Category Archives: Class of 1948

Gordon Prochnow ’48

Gordon ProchnowGordon Russell Prochnow, Sr. age 85, of Freehold Township passed peacefully in his sleep at home on January 4, 2016.

Born in Boston, MA and raised in East Hampton, MA he attended Williston Academy and became a volunteer firefighter at age 14. After moving to New Jersey in 1967, he was active in the local community serving the Freehold Township Independent Fire Company No. 1 for almost 50 years as a member, serving as Chief in 1980, Fire Commissioner District No. 1 and Fire Bureau member. He was an instructor at the Monmouth County Fire Academy assisting many volunteers start their careers with proper training and always a good story to tell.

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Sally Allen Lewis ’48

Sally AllenSara “Sally” Allen Lewis, age 84, a longtime New Canaan resident and former resident of Mount Kisco, N.Y. died peacefully Dec. 18, 2015 in Stamford.

Sally was born in Greenfield, Mass. on April 23, 1931. After attending The Bement School and The Northampton School for Girls, she earned a BA in Bacteriology from Goucher College in 1952.

Sally’s lifelong passions included horseback riding, theater and extensive global travel. She worked in a variety of positions at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, the American Cancer Society, and the corporate offices of Dress Barn. Most recently, she was a volunteer at Norwalk Hospital and at Treasure House in Norwalk.

Sally is survived by her children Alexandra (John) DeMarino of New Canaan, and Scott Ballantyne Lewis of Brooklyn, N.Y., granddaughters Kathleen and Elizabeth DeMarino, nephew Stewart (Kathy) Allen, niece Marie Louise (Rick) Martin and three great nephews, all of North Platte, Neb. She was predeceased by her brother, David Field Allen, and her parents Lewis W. and Louise Field Allen.

Anne Phelps Dodge Herbert ’48

HerbertAnne Phelps Dodge Herbert was born on March 28, 1931 in Colorado Springs, CO and died on July 16, 2015 in Mobile, AL after a long illness.

She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Phelps Dodge of Colorado Springs, CO. She was preceded in death by her parents, her two brothers Stuart and Peter and her first husband John Wesley Geary, Jr. She is survived by her second husband Donald Edmonds Herbert, Jr. to whom she was happily married for nearly fifty years and her daughters Hillary Herbert and Emily (nee′ Wason Geary) and her husband Victor Maskey of Mobile, AL a son John Wesley Geary, III and his wife Stacy (nee′ Hill) of Atlanta, GA and two grandsons Jack and Riley also of Atlanta.

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Bruce Yarber ’48

Bruce YarberBruce A. Yarber passed away on July 9, 2015 at the Holyoke Soldiers Home.

The beloved husband of Suzanne (Patterson) Yarber, he was 85 years of age. Born and raised in Holyoke, Bruce was the youngest of three children born to the late Clifford Yarber and Ida May (MacMonegle) Yarber.

Bruce attended Holyoke schools until the eighth grade, when he went to the Williston School for Boys in Easthampton. He graduated from Williston in 1948. Following Williston Bruce attended Brown University, graduating in 1952. Upon graduation he enlisted in the United States Army serving during the Korean War.

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Robert LaPrade ’48

Robert LaPradeRobert M. “Bob” Laprade passed away on June 17, 2015 in Leeds, MA surrounded by friends.

He was born in Easthampton, MA on June 22, 1924 to Peter Ovide and Aurore (Michaud) Laprade.

He was educated in Easthampton schools, graduating from Easthampton High School and after service in the U.S. Army in WWII, he graduated from the Williston Academy. Robert graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business with a degree in accounting and received a Doctorate in Jurisprudence from Boston College.

Robert lived for over 40 years in Washington, DC practicing law for the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Federal Court System. In 2009 he returned home to Easthampton.

He is survived by his niece, Catherine (Kitty) Maxey and her husband Dee of Dallas, TX and many friends across the country.

Robert was predeceased by his parents; sisters Georgette L. O’Connor and Pauline C. Jurkowski; brother-in-law Jerry O’Connor; and nieces Maggi O’Connor and Joni A. Jurkowski.

Robert Ceely ’48

Robert Ceely '48Robert Ceely was born in Torrington, Connecticut and grew up in Longmeadow and Williamstown in Massachusetts.

He attended the Pine Cobble School (?—1945), Williston Academy (Class of 1948), Hobart College (1948/49), the New England Conservatory (Class of 1954) where he studied with Francis Cooke. Further studies were with Darius Milhaud and Leon Kirchner at Mills College where he earned the degree of Master of Arts (1961), and with Roger Sessions. Edward Cone and Milton Babbitt at Princeton University (1958/59).

In 1963-64 he worked in the Electronic Music Studio in Milan as guest of The Italian Government. His compositions include solo, chamber, and orchestral music as well as music for tape alone and tape with instruments. His ballet “Beyond the Ghost Spectrum”, with choreography by James Waring commissioned by the Fromm Music Foundation, was performed at Tanglewood in August, 1969, with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting. His opera” Automobile Graveyard”, after a play by Fernando Arrabal, was presented at the New England Conservatory in 1995.

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Nancy Day Trowern ’48

DayFormer Grosse Pointe Park resident Nancy Trowern, 84, died peacefully Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015, under hospice care at her home in Silver Spring, Md. She was surrounded by her husband, Howard “Joe” Trowern, their four children and her longtime caretaker, Rosario Martinez.

She was born Aug. 6, 1930, in Yonkers, N.Y., to Lt. Gen. and Mrs. Karl S. Day. She lived in Coronado, Calif., before moving to East Williston, N.Y., when she was 8. She attended the Northampton School for Girls in Massachusetts and Goucher College in Baltimore.

When she returned to East Williston, she met a 20-year-old backyard neighbor who had just returned from the war in Europe. In exchange for a ride to the beach, she offered to help him wash his car. That was the last car Joe Trowern ever washed. The couple married June 23, 1951.

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Harold Bohmer Jr. ’48

Harold Bohmer, Jr. '48Harold “Hal” Bohmer died Monday, December 29, 2014, at home in Tucson, Arizona surrounded by his loving family after a short illness.

His profession as a geologist brought him to Tucson for work during graduate school in the fifties and he later returned with his wife Cynthia to retire and bask in the beauty of the mountains.

Hal was born in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1930 and attended Williston Academy, now known as the Williston-Northampton School. He graduated from Amherst College following four years of service in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. Hal went on to complete both an M.S. Degree and a Ph.D. in geology at the University of Cincinnati where he was awarded two National Science Foundation Fellowships. Later, Hal was honored with membership in the scientific research society Sigma Xi.

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Robert Francis Moylan ’48

MoylanRobert Francis Moylan, 83, of West Hartford, CT passed away peacefully on Wednesday, September 10, 2014 at Hebrew Home in West Hartford surrounded by his loving wife Carol and their children.

He was born on January, 13, 1931 in Hartford, CT, the son of the late Honorable Cornelius A. Moylan and Anne (Durkin) Moylan. Bob attended Williston Academy in Massachusetts and was a graduate of Bulkeley High School in Hartford.

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