News
The Passing into Chapter Eternal
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Victor Mikovich ’51, David L. Ffrench ’51, Reverend Robert Lazenby Adams ’51, Juan Torruella ’54, and Harold G. Jacklin Jr. ’56 into Chapter Eternal. We want to extend our deepest sympathies to their family, friends, and loved ones. View their obituaries below.
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Victor Mikovich ’51
Source courtesy of The Legacy
Victor Mikovich, 91, passed away peacefully on Feb. 17, 2021, at Capstone Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Vic was born in 1929 in the coal mining town of Nesque-honing. He was the sixth of eight siblings born to Esther (Ferko) and Michael Mikovich. He played football and basketball in high school and was named a First Team All-State player in both sports. He was also inducted into the Carbon County Athletic Hall of Fame. Vic was a standout student in the classroom as a member of the National Honor Society, and he attended the University of Pennsylvania on a football scholarship, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the Wharton School in 1951. He continued to play football when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and became a member of the Naval Great Lakes Bluejackets football team. After graduating from Officer Candidate School, he spent 23 months on active duty as a supply officer during the Korean War. He was a First Lieutenant when he was honorably discharged. Vic worked as a salesman with the Permacell Tape Co. He was very successful in sales, but had always wanted to teach high school English, as he was inspired by his own high school English teacher’s enthusiasm and encouragement. He attended the University at Albany where he earned his Master of Education degree. Vic combined his love of football and high school English when he was hired with the Mohonasen Central School District to teach English and coach football. He met his future wife, Janet, at Mohonasen. He later completed his certificate in administration from the University at Albany. Vic spent two years as chairperson of the English Department before becoming principal of Mohonasen High School for two years. He briefly returned to his first love in education – the classroom – before finishing his career as principal at Draper Middle School in the Mohonasen District. Vic was a beloved teacher, and many former students called, wrote and visited throughout the years often citing him as a favorite teacher. Victor possessed an unyielding faith in God and was a devoted lifelong friend. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Janet Zeppieri Mikovich; his beloved children, Kathryn (Edward) Redman, Karen (John) DiGiandomenico, Lisa (Scott) Cutting, and Susan (Dr. Patrick) Cooley. He is also survived by grandchildren, Emily Redman, Jenna and Kate DiGiandomenico, Victor and Jackie Cutting and Loretta, Patrick Jr., Elizabeth and Susanna Cooley, and Carla Blazosky, godchild and niece, and several nieces, nephews, great-nephews, great-nieces and great-great-niece sand great-great-nephews survive. He was predeceased by his brothers, Michael, George and Carl Mikovich; sisters, Helen Potosky, Marie and Elizabeth Mikovich, and Theresa Bretzik. Services: A public Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Rotterdam, N.Y. Interment to follow at Schenectady Memorial Park, Gifford Church Road, Schenectady, N.Y. Due to COVID-19, calling hours will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Victor’s honor to the Northeastern New York Chapter – Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org/northeasternny or 4 Pine West Plaza, Suite 405, Albany, N.Y. 12205.
David L. Ffrench ’51
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Source Courtesy of The Legacy
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Reverend Robert Lazenby Adams ’51
Reverend Robert Lazenby Adams was born on May 23, 1929, in Rochester, New York to Benjamin and Georgia Adams. Robert was named after his maternal grandfather, Robert Lazenby, the inventor of the original formula for Dr. Pepper.
Robert attended school in Florida, Georgia, and New York as the family moved with his father’s business, General Outdoor Advertising. Robert graduated from high school in Riverton, New Jersey and attended the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a degree, with Honors, in modern European history.
In 1951, Robert enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at the outbreak of the Korean War. Robert was assigned to the 6969 Armed Forces Security Squadron in the Intelligence Unit, stationed in Washington D.C. where he remained until being honorably discharged in 1955.
While in the Air Force, Robert attended evening law classes at The George Washington University School of Law. Robert continued his studies in law at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.
In 1956, Robert evaluated his vocational desires which led to his decision to consider a career in ministry. Robert attended the Divinity School at Harvard University. Robert graduated in 1959 and was ordained in the United Church of Christ by the Dean of the Divinity School in Chappaqua, New York. Robert remained an ordained minister for 50 years. Robert served churches in Shelburne, New Hampshire and Chappaqua, New York where Robert met the love of his life, Judith Carol McLellan. Together, Robert and Judith embraced a lifetime of ministry, starting with a new church in Bayberry, New York.
Robert worked with a chaplaincy board at Syracuse University at the time and after the new church was constructed, they accepted a call to the campus ministry and to teach astronomy at the University of South Dakota. Robert financed his theological studies at Harvard by working at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge Massachusetts. His lifelong love of astronomy and his religious faith complimented each other throughout his life. As a result of Robert’s positive interactions with both the students and faculty, he was invited to serve as the Director of Student Affairs by the President of the University of South Dakota.
After 18 years of teaching and administration at the University of South Dakota, Robert and Judith returned to parish ministry. In 1983, they began to serve the First Congregational Church in Algona, Iowa, where they resided for 12 years. In 1995, Robert and Judith retired to Howard, South Dakota and lived on a rural acreage. Even in retirement, small churches called upon Robert to serve. The last church he served was in Canova, South Dakota where he ministered for 13 years.
Wherever Robert lived, he shared his love of astronomy with the community. Memorable star parties were conducted by Robert and he served as a subject matter expert when there were questions about phenomenon in the night sky. Robert served as a writer for astronomy articles in the Des Moines Register, the Rapid City Journal, and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Robert also helped develop the content for an educational video game titled, “Where in Space is Carmen Sandiego?”
Robert spent the last two years of his life in the care of the Norwalk Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Norwalk, Iowa. Their loving care was deeply appreciated by the Adams family. Robert’s care was supplemented by Kindred Hospice. All the care givers became a “second family” for Robert. Robert was a wonderful husband to Judith for 60 years and a great father to his children, Elizabeth (Daniel) Rosenbaum of Jefferson, South Dakota; Meg Beshey of Fort Dodge, Iowa; Charlie (Mechile) Adams of Cumming, Iowa; and Carrie (Mounaim) Bouderka of Alameda, California. Robert adored his 5 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.
Private services will be held for Robert’s immediate family. Expressions of Sympathy may be sent to the family at Judith’s residence or to Judith in care of O’Leary Funeral Home, 1020 Main Street, Norwalk, Iowa 50211.
Juan Torruella ’54
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Source Courtesy of Beyond The Dash
BOSTON — Judge Juan Torruella, the first Puerto Rican to sit on a U.S. federal appeals court, died Monday at the age of 87, the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said.
Toruella served nearly four decades on 1st Circuit and took part in such high-profile rulings as the tossing of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s death sentence this year.
First Circuit Chief Judge Jeffrey Howard called him “a wise decision-maker, a brilliant scholar, and a passionate participant in the pursuit of justice.”
“As a judge, his judicial legacy in the First Circuit and Puerto Rico will remain unsurpassed,” Howard said in a statement.
He was appointed to the court in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan. A decade later, he replaced Judge Stephen Breyer as chief judge of the 1st Circuit when Breyer was elevated to the Supreme Court. Torruella served as chief until 2001.
Torruella was part of a three-judge panel that unanimously overturned Tsarnaev’s death sentence in July and ordered a new trial to decide whether he should be put to death for the attack that killed three people and wounded more than 260 others. The court said the judge who oversaw Tsarnaev’s trial did not adequately screen jurors for potential biases.
Federal prosecutors have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
In 2015, Torruella dissented as part of a different three-judge panel that ruled that Tsarnaev’s case could stay in Massachusetts.
In a concurring opinion with the decision vacating Tsarnaev’s death sentence, Torruella again argued that Tsarnaev’s trial should never have been held in Boston, saying if his case didn’t merit a change of venue, none would.
“The physical and emotional wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, and the events of the following week, flooded the residents of the Eastern Division with sorrow, fear, and anger,” he wrote. “Few crimes have been as offensive and devastating to an entire community than those committed by the Tsarnaev brothers. But for even the most heinous of offences, our system of justice demands vigorous protection — both in appearance and fact — of a defendant’s right to a fair trial and sentencing.”
Torruella was also on a three-judge panel that last month heard arguments in a case brought by a group that accuses Harvard University of intentional discrimination against Asian American students who apply to the Ivy League school. Students for Fair Admissions is asking the appeals court to overturn a trial-level judge’s 2019 decision finding that Harvard does not discriminate against Asian Americans.
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling described Torruella as “a strong advocate for the rights of Puerto Ricans” who “spent his career advocating for their equal rights as U.S. citizens.”
“His insight and passion for the law will be missed,” Lelling said in an emailed statement.
Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press
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Harold G. Jacklin Jr. ’56
Source Courtesy of The Legacy