In Memoriam

David Tyler, former student ’51
A student of Marlboro College in its very earliest years, David Tyler of Benson, Vermont, died in March 2016 following a long illness. David was born in Rochester, New York, and grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey. He graduated from the Putney School, in Putney, Vermont, then went on to Marlboro in 1947. After leaving Marlboro he purchased a 500-acre farm in Worthington, Massachusetts, where he raised registered Polled Herefords and hay. He was the head selectman, chief of police, tree warden, and animal control officer in Worthington for many years. David married Debra Lord in 1976, and they relocated to Benson, Vermont, where they established Tylord Farm, raising beef cattle, hay, and Trakehner horses. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and photography. David is survived by his wife, Debra, two children, and two grandchildren.

Garby Leon ’69
An executive at 20th Century Fox, Garby Leon died in April 2014 after a long battle with cancer. Born in New York City, after graduating from Marlboro with a Plan in music he went on to earn a PhD in music from Harvard University. He was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and active in the antiwar movement. Garby held many positions in the movie industry, including vice president of production at Dan Curtis Productions and Fox Family Films, story analyst at Columbia Pictures and Lorimar, and director of development at Silver Pictures, where he worked on The Matrix and The Manchurian Candidate. He had been a story analyst at Fox since the mid 2000s, and was active in the Motion Picture Editors Guild. Garby was the son of Fernando Leon, an active Marlboro trustee in the 1970s, who died in 2009, and brother of Rod Leon ’73. He is survived by his wife, Shannon Mow, and a daughter.

Hiroharu Watanabe ’82
Hiroharu “Hiro” Watanabe died in New York City in August 2016, after a brief illness. Born in Kumamoto City, Japan, in 1956, Hiro attended high school in Japan, Australia, and at the American Language Academy at Northfield Mount Hermon, in Massachusetts, before coming to Marlboro College. He learned about Marlboro from John Tohr Yamaguchi, who was a former student and taught in Australia at the University of South Wales. Hiro’s Plan of Concentration at Marlboro College was in visual arts and art history, focusing on the painting and sculpture of the pop movement of the 1960s and 70s. His classmates remember him for his infectious smile and his inclination to photograph absolutely everything. Hiro is survived by his mother, Sachiko Watanabe, of Japan and his sister Kazuko Uematsu, her sons Gotaro and Ryuji, and their children, all of Sydney, Australia. He is also survived by many friends in America, several of whom considered him a member of their own families.