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Boston Univ. In all, he served over 40 years as a minister, including six years as the director of the United Methodists New Hampshire Conference Council on Ministries. A lifelong supporter of civil rights, he marched with Martin Luther King on Montgomery. He was a member of his 50th Reunion committee and a former career adviser. Survivors include wife Maryellen Harrington Haynes; daughters Linda and Judith; two grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and cousin Margaret Seavey Pianin ’62. Arthur Paul Mullaney January 26, 2018 Art Mullaney started his career as a social worker at a state prison in Massachusetts. He quickly moved into teaching and from there into guidance counseling, earning a master’s in education from Salem State in 1964. He was a counselor in Burlington, Mass., before becoming the director of guidance in Randolph, Mass., where he remained for 19 years. One of his accomplishments was organizing the first “smoke out,” where students went door-to-door urging people to give up smoking for one day and donate the money they saved to a college scholarship. That event in Randolph was adopted by the American Cancer Society and became The Great American Smokeout. He was a career adviser for Bates and an Alumni-in-Admission volunteer. Survivors include wife Judy Mickelsen Mullaney; children Jeffrey, Timothy, and Lynn Lizotte; and five grandchildren.
1960 Riley Weldon Burns May 9, 2017 Riley Burns left Bates after two years to serve in the U.S. Army, and returned five years later to complete his degree in chemistry. He worked for Armstrong Cork and then Armstrong World Industries as a principal chemist. His wife, Janice Burland Burns ’55, predeceased him. Survivors include son Hugh; and two grandchildren. Janice Margeson Mills March 15, 2018 Jan Margeson Mills earned a master’s from Framingham State College in addition to her degree from Bates. She taught school for several years, then ran the Flume Restaurant in Mashpee, Mass., for 31 years. She served 38 years on the Mashpee School Committee and was chair several times. She was an active member and twice president of the Massachusetts Assn. of School Committees. She also was an artist, painting in water color. Survivors include daughter Nancy Oakley Mills. David Pingree Wallstrom December 27, 2017 An economics major, Dave Wallstrom started his career as an underwriter for Hartford Insurance Co. and Kansas City Insurance Co. He saw the future and by 1968 he was working
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as a computer programmer in Boston. He rounded things out by becoming a computer programmer for an insurance company. A man of deep faith, he was a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church in Melrose where he enjoyed singing in the choir and weekly Bible studies. He had a vast music collection and could sing any number of his favorite country tunes. Survivors include children Steven M. Wallstrom and Deborah L. Perrault; and four grandchildren.
1961 Gretchen Luise Rauch October 8, 2017 Gretchen Rauch saw England as a teacher in Eastbourne in Sussex. Later in life, she was the assistant commissioner of family court in New York City during the Dinkins administration. She was an animal lover and avid bird watcher. Survivors include stepchildren David and Laura Masten. Frank Walter Ricker February 22, 2018 Frank Ricker stretched his biology degree in several directions. He taught at Bridgton Academy and Hall-Dale High School, and received a master’s in education from UMaine Orono in 1961. He also coached track, baseball, and basketball. In 1966, he changed direction and went to work for the state of Maine in marine biology. He finished his career as a microbiologist at the state lab. Survivors include wife Courtney Ricker; children Shari Falcone, David Ricker, and Melinda Ricker; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
1962 Leah Rainville Foster February 2, 2018 Lean Rainville Foster was something of an expert on astronaut claustrophobia, having written several papers on it while working at Harvard’s School of Public Health. A graduate of Sacramento State Univ., she lived in several places around the world, including Guam, Tokyo, and Manila. She taught as an adjunct professor at the Univ. of Guam, ran a life insurance agency in Japan, and completed her career with the Xerox Corp. in the U.S. from which she retired in 2001. Survivors include husband Thomas; daughters Jennifer, Maggi and Susan Price; stepchildren Thomas and Heather Foster; and two grandchildren. Susan Bates Spooner November 25, 2017 Sue Bates Spooner was more than a gifted educator of students with special needs; she was a crafter and artisan in many disciplines. She knitted, quilted, made clothes, upholstered, and, beyond all else, painted ceramics. She held a master’s in education from Rivier College in addition to her degree in psychology from Bates. She was a member
of her 50th Reunion committee. At Bates, she met Raymond Spooner ’63, who would become her husband. He survives her, as do children Bethany Ciocci and Timothy Spooner; and three grandchildren. Besides her husband, her Bates relatives include brother-in-law John W. Farr ’63; cousins Jill Farr Davis ’56 and Hildreth Spooner Danforth ’67; her late mother Elizabeth McGrath Shumway ’33; and her late cousin Alfred C. Webber ’28. Richmond Shepherd Talbot April 18, 2018 Richmond Talbot retired for four weeks. He sold the family business and prepared for leisure. Then he went back to work as a journalist. His first career was in teaching; he taught high school for 10 years in Attleboro, Mass. He then took over his family’s insurance business in Plymouth, Mass. He wrote a popular column for the Old Colony Memorial newspaper for 25 years before joining the staff as a correspondent, writing feature articles as well as his column. Survivors include daughters Rebecca Driscoll and Melinda Nasardinov; and four grandchildren. His late cousin was Robert A. Shepherd ’69, whose wife is Alice Grant Shepherd ’71. Janice Upham November 29, 2017 After earning a biology degree from Bates, Jan Upham worked for Eastman Kodak in Rochester, N.Y., then earned a master of science in education from Miami Univ. She returned to Bates in 1971 in College Advancement and later worked in Information and Library Services, serving as an associate director for administrative systems and retiring as a purchasing, sales, and account specialist in 2007. As the systems coordinator for Bates Advancement, she oversaw the computerization of the college’s paper-based alumni records – a data-entry process that took nearly four years – while also handling gift processing for the 1978–84 Campaign for Bates. She was a past president of the Bates Key – now the College Key – and a member of her 50th, 45th, and 25th Reunion committees. Survivors include her aunt, Jean Jacobs Perkins ’47, and nephew James Upham, assistant coach of Nordic skiing at Bates. Her late uncles were Ervin L. Perkins ’44 and Kenneth C. Cary ’53; her late cousins were Harriet Belt Nutting ’41 and Carolyn Cary Haskell ’70.
1963 Jacqueline Gallagher Soychak December 5, 2017 Jackie Gallagher Soychak started out as a substitute English teacher at South Portland High School and rose to become vice-principal and then principal. After 21 years in South Portland, she learned that a new high school was being built in Poland. Despite being happy with her
current job, the opportunity to construct a new school – curriculum, faculty, procedures – was too enticing. She was hired as the first principal of Poland Regional High School. She implemented several radical and often controversial ideas, one being to eliminate letter grades and substitute marks ranging from “competent” to “distinguished.” In addition to her English degree from Bates, she held a master’s in education from USM. She is survived by daughters Monica Nadler, Amanda Repsher, Cecilia Owens, and Antonia Soychak; and three grandchildren. Webster Lee Harrison June 17, 2018 It’s a great day to be a Bobcat. Web Harrison coined the slogan, now ubiquitous in cheers, campus posters, and alumni mailings. It’s an amalgam of Bates and Marine Corps cultures, the two institutions that shaped him. He was the football, track, and lacrosse coach at the college from 1974 into the 1990s, shaping the lives of hundreds of men with Bates ideals and practical values. Appointed in 1974 as an assistant coach of football and track, he would serve as a head coach in three Bates sports for a total of 35 seasons. He led the football program from 1978 to 1991, winning four CBB titles. As the founding head coach of the men’s varsity lacrosse program, he led the team from 1977 to 1995, earning ECAC tournament berths in 1984 – and receiving New England Lacrosse Coach of the Year honors that year – and again in 1987. A longtime associate professor of physical education, Harrison also served as head coach of women’s track and field for two years. After coaching, he joined the Office of College Advancement, where he established the Bates Parents & Family Assn. He retired in 1999. A biology major at Bates, he was a four-year member of the football team, a sportswriter for The Bates Student, and part of the Mirror business staff. He joined the Marine Corps. right out of college and was among the first combat troops sent to Vietnam. His other great passion was daffodils: He grew some 12,000 in 14 gardens at his house in Auburn, many of which he gave to local nonprofits. Survivors include wife Kathleen McEntee Harrison; daughter Kathryn Harrison; and a granddaughter.
1964 Penelope Polleys December 6, 2017 Penny Polleys, a religion major, enrolled in a two-year nursing program in California, from which she graduated first in her class. She then joined the convent of Little Sisters of the Poor, which serves elderly poor people in 30 countries. During her years with the nursing order, she lived in many states as well as France and Hong Kong. After leaving the order, she earned a master’s degree in guidance. Survivors include sister Patricia Bragg.