In Memoriam
1945 Peter Carter Dodd, of Victoria, Canada died November 25, 2010. Peter spent his life, together with his wife Erica, encouraging understanding between Moslem cultures and the West. He was born June 16, 1930, and grew up in Beirut, Lebanon before attending South Kent. After graduating from Princeton, he received his PhD in Sociology from Harvard University, followed by twenty years teaching at the American University of Beirut. Quoting a former student: “His modesty, demeanour, character, respect for others, profound understanding of the concerns of the Arab world and unreserved empathy with its national struggles made him a hero in our eyes”. Later, he joined the United Nations, before becoming Director of the Fulbright Foundation in Islamabad, Pakistan. Retiring to Victoria, he was active with the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA). Peter is survived by his wife Erica Cruikshank Dodd; their four children and families: Frances, Kika (Peter), Alex (Nikki), Daniel (Sharon); and his brother Bruce Dodd in Berkeley.
1949 Martin Saxon Russ, Marine veteran, teacher and author, died in his home at 79. Martin joined the Marines at 21, serving on the 38th parallel with the First Marine Division. Upon his return to the States he turned his combat notes into his first book, The Last Parallel: A Marine’s War Journal. The book, which chronicled the horrific conflict
and stalemate in the no-man’s-land between North and South Korea in the last days of the Korean War, rose to No 8 on The New York Times bestseller list in 1957. Among Mr. Russ’s other books, most of them based on interviews with combat veterans, are Line of Departure: Tarawa (1967) and Breakout: The Chosin Reservoir Campaign, Korea (1999). In Line of Departure he recounted the World War II battle in which, for the first time, American forces faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing; the Japanese fought almost to the last man and exacted a heavy toll. For Breakout, Mr. Russ interviewed Marines who were surrounded when a Chinese army of about 60,000 poured over Korea’s border in November 1950, intent on wiping out American forces marching north to the Yalu River on orders from Gen. Douglas MacArthur. About 12,000 Marines, strung out along 80 miles of winding mountain road leading to the Chosin Reservoir, battled their way out of the encirclement. After graduating from South Kent, Mr. Russ attended St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., but dropped out in his junior year to join the Marines. In later years, although he had no college degree, he taught writing at what is now Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Besides his sister S. K. Dunn, Mr. Russ is survived by his wife of 48 years, the former Liza Blaisdell; sister Sissy Turner; two daughters Phoebe and Molly; a son Luke; and two grandchildren.
1973 in Marquette, MI. He graduated from South Kent School before attending the Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore, MD. Brendan was an artist for Violette Studio in Brooklyn and formerly for Team Gallery in Manhattan and The Philips Collection in Washington, DC. Brendan was a member of Indie bands, Orphan and formerly Quix-o-tic. He is survived by his parents, Brian R. and Susan Majewski of Manassas, VA; brothers, James and Brian of Manassas, VA; sisters, Christina of Stephenson, VA and Janice of Manassas, VA.
1997 Juan Camilo Pardo was tragically killed in Mexico on July 27, 2010. He was 32 years old. Juan is survived by his father Fernando ardo Ramírez and mother Virginia Ortiz de Pardo and a sister, María Costanza.
Former SKS Faculty, James Patton Humphreys peacefully passed away on October 25, 2010, near his home in Sun City, S.C. Mr. Humphreys was a graduate of Kent School, Williams College and received his MEd from Florida State University. He was a World War II veteran and served in the Aleutian Islands as a tail gunner on a B-25 bomber. He survived the war effort unscathed, yet proudly shared that his one and only war time kill was an enemy outhouse which he destroyed upon return from a bombing mission. Mr. Humphreys was the consummate educator and taught and coached in independent and public schools throughout his distinguished career. A gifted athlete, he loved his family, tennis, teaching mathematics and life in general. Mr. Humphreys is survived by his wife, Almeda Humphreys, his brother Michael, sister Mary Staley, daughters, Elizabeth Stoddard, Sarah Magliano, and sons, Edward Humphreys and William Humphreys.
Elizabeth Michel, wife of Laurent Michel ‘44, and mother of James Michel ‘68 and Richard Michel ‘71, died on December 10, 2010 at the age of 82. During her 60 years of marriage to Laurent, she was a frequent visitor to the Hillside and a welcome member of the South Kent School community. She is also survived by her daughter Sarah Michel, and grandchildren Alexander, Joshua, Catherine, Nicholas, Jesse, and Lucas.
1992 Brendan R. Majewski, of Brooklyn, NY passed away on Thursday, January 20, 2011. He was 37. Brendan was born December 9, Winter 2010 The Hillside • 35