Mrs. Rachelle Gerson – Bennett ~ Former Faculty

Mrs. “Abby” Rachelle Gerson ~ Former Faculty 1957

Arrived ~ 8/23/1933

Departed ~ 3/5/2023

Lovingly written and submitted by her son Sidney Gerson ~ Class of 1972

Rachelle Musman Bennett 8/23/1933 – 3/5/2023

Mom was born in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxemburg. She told us of her early life in Luxemburg and how she, being the youngest, and only daughter of four children, was spoilt rotten. One snowy day her three brothers, Jacques, Maurice, and Bernard were forced into taking her sledding. When they reached the bottom of the hill, she didn’t want to walk back up so she cried and screamed so loud and long, causing the neighbors to look out their windows, forcing her brothers to drag her back up the hill while she sat on the sled. Mom even had a dog that would meet her after school and carry her books home.

When she was around seven, the Nazis invaded Luxemburg and the family had to escape. They fled all the way to the South of France, sometimes finding a truck to take them and sometimes on foot. When they were on foot they had to watch for Nazi planes and had to jump in bushes to hide. After the dangerous trip our mom was hidden in a convent. She lived in the convent as a young catholic girl until a family was found to take her in. As Rachelle got on the bus to travel to this family, the Mother Superior gave her some Rosary Beads. Rachelle refused the beads saying “I am Jewish”. Mother Superior convinced her to take the rosary which turned out quite fortunate. The bus was stopped at a checkpoint, the Nazis were searching for Jews, Rachelle pulled out those rosary beads and started saying the prayers like a good little catholic girl!

She went on to Rodez, France, where she assumed the identity of a young French girl who had died, and lived as the daughter of the Catholic family. Of course, during this period, she was such a good student that she won an award which was signed and presented by a Nazi General and she accepted this award in front of a large assembly of students, their families, and of course Nazis.

After the war she burned the award along with other memorabilia she had accumulated because she wanted no memory of the traumatic years she had to endure. It was always hard for our mother to talk about this time in her life, although she was able to sit through two interviews recording her personal experience of the Holocaust.
Once I was driving her to a Holocaust Survivor’s event where she was supposed to be one of the speakers when she suddenly said “I cannot do this, turn around right now!” I tried talking to her and calm her down but I could see she was getting terrified so I stopped trying to convince her to go, and came up with an alternative plan. We went and ate Thai food and she felt better.

After the War, mom’s family immigrated to America. They sailed across the Atlantic on the Queen Elizabeth and started a new life in Brooklyn where our mom attended high school. In her high school year book she wrote that she wanted to live in the Orient. Mom went on to get a Batchelor’s Degree in Romance Languages from Brooklyn College. While at Brooklyn College, she went to a Jewish Mixer where she met our father, who had been born and raised in Thailand, the Orient! After college they were married and moved to Bangkok so our father could join his family’s business.

Mom became a teacher, and taught high school French, Latin, Math, and Chemistry at the International Children’s Center (now the International School of Bangkok.) Later she taught French at the Bangkok Pattana school where Suzanne and I both attended. In her first year of teaching, Mom had some belligerent students. She failed the ones who didn’t do their work, almost the whole class. The headmaster told her she couldn’t fail them. She said this was the grade they deserved. Then she worked with those students so they could bring their grades up. They all ended up getting B’s and A’s!

Our mom fully embraced life as an expat in Thailand and created a diverse community of friends. She joined charitable organizations such as the International Women’s Club, the American Women’s club and the Red Cross Society. When Temple Beth Elisheva was formed she became very involved with the temple’s Sisterhood. She also learned to play bridge and got so good that long time experienced players wanted to be her partner.

In Thailand Mom discovered her love of entertaining. She hosted dinners for the expat and Thai business communities. The formal evening Bar Mitzvah party she organized for me was one of biggest social events in Bangkok that year.

She gave me and Suzanne big birthday parties and made beautiful cakes for us. One year, my cake was a ship. Another birthday Mom used Suzanne’s favorite doll and made the cake around the doll to look like a beautiful gown and made a tiara that was edible! Our mom also liked making elaborate costumes for us for Purim and Halloween. I was always one of the three kings in the Bangkok Pattana School Christmas Play. I’m pretty sure it was because I always had a most spectacular costume!

One Thanksgiving dinner that she hosted, mom made pilgrim costumes for Suzanne and me and we had to meet the guests at the gate and walk them to the party around the pool. She gave me some money and bought (confiscated) my small sampan boat and had it converted into a Viking ship where she set up the buffet dinner.

Mom was an excellent cook. In Bangkok, she made an agreement with our cook, SomSee. For every Thai dish SomSee would teach her, Mom would teach SomSee a European dish. Years later, before there were any Asian markets in the USA, Suzanne and I would go over to Mom’s house to make curry pastes. We would decide what curry paste we were going to make, buy almost every ingredient we needed at the grocery store, make a few substitutions, and Mom would whip it up in the blender. They tasted so authentic.

In Thailand our best friends were the Isaacs. No, not Jewish! One year Hanukah would be celebrated at our house and Christmas at theirs and vice versa the next year. Because of this, Christmas became very important to our mother and us. One year here in America mom decided she was going to put on a very fancy Christmas dinner. She skinned a goose in one piece, breaded the goose, sewed the skin back together and stuffed it with her homemade stuffing. The goose and the stuffed skin were baked together so when the main course was brought out it looked like there were two geese at the table! The goose fat from the skin sure made the stuffing taste great but she said she would never do that again!

Thailand was where Mom’s love for gardening began. Our house sat on an acre of land and she completely transformed the grounds into lush tropical gardens. She spent hours every week in the garden nurturing the fauna, and there were flowers of all colors with bougainvillea hedges, frangipani trees, roses, jasmine, orchids and also beautiful shade trees around the pool. She was always trying to chase our barking deer away for the fresh bougainvillea buds, boy did those deer like the tender buds!

Our mom had a great sense of humor and enjoyed joking around. Once, when she came to help me for two weeks after I had back surgery, I discovered something about her sense of humor I never suspected. The movie Spaceballs was coming on TV and I told Mom she probably would not like it. She asked me what was Spaceballs and told her it was a movie by Mell Brooks. Whereupon she completely surprised me “I love Mel Brooks, Blazing Saddles is Dolph and my favorite movie, Dolph and I watch it every month”!

One time in Thailand, we boated out to an island with a large group of friends. Mom contributed hard boiled eggs for lunch. Since we were on a beach everyone decided to have fun and use their heads to crack the eggs. Mom came up and asked to use my head, I said yes and suddenly I had raw egg all over me. Everyone laughed and laughed. After I washed up, she brought another egg over and I said NO, I would crack it myself and I had egg all over me again! She insisted it was a mistake but I know better.

Another time, in Brooklyn, Mom and Suzanne were walking home from the Subway. They passed a pizza place where music was blaring out into the street. Mom put down her packages and started dancing. Of course, Suzanne was very embarrassed, but our mom just had fun.

A little known fact about our mom was that she was a jock! She could run like the wind; she played golf quite well and she was on a dive team when she was a teenager. One day, when a group of us kids were water skiing in Pattaya, our mothers decided to learn how to ski also. Mom’s first try she was up and skiing. Then she let go of the rope. When asked why she let go of the rope she replied “I don’t know how to ski yet”!
This went on for a few times so we had to fix this. Her next try all the children in the boat started yelling hold on, hold on, hold on… and she finally did hold on. A couple of weeks later she was on a slalom ski.

A few years after her first marriage ended, Mom was in synagogue in Bangkok and she kept hearing a beeping noise. She looked over and realized the noise was coming from the gentleman she was sitting next to. Adolph Bennett’s hearing aid was making noises and he kept putting his finger to his ear. So she thought it was just like in the movies, he must be a secret agent man! They talked after the service and he asked her out and a romance was kindled. At the time, he was stationed in Laos so they managed a long-distance relationship. Several months later after Dolph was stationed back in Thailand, they were married and shortly thereafter moved to Annandale Virginia.

A year later year Dolph was stationed in Kenya for three years. In Nairobi Mom continued creating beautiful gardens. She immediately was out in the garden with the gardener trimming and planting native species of flowering plants and turning her garden into a colorful portrait. Our mom again involved herself in many charitable organizations and the Jewish community. She and Dolph had many fancy parties and she enjoyed showing off her garden to her guests. She was happy to learn about several parts of Africa when she was able to accompany Dolph on some of his work trips.

Dolph’s next post was in Washington DC. Mom again became involved in clubs and charitable organizations. She was the President of the Falls Church women’s club for three years. She belonged to the sisterhood at Temple Rodef Shalom, and served for a year as President. She earned her Master Gardening Certification. She was proud of the garden she nurtured at her home in Falls Church, gave tours of her garden and taught at her gardening club. She could not have had this wonderful garden with out the help of her former son-in-law David who faithfully came over weekly to help her in the garden and mow the lawn. After mom got her companion dog Muffy, David also brought along special treats for Muffy.

One thing Mom used the flowers from her garden for was creating flower arrangements. She would trim her plants and create beautiful center pieces and other arrangements for the parties she had. Mom became so good at arranging flowers she started a business making bouquets and arrangements for weddings and celebrations. Waking up at 4 AM to help her take all the flowers to a church for a wedding was so much fun!

A joy for Mom of living back in the US, was being able to spend time with extended family, including her own mother and brothers.

Another big privilege of living in the US was being Nanny to one of the joys of her life, her grandson Aaron. She got to spend a lot of time with him and watch Aaron grow from his babyhood to an outstanding man. Mom also enjoyed the times she spent with Dolph’s grandchildren.

I would like to thank Keith for the support he gave Suzanne during the past year and most importantly, I wish to thank my sister Suzanne deeply for the loving care she took of our wonderful mom.

Thank you for gathering with us here today to honor our mother. We will miss her guidance, humor, and love

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories, and tributes to isbeings at gmail dot com or visit us on Facebook at ISBeings

Barry Daniels Rigby ~ Class of 1961

Barry Rigby ~ Class of 1961

Departed ~ 7/20/2020

From: Leilani Rigby
To: director.comms
Sent: Wed, Feb 22, 2023 9:13 pm
Subject: Barry Rigby, Class of ’61

I opened Barry’s email account for the first time today. I see that
you have been sending messages to him at bdrigby@yahoo.com. I am
Barry’s wife and I’m very sorry to have to tell you that he died on
20 July 2020. His years at ISB provided him with a lot of wonderful
memories and our family with a lot of wonderful stories.

Thank you,
Leilani Rigby

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories, and tributes to isbeings at gmail dot com or visit us on Facebook at ISBeings

Robert Rochlen ~ Class of 1974

Robert Rochlen ~ Class of 1974

Departed ~ 2-1-2023

Nick Lim lovingly wrote:

I’m saddened to share with my ISB family that our brother Robert Rochlen passed away last night. Rest in peace, Robert. We will miss you.

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories, and tributes to isbeings at gmail dot com or visit us on Facebook at ISBeings

Ernest Balarjan “Balan” Rajendra ~ Class of 1969

Ernest Rajendra ~ Class of 1969

Departed 2/2/2023

Lovingly submitted by: Angeline P. Rajendra Behrend

My brother Ernest Rajendra passed away from heart failure on February 2, 2023, in Los Angeles, CA. He was 73. He was the eldest son of Mr. P.E. Rajendra and Hilda Pushparatnam Rajendra. His daughter and wife were by his side. I know he would appreciate your prayers.
Here are two photos. The second one is from Ernest’s own previous FB posting: Picture courtesy of Larry Jacobs, Ernest Rajendra (a fierce bowler) 1968. Umpire in the back is Mr. P.E. Rajendra. Good old times to cherish.

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories, and tributes to isbeings at gmail dot com or visit us on Facebook at ISBeings

Kevin M. Haverty ~ Director of Development

Kevin Haverty ~ Director of Development (1993-1996)

Arrived ~ 4/29/1952

Departed ~ 8/30/2009

KEVIN HAVERTY OBITUARY
Kevin M. Haverty Westminster, VT formerly Leominster; 57 Westminster, VT Kevin M. Haverty, 57 of Tory Hill Road, died at his home on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009 following a long illness.

Mr. Haverty was born in Chelsea, MA, April 29, 1952, the son of Leo and Phyllis (Bourgoin) Haverty. He graduated from Leominster High School, Leominster, MA, received his bachelor’s degree from Providence College and his two master’s degrees from Keene State College, Keene, NH.

Mr. Haverty’s career in education went in many directions. He was at Thayer Jr. and Sr. High School in Winchester, NH for six years, where he taught English, Social Studies, Basketball, and Soccer, he was Guidance Counselor and Assistant Principal in Athens, Greece, as Assistant Principal at Bellows Falls Union High School, Westminster, VT, as Development Director in Bangkok, Thailand, as H.S. Principal in Israel, as H.S. Principal and Deputy Director in Prague, Czech Republic. Mr. Haverty was Director of The American International School in Vienna, Austria. He served overseas schools for 16 years.

Upon returning to the United States in 2006, he worked at the Chesterfield Elementary School as part time Assistant Principal. He continued on as a Guidance Counselor and Admissions Director at the Virtual Learning Academy, Charter School in Exeter, NH.

On Aug 13, 1983 in Walpole, NH, he married Lori Walters who survives. He also leaves a son, Tarek Haverty of Alstead, NH; his parents, Leo J. Haverty of Leominster, MA and Phyllis Deneen of Fitchburg, MA and a brother, Brian Haverty of Lunenburg, MA. He was predeceased by a daughter, Allison.

There will be calling hours Friday evening, Sept. 4, 2009 from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at the Fenton & Hennessey Funeral Home, Bellows Falls, VT. A memorial service will be at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009 at the Unitarian Church, Walpole, NH. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services, PO Box 564, Keene, NH 03431 or the Melanoma Research Foundation, 170 Township Line Road, Building B., Hillsborough, NJ 08844

Published by Sentinel & Enterprise on Sep. 2, 2009.

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Robert Mansfield “Bob” French ~ Class of 1966

Robert “Bob” French ~ Class of 1966

Departed ~ 11/1/2022

Lovingly submitted by Bob’s sister Peggy French ISB 1971

Bob loved life and would do anything he could to please, or help others. He was living in the state (Vermont) that he loved and wanted to buy a farm and have lots of dogs, a fabulous garden, raise Alpacas, and hike the mountain trails.

He loved to write and wrote some really fabulous stories about his his time in Thailand, especially his senior class trip riding a raft with his classmates down the river Kwai! If I can find his story I will repost it! He was an avid reader who would take out 20 books at a time at the library . He had a really good memory… he knew directors, actors and what they directed or acted in. He loved Song trivia and always tried to get me to guess something by saying “you will, know this”. Of course I didn’t and usually had to Google it. He loved The NY Times crossword puzzles, classical music, FOOD, and cooking. He loved good dancers… all kinds. He would send me YouTube videos of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers of old and the new ones like the Mayas who won Americas Got Talent this year.

R.I.P. Robert Mansfield French 1948 – 2022. Survived by his sister Peggy, daughter Alex and Alex’s husband Heath and two ex-wives, Linda (ISB Class of 71) and Cindy!

A Steamy Night in Bangkok

by Bob French

One night in the summer of 1968, I interviewed a Thai whore. Back then, if you were to say the three-syllable phrase, “so-penny,” to the driver of the ubiquitous three wheel open-air samlor (taxi,) on a hot and humid Bangkok night, you would find yourself at a Thai brothel in 15 minutes. For whatever reason, I did this one night while on home leave after my sophomore year at Syracuse. This was something privileged, 19-year-old white college boys did; maybe part of “the Ugly American,” syndrome. But this time was different—I went back to the same place the next night and requested the same young lady and suggested that maybe we could go somewhere else for more privacy and to talk. Somehow, through broken Thai and English a deal was reached with the proprietor, and we taxied out into the night. I could tell from her body language that the young Thai lady must have vouched for me. Instead of going to a hotel as I had initially planned, it occurred to me that my father was stationed in Nam and Mom was upcountry, so I directed the driver to our house on Soy Sipsam.(13) Here we could use my room until my brother and sister, who were sleeping upstairs, would awaken.

Even looking back 53 years later, I am not sure why I did this, except that I wanted to get to know her as a person,and not just as a prostitute: what made her tick, why a sex worker, who she was apart from the brothel. So I got us a couple of drinks, we got cozy in my bed, and in spite of barely speaking the other’s language, we joked, giggled and talked for about 5 hours, almost like hanging out with one’s friends, except of course the part about being naked. One language that we did share in common was the universal ranking of #1 through #10. So-penny we agreed was #1, good Singha (Thai,) beer was #2, and so on.

“G.I. #10,” she said emphatically.

“Why, I asked?”

“They mean and no pay.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, thinking that the constant pool of servicemen on R’n’R from Viet Nam probably amounted to 90% of her income. Tough life. Probably where the standard retort of “no sweat, G.I.” came from. She told me that one reason she did what she did was that she had no education and was trying to help her family, especially a younger sister, who wanted to go to college.

“You #1,” she said.

“Oh, how come?”

“You nice.”

“Thank you.”

She told me her name, that she was 25 and lived with her parents and two siblings and that her father worked as a janitor at university. Her grandmother who was 70, lived with them and spent most of her waking hours chewing betel nut, a mild narcotic, that leaves your teeth and mouth dark red, and is suspected of being very carcinogenic. Hundreds, if not thousands of food vendors line the streets and sidewalks all over the city, squatting down for hours with angry red mouths and yet, happy as clams.

“You go to college,” she asked?

“Yes.”

“What you study?”

“Girls and beer,” I quipped, and we both laughed heartily.

“You funny,” she said.

And I said, “you’re sweet, to say so.”

She told me her brother was older and was off in Cambodia fighting the Khmer Rouge. I asked her why and she said the pay was good and some Thais were concerned, that if the Khmers, funded by the Viet Cong and the Communist Party of China, were victorious in Cambodia, they might try to annex Thailand. The Thais are fiercely independent, having been the only country in Southeast Asia to never be colonized, and not for lack of trying.

“Are you scared for your brother,” I asked?

“Yes, shot in leg, home 2 months.”

“What did he say about it.”

“Mai pen rai, and went right back to war.”

I had to laugh as “Mai pen rai,” is the universal Thai expression for “no biggie, or “no worries.” It used to drive my mother nuts when the little Thai butterflies, as she called them, would be waving their hands out their car windows, drying their fingernail polish, then giving you a big smile as they cut you off, and exclaim in beautiful singsong, “Mai pen rai, Mai pen rai, madam!”

This banter continued till about 5 AM, and I asked her if she wanted to sleep for a couple of hours and then I would get her a samlor home. So we did, just as if we were a normal couple.

At 7:30, I instructed our gardener to run down to the Main Street, to fetch her a cab, I gave her a generous tip and sent her on her way. When I came back in, the maid was looking at me with a knowing smile. I pointed upstairs, and said, “Madam,” and shook my head. She nodded and that was the end of it.

I had a rinky-dink little portable reel to reel recorder, on which I had taped some of our evening. Great fun to listen to afterwards. I even played it for a couple of my college buddies when we were in Frankfurt, on our way back stateside. They thought it was outlandish and hilarious—unfortunately that player is long gone.

I don’t remember if we had sex that night, and I never went back to another Thai brothel, but I will always remember that night with my new-found friend, a Thai whore. I still don’t know why I did it. Maybe there is a latent sociologist lurking inside me somewhere. I do know I wanted to get to know her beyond the confines of a brothel. Sometimes I wonder what she thought of this still wet-behind-the-ears college kid paying for a night of her service and taking her back to his own home and bedroom, and spending the night just socializing and treating her like a human being. I have also fantasized about going back to Bangkok and trying to find her, but that idea is probably a non-starter.

I have only shared this with one other living soul, and now you guys, so this book, Thai Whores and Loony Bins, will definitely be my coming out party.

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories, and tributes to isbeings at gmail dot com or visit us on Facebook at ISBeings

Elizabeth Anne “Betsy” Hindman ~ Class of 1967

Betsy Hindman ~ Class of 1967

Departed ~ 10/20/2022

Amy Hindman ’71 wrote:

I wanted for inform the network that my sister, Betsy Hindman, died on Oct. 20th 2022, of a massive stroke and her service will be at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Denton, Texas on Sunday at 2 PM.

She went to ISB her senior year of high school and graduated in 1967.

Much love and Blessings!!

Her little sister, Amy Hindman, Class of 1971

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Dr. Lee W. Riley ~ ISB Class of 1968

Dr. Lee W. Riley ~ Class of 1968

Arrived ~ 10/15/1949

Departed ~ 10/20/2022

Gloria M. Riley-Schaaf ’76 lovingly wrote:

It is with a heavy heart that I bring the news of the passing of my brother, Dr. Lee W. Riley. Lee passed away this morning at 6:22 at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley California with his family. I am so grateful that I had the last 3 months of precious time with my brother as I cared for him in California as he was battling bladder cancer. He has touched the world in so many ways and will always be remembered and missed by many. I will post all information of upcoming services that will be held in his honor by the family and by the University of California, Berkeley, Department of Public Health so those who knew Lee can attend.❤️

UC Berkeley Online Master of Public Health

Berkeley Public Health is heartbroken to announce that Professor Lee W. Riley, world-renowned leader in the field of infectious diseases and vaccinology and friend and mentor to many, has died. We will post an obituary soon, and we keep those whose lives he touched close in our hearts. Dr. Riley will be greatly missed.

Oral history interview with Lee W. Riley
1997-Dec-29 – 1997-Dec-31

Lee W. Riley was born Hiroshi Satoyoshi: he spent his first ten years with his mother in Yokohama, Japan, then lived for a short time in a Japanese orphanage before being adopted by the Riley family, at which time he moved to Tachikawa, outside Tokyo, Japan.

The family moved to Bangkok, Thailand, in time for Riley to attend high school there. Like his biological parents, his adoptive father was African-American and his mother Japanese; Riley has two sisters who were adopted as well. In Riley’s early years his Japanese, schoolteacher grandfather had a great influence on his schooling, encouraging his questioning nature; living in Japan in the aftermath of World War II impacted Riley’s perspectives on life, as well as his Buddhist heritage and being multiethnic.

Riley attended an international high school in Bangkok, about which he talks at length, and had several influential teachers who stimulated his early interest in physics. Riley decided not to attend a Japanese university, but Stanford University instead; he wanted to become a physician and practice medicine in Bangkok.

Aware during the sixties of the countercultural movement and anxious about the draft at Stanford, Riley found his perceptions of the American presence in Southeast Asia changing. His growing interest in public health led him to spend a year in Japan after college. Riley chose to enroll the University of California, San Francisco, to pursue his medical degree; during his first year he undertook a clinical rotation in a missionary hospital in Thailand.

After deciding to shift from clinical medicine to public health he completed his internship and residency at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He found interesting the differences between the types of medical conditions encountered in New York and those encountered in Thailand, and he entered the Epidemiologic Intelligence Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he used enteric pathogen fingerprinting technology to identify strains of Salmonella and identified E. coli 0157:H7 as the cause of an outbreak in Oregon.

Riley then accepted a postdoc in the Gary Schoolnik lab at Stanford to study enteropathogenic E. coli using molecular biology technology. Next he studied tuberculosis (TB) for two years in India and published a paper in Science identifying the invasion gene for TB. He then proceeded to an assistant professorship at Cornell University Medical College, where he worked on devising a technique to identify primary and reactivation TB. Through his understanding of the molecular basis for disease transmission he identified why a high percentage of drug users in New York City had a particular strain of tuberculosis. Riley’s interest in approaching biological questions from the standpoint of public health led him to work on developing a Salmonella vaccine for chickens.

From Cornell Riley accepted a position as professor of infectious disease and epidemiology at University of California, Berkeley, and he has since become Director of the Fogarty International Center Global Health Equity Scholars Program at University of California, Berkeley, where he continues to work on TB pathogenesis, drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections, and global health focusing on infectious diseases of urban slums.

During the interview Riley discusses his acquisition of the scientific skills and knowledge necessary to accomplish his research goals; his belief in the need to make science understandable to the public and obstacles to that understanding; the scientific community’s response to his dual focus on epidemiology and pathogenesis; his desire to advance on the strength of his work rather than through self-advertising; and his relationship with other Pew Scholars.

He elaborates on his decision to work with Stanley Falkow and Gary Schoolnik at Stanford and explains how he collaborated with Schoolnik to establish the geographic medicine program at Stanford. He concludes his interview by describing how he attempts to balance career and life with his wife, Jesse Frances Furman, and three children.

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories, and tributes to isbeings at gmail dot com or visit us on Facebook at ISBeings

William “Peter” Schramm ~ Class of 1974

Pete Schramm ~ Class of 1974

Arrived ~ 7/6/1956

Departed ~ 10/31/2020

Our brother, William (Pete) Schramm – Class of ’74, passed away suddenly on October 31, 2020 from a probable heart attack.  He was a good son, great brother, and a loving father.

James Schramm – Class of ‘70 and Celeste Houser-Jackson (nee Schramm) – Class of ‘72.

William Peter Schramm


By TheCatoctinBanner.com On November 26, 2020

July 6, 1956

October 31, 2020

It is with profound sadness that the family of William “Pete” Schramm announce his sudden passing on October 31, 2020.

On July 6, 1956, Pete was born in Frankfurt, Germany, to Ann Beall and Frederick Schramm. He resided abroad with his parents and two older siblings, Jim and Celeste, while his father, Fred, was deployed during his career with the CIA. His family also lived in Berlin, Germany (Pete’s favorite), Bangkok, Thailand, and Camp Perry, VA, before settling in Potomac, MD. He attended Winston Churchill High School, then pursued further education at the University of Maryland.

Pete’s career in the hi-tech industry began in a strip mall computer store. It proved to be the beginning of a long and successful career in hi-tech sales and management. Much of his career took him all over the United States, meeting with various accounts. While working for Ando Corporation, he then began to frequent Japan, as well as other parts of Asia, for meetings with clients.

He is remembered by family, friends, and colleagues as a man of good humor, generous nature, respected work ethic, and, mostly, unbridled optimism for everyone’s success in their endeavors. From pythons and rhesus monkeys in Thailand to pet pygmy goats, horses, dogs, and cats in the more recent years, he was recognized for his affinity for animals and nature.

Nearing retirement, Pete worked with ProTEQ Solutions as a sales engineer. He enjoyed this position, as it required less domestic travel, the ability to work from home, and the opportunity to spend more time with his wife and the light of their lives, their daughter Gracie and her husband, Danny Eyler. If you knew Pete, he was either in dress clothes and tie, or you knew him for his clever t-shirts, tropical shorts, and crocs.

Pete was a resident of Emmitsburg for nearly 40 years. He enjoyed target shooting on the weekends with friends and family, fishing, and crafting lovely pieces of stained glass. He was also an avid gardener and was often seen zipping around his property on his mower for a joy ride. He loved spending time with the family’s beloved Belgian Sheepdogs. He loved spending time by or in the water, whether it was the local pool, creek, lake, a bay, or the ocean.

Pete leaves behind his wife, Chris; daughter, Graceann, and her husband, Daniel Eyler. He is survived by brother, Jim Schramm, and wife, Jean; and his sister, Celeste Houser-Jackson, and her husband, Walter, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

In light of COVID-19, the family has decided to celebrate Pete’s life in Spring of 2021. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital, a local animal shelter, or charity of choice.

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