’97
’69
Amy Kathryn “Rion” Chesbro of Ypsilanti, Michigan, died on December 17, 2010. A native of Alaska, she studied poetry at Bard and later earned a master’s degree in information science at the University of Michigan. At the time of her death, she was a teacher at Cleary Business School and Washtenaw Community College and was seeking an M.B.A. to further her career. She is survived by her fiance, PJ Two Ravens; her parents, James and Patricia; three sisters, Carrie, Jennifer, and Heidi; two brothers, Jim and Mark; and her grandmother, Helen.
Anne Phillips died at home on June 30, 2010. She was a literature/creative writing major at Bard, and went on to become a well-loved teacher in the Frederick County School System in Maryland. She is survived by her husband, Donald Franz ’70; her daughter, Laura, and son, Joshua; a sister, Leslie Phillips ’73; and a grandson, Gavin.
’93 Portia Tsehai “Poppy” Shapiro died on January 1, 2011. She was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, and attended Bard for the 1989–90 academic year. She worked for several years in the family business in Northampton, Massachusetts, and then moved to San Francisco in 1995. She is survived by her mother, Dianne; a brother, Noah; and many aunts, uncles, and cousins.
’62 Abner Symons died on October 14, 2010. He is survived by his wife, Susan A. Symons.
’58 Maxine Wynkoop died on May 10, 2010, in Florida. She majored in psychology at Bard. Her husband, John, writes, “She adored Bard. Her memories of Bard were very special to her.” She is also survived by her daughters, Holly and Hilary, and a granddaughter, Nicole.
’86 Edwin Rosado died on December 27, 2008. A sociology major at Bard, he went on to earn a master’s degree in media studies from The New School for Social Research in New York City. He spent many years working with a local “I Have a Dream” program, mentoring more than 100 young students. He also worked for the national “I Have a Dream” Foundation for a time, and then for the American Civil Liberties Union. At the time of his death, he was the managing partner of the company DPM Events. He is survived by his parents, Mercedes and Clemente; his brothers, Raul and Ivan; and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. A number of his 1986 classmates are raising funds to establish a Bard scholarship in his memory.
’79 Ruth Maxwell Hill died on September 24, 2010. A lifelong resident of New York, she was a studio arts major at Bard, and completed a master of fine arts degree at New York University. She pursued artistic interests in painting, silk screening, photography, video, and music. She participated in group shows and taught art in underprivileged schools in the Bronx. Her survivors include her dearest friend, Timothy Druckrey; a half-brother, Peter Hill; and many cousins.
’74 Ruben Nelson Bennett died on February 17, 2010. He lived in Houston, and was a laboratory supervisor at Baylor College of Medicine.
’71 Deborah Davidson Kaas died on January 10, 2011, after a long illness. A math major at Bard, she went on to a long and dedicated career supporting victims of domestic violence. She spoke at police officer trainings, testified at the state and national level, and, for nearly 20 years, volunteered as a court advocate for victims of domestic violence, seeking orders of protection in two county courts in Pennsylvania. She and her former roommate, Wendy Weldon, were instrumental in creating the Alumni/ae Memorial Bar at the Fisher Center for Performing Arts, with panels dedicated to beloved classmates and professors who had died. She served for many years on the Board of Governors of the Bard–St. Stephen’s Alumni/ae Association; during her tenure, she started the Life After Bard program, bringing together alumni/ae and current students, as well as the Bard Oral History project, recording Bard stories by alumni/ae during reunion weekends. Over the years, during graduation ceremonies, she provided gourmet snacks and exotic beverages to friends and strangers camped out on the lawn in front of Stone Row. Her sense of humor, intellectual prowess, and generosity will be missed by many Bardians who knew and loved her. She is survived by her husband, Donald Kaas.
’57 Carlisle Chandler “Chan” McIvor died in January 2011. He lived in Bermuda, and was a journalist for many years, writing for the Mid Ocean News. More recently he started and ran the Bermuda Macintosh Users Group and was helpful to many in creating websites.
’55 Dan Norman Butt died on August 24, 2010. After graduating from Bard, he had a long career in the performing arts field, working as a stage and production manager for the American Ballet Theatre, New York City Opera, Joffrey Ballet, and other dance, theater, opera, and music organizations. A blues pianist himself, Butt was also a lifelong auto racing enthusiast with a love of vintage sports cars. He is survived by his children—Peter, Elizabeth, Jeff, and Michael—and six grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Sari. Gail Sudler Rockwell died on December 1, 2010. The daughter of artists Arthur Emory Sudler and Janet Starr Whitson Sudler, she was born in New York City and spent her childhood in Douglaston, on Long Island. She was a gifted singer, but decided to pursue art instead, and became a well-known illustrator of children’s books—including three by her husband, Thomas Rockwell ’56: Rackety-Bang, The Thief, and The Portmanteau Book. The Rockwells lived in a renovated barn in LaGrange, New York, and had two children, Barnaby and Abigail.
’52 Peter W. Price died on November 19, 2010, after a short illness. His son writes: “He was very proud of his association with Bard College and enjoyed maintaining those contacts until his death. He particularly enjoyed returning to the college a few years ago and revisiting many of the places he had first visited when he spent a year there.” He lived in the United Kingdom, and was “the dearly loved husband of Margery, and a much loved father and grandpa.” Joyce Lasky Reed, 76, an author, editor, and foreign policy adviser to the U.S. State Department, died on September 12, 2010, after a long battle with lung cancer. She attended Bard for a semester in the early 1950s, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College and a master’s degree in political affairs from Georgetown University. At the time of her death she was on the Board of Overseers of Smolny College, Russia’s first liberal arts college, created as a partnership between Bard and Saint Petersburg State University. With her first husband, Anatole Shub, a journalist who worked for the New York Times and the Washington Post, she was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1969; her novel Moscow by Nightmare (1973) was a widely read
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