Obituaries Alumni News
Losses to the Community Alumni and Friends Who Will Be Sorely Missed
William H. Orrick, Jr. CdeP 1932 died in his sleep on August 15, at his home in San Francisco. Bill matriculated from Thacher to Yale and then returned west for law school at the U.C. Berkeley campus. He served in the Army in World War II and then, after working in his father’s San Francisco law firm, went to work for the Kennedy administration in the early 1960s. Among his assignments for the Department of Justice was working to protect the “Freedom Riders,” who sought to integrate buses in the South.
Bill was appointed to the US District Court by President Nixon in 1974 and oversaw high-profile cases such as sentencing Patty Hearst for her role in a bank robbery and various desegregation cases. He is survived by his wife, Suzanne; three children; and six grandchildren. Herbert C. Moffitt, MD CdeP 1933 lost his battle with cancer on October 7, 2003, just as this issue was going to press. Herb was ensconced in all aspects of academic and outdoor life at Thacher; he served on nearly every committee and organization. He matriculated to Cal, attended Harvard’s medical school, did his internship at Massachusetts General Hospital, and served a stint in the US Navy during World War II. He specialized in Internal Medicine at UC San Francisco and began his practice with his mentor, Dr. Eddy, in the City. Beyond this, he served on the boards of numerous Bay Area organizations and Thacher, and he was very involved in fundraising for Thacher, including the founding of the Casa de Piedra Society. Once retired from medicine, Herb spent time at his family’s 350-acre ranch in the Napa Valley, where he enjoyed horseback riding and tending to Cabernet Sauvignon grapes used in making premium wines. Herb is survived by his wife Gwynne; children Herbert C. III CdeP 1966, Elizabeth (who is married to Andrew Herr CdeP 1973), James CdeP 1972, and David CdeP 1973; and five grandchildren. George S. Bennett CdeP 1937 matriculated from Thacher to the US Naval Academy, where he graduated in 1941 with a Master of Science degree; he received another degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1949 from Naval PC School. He retired from Sandia National Labs at the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, NM. George is survived by his wife Polly; and his children: Margaret, Barbara, Mary, George III, and Donald. Sheldon von Hagen Brooks CdeP 1939 graduated from Yale in 1943 and served in the Navy for three years where he became a Lieutenant 40 The Thacher News
JG. He worked as chairman of the board Minnetonka Boat Works in Wayzata, MN. He was quite involved in marine supplies and sailing; he was connected with: St. James School as a trustee, Hennepin Co. Animal Rescue League as a director; MN Boating Association as a director, and as a trustee of Ducks Unlimited. Sheldon was first married to Frances Harriet Atkinson, then Delores W. Brooks (1967). He had four children: Paul, Judith, Molly, and stepson Matthew Hoy. Robert Elwood Chesley CdeP 1950, who attended Thacher for his junior and senior years of high school and later became a teacher and Business Manager at the School, died on May 5, 2003. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and a Master’s in Education from Stanford University. While there, he met Alice McKinney; they married and raised a family. After a short stint in the US Army, Bob taught physics and math at Thacher for 13 years. He also shared his interests in astronomy, photography, the outdoors, flying, and ham radio. He moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the Department of Education and later managed the Educational Research Information Center (ERIC). He returned to Thacher to work as the Business Manager. Once Bob retired, he built his own airplane and became very active in various Ojai organizations including the Ojai Rotary Club, The Ojai Valley School, and Concerned Resource and Environmental Workers (CREW). Bob is survived by his wife of 47 years; sons John and Matthew CdeP 1981; and two grandchildren; he’s predeceased by his son Michael. A memorial service was held at Thacher on May 10.
Aidan R. Gough CdeP 1952 died March 21, 2003. Following Thacher, Aiden studied at the Holy Cross Order Seminary at Notre Dame University before studying Classics at Stanford where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1956; a Master of Arts degree in Psychological Services/ Counseling Psychology in 1957; Juris Doctorate Magna Cum Laude from the University of Santa Clara in 1962; and finally a LLM from Harvard in 1966. During Aidan’s 32-year tenure as Professor/ Professor Emeritus of Law at Santa Clara University, he held visiting positions at Stanford University and the London School of Economics and Political Science. He served as Executive Director of the California Governor’s Commission on the Family, which drafted the nation’s first no-fault divorce law; as Staff Secretary to the Governor of California; as Reporter to the National Joint Commission on Juvenile, Justice Standards; and
by Jane D. McCarthy
as Consultant to the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
Aiden was preceded in death by his wife Patricia Kay Hardiman; he is survived by his brother Dennis (CdeP 1956) and two sons: Michael and Thomas.
Thacher Faculty David S. Lavender died April 26, 2003 at the age of 93. The prolific Western historian, who churned out more than 40 books, was nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes, and taught English at Thacher full time for nearly three decades and part time for many years afterward, will be sorely missed. Having grown up on a ranch 20 miles outside of Telluride, David’s roots sank deep in the West. He headed east, however, to attend Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania and graduated from Princeton in 1931. While at Princeton, he developed his flair for writing and interest in history. He returned to Colorado to work the family ranch and as a gold miner. His writing was unique in that he actually experienced many of the events about which he wrote. His clear, graceful, and unpretentious manner, conventional wisdom, thoroughness of research, and graceful prose won him praise from peer authors and historians, as well as significant awards and honors. A memorial service was held at Thacher on June 12, 2003; hundreds shared stories and memories of David’s life with his survivors: Muriel Sharkey, son David, and numerous grandchildren, stepchildren, and great-grandchildren. David N. Lawyer, Jr., who taught at Thacher for the 1968-69 school year and subsequently taught at Santa Barbara City College, died of leukemia on July 15. He is survived by his second wife, Tracey, and a nine-year-old daughter Kymmy, as well as two grown children by his first marriage. Bonnie Moon Robinson died on Tuesday, September 16, after an eight-year battle with cancer. She was in the UCLA Medical Center undergoing a stem cell transplant at the time of her death. She is survived by her daughters, Julia ’04 and Catherine ’06, and her husband, Peter. Bonnie received her BA from Hollins College and her MALS from Wesleyan University. She was the first full-time academic woman to teach at Thacher, beginning her career in 1974, and its first Dean of Students, a position she held for 10 years. Over her long career, she also served as English Department Chair and Dorm Head for the Upper School. A Faculty Chair in Bonnie’s name has been established at Thacher. e