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Roy William Reitsma July 25, 2012 Roy Reitsma, affectionately known as “Hippie” because of his long hair when he arrived at Bates, lived on fourth-floor Adams for all four years at Bates. There he enjoyed the company of his “Adams 4” family while he was studying or listening to music: Led Zeppelin, The Who and the J. Geils Band were a few of his favorites. After receiving his degree in psychology and biology from Bates, he moved to Myrtle Beach, S.C., where he was an independent computer software professional. He had a lifelong love of sports, especially skiing and tennis, and a passion for the Red Sox that followed him all the way to South Carolina. Survivors include his wife, Kimberley Thomas.
1976 Gordon Campbell Bergen May 31, 2013 Gordon Bergen and his wife, Carolyn Nosal Bergen, set out in 1996 on a whim to build their own Internet gift business, and called it — what else? — On a Whim. You can find it online under that name. It really wasn’t such a whim. After all, Gordon’s degree from the college was in economics, and he left a successful career with Cadbury Beverages in Stamford, Conn., to start the business. They built it up slowly from a small room in their home. Besides his wife, survivors include son Alexander. Thomas Ettore Meehan May 30, 2013 Tom Meehan was a history major at the college who played intramural sports and was active in the Big Brother program. He was a parishioner of St. Joseph Church in Suffield, Conn., and worked at Modern Drug Store. He is survived by his wife, Stella Durand Meehan. Lydia Gladys Milne July 11, 2013 Lydia Milne was a biology major, but graduated at just the right time and place to step into the computer industry along Route 128 around Boston. She found her niche in project management, and received her master’s in it from Brandeis. The faculty there thought so highly of her that the university ended up hiring her to teach it to other students. A member of the Congregational Church in Wellesley, she enjoyed skiing and sailing. Survivors include brothers Bruce Milne ’78, Jeffrey and Roger.
1991 Theodore Leo Coulombe June 8, 2013 Ted Coulombe used his degree in French from Bates to get a job at Bowdoin working with the books of masters of the English
language. That’s overstating the case a bit, but his fluency in French was an asset when the Hawthorne-Longfellow Library needed to catalog volumes from the two authors’ collections, pulling him away from his usual circulation duties. He worked there until 2003, when he returned to Bates as technical adviser and editor, designing Web pages from concept to execution for E-clectic, the online magazine showcasing student work in the humanities, and as digital technician for the office of the dean of faculty. He graduated magna cum laude from Bates and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Survivors include his father, Larry Coulombe, and sister, Grace Coulombe ’94. Mary Elizabeth Marshall November 20, 2012 As a student, Mary Marshall directed choirs and played the organ at three different churches. She was an actress, and the assistant musical director of a Gilbert and Sullivan production. A psychology major, she volunteered as a mathematics teacher and was a medieval art historian. She brought several of her interests together with her final job at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, N.Y., where she developed a curriculum about this founder of the Hudson River School of painters. She sang in musical groups at Bates and afterward, continued to play the organ and worked avidly in the garden. She taught ESL in Budapest while speaking “very bad Hungarian”; English to Virginia eighth-graders; and creative writing in high school where she played piano for the musicals. Along the way, she earned a master’s in education from George Washington. Survivors include her mother, Edith Marshall Roberts, stepfather John Roberts, and brothers Peter and David Marshall.
2002 Vân Vu Brantner March 11, 2013 The Vietnamese name she was given at birth — Vu Thi Hong Vân — means “dancing pink cloud” and seems to personify the vivacious young woman who graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in economics and East Asia studies. Her professors marveled at her ability to shrug off problems in her data sets, make things right and keep working. She relished the opportunity to study at Nanjing Univ. in China during Short Term. She studied at the Univ. of Hanoi before coming to the U.S. and earned an M.B.A. from the Univ. of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. She worked as an economics analyst for the Federal Trade Commission before becoming a vice president at Bank of America in 2007. Her three dachshunds vied for her spare time. Survivors include her husband, Jeffrey Brantner, and son, Cuong Nguyen.
2015 John Durkin ’I5 avoided easy answers, offering “nuanced, balanced and interesting” contributions in the Bates classroom. John Nolen Durkin February 20, 2014 John Durkin of Rye Beach, N.H., died in Rome while studying abroad on a program sponsored by Trinity College. An economics major and Asian studies minor, he is remembered as a superb student who avoided easy answers, offering “nuanced, balanced and interesting” contributions in the classroom, said Margaret Mauer-Fazio, the Betty Doran Stangle Professor of Applied Economics, who taught John in her course on China’s economic reforms. A linebacker on the football team, John brought his smarts to that endeavor, and Bates head football coach Mark Harriman said that he will always remember John’s “commitment to excellence in all phases of his life, which was inspirational to the team. We will remember John’s fortitude and character and attempt to emulate those standards.” In the summer, John was a crew member for the Isles of Shoals Steamship Co., and after work each day he and teammates in the area did their football workouts together. Survivors include his parents, Liz and Tim Durkin; siblings Ted ’11, Clare ’12, Ginny and Trevor; grandmothers Mary Nolen McGrath and Virginia Hewitt Durkin; aunt Kathy McGrath, uncle Bryan McGrath, uncle John McGrath and wife Barbara, uncle Bill Durkin and wife Martha, uncle Patrick Durkin and wife Kristen, uncle Tom Durkin and wife Sue, and uncle Dan Durkin and wife Susan. He was predeceased by his grandfathers, William A. Durkin and John J. McGrath. The Durkin family has asked that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be made
to the John Nolen Durkin Scholarship Fund at Bates College, 2 Andrews Road, Lewiston, ME 04240.
faculty David Arthur Nelson June 24, 2013 David Nelson, a student of Shakespeare, a student of drama, a student of the Buddha, traveled to the four corners of the world pursuing his intellectual and cultural interests, always returning to his home in Maine ready for his next challenge. Appointed to the Bates faculty in 1959, he taught Shakespeare and English drama. His Short Term courses included “Art of the Film” and “Shakespeare in the Theatre,” for which he led student groups to England. He retired in 1992. His book, The Laughing Comedy of the Eighteenth Century, was published in 1965. He served for three years in the U.S. Air Force, after which he earned a B.A. and M.A. at the Univ. of Chicago and a Ph.D. in English literature at Cornell. Survivors include his wife, Dirane Kelekyan; children Stephanie and James; and four grandchildren. Alfred William Painter June 14, 2013 A religious person would tell you that a gracious god always provides a way. That was certainly true for Alfred Painter, who realized after a year in the insurance business that his true love was philosophy and world religions. After earning a Ph.D. in philosophy and the psychology of religion at the Univ. of Chicago in 1945, he taught at Bates for four years before moving to the Univ. of the Pacific. Ordained as a Methodist minister in 1956, he served as the associate minister at Westwood Community Methodist Church in West Los Angeles and then as pastor at a church in Long Beach. He returned to teaching at Orange Coast College as chairman of the philosophy department for 18 years. His first wife, Frances, died in 1977. His second wife, Anita, passed away in 2010, and his daughter, Susan, died in 1983. Survivors include daughter Joni Younie; stepdaughters Tally Thorsen and Andrea Smith; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Candlelight vigil for John Durkin, Garcelon Field, Feb. 23, 2014. PHYLLIS GRABER JENSEN
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