BULLETIN | SPRING 2016 55
’61 RH Elizabeth Thompson LeGard, 73, a retired preschool teacher, died February 23, 2016 in New Canaan, Conn. Born in Wyandotte, Mich., Betsy came to Rosemary Hall in 1958. She was Head of the Chapel Committee, a Marshal, in the Kindly Club, Philomel, and the Grounds Committee, and voted “Most Thoughtful” by her classmates. After graduating from Mount Vernon College in Washington, D.C., she was a preschool teacher in New Canaan. Betsy excelled at golf, tennis, and other sports, and volunteered as a field hockey coach at New Canaan High School. She leaves her husband, Edwin LeGard Jr., 64 Canoe Hill Rd., New Canaan, CT 06840; two children; five grandchildren; a sister, and a brother.
’77 C William G. Nevins, 57, a financial analyst, died January 26, 2016. Bill came to Choate in 1974, where he was Advertising Manager of the News, lettered in hockey and lacrosse, and was in the Spanish Club. After graduating from Boston College, he worked for Lehman Brothers. Bill was an avid art collector. He leaves his brother, Theodore Nevins III ’76, 244 Fifth Ave. #T266, New York, NY 10001; a sister; and his mother. ’81
James B. Curtin, 51, a management consultant, died December 3, 2015 after a brief illness. Born in New Haven, Conn., Jim came to Choate in 1977. He was captain of varsity crew, winning a School award in the sport. He was also President of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica, circulation manager of the News, and in the Gold Key Society. After Choate, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he lettered in crew. He then began as an underwriter for Travelers Insurance Co., then was a principal of the insurance underwriter A. Foster Higgins & Co. At the time of his death, he was Metro New York Leader of Health and Group Benefits at Towers Watson. Jim enjoyed car repair. He leaves his mother, a brother, and a sister, Cynthia Curtin ’87, 1267 Mount Carmel Ave., North Haven, CT 06473.
’82 Andrea Dodd Warble, 52, a former executive of an investment firm, died February 5, 2016. Born in New York City, Andrea came to Choate Rosemary Hall in 1979. She was in the Camera Club, the French Club, the Sailing Club, and the Gold Key Society. After graduating from Georgetown University, she worked for the investment firm Scudder, Stevens & Clark, where she was the relationship manager for several top clients. After her second son was born, she left Scudder to focus on her family. She leaves her husband, Larry Warble, 52 Birch Rd., Darien, CT 06820; three children; and her parents. ’83 Reginald H. Imamura, 50, a financier, died February 29, 2016 in Larchmont, N.Y., of pancreatic cancer. Born in Winston-Salem, N.C., Reggie came to Choate Rosemary Hall in 1980. He was in the Gold Key Society, the Camera Club, the United Nations Club, and was Vice President of the Student Political Union. He won a School prize in economics. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he joined First Union National Bank in Charlotte, N.C., becoming Managing Director of the Capital Markets Group of First Union Securities. He then started his own firm, which was acquired by PNC Financial, where he was an Executive Vice President at the time of his death. He was also the founder and first Chairman of the Structured Finance Industry Group. Colleagues said Reggie earned “the respect and the acknowledgement of both colleagues and competitors.” He enjoyed sailing and snow skiing. He leaves his wife, Lisa Imamura, 56 Woodbine Ave., Larchmont, NY 10538; two daughters, including Sophie Imamura ’15; a brother, Anthony Imamura ’86; and his mother. .
Faculty, Trustees, and Spouses
’50 RH Phebe Alexander Bowditch, a former Trustee, died February 9, 2016 in New York City. She was 82. Reared in Atlanta and Rye, N.Y., Phebe was at Rosemary Hall for one year; she was in the Dramatic Club, the Kindly Club, and the Monotone Club, and was on the 1st hockey team. She graduated from Vassar, where she majored in political science, then worked with Merrill Lynch as a writer and editor of business publications. Starting in 1973, for nearly 40 years she was a realtor for Brown Harris Stevens in New York, specializing in high-end condominiums and co-ops, mostly on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. From 1968 to 1974, she was President of the Rosemarian Association, and was a key player in the move to relocate Rosemary Hall from Greenwich back to Wallingford, one of the most important times in the School’s history. From 1974 to 1976, she was a member of the first Board to merge Trustees from the two schools. Phebe was a member of the Cosmopolitan Club and the Essex Fox Hounds, and enjoyed horses, gardening, and her cat. She leaves two children, Phebe Lowell Bowditch ’79, of Creswell, Ore., and Richard L. Bowditch, and three granddaughters. Lueza T. Gelb, a retired teacher, wife of longtime Trustee Bruce Gelb ’45, died February 7, 2016 in New York City. She was 84. Born in Plainfield, N.J., Lueza graduated from Wells College, married Bruce, then raised her children at home before earning a doctorate in history from Columbia. She taught at Pace University and MarymountManhattan College, and lectured on European history to the United States diplomatic community when Bruce was ambassador to Belgium from 1991 to 1993. Lueza was the author of Schroon Lake, an award-winning memoir. She also enjoyed skiing and sailing. The track at Choate Rosemary Hall is named for her and Bruce. Besides her husband, Bruce S. Gelb, 1060 Fifth Ave., Apartment 10B, New York, NY 10128, she leaves four children, including Jody Gelb ’74, Richard Gelb ’76, and Connie Gelb ’78; five grandchildren, including Nathaniel Gelb ’04, John Gelb ’05, and Dora Jarkowski ’15; and a brother.
James R. Langlois, husband of former Director of the Andrew Mellon Library Dianne Langlois, died January 24 in Middletown, Conn. He was 70. Born in Melrose, Mass., Jim graduated from St. Lawrence University, where he lettered in hockey. He and Dianne married in 1969. For 47 years, Jim worked in the cement industry, and most recently was Executive Director of the Connecticut Concrete Promotion Council. For more than 30 years, he was an assistant men’s hockey coach at Wesleyan; he was also an assistant coach at Choate for three years, including 1978, when the hockey team had an undefeated season and was ranked No. 2 in the nation. He was also an avid golfer. Besides Dianne, of 13 Woodlot Lane, Middletown, CT 06457, he leaves a son and two grandchildren. Joanne E. Darling Ortwein, a retired nurse and widow of the late head of the Paul Mellon Arts Center and theater teacher Terrence Ortwein, died February 15, 2016 in West Lebanon, N.H. She was 83. Born in Woodsville, N.H., Joanne earned a degree in nursing from Boston University. She and Terry lived in Crawfordsville, Ind., where they raised their two children, and moved to Wallingford in 1976. They spent more than 20 years at Choate Rosemary Hall, where they lived in Faculty Square. They were both fond of their time in Wallingford, and remained friends with many former and present faculty members and staff as well as town residents after Terry’s retirement in 1997. They later moved back to New Hampshire, and Terry died in 2011. They were married 50 years. Joanne especially enjoyed gardening, playing bridge, and according to her family, “anything at all sung by Andrea Bocelli.” She leaves her children, Kelly Ann Ortwein Meyer ’81, 1754 Deer Creek Court, Valparaiso, IN 46385, and Michael T. Ortwein ’83; four grandchildren; and a sister.
Our sympathy to the family of the following alumnus, whose death is reported with sorrow: Frederic Marvin ’50 January 17, 2013