Page 57 - Alumni Horae: Vol. 94, No. 2 Winter 2014

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(a worry that turned out to be completely
unfounded, he added). He credited St. Paul’s
with giving him “a sense of duty and com-
mitment to pursue public service” as well
as “personal loyalty.”
Mr. Watts is survived by three children
from his first marriage, Evelyn “Evie”
Watts, Shelby Funk, and Heidi Mayor; six
stepchildren, Obadiah Butterworth, John
Underwood, Katherine Underwood, Reed
Underwood, Maylen Pierce, and Morgani
Pierce; and two grandchildren.
1949
Daniel Simonds Jr.
a finance expert,
fighter jet pilot,
and hockey
enthusiast with a
huge heart and a
deep spirituality,
passed away on
October 17, 2013,
at the age of 82.
Mr. Simonds
was born on May 11, 1931, and grew up
in Massachusetts, attending the Dexter
School in Brookline before coming to
St. Paul’s School as a Second Former.
Mr. Simonds excelled in athletics, de-
veloping a lifelong love for hockey dur-
ing his high school years. He was also a
member of the Acolyte Guild, the Student
Council, and the Glee Club and had a good
scholastic standing.
Mr. Simonds went on to graduate from
Harvard in 1953, then spent four years
flying fighter jets from Navy carriers, an
experience he described in a letter to the
School as “a great adventure.” He settled
into a career in finance, graduating from
MIT’s Sloan School of Management in
1978 and serving as a project controller
for the city of Boston for two years. He
subsequently worked as an investment
counselor in Brookline for many years.
Neither his high-altitude adventures nor
his financial success overshadowed the
spirituality he developed at St. Paul’s
School. In a 1999 letter accompanying
his 50th anniversary questionnaire, Mr.
Simonds wrote: “I am deeply thankful
for the very fine academics and lifelong
friendships I have made. I am also deeply
appreciative of the experience of the
Chapel – the inestimable value and beauty
of the teachings received there. . . . It’s
tragic the world depends so much on the
benefits of science for progress, so often
missing the blessing of lessons we received
in Chapel.”
Mr. Simonds was a member of the
Country Club in Brookline and played in
adult hockey leagues until the age of 70.
His greatest love was his family, which
included three daughters from his first
marriage, a son from his second marriage
to Helena (Reynolds) Simonds, his wife of
26 years, stepchildren, and grandchildren.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Simonds
leaves behind his daughters, Elizabeth S.
Thompson ’83, Nina S. Trowbridge, and
Holly Simonds; his son, Daniel Reynolds
Simonds; two stepchildren, Edward E.
Moussouris and Anna Ross; six grand-
children; and two stepgrandchildren.
1950
Edwin Dagobert “Ted”
Bransome Jr.
respected pro-
fessor of medicine,
died October 15,
2013, in Aiken, S.C.,
at the age of 79.
The son of Edwin
and Margaretta
Homans Bran-
some, he was
born in New York
City on October 27, 1933. Dr. Bransome
attended Rumson Country Day School in
Rumson, N.J., before entering SPS as a
Second Former in the fall of 1945. He ex-
celled in the classroom and participated
in many student activities, including
Choir, Glee Club, the Missionary Society,
Horae Scholasticae, the Cadmean/Con-
cordian Literary Society, the Rifle Club,
and the Acolyte Guild. He was an
enthusiastic participant in club sports.
Dr. Bransome was 16 when he gradu-
ated with the Form of 1950. He went on to
Yale University, where he was a member
of the swim team, graduating in 1954 with
a B.A. in psychology. He earned his M.D.
from Columbia University College of
Physicians and Surgeons in 1958. Dr.
Bransome completed his internship in
internal medicine at Harvard Medical
School, where he was a fellow in endocri-
nology at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.
He also completed a fellowship in bio-
chemistry and medicine at Columbia.
With a desire to share his knowledge
in medicine with others, Dr. Bransome
devoted his career to teaching. He was a
professor of medicine at Scripps Clinic
and Research Foundation in La Jolla,
Calif., and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and served as section chief
of the Endocrinology Department at the
Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.
He also served as president of United
States Pharmacopoeia. As a consultant,
he worked closely with pharmaceutical
companies SmithKline Beecham Inc. and
Hoechst Marion Roussel.
A passionate golfer, Dr. Bransome
enjoyed his memberships at the Green
Boundary and Palmetto Gold Clubs in
Aiken; Sea Pines Country Club in Hilton
Head; the Country Club in Brookline,
Mass.; and the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda.
He will be greatly missed by his loving
wife of 56 years, Janet Williams Bransome;
a son, Edwin D. Bransome III; a daughter
and son-in-law, April Grace Bransome-
Gorton and Ronald A. Gorton III; and two
grandchildren. He was predeceased by
his grandfather, Henry Homans of the
Form of 1883.
1952
Ethelbert Nevin II
an experienced sailor who raced and
cruised on the Atlantic and Pacific oceans
and supported that habit with his day job
as a college textbook salesman, died of
prostate cancer on September 23, 2013,
at his home in Blue Hill, Maine. He was
80 years old.
Known as “Berto” or “Bert” to most, Mr.
Nevin lived much of his adult life in San
Francisco, but considered Blue Hill his
real home, where his sisters and brother
lived near him, as did his 35-foot Cheoy
Lee sloop, Curlew.