DECEASED
The section was updated October 21,
2015. Please note that deaths are
reported as we receive notice of them.
Therefore, alumni dates of death are
not always reported chronologically.
1932
H. Van Buren “Van” Richard
a philanthropist
and a kind and
thoughtful man
with a positive
approach to
life, died in York
Harbor, Maine,
on August 27,
2015. He was
100 years old.
Born in New York City on October 15,
1914, “Van” Richard was one of four child-
ren of Harold and Vera Van Buren Richard.
He entered St. Paul’s School as a First
Former in the fall of 1927, but had been
on the radar of administrators since his
father, president of the State Bank of New
York, first wrote to the School about his
son when he was six years old.
Mr. Richard was successful academically
and athletically at SPS. He was transferred
to the Second Form within two months of
arriving at the School. He participated in
cross country, football, hockey, squash, and
track for Delphian. He also sang in the Choir.
He followed his father and uncle to
Princeton, where he graduated with the
Class of 1936, earning his B.A. in French.
He also ran track and played squash and
rugby at Princeton. Like many of his gener-
ation, Mr. Richard served in the Navy from
1940 to 1945, where he was a Destroyer
Escort Skipper in the Pacific during World
War II.
In 1941, Mr. Richard married Jane
Scheltzer. The couple had two children,
Phyllis and Peter, and lived in Brookville,
N.Y. Professionally, Mr. Richard worked as
a stockbroker, heading C.B. Richard and
Company in New York City. He also volun-
teered for the Sheltering Arms Children’s
Service, St. Barnabas Hospital, and York
(Maine) Hospital.
For someone as perpetually active as
Mr. Richard, retirement in 1983 was merely
the transition to another exciting phase
of life. He was a frequent donor to SPS,
along with his brother, Trumbull ’35, and
was interested in learning about the many
developments on campus. In June of this
year, two months before his death, he was
in contact with the School to make sure
issues of
Alumni Horae
were going to his
correct summer address.
Beginning in the mid-1990s, Mr. Richard
and his wife divided their time between
Vero Beach, Fla., and York Harbor, Maine.
He loved to travel and was an avid golfer.
In 2010, at the age of 95, Mr. Richard was
honored as golfer of the year at the Indian
River Medical Center Foundation’s annual
golf classic in Vero Beach.
Mr. Richard was predeceased in 2007
by his wife of 65 years, Jane, by his son,
Peter, and by his brother, Trumbull Rich-
ard ’35, who died in 2013. He is survived
by his daughter, Phyllis Fritts, and her
husband, Guy; his daughter-in-law,
Virginia Richard; five grandchildren; and
six great-grandchildren.
1934
Samuel “Gray” Ward Thoron
professor emeritus and former dean of
the Cornell Law School, died peacefully
at his home at the Kendal of Ithaca in
Ithaca, N.Y., on September 18, 2015. He
was 99 years old.
Born at his family’s home in Danvers,
Mass., on July 14, 1916, Mr. Thoron was
the older of two children of Louisa Chapin
(Hooper) and Ward Thoron. He attended
the Browne & Nichols School in nearby
Cambridge before entering St. Paul’s
School as a Third Former in the fall of 1930.
At SPS, Mr. Thoron was a member of the
Cadmean/Concordian Literary Society,
the Yearbook committee, and served as
treasurer of the Chess Club. He competed
in cross country, hockey, and baseball for
Old Hundred. He also served as manager
of the SPS baseball team.
1932—H. Van Buren “Van” Richard
August 27, 2015
1934—Samuel “Gray” Ward Thoron
September 18, 2015
1940—David Bennet Bronson
July 1, 2015
1941—Derek Choate Parmenter Jr.
April 20, 2015
1944—William Matthew Iler
August 23, 2015
1945—Malcolm Scollay Low
June 28, 2015
1951—Varick McN. Bacon
September 11, 2015
1952—Jasper Morgan Evarts
July 13, 2015
1952—Roger Frederick Mills
September 2, 2015
1952—A. George Scherer III
October 17, 2015
1953—George Cass “Hutch”
Hutchinson III
June 26, 2015
1953—Jeremy Patrick Miller
September 11, 2015
1953—Joseph Wood “Woody” Oliver Jr.
August 1, 2015
1954—Samuel Salmond Sylvester III
August 9, 2015
1955—Peter William Culman
August 18, 2015
1959—Samuel Bard Johnson
September 3, 2015
1966—Thomas McTyeire Sparre
Raysor Jr.,
July 28, 2015
1970—Evans “Roddy” Dick III
September 9, 2015
1970—John Taylor Halsey II
September 4, 2014
1972—Fielding Ewing “Chip”
Lamason Jr.
July 23, 2015
Former Faculty
Alan Neidlinger Hall, August 22, 2015
Dennis P. Schmidt, October 19, 2015
Former Staff
James Cronin, August 17, 2015
Nelson Joseph Perron, July 24, 2015
James G. Stohrer, August 26, 2015
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