Passages Mary Hart Clark, ’42 Alice “Put” Putnam Erskine, ’31, MA ’35, by Georgine O’Connor, ’81
Cornelia “Connie” Dodge Fraley, ’44, by Carolyn Clothier Killefer, ’45 Florence Thrift Galla, ’31, sister
of Kathryn Thrift Files, ’33, by Kathryn Thrift Files, ’33 Beth Baxter Garcia, ’39, MA ’41, by Roberta Rice Treseder, ’43,
Eleanor Hadley, ’38, 1916-2007 Dr. Eleanor Hadley, who as a young woman was instrumental in helping to democratize Japan’s post-World War II economy, died June 1 of natural causes. Dr. Hadley studied political science, economics, and philosophy at Mills. Her nephew, Robert Hadley, told the Seattle Times that she was chosen for a student fellowship at Tokyo Imperial University, an experience that influenced both the direction of her professional life and the formation of her personal ideals. From 1938 to 1940 she traveled in Japan and China and was one of the first Westerners to visit Nanjing after the massacre of an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 Chinese by the Japanese military. “She went to Japan a pacifist but came back from the whole experience with an understanding that there are times you have to stand up to horrible regimes,” her nephew told the Times. As a doctoral student at Harvard, she was recruited by the U.S. State Department to work as a research economist, concentrating on Japan. At the end of the war she joined General Douglas MacArthur’s staff in Tokyo, where she worked to help dismantle the zaibatsu, the business conglomerates that controlled Japan’s economy. Later, after completing her doctorate in economics, she planned to work for the Central Intelligence Agency but was denied security clearance. She eventually discovered she had been blacklisted and waged a successful 16-year fight to clear her name. Dr. Hadley taught at Smith College, George Washington University, and the University of Washington a senior policy analyst for the U.S. Tariff Commission and General Accounting Office. She co-authored her autobiography, Memoirs of a Trustbuster: A Lifelong Adventure with Japan, published in 2003. In 1998 Mills conferred an honorary doctor of laws degree upon her. Eleanor is survived by two nephews and two nieces.
Catherine “Katie” Morgan Trefethen, ’31, 1909–2007 To those who knew Catherine “Katie” Morgan Trefethen, the vibrant colors of the Napa Valley vineyards were the perfect backdrop for the life of the former Mills College art major. Born in Piedmont, California, Mrs. Trefethen attended Piedmont High School before coming to the College. After receiving her BA in art in 1931, she met her future husband Eugene Edgar Trefethen, Jr.; they married in 1937. It was a loving alliance that lasted for 59 years until his death in 1996. Their union created a dynamic partnership in which Mrs. Trefethen’s intelligence, style, and grace supported her husband throughout his career as an industrialist who worked to build the Henry J. Kaiser companies into mega-giant Kaiser Industries. As the wife of the president of Kaiser Industries, Mrs. Trefethen was actively involved in many of his social and business pursuits including the acquisition and development of the Trefethen Family Vineyards. A lover of all things beautiful, Mrs. Trefethen put her talents to work alongside her husband to create a world class winery. She was also a gifted gardener who believed in the power of fresh produce to enhance the flavors of any meal, especially when complemented by a selection of Trefethen fine wines. The garden that surrounds her Napa home is admired by garden enthusiasts around the country and has appeared in books and magazines. It seemed fitting that Mrs. Trefethen passed away on June 8 while overlooking her beloved garden—the one that had given her such pleasure for so many years. She was 97. At various times during her life, Mrs. Trefethen supported the arts by her involvement as a member of organizations that include the Junior League of the East Bay, Marin Art and Garden Center, Oakland Museum, San Francisco Arboretum, Filoli, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She continued to support Mills by establishing the Catherine Morgan Trefethen Fellowship for graduate art studies and the Trefethen Professorship for art history. The Mills College Trefethen Aquatic Center, completed in 1998, was made possible by a generous donation in her husband’s memory. She is survived by two children along with numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister Barbara Morgan Eisele. Mrs. Trefethen was a kind and loving woman with an enduring spirit, lively wit, and generous heart. She will be missed by the entire Mills community. —Willi Fuller, ’04, MFA ’06
30 MILLS QUAR TERLY S UM M E R 2007
and Betty Taves Whitman, ’46 Dr. Wallace Harmon, P ’82, father of Jennifer Harmon, ’82, by Jennifer Harmon, ’82 Kenneth Holmgren, father of President Janet L. Holmgren, by Carol Chinn Chiu, ’63, Mills College Club of Hawaii, Mills College Club of New York, Gordon Russell, Ramon S. Torrecilha, and Betty Chu Wo, ’46 Virginia Holmgren, mother of President Janet L. Holmgren, by Mills College Club of New York and Ramon S. Torrecilha Donald Kroll, P ’00, father of Laura Kroll, ’00, by Laura Kroll, ’00 Joyce Leyland, ’47, by Mary Keith Osborn Michael McPherson, by April Ninomiya Hopkins, MFA ’03 Carol Nockold, ’77, by Karen Caplan, ’77, and Greer Stern Noble, ’77 Dorothy “Jane” McVeigh Raney, ’45, by Shirley Schweers Goers, ’45 Charmian Everding Robinson, ’46, by David Robinson Ruth Collison Ross, ’24, by Priscilla-Joy Everts, ’40 Dr. Mary Jane Stamm, ’39, by Robert and Diana Birtwistle Odermatt, ’60 Gladys “Glad” Anderson Stankowski, ’30, by Stephen Mollenkamp Charles Stoddard, P ’68, father of Carol Stoddard Segur, ’68, by Elaine Wong Chew, ’68 Hal Tower, by Diane Smith Janusch, ’55 Eva Ueltzen, P ’07, mother of Alexi Ueltzen, ’07, by Robert Ueltzen, P ’07 Louisa Pownall Wagner, ’38, by Carla Wagner Cynthia Weintraub Weber, ’69, by Jorie McLaren Townsley, ’69 Jeannine Dennis Wendt, ’47, mother of Ann Wendt Hall, ’89, by Evelyn Maglathlin Petersen, ’47, and James Petersen, P ’83 Reynold Wik, by Derwent Elisabeth Craven Bowen, ’65, Judith Ireland, ’56, Donna and Robert Johnston, Kelly Anne Preyer, ’76, and Favour Hazeltine Slater, ’58