1970s

Martha Treadwell Hamblin K’75

Martha Treadwell Hamblin K’75, a research scientist in plant breeding and a highly engaged community activist, was born on Nov. 16, 1952, in Newburyport, Mass. The middle daughter of Edward W., a high school vocational director, and Rebecca Brown Hamblin, a grade-school teacher, she grew up in Sudbury, Mass., and Peterborough, N.H., where she was graduated in 1970 from Peterborough High School. Martha Hamblin attended Trinity College for three semesters before enrolling at Kirkland College in 1972. She majored in botany and classics, and impressed faculty members as a student of exceptional ability and motivation. They also recognized in her a principled person, firm in her convictions. She was awarded her B.A. degree in 1975.

Martha Hamblin resided for a time in Verona, N.J., where she was employed as an assistant programmer by Prudential Insurance Co. In 1977, she moved to the West Coast and enrolled for graduate study in botany at Oregon State University. She acquired her M.S. degree in 1982 and began her long association with Cornell University as a ­biological research technician. During the 1990s, she also pursued doctoral studies, focusing on the population genetics of fruit flies, and obtained her Ph.D. in 1996. In the course of her research she met John T. Lis, a professor of molecular genetics, who later became her husband. Following post-doctoral work in Chicago and in France, Martha Hamblin settled permanently in Ithaca, N.Y., as a research scientist at Cornell.

Dr. Hamblin’s research included foundational work on the molecular population genetics of sorghum at the Institute for Genomic Diversity. In 2011, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation proposed and supported a research project on genomic selection to improve cassava, a vital dietary staple for millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. Recruited for the project, Martha Hamblin essentially wrote and shepherded through to approval the $25 million research proposal. Even after she received a diagnosis of cancer, Dr. Hamblin continued to be intimately involved in the project’s scientific work. Her perceptive insight and the invaluable guidance she provided to other researchers contributed significantly to the cassava project, which will have beneficent consequences in the years to come.

In addition to her scientific work as a senior research associate and her mentoring of graduate students, Martha Hamblin was actively engaged in the community as a volunteer. She served on the boards of the Ithaca League of Women Voters and the City Federation of ­Women’s Organizations, and chaired the Democratic committee of Ithaca’s 3rd Ward. She was also both a volunteer and customer at the Ithaca Service League Shop, which sold used clothing to raise money for local charities. Having long embraced an alternative style of living, she not only bought her clothes at rummage sales and thrift shops, but also traveled as much as possible by bicycle or on foot. She became a member of the War Tax Resistance Movement and was an active supporter of cooperative movements.

Devoted to music and dance, Martha Hamblin played the recorder and fiddle, and sang in choruses, choirs and sacred harp groups for many years. For a time she was also a regular on the local contra dance scene. She gave generously to humanitarian and cultural organizations and institutions, including Hamilton, and one of her last and largest gifts was to the Community School of Music and Arts, to help restore its performance hall in downtown Ithaca. Last fall it was named the Martha Hamblin Hall in her honor.

Martha T. Hamblin died on March 15, 2015, while in hospice care, of ocular melanoma. In addition to her parents and her husband, Professor Lis, she is survived by her sisters, Penelope and Rebecca Hamblin.

Leah Shriro K’76

Leah Shriro K’76, a former science and technology editor, grew up in Syracuse, N.Y., where she was born on July 6, 1952. The youngest child of Irving, a store owner, and Belle Shriro, she was graduated in 1970 from Nottingham High School in Syracuse. After a year at the University of Michigan, she transferred to Kirkland College in 1972. Except for a semester of study in Perugia, Italy, she remained on the Hill for two years.

Leah Shriro was later graduated from the University of ­Massachusetts, Boston, where she met her future husband, Ben Hughes. They took up residence in Beverly, Mass. For many years an editor in the science and technology field, Leah Shriro also volunteered as a teacher of English as a Second Language for Bootstraps in Beverly. In ­addition, she was a member of Temple B’nai Abraham and actively participated in political campaigns and promoting worthy causes in the community.

Leah Shriro was still residing in Beverly when she died on Jan. 16, 2015, of cancer, at a hospice in Danvers, Mass. She is survived by her husband of 29 years. Also surviving are a daughter, Isabel Hughes, and two brothers, Michael and ­Samuel Shriro.

Doug Marc Spirduso ’76

Doug Marc Spirduso ’76, who turned to the technology field after his dance career had ended in injury, grew up in Streator, Ill., where he was born on July 8, 1954. The youngest of four children of George F. and Elizabeth Jane Spirduso, both teachers, he enrolled at Hamilton in 1972 from Streator Township High School. A winner of the Fayerweather Prize Scholarship, he majored in theatre and drama, and was graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, and with department honors, in 1976.

Doug Spirduso went on to concentrate in ballet at the Jacob’s Pillow dance school in Becket, Mass. He then moved to New York City, where he danced with several companies. After an injury, he joined Citibank as an assistant manager for systems requirements and implementation. He later became a courseware developer and technical writer for Computer Associates, followed by senior content ­manager at Reuters Sailfish ­Systems. His final employment was as a contractor for S.A.C. Capital Management, where his projects included creating ­disaster recovery procedures for technology infrastructure and maintaining the company’s satellite website.

Highly talented in the ­kitchen, Doug Spirduso created his own culinary dishes, refining them with spices and vegetables grown in his terrace garden. He also taught himself to knit and designed hats, scarves and sweaters for family and friends. He and his wife, Jeannette Aycock-Spirduso, enjoyed trips abroad that took them from the Caribbean to Russia, and the trips gave Doug the opportunity to hone another of his creative talents, that of photography.

Doug M. Spirduso was still residing in New York City when he died on Nov. 17, 2014, of a heart attack. In addition to his wife, he is survived by two brothers, Craig and Gary Spirduso, and a sister, Karen Lyons.

Bonnie Field Crowley K’78

Bonnie Field Crowley K’78, a longtime breast cancer survivor who became an inspiration for other women diagnosed with the disease, was born on Aug. 21, 1956, in Manhasset, N.Y. The daughter of Albert E., Jr., a dentist, and Iris Stafford Field, she grew up on Long Island and was graduated in 1974 from Manhasset High School. Bonnie Field entered Kirkland College that fall and remained on the Hill for two years. In 1978, she earned an associate’s degree in dental hygiene from the University of Pennsylvania.

While at Penn, Bonnie Field met Richard P. Crowley, and they were married in 1981. They subsequently resided in Missouri and Massachusetts, as well as Rochester, N.Y. Residents for the past 15 years of Skillman, N.J., near Princeton, they had only recently moved to Lake Bluff, Ill.

Bonnie Field Crowley, known to family and friends as an avid gardener, dedicated runner and talented cook, was especially active in the support group of the Breast Cancer Resource Center in Princeton. She was herself, for more than two decades, a survivor of the disease. She died at her home in Lake Bluff on Feb. 20, 2015. In addition to her husband of 33 years and her mother, she is survived by a son, Donald E. Crowley; a daughter, Meaghan C. Kearns; and a brother, Todd E. Field.

Thomas Joseph O’Malley III ’78

Thomas Joseph O’Malley III ’78, an independent travel director and conference coordinator, was born on Sept. 8, 1956, in Orange, N.J. A son of Thomas J., Jr., a senior insurance account agent, and Verna M. O’Malley, he entered Hamilton in 1974 from nearby Florham Park as a graduate of Hanover Park High School. Tom O’Malley joined Delta Upsilon and later served as its alumni president. He majored in government and after taking a year off, was graduated in 1979.

Tom O’Malley gravitated to Florida, where he established his own landscaping business in Port St. Lucie. He later moved to New Hampshire and worked for Capital Management, a company in Portsmouth specializing in limited partnership, commodity trading and shopping center development. While residing in Greenland, N.H., he was later engaged for a number of years in retail operations and also employed by Grassroots Cable Co.

Some 20 years ago, Tom O’Malley returned to Florida, where he look up residence in Jupiter. There he operated a consulting business, assisting agencies in arranging sales and motivational training for their corporate clients, including many Fortune 500 companies. He coordinated executive conferences throughout the world and facilitated meetings at several Super Bowls and Masters’ golf tournaments. In his spare time, in addition to landscaping, he enjoyed reading and lavishing attention and affection on dogs. He was especially fond of beagles.

Thomas J. O’Malley, an ever loyal and generously supportive alumnus, was still residing in Jupiter when he died on Nov. 8, 2014. He is survived by his mother and a brother, Christopher O’Malley, as well as nieces and nephews. Also surviving is his beloved beagle, Annabelle.