.Y., and was graduated in 1941 from Hornell High School, academically ranking first in his class. He enrolled at Hamilton on scholarship that fall and became a member of the Emerson Literary Society. However, after two years and in the midst of World War II, he left the Hill and entered the U.S. Army. He served in a field artillery battalion in Europe until after the war’s end in 1945 and returned to Hamilton to resume his studies the following spring. Besides serving on the staffs of The Hamiltonian (he was its editor in his senior year) and campus radio station WHC, Stan Hubbard also participated actively in debate and gained election to both the journalism and forensic honor societies Pi Delta Epsilon and Delta Sigma Rho. He excelled academically as well, and was graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with honors in history in 1947.

Stan Hubbard soon left for Europe, where he found employment for two years as a scientific and technological documents officer with the Intelligence Division of the U.S. Army in ­Heidelberg, Germany. Thereafter he pursued graduate studies at the University of Zurich as well as those of Basel and Freiburg im Breisgau. From 1953 to 1955, he lectured in English at the University of Basel, where he earned his Ph.D. degree in philosophy in 1956, having been mentored by the distinguished philosopher Karl Jaspers.

Dr. Hubbard then settled permanently in Switzerland and went to work for CIBA Limited (later CIBA-Geigy), the chemical firm headquartered in Basel, and became editor of its industrial magazine and head of ­public relations. On May 31, 1958, in Wittenbach, Switzerland, he was married to Rita Baenziger. That year, his book, Nietzsche und Emerson, based upon his doctoral dissertation, was published.

Stan Hubbard served as editor and public relations head of CIBA Limited until 1969, when he took over the English desk, corporate communications, of CIBA-Geigy. He retired after more than 30 years with the company in 1987. He was a longtime resident of Romanshorn, on Lake Constance, where he continued to reside in retirement until his death. From there he enjoyed the outdoors, including hiking and wildlife observing, and found occasion to travel to other continents, such as Africa. Although he retained his U.S. citizenship and kept in close touch with the College, which he generously supported, and with his College friends, Switzerland had become his home.

The College has received word, verified by a family member, that L. Stanley Hubbard died on Aug. 22, 2014, in a hospital near Romanshorn, at the age of 90. Predeceased a dozen years earlier by his wife, Rita, he is survived by stepchildren.

William Sherman ’45

William Sherman ’45, a former Foreign Service officer and business owner who retired as a county probation director, was born on May 22, 1923, in Cooperstown, N.Y. One of two sons of Frank G. and Hazel Foster Sherman, he grew up in nearby Oneonta and was graduated in 1941 from Oneonta High School. Bill Sherman enrolled at Hamilton that fall, joined Sigma Phi and remained on the Hill until early 1943, when he withdrew to enter the U.S. Army during World War II. He served with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in both the European and Pacific theaters until his discharge in 1946, after the war’s end.

That summer, Bill Sherman returned to College Hill to continue his studies through the spring of 1947. With the help of transfer credits, he was awarded his A.B. degree in 1948. Thereafter he attended the Institute of Advanced International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, and earned an M.A. in 1951.

Two years earlier, Bill ­Sherman had joined the U.S. Foreign Service and was assigned to the United Nations in Geneva. Assignments in the Middle East and Washington followed. In 1952, his brother, Foster Sherman, an Air Force pilot, was killed in the Korean War, and Bill left the Foreign Service and returned to Oneonta to be with his widowed mother, a retired social worker. There, he started his own business, W.F. Sherman & Associates, an asset management company. He began a parallel career as a volunteer probation officer with Otsego County and retired as director of its probation department.

After his retirement in 1978, Bill Sherman divided his time between Oneonta and Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. An ardent golfer, he became ­secretary of the Pines Golf Club on Hilton Head.

William Sherman, a faithful alumnus, was residing in Oneonta when he died on Oct. 25, 2014, at the age of 91. Predeceased two years earlier by his wife of 55 years, Caroline S. ­Sherman, he is survived by a daughter, Linda Gorman; a son, William Sherman; and three granddaughters.

Joseph James Burgess, Jr. ’46

Joseph James Burgess, Jr. ’46, an artist and art educator whose paintings can be found in museums, public galleries and private collections, was born on July 13, 1924, in Albany, N.Y. The son of Joseph J., a state auditor, and Marie Southwell Burgess, he grew up in the Albany area and was graduated in 1942 from Bethlehem Central High School in Delmar as salutatorian of his class. He entered Hamilton that fall but left after a year to join the U.S. Navy. Trained in German and romance languages in the Navy’s V-12 program at Colgate University, he was assigned to the Navy Language School in Boulder, Colo., for a crash course in Mandarin Chinese. Commissioned as an ensign, he subsequently served stateside in Washington, D.C., as an intelligence officer, “translating dispatches from Generalissimo Chiang-Kai-Shek,” as he later recalled.

Released from naval service in 1946, after World War II’s end, Joseph Burgess returned to College Hill and resumed his studies. Having majored in French and English literature, and credited with courses taken while in military service, he was graduated Phi Beta Kappa a year later, in 1947. He went on to Yale University, where he acquired an M.A. degree in the Chinese language in 1948. Hoping to further pursue that language study at Peking University, he was ready to sail when the city fell to the Communists and a travel ban for Americans to China was put into effect. At that point, he turned to his other major field of interest, art.

After obtaining a firm basis in drawing and design at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, Joseph Burgess completed his training with an M.F.A. from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan in 1954. Thereafter he embarked on a college teaching career, first as assistant professor of fine arts and department head at St. Lawrence University. He soon returned to Michigan as art instructor and department chairman at Flint Community Junior College and director of DeWaters Art Center (now known as Flint Institute of Arts) from 1956 to 1965. On Aug. 25, 1959, in Flint, he was married to Anna Kang, a fellow graduate of Cranbrook and an artist who was born in Hawaii of Korean descent.

In 1965, the couple moved to Arizona, where Joseph Burgess was appointed for a year as assistant professor of design at the State University in Tempe. He and his wife subsequently resided in Carmel, Calif., where they owned Origins, a gallery for contemporary and ethnographic art. In 1974, they settled permanently in Santa Fe. In New Mexico, Joseph Burgess continued to teach art at various times at the College of Santa Fe, Highlands University and Santa Fe Community College. He also served as director of Blair Galleries in Santa Fe from 1976 to 1980.

After his retirement, Joseph Burgess continued to conduct courses and summer workshops on various aspects of abstract art. Until his death, he also continued to paint. His works have been exhibited widely, and they have been featured in one-man and group shows. He was also the author of published poetry and historical articles in such publications as the Christian Science Monitor.

Joseph J. Burgess, Jr. died at his home in Santa Fe on Nov. 1, 2014, at the age of 90. He is survived by his wife of 55 years. Also surviving are two sons, product designer Ian Tai Kyung Burgess and modern dance ­choreographer Dana Tai Soon Burgess.

Clyde Thomas Simpson ’46

Clyde Thomas Simpson ’46, an industrial sales engineer employed for 37 years by Taylor Instrument Co. in Rochester, N.Y., was born in Albion, N.Y., on ­Oct. 30, 1923. His parents were George C. Simpson, a butcher, and the former Sarah E. Graves, a dressmaker. Clyde Simpson, known as “Tom,” grew up in Albion, northwest of Rochester, and was graduated from Albion High School in 1941 as valedictorian of his class. He enrolled at Hamilton the following year with scholarship assistance and worked his way through the College doing odd jobs at the Alpha Delt house and serving as a swimming pool lifeguard as well as a Chapel bell ringer. A member of the Squires Club, he became business manager of Hamiltonews and chaired the Honor Court in his senior year. He also went out for swimming. Having concentrated in chemistry, he finished his studies, with the help of summer sessions, by the end of 1944, and received his diploma in June 1945.

Tom Simpson soon went to work for Taylor Instruments in sales. Married in Rochester to Gilda Giarrizzo on June 12, 1948, he settled down with his wife in that city, where they reared their three sons. When his children were growing up, Tom served as a Boy Scout troop leader and as a Little League baseball manager. He also became active as a Free Mason and as a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows. In addition, he served as an elder of the Presbyterian Church.

Tom Simpson, who retired in 1982 from Taylor Instrument as manager of sales for its Control Valve Division, divided the year between Rochester and Florida before he and Gilda settled full-time in the Sunshine State in 1986. There Tom kept himself busy as an American Association of Retired Persons volunteer, helping the elderly with their tax problems and to vote. He also kept fit by playing table tennis and swimming, and participated in both sports in the Senior Olympics. An enthusiastic game player, he enjoyed everything from bridge and pinochle to cribbage and eucre.

Clyde T. Simpson, long a resident of Clearwater, Fla., and known for his “easy smile, quick wit and love for his family,” died on Oct. 26, 2014, just short of his 91st birthday. He is survived by his wife of 66 years. Also surviving are their sons, Glenn T., Douglas K. and Roger T. Simpson, and four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Richard Frederick Gregory ’48

Richard Frederick Gregory ’48, who taught English for 36 years at Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, was born on April 29, 1924, in Worcester, Mass. A son of Joseph V., a life insurance agent, and Estelle Youngling Gregory, he was the older brother of Donald J. Gregory ’50 and Thomas D. Gregory ’50. Dick Gregory grew up in New Rochelle, N.Y., where, as a 12 year-old-boy, he encountered by chance the now-famed illustrator Norman Rockwell, who asked him to pose for a series of depictions of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer. One of the drawings, for which Dick was paid $3 an hour to pose, would later appear as the illustration on a U.S. postage stamp.

After his graduation in 1941 from Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, Dick Gregory took courses at Manhattan College. Early in 1943, when the country was fully engaged in World War II, he entered the U.S. Army. He served in the enlisted ranks with the Corps of Engineers for three years through the war’s end. In the spring of 1946, he arrived on College Hill and joined the Emerson Literary Society. He went out for baseball, golf and swimming, and lettered in all three sports. He set College records in the 220-yard and 440-yard freestyle and captained the swimming squad in his senior year. He was also named honorary captain of the golf team, on which his two younger brothers played. All three would serve in turn as the team’s captain. In addition, Dick Gregory was a member of the Intramural Council, the Interfraternity Council and the Publications Board, and active in the Newman Club.

Dick Gregory completed his studies in 1948 and was ­graduated in 1949. After two years as a management trainee with W.T. Grant Co., the retail chain, he concluded that his future was not to be found in merchandising. By that time he was located in Pittsburgh, and on Aug. 11, 1951, he and Ruth Czapiewski were married in that city. In the meantime he had turned to teaching as his vocation and found a post at Cheshire Academy in Connecticut. In 1953, he began his long tenure at Shady Side Academy and strengthened his teaching ­credentials in 1958 by acquiring a master’s degree from the ­University of Pittsburgh. He became known to generations of s­tudents at Shade Side as not only “an implacable guardian of the written word” but also as a excellent teacher. In addition, he coached tennis. He retired in 1989.

Richard F. Gregory, a loyal alumnus who never failed to take a lively interest in the College, was residing in Georgetown, Texas, when he died on May 27, 2014, at the age of 90. He was predeceased by his wife, Ruth, in 1997. Surviving are a daughter, Christine Gregory; a son, Donald P. Gregory; and two grandsons and a sister. Predeceasing him were his brothers, Donald, in 2013, and Thomas, in 2009.

John Edward Mertz ’49

John Edward Mertz ’49, whose varied career took him from teaching to public relations and back to teaching with some acting along the way, was born on April 15, 1925, in Syracuse, N.Y. His parents were Edward J. Mertz, a wire mill superintendent, and the former Margaret E. O’Connor. Jack Mertz was graduated in 1942 from St. Aloysius Academy in Rome, N.Y., and took courses for a year at Niagara University before entering the U.S. Army during World War II. He served overseas in the enlisted ranks with the Signal Corps and was discharged in 1946, after the war’s end.

Jack Mertz enrolled at ­Hamilton that fall and joined Tau Kappa Epsilon. He became a cheerleader, a member of the Newman Club and managed the Outing Club. His most memorable Hill activity, however, was with the Charlatans acting troupe, and he acquired a modest claim to fame as Peter Falk’s very first prompter in a Charlatans production of Shaw’s Saint Joan. Jack would go on to find a lifelong avocation in the theater. The self-described “most inept waiter” at the Theta Delt house was graduated in 1949. He left the Hill with fond memories and special gratitude to Professor Edgar B. “Digger” Graves, who, by example, taught him intellectual honesty and “what religious freedom and tolerance was and still is all about.”

After obtaining an M.A. degree in English literature from Syracuse Unversity in 1951, Jack Mertz became an instructor in English and public speaking at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. In 1953, he joined the promotion department of the Pittsburgh Press but left that post two years later to do editorial work for Ebasco Services in New York City. He was with the public relations department of the Arabian American Oil Co. when, on May 16, 1959, he and Jeanne M. Wurtmann were married in Blue Point, N.Y.

In 1968, Jack Mertz was appointed manager of the dealer relations department of Quality Bakers of America and editor of its trade publication, The Quality Grocer. In the 1970s, he was an account executive with the public relations agency Dudley-Anderson-Yutzy, also in New York City. He became a vice president of the agency, and his accounts included Taylor and Great Western Wines and the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, as well as Armagnac and Granny Smith Apples. In 1980, he established his own full-service agency, the Marketing Public Relations Organization, in New York City.

After his retirement from the public relations field, Jack Mertz, while residing in Valley Stream on Long Island, taught seventh and eighth graders at St. Boniface Roman Catholic School in nearby Elmont and found it “a fantastic experience.” He also continued to enjoy engagement as an actor in community theatre, as well as in off-Broadway productions and independent films. His devotion to Hamilton was unstinting, and he assisted his class in organizing reunions and with its fundraising for the College.

John E. Mertz, who will be remembered for his “generous heart and sharp wit,” was still residing in Valley Stream when he died on Jan. 21, 2015, in his 90th year. He is survived by his wife of 55 years as well as his son, David J. Mertz ’89, and grand­children, Stephanie and Alexander. He was predeceased by his elder son, Stephen B. Mertz.

Peter Frederick Morell ’49

Peter Frederick Morell ’49, a retired social worker, was born on Aug. 12, 1927, in Buffalo, N.Y. A son of Pascal M., an industrial superintendent, and Regina McLaughlin Morell, he grew up in Watertown, Conn., where he was graduated in 1945 from Watertown High School. That summer he enrolled at Hamilton, but withdrew from the College before the end of the fall semester to enter the U.S. Navy. After briefly serving in uniform, he returned to the Hill in the fall of 1946 and continued his studies through the fall of 1948, when he again withdrew to pursue a religious calling. When the College last heard from him, in 1951, he was a member of the Franciscan Order as Fra. Berint Morell and was studying for the Roman Catholic priesthood.

As reported in a brief newspaper obituary, Peter F. Morell died in Waterbury, Conn., on Oct. 3, 2014. He was described as “a retired social worker for the state of Connecticut and veteran of the Navy.” Only his brother, Richard Morell, was named as surviving.