IN MEMORIAM
W. Allen Stafford ’63
 Al
Stafford, a Navy fighter pilot who spent five-and-a-half years
as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, died December 28, 2003,
of cancer. He was 66.
Beginning in 1964, Lt. Cmdr. Stafford did three tours in Vietnam—one
flying bombing missions from aircraft carriers, another as a
forward air observer directing air strikes from the ground in
South Vietnam, and a third as an adviser to the surface fleet
from aboard amphibious vessels. Of all his tours of duty, he
preferred flying.
“Al was a great American,” remarked Glen Shipway
’65, a College trustee and former classmate of Stafford’s,
“a bona fide American hero. He was somebody who deserved
to live to be 95 and die in his sleep. He already lost nearly
six years to imprisonment.”
He spent the first years of his life in North Carolina with
his grandparents. When he was ten, he joined his brother Emory
and his mother and stepfather in Cambridge, MD, where he developed
a lifelong passion for sailing. His love of the sea and desire
to fly airplanes enticed him to join the Navy in September 1955.
In 1960, he separated from the Navy to attend Washington College.
He returned to active duty in August 1962.
Stafford’s Skyhawk single-engine plane was shot down over
the port city of Hai Phong August 31, 1967. Despite barbaric
treatment, he and his fellow captors survived by their wits:
keeping the lines of communication open between the POWS through
tap code and sign language, memorizing meticulous records of
every American pilot who was shot down and where he was being
held; and conducting lessons in languages, literature, physics
and philosophy. At the “Hanoi Hilton,” with its
smooth concrete floors serving as chalkboards, prisoners appointed
“deans” in each room who developed curricula of
study.
With the end of the war, Stafford was released March 15, 1973,
and began the road to recovery. He served out the remainder
of his Navy career in Pensacola, commanding a survival school
there. Stafford, who had studied at St. John’s College
in Annapolis and at Washington College before returning to active
duty, finished his college degree in sociological disciplines
at the University of West Pensacola. He bought a sailboat and
an old pick-up truck—pursuits he had dreamed of while
in captivity.
Throughout his retirement he and his wife, Sheryl, made several
voyages to the Bahamas aboard “Fiddler’s Green.”
Over the years, he represented the Pensacola Navy Yacht Club
in countless races and was well-known by area sailors. He made
frequent pilgrimages to visit family and friends—always
driving. Even more than jumping out of a perfectly good airplane,
he hated to fly with someone else in the cockpit.
In addition to his wife and brother, Stafford is survived by
his son Jeffrey, his stepdaughter Amani, and a brotherhood of
former POWs.
“We had been in better places,”
Stafford once remarked of this brotherhood, “but never
in better company.”
Madeline Howell
Madeline Howell, one of Washington College’s longest-serving
employees, died February 3, 2004. Howell’s career as secretary
in the Dean’s Office spanned 47 years and 19 deans. When
she retired in 2003, a community of former and current colleagues
and friends gathered to recognize her for her exceptionally
loyal and effective service. “For two generations of faculty
Madeline was the firm and reliable rock in the Dean’s
Office, loved and respected for her fairness, her discretion,
and her unflappable good humor,” remarked Joachim Scholz,
Provost and Dean of the College. “Madeline will be greatly
missed by all of us.”
Simon Matthew Hultman, Class of 2003
Simon Hultman was always asking questions. An international
studies major with a concentration in East Asian studies, Hultman
demonstrated an intense intellectual curiosity about the world
and a spirit of adventure that took him to Japan and, last fall,
to Hungary. He died January 26, 2004, after a serious illness.
He was 22.
Hultman had been fascinated by Japanese culture as a child growing
up in Hawaii, and into his young adulthood “loved all
things Japanese,” remembers Tahir Shad, his faculty adviser.
He spent his sophomore year studying in Japan. At Meiji Gakuin
University in Yokohama, Hultman was part of a circle of international
students studying Japanese politics, language and culture. During
the long semester break, he was able to travel extensively around
the country.
 His
study abroad experience helped Simon crystallize what he wanted
to do—to live and work in Japan. After graduation, he
had hoped to teach in the JET Program (teaching English as a
foreign language in Japan) and eventually go on to graduate
school for Japanese studies. He had recently completed intensive
language instruction in Japanese at Middlebury College.
Working with Professor Andrew Oros, Hultman was writing his
senior thesis on Japanese foreign policy. He also was involved
in planning and editing the inaugural International Studies
Review, a publication featuring the work of undergraduates and
graduates and expected to be published this year.
As an international studies major, Hultman participated in the
Model United Nations at Magill University in Montreal and the
Security Council Simulation at Yale University. He was scheduled
to take part in the Model UN again, when he fell ill. This past
fall semester, Hultman became the first Washington College student
to study at the University of Pecs in Hungary.
On campus, Hultman distinguished himself as a generous, funny
and loyal friend to many in the Washington College community,
especially to those international students who are far from
their homes. He was a member of the International Relations
Club and the International Studies Council.
Washington College is seeking to raise money in Hultman’s
name to support travel opportunities for international studies
majors. To contribute, contact Professor Tahir Shad at (410)
778-7779 or
e-mail him at tshad2@washcoll.edu.
Charles B. Clark, Sr. ’34, a former professor
of history and political science, former men’s lacrosse
coach, academic leader, and trustee emeritus of Washington College,
died December 11, 2003, at the age of 90. Dr. Clark headed the
College’s history and political science programs and was
Dean of Men for ten years (1946-1956). He later taught at Monmouth
College in New Jersey (1957-1960), Upper Iowa University (1960-1978,
where he was Acting President in 1977-78), and Salisbury State
College, where he retired as chair of the history department
in 1984. He is the author of a two-volume political, economic
and cultural study, The Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia.
A member of the College’s Athletic Hall of Fame and the
National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, he is credited with reviving
the Washington College lacrosse program, which achieved national
recognition under his direction. See story.
Archie Morrison ’39 died October 27,
2003.
William I. Jones ’43 died November 10,
2003. He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the Army
as a medic. He worked for 28 years at Fort Detrick as a research
biochemist and for 14 years with the Frederick Cancer Center.
Jones was a member of St. John’s Roman Catholic Church,
Knights of Columbus, the Literacy Council of Frederick County
and AARP.
William Wright ’54 died December 4, 2003.
William served in Korea from 1954 to 1956. He became an expert
in nuclear blast effects at the Ballistics Research Laboratory
at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Department of the Army. After 40
years of service, he retired and founded Environmental Vibrations
Evaluations, a contracting firm for the Department of Defense.
He was a member of the American Legion, the Loyal Order of Moose
and the Republican Party.
David Leap ’60 died September 20, 2003.
Elizabeth Henry Mumford Ames ’65 died
November 13, 2003. After graduating, she taught at Broadwater
Academy and later served on its Board of Directors. She was
past president of the Garden Club of the Eastern Shore, a member
of the auxiliary of Shore Memorial Hospital and a member of
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Berlin and St. James Episcopal
Church of Accomac.
Victoria Colgan ’70 died after waging
a six-year battle with lung cancer. After earning her degree
in English and French literature, she became a systems analyst
and applications manager for the University of Maryland’s
Health Sciences Computer Center. She moved on to Levi Strauss
& Co. as a production engineer and then to Wells Fargo Bank
where she oversaw the bank’s retirement plan division
as senior vice president. She started her own consulting business
in 1993. Colgan became a memorable figure in the community and
contributed her writing and editing talents to the Noe Valley
Voice in San Francisco.
Tamera Schauber Laursen ’88, who worked
for Washington College as a counselor and For All Seasons Inc.
as a social worker, died December 6, 2003, at her parents’
home in Chestertown. Laursen was an early admission student
at Washington College where she received a bachelor of arts
degree. She was a member of the crew team and was inducted into
the Washington College Hall of Fame for athletic ability in
volleyball. She received a master’s degree from the University
of Maryland in social work. Her interests included gardening,
horses and sports. Among her survivors are her husband, Mark
Laursen, formerly head athletic trainer at the College, and
her mother, Betty Schauber, a nurse in the College’s health
services for many years.
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