GS Class of 1976

William C. Watterson ’76 PhD, of Brunswick, Me.; May 1. He joined the English department of Bowdoin as an assistant professor in 1976. He was promoted to associate professor in 1983, full professor in 1992, and in 1999 was named the Edward Little Professor of English Language and Literature. He was the author of two books of poetry, numerous reviews, and articles in journals that included the Milton Quarterly, The Virginia Quarterly Review, and the Bowdoin Alumni Magazine. His poetry has appeared in The New Yorker, Poetry, The Kenyon Review, The Sewanee Review, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. For several years he was a judge for the Longfellow Prize for poetry in Maine and he was a trustee of the New York School of Interior Design from 1983 to 1990. He is survived by a brother and several nieces and nephews.

Paul B. Jenison ’76 AM, of Redding, Conn.; Dec. 10. He went on to earn his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and had a career as a financial consultant. He was executive director of UBS Investment Banking and senior managing director of Jenison Financial LLC. He is survived by three children. 

Russell Kirkland ’76, ’76 AM, of Augusta, Ga.; May 31. He taught at the University of Rochester, University of Missouri, Stanford University, Oberlin College, and Macalester College. In 1994, he began a career as a professor at the University of Georgia in the religious studies department. In 2012, he had a stroke that ended his teaching career, and he accepted his disability retirement in 2014. He enjoyed walking through the neighborhood and by the river a few blocks away. He also had a passion for sports, especially the Atlanta Braves and the Georgia Bulldogs. He is survived by a brother, an aunt, and a niece. 

Henry “Nick” Hanson Jr. ’76 PhD, of Charlottesville, Va., formerly of New York; Feb. 13. While studying at Brown, he met his future wife. After graduation, they were married and he began teaching at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. After two years, he accepted a teaching position at Manhattan College (N.Y.) and spent summers studying finance at NYU. He was hired as a quantitative analyst at Kidder, Peabody & Co. and at Salomon Brothers, where he was promoted to vice president of derivative and quantitative research. He worked for investment firms until his retirement in 1996, when he moved to Charlottesville but continued his interest in the stock market. He is survived by his wife, Janice Rogers ’74 ScM; his mother-in-law; a sister; a sister-in-law; a brother; and two brothers-in-law.

Jeng-Eng Lin ’76 PhD, of Los Osos, Calif.; May 20, of complications of lymphoma. He was a professor at George Mason University for 33 years. During those years he spent many hours in community service donating his time to strengthen Chinese American and underprivileged communities. Upon retirement, he continued to do research. He is survived by his wife, Shu-Ping; two children and their spouses; and five grandchildren.

Shan Shih ’76 PhD, of Troy, Mich.; Nov. 12, of an infection while receiving treatment for bladder cancer. He worked for Rockwell Automotive/Arvin Meritor as principal engineer, chief engineer, and engineering director for 26 years. He also taught at Lawrence Technological University for eight years as an adjunct professor. He enjoyed developing computer simulation programs of automotive mechanical systems, as well as mountain climbing, hiking, and traveling. He is survived by his wife, Carey; two sons; and four grandchildren.

Joel S. Silverberg ’63, ’70 ScM, ’76 PhD, of Providence; Aug. 11, of lymphoma. After earning degrees in music, electrical engineering, and biomedical engineering, he received a postdoctoral certificate from the Institute for Retraining in Computer Science and held faculty positions at Vassar College, Boston University, Roger Williams University, and Brown. In retirement he pursued his long-standing fascination for navigational mathematics and the practical mathematics of the 17th and 18th centuries, writing several papers and conference presentations. He enjoyed singing and playing several instruments. He was an avid sailor and liked birding. He is survived by his wife, Patricia Brennan ’75; a daughter; a sister; and a niece and nephew.

Gale H. Closter Nigrosh ’76 AM, ’85 PhD, of Worcester, Mass.; Nov. 1, from complications of pneumonia and MS. She taught French and linguistics at Clark University for 20 years. When she could no longer stand in front of a classroom, she became coordinator of programs linking public schools to many colleges and universities in the area. That career lasted 25 years. She is survived by her husband, Bob; her mother; a daughter; a son; a granddaughter; a brother and sister-in-law; and a nephew.

Marlene C. Browne ’73 AM, ’76 PhD, of Mitchellville, Md.; Dec. 1. She was an English teacher at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis and retired in 2009 as director of the Writing Center. She was an accomplished violinist and played in various local concert symphonies. She is survived by a brother, a sister-in- law, and several nieces and nephews.

Robert A. Seelinger ’76 AM, of Fulton, Mo.; Sept. 22, of pancreatic cancer. He taught Latin and classics at Westminster College. From 1999 to 2005 he served as dean of the faculty and vice president of the college. He is survived by his wife, Cathy; a son; a sister; and three nephews.