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1967 Susan Francis Coiner July 31, 2012 Susan Coiner was part of a large, multigenerational Bates family. She received honors in government, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and was elected to the Bates Key. She went on to the Iowa Writers School at the Univ. of Iowa, remaining there to teach writing and English literature. Health problems forced her to change her career to the insurance world, and she became an editor and consultant for Aetna. Survivors include daughter Kimberley Coiner-Moyle; sister Carol Francis Salerno ’66; and cousin Jeffrey Brigham ’75. Her grandparents were Elsie Lowe Turner and Horace Turner, both 1911; her parents were Alice Turner Francis ’42 and Bernard Francis ’42; Hazel Turner Leard ’40 and John Leard ’38 were her aunt and uncle; and Horace Turner ’34 was her uncle. Elizabeth Harman Johnson October 2, 2012 Betsy Johnson’s interests ranged from the art of India to community gardening. She worked at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for 17 years as the administrative assistant to the curator of Indian art, Stella Kramrisch, who, according to The New York Times, “laid the foundations for the systematic study of Indian art.” In 1988, she went to work for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, transforming trash into tomatoes, dumps into organic dirt. She shoveled out garbagefilled plots with local residents herself, helped them figure out what they wanted to grow, all part of Philadelphia Green, a program that revitalized and maintained the city’s infrastructure. Eight years ago, she moved to North Carolina, and worked with a landscape company. Her first husband, Charles Pfaffmann ’67, was killed in Vietnam in 1968. Her second husband, Floyd Johnson, survives her, as do her parents, Theresa and Arthur Harman, and several nieces and nephews.
1970 Ruth Batson Weston October 15, 2012 Sometimes one studies a field in college for four years, and then takes one class after graduation to have everything fall in place. That’s how things happened for Ruth Weston, a mathematics major and dean’s list student. One class in computer programming (at the time a very new field) solidified her talents and gave her a rewarding career. She took time off to be with her children when they were young, substituting as a math teacher during those years. She also was a volunteer for Red Cross. Later,
she worked for MassMutual as a computer systems trainer, systems analyst and consultant, and a quality assurance analyst. Survivors include husband Peter Weston, and children Mary and Matthew. Her sister-in-law is Marcia Weston Haas ’70. Stephen Lewis Griswold February 10, 2013 He was going to law school. That’s what Steve Griswold said. What originally distracted him was a job as a housing coordinator with the federal Model Cities program that tried to improve inner-city living conditions. Soon he was named housing adviser for a nonprofit that was so successful he formed the for-profit Shelter Group, which would provide low-income housing and tax shelters for high-income investors. Shelter Group soon became the second-largest taxpayer in the city, and by 1983 it had developed $50 million in property in Maine, $28 million in Lewiston alone. With his partners, he built and operated the Hilton Garden Inn in Auburn, the Hampton Inn and Suites in Exeter, N.H., and the Sheraton Harborside Hotel in Portsmouth, which was named “best franchised property worldwide” by Starwood Hotels and Resorts in 1999. He turned a burned-out shell into 27 apartments for the elderly and 15,000 square feet of retail and office space on a prominent street corner known as The Gateway Building in Lewiston for one of his earliest projects. He indulged his other interests with partial ownership of the Maine Red Claws basketball team and of a NASCAR team with Brad Leighton as the driver. He and Susan Funderburk Rainsley ’71 married during his junior year. They later divorced. Survivors include his second wife, Margaret Ellen Smith; two children from his first marriage, Laurie Craft and Matthew Griswold; stepchildren Martha Bryon and Chris Thompson; and 13 grandchildren. Susan Elizabeth Tetro August 5, 2012 For someone who loved to travel, it makes sense that Susan Tetro held onto her job as a travel consultant for AAA. Her last trips were a cruise to Russia and a safari in Kenya, both of which gave her ample opportunity to add to her collection of photographs, which she exhibited in several shows. Survivors include father Dudley Tetro; brother Bruce Teatrowe; and sisters Lynne Costa and Jean Odiorne. Her cousin is Charles Tetro ’69.
1973 Christine Casey Piattelli September 3, 2012 It took her awhile to find her true love — in life and in work — but she found them. Chris
Piattelli was an English major at Bates, and went on to library school at SUNY-Albany. She worked in the field for a number of years, drawing and doodling all the while. But it wasn’t until she met George Wilson, the love of her life, who had a habit of referring to what he considered his over-large head as his “Easter Island head,” that the two in a flash of inspiration invented a comic strip called “Big Rock Heads.” It can still be found online in tribute to her at bigrockheads.com. He survives her, as do children Vincent and Kathryn.
1975 Carol Champion Malinowski ’75 wasn’t afraid of distance, horizontal or vertical. She ran marathons and she climbed mountains. Carol Champion Malinowski December 16, 2012 Carol Malinowski wasn’t afraid of distance, horizontal or vertical. She ran marathons and she climbed mountains. She climbed all 48 4,000-foot mountains in the White Mountains. That’s an aggregate of 36 miles, more than a marathon and a third put together. She became an occupational therapist in day treatment centers after earning her M.S. at Sargent College at BU in 1988. Survivors include husband Peter Malinowski ’76; father Harry Champion; sisters Linda Champion ’72 and Pat Evans; and brother David. Kevin Barry Haines February 25, 2013 Kevin Haines died in a head-on traffic collision near his home in Norway, Maine. He had worked for various post offices in Maine for many years, most recently as a Savings Bond salesman. Previously, he had been the postmaster in Greenville and in Rumford, and had served as acting postmaster in Old Town and Auburn. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps, including two years in Vietnam. Survivors include son Zachary; brother Alan; and sisters Janet Haines ’75 and Linda. His parents were David Haines ’44 and Ruth Wyer Haines ’42.
1977 Frederick Wheeler Hayes Jr. September 17, 2012 Fritz Hayes was killed by a home burglar who surprised him and his wife when they returned after a morning walk. He was the criminal’s alleged
fourth and final victim. The case has been followed closely in the press. Fritz traveled cross-country to attend Bates (he went to high school with Bill Gates), perhaps because he loved lacrosse so much and knew it was more of an East Coast sport at the time. Refereeing lacrosse games remained a passion throughout his life, along with sailing and kayaking. He majored in chemistry at Bates and earned an M.B.A. from Seattle Univ., but his career was in high tech. Eventually, he turned that into a consulting career. His sister, Ruth Hayes-Arista, speaking for the family after he was killed, said they wanted him to be remembered as “always grinning,” because he was so smart and always a step ahead of everyone. He wrote with some relief in 2010 that now that their youngest child was off to college, he and his “amazing wife” could “mediate the conflict between what the mind commits to and what the body can handle.” Besides his wife, Margaret Hartrich Hayes, survivors include children Sarah, Emily and Nathan; parents Frederick Sr. and Catherine; and two other sisters.
1979 Alex Jose Bermudez October 8, 2012 Alex Bermudez looked at a piece of chicken very differently than most people. It was an occupational hazard: He was an expert in poultry science and avian pathobiology. At his death, he was president of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians. He was an editor for several professional magazines and a contributing author to the core textbook in the field. In addition to his Bates degree in biology, he held a master’s in nuclear medicine and a D.V.M. from the Univ. of Illinois. In 1991, he joined the faculty at the Univ. of Missouri Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory as an avian pathologist; in 2005 he became its director. Survivors include wife Lisa Lundelius Bermudez and children Alexa, Steven and Peter.
1981 Philip Thomas Cullen Jr. January 8, 2013 Philip Cullen was a psychology major at Bates. He held various sales positions in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts before his health prevented him from working. He never lost his love of the outdoors, and was proud of his ability to adapt to any environment. Survivors include parents Philip Sr. and Mary Leary Cullen; sister Kathleen Kirks; and brother Kevin.
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