1980s
Elizabeth Winchell Kiddy ’80
Elizabeth Winchell Kiddy ’80, an associate professor of history and director of Latin American and Caribbean studies at Albright College, was born on Nov. 26, 1957, in Kingston, N.Y. A daughter of Anthony H. Winchell, an electrical engineer, and the former Harriet Sultzer, she grew up in Westchester County and came to Kirkland College in 1975 from Mt. Kisco, N.Y. While attending Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, Betsy Winchell pursued what would be her lifelong love of music by singing in several choirs and playing in a steel band. She majored in music while on College Hill, and her senior project was the composition of a 12-tone work based on a text by the German novelist and poet Hermann Hesse, which was judged as revealing “much talent and potential.”
Betsy Winchell, after taking a semester off, was graduated from Hamilton in 1980. She subsequently developed a keen interest in Latin America and specifically Brazil, and acquired a Ph.D. degree in Latin American studies from the University of New Mexico. While in Santa Fe, she met Greg Kiddy, and they were married in 1991. They traveled almost annually to Brazil, where Betsy engaged in research that resulted in numerous publications, most notably her book, Blacks of the Rosary: Memory and History in Minas Gerais, Brazil (2005). She became fluent in Portuguese and conversant in Spanish, and her affection for music led to her ready embrace of Brazilian jazz and samba.
Dr. Kiddy’s most recent scholarship focused on the cultural and environmental history of the people living along the 2,000-mile Sao Francisco River. She joined the faculty of Albright College in Reading, Pa., in 2001, where she taught not only Brazilian and Latin American history but also gender and family studies and myth and folktale in Latin America. At Albright she earned a reputation as a “dedicated teacher, gifted scholar and devoted colleague.”
Elizabeth Winchell Kiddy died on Sept. 29, 2014. In addition to her parents and her husband, she is survived by a sister and two brothers.
Philip Sherburne Constable ’82
Philip Sherburne Constable ’82, a business executive and consultant, was born on May 27, 1960, in Madrid, Spain. The younger son of Peter D. ’53 and Elinor Greer Constable, both Foreign Service officers whose diplomatic and ambassadorial assignments often took them overseas, he grew up in Washington, D.C., as the family’s home base and attended Georgetown Day School. At the age of 18, Phil Constable was in Pakistan and enrolled at the International School of Islamabad when he applied to Hamilton. He entered the College in 1978, joined Chi Psi and engaged in intramural sports, including squash, basketball and football. Majoring in English literature, he compiled an outstanding academic record and was graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude in 1982.
Phil Constable, who acquired a master’s degree in accounting from New York University in 1983 and an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1986, began his business career with the consulting firm of Bain & Co. in Boston. He later joined a colleague from Bain in taking over and expanding the Wolverine Corp., manufacturers of industrial ovens, dryers and roasters as well as air pollution control equipment, and based in Merimac, Mass. As its chief operating officer, he traveled extensively, scouting for new acquisitions. He subsequently became a partner in the Lucas Group, consultants, and most recently co-founded the Newton Strategy Group, a consulting firm that provides market due diligence to private equity firms.
Philip S. Constable died at his home in Weston, Mass., on Nov. 22, 2014. In addition to his mother, a former U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, he is survived by his wife, the former Melinda O. Kahle, whom he had wed on Aug. 5, 1995. Also surviving are two sons, Peter O. and Oliver G. Constable; a daughter, Hannah F. Constable; his brother, Robert D. Constable ’84; and a sister, Julia Constable-Allen. His father, a former U.S. Ambassador to Zaire, died in 2000. In Phil Constable’s memory, the family has suggested gifts to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Thaddeus Thomas Ziemba ’87
Thaddeus Thomas Ziemba ’87, a financial analyst with State Farm Insurance Co. and a highly dedicated athletic coach and father, was born on Feb. 12, 1965, in Utica, N.Y. The eldest son of Thaddeus S., a comptroller and treasurer, and Joann K. Ziemba, a nurse and medical office manager, he grew up in the Utica suburb of New Hartford and was graduated in 1983 from New Hartford Senior High School as academically one of the top 10 students in his class. Thad Ziemba came to College Hill on an academic scholarship that fall and joined Delta Upsilon. He majored in mathematics and minored in chemistry, and excelled academically. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa, he received magna cum laude honors upon graduation in 1987.
Thad Ziemba began his long career with State Farm as an underwriter at its regional office in Wayne, N.J. On Feb. 10, 1990, he and Sharon M. Evans were married in the College Chapel. After employment by State Farm in the Albany, N.Y., area, Thad returned to Central New York and the insurance company’s office in Utica as an agency field specialist. Some 15 years ago, he and Sharon took up residence in Clinton, where Thad would remain close to the College and a faithful attendee of its basketball and football games. He continued to be employed by State Farm as successively an agent resource superintendent, private agency contractor and, since 2007, financial analyst. He was a recipient of several performance awards from State Farm.
Thad and Sharon Ziemba had four children, and Thad was closely involved in their lives. He coached each of them in various sports, helped them with their school projects and instilled in them strong values and a commitment to strive to achieve. A longtime assistant coach of the girls’ varsity basketball team at Clinton High School, he was known for his sense of humor and exceptional qualities as a coach, both on and off the court.
Thaddeaus T. Ziemba, a loyal Hamiltonian and onetime class correspondent for this magazine, had battled colon cancer for the past several years. His life ended on Feb. 14, 2015, and, for his family and friends, he was “a lighthearted and youthful presence” until the end. Surviving, in addition to his wife of 25 years, and his parents, are two daughters, Kathryn L. and Samantha G. Ziemba; two sons, Patrick J. and Benjamin T. Ziemba; and two brothers. The exceptionally large turnout at his funeral service was a reflection of the number of lives he had touched during his own life.
Mark Richard Green ’89
Mark Richard Green ’89, an educational fundraiser who devoted his last days to raising funds to combat the brain cancer that would ultimately end his own highly active life, was born on Aug. 18, 1967, in Philadelphia. The son of Stephen H., an attorney-at-law, and Beverly Bennett Green, a school teacher, he attended Abington Friends School in Jenkintown, Pa., where his mother taught and where he was president of student government and captain of the cross country team. In 1985, following his graduation, he enrolled at Hamilton from Philadelphia. He majored in creative writing and minored in studio art, and he pursued studies in drama and writing on a Beaver College program at the University of East Anglia for a semester and an art program in Egypt for a winter term. A coordinator of the Keehn Co-Op and a disk jockey for radio station WHCL, he was also a contributor to student publications such as Red Weather. He was graduated in 1989.
After settling in the Green Mountain State and briefly working as a teller at the Vermont National Bank in Burlington, Mark Green began his career in education, teaching learning-disabled children at the Greenwood School in Putney, Vt. On July 10, 1993, he was married to Laura E. Gaudette in Strafford. In 1995, he earned an M.Ed. degree from The University of New England (Antioch) and entered the educational admissions and development field as director of admissions at Oak Meadow School in Putney, followed by a similar post at the Verde Valley School in Sedona, Ariz. A year later, he returned to Vermont as director of financial aid and admissions at the Putney School. From 1999 to 2012, he served for a few years each successively as a development officer at the White Mountain School in New Hampshire, Dartmouth College’s Thayer School of Engineering as well as Dartmouth itself, the Grammar School in Putney and the Putney School.
While engaged in raising funds for the Putney School’s capital campaign, Mark Green received a diagnosis of brain cancer. It was followed by surgeries and multiple sessions of chemotherapy. Despite it, he continued to lead his life to the fullest, with vigor and intensity. Greatly fond of the outdoors and a passionate skier, he engaged in outdoor activities as much as possible. In addition to skiing, he enjoyed bicycling, skating, kayaking and canoeing, as well as swimming. Within the community he was a disk jockey for a local radio station, a member of the Bread and Puppet Theatre in Glover and a village trustee of Saxtons River.
Over the past few years, Mark Green, a faithful alumnus, devoted as much volunteer time as possible to organizations promoting awareness of and treatment for brain cancer. Since 2012, while working from his home in Vermont, he served as vice president for strategic partnerships of Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure, based in Washington, D.C. Known to his family and innumerable friends, many Hamiltonians among them, as “kind, generous, funny, adventurous,” they remember him as a man of goodness and authenticity.
Mark R. Green died in Walpole, N.H., on Feb. 27, 2015, at the age of 47, “his joy and passion for life intact” until the last. In addition to his parents, he is survived by his former wife and two daughters, Hannah R. and Elizabeth G. Green, as well as a sister, Kerrin M. Green.
