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Frei dynasty
My husband’s father, Henry Richard Frei, along with his brother (Walter) and sisters (Clara and Katherine) all graduated from Cornell in the 1900s. Henry Richard Frei’s children: my husband, Bill Frei ’54, and his sisters, Pat Frei Hoar ’50 and Clara Frei Frangquist ’57.
Bill and I (Shirley Knox Frei ’ 55) have four children who graduated from Cornell: Tom Frei '82, John Frei ’84, Mary Frei ’87, and Sarah
Jane Frei Pace '89.
Then there were the Loepp brothers, sons of Mildred Frei Loepp (who
attended Northwestern University): Richard Loepp ’42, Don Loepp ’43, and Paul Loepp ’43.
Lastly were the Bieber cousins of Dick, Walt, Clara, and Katherine Frei. All of the Biebers (Warren, Robert, Leonard, Paul, Margaret,and Katherine) were graduated from Cornell in the 1920s and 1930s.
Shirley Knox Frei ’55
Reinbeck, Iowa
Bowman dynasty
A dynasty was extended to the fifth generation this fall when Elizabeth Leslie Bowman entered with the class of 2005. Her Cornell lineage: great-great-grandfather J.A. Prichard 1885 and great-great-grandmother Ella Gilmore Tabor (who took a course for teaching in the
1880s); great-grandfather Willard Clark Stewart ’30; grandfather Roger Tabor Stewart ’51 and grandmother Jennie Prichard Stewart
’51; mother Deborah Stewart Bowman ’74 and uncle Michael Roger
Stewart ’77.
Other relatives: cousin Paul Tabor ’72 and Martha Meredith Tabor ’70; cousin Anne Tabor ’74; great-great-aunt Shirley Barkland
Tabor ’50 and great-great uncle Denny Tabor ’47; and great-great-aunt Mary Jane Tabor Proctor ’51.
I am sure there probably will be more along the way. Poor Liz has one blot—her father graduated from Coe (1975). Everyone has one dark secret.
Deborah Stewart Bowman ’74
Monticello, Iowa
Brubaker dynasty
I graduated in 1998, my husband is Andy Ehresman ’96, my mother is Beth Johnson Brubaker ’61, and my father is Dick Brubaker ’55. My father serves as a member of the Cornell Board of Trustees. I also had
an uncle, Bob Didelot ’65.
Elizabeth Brubaker Ehresman '98
Arlington Heights, Ill.
Byas dynasty
My father, Bob Byas ’44, attended Cornell in the early 40s. I believe he started in 1940 and attended until he went into the service. My brother is Bill Byas ’73. I graduated in 1982.
Lori Byas Denes ’82
Kansas City, Mo.
Bayles dynasty
My father is the late Winthrop Aaron Olmsted ’21. I graduated in 1946. Our son is Thomas Lloyd Bayles ’73. We’re all proud graduates of Cornell College with many happy memories of the beauty of the campus and our years there.
Betty Olmsted Bayles ’46
Harpursville, N.Y.
Hutchins dynasty
Our son, Christopher Boyd Hutchins ’04, is a third-generation Cornellian. His grandparents: Donald Demont Hutchins ’43 and
Doris Ruby Borema Hutchins ’43. Don was the quarterback in 1942 and ’43 under Coach Scott. He graduated early in 1944 to serve as an officer in WWII. Doris majored in geology and was homecoming queen in 1942. They did not meet at school but during a Cornell-sponsored geology fieldwork in Dubois, Wyo. They named their eldest son, Donald Scott, after Coach Scott. Donald attended Cornell in 1967-68.
When Doris passed away, Don donated two geology specimen display cabinets which are dedicated to Doris and in use in Norton Geology Center. Don remarried M. Kay Blandford Hutchins and they attended
the class of 1944 50th reunion in 1994.
Nancy Long Hutchins
Harvard, Ill.
Minish dynasty
I was the third generaion of my family to graduate from Cornell. My great-uncle and great-aunt were Edward Wilson 1892 and Mary Webb Wilson 1892. My two uncles and their wives also were graduates: Homer W. Minish ’04, who became a Methodist minister, and his
wife, Katherine Cheney Minish ’05; Burton S. Minish ’11, and his wife, Lucy Bryant Minish ’11; and Clifford Minish, who attended the Cornell Academy (prep school) I suppose in the early 1900s.
Edward and Mary became Methodist missionaries in Chile and Puerto Rico.
Jean Minish Stoner ’ 41
Mount Vernon, Iowa
Rhoads dynasty
Doug Rhoads ’89 and Mark Rhoads ’86 have parents that attended Cornell: Donald C. Rhoads ’60 and Christy Kramer Rhoads ’60. Christy’s mother is Grace Kidder Kramer ’28 and her grandfather was James Kidder 1886, who graduated 100 years before Mark. Donald’s father was Alton Jennings Rhoads ’36 and his uncle was Mervin Rhoads ’40. I remember raking leaves in Mount Vernon for Doug’s
great-aunt, who was also a Cornellian. I believe she also had brothers or sisters who were Cornellians. Thanks for the fascinating article.
Jill Ashley-Grochowski ’89
Golden Valley, Minn.
Hoeft dynasty
We may have the start of a dynasty. Erwin Hoeft ’59 and Bev Barker Hoeft ’61 have a daughter, Linda Hoeft Koltes ’92, who married Troy
Koltes ’91. Troy’s sister is Tamber Koltes Sherman ’89.
Erwin Hoeft ’59
Hot Springs, Ark.
Little dynasty
I’m writing to express my delight on your feature on dynasties at Cornell. Finally the college is recognizing there is such a thing.
You invited accounts of others. My grandfather was Fred H. Henry 1886. My Grandmother Little moved to Mount Vernon in the early 1900s with her two daughters and son because her husband died suddenly on a farm in Illinois. Over the years she got acquainted with most of the administrative staff and professors. She lived just off-campus and was something of an institution and a “wheel” in the Mount Vernon Methodist Church.
My mother and father (Naomi Henry Little ’17 and W.D. Little ’14), aunts and uncles (M.J. Hickman ’25, Helen Little Hickman ’25, and Mary E. Little ’10 ), sister (Margaret Little Ely ’52), and cousins were all Cornellians. When our daughter was born in 1953, I hastened to have her enrolled in the Wee C Club. That was abolished later in the
1950s and we were dropped like “hot potatoes.”
My grandfather made a sizable contribution toward the building of Pfeiffer and my mother cut the ribbon at its opening. She was president of the Alumni Association. They were members of the Heritage Club and left a significant amount in their will.
My sister and I have six kids—all of whom went to college. Neither they nor we were contacted by Cornell. So, any on-campus dynasty was terminated by the college.
Henry Edwin Little ’47
San Diego,Calif.
Cornell continued the Wee C Club off and on over the years, reinstituting it about 10 years ago.
–The editor
Putnam dynasty
My mother had five brothers, four of whom, I’m fairly sure, went to Cornell: Irving Putnam ’05 and Charles Putnam ’07, who became Methodist ministers; Leslie Putnam ’10 (wife Neva Vey Smith Putnam ’12), who became a music professor; and possibly Clyde Putnam. Charles had four children who are Cornellians: Philip Cornell Putnam ’34, Pearl Putnam McKelvey ’37, Paul Putnam ’38, and Phyllis Putnam Minard ’46. I was a niece of the four brothers.
Merle Irish Biggs ’38
Denver, Colo.
Efforts were made to research, verify, and expand the lineage of
these Cornell dynasty families.
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