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Obituaries
Former campus leader Leo Redfern,
78, perishes in Maine auto accident
Leo F. Redfern, 78, of Bowdoinham, Maine,
former dean of Administration and former president of Keene State
College, died May 31 in a Maine automobile accident.
He served the University for nearly eight
years before taking on the Keene State presidency in 1969, where
he served 10 years.
He also worked for the American Council on
Education and the Ford Foundation and taught at the universities
of Wisconsin and New Hampshire.
Initially hired as director of the Office of Institutional Studies,
he served as acting secretary of the University in 1963 and then
filled the newly created dean of Administration position in 1964.
As dean he coordinated high-level projects, represented the president,
and coordinated relations with state and federal programs. He
also directed the UMass Labor Relations and Research Center and
served as official liaison to the New England Center of Continuing
Education, the Massachusetts Higher Education Facilities Commission,
and the state's Board of Higher Education.
In 1964 he chaired the task force that developed
the UMass Boston campus.
He returned to campus in 1982 to receive the
Outstanding Service Award from the Professional Association of
UMass Amherst in recognition of his leadership in establishing
the first personnel policy rules for professional staff approved
by the Board of Trustees.
A three-year veteran of the U.S. Army Air
Corps during World War II, he later served as a captain in the
U.S. Air Reserves.
He held an AB and an MA from the University of New
Hampshire and an MPA and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.
The editor of "The Town Clerk in New Hampshire,"
his academic interests included university-government relations
and the education and training of public officials.
He was a member of the American Association of University
Professors and the American Society for Public Administration,
among other organizations.
In 1996 Keene State College named the Redfern Arts
Center on Brickyard Pond in his honor.
His wife of 45 years, Edmonde Redfern, died earlier.
He leaves a son, Charles of Keene, N.H.; a daughter,
Laurie Redfern Smith of Nelson, N.H.; and three grandchildren.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Richmond American
Legion, P.O. Box 132, Richmond ME 04357 or the Keene State College
Endowment Association, Attn. Judy Kalich, 229 Main St. Keene NH
03435-2701.
A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. June
22 at Kincer Funeral Home in Richmond, Maine.
William McEwen, former Chemistry
head, Commonwealth professor, dies at 80
William E. McEwen, 80, of Amherst, Commonwealth
Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and longtime head of the department,
died May 24 at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton.
He served the University for 38 years before retiring
in 1990. Having taught chemistry at the universities of Kansas
and Illinois, he came to campus in 1962 as head of Chemistry,
a position he occupied for 15 years. He was named Commonwealth
Professor in 1977. In 1986 he delivered a Distinguished Faculty
Lecture.
He spent a year in the Army at Oak Ridge Laboratories
in Tennessee and was a research collaborator at Brookhaven National
Laboratory on Long Island and at the Venezuelan Research Institute.
Active in the American Chemical Society, he served
on the board of "Journal of Organic Chemistry" and was
a member of the board of editors of "Phosphorous and Sulphur."
And he chaired the Chemistry Section of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science.
He co-authored two textbooks and wrote a lab manual,
several other books, and more than 150 research papers.
In 1984 he received the Army's Outstanding Civilian
Service Award. The previous year he had been a visiting professor
at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he reviewed
the chemistry program, making recommendations for improvement
and other future action.
He held a bachelor's degree and a doctorate from
Columbia University.
After retiring, he directed the International Council on Main
Group Chemistry and edited "Heteroatom Chemistry," two
projects that he initiated.
He leaves his wife of 20 years, Cathryn McEwen;
his former wife, Miriam McEwen of Amherst; two sons, Alfred of
Tucson, Ariz., and Robert of Amherst; a daughter, Joan of Little
Rock, Ark.; and four grandchildren.
Memorial gifts may be made to the William Edwin McEwen Scholarship
Fund, Department of Chemistry, 701 Lederle GRT.
Franklin W. Southwick, retired
chair of Plant and Soil Sciences, dies at 85
Franklin W. Southwick, 85, of Amherst, a retired
professor of Plant and Soil Sciences and longtime chair of his
department, died June 5 in the Center for Extended Care.
He served the University for nearly 43 years before
retiring in 1983.
Initially a research professor in Horticulture,
he eventually was chair of Horticultural Sciences, which became
Plant and Soil Sciences, between 1963 and 1977.
He held a bachelor's degree in
Pomology from the University, a master's degree in Horticulture
from Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in pomology from Cornell
University, where he later worked in extension for three years.
He also taught and did research at the University of Connecticut
for several years.
A specialist in pomology, he published dozens of
pieces on orchard management, plant science, botany and horticulture.
He participated in developing the use of cold-atmosphere storage
for apples.
He was awarded a gold medal and $1,000 in 1965 by
the trustees of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture,
and in 1968 he was elected a fellow of the American Society for
Horticultural Science.
He co-chaired the campus's United Way Campaign and
was a member of Sigma Xi.
His wife of 63 years, Rita Southwick, died in October.
He leaves four sons, David of Haydenville, Peter
of Amherst, Donald of Leverett and Steven of El Macero, Calif.;
10 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Amherst Boys &
Girls Club, Main Street, Amherst 01002.
Raymond A. Canning
Raymond A. Canning, 61, of Sunderland, a retired
dietary I worker in Auxiliary Services, died June 3 in Cooley
Dickinson Hospital after sustaining injuries in an automobile
accident on Route 116.
He served the University for more than 15 years
before retiring in May 2001.
A graduate of Smith Vocational High School, he has
worked earlier at the Charles Warner Farm in Sunderland and the
former Myers & Mendelson Tobacco Co. in Hatfield.
He leaves his brother, Eugene of Sunderland; an
aunt; an uncle and several cousins.
Memorial gifts may be made to the American Diabetes
Association, 1 Bromfield St., Boston 02108.
Joseph A. Grybko
Joseph A. Grybko, 88, of Deerfield,
a retired maintenance working foreman in Physical Plant, died
June 7 in Cozy Corner Nursing Home in Sunderland.
He served the University for more than 14 and a half years before
retiring in 1980.
He previously had worked at Shannahan
Trucking in Montag-ue, Ralph T. Staab Oil Co. in Amherst and Wolfram
Fuel in South Deerfield.
His wife, Susan K. Grybko, died in 1996.
He leaves a son, Robert of South
Deerfield; a sister, Julia Wojtkielewicz of South Deerfield; a
granddaughter; and nieces and nephews.
A daughter, Jane Seeley, died in 1992.
Memorial gifts may be made to
the Deerfield Rescue Vehicle Fund, Greenfield Road, South Deerfield,
01373 or the Sunderland Ambulance Fund, c/o Robert Ahearn, Main
Street, Sunderland, 01375.
Felicia Z. Jewett
Felicia Z. Jewett, 93, of Amherst,
a retired laboratory assistant in Veterinary and Animal Science,
died May 31.
She served the University for 35 years before retiring
in 1965. The first 20 years of her tenure were as a senior clerk
and stenographer in the same department.
A 1927 graduate of Amherst High School, she lived
most of her life in Amherst, having spent a few years in Hadley,
Hatfield, and Sunderland.
Her husband, Clarence A. Jewett, seven brothers
and two sisters died earlier.
She leaves many nieces and nephews, including Thomas
Zimnowski, coordinator of Media Production at Academic Instructional
Media Services, and John Benjamin of Sunderland, and Edward Ralicki
of Shelburne Falls.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Jimmy Fund, 10 Brookline Place
West, Brookline 02445-7226.
Edna Carrington
Edna R. Carrington, 69, of Hatfield, a retired bacteriologist
I in University Health Services, died June 1 at home following
a brief illness.
She served the University for nearly 17 years before
retiring in 1997.
She leaves her husband of 31 years, Ronald Carrington;
a son, Richard J. Jablonski of Amherst; six brothers, Edward J.
Murphy and Bernard D. Murphy, both of Northampton, Philip E. Murphy
of Easthampton, Carl D. Murphy of Holyoke, Kenneth R. Murphy of
Santa Maria, Calif., and George Murphy of Agawam; four sisters,
Ruth A. Crafts of Florence, Cynthia M. Tossavanien of Great Barrington,
Esther L. Montgomery of Summerville, S.C., and Barbara A. Nolan
of Pensacola, Fla.; two grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
Two brothers, Richard F. Murphy and Cornelius Murphy,
died earlier.
Memorial gifts may be made to VNA/Hospice Alliance, 168 Industrial
Drive, Northampton 01060.
Arun V. Ram, Class of '03
Arun V. Ram, 22, of Leverett, a senior studying
psychology, biology and law, died June 1 in a car accident in
Sunderland.
He was driving a 2002 Saab north on Route 116 when
his car struck a tractor-trailer parked in the oncoming breakdown
lane.
He leaves his parents, Atma and Gayatri Ram of Watchung,
N.J.
Memorial donations may be made to the charity of one's choice.
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