in memoriam
Photo by Ruth Keyso
1944 LFA life trustee and devoted alumnus Claude W. Brenner ’44 died March 7, 2015, at his home in Massachusetts. Born in South Africa, Claude arrived in New York at age 11 with his mother and elder sister for what was intended as a two-year stay 10 days before Hitler invaded Poland; thus, the family stayed for nine years. He entered LFA as a junior on full scholarship. During his two years at the Academy, Claude participated in all available opportunities, as noted in the 1944 Caxy, “He was a member of nearly all the organizations in school,” including leadership roles in the Camera Club, Gargoyle Club, and yearbook, as well as soccer, choir, The Spectator, and numerous intramural activities. A “Quiz Kid” of the 1940s, Claude was a gifted young man with an incandescent intellect. Graduating as the youngest senior in the class of 1944, Claude matriculated at MIT at the age of 15, receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautical engineering in 1947 and 1948. He returned to South Africa, then went on to Britain to a job with de Havilland Aircraft Company. Upon his return to the U.S., he embarked on a career that spanned aircraft design and performance, nuclear warfare, defense electronics, laser systems, renewable energy, and later, a variety of other fields as a consultant. Claude was inducted into the LFA Hall of Fame in 1994; 10 years later, he was elected life trustee. His fellow life trustees remember him fondly as a particularly devoted, loyal alumnus and volunteer, who was a tireless champion of LFA. Head of School John Strudwick remarked, “Claude was most recently on campus for Reunion and the annual life trustee meeting last fall. He will be sorely missed by the entire LFA community.” Claude loved LFA and supported the school loyally, generously, and enthusiastically. In 2003 he created an endowed prize at the Academy in honor of his beloved English master, Dana W. Niswender. A winsome and charming man, Claude will remain forever in our hearts. Claude was predeceased by his sister, Sheila Lang, and is survived by his son, Paul T. Brenner; daughter, Harriet P. Severino; four grandchildren, Taylor, Eric, Brock, and Alisand; nephew David; niece, Roberta, and cherished companion, Anne O. Lowell. Memorial gifts may be made to Claude Brenner Memorial, Lake Forest Academy, 1500 W. Kennedy Road, Lake Forest, IL 60045 (l - r) Claude Brenner ’44, Anne O. Lowell, and Mike Schell ’65 on campus for Reunion, Oct. 18, 2014.
purchasing Roe-Win Corp, a heavy equipment rental company. He sold the company in 1994. He was an avid boater and a life member of the U.S. Power. He was a Commodore of the St. Croix Yacht Club and a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary in St. Croix. He was a member of the Atwill Memorial Chapel in Northport Point, Mich., and of the First Presbyterian Church of Bonita Springs. Alan is survived by his five children, Alan (Debra) Macdonald ’68, Margaret Kendall, Michael (Kristine) Macdonald, Scott Macdonald, and Tracy Macdonald; 11 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Shirley A. Macdonald, in 2006.
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Review Spring 2015
1945 John Anthony Kittermaster, age 87, passed away on Dec. 15, 2014. At age 17 John joined the Navy and served on Guam following the end of WW II. John received his M.S. in Business Administration from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. John married Joan Avon Nicholson in 1950. In 1969 he married Carol Wright Davis. John had a long and successful career in the construction industry, from owning his own general contracting business to serving as Project Manager/Administrator on landmark structures in Chicago, Toronto,
Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco. John is survived by Kari Kittermaster (Paul Tobias), John A. Kittermaster, Jr. (Denise Hicks), Kristin Rogers (Tom); Sarah Lannes (Steven), Amy Favaro (BJ) and James Davis (Brenna); nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. John is also survived by his sister, Ann Bucke, and niece Margaret Langlands. John was preceded in death by his wife, Carol, step-daughter, Jade Woelk, brother-in-law William Bucke, and nephew Tony Bucke. Lamar Harper Williams passed away on Oct. 3, 2014. She was predeceased by her husband of 54 years, Richard R “Dick” Williams. Lamar attended Monticello College In Illinois and subsequently moved to Ithaca, New York. Though she never moved back to Chicago, she would often tell people she was a “Chicago Girl” at heart. The mid 1950s found Lamar in Orlando with daughters from a previous marriage. She went on to attend Rollins College and graduated in 1956, but not before she met and later married the love of her life, Richard “Dick” Williams. Together they had two sons. She was known by her family and friends for “one-liners that could liven up even the most staid occasion,” and was considered a very determined woman and at times a “force to be reckoned with!” Lamar always put her family first, even giving up a successful real estate career in the 1980s because she was away too often on the weekends, missed dinner with her husband, and worried she would be left out of her family’s activities. She carved out time for civic, philanthropic and volunteer activities. She was an active Kappa Kappa Gamma alumnus and established a scholarship for female athletes at Rollins College. She joined the Junior League and was a member well into her 80s. From 2006–2012 she served as Board President of the Philip S Harper Foundation, founded by her father, to foster philanthropy through the family’s generations. With her husband, Dick, she became an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Maitland for over 40 years, and later in her life she became a Stephen Minister. Lamar is survived by her daughters Gray Wrisley Gillio and Kerry Lamar Wrisley; sons Richard Gregory “Greg “ Williams, and Kirk Harper Williams (JoEllen); six grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; her sisterin-law, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins who were dear to her.
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