Obituaries

Robert Adams, former co-op employer and friend of Antioch, passed away on December 24, 2000. He is survived by two daughters, Gail Adams, and Joan who met husband Jeffrey Leonard ’69, in 1964 when he co-opped at her father’s newspaper, the Mooreville Times in Mooreville, IN. A memorial service was held at Friend’s Fellowship Community in Richmond, IN on March 3.

William Waldo Beach, associate professor of religion and pastor at Antioch College in the early 1940s, died January 11, 2001 of a stroke at the age of 84. A retired professor of Christian ethics at Duke University, he was the longest tenured professor in the Duke Divinity School when he retired in 1986 after 40 years of teaching. His work centered on promoting awareness of the social implications of the Gospel for race relations, ecology, technology and economic issues. From 1959 to 1969 he served as Duke’s director of graduate studies in religion. A civil rights advocate, Beach was active in the 1950s in the Intercollegiate Christian Council, which was made up of students from Duke, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and what was then known as the North Carolina College for Negroes, now North Carolina Central University. He was also an accomplished musician, composing songs and writing two books about lesser-known Christmas carols. Born in Middletown, CT, Beach received his Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University in 1937 and his bachelor of divinity from Yale Uni- versity Divinity School in 1940. He received his doctorate from Yale’s Graduate School four years later. Beach began his academic career in 1942 at Antioch College. A year later, he married his wife, Mary, who was then assistant dean of women. Beach joined the Duke faculty in 1946. He was a longtime member of Firs Presbyterian Church in Durham. Beach’s wife died in April 1999 after an extended illness. Three children, Dr. Richard Beach of Minneapolis; Margot Sullivan of Gladwyn, PA; and Elizabeth Ann Beach of Chelmsford, MA; and five grandchildren survive him.

C. Vernon Cannon, of Yellow Springs, died peacefully with his sons by his side on February 24, 2001, at Friends Care Center. He was 85 years of age. He was born in Ayden, NC. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in 1935 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of North Carolina in 1941. While an instructor at Northwestern University, he was brought into the Manhattan Project, where he served as a group leader from 1941 until 1947, first at Chicago, then at Oak Ridge and Los Alamos. After the war, he was active in the early efforts to avert a nuclear arms race. He joined the faculty of Antioch College in 1949, teaching chemistry and physics. He loved teaching, especially seeing his students engrossed in new understanding. He married Phyllis Brumm in 1939. They loved working together on renovation and supported themselves from their rentals when Vernon retired from Antioch in 1968. He was preceded in death by his wife, and is survived by sons John ’63 of Yellow Springs, and Jerry and grandsons Jevon Bajir and Lateef, of Philadelphia.

Harriet Dane Hintz, a social concerns minister at United Church of Christ of Seneca Valley, MD, died March 2, 2001 of cancer. Mrs. Hintz was born in Scranton, PA and grew up in Brooklyn, NY. She was a graduate of Montgomery College in Rockville and Antioch Columbia, where she received a master’s degree in counseling. She did secretarial work for the State Department in Germany in the 1940s, and married William E. Hintz in 1950. She accompanied her husband, a Peace Corps administrator, on his assignments to Africa and the South Pacific before settling in the Washington, DC area in 1965. In 1970s and 1980s, Mrs. Hintz was a psychotherapist in private practice at the Frost School and Counseling Center in Rockville. She had been a member of Dayspring Church in Germantown, an ecumenical congregation affiliated with the Church of the Saviour, and did volunteer work at Community Ministry of Montgomery County. She was former chair of the Germantown Coalition of Providers. Her husband died in 1979. A son, Thomas P. Hintz, died in 1998. Survivors include two daughters, Kathleen Hintz of Minneapolis and Joy Jimon of Mount Tremper, NY; two sons, David Hintz of Gaithersburg and Christopher Hintz of Oakland, MD; and nine grandchildren.

Joann Kathryn Knight, a former defense attorney who was quality assurance supervisor for Digex, a website maintenance company in Beltsville, MD, died of cancer January 12, 2000 at her home in Fort Washington. Ms. Knight, who practiced law for 12 years, was born in Erie, PA, and graduated from Lock Haven University. She received a law degree from Antioch School of Law, and a master’s degree in education from George Mason University. Before going into law, she taught physical education in Lancaster, PA and Alexandria, VA. She was also senior systems engineer and director of new business development at Fuentez Systems Concepts in Martinsburg, WV, and management information systems chief in the research and planning division of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Services. Her companion, Louise “Dee” Martin; her mother, Genevieve Knight of Transfer, PA; and a brother survive her. She was 56 years of age.

Dorothy Geisler Mettler, who attended Antioch College in the late 1930s, passed away February 19, 2001 at her daughter’s home in Oakland, CA. She was 80 years old.

Anne Claire Widem, 41, a wildlife biologist, died at of cancer at home in Brookline, MA on March 6, 2001. She was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, where she also received a master’s degree in social work. She later received a master’s degree in wildlife studies from Antioch New England Graduate School. She is survived by her parents, Paul and Barbara Widem, and a brother, Jonathan.

Charles Edward Hoffman ’26, an official of the Tennessee Valley Authority and a protégé of Arthur Morgan, died December 30, 2000 in Dayton, OH. He was 97. Mr. Hoffman worked with Morgan as the first assistant secretary of the TVA until 1939 when he became a director for the American Youth Foundation. He served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy during World War II and later was commander of the U.S. Naval Armed Guard Center in New Orleans and the U.S. Naval Armed Guard School in San Diego. From 1950 until retirement in 1972, Mr. Hoffman was an administrator at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He was a member of the Linden Avenue Baptist church for 87 years and helped support the church’s Widows Home. He received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for service to humanity, and was a member of the Yellow Springs Masonic Lodge for 76 years.

Norma Kimball Sanford ’27 died November 4, 2000 at the age of 100 in Hamden, CT.

Lynton A. Appleberry ’34, a resident of Yellow Springs for nearly 70 years, died on December 15, 2000 at the Friends Care Center. He was 95. Born in Ester, MO on April 10, 1905, he was the eldest of six children. As a young man, he moved with his family to Detroit where he worked at Ford Motor Company as a textbook editor at the company’s trade school. While at Ford he became active in the cooperative movement, an interest he maintained for many years thereafter. He entered Antioch in 1929 after reading about the college in a magazine. He arranged to continue his job as textbook editor at his co-op experience. He had the highest paying job on campus and was able not only to pay his tuition but help out his family. After graduation he returned to work for Ford until 1938 when he married Valeska Becker, whom he had courted since their days together at Antioch. They wrote their own wedding vows, which was unusual in those days, attracting the attention of national radio commentator Lowell Thomas, as well as United Press International and the Associated Press. The couple moved to Yellow Springs after professor Manmatha Chatterjee invited Lynton to teach a course on the cooperative movement. In 1944 they bought a home near what is now the Vale, on the outskirts of Yellow Springs, from Ernest Morgan. There they settled and raised their five children. Lynton went to work at Antioch Bookplate (now The Antioch Company), and later worked as a linotypist at the Yellow Springs News for 27 years. In his constant suit of what writer John Fleischman called “working man’s no-iron green” he was legendary for his memory of people, names, places, and events and for his keen grammatical eye and exacting standards. The News printed the Antioch Record for several years, and Fleischman was among the many Record editors who considered Lynton more of a teacher than a typesetter. He was “a legend long before I was made editor,” wrote Fleischman in a 1978 article. Lynton was a perfectionist and could not bear to let what he considered an error to slip by. Whereas linotypists were expected not to change the copy they set, he routinely made changes he felt were necessary, without consulting editors or writers. He often included “Linotypist’s Notes” by way of explanation. “He was a wise friend, a guide, a teacher, and secret editor of the paper,” said former Yellow Springs News editor Don Wallis. “He saved me from my mistakes week after week.” A gardener, a musician, a deeply spiritual man, and a talker by nature, Lynton is survived by wife Valeska and their children: Eric Appleberry of Ann Arbor, MI, V. Lynne Lindner of Fort Collins, CO, Kim Appleberry of Portland, OR, Brian Appleberry of Richmond, VT, and Karen Appleberry of Galveston, TX; one sister, Noreen Lemak of Houston, TX; 11 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and a great-niece. He was preceded in death by four siblings.

William T. Bledsoe ’36 died August 27, 2000 at the age of 87.

Ralph A. Bachmann ’38, of Denison, IA, died August 1, 2000.

Karl W. Becker ’38 passed away January 12, 2001 in Columbus, OH. Born July 9, 1914 in Columbus, NE, he was a graduate of Antioch College and the Ohio State School of Dentistry. He was Captain in the 10^th Photo Reconnaissance Group, US Army Air Corps, and a dentist in World War II. He practiced dentistry in Columbus for over 50 years, retiring in 1995. He was a man who believed in innovation and skill, approaching every task with the need for perfection. The quality of his technical ability in dentistry was matched only by his caring for the lives of his patients. A long-time resident of Upper Arlington and a member of the First Community Church for over 40 years, he was a caring collector of people, not by design but by his actions. He will be remembered for the years he enjoyed serving as leader of Boy Scout Troop 12, a position he held for many years, even after his own sons had moved on to other activities. He was a loving husband and father, and dedicated man of his community, active at Hide-A-Way Hills for 35 years, with a cottage where he found much peace and serenity. Those who will enjoy the thousands of daffodils and hundreds of dogwoods he planted there over the years will forever remember his love of nature. His bride of 64 years, Evelyn M. Becker, by only 26 days, and his brother, Frank, preceded him in death. Survived by sons and daughters-in-law Michael and Sherry, and Steven and Lisa; and grandchildren Jason E. Becker, Shannon Gray Becker Mink, and Jennifer Caroline Becker of Knoxville, TN.

Arthur Hummel, Jr., who attended Antioch from 1937-40, died on February 8, 2001 at his home in Chevy Chase, MD. Arthur joined the Foreign Service in 1950 and served as ambassador to Burma, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and China. In the latter post he negotiated the Taiwan Arms Pact. He later became assistant secretary for East Asia and the Pacific under Henry Kissinger. Arthur attended Westtown High School, graduating in 1937. His Antioch roommate was Allen Bacon ’43. He went to China in 1940, was captured by the Japanese, escaped, joined the National Army, and later worked for United Nations Relief. Returning to the United States, he earned a master’s degree in Chinese studies from Chicago University. His wife of 50 years, the former Betty Lou Firstenberger, two sons, three grandchildren, and a brother survive Arthur. Friends can send condolences to Betty Lou at 4923 Essex Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD 20815.

John Richard Harder ’45 died on October 5, 2000 in Kingston, NY. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-46, achieving the rank of lieutenant. He was an engineer with the American Sugar Company and Standard Packaging Company and, in 1961, formed Maheffy and Harder Engineering Company. He retired in 1994. He was a member of the Community Church of Cedar Grove, Pi Tau Sigma and Tau Beta Pi honorary engineering societies and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Surviving are his wife, Shirley Howard Harder; a daughter, Patricia; sons John E. and James A.; five grandchildren; his mother Eva; sisters E. Barbara Ash, Margaret Davis, Elizabeth Kelder; and two brothers, Arthur R. and William C.

Margaret Cooke Fitzgerald ’47 passed away on February 19, 2001 in Durham, NC. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1924, Peggy was an elementary school teacher for 17 years, moving to Durham in 1985 where she retired. She served as a volunteer at Duke Hospital and tutored at Club Elementary School. She was active in AAUW and Duke Institute of Learning in Retirement. Peggy is survived by her husband of 53 years, Lawrence; son, Jeffrey; two daughters, Katherine Hanna and husband Richard, and Janet Fitzgerald; and three grandchildren, Susan and Kate Hanna, and Corey Fitzgerald. Her son, Christopher, died February 19, 1999.

Hazel Yngve “Tigger” Pruitt ’47 died July 12, 2000 at her home in Kensington, MD. She had pancreatic cancer. A patient referral counselor with the Montgomery County Medical Society from 1968 until retiring in 1984, she did volunteer work for the Audubon Society as well as civil rights and social service groups. Her husband, John S. Pruitt, died in 1955. She is survived by a son Thomas, of Rockville; a daughter, Katherine Pruitt of Takoma Park; a brother; and twin grandchildren.

Colonel Emory T. Judy ’49, USAF, Retired, of Crystal River, FL, died March 24, 2001. He was 80 years of age. Born April 8, 1920 in Covington, VA, he completed flight training school at Kelly Field in Texas. He was a logistics expert, flight trainer, and test pilot. A veteran of the Air Force, he served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, in a storied career spanning three decades. He was a charter member of the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH, and a member of the Blue Lodge #34 F&AM of Beavercreek, the York Rite, and the Antioch Shrine. He was a member of the Crystal River United Methodist Church. He was preceded in death by his son Todd Judy. Surviving family members include his wife Juanita, son Timblin Judy ’78, of Xenia; daughters Carol Kean ’69 and her husband Jack of Madison, WI, and Patricia Fici ’70 and her husband James of Columbia, SC, and Judy Maruca and her husband Louis, of Dayton; a brother, John ’51 and his wife Elise of Fort Lauderdale, FL; grandchildren Julia and Jared, Robina and her husband Michael, Candia and her husband Rex, Tammy and Sean, Brian and his wife Joanne, Gian; and nine great grandchildren.

Betty Lou Figueroa ’51 died April 8, 2000 in Redlands, CA. She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Alvino Figueroa; two sons, David Figueroa of Kristianstad, Sweden, and Eric Figueroa of Redlands; a sister, Bobby Dixon of Golden, CO; and two grandchildren.

Ruth Atherton Gross ’51 died of cancer on October 25, 2000. Said friend Anne Paton Dimock ’53; “She was a quiet woman, wise and warm, always aware of people and nature around her. I will miss her as, I’m sure, will many others.”

John R. Powers ’51 of Yellow Springs, died February 3, 2001 at the age of 78. Born February 15, 1922 in Utica, NY, he arrived in Yellow Springs for the first time to attend Antioch College after serving in the Coast Guard from 1943-45. He graduated from Antioch with a degree in business administration. His professional career as an administrator was spent with several companies – Supermet, Globe, and TRW in Dayton, OH, followed by American Powdered Metals in Connecticut and Gould Industries in Indiana. He finished his career with the Yellow Springs Instrument Company, from which he retired in 1978. One of his lifelong beliefs was in the value of small communities and in the importance of active participation within the community. He lived this belief and was active in many facets of life in Yellow Springs. He worked with the Lions Club, helped the Junior Chamber of Commerce bring the swimming pool to town, served as a tutor for adult literacy, was an active member of the Unitarian Fellowship, helped facilitate the move of the Senior Citizens Center and the Village Building to new locations, and helped get the Youth Orchestra started. He also served 12 years on the Village Council, several as its president. John truly loved Yellow Springs and all it represents. In his spare time he was an avid reader and sailor and was proud of his designation as a master gardener, which he earned after his retirement. His survivors include Edythe ’50, his wife of 52 years, and three sons and their families: Rick and Susan of Maynard, MA; Mike and Jean and their children Chris and Jenny of Grove City, OH; and Ted and Carol and sons E.J. and Cole, of Columbus.

Edwin L. Grab ’55 of Newton, MA passed away in March of 2000.

Ronald Alan Wallis ’55 died December 23, 2000, in Fort Bragg, CA. In 1955, he married Freda Way, and in 1971, married Linda Westerlund. He worked in the medical field as an Antioch student, where he also learned to tune pianos. He graduated from the London College of Music before immigrating to the United States from his native England. He felt his God-given talent was playing the organ and piano. Among his many other endeavors, he was an excellent piano technician. Survivors include Freda Way Franklin ’58, of Myrtle Creek Oregon; Linda Wallis of Fort Bragg, CA; son, Trevor Wallis of Santa Clarita, CA; daughters Sylvia Biggs of Fowler, CA, Rosina Preston of Longview, TX, Jori Richards of Forest Grove, OR, and Elea Van Wormer of Fort Bragg, CA; 16 grandchildren; and three great grandchildren.

John Gibbon ’57, Chief of Biopsychology at New York State Psychiatric Institute and a Professor at Columbia University, and expert on the psychology of time, died at his home in Ossining on January 16, 2001. He was 66. The cause was cancer. The son of Mary Hopkinson Gibbon and Dr. John H. Gibbon, Jr., inventor of the original heart lung machine, he was born in Philadelphia, graduated from Exeter, passed briefly through Antioch, where he met his wife, and received his BA and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University. In his teens, he was a nationally ranked tennis player. At Antioch, he temporarily abandoned tennis and spent much of his time playing blues guitar and singing the songs of Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. He dropped out of Antioch in 1954 and settled in New York, where he was a waiter, laundry truck driver, and an assistant stage manager while he studied with the legendary bluesman Reverend Gary Davis. Eventually, to his family’s relief, he settled into academic pursuits. Dr. Gibbon’s theories of how people and animals perceive the passage of time have been confirmed in laboratories around the world and have led to experiments investigating the neural basis of diseases such as Parkinson’s in which the perception of time is impaired. His work was recently featured in a BBC special, “The Body Clock.” During the 30 years of his academic career he was continuously funded by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation. For much of this time he was studying time perception in birds, and he acknowledged his affinity with his experimental subjects, often referring to himself as a White Coated Grant Catcher. He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a recipient of the National Institute of Mental Health Merit Award, and past president of the Eastern Psychological Association. He leaves his wife Miriam (Mimi Wolf) Gibbon ’54; his son, John Jesse Gibbon; two stepsons, Andrew and Mathew Harless; and his sisters Mary Clarke, Alice Saltzman (who also passed through Antioch), and Marjorie Masek.

Angela Karen “Kaia” Lohmann ’58 died September 3, 1999 in Jalisco, Mexico. She is survived by her husband of 41 years, Carl Wilhelm “Hannes” Lohmann, four children, and three grandchildren.

Peter Mikuliak ’67 passed away on September 5, 2000. After Antioch, he focused upon human rights, world affairs and international justice. His international service culminated in his employment at Church World Service as Regional Director for the Balkans, based in Metkovic, Croatia and Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he coordinated war relief efforts for all people of that region. Most recently, as a web designer at Netivation Inc. in Coeur d’Alene, ID, he sought ways to integrate Internet technology with global relief and development. He is survived by his wife, Pamela Olsen ’68.

H. Dean Watkins ’74 died of cancer on December 9, 2000.

Patrick John Jackson ’79, who received his master’s degree in Education Administration from Antioch College, passed away March 26, 2001.

Ross Jeynes ’89 passed away suddenly on March 4, 2001, at his home in San Jose, CA. He was 35 years old.

Andy Vazac ’90, died in a car accident in April of 1996. His mother Evelyn Vazac writes, “After I recovered some from the shock, I decided that I wanted to do a collection of Andy’s columns that he had done for the local paper, sending them in from Yellow Springs, where he was working at WYSO. My thought was that it would be a lasting tribute, and that a part of him would live on in his writings. They do express many of his beliefs and principles… I welcome any requests for a copy of his book. I will be really happy to mail it to whomever wishes to have one. They could drop a card to me with their address: 2654 County Road 9, East Chatham, NY 12060.”

Robert Lundeen Aller ’56 Robert Lundeen Aller ’56 died at home on August 12, 2000 of a rapidly progressing neurological disease. He was 66. Born in Omaha, NE, he was the son of the late Dudley and Agnes (Lundeen) Aller. He is survived by his loving wife of 45 years, Susan (Bivin) Aller; two sons, Hugh Bivin Aller of New York, NY, and Benjamin Dudley Aller of Paris, France; four grandchildren; a sister, Carolyn Aller Russell of Malibu, CA; a niece, nephew and a grand-niece, all of California. After graduating from Antioch, Bob received a Master of Science degree in International Business from Columbia University. For the next 20 years he worked as a financial executive with Bendix International, first in New York City, then in Barcelona, Spain, and finally in Paris. In 1979, he and his family moved to West Hartford, CT, where he worked for the Loctite Corporation until his retirement in 1997, at which time he was senior vice president and chief financial officer. He felt a need to balance his corporate career with a parallel commitment to church, educational and community institutions. He served in leadership positions with The Riverside Church in New York City, St. George’s Anglican Church in Barcelona, and the American Church in Paris. On his return to the United States in 1977, he renewed his connection to Antioch and served as chairman of its Board of Trustees during critical times of reorganization and growth. In Hartford, he helped the Connecticut Historical Society define new visions for its future, when he served as a trustee and chairman of the Board. Throughout his life, Bob’s family was the source of his greatest pride, and his legacy to all of them is his steadfastness, his work ethic, and the absolute integrity with which he attended to all of his affairs.