55
president), St. Barnabas Hospital (chair-
man), St. Luke’s Hospital, Union Theologi-
cal Seminary, and the Victoria Foundation.
Mr. Fales was the recipient of the Columbia
University Alumni Federation Medal in
1994. He supported a number of civic
organizations, including New Jersey’s
Future and New York’s Welfare Law Center.
He was a recipient of the Isaac T. Hopper
Award for extraordinary service in the
field of correctional rehabilitation. In
1998, the New York County Lawyers
Association presented Mr. Fales with
the William Nelson Cromwell Award for
“outstanding contributions to the profes-
sion or the community.”
Outside of his career, Mr. Fales listed
working in the yard, sailing, and tennis
among his hobbies. On a 50th reunion
questionnaire for the Form of 1938, Mr.
Fales wrote that “life has been very good
to me…I work hard, live well…our child-
ren are our joy.”
Mr. Fales was predeceased in 2005 by
his wife of 64 years, Katharine Ladd Fales,
whom he called “my inspiration in every-
thing.” His brother, DeCoursey Fales ’37,
also predeceased him. He is survived by
his younger brother, Timothy Fales ’48;
his daughters, Nancy Fales Garrett, Priscilla
Fales, and Lucy Fales Evans; his sons, Hal
Fales and William E.L. Fales; twelve grand-
children; and eight great-grandchildren.
1938
Frederic Pratt Herter
a highly respected surgeon and teacher,
leading figure in cancer therapy research,
and former president of the American
University of Beirut, died peacefully at
home in New York City on November 7,
2015, surrounded by family. He was five
days shy of his 95th birthday.
Born on November 12, 1920, Dr. Herter
was the scion of a distinguished New York
family, the son of Mary Caroline Pratt
Herter and Christian A. Herter, who was
cation at Columbia Law School, earning
his LL.B. in 1947. He then embarked on
a 44-year career at White & Case, a law
firm in New York City, becoming a partner
in 1959.
He tried cases involving civil controver-
sies of antitrust, bankruptcy, tax, product
liability, and stockholder lawsuits. Mr. Fales
represented many of the firm’s most
important clients and was particularly
known for his litigation on behalf of U.S.
Steel and its acquisition of Marathon Oil in
the 1980s. He also represented McDonnell
Douglas, the American aerospace manu-
facturing corporation and defense con-
tractor, in a challenging class action suit.
On December 27, 1941, Mr. Fales married
Katharine Ladd at Trinity Church in Bos-
ton, Mass. Together the couple raised five
children: Nancy, Hal, Priscilla, Lucy, and
William. The family lived for many years
in Gladstone, N.J.
The legal career of Mr. Fales included a
term as president of the 33,000-member
New York State Bar Association (1983-84).
He was a fellow of the American Bar Foun-
dation, the New York Bar Foundation, and
the American College of Trial Lawyers. He
served as president of the Columbia Law
School Association (1991-92), authored
numerous articles, and held many other
positions within the legal profession. Mr.
Fales earned praise for his 1997 autobi-
ography,
Trying Cases: A Life in the Law
.
In a career that spanned half a century,
Mr. Fales was known for his character
and integrity. He was active in
pro bono
work for White & Case and volunteered
as counsel for the Women’s Prison Assoc-
iation. He ran the litigation department at
White & Case for many years, and served
on the boards of the Legal Aid Society,
Volunteers of Legal Services, and New
York Lawyers for the Public Interest. As
chair of the N.Y. State Bar Association’s
Task Force on the Profession (1995-96),
Mr. Fales encouraged members to uphold
the standards of the legal profession.
Mr. Fales also was devoted to SPS,
maintaining many friendships from his
schoolboy days and communicating with
administrators about current issues. He
served as vice president of the SPS Alumni
Association from 1988 to 1992 and as his
form’s director from 1988 to 1993. He was
a member of the board of the Pierpont
Morgan Library (including a term as its
governor of Massachusetts and, subse-
quently, secretary of state under President
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Dr. Herter entered the Second Form of
SPS in the fall of 1933. He was a member
of the Concordian Literary Society and
the Missionary Society, treasurer of the
Library Association, assistant editor of
Horae Scholasticae
, a member of the
Student Council, and served as a super-
visor in his dormitory. Dr. Herter played
first football and hockey for Delphian and
rowed in Shattuck’s first boat. He earned
Second Testimonials four times.
Dr. Herter went on to receive his under-
graduate degree from Harvard with the
Class of 1941 and his M.D. from Harvard
Medical School in 1944. He went to Japan
with the Occupation Forces as a First
Lieutenant in the Army Medical Corps,
serving from 1945 to 1947.
After his return, Dr. Herter completed
his surgical residency at Columbia-Pres-
byterian Medical Center in 1953, faith-
fully serving his career there, until his
retirement in 1989.
During his tenure, Dr. Herter was a
pioneering surgeon and role model to gen-
erations of medical students, residents,
and faculty members while serving in his
many roles, including attending staff at
Presbyterian Hospital and Francis Delafield
Hospital in New York. He became director
of the Surgical Service at Delafield in 1966
and Auchincloss professor of surgery
and acting chairman of the Department
of Surgery at the College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Columbia University,
and acting director of surgery at Pres-
byterian Hospital.
Dr. Herter joined the American Uni-
versity of Beirut (AUB) as a trustee in
1977. He served as chairman of the board
of trustees from 1985 to 1987, and presi-
dent of the university from 1987 to 1993.
Through the challenging times of the Syrian
civil war, he fought to keep the university’s
doors open and its students safe. From
his office in New York City, he fostered a
vision of AUB as a world-class university
and medical center, a beacon of modera-
tion and understanding in the Middle East.
He continued his dedicated involvement
as trustee emeritus in later years.
In 1992, Dr. Herter received Columbia’s
Distinguished Service Award from the
College of Physicians and Surgeons. He
