61
1946
Clifford Vail Brokaw III
of Southampton,
N.Y., died Novem-
ber 22, 2015, after
a long illness. He
was 87.
Born in New
York City on Sep-
tember 17, 1928,
Mr. Brokaw was
the eldest son
of Clifford V. Brokaw, Jr. (Form of 1921)
and Audrey S. Brokaw. His family had a
long history in America; Mr. Brokaw’s
ancestors included Bourgeon Brouchard,
a French Huguenot who settled on Long
Island in 1675 and founded the first Pro-
testant Church in New York; Theodore
Vail, co-founder of AT&T; and John H.
Inman, founder of the Cotton Exchange
and the Southern Railroad.
Mr. Brokaw’s early education was com-
pleted at the Green Vale School. He entered
St. Paul’s School as a Second Former in the
fall of 1941. A likable boy, he participated
in many areas of School life. Mr. Brokaw
competed for Delphian in football, baseball,
and hockey and rowed for Halcyon. He
was a member of the Rifle Club, the
Scientific Association, the Acolyte Guild,
the Dramatic Club, and the Glee Club. He
sang in the Choir and served as editor of
the
Pictorial
.
He went on to Yale, where Mr. Brokaw
was an accomplished varsity swimmer
and wrote for the
Yale Daily News
. Upon
receiving his bachelor’s degree with the
Class of 1950, Mr. Brokaw entered into
active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps
in Korea, where he served as an infantry
platoon leader. He earned four battle stars
and one Purple Heart during his service,
retiring after 20 years of active duty with
the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1973.
He also served with the Royal Marines
in 40 Commando in the conflict in Malaya.
For many years, Mr. Brokaw continued to
serve on the board of the Marine Military
Academy.
Mr. Brokaw earned his J.D. from the
University of Virginia Law School in 1956.
During his law school years, he won the
Moot Court Competition of Appellate Argu-
ment. After his admittance into the New
York and federal bars, Mr. Brokaw chose
to practice general corporate law with
White & Case. His clients grew to include
U.S. Steel, Prudential Insurance, Alleghany
Corporation, and General Electric Company.
In the late 1960s, Mr. Brokaw decided
to change course. What followed was an
18-year career in the investment banking
industry, beginning with W.E. Hutton & Co.
and Eastman Dillon, Union Securities & Co.,
and eventually with his own merchant-
banking firm, Invail Capital Inc., established
in 1979. He worked with companies such
as Tandy Corp., Continental Telephone,
Gates Rubber Co., Armco Steel, ATO Inc.,
Georgia Pacific Corp., Baker Interna-
tional, U.S. Steel Corp., Gulf Oil Corp., and
Rockwell International. Mr. Brokaw was a
director and investor for HEAD Ski Corp-
oration and Planning and Research Corp.
and was a director of Clairtone and Brazos
River Gas Co., in Dallas, Texas.
On June 29, 1960, Mr. Brokaw married
Elizabeth S. Rogers. In 1967, the couple
celebrated the birth of twin boys, Clifford
V. Brokaw IV and George R. Brokaw ’86.
He visited St. Paul’s many times while his
son, George, was a student at the School.
Mr. Brokaw was a devoted alumnus of
St. Paul’s. His generosity contributed to
the construction in 1985 of the Hawley
Observatory. Mr. Brokaw also enjoyed
many volunteer roles through the Univer-
sity of Virginia Law School, including the
Law Society, the School Dean’s Council,
the Business Advisory Council, and the
Water Mill Citizens Advisory Council.
In addition, Mr. Brokaw was an avid
sportsman, who belonged to many clubs,
including The Union Club, The Brook,
Meadow Brook Club, Piping Rock Club,
Southampton Bathing Corporation, Farm-
ington Country Club, Meadow Club, The
River Club, Lyford Cay Club, and Brook
Hollow Club. He was also a member of
the Military Order of the Carbao, the Order
of the Knights of St. John, The Pilgrims,
Holland Lodge No. 8 F.&A.M., the Autora
Grata Consistory, S.P.R.S., and Kismet
Tensile A.A.O.N.M.S. of New Hyde Park.
He also was a member of the National
Council of the Huguenot Society of Amer-
ica, the National Institute of Social Sciences,
and the Vestry of the French Huguenot
Church of Saint-Esprit in New York City.
On his most recent St. Paul’s question-
naire, Mr. Brokaw listed his hobbies as
tennis, walking, and photography. He wrote
that the high points in life’s journey had
been “a good marriage and lots of fun in a
40-year career in investment banking.”
His also mentioned that he was grateful
for his full recovery from a heart attack
that included a quadruple bypass and
open-heart surgery.
Mr. Brokaw is survived by his wife of
55 years, Elizabeth Rogers Brokaw; his
sons, Clifford Vail Brokaw IV and George
Rogers Brokaw ’86; and six grandchildren.
He was predeceased in 1983 by his brother,
John Hamilton Inman Brokaw ’48.
1947
Robert Foster Whitmer III
died on November
18, 2015 in Fair-
field, Conn. He
was 86 years old.
Mr. Whitmer
was born in Man-
hattan on July 14,
1929, to Robert
Foster Whitmer of
the Form of 1918
and Laura Taylor Whitmer. He attended
Greenwich Country Day School before
arriving at St. Paul’s School as a Third
Former in the fall of 1943.
At SPS, Mr. Whitmer played football,
hockey, and baseball and was known as a
quick-witted boy, mature beyond his years.
Mr. Whitmer enrolled at Yale, graduating
with the Class of 1951. He served in the
U.S. Army as Second Lieutenant from
1951 to 1953. Mr. Whitmer continued his
education at Harvard Business School.
In 1957, he married Mary Leigh Pell.
Together the couple raised three sons.
A business, marketing, and advertis-
ing professional, Mr. Whitmer worked
for numerous high-profile companies in
New York City and Connecticut, includ-
ing J. Walter Thompson, Stanley Works,
General Electric, the SCM Corporation,
and Dan-Bel Communications. He retired
in 1997 after a four-decade career in the
industry.
Mr. Whitmer was known for his wit,
wisdom, and thoughtfulness. He loved
jazz, tennis, golf, and fly-fishing. He was
a member of the Fairfield Beach Club, the
Quogue Field Club, and Quogue Beach
Club in Quogue, N.Y., and enjoyed volun-
teering at the food pantry of Operation
Hope in Fairfield, Conn.
