Completed Careers

Richard Kennedy ’65, former president of the WPI Alumni Association, passed away on May 14, 2021.

As a WPI student, he was member of Phi Kappa Theta fraternity and was active in baseball, Newspeak, the Newman Club, and Pi Delta Epsilon honor society. After earning his BS in mechanical engineering, he began his career at IBM and then joined Norton Company in Worcester (later a division of Saint-Gobain), retiring as vice president of its abrasives marketing group.

He subsequently consulted for Frank Lynn & Associates of Chicago and later became president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. He also consulted for the Worcester Business Development Corporation, the Benefits Development Group, and Sunshine Sign, in addition to serving on the board of the L. S. Starrett Company for over 25 years.

A champion for the city of Worcester, he devoted his professional and personal energy to any effort that strengthened the city. He was also a loyal volunteer for WPI, serving as president of the WPI Alumni Association Board of Directors and an active member of the Class of 1965 Reunion Committee. His dedicated support for his alma mater earned him the Herbert F. Taylor Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to WPI.

He leaves Mary Ann, his wife of 52 years, son Richard Kennedy II, daughter Elizabeth DeHoratius, a sister, and three brothers.

Gordon Lankton, an emeritus trustee and generous supporter of the university, a plastics entrepreneur, and the founder of the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Mass., died March 7, 2021, at the age of 89.

Lankton served on WPI’s Board of Trustees for more than two decades and generously shared his time, experience, and insights about people and education with the university. He and his wife, Janet, became dedicated WPI supporters, donating to the Rubin Campus Center and the Management Department, and supporting WPI’s areas of greatest need.

He was also instrumental in the establishment of WPI’s Moscow Project Center in 2013. Based on the campus of Financial University, the center provides opportunities for students to be immersed in Russian life through interaction with local students and to learn the Russian language and experience Russian culture through visits to the circus, the theatre, museums, and religious sites as they also work on projects of consequence to local communities and organizations.

The Lanktons became members of WPI’s Founders Society, recognizing those who achieve lifetime giving of $100,000 or more, and the Alden Society, for those who have established planned or endowed gifts with the university.

He was well known for his leadership of Nypro Inc. in Clinton, Mass, a manufacturer of precision injection-molded plastic components for a wide range of products. He grew the company to a billion-dollar global enterprise with tens of thousands of employees and plants all over the world.

Lankton earned his undergraduate degree in engineering at Cornell University, where he served as student council president, was involved in Beta Theta Pi fraternity, and traveled to Japan for the Japanese-American Student Alliance. He served in the U.S. Army Intelligence Department in Frankfurt, Germany, for two years, followed by a nine-month motorcycle trip through Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Japan.

He leaves Janet; daughters Susan, Karen, and, Lauren; sister Janice; and seven grandchildren.

George C. Messenger ’51, a pioneer in electrical engineering and a generous WPI benefactor, passed away on March 14, 2021. He was 90.

He received a BS in physics from WPI, a master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD in engineering from California Coast University. WPI awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Engineering degree in 2009.

Messenger was widely known for his discovery of the Messenger-Spratt Equation, which describes the effects of neutron radiation on bipolar devices, and the Kirk Effect, an apparent increase in the width of the base of bipolar transistors that occurs at high injection levels and current densities. He also contributed to the development of the EKG and the hardening of circuits for the atomic clocks in GPS satellites.

His achievements earned him the Alan Berman Research Publication Award for his cancer-fighting research at the Naval Research Laboratory and the Peter Haas Award for outstanding technical contributions to hardened military and space systems. Co-author of The Effects of Radiation on Electronic Systems, considered the definitive work in the field, he was elected a life fellow by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for his contributions to advances in semiconductor technology.

With his wife, Priscilla, he generously supported several major WPI initiatives. In addition to establishing the George and Priscilla Messenger Endowed Scholarship, the couple consistently supported WPI’s Areas of Greatest Need fund and WPI athletics. In 2018 the Messenger Residence Hall was named in honor of their lifelong giving.

“WPI provided me with a scholarship that—combined with outside jobs—enabled me to complete my studies,” he said during a 2014 visit to campus. “I got so much help from so many people, and I am trying to pay it back.”

Messenger is survived by Priscilla, his wife of 66 years, three children, six grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

Harry W. Tenney Jr. ’56, WPI Alumni Association Board Member Harry W. Tenney Jr. ’56, whose tenure on the WPI Alumni Association board coincided with the revitalization of the Student Alumni Society, the founding of the WPI Athletic Hall of Fame, and the first $1 million year for alumni contributions, passed away on Jan. 22, 2021.

Tenney earned a BS in mechanical engineering at WPI, where he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, lettered on the football and lacrosse teams, joined the Varsity Club and the Glee Club, and the student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and was tapped for Skull, the senior honorary society. He also held an MBA from Rutgers University.

After graduation, he served for two years as an engineer for the U.S. Army. In 1958, he began his long career in the plastics industry by joining Dow Chemical’s plastics division in Michigan. He moved on to Celanese Plastics before becoming vice president for marketing at XCEL Corp. and manager of new product development for Allied Signal Corp.

An active alumni volunteer, his service in the WPI Alumni Association included a term as president in 1987-88. His support of his alma mater earned him the Herbert F. Taylor Alumni Award for Service to WPI in 1981. He also served as chairman of the New Jersey chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineers, president of the board of trustees of First Presbyterian Church in Long Branch, N.J., and a director of the YMCA in Asbury Park, N.J.

He leaves two daughters, Jena Anthony and Andrea Katz, and five grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Marcia.

George D’Hemecourt ’40, Weslaco, Texas

Michael Sadick ’40 ME, ALPHA EPSILON PI, Key Biscayne, Fla.

Glennon Hill ’43 ME, ALPHA TAU OMEGA, Hudson, Ohio

Richard Fitts ’45 ME, SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON, Rochester, N.Y.

Charles Morse ’45 CE, SIGMA PHI EPSILON, Annapolis, Md.

Raymond Chafin ’46 CE, Edmond, Okla.

Lawrence Garnett ’47 ME, PHI SIGMA KAPPA, Ventura, Calif.

David Brown ’49 ME, PHI SIGMA KAPPA, Lancaster, Mass.

Paul May ’50 EE, ALPHA TAU OMEGA, Rockport, Mass.

Clayton Roberts ’50 EE, MS EE, THETA CHI, Syracuse, N.Y.

Geneva Warner ’50, Hobe Sound, Fla.

Paul Radasch ’51 CE, SIGMA PHI EPSILON, Midvale, Idaho

Marden Seavey ’51, THETA CHI, Brunswick, Maine

Thomas Mahar ’55 EE, PHI SIGMA KAPPA, Bethesda, Md.

John Nash ’56 CHE, PHI KAPPA THETA, Coldwater, Mich.

Ronald Venezia ’56 CHE, PHI KAPPA THETA, Cary, N.C.

George Crosby ’57 EE, PHI GAMMA DELTA, Lindon, Utah

Robert Agricola ’59 ME, PHI SIGMA KAPPA, Bonita Springs, Fla.

Norman Bolyea ’61 CE, PHI SIGMA KAPPA, Sarasota, Fla.

Michael Economou ’61 ME, Shrewsbury, Mass.

Anthony Carcieri ’62 MS NS, Warwick, R.I.

George Howatt ’62 SIM, Worcester, Mass.

Philip Keenan ’62 CHE, PHI GAMMA DELTA, Easthampton, Mass.

Arthur Goddard ’63 EE, Costa Mesa, Calif.

William Newhall ’63 ME, Norfolk, Mass.

John Lindquist ’64 CHE, TAU KAPPA EPSILON, Greer, S.C.

William Shanok ’64 CH, New York, N.Y.

Edward Falkowski ’65 CHE, SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

David Harris ’65 ME, LAMBDA CHI ALPHA, North Brookfield, Mass.

Antanas Liutkus ’65 ME, PHI SIGMA KAPPA, Augusta, Ga.

Peter Tallman ’67 MA, Louisville, Colo.

Jerry Jasinski ’68 MS NS, Springfield, Vt.

Richard Cormier ’70 SIM, Orwell, Vt.

John Oscarson ’71 CHE, Burnsville, N.C.

John Chipman ’74 EE, SIGMA PI, Fernandina Beach, Fla.

Patricia Salamone ’75 PHY, Alexandria, Va.

Michael Dabkowski ’76 CHE, Mickleton, N.J.

Francis Fountain ’76 SIM, Gilmanton Iron Works, N.H.

Diane Ferrara ’79 MG, Johnston, R.I.

John Haponik ’79 CHE, ALPHA CHI RHO, Somerset, Ky.

Clifton Jones ’81 CE, Burlington, Mass.

Lory Molesky ’81 CS, Nashua, N.H.

Mark Beckwith ’82 EE, Auburn, Mass.

Douglas Henderson ’84 ME, Basking Ridge, N.J.

Stephen Jencks ’84 EE, Merrimack, N.H.

David Pileggi ’84 MBA, Whitinsville, Mass.

Richard Waage ’85 CE, Mesa, Ariz.

Christopher Curtis ’86 ME, Ashland, Mass.

Peter Beale ’87 EE, MS EE, Acton, Mass.

John Shutt ’88 CS, MS CS, PhD CS, Harvard, Mass.

Dorothy Malone ’90 HUA, Westborough, Mass.

George Jussaume ’91 CE, Northborough, Mass.

Thomas Sheehan ’92 EE, Andover, Mass.

Joseph Hamel ’94 CE, Auburn, Mass.

Brian Dolph ’95 MS FPE, Swansea, Mass.

Daniel Watkins ’95 CHE, Saint Johns, Fla.

Jennifer Griffin-Driscoll ’02 MS OIT, MBA, Millbury, Mass.

The WPI community also notes the passing of these friends of the university: Daniel Backman, Karen Verprauskus, and James Wensley. Complete obituaries can usually be found online by searching legacy.com or newspaper websites. WPI Journal will assist classmates in locating additional information. Contact wpijournal@wpi.edu.