Dartmouth Class of 1986

The Still North Remembers Them…

Please click on the names below to read the obituaries, and help us keep our classmates’ memories alive by submitting your remembrances either through the comment section of each entry, or by sending an email.

View the program from our 25th Reunion Memorial Service Program

Read about our Compassio Committee here.

Karen Hallee, MD, of Maine, formerly of Easton, July 18, 2007, age 43, beloved daughter of Donald and Theresa (Roy) Hallee of Easton; loving granddaughter of Virginia Roy and the late Ivan Roy of Maine, and the late Carmen and Laurier Hallee; devoted sister of Gregory Hallee and his wife Danielle Hallee of Colchester, Conn.; aunt of Mitchell Hallee and Michael Hallee of Colchester, Conn.; niece of Edward Hallee, Francis Hallee, Peter Hallee, David Hallee, Fr. Roger Hallee OMI, Jeannine Standish, and the late Jeanne Hawkins, Eleanor King, Constance Williams, Dr. Robert Roy, and James Roy; also survived by many cousins. Calling hours Sunday, July 22, from 5-8 p.m. in the Copeland-MacKinnon Funeral Home, 38 Center St., Easton. Funeral Mass on Monday, July 23, at 10 a.m. in the Immaculate Conception Church, Main Street, Easton. Calling hours on Tuesday, July 24, from 5-8 p.m. in the Veilleux Funeral Home, 8 Elm St., Waterville, Maine. Funeral Mass on Wednesday, July 25, at 11 a.m. in Notre Dame Church, Silver Street, Waterville, Maine. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Interment in St. Francis Cemetery, Waterville, Maine.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Karen’s name to the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701, or to Oblate Foreign Missions, P.O. Box 9088, Lowell, MA 01853.

Ray Jay Holtorf, 43, of Perry died Monday, Jan. 29, 2007, in Perry. He was born on Dec. 6, 1963, in Fort Dodge, the son of Gene William Holtorf and Marjorie Ann North. He married Rhea Lynn Steffen in 1996 at the Chapel of the Land Living History Farms. They were the proud parents of two sons, Steffen Max and Luke Frederick. The family resided in Perry for the past three years. He graduated from Fort Dodge High School in 1982 and received his degree from Dartmouth College. During college he played football. He was multi-talented and had worked at various places. He had worked in Chicago at a bank and later at a sports club. He moved to the Perry area and worked at Homemakers in Des Moines and Woodruff Construction in Ames. He was currently working for the Greene County Medical Center in Jefferson as the human resources director. He loved working there, enjoying his co-workers and his job. He was a very happy person, intelligent and gifted. He is described as a “big sweetie” and “Mr. Incredible.”  He enjoyed his family, loved his wife and sons dearly and was a very special man. He was a Hawkeye fan, especially liking football. He also enjoyed fishing and being outdoors. He was a good communicator and with his quick mind, was a natural scorekeeper for the family’s card games. He was a member of First Christian Church and served as a deacon. He also was a member of the Republican Party and his college fraternity.

In addition to his wife, survivors include: two sons, Steffen and Luke; his father, Dr. Gene Holtorf and his wife, Dorothy, of Fort Dodge; his mother, Marjorie Betten and her husband, Dwain, of Boone; a sister, Laura Collins and her husband, Craig, of Ankeny; and two brothers, John Holtorf and his wife, Lisa, of Des Moines and Gene Holtorf and his wife, Jennifer, of Solon. He also is survived by his mother-in-law, Becky McNeil and her husband, Mike, of Collinsville, Ill.; grandparents-in-law, Janette and Walt Howe of Keokuk; a sister-in-law, Janine Brock and her husband, Nathan, of Twenty Nine Palms, Calif.; a brother-in-law, Jeremy Steffen and his wife, Lucinda, of Campbell River, British Columbia; aunts and uncles, Helen North and Phyllis Lewis and her husband, Les, all of Denison, Robert North and his wife, Lorene, of Seattle, Wash., Shirley Sleichter and her husband, Dr. Charles, of Punta Gorda, Fla., and Clarcie Thornburg and her husband, Steve, of Johnston; and nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and many friends. He was preceded in death by his grandparents and two brothers in infancy, Robert and Eric. Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 2, in the First Christian Church in Perry. Hastings Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Robert Charles Rech, age 42, of Darien, CT, passed away on June 20, 2006 at the Richard R. Rosenthal Hospice Residence in Stamford after a one year battle with brain cancer.

Rob was born on May 30, 1964 in Abington, PA, the son of Jane Wehner Rech and the late Philip C. Rech.  He was a managing director of Ferghana Partners Inc., an investment banking firm specializing in bio-tech transactions.  Mr. Rech was a graduate of the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia and Dartmouth College.  While at Dartmouth, Mr. Rech played on its football team.  He coached his son’s flag football team in Darien for two years and was an enthusiastic supporter of both his sons’ many athletic and scholastic activities.

He is survived by his wife, Ola Rech, and two sons, Philip Charles Rech II and James Henry Rech, ages 9 and 5 respectively, all of Darien.  He is also survived by his brothers and sisters, Marianne Zurn of Northampton, MA, Susan Collins of Wilmington, NC; Philip D. Rech of Laurinburg, NC, Elizabeth Rech of Hingham, MA, Wendy Allen of St. Charles, IL, John Zurn of Brookville, MD, Nancy Bernardini of Langhorne, PA and Jane Toll of Denver, CO.

Callling hours will be from 4 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, June 23, at the Edward Lawrence Funeral Home, 2119 Post Rd., Darien.  A celebration of Mr. Rech’s life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 24 at the First Congregational Church in Darien.  Burial will follow at Spring Grove Cemetery, Darien.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Robert C. Rech Children’s Fund, c/o A.J. Conley, 1012 Silvermine Rd., New Canaan, CT  06840.

A service was held for Ms. Jennifer Ann Kay, 42, of Basking Ridge, who died May 1, 2006 in Morristown Memorial Hospital. Arrangements were by the Gallaway and Crane Funeral Home, Basking Ridge.

Ms. Kay was a high school mathematics teacher at Holy Family Academy, Bayonne, for two years, and then at St. Aloysius High School, Jersey City, for the past year. Before that, she was a systems analyst in the computer software industry for 14 years at Merrill Lynch in New York City and Sybase Inc., among other companies. A 1986 graduate of Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., Ms. Kay received a degree in math and computer science. She lived in Kenya for a semester as part of a Dartmouth environmental studies program. Ms. Kay was president of the National Honor Society chapter at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, where she graduated in 1982 and was a member of the school orchestra and marching band. Between high school and college, she traveled throughout Europe, performing on the bassoon with the New Jersey Youth Orchestra. Born in Orange, she lived in Basking Ridge for many years.

Surviving are her husband, Oliver Metzger; her mother, Donna Kay; a sister, Jane Julian, and a brother, Joshua Kay.

Michael Martin, a Crested Butte, CO businessman and community organizer, died Saturday when his rented Cessna plane clipped a tree and crashed northeast of Payson, AZ.  He was 41.

Mr. Martin had departed Gunnison airport en route to visit his father in the hospital in Scottsdale, AZ when the Cessna 182 hit the tree, lost a wing and burst into flames, said Coconino County sheriff’s Detective Dan Bracco.

“We first knew about it when his mother called saying he hadn’t arrived Saturday night,” said John Wirsing, manager of the Alpineer, a skiing and outdoor store Martin owned in Crested Butte.

The plane dropped off the radar about 7 p.m. in the Chevelon Canyon area but wasn’t located until Tuesday.  Wirsing said Mr. Martin took up flying in the past year.

Born Jan. 9, 1964, he was educated in Chicago and Miami schools and was a 1986 graduate of Dartmouth College.

In 1992, Mr. Martin fulfilled a lifelong dream to live and work in the Colorado mountains by moving to Crested Butte, where he opened the Alpineer as well as guest cabins and a mountain bike touring company.

Wirsing described Mr. Marting as a “6-foot-4 gentle giant” who never showed anger.  “He was a big hub in this community.”  As a boss, Mr. Martin was the best, Wirsing said.

“He hired people to do this job so he wouldn’t have to,” he said, laughing.  “He loved to guide people in the backcountry and was instrumental in the Crested Butte Music Festival and Friends of the Snodgrass Program.

“Whether skipping stones on the Lower Loop with his daughter Lucy, chairing a committee on public land use, or greeting customers at the Alpineer, Mike found his true home in Crested Butte,” his parents wrote to friends.

His close friend, Jan Runge said, “Mike was a wonderful community member and a loving son, father and friend.”

He is survived by a daughter, Lucy; his parents, Don and Kathy; his grandmother; and many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

A celebration of Mike’s life will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Union Congregational Church of Crested Butte.   In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the Crested Butte Music Festival.

(Rocky Mountain News, 7 January 2006)

Malcolm Andrew Verras of Boston, formerly of Woburn, Nov. 28, 2002, age 38. Son of Hope and Andrew Verras of Woburn.  Partner of Davin Wedel of Boston.  Brother of Alexander Verras of Dracut, Constance Geraniotis of Orleans, and Katrina Hanewich of Norton. Also survived by 10 nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be held at the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, 70 Montvale Ave., Woburn on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. Visiting hours will be at the Graham Funeral Home, 3 Arlington Rd. (cor. of Pleasant St.) Woburn on Monday evening, 4-8 p.m. Burial will be at the Woodbrook Cemetery, Woburn. Memorial donations may be made to the Malcolm Verras Memorial Fund c/o Fleet Bank, 60 State St., Boston, MA. 02109.

James W. Christmann of Arlington died of cancer Wednesday morning at his home. He was 37. Mr. Christmann was Director of the Writing Program at Wheelock College.

As a faculty member in the Humanities Department, he taught courses on American literature and African-American literature. When Wheelock embarked on a “writing across the curriculum” program, Wheelock chose Mr. Christmann to lead the effort. He was well-loved as a teacher and he mentored several faculty members. His published work includes the award-winning “Raising Voices, Lifting Shadows: Competing Voice-Paradigms in Frances E. W. Harpers Iola Leroy,” and “Dialect’s Double Murder: Thomas Nelson Page’s in Ole Virginia”.

Mr. Christmann was born in Camp Springs, Maryland and was raised in Pembroke. He earned a doctorate in British and American Literature from Tufts University in 1998, specializing in 19th century African-American literature. He graduated with honors from Dartmouth College. An avid outdoorsman, Mr. Christmann enjoyed fishing, canoeing, cross-country skiing, and playing soccer with his sons. Mr. Christmann regularly biked to work, even during his chemotherapy.

In addition to his wife, Suzanne Costello of Arlington, Mr. Christmann leaves two sons, Peter and William, both of Arlington; his parents William and Marilyn Christmann of Pembroke, and a sister, Elizabeth, of Plymouth. A memorial service will be held on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the First Parish Church in Duxbury. Funeral arrangements are private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a scholarship in Mr. Christmann’s name at Wheelock College, 200 The Riverway, Boston, MA 02215.

Martin Kryska, an artist in residence at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, died in a car accident on Sept. 13, 1992 near Spanish Fork, Utah.  He was 28 years old.

Kryska was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and came to the United States when he was four years old.

He was raised in Palo Alto, Calif., and graduated from Palo Alto High School.  He earned a BS and MS in mechanical engineering and materials science from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

He was to return as a resident at the Ranch in woodworking, sculpture and furniture design.

Kryska was an exceptionally gifted young man.  His academic excellence was matched by his artistry and his athletic abilities.

He was proficient in several musical instruments; he enjoyed literature, poetry, photography and travel.

He was an excellent scientist; he held patents for a chainless bicycle transmission and a mechanical crutch.   His greatest love was nature.

During college and for the following two years, Kryska raced nationally and internationally in cross-country skiing.  He was a member of the American Marathon Ski Team, the Rossignol Marathon Team, and placed in the top ten in both U.S. Nationals and North American Championships.  He won the Prince Chichibu Nordic Ski Championship in Owani, Japan in 1988.

He was a rock and ice climber, ice skater, runner and bicyclist.  He was an active member of the Appalachian Mountain Club.

Kryska is survived by his parents, Eva and Paul Kryska of Palo Alto; his brothers, Alex of San Francisco, and Paul and his family of Albuquerque, N.M.; his grandmother, Marie Janku of Prague, Czechoslovakia.

The family prefers that any donations be made to The Appalachian Mountain Club, 5 Joy Street, Boston, MA  02108.

(Aspen Times, Sept. 26, 1992)

Jonathan Belden Daniels died in a mountain climbing accident on December 9, 1990.  Ever a vigorous outdoorsman, Jon was leading a small expedition in the Tatra Mountains in Poland when an avalanche struck.

A summa cum laude graduate of Dartmouth, Jon had a driving ambition to experience the world and change it for the better.  He walked away from a promising and lucrative career on Wall Street in order to find a more personally satisfying way to contribute to the world.  After a journey which brought him to many parts of the globe, including India, Thailand and Eastern Europe, he settled in Poland in order to help shape the massive changes occurring there.  While there, he worked with the Warsaw Task Force for Company Assistance, a joint venture between the Polish government and North American corporations which helps Polish businesses transition to private ownership and a free market environment.