Milestones, September 2012

Beer—Martin Michel Beer, 88, on April 4, 2012, in Kennett Square, Pa. Martin was born on January 13, 1924, in the Saarland (now Germany) to Lucy Homburger and Otto Beer. He immigrated to the United States via France as a teenager and finished high school at Brooklyn Technical High School, excelling at mathematics and swimming. After service in World War II, he earned a Bachelor’s from Earlham College and a Master’s from University of Maryland, receiving five National Science Foundation fellowships for postgraduate work in mathematics at University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Harvard University. In 1950, he met Winifred Cadbury at Cambridge (Mass.) Meeting, and after taking a bicycle ride for their first date, they married in 1951. Martin taught at Westtown School and Sidwell Friends School and was a math teacher and golf coach at Haddonfield Memorial High School in New Jersey. He led the school to multiple state golf championships, receiving the South Jersey Coaches’ Outstanding Golf Coach award for four consecutive years, and was member and president of the Association of Mathematics Teachers of New Jersey. In the mid-1950s, Martin and Winnie were leaders in American Friends Service Committee’s Interns in Industry program. A convinced Friend, he was a member of Woodstown (N.J.) Meeting and Haddonfield (N.J.) Meeting, serving on meeting committees and in leadership positions, including service as clerk. In 1965, he became president of the Council of Churches in Haddonfield. He could often be found in his basement mimeographing newsletters for Haddonfield Meeting, the League of Women Voters, or other non-profit organizations. When he was 40, he and Winnie began Haddon Cycle Tours, taking a group of high school students bicycling through Europe in the summers and educating them about history and culture. Fluent in German and French, Martin managed the inevitable challenges that the combination of teenagers and travel presented. In 1972, Haddonfield Rotary Club gave Martin its highest award, What’s Right with America, for his work with youth and his generation of international people-to-people contact work for peace and understanding. He was known for his skill at repairing; children would drop off a disabled bike and return in a few days to pick up a reconditioned one. After he retired, he joined Kendal Meeting in Pa., spending eight years in community service, managing the accounts of Friends Fiduciary Corporation, and serving on the General Committee of Westtown School for nine years. Martin believed in simplicity, service to others, pacifism, and equality for the sexes and for people of all backgrounds and beliefs. In 1992, he and Winnie moved to Kendal at Longwood, in Kennett Square, Pa., and he continued gardening, repairing and woodworking, assisting those less physically able, traveling, and spending time with his grandchildren. He and Winnie continued bicycling tours, now with adults, until her last illness. Cheerful and energetic, he was known for his jokes and his interest in everyone and for distributing chocolates and other goodies to young and old alike. Martin’s wife, Winifred Cadbury Beer, died in 1996 after a long struggle with breast cancer, and he was also preceded in death by his sister, Lise Stein. He is survived by four daughters, Michelle Caughey, Carol Benson, Janet Garrett, and Christine (Spee) Braun; a sister, Hilda Grauman; a brother, John Beer; and 12 grandchildren, Devin Caughey, Robert Caughey, Bennett Caughey, Willa Caughey, Nicole Benson, Benjamin Benson, Katherine Garrett, John Garrett, Melissa Garrett, Natalie Braun, Lucas Braun, and Caleb Braun. Donations may be made in Martin’s memory to American Friends Service Committee or the Quaker Leadership Fund of Westtown School.

Beyer—Richard Sternoff Beyer, 86, on April 9, 2012, in New York City, N.Y. Rich was born on July 26, 1925, in Washington, D.C., to Clara and Otto Beyer. He married Margaret Wagenet in October 1948, and after receiving a Master’s in Education from University of Vermont, he worked for two years for the Bureau of Economic Research in New York. The family moved to Seattle in 1957, where Rich worked on a PhD in Economics at University of Washington. During this time he found his life’s work and passion as a sculptor, carving in stone and wood. He joined University Meeting in Seattle in 1964, focusing especially on peace issues and serving on the Arts, Friends Center, Worship & Ministry, and Social Concerns Committees. He remained a member of University Meeting throughout the moves of his later life. Rich told stories with his sculptures (one of which is carved on the cedar fence of University Meeting) that expressed his political views and Quaker values, often using humor. One children’s climbing structure was a large cedar snag with holes containing carved heads of twentieth-century political leaders such as Churchill, Stalin, Mao, Nkrumah, Gandhi, and Roosevelt, which the children used to climb up to the top of the political world. Waiting for the Interurban (dedicated in 1978), in the Fremont area of Seattle, is probably Rich’s best known and most beloved public sculpture. The Peaceable Kingdom, commissioned by the Community Council of the Madrona area of Seattle and carved in 1984, alludes to the late 1960s and early 1970s when there were conflicts between young people of color in the neighborhood and the Seattle police, and the Black Panthers drilled on the Madrona playfield. The sculpture shows a wolf and a sheep, alluding to Isaiah 11:6-9, and a pig snuggling up to a panther in peace and reconciliation. Sometimes gruff and challenging, Rich did not follow rules, whether in school, art, or career, saying that he celebrated the things that make being alive worthwhile—family, friends, work, and caring—and mocked the things that debase us—greed, sloth, indifference, and complacency. He was always generous with aspiring young artists and people who did not fit into society’s narrow expectations. In 1988, Rich and Margaret moved to Pateros, Wash., where they were active in the Chelan-Methow Worship Group. Margaret wrote The Art People Love: Stories of Richard S. Beyer’s Life and His Sculpture, Washington State University, 1999. Margaret died in 2004. In 2005, Rich moved to New York, where he married Dorothy (Dee) Scholz in 2007. In New York, Rich often accompanied Dee to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, where her late husband had been pastor. There, in addition to the reading of the Isaiah “Peaceable Kingdom” passage, Rich’s memorial included extended silence so that the congregation could hear the Holy Spirit moving and remember, rejoice, and renew the will to live in holiness and peace. Rich’s life was also celebrated in Seattle after the Fremont Solstice Parade at the Fremont Arts Abbey. His family has developed a website to celebrate his work: www.richbeyersculpture.com. Rich was preceded in death by his first wife, Margaret Wagenet Beyer. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Scholz-Beyer; a daughter, Elizabeth Miller; a son, Charles Beyer; and his grandchildren.

Brown—Francis G. Brown, age 94, died after a brief decline on May 27, 2012 in Downingtown, Pa. He was born on August 20, 1917. His parents were Ellis Y. Brown, Jr., and Mary Downing Brown. He died in the house he was born in and lived in all his life. Francis Brown was a member of Downingtown Friends Meeting and was a leader in Quaker activities throughout his life, frequently providing spiritual inspiration through his vocal ministry. He served as General Secretary of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends for 16 years, retiring in 1982. As General Secretary, he served on the boards of the National Council of Churches and the Metropolitan Christian Council of Philadelphia. Toward the end of employment by the Yearly Meeting, he visited nearly all of the constituent monthly meetings in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Prior to his work at the Yearly Meeting, he operated a dairy on his family’s farm in Downingtown. During that time, he assembled a unique collection of arrowheads that he discovered while plowing his fields. He was a trustee of Old Caln Meeting House in Caln Township and was instrumental in preserving the historic building and establishing an active worship group there. He was keenly interested in local history and served on the boards of Friends Historical Association, the Chester County Historical Society, and the Downingtown Historical Society. Francis Brown attended Downingtown Friends School and Westtown School, and graduated from Haverford School in 1935. He was a member of Haverford College’s Class of 1939. He was a pacifist and a conscientious objector during World War II. During the war, he served in Civilian Public Service, and was stationed in North Carolina, California, and Connecticut. At age 90, he proposed that Philadelphia Yearly Meeting hold a national peace conference. In 2009, the Heeding God’s Call gathering was held at Philadelphia’s Arch Street Meeting House. Francis Brown had many interests and enthusiastically drew family and friends in to share them. He sang and played guitar, called square dances, farmed and gardened, hiked, ice skated, played tennis, watched birds, and made silver jewelry. He especially enjoyed crafting house wren pins. During his retirement, he wrote and published several books on local Quaker history including Downingtown Meeting, Caln Meeting House, and a biography of Robert Valentine. Just before his death, he completed his personal memoirs, Quaker Legacy: A Family Homestead, which will be published posthumously by his family. His wife, Enid, died in 2006. He is survived by his children and their families: Deborah Brown Miles and Graham M. Miles; Martha Brown Bryans and Henry S. Bryans; Olivia Brown Ott and Mark E. Ott; and David W. Brown; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held on June 1 at Downingtown Meeting.

Buck—Elizabeth Koop Buck, 88, on June 1, 2011, in Bloomington, Ind., with family and friends nearby. Lib was born on April 4, 1923, in Iowa City, Iowa, to Eleanor and Walter Koop. She spent most of her youth in Minneapolis, Minn., and met her future husband, Roger C. Buck, while they were students at University of Minnesota. They married in 1948 and after finishing their degrees, moved to England for Roger to study at Oxford University under a Fulbright Fellowship, later moving to the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in Africa, where Roger taught philosophy. When they returned to the United States in 1952, they lived in several college and university towns. Roger began teaching at Indiana University in 1959, and they lived in Bloomington for 52 years. Lib became a member of Bloomington (Ind.) Meeting, visiting inmates in the local jail with Friend and community advocate Haines Turner. Her passion for restorative justice issues led her to work tirelessly to improve conditions in the jail and to recruit others to this ministry. She helped to establish several rehabilitation programs in Monroe County, such as the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program, Community Justice and Mediation Center, and New Leaf/New Life. She was given the J.C. Penney Golden Rule Lifetime Service Award in 2000 and the Haines Turner Award for her lifetime activities in restorative justice in 2007. Lib was member and clerk of many meeting committees, including the Committee for Ministry and Counsel, whose meetings she held in her home. Always ready to learn, she attended a series of Quakerism 101 sessions, and she showed a loving interest in individuals of all ages. Lib was a keen supporter of new attenders and in many instances was instrumental in their becoming Quakers. Lib once said that our greatest contribution is listening, adding that everybody has a story. Her family and friends know that God used Lib’s ears and her time in willing and joyful service for everyone, including those some thought to be unlovable. A champion for people who needed an advocate, she lived cheerfully and saw God in everyone, and her grandchildren were the treasures of her later years. Lib is survived by her children, Elizabeth Lee Jones, Susan Kearney, Roger Buck, and William Buck; five grandchildren, Stephen Jones, Austin Kearney, Amara Kearney, Katrina Buck, and Phillip Buck; a brother, Robert Koop; and a sister, Sister Anna Koop.

Glass—Walter Henry Glass, 91, on April 15, 2012, in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., in his sleep. Walter was born Walter Heinz Frauenglas on February 13, 1921, in Vienna, Austria, to Ida Hess and Leo Frauenglas. Encouraged in Austria by Quakers, he fled the Nazis to come to the United States in 1939 after being sent back to Vienna from France on his first attempt. As a young man, Walter played the piano and never lost his love for the music of Chopin and Brahms. In New York, relatives took him in, and he worked for a summer pushing clothing racks at S. Klein before leaving for college. The last time he heard from his parents was in 1940, and later in life he found that they had been shipped by train from Vienna to Lodz, Poland, where the trace was lost. In 1942, he earned a BA in Economics from University of Texas at Austin, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. He was trained in intelligence at Camp Ritchie, Md., and served in Europe during World War II with the Army Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. After earning a JD from Harvard Law School in 1947, he worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission. Walter married Ann Murkland in 1949 with Elliott Richardson, a Harvard classmate, as best man. He worked for the State Department’s coal reorganization of post-war Germany with the High Commission for Occupied Germany (HICOG) before joining General Electric (G.E.) in 1953. Walter became a Quaker in 1953 in Stamford-Greenwich Meeting in Stamford, Conn. He had a passion for sailing, and he cruised the coasts of Maine and the Elizabeth Islands in New England with his young family. Specializing in international contracts, he remained at G.E. until he retired in 1986, except for a stint at Raytheon from 1959 to 1963. He felt that the key to avoiding another Holocaust lay in prosperity and international links through trade, and his work at Raytheon and G.E. allowed him to help build those links. He also volunteered for the Preserve the Wetlands association in his community. He was active as a Friend at Kendal on Hudson, living principles of hard work and kindness and passing them on to his children. Walter delighted his family and friends with his playful, self-deprecating sense of humor. In spite of the loss of his family in the Holocaust, he was an optimist with faith in humanity, at the same time knowing that he could never take his life for granted. Walter is survived by his wife, Ann Murkland Glass; four children, Martha Sullivan, Elizabeth Poyet, Adam Glass, and Daniel Glass; and eight grandchildren. Grateful for the help he had received, he wanted to aid immigrant students facing financial hardship; his family requests that gifts in memory go to the Walter H. Glass Endowment, Harvard University, Attn: Anne Funderburk, 124 Mt. Auburn St. Cambridge, Mass., 02138, checks payable to President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Kettelle—John Dunster Kettelle Jr., 86, on May 31, 2012, at home in Arlington, Va., from prostate cancer. John was born on December 29, 1925, in Boston, Mass., to a Congregational minister and a former college teacher devoted to her role as a minister’s wife. He grew up in Manchester, N.H., and Barrington, R.I., enjoying the outdoors and becoming an Eagle Scout. He attended Barrington High School and Northfield Mount Herman School, graduating in 1942. In 1944-45, he rowed on the varsity crew at Harvard College, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Physics in 1945 and an Master’s degree in Mathematics in 1948. At the end of World War II, he served in the navy amphibious forces and worked with the Woods Hole Research Institution in Massachusetts on the oceanographic research ship Atlantis. His work at Ohio State University toward a PhD in Mathematics focusing on finite groups and cohomology was interrupted when he was called back into the navy during the Korean War. He began working in operations research and systems analysis for Arthur D. Little in 1953, and then he founded his own consulting firms to develop mathematical models and computer software for use in school bus routes, defense systems applications, voting district boundaries, and other contexts. In addition to writing an optimization algorithm known as Ketelle’s Algorithm, he originated the lambda-sigma model for cumulative detection probability of submarines and discovered the parabolic envelope of possible target tracks from bearings-only observations. John wrote many technical articles and edited 11 books published by the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA). In his later years he invented a structurally sound “warped roof” and a system to assist with negotiations and resolving disputes. He also spearheaded and funded the D.C. Student Math Society, earning his company, Ketron, the Volunteer Activist Award of the Washington Metropolitan Area in 1980. John was a member of Radnor (Pa.) Meeting for more than 20 years and joined Langley Hill Meeting in McLean, Va., in the 1990s, blending the religious practices of Quakers and those of his early life with his own spiritual leadings. He served for ten years on Langley Hill Meeting’s Ad Hoc Committee on Renovations, naming the meetinghouse’s new elevator Noah’s Ark after Friend Noah Belton. He made sure that the missing pane of stained glass in the meetinghouse’s rose window was not replaced, so that it could continue to inspire messages about the arc of the sun and the Light of God. He also offered a bell for the meetinghouse’s steeple (although the meeting did not take the bell). John’s home-baked pastries often enhanced his caring participation in committee work. He enjoyed  sailing, skiing, canoeing, horseback riding, travel, socializing, and spending time with family. While he led a life of wide-ranging interests and concerns that were sometimes provocative, he always had a wry sense of humor and a twinkle in his eye. His unflinching search for insights into the complexities of human nature and our collective relationship to The Divine challenged Friends’ assumptions and enlivened meetings for worship. Friends recall especially his gracious good humor, quick wit, generosity, and commitment to social justice. John’s wife, family, and friends were a great comfort to him, especially during his final illness. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Senti Kettelle; six children, Bruce Dunster Kettelle, Martha Anne Sousa, Rebecca Kettelle Pyne, Priscilla Kettelle Fosnocht, John Dunster Kettelle III, and Jennifer Kettelle Blum; 13 grandchildren; a sister, Althea Greenwood; Althea’s five children; and his first wife, Joanne Lenz Kettelle, who is the mother of his children.

Miller—Dale K. Miller, 90, on January 3, 2012, at home in Wycombe, Pa. Dusty was born on September 27, 1921, in Philadelphia, Pa., to Thelma Black and Winfield Scott Miller and grew up in Langhorne, Pa., playing baseball and football throughout high school and college. In 1941, he joined the U.S. Army Air Force and served for five years, achieving the rank of master sergeant. After the war, he attended Millersville State Teacher’s College (now Millersville University), where he earned a BS and was class president. Following graduate studies at University of Arizona, Dusty started his teaching and coaching career at Council Rock High School. In 1961, he began coaching football at George School in Newtown, Pa. He taught science there for 25 years and started the golf team. During his tenure as teacher, coach, and mentor, he touched the lives of many students and colleagues, spending many Saturday mornings on work detail at the school. One of his most significant contributions was to design the Alternative Energy Center at George School, built by students, faculty, and volunteers. The greenhouse, windmill, and renewable food and energy center served as a prototype for third world countries and as an educational resource. Dusty was invited by the Peace Corps to go to Lesotho and Sierra Leone to share his environmental and educational expertise. During the summers, he stayed busy with educational and sports activities, running camps and developing curriculum. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, golf, gardening, and home preservation. A longtime member of Wrightstown (Pa.) Meeting, he and his wife, Dorothy Pusey Miller, directed Camp Onas, a Quaker resident camp, for ten years. His family, friends, and former students will miss his sense of humor and strong handgrip. Dusty is survived by his wife of 58 years, Dorothy Pusey Miller; four children, Elizabeth Griffin, Suzanne Mandala, Steve Miller, and David Scott Miller; four grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be directed to Wrightstown Monthly Meeting, 535 Durham Road, Newtown, Pa., 18940; or to the Dusty Miller Fund for the Alternative Energy Center, care of George School, Route 413, Newtown, Pa., 18940.

Saeger—Armin Louis Saeger Jr., 87, on April 28, 2012, in Tulsa, Okla. Armin was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on April 11, 1925, to Caroline Roeger and Armin Saeger. When he was four, Armin became a member of Green Street Meeting in Philadelphia, Pa., along with his parents. During World War II, he served his country in Alternative Service as a human guinea pig, and he was active in the early Civil Rights Movement. After graduating from Earlham College, Armin and his wife, Mary Jane Hindman Saeger, became Mission Directors at Kickapoo Friends Center in McCloud, Okla. He earned a Master of Social Work degree from University of Oklahoma and worked at the U.S. Public Health Service Indian Hospital in Tahlequah, Okla., becoming executive director of the Indian Rights Association in 1966. He and Mary Jane later divorced, and he and Lucy Tolbert married in the 1970s. After taking a clinical position at the Tulsa Psychiatric Center and becoming an Accredited Bioenergetic Therapist, he began practicing privately. In the 1980s, he transferred his membership to Green Country Meeting in Tulsa, Okla. Armin also frequently attended Abington Meeting in Jenkintown, Pa., where his parents had become members. He enjoyed gardening, and his yard was often a featured stop on the Tulsa Water Garden Tour. During his retirement years at Inverness Village in Tulsa, he was active in a local writers group and published a collection of insightful, heartwarming memoirs, Sowing My Quaker Oats. His peaceful essence and varied accomplishments touched others in lasting ways. Armin leaves behind his wife of 35 years, Lucy Tolbert Saeger; four children, Julie Nierenberg, Laura Renfro, Lou Saeger and Robert Saeger; three stepchildren, Jane Zanol, Sarah Dirrim, and Miles Davidson; a loving extended family; and a host of friends. The family requests that donations in memory be made to the American Friends Service Committee or the American Cancer Society.

Talbott—Theodore Oral Talbott, 67, on February 10, 2012, at home in Kaneohe, Hawaii, with his family present. Ted was born on July 14, 1944, in Portland, Oreg., to Pearl Dudley and Oral Talbott. He attended Benson High School and graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor’s in Anthropology. After traveling to Europe and teaching English in Barcelona, Spain, for six months, he worked on the cruise ship Lurline on a route between the U.S. west coast and Hawaii. He moved to Hawaii and after working in a pizza parlor for a time, enrolled himself in Habilitat, a residential drug treatment program. At Habilitat he met a speaker who inspired him to become a CPA. When he completed the program, he became a lobbyist for Habilitat to the Hawaii Legislature. He went back to school, and he also began his formal spiritual journey, starting with Transcendental Meditation, and then taking est (Erhard Seminars Training). It was in est that he met his future wife, Alice Anderson. Ted started a CPA practice in Kaneohe, Hawaii and wrote tax advice for the Honolulu Advertiser during tax season. Ted and Alice taught Sunday school and were deacons in a Lutheran church for many years. After they left the church, they discovered and joined Honolulu Meeting. Ted served on the Finance, Library, Nominating, Worship and Ministry, and Oversight and Counsel Committees. He also served outside his religious community by sitting on the State Board of Tax Review under Governor John Waihee and on the boards of the Protection and Advocacy Agency of Hawaii, Kahalu’u Neighborhood, Key Project, Friends of Hawaii State Hospital, Angel Network Charities, Winners Camp, Hawaii Home-stay, HSCPA Small Business Association, and Friendship Gardens. His personal exercise program included blazing a trail in Friendship Gardens over a twenty-year period. Ted was sensitive to the suffering of others and often opened his home to those who needed a place to stay for a while. He loved having an open house on New Year’s Day, cooking breakfast for all who entered. He was quick to offer help or a solution to problems of friends and family. He often would say that what he did, he did for himself because he felt “blessed to be a blessing.” He was known for his active and lively sense of humor, and his tag line at the end of his e-mails was a line he paraphrased from T.H. Thompson, “Be kinder than necessary, for everyone is in some kind of struggle.” He leaves behind his wife, Alice Talbott; three children, Kevin Gatewood, Donna Gatewood, and Karen Bush; five grandchildren; and a brother, David Talbott.