Lasting impressions Harrington Drake ’41 Sept 2, 1919–June 7, 2016 A successful businessman and chair emeritus of the Board of Trustees, Harrington “Duke” Drake ’41 died at his home in Wickenburg, Ariz., at the age of 96. He was president of the H Donnelly Corporation 1972–75 and chairman and CEO of the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation 1975–85. Financial World magazine named him CEO of the Year in 1984, and Harvard Business School called him “one of the great American business leaders of the 20th century.” Throughout his life, Drake served on the boards of corporations including Dun and Bradstreet, Baxter International, Rockwell International, Irving Trust Bank, and Magnavox. An active alumnus, Drake chaired the Board of Trustees 1978–85, was a founding member of the James B Colgate Society, and received the Maroon Citation (1966) and the Wm Brian Little ’64 Alumni Award for Distinguished Service (1977). Drake established the Shirley and Harrington Drake Chair in the Humanities, the Shirley and Harrington Drake Endowed Scholarship Fund, and the Patricia and Harrington Drake Scholarship Fund. In 1995, Colgate recognized his service and support of the university by naming a newly constructed residence hall, Drake Hall, in his honor. Drake had majored in philosophy and religion, and was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from Colgate in 1985. As a World War II pilot, he helped to transport five-star US generals, Brazilian Chief of Staff Eduardo Dutra, and the Bob Hope Troupe. Drake rose to Lt Colonel in the Air Force Reserve and received the Air Medal and Oak Leaf Cluster in the 20th Troop Carrier Squadron of the 6th Air Force. He is survived by his wife, Patricia; three sons; his stepdaughter, Adriana Beckman ’86; three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; his brother; and many nieces and nephews.
Ruth Hartshorne July 10, 1913–June 15, 2016 Hamilton centenarian Ruth Hartshorne, the widow of Professor Marion Holmes Hartshorne, has died. She was 103. After graduating from the University of Chicago in 1935, Hartshorne earned her master’s from Columbia University in New York City, where she met her future husband, Marion, with whom she would share nearly 50 years of marriage. The couple married in 1939 and moved to Hamilton, where Marion taught philosophy and religion at Colgate, and Ruth raised their four children. Ruth Hartshorne was a staple of the Hamilton community often seen at the First Baptist Church and the Hamilton Club. She was also a dedicated member of the Fortnightly Club (a women’s research group) and co-founder of both the Chenango Nursery School and the Education Unlimited lecture series. Hartshorne had numerous friends who, in her later years, helped her travel to her engagements
and visited her Victorian home. A sign on Hartshorne’s front door read: “Friends! Ring the doorbell, open the door, and holler! If I’m asleep, please wake me up! I’d rather have a visit from you than a nap.” Kerry Houston ’16 is one of these friends. Houston met Hartshorne four years ago when she became a member of Colgate’s Adopt a Grandparent Program. Houston said the pair would often take walks, even in the snow, because Hartshorne loved the outdoors and stressed the importance of staying active. Houston called the sharp-witted Hartshorne “a Colgate expert.” Hartshorne, who had worked at the Colgate library and graded coursework from her husband’s classes, enjoyed having students around to keep her up-to-date with life on the Hill. “Ruth loved learning about the experiences of current students, especially what materials we were studying in our classes and what types of projects we were working on,” Houston said. Hartshorne also relished the time she had to herself. She was an avid reader, enjoyed cooking, kept up with e-mail, and was writing a memoir. Clever and vibrant until the end, Hartshorne would remark, “I enjoy every minute of life, even when I don’t.” She was profiled in the autumn 2011 Scene article “Aging Our Way,” excerpted from the book of the same name by sociology and women’s studies professor Meika Loe. Hartshorne was predeceased by her husband, Marion, in 1988. She is survived by four children, 10 grandsons, and one great-grandson.
John LeFevre ’41 March 10, 1919–May 25, 2016 John LeFevre ’41, a man who dedicated more than 35 years of his life to the university, has died at age 97. “[He] represented the very best of Colgate,” said dean of admission Gary Ross. As a student, LeFevre was a member of Phi Kappa Psi, pep band, and Colgate’s ice hockey team all four years. His experience with Colgate hockey inspired his presidency of the Silver Puck Club and the university’s creation of the John LeFevre ’41 Appreciation Award given to individuals who make a positive impact on Colgate athletics. After retiring from a 40-year career at IBM, he returned to Hamilton in 1981, beginning his second career: Colgate’s director of alumni recruiting and special assistant to the dean of admission. LeFevre interviewed prospective students, which former co-worker Patty Caprio remembers he enjoyed because it allowed him to share his own experiences as a student. “There are hundreds of students who came to Colgate because of the way he greeted them and talked to them,” said Caprio, senior advancement executive for strategic initiatives. LeFevre retired 13 years later, but continued to volunteer in admission for another 22 years. An extremely active alumnus, he served as president of Colgate’s Alumni Corporation Board of Directors and received both the Maroon Citation and the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service. A member of the Presidents’ Club giving society, he established the John and Marian LeFevre Scholarship. Even into his later years, LeFevre attended alumni council meetings, went to hockey games, exercised in the Trudy Fitness Center, and periodically called classmates to catch up. “John lived a long life,” said Ross. “He lived life to the fullest up until the very end.”
Above all, friends remember LeFevre as someone who genuinely cared about people. “He would often ask, ‘What can I do for you?’” said Ross. “And he wasn’t just saying that. He actually expected an answer.” LeFevre was predeceased by his wife, Marian, and his son. He is survived by a daughter, 8 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.
James N Lloyd III ’54 Oct. 20, 1932—June 8, 2016 Physics professor, singer, Hamilton police commissioner, and more, James Lloyd III ’54 was a multifaceted man who shared his talents with both the university and the local community. He first came to Hamilton in 1950 to start his freshman year at Colgate, where he joined WRCU, University Chorus, Masque and Triangle, and Konosioni. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa with highest honors in physics, Lloyd went on to earn his PhD from Cornell University. Colgate recruited him in 1961 to teach in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, where he twice served as chair (1973–77, 1987–1990). During his 35-year tenure, Lloyd also was the long-term adviser to the department’s pre-engineering program, chaired the graduate fellowships committee, and — as the physics instructor to legions of pre-medical students — served on the Health Sciences Advising Committee. Lloyd brought calculus-based instruction into introductory physics and improved laboratory instruction at Colgate. A handy and practical person, he often purchased lab apparatus kits, which he assembled in his spare time. In the 1990s, Lloyd was a key player in the department’s efforts to invigorate the introductory curriculum for physics majors and was co-author of the resulting textbook, Modern Introductory Physics. He retired in 1996. “My hobby is collecting hobbies,” Lloyd was known as saying. His interests included model railroading, radio-controlled model airplanes, and amateur (ham) radio. As an undergraduate, he was on the technical staff of WRCU, and later, he was the station’s faculty adviser and technical director. Later, he took up photography and became known for his color photos of Colgate and the greater Hamilton area. In his darkroom that he designed and built, Lloyd mastered the exacting chemical processes. Talented and resourceful, Lloyd was a deft machinist, a clever electronics designer and troubleshooter, and the first to use liquid helium on the Colgate campus. Using his expertise in radio and cryogenics, he constructed an electron spin resonance spectrometer (an early cousin to medical MRI technology) to study the magnetic properties of amorphous metal alloys at low temperatures. In 1990, his interests shifted to surface physics. With funding from the National Science Foundation, he acquired an ultra high vacuum chamber, equipping it with a home brew electron diffractometer, a thin film evaporator, and a thermal desorption spectrometer. He and his students used this apparatus to deposit ultra pure, atomically flat films of palladium and measure the bonding of carbon monoxide to them (a process critical to the operation of automotive catalytic converters). Beyond Colgate, Lloyd also had a significant impact. He was twice elected trustee of the Village of Hamilton and served as its police
commissioner. An accomplished baritone, he was a member of the Blue Parsley Boys, a local group with whom he recorded two CDs. He is survived by his wife, Rachel; two daughters and sons-in-law; and two grandchildren.
Joseph Wagner Nov 21, 1945–June 8, 2016 An expert in the politics of morality, tolerance, and inequality, Joseph Wagner, a professor of political science emeritus, has died. He began teaching history at Colgate in 1974 as a visiting professor before earning tenure in 1980. The next year, Wagner joined the political science department, where he taught courses in the philosophy and psychology of politics until his retirement in 2015. He served as chair of Colgate’s political science department 2002–06 and as director of the international relations program. Committed to the pursuit of justice, Wagner chaired the Affirmative Action Oversight Committee in the 1980s and wrote the university’s first software to track affirmative action hires. He was passionate about the Office of Undergraduate Studies (OUS) Summer Institute, a program for accepted students to ease their transition to college and enhance their academic preparedness. Wagner helped design the program’s framework in the 1980s, taught its courses 1994–2002, and helped form its advisory committee in 2010. “You taught us to think on a higher level,” one former OUS student said. “You have touched the lives of thousands, and I am grateful to be one of them. Even though it’s been 21 years, there is not a month that goes by where I don’t think about you, a gentle giant with a great mind that you so kindly shared.” Well loved by students and faculty alike for his rationality, generosity, and commitment to human dignity, “Joe walked through life making friends everywhere he went,” according to his obituary. “He showed all equal respect, took a genuine interest in their lives, and was completely present for people at all times. He engaged in conversations that were not only humorous and caring, but also challenged people’s minds.” Wagner served on a number of committees, including First-Year Seminar, Nominating, Faculty Affairs, Promotion and Tenure, Academic Advising, and Middle States Review. He served as president of the Colgate Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and editor of Vox Facultatis; he was instrumental in establishing the AAUP Professor of the Year Award, which he received in 2003. Wagner’s scholarly articles spanned a variety of subjects, including the media’s impact on elections, the role of moral values on political tolerance, and the relationship between justice and affirmative action. In 2004 he established the Harriette Wagner Memorial Award in honor of his mother. The award is given to the senior art and art history major whose work exemplifies the way visual arts enrich the spirit and express the dignity of human beings. Wagner is survived by his wife, Pat; two children; two grandchildren; and four stepgrandchildren. — obituaries written by Brianna Delaney ’19, with the exception of James Lloyd’s
News and views for the Colgate community
75