GS Class of 1977

Dan C. DeBorde ’77 PhD, of Missoula, Mont.; Jan. 17. After serving in the U.S. Army during Vietnam, he graduated from Brown and taught at UCLA. After completing his post-doc at the University of Michigan, he moved to Missoula and he began a job teaching and researching microbiology and virology at the University of Montana before cofounding Endo Biologics Inc. He enjoyed making up stories, camping, fly-fishing, reading, and taking nature photos. He is survived by his wife, Kala Conway; two children; three grandchildren; a sister; and a brother.

Gordon J. Fine ’77 AM, of San Francisco; Nov. 3, of cancer. He graduated from George Washington University Law School and had a 30-year legal career. He was active in the American Decorative Arts Forum and enjoyed collecting antiques. He is survived by three brothers and sisters-in-law, and seven nieces and nephews. 

Kathleen Bragdon-Brown ’77 AM, ’81 PhD, of Williamsburg, Va.; Jun. 29. Following adjunct appointments at MIT and George Washington University, she joined the faculty at the College of William & Mary in 1990 and subsequently chaired the department of anthropology from 2010 to 2015. She was a scholar of the history and culture of Indigenous peoples in New England and a leading expert on the written form of Algonquian languages in the region. Her published works include Native People of Southern New England, 1500-1650, which won the American Society for Ethnohistory’s Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin Prize for best book of the year; Native People of Southern New England, 1650-1775; The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Northeast; and Native Writings in Massachusetts. She enjoyed decorating, gardening, and reading crime novels. She is survived by her husband, Marley R. Brown III ’69, ’87 PhD; a son; and two brothers. 

Juliet Jussaume Lapointe ’77 AM, of Fall River, Mass.; Sept. 25. She was a retired teacher, a 20-year Eucharistic minister, and a pianist for the former North End Senior Center Whippoorwills. She is survived by five daughters, four sons-in-law, two sons, a daughter-in-law, 10 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren. 

Oldegard Wahnon ’77 AM, of Philadelphia; Nov. 1. He was a third and fourth grade teacher in the Providence, R.I., school district for more than 30 years. He is survived by his wife, Maria; three children, including Sandra Wahnon Lopes ’89 and Carla Wahnon ’91; a grandchild; and four siblings.

Stuart H. Zamlong ’72 ScM, ’77 PhD, of Clifton Park, N.Y.; Jan. 15. He taught math at several universities and worked in the financial services division of New York State before becoming certified as an actuary. He enjoyed playing checkers and chess and was an avid Yankees fan. He is survived by a brother and nieces and nephews.

Bruce P. Sparks ’77 MAT, of North Haven, Conn.; Nov. 20. He was a high school English teacher and had a career in the printing industry at the former Columbia Press, Herlin Press, and Keno Graphic Services. He enjoyed literature, music, and fishing. He is survived by his wife, Debbie, and many nieces and nephews.

Kathleen Roy Cummings ’77 AM, of Chicago; Dec. 15. She taught architectural history at Northwestern University, lectured at the Art Institute of Chicago, and authored books and articles about Chicago architecture. She enjoyed visiting and walking through the National Parks and sitting on Lake Michigan beach reading a book. She is survived by her husband, Dan, and two daughters.

Ruth H. Pater ’77 PhD, of Bethesda; formerly of Yorktown, Va.,  and Windsor, Conn.; June 27. She taught undergraduate chemistry at Southeastern Massachusetts University and did postdoctoral work at Brown before entering the private sector as a chemist at United Technologies Research Center in Hartford, Conn. In 1980, she joined NASA as a senior polymer scientist, first at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and then at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., where she worked until her retirement in 2013. During her tenure with NASA she achieved global recognition and in 1981 the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering chose a paper she had coauthored on epoxy resins as its paper of the year. She was the recipient of numerous awards, including the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, the 2005 NASA Commercial Invention of the Year Award, and a Floyd L. Thompson Fellowship to conduct research at the Tokyo Institute of Technology for a year. In addition she held more than 20 U.S. and foreign patents. She enjoyed gardening, cooking, hiking in Shenandoah National Park, and listening to opera. She is survived by three daughters, seven grandchildren, a sister, and two brothers. 

Thomas Souza ’77 MAT, of Norwood, Mass.; May 18. He was fortunate to have traveled the world through his many years of work as a travel executive but enjoyed being on the deck of his house on Cape Cod the best. He is survived by two children, a sister and brother-in-law, and three brothers and sisters-in-law.

Lois Palken Rudnick ’77 PhD, of Santa Fe, N.Mex.; June 6, of multiple myeloma. A graduate of both Brown and Tufts, she taught at UMass Boston and chaired its American studies program for 25 years. She had a fierce drive to build a more equitable society through teaching, advocacy, and activism. She was a believer in the power of people to make it in this country and do better, and while teaching a class on immigration issues, she took her class on a field trip to the Statue of Liberty to help students visualize the feeling of entering a new world. Past students remember her singing and dressing up to teach. After moving to New Mexico, she immersed herself in the culture and became a driving force of Interfaith Coalition for Public Education in Santa Fe. She was fascinated by Mabel Dodge Luhan and authored several books, including The Suppressed Memoirs of Mabel Dodge Luhan. In addition to being a community activist, an author, and a teacher, she in recent years began channeling the spirited power of Wonder Woman, including wearing a Wonder Woman bracelet and robe. She continually pushed to empower others. She is survived by her husband, Steven; daughter Deborah Rudnick ’94; a granddaughter; a sister and brother-in-law; and a brother and sister-in-law.

Robert J. Brinkmann ’77 AM, of Easton, Md.; Feb. 12. He graduated from Loyola Law School, Loyola Marymount University in 1980, and practiced law. He is survived by his wife, Lisa; three children; and three sisters.

Aida M. Botelho ’77 AM, of Fall River, Mass.; Nov. 6. She taught in the Providence school system for 36 years and dedicated her life to caring for her parents and siblings. She is survived by a sister and many cousins.