CLASS NOTES
62
WINTER 2013 | ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
In Memory
1950
William J. Davis
passed away in La-
guna Beach, Calif., on October 1, 2012. He was 86.
Bill entered St. Lawrence in 1946 after serving
in the U.S. Navy. In college he was a history and
government major, president of Thelmo and
treasurer of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. He was
active in campus publications (including edit-
ing
The Hill News)
and broadcasting, was on the
Winter Carnival Committee and was elected to
Omicron Delta Kappa/Kixioc honorary.
Davis was for years one
of St. Lawrence’s most
ardent and enthusiastic
alumni. After a stint in
the editorial depart-
ment of the
Watertown
Daily Times
and in pub-
lic relations at Bucknell
University
,
he served
St. Lawrence from 1954
through 1963 in admis-
sions, as alumni secre-
tary (the equivalent of
today’s executive director of Annual Giving and
Laurentian Engagement) and as placement di-
rector. He continued until his final days to pro-
mote his alma mater in many ways.
“
He was an original,” said St. Lawrence Presi-
dent William L. Fox ’75, indicating that, both
in his position and later as a volunteer, Davis
either “invented (or) enlarged with his enthusi-
asm” such traditions as red blazers for his class
at reunions; friendly competition for the Hervey
Cup, emblematic of best Alumni Parade theme,
which his class won a record six times; reunion
giving; marketing of alumni activity in newways;
and alumni office staff travel to regional events.
As alumni secretary, he established national re-
cords for giving participation.
“
We will remember him for the countless years
of his class leadership in fundraising and for start-
ing the tradition of class dinners,”said his class re-
porter, Barbara “Babs” Grouls Audet ’50. “He had
a way of organizing things so that all seemed to
fall in place, yet they happened only through his
attention to every detail.” This was seen in the
kazoo bands he led at Reunion and other gather-
ings, says his friend Joe Makowiec M’54.
“
At our 60th reunion, in 2010, Bill was re-elected
class president, but this time for life,”said his close
friend Bill Caldwell ’50. “Bill had a unique leader-
ship ability to inspire and to manage events and
efforts. His love of St. Lawrence came from the
many lasting and deep friendships he made dur-
ing his college years and as alumni secretary.”
Davis received an Alumni Citation in 1963. He
chaired the Alumni Association from 1970 to 1972.
After leaving his St. Lawrence position, Davis was
vice president for development at Kalamazoo
College and then vice president of United Stu-
dent Aid Funds, Inc. In 1974, he became special
consultant for the University of California’s Natural
Reserve System, a network of protected natural
areas throughout California acquired and man-
aged solely for research, education and public
service, and oversaw its growth. Former NRS Di-
rector Roger Samuelsen says,“Generations of stu-
dents and researchers will use sites acquired by
gifts cultivated by Bill and, in the process, advance
our understanding of our natural environment.”
Following his tenure there, Davis was highly
successful in raising funds for the Lawrence Hall
of Science on the Berkeley campus. The Hall is a
public science center that offers hands-on science
exhibits, designs curricula, aids professional devel-
opment and offers after-school science resources
to students of all ages. He was also associate dean
for public affairs at San Francisco’s Hastings Col-
lege of Law. Throughout this time he maintained
a camp on Trout Lake, not far from Canton.
Davis is survived by his wife, Louise A. “Bunny”
Weber Davis; step-children and step-grandchil-
dren; and a sister. His service to St. Lawrence will
be recognized and celebrated during Reunion
Weekend, May 30-June 2.
1952
The Rev.
RobertW. Castle Jr
.,
an out-
spoken Episcopal priest who was the subject of
Jonathan Demme’s acclaimed 1992 documentary
Cousin Bobby
,
and who went on to a film acting
career as a result, died on Oct. 27, 2012, at his
home in Holland, Vt. He was 83.
Fr. Castle served St.
John’s Episcopal Church
in Jersey City, N.J., in
the 1960s and, follow-
ing work with disturbed
youths in Vermont, was
the rector of St. Mary’s
Episcopal
Church,
a
largely black and His-
panic congregation in
Harlem, from 1987 until
his retirement in 2000.
There, he bridged spiri-
tuality and social action; TIME magazine called
him “an outspoken enemy of civic apathy and
churchly indifference.” In the 1960s, he marched
in Mississippi with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. He picketed banks and restaurants for failing to
hire minorities, marched against the VietnamWar,
preached against the death penalty and fought
gentrification of the urban neighborhoods he
served. In New Jersey, he picketed his own bishop
for belonging to segregated clubs. He once pick-
eted himself, joining ranks with workers seeking a
better contract from St. Mary’s Episcopal Center,
an AIDS hospice he founded in Harlem. St. Law-
rence presented him with an Alumni Citation in
1975
and the Sol Feinstone Award for Humanitari-
an Service in 1985, in recognition of his career and
of his service as a member of the Alumni Council
and a volunteer for the Alumni Fund.
At St. Lawrence, he was a religion major, a
brother of SAE, president of his senior class and
an all-American football quarterback. He earned
a degree from the Berkeley Divinity School, New
Haven, Conn. While there, he was assigned to
work in a black parish on the Lower East Side of
Manhattan. The experience, he later said, helped
forge his commitment to civil rights, according to
a
New York Times
obituary. His presence in
Cousin
Bobby
led to roles in more than a dozen fiction
films, among them
Philadelphia
(1993).
He is
survived by his second wife, three children, two
stepchildren, 10 grandchildren and step-grand-
children, and seven great-grandchildren.
1959
Former University Trustee
Norman H.
Tregenza
of Silver Lake, N.H., passed away on Oc-
tober 31, 2012. A Dean’s List student, he majored
in economics and was in the University Choir,
Outing Club and ROTC. He was a first lieutenant
in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and taught military
science and tactics at St. Lawrence in 1959-60.
He earned his MBA at
NYUandbeganhiscareer
as an investment officer.
He was a senior invest-
ment officer at theTeach-
ers Insurance & Annuity
Association (TIAA), then
senior vice president at
Republic Funding Corpo-
ration before forming his
own company, Convent
Capital Corp. Also a co-
founder and director of
two satellite communi-
cation companies, he enjoyed golf, boating and
church work, and in 1985 was guest conductor of
the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra.
He was a trustee of St. Lawrence in 1983 to 1995.
He also served on the Alumni Council, as an alum-
ni club officer in New Jersey and as a telethon
volunteer. He was a member of the President’s As-
sociates, helped fund the Tregenza-Keller Schol-
arship and provided the furnishings in the Gulick
Theatre lobby in honor of the graduation of his
daughter, Suzanne Tregenza Moore ’94. Other
survivors include his wife, Alyce; a son, Norman;
and grandchildren, nieces and nephews.