OBITUARIES
S i g o r t a , working as a c o n s u l t a t i v e authority on e n g i n e e r i n g
insurance.
Hüseyin A v n i , a loyal Fenerbahçe fan who loved football,
was an intelligent, kind and loving father and h u s b a n d who
very m u c h enjoyed his h o m e and family life and was very
fond of his daughters, Sümre and Seray. He had just
recently b e c o m e a proud grand-father two m o n t h s ago
w h e n his d a u g h t e r Sümre had a baby boy, E m r e Efe.
His loss was u n e x p e c t e d and he shall be missed
t r e m e n d o u s l y by his family and friends.
Gülten Üstünel RC 73
P a s s e d away on A u g u s t 1, 2 0 0 6
S h e is s u r v i v e d by her mother, sister, nieces and beloved
C o o k i e
Gülten and I grew up in the s a m e n e i g h b o r h o o d . Our
parents knew each other well, but we were at the time only
distantly aware of each other. Our friendship of nearly 40
y e a r s s t a r t e d in one of the taxi's of Tevfik Efendi w h o m
most us would r e m e m b e r well. The last time I saw her, she
was in a deep s l e e p . In a s l e e p that s e e m e d (maybe because
I hoped it to be so) peaceful and full of beautiful d r e a m s .
S h e was watched over affectionately by her beloved niece
Fatoş and life mate S i n a n who never lost their hope until the
very end and who were d e s p e r a t e l y trying to do e v e r y t h i n g
they could to get her back.
Of c o u r s e I will not forget that last day I saw her. J u s t
like I will never forget the many days I've s h a r e d with her.
O u r teen-age years, our talks till d a w n , our innocent
flirtations or rather fantasies over potential candidates, the
e x c i t e m e n t s and the h e a r t a c h e s of y o u t h , and those
inevitable fits of laughter.
I will also r e m e m b e r her brilliant mind, her c o n t a g i o u s ,
crackling laughter that would lift up y o u r spirits no matter
what. A n d of c o u r s e her inescapable d r e a m y eyes which
s e e m e d to pierce into y o u r s as if she wanted to read y o u r
soul.
We were different in so many ways. I was the one who
was in a perpetual state of c h a o s ; y o u couldn't catch her in
a wrinkled shirt or with messy hair. While I would be in pain
w h e n it c a m e to s p e a k my mind, she was always outright
and to the point. If I was the s c a r y m o u s y one when it c a m e
to trying out new things, her c o n f i d e n c e and s e n s e of
a d v e n t u r e would be m o r e than e n o u g h to c a r r y both of us. I
would be inclined to embellish the unpleasant reality with
childish d r e a m s , w h e r e a s she would rather face the facts
and deal with t h e m right there and then.
So how c o m e we got to be so close f r i e n d s ? Thinking
back I believe that in that age of innocence, without even
being aware of it, we just a c c e p t e d and loved each other for
who we were.
M a y b e that's why in spite of many y e a r s of separation
w h e n we got back t o g e t h e r again we had not b e c o m e
s t r a n g e r s to each other. I cannot say we took off from
w h e r e we left but we found each other just as we
r e m e m b e r e d . We had gone through different joys and pains
but basically we had not c h a n g e d for each other.
Now I am again s e p a r a t e d from her and yet just like all
my beloved ones she is still a part of my life. As long as I
live she will live with me just as she will be there for those
she left b e h i n d .
I only wish, oh how I wish, we had just a little more time
to grow old together.
S e n a y Haznedaroğlu RC 73
Berin Karlıbel RC 73
Her brother Aydın Karlıbel
RC 76, wrote: " B e r i n Karlıbel
was born on 13. 7.1954 in
Istanbul. S h e finished the
English High S c h o o l and then
Robert C o l l e g e . S h e later
studied in the Istanbul A c a d e m y l
of E c o n o m i c a l and C o m m e r c i a l I
S c i e n c e s . S h e held several
positions in B o r u s a n Holding
A.Ş.
She was the d a u g h t e r of
Ruhan and Bedri Karlıbel ,the
latter having been the director
of A n a d o l u Klübü (Yacht Club)
and Divan Hotel; and a t e a c h e r
of the Kabataş Erkek Lisesi as
well. Berin s t a r t e d to play the piano with private lessons at
an early age and enrolled in the Municipal C o n s e r v a t o r y .
T h r o u g h her f o r m a t i v e talent and inspiring virtues, she
has had a major influence on the artistic c a r e e r of his
brother Aydın Karlıbel, RC 76. As a y o u n g girl of 12, Berin
had been the subject of two oil paintings by artists Nevzat
K a s m a n and K e m a l Z e r e n . One of her fondest m e m o r i e s of
y o u t h r e m a i n e d her presenting flowers to Farah Diba of Iran
during her visit to Büyükada.
In 1992 she b e c a m e f o u n d e r - p r e s i d e n t of the Yeni Taksim
L i o n s Club. Her e n e r g e t i c activities were a c c l a i m e d and
awarded at the n u m e r o u s local and international f o r u m s she
participated in. She p r o d u c e d several m e m o r a b l e
international classical music events and initiated prize-
winning projects like the L i o n s T V - E u r o p e . She later studied
alternative m e d i c i n e at the N o r b e k o v Institute, recently
established in Istanbul. She was m a r r i e d to Dogan Özrodop
and is s u r v i v e d by his s o n s K a a n (26) and Okan (23), who
both studied L a b o r E c o n o m i c s at M a r m a r a University. Berin
was also fluent in French, A r a b i c and R u s s i a n .
She faced her illness with serenity and fortitude, kept her
angelic smile and g o o d h u m o r right to the end before
passing away on 5.7.2006."
Hüseyin Okuşluk RC 59
Hüseyin was born in
1940 and passed away in
Dec.24, 2 0 0 5 in
G e r m a n y . He joined P r e p 1
as a boarding student in
1951 and b e c a m e a
m e m b e r of a fraternity
group with Cent A r d a n ,
Kürşat Sarıgöl and Ergun
Dinçman. There were 2
other groups called " C u v a l
S p o r " and " P o s t a l S p o r " .
We c h o s e a better n a m e
" A t o m S p o r " which lasted
long y e a r s . N o b o d y could
ever beat us in basketball ! In P r e p 1 and 2 we o c c u p i e d a 4
berth d o r m i t o r y in A n d e r s o n Hall. Hüseyin g r a d u a t e d in
1959 m a r r i e d a G e r m a n , M a r i a n n e and they had a s o n , C a n .
He studied and practiced a r c h i t e c t u r e in G e r m a n y and had
been living in G e r m a n y s i n c e t h e n . He was a true friend
with a golden heart. We miss him a lot. May G o d bless his
s o u l .
Cent A r d a n RC 59, F l o r i d a ,
Obituaries for faculty & friends
Dr. John L. Espy
A former faculty m e m b e r at RC, who taught in the
Engineering S c h o o l from 1947-1953 he
died April 24, 2 0 0 6 at the age of 8 4 . A
graduate of M a s s a c h u s e t t s Institute of
Technology. he later e a r n e d a D B A at
Harvard Business S c h o o l . A l t h o u g h he
served in the U.S. Navy during World
War II, and worked as a chemical
engineer for the E a s t m a n Kodak
Company, Dr. Espy spent most of his
career as a missionary and teacher for
the A m e r i c a n Baptist C h u r c h e s .
He lived in Istanbul, Turkey for six years and in Rochester,
NY for nine years before moving to Hong Kong in 1962.
There he worked at C h u n g Chi College, which s o o n b e c a m e
part of the Chinese University of Hong K o n g . A p a r t from
three years in Newton Center, M A , he remained in Hong Kong
until 1989, when he retired and settled in Topeka. During his
retirement, he taught business courses at Washburn
University and was a m e m b e r of West Side Baptist C h u r c h .
He is survived by two sons, Lincoln L. Espy, and J o h n M.
Espy, a daughter, B r e n d a Mitchell, a brother, Eugene Espy,
M a c o n , G A ; and six grandchildren.
Mediha Esenel
Retired teacher Dr. Mediha Esenel died in A u g u s t 2 0 0 5 .
She taught S o c i o l o g y at RC for 12 years, between 1960-1972.
In her book Geç Kalmış Kitap (A Book Too Late), published by
Sistem Yayıncılık in 1999, she also describes her years at
Robert College.
Margaret R. Tregillus
Margaret Tregillus,
Math t e a c h e r at A C G
from 1959 to 1971 died
on A u g u s t 3, 2 0 0 5 .
Robert C o l l e g e and her
s t u d e n t s c o n t i n u e d to
be on her mind at all
times as she was a
d e d i c a t e d c o n t r i b u t o r
to the RC A n n u a l
Giving C a m p a i g n from
1984 to 2 0 0 2 . When
she died , RC received a
bequest from her
estate of $ 2 9 , 2 2 8 . Her
A l m a Mater, Grinell
College also receieved
a bequest from her estate.
Margaret went to Grinell C o l l e g e , Iowa from Clearwater,
F l o r i d a . A 1947 graduate of Grinnell C o l l e g e she g r a d u a t e d
with honors, winning the 1946 Linn S m i t h Prize for
Excellence in M a t h e m a t i c s and the A n d r e w W. A r c h i b a l d
Prize for Highest S c h o l a r s h i p . S h e g r a d u a t e d with a major
in M a t h e m a t i c s and minor in C h e m i s t r y .
She f u r t h e r e d her e d u c a t i o n at Harvard Graduate S c h o o l
of E d u c a t i o n and received a M.A.T. in Teaching in 1948, and
later received a MS in Teaching at the N S F Institute of the
University of Illinois in 1959. Margaret began her teaching
career in Istanbul and later returned to the states to teach
M a t h e m a t i c s at The Ethel Walker S c h o o l in Simsbury,
C o n n e c t i c u t . Margaret never m a r r i e d and taught s c h o o l
until retirement, when she m o v e d to F l o r i d a .
Correction:
The obituary for J a m e s Wanders Smith Jr. in the
Spring / Summer 2 0 0 6 issue of the RCQ, issue 2 9 ,
mistakenly states that his sister Mignon S. Martin
can be reached for condolences at 167 Boxwood
Drive, Franklin Indiana 3 7 0 6 9 . The correct address
for Ms. Martin is in Franklin, Tennessee 3 7 0 6 9 .
The RCQ regrets the error.
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