Page 58 - Alumni Horae: Vol. 93, No. 4 Summer 2013

Mr. Groom was an avid sailor, a passion
he passed on to his children and grand-
children. He also enjoyed reading, music,
gardening, and participating in quiz bowls.
Mr. Groom leaves his son, Christopher,
and his daughter, Sarah; four grand-
children; and four great-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by his wife, Phyllis,
and by his sons, Jonathan and David.
1941
Harold Sheffield van Buren Jr.
a prodigious
inventor and
sailor, died on
March 4, 2014,
at the age of 91.
Born in Boston
on June 28, 1922,
he attended public
school in Glen-
dale, Ohio, before
enrolling at the Lotspeich School and the
Cincinnati Country Day School. He spent
his summers sailing in Harwich Port on
Cape Cod.
Mr. van Buren entered St. Paul’s as a
Third Former in 1937, following his grand-
father, Paul Matthews of the Form of 1884,
and his father, Harold van Buren of the
Form of 1916. Mr. van Buren played hockey
for Delphian and rowed with Shattuck.
He was also a member of the Cadmean
Literary Society, the Choir, Glee Club, and
the debate team. He loved music and sing-
ing, which gave him enjoyment through-
out his life, and was an avid reader.
Mr. van Buren went on to Harvard
University, where, in 1942, he helped
Harvard win the intercollegiate sailing
championship as high-point co-skipper.
He graduated cum laude from Harvard
in 1945 with a degree in ancient Greek
history. Even though he did not qualify
to serve in the Navy, he worked stead-
fastly from 1942 to 1944 in civilian serv-
ice in the mold loft of the U.S. Navy Yard
in Charlestown, Mass.
In 1944, Mr. van Buren married Eliza-
beth Peabody Prince, and the couple had
two sons. The marriage ended in divorce
in 1960.
Mr. van Buren joined United-Carr
Fastener Corporation in 1947, where he
designed thousands of fastening devices.
When he retired in 1982 at age 60, he held
65 U.S. patents and 175 foreign patents.
After retirement, he remained busier
than ever as a consultant and an expert
witness in patent infringement trials.
He also took up tennis and became an
enthusiastic player, while continuing his
lifelong pastime of sailing. From the time
he was five years old, Mr. van Buren sailed
extensively, including to Nova Scotia,
along the Intracoastal Waterway of the
Gulf Coast, and to the Bahamas and the
Caribbean.
In 1985, Mr. van Buren married Alice
Hathaway Buffinton, beginning what he
described as a “joyful and happy period”
of his life. She survives him.
Mr. van Buren is also survived by his
sons, Harold Sheffield van Buren III and
Clement Thorburn van Buren; his sister,
Elsie van Buren; and his grandson, Jesse
van Buren. He was predeceased in 1998
by his brother, Paul van Buren ’42.
1943
Russell Crosby Clark Jr.
will be remem-
bered as a loving
family man, an
avid boater, and
an adventurous
traveler. He died
on May 18, 2014,
in Vero Beach,
Fla., with his wife,
Carolyn, and his
two sons by his side. He was 88.
Mr. Clark was born on New York’s Staten
Island on June 2, 1925, the only child of
Russell C. Clark Sr. of the Form of 1919
and Doris Burn Clark.
World War II overshadowed Mr. Clark’s
time at St. Paul’s, but he enjoyed rowing
for Halcyon and playing football, baseball,
and hockey for Isthmian. Mr. Clark par-
ticipated in an SPS aeronautical science
class, meant to train upperclassmen as
pilots. After a short stint at Yale studying
mechanical engineering, he joined the
U.S. Navy as a Naval aviator.
1941
Brian Farrant Groom
an entrepreneur-
ial businessman,
avid sailor, and
devoted family
man, died
peacefully in his
sleep at Salford
House in Eve-
sham, England, on
April 30, 2014, at
the age of 92.
Mr. Groom was born on March 1, 1922,
in Erith, Kent, England, the son of local
bakery owner Harry Groom. He was the
oldest of four children, including his broth-
er, Peter, and his sisters, June and Anne.
As a student at Kings School Rochester,
Mr. Groom spent his Sixth Form year at
St. Paul’s through the International School-
boy Fellowship. He enjoyed his time at
St. Paul’s, participating in the Choir, foot-
ball, and rowing. Upon his return to the
United Kingdom, he regaled his friends
with tales of how “funny” American life
was in comparison to life at home in
England. He kept up a lively written corres-
pondence with then-Rector Norman
Nash while attending Oxford University
and during his World War II service with
the British Army. Mr. Groom spoke proudly
of his years as a rower with the St. John’s
College eight.
While at university, Mr. Groom married
Phyllis Horseman. The two welcomed
four children, Christopher, David, Jonathan,
and Sarah. Sadly, Jonathan Groom died
at the age of three. The family lived, at
various times, in Barnehurst, Kent, and
Sidcup, outside London.
After the war, Mr. Groom joined the
family business, Groom’s Bakery of Erith,
helping his father and brother expand the
bakery’s reach to outposts in London and
Essex. After several years, he bought him-
self out of the business and acquired
another small business in Canterbury,
which he renamed Groom’s Tyre Services.
After selling that business, he became an
accountant in Cranbrook, U.K., and retired
early, eventually moving to Bidford-on-
Avon to be closer to family.
DECEASED
58