Obituaries

Please alert us to the recent death of any other Rhodes Scholar by emailing communications@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk.

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Laurence was a successful antitrust and apellate lawyer and former chairman of the Heller Ehrman law firm in San Francisco. He studied Jurisprudence whilst a Rhodes Scholar and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1962. He served on several boards including the Board of the Jewish Home for the Aged and as an adjunct professor of antitrust at Golden Gate University School Law School.

A native of Kansas, Ontjes attended medical school at Harvard, following a Rhodes Scholarship. He completed residency training at Boston City Hospital and a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, before joining the UNC School of Medicine faculty in 1969.

Stuart Bondurant, MD, former UNC School of Medicine Dean, recruited Ontjes to Chapel Hill.

“David Ontjes was a thoughtful and considerate man and an outstanding clinician, investigator and teacher. He guided the department of medicine and helped to guide the medical center to its current outstanding state,” Bondurant said.

A Distinguished Professor and former Medicine Chair, Dr. Ontjes encouraged and vigorously supported collaborations within the School of Medicine, leaving behind a legacy of contributions.

“Dr. David Ontjes embodied the spirit of collegiality that is the hallmark of our institution,” said Department of Medicine Chairman Dr. Ron Falk.

To recognize these contributions to the Department of Medicine, an intern is annually selected to receive the Ontjes Resident Award. Criteria include excellence in research and academics as well as outstanding service to others. At the recent 2017 Residents Award Ceremony, four residents were acknowledged for their performance and qualities that best exemplify the legacy of Dr. Ontjes.

“Dr. Ontjes participated in the education of countless medical students, residents and fellows,” said Andrew Greganti, MD. “He also recruited and helped mentor many faculty members. I know that he would say his involvement in the professional and personal development of physicians was a highlight of his career.”

The legacy of Dr. Ontjes is also celebrated throughout the year with the Ontjes Resident as Teacher lectures on effective teaching methods, lifelong learning, and other topics related to medical education. These lectures are made possible by a fund that was endowed by Dr. Ontjes.

George Rogers

(Mississippi & Balliol 1949) (5 April 1927 – May 2017)

Augustus Blagden Kinsolving graduated from Episcopal High School, Philips Exeter Academy, Yale College, Oxford University-Christ Church (as a Rhodes Scholar), and Harvard Law School. He worked as an attorney, starting at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, continuing with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, and devoting the majority of his career to the American Smelting and Refining Company ("ASARCO") as attorney and general counsel. For many years, he was a member of, and led, the committee for the selection of American Rhodes Scholars.

We are saddened by the news of Allan Mellish's passing. He came up to Oxford in 1948 to study engineering and geology.

We are saddened by the news of François' passing. He came to Oxford in 1962 to study Clinical Medicine.

Born in 1926 in Texas, Frederick came up to Oxford in 1948. Afterwards, he gained an MA and Phd in English Literature at Harvard University. Before starting his teaching career in 1953 at Cornell University, he served in the US Army working in counterintelligence. In 1955 to 1991, he was professor of English at Indiana University of Bloomington, He specialised in 19^th century British romantic literature and authored several books.

Richard was born in Spokane, WA, and he graduated from Washington State University in 1955 and went onto read PPE as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. From 1958 to 1960, he spent two years in the U.S army followed by being Foreign Service Officer in the State Department. The highlight of Richard’s career were his three tours in Saigon, Vietnam, in which his final tour ended when he was evacuated by helicopter from the U.S Embassy roof to escape the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. Furthermore, he participated in the Vietnam peace talks in Paris, 1972 to 1973, and he supported the negotiations for the release of American hostages in Iran when working at the Embassy in Algiers, 1980 to 1982. Afterwards, Richard worked for 12 years at the American Foreign Service Association. He also gained a Master’s degree in Government from Georgetown University in 1978.

Jim studied PPE as a Rhodes Scholar and afterwards started his career as the Trade Commissioner Service of the Canadian Government. Following this he spent 10 years working abroad in places such as Guatemala, India and Chile. His career developed through many roles including being Senior Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet during the dynamic and often raucous Pierre Trudeau years. Later on he became the Canadian Ambassador to Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.