Thomas E. French Jr., 87, of Kennebunkport, Maine, a retired
head janitor in Physical Plant, died Jan. 17.
He served the University for 22 and a half years before retiring
in 1980.
He had worked earlier as a skilled metal polisher and supervisor
for Colt Industries of Hartford, Conn., and for Spalding Sporting
Goods in Chicopee.
In the 1950s, prior to moving to Massachusetts, he co-owned Lily
Bay House and Cabins on Moosehead Lake in Maine.
He leaves his wife of 54 years, Georgia P. French; a daughter,
Jan F. Dicey of Exeter, N.H.; four sisters, three step-grandchildren;
three step great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Mr. French's twin brother, Howard, another brother, Paul, and
two sisters, Hope French and Carol Signorelli, died earlier.
Memorial contributions may be made to Kennebunkport Emergency
Medical Services, P.O. Box 460 B, Kennebunk-port ME 04046, or
Kennebunkport Public Health and Nurse Services, P.O. Box 367,
Kennebunkport, or Arundel Lodge 76, P.O. Box 228, Kennebunkport,
or the Masonic Home and Hospital, P.O. Box 70, Wallingford CT
06492-9984.
Apollos N. Ihedigbo, 55, of Nigeria, associate director of the
Committee for the Collegiate Education of Black and Other Minority
Students, died Jan. 7 in Nigeria after a brief illness.
He served the University for 12 years until 2000, when he scheduled
a two-year leave to found an agricultural and technical college
in Nigeria.
He leaves his wife, Rose Ihedigbo, of Amherst; four sons, Emeka,
Nathaniel, David, and James, all of Amherst; and one daughter,
Onyinyechi Brown, of Texas.
A memorial service is scheduled for 5-7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2,
at College Church, 48 Pomeroy Terrace in Northampton. The service
will be followed by a 7:30 reception in the Newman Center.
