In Memoriam: 1950s

Notices sorted by graduation date

Charles V. Cushman Jr. (Col ’50) of Camden, S.C., died Aug. 1, 2011. Mr. Cushman worked in thoroughbred horse racing and training. He supported the Kershaw County Hospital Foundation as well as the Camden equestrian community. Mr. Cushman not only rode in a Carolina Cup race back in his early days of riding but also went on to train a horse that won the Carolina Cup.

William B. Guerrant (Col ’50 L/M) of Williamsburg, Va., died July 22, 2011. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. At the University, he was a member of Chi Phi fraternity. After graduation, Mr. Guerrant worked for Dow Chemical in Midland, Mich.; Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; and Williamsburg, Va., before being advanced in 1960 to Amsterdam with Dow’s International Division. Upon his return to Williamsburg, Mr. Guerrant left Dow and soon began a second career with Peninsula Bank, now SunTrust. In his position, he expanded bank operations in Williamsburg and the surrounding area, and retired after two decades. Mr. Guerrant was president of the Williamsburg-James City County Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the Planning Commission. In 1982, he received the Prentis Award for his strong civic involvement and support of the College of William and Mary. Survivors include two sons, Bradley B. Guerrant (Col ’78 L/M) and William B. Guerrant Jr. (Educ ’79).

John F. Harlan Jr. (Col ’50 L/M) of Charlottesville died Sept. 19, 2011. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. During Mr. Harlan’s tenure at the University of Virginia Medical Center, he occupied several administrative posts. He began his career there in 1951 as an administrative assistant and in 1954 was appointed assistant director of the University of Virginia Medical Center. From 1958 until 1981, he served as associate director and then director of the hospital. From 1981 until his retirement in 1990, he served as assistant vice president for allied health sciences. He held memberships and leadership positions in many professional organizations, including the American College of Hospital Administrators, Virginia Association of Allied Health Professions, Albemarle County Medical Society and the American Hospital Association House of Delegates, among others. He organized and played on the hospital-medical faculty softball team and enjoyed coaching his son’s Little League baseball teams. Survivors include a brother, James C. Harlan (Col ’50, Grad ’52 L/M); a daughter, Patricia Harlan McGuire (Educ ’75 L/M); and two sons, John F. Harlan III (Col ’76) and Douglas A. Harlan (Col ’87).

John J. Vogel (Col ’50) of Brookside, N.J., died Aug. 13, 2011. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His rocket and cannon propellant work moved him from New York to Virginia, Kansas, Illinois, Utah and New Jersey. He was employed by Hercules Powder Co. at its Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in Kansas as a chemical engineer from 1952 to 1957. From 1957 to 1961, he worked at Olin Mathieson in Illinois as a chemical engineer with expertise in hydrazine propellants and was instrumental in creating patents for specialized propellants. He worked at Thiokol Chemical in Brigham City, Utah, as a chemical engineer specializing in polymers that were ideal as rocket fuels, and developed liquid propellant rocket motor systems. In 1962, he joined Picatinny Arsenal as a propulsion chemical engineer and retired after 30 years at age 73. During his tenure, he received numerous awards for armament research and achievement certificates for his record of attendance. On May 2, 1979, he was awarded a certificate of achievement for value engineering for saving the government $13 million through a cost-saving program. He was an avid gardener, bibliophile, numismatist and philatelist. He was a member of the American Philatelic Society, Collectors Society and American Mint.

Howard B. Johnson (Col ’52 L/M) of Charleston, W.Va., died Sept. 12, 2011. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. At the University, Mr. Johnson played on the men’s soccer team and was a member of Chi Psi fraternity. Later, he worked for the Cannelton Coal Co. and then joined his family’s business, Charleston Electrical Supply Co. In 1968, McJunkin Corporation purchased CESCO, and Mr. Johnson became manager of its mine lighting division. He retired from McJunkin to become the general manager of the Business Industrial Development Co. Mr. Johnson served on the boards of the Children’s Therapy Clinic, Meals on Wheels and AAA, and was a member of Charleston Rotary. Survivors include a son, Howard B. Johnson Jr. (Col ’87 L/M).

William R. Walker Jr. (Col ’52 L/M) of Richmond, Va., died July 22, 2011. He served in the armed forces during the Korean War. At the University, he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Mr. Walker joined the Royal Liverpool Insurance Group in 1956, working in New York City and Greensboro, N.C., before returning to Richmond in 1959 to join Davenport Insurance Co. He became assistant vice president of Marsh McLennon and in 1975 was named president of Mutual Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Richmond Corp. In 1982, Mutual Insurers was sold to the original Hilb, Rogal and Hamilton Insurance Co., and Mr. Walker continued as president until his retirement in 1988. After receiving the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters designation, he served as president of the Virginia chapter in 1970. Survivors include a son, William R. Walker III (Col ’89 L/M).

Richard DiGregorio (Engr ’53 L/M) of Southbridge, Mass., died Sept. 1, 2011. After graduation, Mr. DiGregorio returned to Southbridge to work with his brothers at the business begun by their father in 1916, the United Lens Company, as chief engineer. He retired as vice president of manufacturing in 1991, but remained a member of the company’s board of directors. He was a lifetime member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. He was a member of the Knights of Don Orione in East Boston, a member of the Southbridge Exchange Club and sat on the board of directors of the Southbridge Credit Union. Survivors include three brothers, Raymond DiGregorio (Col ’50 L/M), Leonard M. DiGregorio (Col ’52) and Ronald A. DiGregorio (Col ’54).

Joseph R. Chapman Jr. (Educ ’54) of Newport News, Va., died Aug. 18, 2011. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps. At the University, he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He later went to work for Newport News Shipbuilding, from which he retired in 1983. Mr. Chapman loved his hometown of Chuckatuck, the Virginia Cavaliers and giving away the fruits of his large garden.

Willie H. Morris (Med ’54) of Lynchburg, Va., died July 16, 2011. Dr. Morris was a diplomate of the American Board of Surgeons, a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the Virginia Surgical Society, Lynchburg Academy of Medicine, Southern Medical Association, Virginia Medical Society and the American Medical Association.

Paul E. Edlund (Grad ’54 L/M) of Belmont, Mass., died Aug. 11, 2011. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. At the University, he worked for the library system. Mr. Edlund later worked at the Library of Congress for 27 years. He became an active member in the community of Garrett Park, Md., serving on its town council for six years and as mayor for six more. He was an avid historian and writer and published his first book, a history of the town of Garrett Park, in 1988. His second book, Youth, the First Victim of War, followed in 2004, a historical account of his air crew in WWII. Mr. Edlund’s other interests included golf, landscaping and art, especially watercolors and wood block prints.

George M. Gibbs (Col ’54 L/M) of Estes Park, Colo., died April 3, 2011. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After graduation, he was assistant to the vice president for finance at International Christian University in Tokyo. When he returned to the U.S., Mr. Gibbs went to work for the Mead Paper Corp. in Dayton, Ohio, where he spent the next 31 years as a systems analyst. After retirement, he moved to Estes Park, where he served on the North End Property Owners Association and worked as a volunteer at Rocky Mountain National Park, winning his gold bar for more than 2,000 hours of service. Survivors include his wife, Dorothy S. Gibbs (Grad ’64 L/M); and a son, Peter C. Gibbs (Col ’83 L/M).

Robert P. Auersch (Col ’55) of East Walpole, Mass., died July 19, 2011. He served in the U.S. Army. After graduation, Mr. Auersch played professional baseball as a catcher for the New York Yankees’ farm team. He later worked in sales for 3M Corporation for 26 years, retiring in 1998.

John W. Cutler (Col ’55, Educ ’69) of Temperanceville, Va., died Sept. 30, 2011. He served in the U.S. Air Force. At the University, he was a member of Theta Chi fraternity. Later, he worked for the CIA and the American Oil Company. He taught in the Accomack County Public School system in Virginia and then was among the first to establish the Southside Virginia Community College in Keysville, Va. While there, he worked as a counselor and later became its director of continuing education. Mr. Cutler went on to work for the Department of Defense in Richmond, Va., until his retirement.

Kae Engquist Brown (Nurs ’56 L/M) of Williamsburg, Va., died Aug. 27, 2011. She worked with her husband as a registered nurse in their private medical practice until the time of her death. She was a member of the William & Mary Community Orchestra for more than 40 years and the York River Band, as well as numerous other musical ensembles. She helped establish the Williamsburg Hospice and volunteered for the American Cancer Society and other charitable organizations. Survivors include her husband, Joseph Daniel Brown III (Col ’56, Med ’60); and a daughter, Barbara Brown Bonheur (Nurs ’81 L/M).

Harmon H. Haymes (Grad ’56, ’59) of Bedford, Va., died Aug. 20, 2011. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Mr. Haymes was a professor of economics at Smith College, Washington and Lee University, Virginia Commonwealth University and St. Mary’s College of Maryland. He also served as vice president in research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va.

Ellena “Sally” Armistead (Educ ’57) of Mathews, Va., died Aug. 16, 2011. She was an educator in the Newport News Public Schools. She taught elementary and high school students, receiving promotion to assistant principal at Warwick High School, where she served for 23 years. During her years in Mathews, she enjoyed tending to the landscape of her home. She was a member of the Jamestown Society.

Terence J. McKenzie (Grad ’58 A/M) of Charlottesville died Nov. 19, 2007. After completing his World War II service with the U.S. Army Air Forces as a flight engineer in the Air Transport Command in March 1946, Mr. McKenzie became a tool-and-gage inspector for Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical Corp. in Caldwell, N.J. He later earned a master’s degree in sociology from the Catholic University of America and was a social science analyst in the Air Research Division of the Library of Congress. Mr. McKenzie continued to pursue his doctoral studies at U.Va., where he held two DuPont fellowships and a part-time instructorship during his last year as a student. He joined the English faculty and taught continuing education classes at U.Va.’s northern branch in Fairfax, Va., which later became George Mason University. He was a professor in the humanities department of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., from 1966 until retiring in 1984. Mr. McKenzie was a member of the Modern Language Association and the English Institute. Survivors include a son, Eric F. McKenzie (Grad ’86).

Robert B. Moses (Col ’58) of Lexington, Va., died July 7, 2011. After graduation, he went on to a career in research and manufacturing in the semiconductor industry, working for Texas Instruments and GE, among other companies. He then cared for his parents. He was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels, Theater at Lime Kiln and the Christmas Basket program, among others.