In Memoriam
STAFF AND FACULTY
Terry Cloutier, Chicopee, Mass., March 3, 2018. Cloutier was employed for 41 years at Springfield College and retired from the position of executive secretary in 2011.
Deborah Dickens, Avon, Conn., Jan., 25, 2018. Dickens was a public-school teacher before becoming director of student support services at Springfield College for 25 years.
Edward H. Thiebe, PhD, Leverett, Mass., Oct. 19, 2017. Thiebe was associate professor of music at Springfield College. He earned his PhD in supervision and curriculum development from the University of Connecticut. He was a veteran of the Korean War, serving with the 86th and 389th United States Army Bands.
Allan Vantangoli, Ludlow, Mass., April 10, 2018. Vantangoli worked for Western Mass Electric Company (Eversource) for many years, and as a police officer for 50 years with various departments, including at Springfield College as a public safety officer from 2001-2016.
ALUMNI
George L. Helwig ’48, Severna Park, Md., Aug. 25, 2017. He received a master’s degree from Harvard. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, was awarded the Purple Heart, and retired as an Army Reserve Lt. Col. He taught, coached, directed athletics programs, and was influential in the establishment of scholastic soccer in Ohio. He was the executive director of the U.S. Pony Clubs, Inc.
Mason B. Ellison ’49, Hartford, Conn., Jan. 28, 2018. A World War II U.S. Navy veteran, Ellison first served as the Christian education director at the First Presbyterian Church in Wausau, Wis. He attended New York Theological Seminary, was ordained, and served as pastor for several churches. He and his wife Roberta, who predeceased him in 2014, were featured in Triangle 83.2.
Creighton J. Hale ’49, Williamsport, Pa., Oct. 8, 2017. Hale was a researcher who, in 1959, patented the type of helmet that baseball players wear today. He was retired president and chief executive officer of Little League Baseball, and a World War II veteran of the U.S. Navy. While a Springfield College associate professor of physiology, he began research into Little League safety requirements and, in 1955, took a temporary leave to join Little League as its first director of research. He never returned to the College, instead holding several positions before being named president in 1973.
In 1983, CEO was added to his title, and he served the organization in both capacities until his retirement in 1994. In retirement, he was a Little League senior advisor and board member. He retired from day-to-day involvement in 2001 but attended the Little League World Series each August.
Hale developed safety equipment for baseball and softball and held patents for a batting helmet, chest protector, one-piece catcher’s helmet and mask, and fence fabric. He chaired a committee for the military that directed the development of the Kevlar helmet and a lightweight bullet-proof vest.
He received numerous honors and recognitions, including from USA Baseball, the American College of Sports Medicine of which he was a fellow, and the White House. Under presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon, he served on the President’s Council for Youth Fitness. He was a presidential appointee to the White House Conference for a Drug-Free America.
Louis T. Choquette ’50, Vero Beach, Fla., Nov. 27, 2017. Choquette served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He dedicated his career to YMCAs in Stamford, Conn., Red Bank, N.J., Summit, N.J., and retired as executive director of the Lakeland Hills YMCA in Mt. Lakes, N.J.
Robert W. Palmer ’50, Chino, Calif., July 17, 2017. Palmer served in the Naval V-5 Program from 1945-48. He attended Dartmouth College and then graduated from Springfield College with a degree in education. He was a teacher in the San Diego Unified School District, teaching physical education and then science. Bob enjoyed sports and especially playing tennis with his friends and daughter.
Robert L. Seirup ’51, Fairfield, Conn., Dec. 8, 2017. After 67 years of marriage, Robert and his wife Joan (Dec. 31, 2017) passed away within weeks of one another. Bob served honorably in the U.S. Army during World War II. Bob was a physical education teacher, and accomplished basketball coach for Fairfield Public Schools. He coached the team that won the New England Basketball Championship in 1955.
David M. Seamans ’53, G ’54, Exeter, N.H., Feb. 5, 2018. Seamans was active with the Glee Club and the Scotchmen, and competed on the gymnastics and tennis teams. He was program director for the University of Minnesota Coffman Student Union, assistant student union director at the University of Rhode Island, and established and directed the Seegers Union at Muhlenberg College, where he later directed the arts center and was interim dean of students. “Springfield always held a special place in his heart,” said his wife, Jane Bond Seamans ’53. Their daughter is Nancy J.S. Wildes, G’81.
Walter F. Ersing ’54, PhD, Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 7, 2018. Ersing earned a Bachelor of Science in physical education, and varsity letters in gymnastics, track, and soccer. He was the top man doing the hand-to-hand handstand in the College’s three-man balancing team. He served for 40 years as the Class of 1954 representative helping to generate gifts for the College’s alumni fund. In 1983, Ersing received the College’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. He earned master and doctoral degrees from The Ohio State University where he served as a professor of education in the area of adaptive physical education in the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation for more than 32 years. He created and ran the adapted physical education interdisciplinary graduate program, and was men’s head soccer coach for more than a decade. He was in the U.S. Army Reserves, and involved in numerous professional organizations. He served on the U.S. Olympic Committee and, in 1976, received its Award of Commendation.
Joseph R. Fisher ’54, Piscataway, N.J., Oct. 30, 2017. Fisher received a master’s degree in physical education from Trenton State College, and served in the U.S. Army 99th Infantry in the Korean War. He taught and coached track and basketball for 34 years. His basketball team won the N.J. State Championship in 1965. He went on to become athletic director, and officiated high school athletics until his retirement at age 77.
Lorraine Frances Landman Georgeson ’54, Boulder City, Nev., March 10, 2018. She married Purnell Westbrook Sr. in 1941. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He contracted tuberculosis in North Africa. Lorraine graduated summa cum laude from Springfield College and began her teaching career in Virginia. She moved to Boulder City, Nev., where she married Robert W. Georgeson, attended UNLV for graduate work and was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi national honor society, and continued her teaching career.
Emerson W. Dunton ’56, Bayshore, N.Y., Jan. 19, 2018. A physical education teacher and coach for 51 years, Dunton made the sport of gymnastics a lifelong avocation. He coached five state champion gymnastics teams and won the National High School Gymnastics Association Coaching Award numerous years. He was inducted into the Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.
Francis T. Ball ’57, Melrose, Mass., Dec. 15, 2017. Ball was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He taught in Bethesda, Md., at Melrose High School where he was a physical educator and wrestling, football, and track coach for more than 30 years. His teams won 14 league titles. He is a member of the Melrose High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the Massachusetts Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Theresa Harrington Feid ’58, Morrestown, N.J., Feb. 7, 2018. Feid had a career as a teacher, following Springfield College, where she met her husband Charles W. Feid ’57. She volunteered and donated time to many charitable organizations.
Charles M. Haney ’59, Venice, Fla., July 31, 2017. Haney taught physical education at the former Clark Lane Jr. High School, in Waterford, Conn., and finished his teaching career and coaching the men’s basketball team at Lyman Memorial High School in Lebanon, Conn.
Tom Jessup ’61, Middlebury, Vt. Dec. 7, 2017. Jessup was a U.S. history teacher and three-sport coach at private schools in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. He leaves his wife, Judy ’61, who says “Tom loved his Springfield connection.”
Edward J. Baker ’64, West Jefferson, N.C., June 9, 2016. Baker worked in education, primarily at independent boarding and day schools and was a dedicated teacher, coach, administrator, and consultant in the field of development and alumni relations, receiving the Robert Bell Crow Award for outstanding service from the Council for the Advancement of Secondary Education. Said his wife, Carol Ann Baker ’64, “Ed was grateful throughout his life for his education at Springfield College.”
Richard E. Schmidt ’64, Ithaca, N.Y., July 25, 2017. He attended the Syracuse University Maxwell School, worked in the insurance business for several companies, and was a private insurance consultant to the Independent Insurance Agents of America. He was a musician, fluent in German, Spanish, and French, and enjoyed travelling, opera, bluegrass, fine cuisine, and Formula 1 auto racing.
Neil Emerson Stilphen ’65, Amesbury, Mass., Feb. 11, 2018. Stilphen died after a 13-year-long battle with leukemia. A New England champion wrestler in college, he taught in innovative, public elementary-school programs, was the director of living and learning schools, worked for the Department of Social Services and Children’s Protective Services in Lawrence, Mass., and conducted court investigations for the Commonwealth as a licensed clinical social worker. He was a power lifter and boxer after college, and a bodybuilder andhockey player until he was 73 years old. He leaves his wife Louise Stilphen ’65.
Marni Mae Lawson ’71, Waldoboro, Maine, Aug. 19, 2017. She taught physical education for 10 years in Massachusetts and Maine. She then pursued her watercolor art fulltime.
Patrick J. “PJ” Smyth, G’74, Castletroy, Limerick, Ireland, July 30, 2017. Smyth was a faculty member in the Department of Physical Education and Sports Science at the University of Limerick, Ireland, and played rugby competitively with the Bective Ranger and Garryowen football clubs. He helped establish the Bachelor of Science in sport and exercise sciences at the university, which was offered in Ireland for the first time in 1993, and made vast contributions to coaching education in both rugby and athletics. Said his former colleagues, “… We will be a lot less without him.”
Charles “Chuck” Wielgus G’74, Colorado Springs, Colo., April 23, 2017. Wielgus, who died from complications from colon cancer, was the executive director of USA Swimming where he oversaw that organization and growth of that sport for 20 years. In 2016, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the U.S. Sports Academy for lifetime service to the world of sport.
Wielgus attended the Virginia Military Institute and Providence College. He was assistant athletic director for the Westchester County (N.Y.) Department of Parks and Recreation, before attending Springfield College to earn his Master of Education degree. While in graduate school, he worked at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
He spent 45 years working in sports administration, serving as a coach, recreation director, 1982 U.S. National Snowboarding Championships director, two-term Vermont Parks and Recreation Association president;
Also, Hilton Head Island Recreation Association executive director, Bud Light U.S. Triathlon Series National Championships race director, USA Basketball Women’s World Championship Team training camp coordinator, U.S. Canoe and Kayak Team executive director, and Senior PGA TOUR Tournament Association (now the PGA Tour Champions) executive director.
While at the helm of USA Swimming, the organization won 156 Olympic medals. He also served as the chief executive officer of the USA Swimming Foundation.
He published three books on basketball, co-authored with Sports Illustrated senior writers Alex Wolff and Steve Rushin.
In addition to the honorary doctorate, whose previous recipients include Prince Albert of Monaco, Billie Jean King, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Donna deVarona, and Condoleezza Rice, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Paragon Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the inaugural ACES Leadership Award in 2015 from the Association of Chief Executives in Sport.
Daniel B. Kunhardt CAS ’78, Brunswick, Maine, Aug. 10, 2017. Following a career as an ordained Episcopal priest and chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Kunhardt became a pastoral counselor in the field of alcoholism treatment. His son is Dan Kunhardt Jr. ’79.
Travis P. Soule ’88, Portland, Maine, Feb. 17, 2018. Soule died unexpectedly due to a heart attack while enjoying one of his passions, Saturday spin class. He wrestled at Springfield College, and enjoyed competing in athletics, exercising, cycling, and cooking. Travis worked at Yankee Ford in South Portland, earning the Ford Level 4 Status Award two consecutive years.
Paul Failla Manship, G’11, Springfield, Mass., March 20, 2018. Manship led a courageous struggle against cancer. He was a student, teacher, actor, writer, priest, social worker, friend, and loving husband. An ordained Roman Catholic priest from 1988 to 2005, he served Latino communities of the Springfield diocese. In 2005, he began his career as a licensed clinical social worker, and was a protective services social worker for the elderly. In 2013, he and his wife Laura (Failla) moved to Honduras to minister to those in need until his health would no longer permit it.
Editor’s note: The title of the Humanics Lecture delivered in 1985 by Dr. Jean Ross was A Century of Humanics and Humanism at Springfield College. It was incorrectly titled in Triangle 87.2 In Memoriam.
1930s
Walter L. Kerley ’37, Fort Wayne, Ind.,
Jan. 11, 2018
Matthew H. Paushter ’39, Lake Worth, Fla., Dec. 11, 2017
1940s
Lawrence R. Maddock ’43, Westport, Conn., Feb. 14, 2018
Lawrence E. Jones ’44, Woodstock, Conn., Nov. 13, 2017
John Compardo ’48, Nazareth, Pa.,
Jan. 31, 2018
May L. Hazen ’48, Lyndonville, Vt., Aug. 1, 2017
Richard M. Hodgdon ’49, Scottsdale, Ariz.,
Aug. 10, 2017
Robert A. Knowles ’49, York, Pa., Oct. 4, 2017
Herbert E. Kopf ’49, Manalapan, N.J.,
Nov. 3, 2017
Frank M. Pegnato ’49, Gibsonia, Pa.,
Oct. 9, 2017
1950s
Fred M. Merrill ’50, Alexandria, Va.,
Jan. 12, 2018
Fred W. Arno ’51, Happy Valley, Ore.,
Aug. 4, 2017
Nathalie Bradley ’51, Temecula, Calif.,
July 7, 2017
Esther Brooks ’51, Cooperstown, N.Y.,
Sept. 10, 2017
Robert M. Duncanson ’51, Englewood, Fla., Aug. 20, 2017
Angus N. Gillis ’51, Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada, July 25, 2017
John R. Haines ’51, Delmar, N.Y., Nov. 1, 2017
Napoleon A. Miller ’51, Springboro, Ohio,
Feb. 21, 2018
William D. Taylor ’51, Watertown, N.Y.,
Feb. 27, 2018
Gerald D. Bullock ’52, Rockville, Conn.,
Jan. 26, 2018
Elden R. Johnson ’52, Palmetto, Fla.,
Feb. 10, 2018
Jean Miles ’52, Estero, Fla., Sept. 25, 2017
Charles E. Abramson ’53, Amherst, Mass.,
Sept. 17, 2017
Barbara R. Chinn ’53, Old Town, Maine,
Aug. 23, 2017
Carmello J. Scavotto ’53, Enfield, Conn.,
Aug. 15, 2017
Francis A. Januszewski ’54, Rockville Centre, N.Y., Sept. 16, 2017
Robert A. Massey ’54, New Market, Md.,
July 7, 2017
Edward M. Nichols ’54, Reading, Mass.,
Feb. 11, 2018
Ronald G. Watson ’54, Burlington, N.C.,
Jan. 25, 2018
Richard Fredrick Wessel ’54, Vienna, Va.,
Jan. 22, 2018.
Lyle K. Johnson ’55, Minneapolis, Minn.,
Dec. 8, 2017
Alfred A. Viola ’55, Columbia, Mo.,
Nov. 18, 2017
Jeanette York ’55, Orrs Island, Maine,
Nov. 7, 2017
J. M. Early ’56, Guelph, Ontario, Canada,
Jan. 24, 2018
George A. James ’56, Springfield, Mass.,
Nov. 5, 2017
Faith Summers ’57, Boxborough, Mass.,
Sept. 8, 2017
Loren J. Bressor ’58, West Granby, Conn.,
Oct. 28, 2017
Arnold D. Castagner ’58, White River Junction, Vt., Oct. 31, 2017
Daniel L. Newcomb ’58, Perrysburg, N.Y.,
Feb. 16, 2018
Ruth Wengenroth ’58, Keizer, Ore., Jan. 1, 2018
George G. Burr ’59, Summerville, S.C.,
Sept. 5, 2017
Stephen A. Cozzaglio ’59, Lee, Mass.,
July 12, 2017
Gordon M. Fishero ’59, Hebron, Ind.,
Nov. 16, 2017
Margaret C. Locke ’59, Elmira, N.Y.,
Aug. 27, 2017
John C. Martin ’59, Dover, Del., Aug. 24, 2017
Frances Scheckter ’59, Longmeadow, Mass., Sept. 28, 2017
Chester Soliz ’59, Rye Brook, N.Y., July 29, 2017
Gail Stevenson ’59, Mamaroneck, N.Y.,
Jan. 25, 2018
1960s
William J. Demers ’60, Enfield, Conn.,
Nov. 18, 2017
Robert G. Neil ’60, Edmond, Okla., Jan. 26, 2018
Orville C. Rowley ’60, Lewes, Del.,
Oct. 14, 2017
John F. Waitt ’60, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass., Nov. 15, 2017
Phyllis A. Emerson ’61, Wolcott, Vt.,
Oct. 1, 2017
Leonne A. Lizotte ’61, Holyoke, Mass.,
Dec. 6, 2017
Don Albano ’62, West Dover, Vt., Sept. 23, 2017
June C. Smith ’62, South Hadley, Mass.,
Sept. 4, 2017
Theodore Viele ’62, Niagara Falls, N.Y.,
Jan. 17, 2018
Wallace F. Duguay ’63, Sauquoit, N.Y.,
Aug. 2, 2017
Anne Sands ’64, Monson, Mass., Oct. 6, 2017
Robert G. Desnoyers ’65, Gulfport, Miss.,
Sept. 24, 2017
John D. Gordon ’65, Palmyra, Pa., Dec.4, 2017
Michael K. Jones ’66, Greensboro, N.C.,
Dec. 6, 2017
Marian Weisz ’69, Watertown, N.Y.,
Feb. 25, 2018
1970s
Jeanne S. Boynton ’71, Holyoke, Mass.,
Dec. 31, 2017
Bernard P. Kahn ’71, Staten Island, N.Y.,
Sept. 2, 2017
Dennis R. Madigan ’71, Teaticket, Mass.,
Nov. 10, 2017
Richard W. Ault ’72, Wayne, Maine,
Dec. 2, 2017
William R. Hawkins ’72, Lord’s Valley, Pa.,
Sept. 1, 2017
Donald A. Heath ’72, East Longmeadow, Mass., Jan. 24, 2018
Vernie L. Bolden ’73, Lansdale, Pa., Feb. 8, 2018
Kevin Bradley ’73, Worcester, Mass.,
Sept. 16, 2017
John E. Shumway ’73, Springfield, Mass.,
July 18, 2017
Wayne R. Willey ’73, Neptune Beach, Fla.,
Aug. 26, 2017
Robert M. Young ’73, Washington D.C.,
July 5, 2017
Roger P. Maphis ’74, Conway, S.C.,
Sept. 14, 2017
Beverly A. Rochford ’75, Chicopee, Mass., Dec.14, 2017
Peter C. Brault ’78, Westminster, Mass.,
Oct. 29, 2017
Reanne A. Burke ’78, Longmeadow, Mass., Aug. 19, 2017
Marlene R. Roderiques ’78, New Bedford, Mass., Jan. 19, 2018
James E. Dapp ’79, Liberty, N.Y., Sept. 5, 2017
1980s
Miles A. Merwin ’80, Corpus Christi, Texas, Nov. 17, 2017
Steve A. Pianowski ’80, Lake Mary, Fla.,
Oct. 21, 2017
Jean B. Korkisch ’82, Clintwood, Va.,
Aug. 23, 2017
Travis P. Soule ’88, New Gloucester, Maine, Feb. 17, 2018
Stephen R. Heller ’89, Mentor, Ohio,
Jan. 25, 2018
1990s
Marion L. Knedler ’90, Northwood, N.H.,
Sept. 27, 2017
Louise Crescenzi ’91, Haverhill, Mass.,
Sept. 6, 2017
MaryAnne E. Templeman ’92, Springfield, Mass., Feb. 11, 2018
Susannah D. Mollineaux ’93, Granby, Conn., Aug. 8, 2017
Janice Riedel ’93, Bushnell, Fla., Jan. 14, 2018
Robin J. Leib ’94, Northampton, Mass.,
July 9, 2017
Elizabeth A. Morancy ’94, Methuen, Mass., Sept. 5, 2017
Glenda B. Myrick ’98, Wilmington, Del.,
Feb. 9, 2018
Deborah B. Walker ’98, Middletown, Del.,
Oct. 16, 2017
2000s
Patricia M. Bryant ’00, Albany, N.Y.,
Aug. 15, 2017
Geno G. Hampton ’00, Jacksonville, Fla.,
Feb. 25, 2018
Terese J. Orsino-Rebosio ’00, Seminole, Fla., Jan. 22, 2018
Antoine G. Warren ’01, Wilmington, Del.,
Nov. 26, 2017
Catherine T. Brechner ’05, Amesbury, Mass., July 1, 2017
Lindsay M. Schrader ’06, Ossining, N.Y.,
Jan. 5, 2018
George Forbes ’08, Washingtonville, N.Y.,
Nov. 23, 2017
2010s
Norma Chayer ’11, Barne, Vt., Sept. 9, 2017
