Tag Archives: Williston Academy

Philip Barnhart ’44

Leave a comment

Phillip BarnhartPhilip McKernon Barnhart, 89, a longtime resident of Somers, CT and Longmeadow, MA, passed away peacefully, Saturday, February 7th, 2015 at Redstone Rehabilitation Center.

He was born in Pittsfield, MA on July 27th, 1925 the only child of Philip S. Barnhart and Alice (McKernon) Barnhart.

Phil attended Williston Academy in Easthampton, MA. He went on to attend Bates College, and then Tufts University where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business. He also participated in the V-12 Navy College Training Program where he was honorably discharged in 1946. While at Tufts, Phil excelled in sports, as he was named MVP of the football team, was the High Scorer on the basketball team, and he also set a New England track record in the 440 yard dash.

Continue reading →

Posted in: 1940s, Class of 1944

Robert W. Griffin ’37

Leave a comment

Robert W. Griffin '37Robert Wendell Griffin died January 26, 2015 in Falmouth, MA.  He was 95.

Mr. Griffin was born in Newtonville, MA. He was the son of George Appleton Griffin and Ellen (Gifford) Griffin of Woods Hole. A 10th-generation Cape Codder, he lived in Falmouth for most of his life. Through his mother, he traced his ancestry in Falmouth and Woods Hole back to the Giffords, Hatches and Robinsons, who settled the area in 1661.

Mr. Griffin was married for 49 years to Martha (Vincent) Griffin until her death in 1992. In 1994, he married Catherine B. Enos of Edgartown.

Continue reading →

Posted in: 1930s

Stephen Cook ’50

1 Comment

Stephen Cook '50Stephen B. Cook, 80, of New Bedford died June 27, 2013 at St. Luke’s Hospital after a brief illness.
He was the husband of Gertrude S. (Shea) Cook.

Born in Springfield, MA, the son of the late Lauren W. and Marion M. (Moran) Cook, he was raised in New York City, attended Williston Academy, and lived in Provincetown, MA before moving to New Bedford 35 years ago.

Steve was a commercial artist, commercial fisherman, and realtor who enjoyed painting boats and seascapes. He displayed his art in many local galleries and at the Maritime Museum in Mystic, CT. He was a member of Gallery X, the Bierstadt Society, and the Beachcombers Club in Provincetown.

Steve had a good sense of humor and enjoyed the company of his family, friends, cats and dogs.

Survivors include his wife; a son, Lauren Cook and his companion Pam Zimmerman of Philadelphia, PA; a daughter, Stephanie Barrett and her husband Michael of Dartmouth; 3 grandchildren, Patrick Barrett, Timothy Barrett and Samuel Cook; and 2 great-grandchildren, Gage and Andreia.

Posted in: 1950s, Class of 1950, Uncategorized

Frederick Moore ’49

1 Comment

Frederick E. Moore 'Fred' '49Frederick Moore passed away on January 21, 2015.

He was a resident of La Puebla, NM since 1981. He was born in Pittsfield, MA in 1931 to parents, Harwood and Lauretta Moore, now deceased. He lived in Williamstown, MA until he moved to New Mexico. He graduated from Williston Academy, Easthampton, MA in 1949. He attended Nichols Junior College in Dudley, MA until he joined the 103rd Fighter Wing of the Ct. Air National Guard at Bradley Field in 1951.

He became disabled while in the service and was discharged in 1952. He returned to Williamstown, MA and started his own excavating company and later added heating oil delivery to it.

Continue reading →

Posted in: 1940s

Paul Basamania ’65

1 Comment

Paul Basamania '65Paul Basamania, 67, of Bridge Road, Florence, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015, at his home, after a brief illness.

Paul was born Oct. 18, 1947, in Northampton, the son of the late Dr. Walter and Frances (Niksa) Basamania. He attended local schools, graduating from Williston Academy and later American International College with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He lived in Boston briefly after college before returning to Northampton where he has resided ever since.

He leaves behind his sister Gail Trudeau and her husband Roger of Whately, and four nephews, Lance Wade of Florence, Nathan Wade of Bernardston, David Trudeau of Sharon, and Jonathan Trudeau of Chicopee. He also leaves three great-nieces and a great nephew.

Posted in: 1960s

William Sleeper, Jr. ’35

Leave a comment

William Hobbs Sleeper, Jr. 'Bill'William H. Sleeper (99) passed peacefully on December 17, 2014 from metastasized prostate cancer at his retirement home in Mill Creek, WA.

Bill was born in Exeter, New Hampshire on August 5, 1915 to William H. Sleeper and Florence (Clark) Sleeper. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Williston Academy, graduating in Physics from Harvard University.

As an electrical engineer, and radar and weapons system specialist, he worked at Foxboro Instrument, Sperry Gyroscope, Bendix Aviation, M.I.T., Caltech, General Electric, Boeing, and Raytheon, finally retiring in 1990 at age 75.

Bill joined the Navy during World War II and served as radar maintenance officer on the U.S.S. Quincy both in the Atlantic and Pacific Theatres. His ship carried President Roosevelt to and from the Yalta Conference in Malta, then traveled through the Panama Canal to support military efforts in the Pacific until the war ended. During a 3-day shore leave in NYC, he married his “child bride” Norma Jean Pribyl, had a 1-day honeymoon, then shipped out to sea for 9 more months. He and Norma were happily married for 66 years until her death in 2011.

Bill is survived by his two children, Barbara Sleeper and William H. Sleeper III, three grandchildren, Kelly (Citron) Galloway, David Citron and Josh Citron, and six great-grandchildren, Grady and Gretta Galloway and Paige, Claire, Noah and Sam Citron.

Posted in: 1930s

Harold Bohmer Jr. ’48

Leave a comment

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.

Continue reading →

Posted in: 1940s, Class of 1948

Larry Neilson (Edward Moore Lawton Jr) ’71

6 Comments

Larry NeilsonLarry Neilson, formerly known as, Edward Moore Lawton, died Sunday, June 15, 2014, in Shoreline.

He was born Sept. 3, 1954, in Northampton, Massachusetts.

He was predeceased by his father Edward Milne Lawton, Jr. He leaves his mother Sally Lawton of Westhampton, Massachusetts; his sister Cynthia Lawton-Singer; his brother James Lawton; and many friends in the Seattle area.

Larry graduated from The Williston Northampton School in 1971, and from Vassar College in 1975 with honors in history. He worked in advertising, web design and photography.

He grew up in Westhampton, Massachusetts, and later lived in Marblehead from 1982 to 1990 and in Seattle since 1990. There he belonged to the University Unitarian Church, the Fremont Arts Council of Seattle, and the Seattle P-Patch Community Garden. His lifelong interests included trains, sailing and battleships, jazz, history, street theater, art cars, social justice movements and gardening.

Posted in: 1970s, Class of 1971

Raymond Montgomery ’54

1 Comment

RA MontgomeryAuthor R.A. Montgomery, co-founder of the company that first published the popular Choose Your Own Adventure interactive book series in the 1970s, died at his home in Warren, Vt., on November 9 following a brief illness. He was 78.

Montgomery was born in Connecticut in 1936. Growing up in New England, he attended Williston Academy before matriculating at Williams College, from which he graduated in 1958. Throughout his early life and education he developed a passion for finding and developing innovative teaching methods that inspired children to learn. Among his achievements in this area were his role as assistant dean of faculty at Columbia University from 1963–65 and the 1966 founding of the Waitsfield Summer School in Vermont, which featured an experiential curriculum and used gaming to teach math. Montgomery went on to develop role-playing games for the Edison Electric Institute and for training programs used in the Peace Corps.

Continue reading →

Posted in: 1950s

William Yahn ’54

Leave a comment

Will YahnWilliam “Bill” Yahn passed away on December 14, 2014.

Bill was the son of Earl Edwin and Martha Blodgett Yahn of Fairfield, CT and Santa Barbara, CA. Bill is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Nancy; sister Meredith Grenier of Palos Verdes, CA; devoted daughter and son-in-law Betsy and Chris Gillon; and 4 adoring grandchildren.

Bill was born in Detroit, MI on March 20, 1937. After graduating Trinity College (CT) in 1959, he served in the U.S. Navy as Lieutenant (J.G.), then earning an M.B.A. at the Wharton School of Business. His early life was spent in Fairfield, CT, but he and his family moved to Maryland, Mississippi and then Austin in 1981. He was a partner at Harrison-Pearson and Associates from 1991 until his retirement in January 2014.

Bill was a member of the Austin Rotary Club throughout his professional life, and a member of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, singing in its choir for many years. He was a passionate fisherman and enjoyed training his two dogs, Bart (deceased) and Sam.

Posted in: 1950s