CL AS S NO TE S


worked for Mathematica Policy Re search, until retirement. She leaves husband Pas - chall, a son, a sister, and two cousins. Marcia Kearney ’78 of Northampton, MA, died July 8. A classics major, she earned a JD from the University of Den ver and joined the law firm of Moye Giles & O’Keefe, later specializing in labor law at the Mountain States Employers Coun cil. She was then a labor counselor for US West Telephone Co. and played a major role in its merger with Qwest Communi ca tions. In 2000 she switched careers to teach English at Boston College High School for six years. Most recently she taught seventh- grade English at New ton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart. She was an avid horsewoman, skier, and motorcyclist. She leaves husband William Hunt, a sister, a brother, and several nieces and nephews. Pamela Lancaster Pettinari ’81 of Mon - roe, MI, died May 3. A phys-ed major, she worked in retail management for Luxot tica Optical for more than 20 years. She toured third-world countries to donate eyeglasses through the company’s Gift of Sight pro- gram. A volunteer for Karmanos Cancer Institute, she oriented new pa tients and helped with the Relay for Life program. She is survived by her husband, David. Rebecca Leef Zelenty ’81 of Bridge water, NJ, died February 28, 2010. A business major, she was a former securities sales rep for Merrill Lynch. She leaves herhusband, Paul, two sons, and her father.


Faculty & Staff Roberta Chramoff, longtime executive secretary to the dean of student affairs, died September 5. Known to legions of Skidmore students as “Ma,” she modeled a strong sense of community for nearly 30 years. She joined Skidmore in 1981 and became a temporary executive aide in the student affairs office. From 1991 to 2007 she was executive secretary. As she told Scope magazine in 2005, “The students are my life, whether it’s stu- dent government leaders, or kids who’ve done something wrong, or kids who need help in any way.” Joe Tolliver, former dean of student affairs, says, “A dean’s office can’t function if it is only seen as a disci- plinary place. Roberta helped create a wel- coming place that was fun and had good dialogue. Her student workers and friends among the student body were a rainbow coalition—a diverse population.” When Tolliver’s office was asked to develop an outdoor-oriented program for new stu- dents, Chramoff helped launch SCOOP, held at Great Camp Saga more in the Adir - ondacks. According to former dean Pat


Oles, “Roberta empathized with the anxi- ety and discomfort students feel when they first leave home for college and liked helping them through the transition.” Former SCOOP coordinator Lily Gedney ’07 remembers, “Roberta had the biggest heart and the best hugs.” She gave stu- dents “a memorable start to every school year, and an on-campus family of which she was our beloved matriarch.” Ross Aresco ’00 adds, “Roberta’s involvement in our lives didn’t end at graduation—she came to our weddings and graduate-school graduations, and met our children.” Predeceased by Joe, her husband of 36 years, Chramoff is survived by Joe’s three daughters, as well as two sisters, four grandchildren, and nieces and nephews. Barbara Eggleston, longtime cashier at the Skidmore Shop, died Sept. 27 at her home in Saratoga Springs; she was 65. She came to the College in 1988 and retired in 2006. According to Barbara Miller Heron, then-director of the Skidmore Shop, “Bar - bara was well known for her generosity to students. She befriended them and often gave them homemade baked goods.” She also kept a bag of dog treats near her checkout station. In addition, she was known as a loving babysitter to a number of children in town. She was featured in the fall 2005 Scope magazine. Eggleston is survived by a son, a brother and sister, two aunts, and several nieces and nephews. Robert Jarvis, former director of the physical plant at Skidmore, died October 23 of complications from cancer. After Navy service in World War II, he graduated from the University of Miami and served in the Army Transportation Corps and the Corps of Engineers, earning several major commendations. He started at Skidmore in 1977 as plant engineer and was named director in 1982. Karl Broekhuizen, former VP for finance and administration, says Jarvis “had an appreciation for the consen- sus-driven academic enterprise.” The Jarvis Pavilion near Skidmore’s Castle Baseball Diamond was named in his honor. After retiring from Skidmore in 1989,


Jarvis was a project manager at Williams College until he became ill last summer. His survivors include his wife, Iola, three daughters and a son, a surrogate daughter, seven grandchildren, four great-grandchil- dren, and two sisters. Tadahisa Kuroda, professor emeritus of history, died August 16; he was 69. A Yale graduate with a PhD from Columbia, he joined Skidmore in 1969. A specialist in early American history, he was selected in 1991 as the Moseley Faculty Research Lec - turer, the highest honor that the faculty


can bestow upon one of its own. In 2001 he was named the first David H. Porter Professor at Skidmore, and in 2004 –05 he won the Ciancio Award for Excel lence in Teaching. Kuroda chaired the task force that developed plans for the new Tang Museum and was on the search committee that brought David Porter to Skid more’s presidency in 1987. From 1993 to 1998, he served as associate dean of the faculty. Porter says, “Tad was a fine scholar and remarkable teacher,” and his input was often sought by campus committees be - cause of “his wisdom and the fact that his view of the College was so comprehensive. People wondered how on earth he did everything he was able to do.” Porter also recalls long conversations with him about baseball, a passion they shared. “Tad was known for his compassion and


integrity, his reasonableness and courage,” says Phyllis Roth, former dean of the facul- ty. She adds that he was also “fabulously well-organized.” At Kuroda’s retirement in 2005, Skidmore VP Susan Kress wrote, “We shall miss every part of his institutional identity: the inspired teaching in classes from LS and History 107 to advanced-level colloquia; the thoughtful and influential scholarship; and the gifted service.” Kuroda is survived by his wife, Akiko, a son and a daughter and their families. Memorial contributions may be made to the Kuroda Symposium Fund, c/o the Advancement Office at Skidmore. Ethel Maria Yarbrough, a Skidmore housekeeper from 1960 to 1976, died August 15; she was 102. A longtime mem- ber of the Mount Olivet Baptist Church of Saratoga Springs, she led the choir and helped launch a youth choir in the late 1950s. The church created the Green-Yar - brough Scholarship Fund in her honor. Predeceased by husband Dallas, a son, a daughter, and a sister, she is survived by a son, two grandchildren, four great-grands, and four great-great-grands, as well as other relatives and many friends.


REMEMBER A FRIEND


Friends of deceased alumni may make contributions in their memories to the Yellow Rose Memorial Fund, Skidmore College, 815 North Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Please include the name of the person being memorialized and, if appropriate, the name and address of a relative to whom the college can send an acknowledgment.


WINTER 2011 SCOPE 67


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