10 minute read
In Memoriam
’40s
Esther M. Ebright ’44 died on Feb. 14 in Lancaster. She taught Biology at Bradford High School in Ohio, then Special Education in the Cornwall-Lebanon School District. LVC recognized her 100th birthday in 2022. Ebright was a member of Lancaster’s First United Methodist Church.
Nora Goodman ’47 died on Feb. 9 in Wenonah, N.J. She was a retired DuPont chemist.
’50s
Geraldine “Geri” Rothermel Nease ’50 died on April 8 in West Reading. She began her music teaching career in the Manheim School District, teaching vocal music in 28 one-room schools. She then taught in the Hempfield School District for 31 years. Nease sang with the LVC Alumni Chorale for 21 years. The family requests that donations be made to the Lebanon Valley College Music Department in her memory.
Dr. David H. Wallace ’50 died on May 5. He was the son of Dr. Paul A.W. Wallace, late Professor Emeritus of English. After graduating from high school, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in the U.S. Army before attending LVC, later earning his Ph.D. in American History at Columbia University.
He began his career as a Historian and Museum Curator at The New York Historical Society, where he coedited the Dictionary of American Artists (1957). He also authored John Rogers: The People’s Sculptor (1967). He spent the rest of his career with the National Park Service at Independence Hall in Philadelphia and the Harpers Ferry Interpretive Design Center. He completed plans for refurnishing historic structures at sites throughout the National Park Service, including the lighthouse keepers’ quarters at Cape Hatteras, N.C., and Apostle Islands, Wisc.; and an early ranger’s cabin at Denali National Park, Alaska; as well as reconstructing historic libraries at the homes of such national figures as Martin Luther King Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt, and Dwight Eisenhower.
Rufina B. Marquette ’51 died on Feb. 19 in Palmyra. She taught Elementary School in the Annville-Cleona School District for 28 years. She was a member of Annville’s St. Mark Lutheran Church, where she was Assistant Minister, Substitute Organist, Lector, and Social Ministry member. Marquette and her late husband, Dr. George “Rinso” Marquette ’48, LVC Vice President Emeritus for Student Affairs, established The George R. Marquette ’48 and Rufina B. Marquette ’51 Scholarship.
Barbara Metzger Kline ’51 died on Dec. 20, 2023, in Lititz. She taught elementary music at the Landisville, Centerville, and Farmdale schools in the Hempfield School District. Kline was a member of Grace Lutheran Church.
Joyce Simons ’51 died on Feb. 14 in Elizabethtown. She held several roles during her career, including as a Laboratory Technician at the former Polyclinic Hospital in Harrisburg and with the American Red Cross in Norfolk, Va. Simons was a member of Elizabethtown’s St. Paul’s UMC.
Lee C. Smith ’54 died on April 7. After graduating with an Economics degree, he worked in New York City for two years before joining Good & Firestone Associates in Myerstown as a CPA before retiring.
Dean R. Artz ’55 died on June 13 in New Oxford. A Chemistry graduate, he worked at Westveco Paper Co. in Williamsburg, later retiring from P.H. Glatfelter Co. in Spring Grove after 34 years. He was a member of Spring Grove’s St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.
George Radanovic ’55 died on March 12. A U.S. Army veteran, he was an Elementary Education Teacher at Lemasters Elementary School and Principal at Mountainview Middle School in Mercersburg. Radanovic was a member of Fannettsburg’s Lower Path Valley Presbyterian Church.
Hazel Ann Davis ’57 died on May 28 in Carneys Point, N.J. After earning her LVC degree in Music Education, she received her Master’s from Temple University and taught music in the Penns Grove/Carneys Point School District. She was a member of the Salem American Legion Band (clarinet), the Delta Kappa Gamma International Society (Outstanding Women Teachers), and a faithful member of the Memorial Baptist Church of Salem, where she directed the choir for over 50 years. She played with the Haddonfield and Bridgeton symphonies.
Davis is survived by her sister, Patricia “Pat” Davis Bullock ’62, niece, Deborah Bullock Wescott ’95, P’23, P’24, P’27 and her husband, Dr. Jonathan Wescott ’93, P’23, P’24, P’27, niece, Mary B. Neyer ’97, P’25, and her husband, Daniel R. Neyer ’95, P’25, and several great nieces and nephews who are LVC alumni or students survive her.
’60s
Barbra Storaker Stehlik ’61 died on Jan. 19. She taught kindergarten four years and as a Substitute Teacher in the Virginia Beach School System for several years. Stehlik was a member of the Francis Asbury UMC.
Glen E. Peiffer ’63 died on Feb. 22 in Lebanon. He taught music for 35 years, including 26 in the Central Dauphin School District. He was a member of Lebanon’s First EC Church.
John F. Onofrey ’64 died on April 1 in Lebanon. After earning a master’s from Harvard University, he was Vice President of Publications at Continental Press in Elizabethtown for over 25 years. He was a member of St. Benedict the Abbot Church.
James R. Lesher ’66 died on May 5. He earned a Master’s from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, becoming a CPA who worked in the insurance and financial planning industries for most of his career.
Paul Stanley Ulrich ’66 died in October, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. He spent over five decades collecting and analyzing biographical data on people who worked in the German-speaking theatre landscape and was the long-standing chairman of the Society for Theatre History. His grandparents, Dr. Andrew Bender 1906, long-time Chemistry Professor and Chair, and Dr. Ruth Engle Bender 1915, longtime member of LVC’s Music faculty and Director of the College’s Conservatory of Music, predeceased him, as did his parents, Major Paul T. Ulrich ’38 and Elizabeth Bender Ulrich ’38.
Rayanne D. Lehman ’67 died on Feb. 8 in Hershey. She was an Entomologist at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for 30 years. During her career, she engaged in fighting the spread of Avian Influenza in the early 1980s and the Plum Pox Virus in the early 2000s. Her husband, Dennis M. Lehman ’69, P’96, and son, Daniel Lehman ’96, survive her.
Mary Jane Tanner ’67 died on April 30 in Stroudsburg. She held multiple teaching and administrative roles and owned and operated Arrowhead Campground in Snyders-ville for 48 years.
Dr. Paula K. Hess ’69 died on Feb. 4 in Hershey. She earned her doctorate from Pennsylvania State University and was fondly known as “Doc” to those she worked with at the PA House of Representatives for nearly 30 years. Among many roles, she was Director of Research and Special Advisor to the Education Committee and Republican Caucus Leadership. Hess received an LVC Alumni Citation in 2009, and she and her late mother, Judith Alice Morrett Hess, established the Paul W. Hess Endowed Scholarship in honor of Paula’s father, Ret. U.S. Navy Captain Dr. Paul W. Hess, late Professor and Chair Emeritus of Biology.
’70s
Susan Wood Nasuti ’74 died on May 30 in Drexel Hill. After earning her Nursing degree at LVC, she worked at PRN Healthcare Services Inc. and as the Healthcare Coordinator and Wellness Services Coordinator at Sunrise Assisted Living in McLean, Va.
John S. Fechisin ’75 died on Jan. 7 in Denver, Colo. He contributed significantly to the U.S. Postal Service, where he was Union President for several years.
’80s
Robert R. Gregory ’80 died on April 3 in Newark, N.J. After earning an Associate’s and MBA, he spent his career with Biach Industries, retiring in 2021.
Paul A. VanHouten Jr. ’89 died on Feb. 22 in Williamstown, N.J. He was a schoolteacher for Monroe Township, most recently teaching science at Williamstown Middle School before retiring. VanHouten was the Teachers’ Union President for many years. His wife, Karen L. Jones VanHouten ’88, mother, Georgianne B. Funk Jones ’57, P’85, P’88, and nephew, Ryan VanHouten ’09, survive him.
’90s
Christina “Tina” Minotto ’91 died on May 4 in Reading. She was a Respiratory Therapist at St. Joseph’s Hospital before being an Auto Glass Installer and Secretary for Tec Auto Glass in Pottstown. Her sudden death reconnected many of her LVC friends, who fondly remember her quick smile and for being known by almost everyone on campus.
Charel “Cherie” Cooper Porubiansky ’92 died on April 18 in Lebanon. She was the Manager of the Beehive Gift Shop at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon, retiring in 2011.
Christopher R. Graver ’94 died on May 28 in Hershey. He was a Supply Chain Supervisor for TE Connectivity.
Julie Wonderly-Cass ’94 died on June 14 in New Hope. She enjoyed a career as a Systems Analyst with Met Life before transitioning to homemaker. Her greatest joy was bringing happiness to others. Her husband, David Cass ’93, survives Wonderly-Cass.
Michael Thomas Peachey ’95 died on Oct. 10, 2021, in North Carolina. After graduating he served in several roles with his Chemistry degree, including as a Software Engineer and Bioinformatics Developer at DNA Science Inc. in Stony Brook, NY. Peachey loved his time at LVC, including being part of Phi Mu Alpha, Pride of The Valley, and Symphony Orchestra.
J. Nelson Kling ’96 died on May 24 in Lancaster. He was a Mission Worker under the Eastern Board from 197073, and served seniors in various roles until his retirement. He attended Gingrich’s and Landisville Mennonite congregations.
Dr. Jeanine M. Schweitzer Metzler ’98 died on April 23 in Reading. After earning her Master’s and Ph.D. from Kutztown University, she was a Professor of Accounting at Northampton Community College for 20 years. She became the Controller for the Berks Auto Collision Center.
’00s
CW3 Jonathan L. Crane, U.S. Army, ’02 died on March 5. He was Commander and Bandmaster of the 25th Infantry Division Band, serving in Iraq supporting Operation New Dawn. After LVC, Chief Crane graduated from The Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford, and earned his Master’s from Bowling Green University.
FRIENDS OF THE VALLEY
David Elihu Pleet died on Feb. 17 in Cornwall. After graduating from Syracuse University, he and his late wife, Marilyn, assumed leadership of the Lebanon men’s store, Lawn Bros. Inc., in 1954 after the passing of his grandfather. They renamed it Lawn’s Clothing Store in 1961 in honor of its original founding in 1889 and ran it successfully to its closure in 1984. Pleet began a second successful career at the former Butcher & Singer that year, retiring as a Senior Financial Consultant for Wells Fargo Advisors in 2014.
He served on the National Ski Patrol for 45 years and, with several friends, built, owned, and operated a ski area in Schuylkill County and was a founding member of the Flying Dutchmen Ski Club.
Pleet and Marilyn established the David and Lynn Pleet Initiative for Student-Faculty Research at LVC, which supported numerous academic projects throughout the U.S. and the world for several years. They were members of the College’s Lifetime Vickroy Society, which recognizes those whose contributions total $100,000 or more during their lifetime.
Dr. Stephen Edward Williams, LVC Professor Emeritus of Biology, died on April 3. After earning his Master’s from the University of Tennessee and Ph.D. from Washington University-St. Louis, he received a Postdoctoral Fellowship from Cornell University, Department of Plant Sciences, where he taught for the next 18 summers.
Williams taught Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology at LVC for 35 academic years, mentoring numerous students. The trapping physiology of the Venus flytrap was his special interest, for which he received a global reputation and produced many publications.
In honor of Dr. Williams and his wife of 56 years, Dr. Susan Verhoek, LVC Professor Emerita of Biology, Frank Lichtner, a former flytrap research assistant, established the Dr. Susan E. Verhoek and Dr. Stephen E. Williams Prize in Botany at the College, to which numerous former students have contributed.
