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Barbara Foley Felt '49
Barbara Foley Felt '49, a secretary, died November 6, 1995, in Woburn, Mass., at 67. Born in Winchester, Mass., where she made her home for many years, she attended Winchester High School. After Colby she attended Hickox Secretarial School and was employed as a secretary with General Electric of Wilmington for 10 years. Surviving are two sisters and three nephews.
Georgiana Hooker Firth '49
Georgiana Hooker Firth '49, a homemaker, died October 24, 1995, in Trappe, Md., at 67. She was born in Oakland, Calif., and graduated from Scarsdale, N.Y., High School. After Colby she completed studies at the Katherine Gibbs School in Boston, Mass. Since her marriage in 1950, she was a resident of Trappe, where she was a supporter of several local civic organizations. She is survived by her husband, Rogers, two sons, two daughters, a brother, her stepmother and two grandchildren.
Robert F. Staples '51
Robert F. Staples '51, an insurance executive, died November 24, 1995, in Manchester, N.H., at 69. He was born in Brockton, Mass., and was a graduate of Whitman (Mass.) High School and Coburn Classical Institute. He served in the Navy during World War II before attending the College, where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and a class and student council officer. He was vice president of Home Insurance Company, serving the company in several locations in New England. Following his retirement he owned and operated Dana Associates Personnel Agency in Nashua, N.H. Survivors include his wife, Loretta Thompson Staples '53, a daughter, Jan Ellen Staples Wunderlich '77, a son, three grandchildren, a brother, a sister-in-law, Anna Thompson Bragg '69, and many nieces and nephews.
Oliver J. Sproul '52
Oliver J. Sproul '52, a statistician, died January 15, 1996 in Augusta, Maine, at 77. He was born in Augusta and attended Cony High School and Coburn Classical Institute. An Army veteran of World War II, he was a statistician for the state for many years. He is survived by his son, James O. Sproul, two daughters, Doris Dixon and Marie Sproul, two brothers, several sisters, five grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
Stephen S. Garment '62
Stephen S. Garment '62, a USA Today employee, died in August 1995 in France at age 54. He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and attended St. Paul's School in Garden City, N.Y. At Colby he studied philosophy and linguistics and was a member of the International Relations Club. After Colby he was a translator in various Army offices in Europe. He served with the International Trade Administration and then as an anti-dumping investigator for the Department of the Treasury of the U.S. Customs Service from 1978 to 1980 and in the Far East Division with the Department of Commerce until 1982. He was a member of the Hunger Project since 1977. In 1983 he joined USA Today, where he was a coordinator in the graphics and photography department and headed the newspaper's staff at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. He died near Septmoncel in the Jura Mountains in eastern France in a hiking accident. Survivors include his wife, Geneviéve.
H. Ridgely Bullock '55
H. Ridgely Bullock '55, president and CEO of Montchanin Management Corporation and former chair of Colby's Board of Trustees, died December 18, 1994 in New York, N.Y., at the age of 60. He was born in New York and attended Brooks School in North Andover, Mass. One of Colby's first Senior Scholars, he developed a lifelong love of theater at the College, acting in and directing plays and managing Powder and Wig and a summer theater in Camden Hills, Maine. After graduating with honors in English, he moved to the Broadway stage and over the next several years successfully produced a dozen plays and musicals in New York and on tour, including Comin' Uptown, Hotel Paradiso, Fallen Angels and Camus' Caligula. From 1956 to 1959 he was a captain in the U.S. Air Force in Japan, where he also produced plays. In 1964 he turned to law, three years later earning a J.D. at the University of Virginia School of Law. He was made a full partner at the New York law firm of Mudge Rose Guthrie and Alexander in 1970 and two years later was named president and chairman of UMC Industries Corp. in Stamford, Conn., an international leader in specialized industrial equipment, engineered plastics and merchandising equipment. He also served as chairman of the board of Electro Audio Dynamics, Inc., as director of State National Bancorp, as board member of Knoedler-Modarco international art galleries in New York, as director of the National Automatic Merchandising Association and as director of the Dart Group in Washington, D.C. During his career he was a member of the Bar of the City of New York, the New York State Bar Association, the Virginia State Bar and the American Bar Association. He was a national executive director of the Boys Clubs of America and a trustee of both the American Shakespeare Festival Theater and the Stamford Center for the Arts. In 1987 he opened the Domaine Michel Winery in California and was president and board member of the winery at the time of his death. In 1990, while CEO of Montchanin, a company he formed to provide management expertise for companies experiencing difficulties, he was named temporary president of the Bank of New England to oversee its teetering finances.
He was active in admissions interviewing and in the New York City Colby Association and became a member of Colby's Board of Trustees in 1977, serving on executive, development, nominating and steering committees. In 1983 he began an eight-year tenure as chair of the board, a period in which he also was chair of the 2000 Campaign, the largest capital campaign in the history of the College. He made many trips to Waterville for planning and strategy sessions and traveled across the country to meet with volunteers and donors, sometimes piloting a twin-engine DeHavilland jet. A tribute to his leadership, imagination, hard work and deep faith in the College and its alumni, the campaign resulted in new and remodeled facilities, $10 million in new endowment and Colby's nationwide reputation for academic excellence. He received an Alumni Association special recognition award in June 1987 and was honored with a Colby Brick in 1989. At the 1991 Commencement his citation for a doctor of laws degree declared: "Barrister and business leader, impresario and aviator, oenologist and philanthropist-the eclectic experiences and examples of his life reflect what we hold out in hope and expectation for our graduates." In 1992 he received the Ernest C. Marriner Distinguished Service Award for "rare fervor and devotion" to the College and for a career characterized by initiative, hard work, imagination, showmanship and business acumen, all with a firm commitment to excellence. Among the survivors are his six children, including Sylvia Bullock Clarkson '78, David Bullock '87 and stepdaughter Ariane de Braux '93, two sisters, a granddaughter and an aunt, Colby trustee Alida Camp.
John M. Joseph Sr.
June 23, 2016, in Waterville, Maine, at 95. He spent three years in the Pacific during World War II and received an honorable discharge as staff sergeant. He returned to Waterville’s Lebanese community and, along with his brother Peter, owned and operated the Colby College Spa for 35 years. Upon his retirement, in 1985, the Spa was renamed the Joseph Family Spa. He belonged to the Colby Key Club and the C Club, and the Class of 1962 dedicated its yearbook to him. He was active with his church, was a founding member of the Lebanon Youth Society, and belonged to the Waterville Country Club. Survivors include three sons, seven grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and two brothers.
Peter J. Ré Sr.
July 24, 2016, in Scarborough, Maine, at 97. After studying at Julliard, he earned a B.A. from Yale and an M.F.A. from Columbia. A pianist, composer, and conductor, he joined Colby’s faculty as a music instructor in 1951 and retired as a full professor in 1984. He arranged jazz standards for the Colby Eight and started the Colby Piano Institute and the Summer School of Music. After conducting the Bangor Symphony Orchestra from 1964 to 1974, he became conductor and musical director of Colby’s Community Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. In 1973 he received the Award of Merit from the Maine State Commission on Arts and Humanities. He enjoyed European travel and fly fishing in Maine, and he was an organist for Catholic churches in Oakland and Waterville. Six children, nine grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren survive him.
Ethel Bragg Williams '33
May 24, 2016, in Waterville, Maine, at 103. A mother and a homemaker, she was also an organist at the Getchell Street Baptist Church in Waterville, where she was a member. One daughter, Barbara Gee, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren survive her.
Melvin Markson '39
April 2, 2016, in Aventura, Fla., at 101. He left Colby to serve with the U.S. Air Force in the Pacific during World War II. He spent his professional career as a tea and coffee merchant in Springfield, Mass. Two children, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren survive him.
