^ HARRY G. SILLECK JR. ’40
H
arry G. Silleck Jr. ’40, a prominent attorney and railroad president, died March 30, 2013 at the age of 92. A native of Putnam Valley, N.Y., he was educated in a one-room schoolhouse where through individualized attention he earned a high school diploma and admission to Union when he was just 15. At Union he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a member of the Philomathean Society, an organization devoted to the discussion of law and politics. After Union, he earned a law degree from Columbia Law School, graduating in 1943 at the height of World War II. He entered the Army Air Corps and rose to the rank of first lieutenant. He flew 31 missions in Europe as a navigator on B-24 bombers stationed in England. He was discharged in June 1945, a month after VE Day.
Howard R. Sandler ’52, of Eastham, Mass. and formerly of Westport, who served in the Army during the Korean War before working in sales and management at Lysander Tufted Products and later at Kraft Foods, April 30, 2014. An avid kayaker who served on the Eastham Planning Board and was its chairman from 1998 to 2008, Howard was 84. Harold Emerson Jones ’52, of Round Rock, Texas, a professional engineer who spent most of his career as an electrical engineer at IBM in Fishkill and Endicott, N.Y., and received an Outstanding Contribution Award from IBM
A corporate attorney specializing in railroad matters, he was a partner in the New York City firm of Dorr, Hand, Whittaker & Watson. The firm later merged with Nixon, Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & Alexander. Richard Nixon was a partner of the firm before his election as President in 1968. Before Mr. Silleck retired, the firm’s name changed to Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, Alexander & Ferdon. He was chairman of the firm from 1978 to 1985 and served as counsel into the early 1990s.
for one of his test equipment designs and two patents, March 27, 2014. Harold, who was 86, enjoyed living in a motorhome with his wife full-time for four years during retirement. Richard G. Heimann ’53, of New York City, a photographer and cinematographer whose credits include director of photography for the movie, Godspell, died Aug. 20, 2013 at the age of 81. At Union, he was involved in Mountebanks, lacross and Concordiensis. Robert H. Hochuli ’53, of Colfax, N.C., who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, spent 25 years in the hosiery industry and was scoutmaster of Troop
From 1962 to 1968, Mr. Silleck was president and director of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad and then the Norfolk and Western. His main client for most of his practice was the Erie Lackawana Railroad, which he represented for years through bankruptcy, reorganization and liquidation. In 1977, he married June Baird, a native of Pittsburgh and a graduate of what is now Carnegie Mellon University. They kept homes in New York City and Putnam Valley. He was active with the Putnam Valley Museum and Historical Society, and a member of the town’s cemetery committee. An avid gardener and eclectic reader, he and his wife also enjoyed the arts in Manhattan and Westchester. They traveled extensively in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
525 for 16 years, winning the Silver Beaver for his commitment to Boy Scouts of America, Feb. 24, 2014. A member of many community organizations, including the American Red Cross, he was 82. Arthur L. Burns ’54, of North Syracuse, N.Y, July 10, 2013. Robert B. Slaughter Jr. ’54, of Fairport, N.Y., who served in the U.S. Air Force and worked at American Can Company and Eastman Kodak Company before retiring in 1991, May 1, 2014. Robert, who was known for his woodworking projects, photography, gardening and cooking, built dulcimers and taught himself to play.
Leonard A. Traina ’55, of Roseville, Calif., who earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, served in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps, and retired from New Mexico State University as a professor in 1997, Jan. 14, 2014. A member of many professional organizations and the first recipient of the College of Engineering’s Frank Bromilow Award for Excellence in Teaching, he was 80. Jack Jacob Woolf ’55, of Charlotte, N.C., who worked for Turner Construction Company before becoming CEO of Crow Construction and senior vice president of J.A. Jones Inc., and who founded Construction Solutions No.1 Inc., March 23, 2014. A life member of the American Society of Civil Engineers who was active in Boy Scouts and held leadership roles in Troop 116, he was 81. E. Dale Christie ’55, of Orlando, Fla., who served in the U.S. Air Force, stationed at SAC headquarters in Omaha, Neb., before becoming an executive with New York Telephone Company and later transferring to Orlando with AT&T, April 25, 2014. A community volunteer who enjoyed golfing and cooking, he was 81. Donald Leonard Lansing ’56, of Newport News, Va., who earned a master’s in math from VPI (now Va. Tech) and spent 37 years with NASA, working as assistant division chief in acoustics before moving on to computer graphics, May 21, 2014. Donald, who taught calculus at CNC and worked with children at Jefferson Lab promoting interest in math and science, was 79.
Fall 2014 UNION COLLEGE
| 59