Edward J. Bleser '57
Edward J. Bleser '57 passed away on March 18, 2010.
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EDWARD J. BLESER ’57
We regret to tell you of the all-too-quick passing of Edward Bleser on March 18, 2010, of pancreatic cancer. Ed is survived by Carol, his wife of more than 45 years, son Gerald Rothrock, daughter-in-law Elizabeth and granddaughter Caroline. He will be deeply missed.
Edward was born in New York City and raised in Middlebury, Conn. He graduated from the Taft School in Middletown, and it’s a wonder that Wesleyan ever let him out of town. But escape he did to the Fairest College, where he joined Chi Phi, played on the freshman lacrosse team, served on the Intramural Council and majored in physics. Professor Arons must have known he had a keeper our freshman year. Ed’s honors thesis was entitled, “A Method for Determining the Oxygen Isotope Ration in Sea Water.” Wow!
After Amherst, Edward earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in physics from Columbia University. He went on to a distinguished career, first at Brookhaven National Laboratory and then at Fermi National Laboratory. In 1978, Ed returned to Brookhaven, where he worked at the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron until his retirement in 2000. Brookhaven was fortunate to have had this astute and collegial physicist on its staff.
During the more than 30 years that Edward and Carol lived in Bellport, N.Y., he served as secretary of the Bellport Historical Preservation Commission from its inception until his death and was active in the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society. He was also an avid reader. Edward’s love of history must have been encouraged by his loving wife, a 1960 graduate of Converse College who earned a Ph.D. in American history from Columbia University. Guess where she and Edward met?
Ed is fondly remembered by his classmates as a man of goodwill who was rarely seen without a broad smile. Ed, rest in peace.
—Bill Donohue ’57
—Carol K. Bleser