ROBERT C. BURGESS ’50 of Palm Desert, Calif., died peacefully March 21 after an 11-year battle with cancer. He was 87. Burgess was born in Los Angeles and attended the Harvard School in North Hollywood, Calif., going on to attend USC and then transferring to CMC, where he graduated with a degree in public administration. Burgess also served in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II, then married Virginia Muir on May 3, 1952. They had three children: Deborah, Chris,and Kimberly. Burgess worked in sales for the Garrett Corp. in Los Angeles as vice president of international sales, spanning a 30-year career. After his wife, Virginia, died in December 1994, he married LaVerne Poncia. Burgess is survived by wife LaVerne; children Deborah (Williamson), Christopher (Jill) Burgess, Kimberly (Demshki); seven grandchildren; and four greatgrandchildren. He is also survived by step-children Nancy Taylor, Karen (Ed) Personius, David (Tami) Poncia; six step grandchildren; and two step great-grandchildren.
GORDON LYLE (“TIGER”) EADE ’51 of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., died Jan. 21. He was 88. Eade was born in Hollywood and grew up in Pasadena. He was in CMC’s first graduating class. Eade’s career comprised jobs all over the world as a business consultant, engineer, accounting system designer, and in tourism and industrial development. Retiring in his early 50s, he taught Modern Portfolio Theory at a local college and authored two books on investing. Eade enjoyed attending and hosting mini-reunions in Lake Havasu for CMC and Scripps Classes of 1951. He is survived by wife Becky; sons John and Ken; and stepson Tim.
MICKEY THIELEN ’53 of Honolulu, Hawaii, died April 12. He was 84. Thielen was a well-known contractor in Honolulu who made a significant mark on the city. He was best known for the national Renaissance Award-winning restoration of the Stangenwald Building and the construction and operation of Maunakea Marketplace. He was senior class president at CMC and a 40-year member of the Lanikai “Park Priques” volleyball hui. He was always ready to take on the establishment, such as fighting the state to keep his restaurant name “The Bank,” which he opened in the old Bishop Street Territorial Savings Bank. More importantly, he mentored many others as they advanced their careers and grew their companies. He made it a priority to provide a work environment where people took pride in their skills and felt a sense of accomplishment. He is survived by wife Cynthia; children Dave, Peter, Laura, and Greg; 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
MICHAEL J. BROWN ’54 of Coronado, Calif., died March 1. He was 83. Born in Los Angeles, he grew up in Sierra Madre and graduated from Flintridge Preparatory School in 1950. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant after serving in the 24th Infantry Division in South Korea in 1955-56. He married NancyMillwee Kent of San Marino, Calif., in 1954 and they had three children. Brown worked in broadcasting, real estate, and the automotive business in partnership with his father, Willet Henry Brown. He served as a vice president of Hillcrest Motor Co., general manager of Brown Broadcasting, and managing member of TBO Realty. He had a particular affinity for broadcasting and the people he worked with in that field, taking great pride in the stations he managed, including KGB-FM in San Diego and KKSF-AM in San Francisco. He was a founder of The Tortugateers of Prado Dam at CMC. He was also a member of the Los Angeles Country Club, Beverly Hills Junior Chamber of Commerce, and Scandia’s Club of Vikings. Brown is preceded in death by his first wife, Nancy, who died in 2011. He is survived by second wife Margaret Chesebrough of Coronado; children Kent Edwin Brown, Gretchen Huggins Brown, and Stephanie Doyle Brown of Santa Cruz; brother Peter Ransom Brown; sister Patricia Lee Brown; grandchildren Kameny Rose “Pooka” Brown, Ronnie Garcia, and Jeffrey Brown; and four great grandchildren.
RICHARD (DICK) MOORE ’55 of Las Vegas, Nevada, died in December, 2015. He was 82. Dr. Moore was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Brentwood, California. A graduate of CMC, he went on to earn an MBA from UC Berkeley and a Doctorate in Economics at Claremont Graduate University. A noteworthy and innovative educator, Dr. Moore served as President of Santa Monica College for 20 years, President of the College of Southern Nevada for 6 years, and was the Founding President of Nevada State College. As a youngster, he was an active member of the Brentwood Presbyterian Church, an Eagle Scout, and served honorably in the U.S. Army. He credited his passion for teaching to the positive experience he had tutoring one of his CMC roommates! Richard grew up to be a lover of the arts, and had an abiding passion for helping others. All of his life he enjoyed the gift of “intellectual curiosity.” He is survived by his wife of 32 years Susan; son Jeffery; daughters Susan, Jo Ellen, Marti, Elizabeth, Parker; and eight grandchildren.
JAMES L. EMERSON ’62 of Deerfield, Ill., died March 17. He was 76. Emerson was born in Crawfordsville, Ind., to George and Dorothy (Peacock) Emerson. He spent his young childhood in Peoria, Ill., and the family relocated to Long Beach, Calif., when he was 14 years old. He was a National Merit Scholar and graduated from high school with a full scholarship to CMC, graduating with a degree in finance. In 1962, he married Barbara Keating. While he served in the Army, they welcomed daughter Karen and son Michael. The family then moved to California, where Emerson worked for Merrill Lynch. Another move brought them to Tucson, Ariz., where their daughter Beth was born, and shortly afterward, they moved to the Chicago area when Emerson was offered a job with the Chicago Board Options Exchange. After he retired, he worked as an expert witness. He is survived by wife Barbara; daughters Karen Emerson and her husband, Aldo Caronia of Lindenhurst, Ill.; Beth (Emerson) Driscoll and her husband, Kevin; son Michael Emerson and his wife, Maria; and grandsons Cristiano, Paolo, William, and Matthew.
TIBOR R. MACHAN ’65 of Silverado Canyon, Calif., died March 24. He was 77. Born in Budapest, Hungary, he was smuggled out of the country by his father when he was 14 to escape the unrest during the Hungarian Revolution suppressed by the Soviet invasion. Coming to the United States in 1956, he graduated from CMC, going on to earn a master’s in philosophy from New York University and a doctorate from UC Santa Barbara. He had a distinguished academic career teaching at, among other places, Auburn University and the U.S. Military Academy. From 2004-14, he held the R.C. Hoiles Chair in Business Ethics and Free Enterprise at Chapman University. In 1970, with Robert W. Poole, Jr. and Manuel S. Klausner, he bought Reason magazine and helped turn it into a major publication of libertarian thought, advancing its dedication to “free minds and free markets.” He was a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, a research fellow at the Independent Institute, senior fellow at the Heartland Institute, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and an adjunct faculty member of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Machan was a syndicated and freelance columnist as well as author of more than 100 scholarly papers and more than 40 books. He was, until spring 2015, senior contributing editor at The Daily Bell. He sat on the advisory boards for several foundations and think tanks, and served on the founding Board of the Jacob J. Javits Graduate Fellowship Program of the U. S. Department of Education.
JAMES P. LOWER ’65 of Laguna Beach died Feb. 10 at his home. He was 73. Lower was born in Los Angeles to Paul and Emma Lower and grew up in San Marino, Calif. He graduated fromCMC and earned a law degree from Loyola Law School. In 1969, he joined the law firm of Hanna and Morton in Los Angeles as an associate attorney and soon was promoted to partner. Lower served as general counsel for the W.M. Keck Foundation and was a member of its board of directors. He was active in the community as a longtime member of the California Club in Los Angeles, serving as its president and general counsel for several years; was chair of the Loyola Law School Board of Visitors, served on the Board of Overseers of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and as a member of the chair’s council for the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy at Caltech. He is survived by sister Judith Lower; and two Labs, Ezra and Belzie.
MILES HOOD SWARTHOUT ’68 of Arizona died March 2. He was 69. Swarthout was born into a literary family in Michigan. His father, Glendon, wrote 20 novels, nine of which were made into movies. Most notable were “Where the Boys Are,” “Bless the Beasts and Children,” “The Shootist,” and “The Homesman.” Miles wrote the adaptation for “The Shootist,” which was John Wayne’s final movie. He was also the original paid writer on “The Homesman” (uncredited, directed by Tommy Lee Jones co-starring Hilary Swank and Meryl Streep, released in 2014.) His mother, Kathryn, wrote articles for Woman’s Day magazine for 26 years and co-wrote six novellas for young adults with husband Glendon. In 1997, Miles produced and directed “Mulligans!,” starring Tippi Hedren and MarciaRodd. The film was on the international film festival circuit for three years, becoming a hit and winning numerous awards at more than 40 film festivals. In 2003, Miles wrote his first novel, The Sergeant’s Lady, based on a true story of the Army tracking down Geronimo and the Apaches in southern Arizona and Mexico. The book received the Spur Award for a first novel in the Western genre. In 2014, his book The Last Shootist was published. As manager of the Swarthout Literary Estate, he expanded and updated the brand, converting all of Glendon’s books to Kindle. He was preceded in death by father Glendon in 1992 and mother Kathryn in 2015.
TED R PALMER ’56 of Sun City, Arizona died May 21. He was 82. While serving in the US Army in El Paso, Texas, he met and married the love of his life and his best friend, Etoy (Hance). After his career with Farmers Insurance Group as a Claims Manager, which took him from California to Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Michigan, and Colorado, he and Etoy settled in Sun City. From there, he worked as an independent claims adjustor for several more years. Palmer was preceded in death by his parents Stanley Palmer and Mary (Musgrave) Palmer Shepard and his firstborn son Teddy. He is survived by Etoy, sons Brad Palmer and Todd Palmer, and two daughters Kimberly Bilancia and Gina Gaal, ten grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
ROBERT STEPHEN DIAMOND ‘61 of Scottsdale, Arizona passed away June 15 at his home following complications from heart valve surgery. He was 77. After graduating from CMC, Diamond went on to the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Journalism was an early passion. Diamond covered Arizona high school sports for the Los Angeles Examiner as a teenager. After college he was a reporter for the Arizona Republic and writer for the Los Angeles Times. Being hired as one of the youngest staff writers for Fortune, he lived in New York with his wife of 52 years Susan, as he worked for David Rockefeller at Chase then as a top officer of Dun & Bradstreet. Diamond’s broad interests led him to be involved in Reading is Fundamental, where he retired as vice chair; a board member of the Arizona Community Foundation; and as a trustee of the Heard Museum. At CMC, he was an active member of the Kravis Leadership Institute board. “We will remember Bob for his deep and enthusiastic commitment to KLI and our students,” said Jay A. Conger, KLI chair and Henry R. Kravis Chaired Professor of Leadership Studies. “I have many fond memories of his passion for helping our students to become more skillful communicators. Bob will be deeply missed by us all.“ Diamond’s survivors include his wife Susan, brother-in-law Larry Arnsberg, niece Lilli Arnsberg, cousins Rochelle Anne Diamond (Barbara) and Ronald Diamond (Kathryne) and their impressive children and grandchildren.