Since our newsletter editor Penn Frost is doing such a great job of keeping us current on classmates’ doings, it falls to me to give you some historical highlights. The great class of 1944 has loads of talent and brains, but I wonder how many of you are aware that six ’44s have received honorary degrees from Dartmouth. As far as we can determine, that is a Dartmouth class record. In some cases these men have received the same distinction from other institutions as well. The six are Walter Burke, James A. Browning, Gregory Rabassa, John W. Berry, Merlin K. DuVal and Marsh Tenney. These last three classmates are now deceased.


Surprisingly, Walter Burke, one of our most illustrious degree recipients, with a long and generous history with this college, did not graduate from Dartmouth. After returning from service in the Navy Walter was accepted at Columbia Law School. He then went to Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft Law Firm for four years, at which point he was asked to serve as president and treasurer of the Sherman Fairchild Foundation, positions he held for the rest of his business career. His name is familiar to us all as it appears on the Burke Chemistry Building, but that is just one of many connections. He served as chairman of the board of trustees from 1976 to 1986 and continued to guide Dartmouth’s presidents, learning all of the complexities and nuances of running the College. He has served his class generously as well, as major gift and bequest chair through the 1990s. Today Walter is still active in his many eleemosynary pursuits. He is a golfer who modestly claims his best golf is played at the driving range.


On a more mundane note, we remind you that the mini-reunion will be October 8 and 9. Details will be available in the next newsletter.


Our condolences to the families of Dave Ferguson, Robert A. Harris and William Gatlin.


—Betty Munson ’44a, 23 Linscott Road N, York, ME 03909; emmunson1944@gmail.com