Grace Episcopal Church there. She was active in many community organizations, acted in the Baldwinsville Theater Guild, and played handbells. In addition to birding, she enjoyed traveling and in 2005 found a way to combine elements of both: geocaching, where participants use Global Positioning System receivers to search for hidden items. “It shows that new things that excite you can be just around the next bend in your life if you let it,” she wrote for her 50th Reunion. Survivors include children David Ibbitson, Susan Ibbitson, and Alan Ibbitson; four grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and several Bates alumni in-laws. Her husband, Loring “Ibby” Ibbitson, and a daughter, Janet Ritz, predeceased her. Gail Olsen Pulsifer, Jan. 12, 2010 Gail Olsen Pulsifer left Bates to complete a nursing degree at New England Baptist Hospital. Her husband’s assignments in the U.S. Army took them to a number of posts, where she taught mother and baby care classes. When he retired, they settled in Woodbridge, Va., where she worked at Potomac Hospital and for doctors in private practice. Survivors include husband Donald W. Pulsifer; children Juliana Ackerman, Andrew Pulsifer, Douglas Pulsifer, and Heidi Maclin; and 10 grandchildren. 1956 William Manning Moriarty, Dec. 21, 2009 Bill Moriarty left Bates to serve in the U.S. Army and returned to graduate with the Class of 1956. A history major, he joined Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. and worked there for 35 years, mentoring new employees as he moved from the home office in Springfield, Mass., to New York, Oklahoma, and Dallas. He and his family lived in Walnut Creek, Calif., for 38 years. At the College, he played basketball and baseball and was active in the History Club. Survivors include wife Sandra; children Brian Moriarty and Julia Moriarty; and two grandchildren. Lucinda Thomas Wright, Sept. 29, 2009 Lucy Thomas Wright’s fluency in Spanish allowed her to travel extensively in South America, and she was especially fond of Costa Rica. She built on her bachelor’s in Spanish from Bates with a master’s in Spanish from Middlebury, a master’s in Italian from Indiana Univ., and a doctorate from the Univ. of North Carolina. She taught at high schools in Florida and in Spain before she joined the Peace Corps, teaching English in Bogota, Colombia. She served as the assistant director of federally funded educational institutes through the late 1960s, then joined the faculty at East Carolina Univ. as an instructor in Spanish. She also advised foreign and nontraditional students. In 1980, she became the assistant to the chancellor for student life; five years later she was appointed assistant dean of students. Her husband, James Richard Wright, died a few months before she did. Her parents were Melvin ’29 and Phyllis Piper Wright ’29. 1957 Irene Yantz Dunbar, March 15, 2010 Irene Yantz Dunbar taught high school English and history in East Hartford and Bristol, Conn., the high school from which she graduated. In the latter part of her career, she was a private tutor and vocational counselor. She was deeply involved in politics at local, state, and federal levels, working in a number of campaigns. Her marriage to Bruce Dunbar ended in divorce. Survivors include daughters Jennifer Beausoleil and Heather Adamczyk; and two grandchildren. 1958 Beverly Toppan Langager, Nov. 1, 2009 Born in Maine and raised in New Hampshire, Beverly Toppan Langager spent her adult life in Winterhaven, Calif., where she taught high school for 34 years. She and her husband, Vern, moved to
56 Bates SUMMER 2010
Yuma, Ariz., after her retirement. He predeceased her, as did her first husband, Richard Gardner. She is survived by children Michael Gardner, Stephen Combs, and Kathy Jensen; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. 1959 Clifford Albert Baxter, Jan. 1, 2010 Bud Baxter left Bates with a degree in biology and headed for Andover Newton Theological School, where he received a master’s in divinity and soon became the minister at two churches in the White Mountains. In 1967, he joined the Navy and served as a chaplain for the next 20 years, including service in Vietnam. Among other accomplishments, he developed and ran the Navy’s first drug-awareness workshop. Midway through, he earned another master’s, this one in human resources management from Pepperdine. After leaving the Navy, he completed a Ph.D. in psychology at Clayton Univ. in 1989. He worked for several years at the Aroostook Medical Center as director of pastoral care before moving across country to become the pastor at the Congregational Church in Mojave, Calif., a position he held at the time of his death. He served as class secretary for eight years. Among his survivors are wife Rita; children Caryn, Candi, and Clifford IV; and four grandchildren. Benjamin Trafton Getchell, March 25, 2010 The ending of Ben Getchell’s life describes one of his passions for life, as he died of natural causes while hiking Mount Major in New Hampshire. He had retired to New Hampshire in 2002 after a long teaching career, primarily in West Hartford, Conn., where he also coached cross-country and track. In addition to his geology degree from Bates, he held a master’s in liberal studies from Wesleyan. Active in the Outing Club at the College, he had been eagerly anticipating its 90th anniversary celebration at Reunion 2010. Besides hiking, another passion was woodworking — his skills ranged from carpentry to fine carving. He was active with the Oyster River Watershed Assn. and served as the membership director of the Active Retirement Assn. His son is Peter Getchell ’91. His wife, Judith Knight, also survives him, as does a grandchild. Another son, Brooks Getchell, died as a teenager. Barbara Elizabeth Johnson, Jan. 12, 2010 Barb Johnson enjoyed an eclectic career. Over the course of 50 years, she moved from biological research to cloisonné jewelry design and production. After graduating with a degree in biology, she worked for Pfizer for a few years before joining United Fruit Co. She furthered her studies at Connecticut College and then at Harvard, from which she received a degree in biochemistry. This led to a position with the Univ. of Hawaii in its genetics department as a researcher in molecular biology. There, her interests started to diversify. She started work toward a master’s in architecture and also opened a business as a scientific illustrator. Soon she branched out into graphic design (classmates might remember the T-shirts she designed for their 25th Reunion). She became a real estate broker before she left the university in 1985. Before she left Hawaii for Massachusetts, she started to work in cloisonné and continued to design and create until her death. She served as president of the Bates Club in Hawaii for many years. David Lingane Smith, March 20, 2010 Thanks to the Cuban Missile Crisis, Dave Smith liked to joke, he became a lieutenant in the Navy before John McCain did, much to the senator’s dismay. His five years in the Navy immediately followed graduation from the College with a degree in history. He played baseball and basketball for four years and was class president for three. But the best thing about Bates, he said, was meeting Joan Cartier Perry ’59; they married in 1960. He continued as
class president until 1963, and was vice president of the Rhode Island Bates Club in the 1970s. After the Navy, he began his career in the insurance business, first with Connecticut Mutual Life in 1964 and then with Providence Washington Insurance Co. in 1968, both in Rhode Island. By 1975, he was executive vice president and senior operating officer at Providence. He went on to become vice president at the Life Insurance Co. of Connecticut and eventually had his own agency specializing in working with Medicare-related issues. He was especially active in his community. He coached basketball teams, was director of the Rhode Island Fresh Air Fund, served on the boards of YMCAs, and raised money for Paul Newman’s Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. He also founded I Love Seniors, an organization of business professionals that helps people with age-related issues. Along with his wife, survivors include children David L. Smith Jr., Kerry L. Smith, and Peter C. Smith; and five grandchildren. His cousin is William Dillon ’86, whose father is William Dillon ’58. 1960 Richard Henry Larson, Nov. 22, 2009 Dick Larson thanked his broad education for allowing him to pursue a number of interesting work opportunities. Not only did he teach high school English, history, and civics for many years, he also worked as a carpenter in his home renovation business and was a stakeholder in his brother’s hog farm. His education was based on his bachelor’s in religion and philosophy and augmented with a master’s and doctorate from American Univ. He also did postdoctoral work at the Univ. of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and George Mason Univ. Immediately after Bates, he became a U.S. Navy Seal, and was part of its underwater demolition team. He served for 32 years in the Navy, on active and reserve duty. He was reactivated during Desert Storm and served as assistant for counterinsurgency at the Pentagon. During his 26 years of teaching, he taught in Alexandria and Fairfax County, Va., and coached two varsity sports. He was deeply involved with St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Reston, Va., helping to rebuild the sanctuary and refurbish the pipe organ. His wife, Tuula Tamminen Larson, died in 1991. Survivors include son Lars Larson and two grandchildren. 1963 Bonnie Logie Bieder, Jan. 21, 2010 In 1983, after 14 years as a social worker investigating cases of abused children, Bonnie Logie Bieder decided she needed to try something new. She opened an art gallery in Pound Ridge, N.Y. — and went broke within a month. The artwork didn’t sell, but the decorative furniture scattered throughout the gallery did. She and friends regrouped and turned the business into one that provided custom painting of walls, ceilings, and floors, plus faux finishes, murals, upholstery, and hand-painted furniture. The new venture was so successful that she was able to add an art gallery on the second floor, one that continues to thrive. She handled the management of the business while four artists did the creative work. At the College, she had been active in the Art Association, and she decided to study landscape art with David Dunlop, the award-winning artist of Landscapes Through Time on PBS. She also traveled to France to practice plein air painting in some of the same sites visited by Renoir and Monet. She became involved with the Silvermine Guild Arts Center through her studies, serving as its vice president and as chair of its annual fundraiser. Her first marriage to Richard Carlson ’62 ended in divorce. Survivors include her second husband, Richard Bieder; children Erik Bieder and Julie Alleyne; and five grandchildren. 1964 Ralph Bartholomew III, Oct. 20, 2009 Ralph Bartholomew found his vocation early: finance. An economics major, he was treasurer of his class for a year and active in the Economics Club.