In Memoriam

John Hugh Rooney Jr. ’49 of Sycamore, Illinois, died on July 21, 2021, at the age of 90. Born on February 18, 1931, in Dedham, he was the son of Eileen Flaherty and John Rooney. During his adolescent years, John lived on Spruce Street and attended the Ames Junior High School in Dedham prior to his admission to Roxbury Latin.

While a student at RL, John participated in a host of activities. He played football, ran track, and participated on the debate team. He also served on the student council and helped with Tripod. John’s classmates named him “Class Spirit” in the 1949 Yearbook. His peers praised his “fine scholarship and laudable athletic record.” They added that he was “conscientious and full of enormous spirit and vitality” during his time at Roxbury Latin. In his college letter, Headmaster Weed described John as “a good citizen who stands for all the right things, and courageously stands against what he considers wrong… the sum total of his merits make a boy whom we highly recommend, and with real pleasure in doing so.”

John matriculated at Harvard College, where he began his studies as a math concentrator before switching to English. He earned his AB in 1953. At Harvard, John also began his studies in art with Hyman Bloom, who made a significant impression on him. After graduating, John served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Europe where he performed with the U.S. Army Choir. In 1956, John enrolled at the Akademie der Bildenden Kunste (Academy of Visual Arts) in Munich, Germany. It was at the Akademie that he met Ursula (Ulli) Gruenberg, whom he married in Munich, Germany, in 1957. Ursula earned her final diploma in 1961, and John earned his in 1962. He later earned an MFA from Syracuse University in 1967.

In 1968, the Rooneys moved to DeKalb, Illinois, where John began teaching painting and drawing at Northern Illinois University. He enjoyed traveling and spent one of his sabbaticals painting and teaching in Salzburg, Austria, with his young family. His family noted that he was fluent in German, but he also conversed ably in French, Italian, Greek, and even Latin when the occasion arose. John served on the faculty at Northern Illinois University as a professor of art from 1968 until his retirement in 1996.

John continued to paint and draw after his retirement, often with a group of retired colleagues. He was a devoted supporter

of his wife’s artistic career and always encouraged his children’s varied interests and pursuits. He was often seen with a sketchbook and colored pens in hand, capturing scenes that caught his interest. Exhibitions of his drawings, paintings, and prints have been displayed and are in collections in galleries and museums in Europe and the U.S.

In addition to his beloved wife of more than sixty years, John is survived by three daughters, two sons, and their families (including seven grandchildren and one great-grandson). He is also survived by his brother, James, Class of 1956, and several nieces and nephews, including Philip Driscoll, Jr., Class of 1973.

Richard Montgomery Guernsey ’55 of Wellfleet, passed away on July 31, 2021, at the age of 84. He was born April 10, 1937, the son of Janet Brown and William Guernsey. Dick grew up in Wellesley along with his four siblings. His mother was a physics professor at Wellesley College and his father was an attorney who later taught history at Boston University. Dick attended Wellesley Junior High School prior to his admission to Roxbury Latin. As a schoolboy, Dick played football and ran track. He participated in the school dramatics program, first as an usher and later as a member of the stage crew. Headmaster Weed wrote of Dick in his college letter: “Guernsey has shown increasing academic strength and interest since he has been with us. He is a willing worker and serious by nature. His character is excellent… His sincerity and conscientious personality have gained the respect of all and we recommend him strongly.”

Dick matriculated at Wesleyan University, where he earned his BA in physics in 1960. He then served in the U.S. Army from 1960 to 1962, where his military service at the Aberdeen Testing Grounds encouraged him to pursue a career as an acoustical engineer. He served as director of the Cedar Knolls Acoustical Laboratories in New Jersey, which tested materials and evaluated designs for buildings and concert halls. Dick also pursued graduate level work at New York University beginning in 1967. He was an honorary fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and received the American Society for Testing Materials Award of Merit for his contributions to acoustical standards.

Dick had a lifelong love of nature, fostered by summers at Camp Calumet in New Hampshire and the Boy Scouts, having himself achieved the rank of Eagle Scout as a boy. As an adult he led scout troops on backpacking trips to Philmont Camp in New Mexico. Later he was a longtime coordinator for the Friday Hiking Group of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Brewster. Dick also volunteered for social causes, at his church, and for the Wellfleet Community Forum and Wellfleet Democratic Committee.

Dick met his wife, Marilyn, through the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship in New Jersey, where they were married in 1992. Dick’s beloved wife predeceased him in 2020. He is survived by his stepchildren, their families, and his siblings, David Guernsey, Michael Guernsey, Robert Guernsey, and Madeleine Rudd. Dick’s warmth, curiosity, and generous spirit will be sorely missed by all he left behind.

Paul Robert Kateman ’60 of Wellesley died on May 15, 2020, at the age of 78. He was born February 10, 1942, the son of Jeannette Greenblatt and Dr. Abraham Kateman. Paul grew up in Brookline, where he attended the Edward Devotion School before gaining admission to Roxbury Latin.

At Roxbury Latin, Paul participated on the tennis and soccer teams. He served as a manager of the football team, assisted with Tripod, and contributed to the dramatics program as a member of the stage crew.

He also participated in the Junior Red Cross. Paul was captain of the chess team and was responsible for “developing the club into something more than a small afternoon bull session.” He was a good student and maintained a high standard for himself. His classmates noted in Yearbook that Paul was “never seen slouching or slumbering around the classrooms.” Friends and family remember Paul for his warmth, exuberance, storytelling, ready sense of humor, sharp wit, and intelligence.

Paul matriculated at Columbia University, where he earned his BA in economics in 1964. He attended Harvard Business School subsequently, earning his MBA in 1966. Paul made an early career at the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Bicknell Realty. In 1991, he founded Turbo Dynamix, a company that created new technology for ice cream manufacturing and delivery.

Paul was predeceased by his loving wife Judy Bailen Kateman in 1986. He is survived by his three children and their families, as well as a sister and her family.

Richard Warren Bloom ’67 of Prescott, Arizona, died on June 1, 2021, at the age of 71. He was born on October 7, 1949, the son of Gloria Apt and Dr. Hyman Bloom. As a young boy, Dick attended the Pierce Elementary School in Milton. He then attended Boston Latin School prior to gaining admission to Roxbury Latin as a member of the Fifth Class.

One of Dick’s teachers described him as “a boy with a great deal of ambition and considerable intellectual curiosity. He is willing to try something at the risk of being wrong. He shows constant improvement in poise and manners.” While a student at Roxbury Latin, Dick’s favorite activity was singing in the Glee Club, which he joined promptly as a new arrival in Class V. He also played baseball and football, participated in weightlifting, tutored, and helped in dramatics as a member of the stage crew. Headmaster Mayo-Smith wrote in Dick’s college letter that there was a “thrust” of an “admirable quality” to Dick; even as a boy, he “[expressed] his opinions with energy” and “[sang] in the Glee Club and [danced] at the social affair afterwards all with a distinctive, energetic style.” Throughout his life, Dick maintained an interest in music. He played electric bass in a number of bands through the years, with genres ranging from rhythm and blues to rock and roll.

Dick matriculated at Columbia, where he earned his BA in 1971. He subsequently earned a master’s degree at the New School of Social Research in New York City in 1972. Dick later earned his PhD at Kent State University in 1976.

Dick worked for the U.S. government as an intelligence operations manager; intelligence analyst; and planner for psychological operations, special plans, and politico-military affairs. He also worked as a military clinical psychologist. He retired from the U.S. Air Force and associated agencies in 1996. He served as president of the American Psychological Association’s military psychology division. Dick then embarked on a second career as an educator for 25 years with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. He served in a variety of roles, from Associate Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, to the Department Chair for Humanities and Social Sciences, to Dean of the College of Arts and Science, to Chief Academic Officer, and most recently to Professor of Social Sciences. “We know how much Dr. Bloom enjoyed working with his students, and how much they enjoyed having him as an instructor,” said Anette Karlsson, Chancellor of the Embry-Riddle Prescott Campus. “He will be missed by all of us.”

Dick was an active participant in the Roxbury Latin Alumni Educators Networking Group. During the pandemic, he shared his extensive experience teaching in an online setting with fellow Roxbury Latin educators across the country. He was also a member of the Thomas Bell Society, leaving a provision in his estate planning for Roxbury Latin. Dick created the Dr. Hyman L. Bloom Memorial Phi Kappa Phi Endowed Scholarship for Women at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus, in honor of his late father. The scholarship aims to benefit female students who are the first in their families to attend college and members of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Dick is survived by his beloved wife Nancy. //