BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 53
and a true friend. Blunt, outspoken in thought and action, Bob spends most of his waking hours working for his students.” In 1973, he took over the operation of the Dodge Shops, where he not only held woodworking classes but helped students and faculty build all sorts of projects. His own passion was boatbuilding, and when he and his wife, faculty member Harriet Blanchard, built a house on Cape Cod, they were able to sail Nantucket Sound in a sloop of his own making. Bob retired in 1993. He leaves his wife, Harriet Blanchard, 333 Christian St., Wallingford, CT 06492; and two daughters, Michele W. Gibson ’73 and Suzanne Williams ’76; and two grandchildren, including Sarah Gibson ’06.
Alumni and Alumnae
’28 RH Mary “Polly” Edson, 105, died February 26, 2015, in Shelburne, Vt. Born in Cincinnati, she came to Rosemary Hall in 1925; her grandfather, Julian Curtiss, was prominent among those urging Caroline Ruutz-Rees to move the School from Wallingford to Greenwich. Polly was a member of the Athletic Association, a Marshal, and in the Kindly Club, and she earned one bar on the Committee. She then attended Sarah Lawrence, where she studied history and art. After she married and moved to Greenwich, she was active in the community, volunteering in the children’s ward at Greenwich Hospital and working at a sports clothing store in Greenwich and, later, in Essex, Conn. She enjoyed painting, especially in watercolors. Polly was chair of her class’ 50th Reunion in 1978. She leaves two daughters, including Nancy Edson ’62, 516 Acorn Ln., Shelburne, VT 05482; a son; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and two sisters. Her mother, Mary Curtiss ’02, and a niece, Ruth Cutler ’66, also attended Rosemary Hall.
’30 C John Richardson van Dyke, 102, a retired technology executive for several companies, died January 13, 2015, in Holland, Pa. Born in Newark, N.J., Rich, as he was known at School, came to Choate in 1928. He was in the French Club and the Glee Club. After graduating from Princeton, he
worked for IBM, designing systems for the insurance industry. Later, he was with the Prudential and State Mutual insurance companies, RCA, and Sperry Rand. During World War II, Rich helped design and manage the U. S. Strategic Bombing Survey, which coordinated bombing raids in Europe. After the war, he designed and installed a system to automate Princeton’s Registrar’s Office. He retired in 1977 to Rehoboth Beach, Del., where he was active in the community. He spearheaded the drive to found a local YMCA and was its first President. He was later a Director of the Delaware YMCA and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2005. He leaves three children, including John van Dyke, 16 Allwood Rd., Darien CT 06820; and a granddaughter.
’35 C
Cad Walder Arrendell Jr., a retired surgeon, died January 1, 2015. Born in Ponca City, Okla., Cad was at Choate for one year; he played football, basketball, and baseball. After Choate, he graduated from Brown, then joined the Medical Corps of the Navy, graduating from the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine. He practiced general medicine in Ponca City with his father and brother from 1949-51, then trained as a general surgery resident in New Orleans. He practiced general surgery in Charlotte, N.C., from 1955 until he retired in 1982. Cad enjoyed golf, croquet, barbershop quartet singing, and painting in watercolors. He leaves his wife, Charlotte Arrendell, 29 Wagon Trail, Black Mountain, NC 28711; two daughters; four grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; and a step-greatgrandchild. A son predeceased him. A brother, the late Eugene H. Arrendell ’37, also attended Choate. John J. Osborn, 96, a retired surgeon, died April 25, 2014, in Belvedere, Calif. Born in Detroit, Jack came to Choate in 1931. He was in the Cum Laude Society and the Glee Club, and played horn in the Band. After Choate, he earned degrees from Princeton and Johns Hopkins Medical School, and completed a residency at New York University College of Medicine. There, he became interested in the oxygenation of blood, and in the 1950s he and another surgeon invented the heart-lung machine that made open
heart surgery possible. Its first use was in 1956. In his later years, Jack was affiliated with the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. He enjoyed sailing, and hand-built a 36-foot brigantine. His first wife died in 2004; he leaves his second wife, Sheret Osborn, 41 Salinas Ave., San Anselmo, CA 94960; eight children; 19 grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren.
’37 C
Chauncey O. Page, 96, died November 23, 2014, in Bethesda, Md. Born in East Orange, N.J., Chauncey came to Choate in 1935, where he was President of the Band and the leader of the Golden Blues, playing saxophone. After Choate, he graduated from Yale, and in World War II was in the Army Air Corps in Europe. Returning after the war, he ran import-export businesses in the New York City area. He leaves two children and three grandchildren. A brother, the late Leslie M. Page ’32, also attended Choate.
’38 RH Henriette Marie van Eck Warfield, 94, died December 10, 2014, in Annapolis, Md. Born in San Mateo, Calif., Marie came to Rosemary Hall in 1934; she was captain of track, basketball, and tennis; she was also in the Kindly Club, the Music Club, the Scouts, and the hockey team, and she earned eight bars on the Committee. She then attended Geneva College for Women in Switzerland. An accomplished pianist and active golfer, Marie also enjoyed church work, gourmet cooking, and gardening. She leaves five children, including Carel “Carel” Warfield, 2904 S Haven Dr., Annapolis, MD 21401; eight grandchildren; and a sister, Agnes van Eck Reed ’35. ’38 C Carey Vennema, 93, a retired lawyer and preservationist, died July 24, 2014, in New York City. Born in Passaic, N.J., Carey came to Choate in 1936. He lettered in fencing, played trumpet in the Band, was on the board of the News, and was in the Cum Laude Society. After graduation from Amherst, he was in the French-speaking cryptological unit of the Army during World War II. Following the war, he earned a law degree from New York University and practiced with the firm of Winthrop, Stinson, Putnam and Roberts.
Carey lived in Greenwich Village, and in later years spent much time working to preserve its architecture and culture. He vacationed in Swans Island, Maine. He leaves his wife, Holly Vennema, 265 West 11th St. Apt. 1, New York NY 10014-2418; four children; and 10 grandchildren. A brother, John Vennema ’44, also attended Choate.
’40 C Richard P. Kleeman, 91, a retired journalist, died December 5, 2014, in Rockville, Md. Born in New York City, Dick came to Choate in 1936. He was in the Cum Laude Society, was on the boards of the News and the Literary Magazine, was managing editor of the News, won the School Latin prize, and received honorable mention for four other prizes. His classmates voted him among those “Most likely to succeed” and “Best student.” He started at Harvard, but left to join Army Intelligence during World War II, attaining the rank of first lieutenant. Graduating from Harvard cum laude after the war, he became a writer for the Minneapolis Tribune, and in 1966 became that newspaper’s Washington correspondent. Dick won several national awards for his writing. Starting in 1972, he was with the Association of American Publishers, a trade group. For several years he was the director of the First Amendment Center of the Society of Professional Journalists. He leaves four children, including Alice Kleeman, 559 Lincoln Ave., Redwood City, CA 94061; seven grandchildren; three greatgrandchildren; and a sister. ’41 C John M. Kauffmann, 91, a retired conservationist, died November 16, 2014, in Yarmouth, Maine. Born in Champaign, Ill., John came to Choate in 1937. He was on the Board of the Literary Magazine and was a co-founder of the Choate Double Quartet, a singing group that later became the Maiyeros. After graduating from Princeton cum laude, he served as a diplomatic courier in Africa and Europe during World War II. He then was a writer for the Washington Star and National Geographic magazine. He joined the National Park Service as a planner, and in 1979, went to Alaska to study areas under consideration for designation as national parks, monuments, and reserves. He