Page 55 - Alumni Horae: Vol. 94, No. 3 Spring 2014

with mental and physical challenges), and
the Urban League of Wilmington. Mr. Bissell
retired from AT&T in 1997. A year later,
after 40 years of marriage, his wife, Edie,
died of complications from Alzheimer’s.
Mr. Bissell was fortunate to find love
again with a longtime friend, Elizabeth
(Betty) Lee Cutler, and they married in
1999. The couple enjoyed spending time
with their 13 grandchildren and for many
years spent their winters in Albufeira,
Portugal, and summers at Fossil Hill Farm
in Morristown, N.J. During those years,
the Bissells continued to explore the four
corners of the earth and hone their prodi-
gious bridge skills. Mr. Bissell enjoyed many
hobbies, including gardening, model rail-
roads, model building, furniture making,
military history, fine wine collecting, and
painting lead soldiers. He maintained
memberships at several golf clubs.
Mr. Bissell was known as a bon vivant
and a humorous raconteur, and will be
remembered fondly by the many lives he
touched. He was always willing to lend a
helping hand or provide sage advice.
Mr. Bissell is survived by his wife, Betty;
his three children, Elliston Perot Bissell
IV ’77, Rolin Plumb Bissell, and Ann
Packard Bissell; and five grandchildren,
including Elliston Perot Bissell V ’07 and
Helen Packard Bissell ’14.
1954
Peter Franck
a successful in-
fectious-disease
physician and avid
outdoorsman,
died on June 28,
2013. He was 76.
Born in Pasa-
dena, Calif., on
September 22,
1936, he was the
son of Anita Chadbourne and Thomas
George Franck and beloved younger
brother to twin sisters Mary and Susan.
Dr. Franck grew up in the Bay Area and
prepared for St. Paul’s at the Town School
for Boys in San Francisco. He enrolled at
St. Paul’s as a Second Former in the fall of
1949. Dr. Franck enjoyed team sports, par-
ticularly cross country, and was a member
of the Propylean Literary Society, the Scien-
tific Association, La Junta Spanish Club,
and the Missionary Society. Dr. Franck
developed into a strong student at SPS,
eventually graduating cum laude with the
Form of 1954.
Following SPS, Dr. Franck earned his
undergraduate degree in anthropology
from Harvard University and later his
medical degree from Harvard Medical
School, with a specialization in infectious
diseases. While working at Massachusetts
General Hospital in Boston, he met his wife,
Fay, a zoologist. The two later traveled in
Panama for four years, where he worked
for the Middle American Research Unit
and the National Institutes of Health study-
ing tropical medicine and working with
the Kuna Indians. In 1974, the Francks
moved to Reading, Calif., where Dr. Franck
worked in private practice and served as
an infectious disease physician at Mercy
Medical Center.
Known from an early age for his love of
adventure and the outdoors, Dr. Franck
was an experienced sailor, whose expedi-
tions included a voyage across the North
Sea and sailing the waters around Greece,
Panama, and the East Coast of the United
States. He enjoyed both powder and heli-
copter skiing in Canada and Utah and
loved backpacking the Trinities and Cas-
cades of Northern California. He also
spent several summers, beginning at age
16, whitewater canoeing in the Northwest
Territories of Canada. One of his excursions
was featured on the 1950s television pro-
gram Bold Journeys.
Despite his battle with both Parkinson’s
disease and dementia later in life, Dr. Franck
never lost his dry wit or his diagnostic
skills. He will be greatly missed by his
wife of 51 years, Fay; his sister, Mary; his
daughters, Cindy, Elizabeth, and Valerie;
his grandson, Martin Volz; and his care-
giver, Karen Duckett.
1975
Marian Vanessa Bowens
a dedicated
special education
teacher and church
leader, of Elmont,
N.Y., died Decem-
ber 15, 2013, after
a battle with colon
cancer. She was 56.
Born in Savan-
nah, Ga., on May 2,
1957, she was the daughter of Lillie and
Marion Bowens. Ms. Bowens grew up in
Harlem, N.Y., and was a city girl at heart,
but she loved to return to her Georgia
roots each summer. She came to St. Paul’s
School in the fall of 1971 from Wadleigh
Junior High School.
Ms. Bowens participated in many
extracurricular activities in Millville,
including the African-American Student
Union, Choir, the Third World Coalition,
Maroon Key, Damascus Jazz Band, and
the Intercultural Festival Committee. She
was also a dedicated athlete, who played
varsity basketball and lacrosse and served
as a manager of the SPS track team.
Ms. Bowens distinguished herself in
dramatics and modern dance. Her poise,
grace, and talent were evident in her
performances. Ms. Bowens also took
an interest in helping those with dis-
abilities, volunteering throughout her
time at SPS and eventually devoting her
life to that work.
Ms. Bowens attended Smith College in
Northampton, Mass., and earned a B.A.
in education and psychology. She worked
for several years as a financial advisor
with Dreyfus before pursuing her passion
for special education. She received her
M.Ed. in special education and early child-
hood education from Touro College in
New York City. She thoroughly enjoyed
her students and her colleagues,
referring to them as her “work family.”
Ms. Bowens possessed a strong belief
in God, a foundation she discovered as
a child attending Mt. Olivet Baptist
Church in Harlem. She later attended
Valley Stream Baptist Church and served
as deaconess on the leadership board.
Her faith was a comfort to her through-
out her fight with cancer.
Ms. Bowens will be missed dearly by all
who knew her, including her son, Matthew
C. Watters-Bowens; her mother, Lillie
Bowens; her sister, Nadine; her brothers,
Eric and Derrick; and many nieces, neph-
ews, and cousins.
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