Class Note 1951
Issue
January-February 2021
Six more of our classmates have died since our last report: Dave Ballantine, Jim Eldredge, Dick Halloran, Parke Sickler, Bob Sirkin, and Joe Welch. Their full obituaries can be found in our class newsletter, Fifty-One Fables.
As I learn of the remarkable impact made by each of these exceptional men, I am again reminded of the extraordinary good taste of the Dartmouth admissions staff in selecting our class 75 years ago. They chose a group of difference-makers!
Among the 20 ’51s whose deaths were reported in this column in the past year, I find two recipients of our “Spirit of ’51” award (Halloran and Welch). We lost two Ph.D.’s (Bill Friedlander and Mo Monahan), three M.D.’s (Eldredge, Sirkin, and Gil Merrill), and a distinguished judge (Bob Fullerton). Three men served our class as class officers (Halloran, Welch, and Jim Culberson) and the College as heads of regional alumni clubs (Fullerton and Sirkin).
These guys didn’t just collect degrees and titles; they made great impact in their professions and communities. Woody Klein and Dick Halloran were distinguished and widely honored journalists and authors. Bob Sirkin treated children with cerebral palsy. Bill Friedlander’s passion for science led him to discover new compounds and substances in a 40-year career with 3M Corp. Class of ’51 alumni served as senior business executives (Tom Trolle, Chuck Fitzsimmons, and Jim Culberson). Their community contributions were legend (Chester Cotter, Trolle, Welch, Culberson, Fullerton, and Sickler). And 15 of the 20 served in the U.S. armed services; several were highly decorated.
The richness of this group was also evident in the wide variety of its activities. Joe Sisson was a horticultural therapist in the mental health field. Jim Asker was in great demand as a woodworking artist. Bill Rugg was a widely admired regional planner. John Shultz owned harness-racing horses. Mo Monahan was a school superintendent and served in Hawaii’s House of Representatives, besides being a legendary canoe sailor. Bill Merkle helped businesses in Eastern Europe and North Africa. Dave Ballantine was a watercolor painter. We remember them all with gratitude and admiration.
—Pete Henderson, 450 Davis St., Evanston, IL 60201; (847) 905-0635; pandjhenderson@gmail.com
As I learn of the remarkable impact made by each of these exceptional men, I am again reminded of the extraordinary good taste of the Dartmouth admissions staff in selecting our class 75 years ago. They chose a group of difference-makers!
Among the 20 ’51s whose deaths were reported in this column in the past year, I find two recipients of our “Spirit of ’51” award (Halloran and Welch). We lost two Ph.D.’s (Bill Friedlander and Mo Monahan), three M.D.’s (Eldredge, Sirkin, and Gil Merrill), and a distinguished judge (Bob Fullerton). Three men served our class as class officers (Halloran, Welch, and Jim Culberson) and the College as heads of regional alumni clubs (Fullerton and Sirkin).
These guys didn’t just collect degrees and titles; they made great impact in their professions and communities. Woody Klein and Dick Halloran were distinguished and widely honored journalists and authors. Bob Sirkin treated children with cerebral palsy. Bill Friedlander’s passion for science led him to discover new compounds and substances in a 40-year career with 3M Corp. Class of ’51 alumni served as senior business executives (Tom Trolle, Chuck Fitzsimmons, and Jim Culberson). Their community contributions were legend (Chester Cotter, Trolle, Welch, Culberson, Fullerton, and Sickler). And 15 of the 20 served in the U.S. armed services; several were highly decorated.
The richness of this group was also evident in the wide variety of its activities. Joe Sisson was a horticultural therapist in the mental health field. Jim Asker was in great demand as a woodworking artist. Bill Rugg was a widely admired regional planner. John Shultz owned harness-racing horses. Mo Monahan was a school superintendent and served in Hawaii’s House of Representatives, besides being a legendary canoe sailor. Bill Merkle helped businesses in Eastern Europe and North Africa. Dave Ballantine was a watercolor painter. We remember them all with gratitude and admiration.
—Pete Henderson, 450 Davis St., Evanston, IL 60201; (847) 905-0635; pandjhenderson@gmail.com