Summer 2025

News, Notes, and Nods: In Memoriam

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Remembering the alumni and members of the Babson community who have passed recently:

John “Jack” M. Daigle ’54, H’84, P’82, trustee emeritus, of Gray, Maine, died May 14. After one year at Ricker College in Houlton, Maine, he transferred to Babson, where he was president of the Student Council and salutatorian of his class, and he received the prestigious Roger W. Babson Award. He enjoyed a lengthy and successful career in banking, advancing to serve as president of Casco Bank & Trust, then managing a merger with Northern National Bank and becoming CEO of Casco Northern Corp. in 1972. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in commercial science from Babson and served on the Board of Trustees. 

Charlotte Ripley Sorenson, wife of Babson College President Emeritus Ralph Z. “Bud” Sorenson H’85, of Boulder, Colorado, died June 26. During her time on Babson’s campus, she was a constant and warm presence, and her generosity and hospitality fostered a welcoming community for all. In 2022, Babson recognized their contributions to the College by dedicating the Ralph Z. and Charlotte R. Sorenson Atrium in the Babson Commons at Horn Library, a space that embodies their legacy of openness and community-building.


Paul A. Frank Jr. ’49, of Akron, Ohio, April 6 

John Joseph Fritz ’51, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, April 27 

Richard Gustafson ’51, of Mystic, Connecticut, Oct. 23  

John Sexeny ’53, of Winchester, Massachusetts, March 9 

Nicholas Noyes Wentworth ’56, MBA’58, of Waelder, Texas, April 30 

William Timothy Cashman II ’57, of Wilmington, Delaware, Feb. 20 

Robert R. Severson ’57, of Houston, Texas, Jan. 28, 2024 

John Michael Xifaras ’58, of Tallahassee, Florida, March 18 

Rev. Ira Winsor Chace ’59, of Melbourne, Florida, May 8 

Frederick Ellinger Marks ’61, of Eagle, Idaho, Feb. 20, 2024  

Zera David Patterson ’61, MBA’68, of Carlsbad, California, April 3 

David Samuel Rabb Sr. ’61, of San Rafael, California, Jan. 31 

Lawrence “Renny” Barton Damon Jr. ’62, of Centerville, Massachusetts, April 25 

John Kress Bachman ’63, of Greenwich Township, Pennsylvania, April 1

Kevin O’Neil ’63, of Jupiter, Florida, March 2 

Richard D. Fritz MBA’63, of Newton, Massachusetts, March 8 

Vincent Curtiss Grasso ’64, of Titusville, Florida, Feb. 12 

Mark A. Mayzer ’64, of Holliston, Massachusetts, Feb. 17 

David “Dave” Pope ’64, of Tampa, Florida, April 23 

George Sylvester Hennessy MBA’64, of Dennis, Massachusetts, March 3 

Marshall P. Farley ’65, of Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, Feb. 18 

Lee Douglas Thomson ’65, of South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, Sept. 19 

Michael Holland ’67, of Kaneohe, Hawaii, Jan. 5 

Charles James Kotsaftis MBA’67, of North Port, Florida, May 4 

Phillip R. Delphos Jr. MBA’68, of Hopedale, Massachusetts, March 23 

Perry G. Shelman ’71, of Westfield, New Jersey, on April 25 

Thomas Hugh Bradford ’72, of Laconia, New Hampshire, Feb. 25 

Dennis J. Brooks ’72, of Salem, Oregon, May 16 

Hugh M. Beckett III MBA’72, of Boca Raton, Florida, April 25 

John Thomas Regan MBA’72, of Marshfield, Massachusetts, April 23 

Arthur Gordon Bishop Jr. ’73, of Bedford, Massachusetts, Jan. 21 

Donald Sorrenti ’73, of Salisbury, Maryland, April 10 

John J. “Jack” Dugan Jr. MBA’73, of Springfield, Pennsylvania, May 16 

Richard J. McNeil MBA’74, of Rochester, Massachusetts, May 7 

Alan T. Sachtleben MBA’74, of Chatham, Massachusetts, March 30 

Gordon Stewart Dalrymple ’75, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, March 4 

David James Kennedy ’75, of Bellingham, Massachusetts, March 22 

John H. “Jack” Parker Jr. MBA’76, of Waltham, Massachusetts, March 6 

James (Jim) Edward Whalen MBA’77, of Burlington, Massachusetts, March 8 

Craig Edward Brodie MBA’78, of Hudsonville, Michigan, March 29 

Leighton Michael O’Connor ’80, MBA’82, of Manchester, New Hampshire, May 14 

Brian Lanigan MBA’82, of Freeport, Maine, Feb. 26 

Richard V. McDermott Jr. MBA’82, of Norwood, Massachusetts, March 1 

Susan Robin Bader ’84, of Boston, Massachusetts, May 16 

John Peter Viliesis ’84, of Nashua, New Hampshire, April 11 

Suzanne McWilliams McLaughlin MBA’87, of Medfield, Massachusetts, April 26 

Howard S. Brown ’88, of Framingham, Massachusetts, May 31. (Read more about Howard Brown from 2022 in Babson Thought & Action) 

Daniel Charles Rose ’89, of Sandpoint, Idaho, May 12 

Spencer Ewart McNeil MBA’92, of Port Isabel, Texas, March 15 

Scott G. Lavoie ’93, of West Boylston, Massachusetts, March 29 

Grad Rosenbaum MBA’93, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Feb. 18 

Mark D. Capuano ’96, of Cranston, Rhode Island, April 25 

Jon B. Cevario ’96, of West Kittanning, Pennsylvania, April 18 

Robert Stuart Wittmann MBA’05, of Hingham, Massachusetts, April 27 

Daniel Edward Warn MBA’09, of Needham, Massachusetts, April 1 

César Colón ’13, of Dallas, Texas, Feb. 3


MORE NEWS, NOTES, AND NODS FROM THE SUMMER 2025 ISSUE:
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