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Continued from previous page
GARTH E. FEENEY, W'95, EAS'95
'My Friend Garth Feeney'
Garth Feeney and I met early in our sophomore year at the
University of Pennsylvania. . . . After college, Garth's home
– or, more specifically, his living room couch — was often
my home during my frequent trips to New York over the
next 5 years.
Although neither Garth nor myself were particularly
fond of taking pictures, there are a few stray photos from
those years floating around. One that I particularly cherished
was a rite-of-passage photo I took of Garth showing
off his brand new Brooks Brothers suit shortly before graduation
and the start of his new job. The photo was a study
of contrasts: it captured the ever-present child-like enthusiasm
on Garth's face, the stern and upscale "Banker's Blue"
of his new suit, all set against the surroundings of our college
dorm room. That photo also captures a glimpse into
what drew people to Garth as a human being.
In a very recent photograph, three of us are posing in
our river kayaks — Garth's latest obsession — moments
before plunging into the frigid upper Hudson River for
the first time. Like a ten-year-old about to take his first
roller-coaster ride, Garth's face positively beams with excitement
(in contrast with the slight hesitation on ours).
The simple, beautiful reaction that we have to these pictures
is to fondly smile at the thought of the person that was
— and still is — Garth Feeney.
The English language uses the terms "widow" and "widower"
for a person that has lost a spouse, and "orphan" for
someone who has lost a parent. However, English does not
provide us with an appropriate word to mark the passing of
a good friend, and particularly one so young, which is why
such images are so important.
Although he may not have been physically with us for
very long, the depth and quality of his presence and smiles
on our faces as those pictures surface will be with us for a
lifetime.
Vinod Valloppillil (excerpt from a eulogy given at Garth
Feeney's memorial service)
NICHOLAS HUMBER, WG'67
Impacting People and the Environment
Nicholas J. Humber was traveling onboard American
Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles when it
crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center
on September 11.
Humber, 60, was a resident of Newton, MA. He was
divorced and had a 19-year-old son, Jordan. Prior to the
tragedy, Humber had owned Brae Burn Management for
eight years. The company is a consulting firm for strategic
planning and marketing and product development. It
mainly provides consultations to energy and environmental
industries.
Humber also served as the director of East Coast operations
for Enron Wind, Enron Corp.'s wind turbine division.
He held a B.S. in mechanical engineering from RPI and an
MBA in finance and marketing from the Wharton Graduate
School at the University of Pennsylvania.
In 1972 Humber joined the Environmental Protection
Agency in its first year of operation and established its
municipal waste division for waste-to-energy conversion
and recycling. He later advised the World Bank IFC-GEF
program on environmental and independent power projects,
evaluating projects in India, Jamaica, and Russia.
"I've been amazed at the number of people his life really
had impacted. I've had high-level people calling all day —
heads of companies, who have been crying as they spoke,"
Jeffrey Humber, Nicholas' brother, told the Springfield
Union-News/Sunday Republican.
Humber was also an officer in the Boston Chapter of
the Association for Corporate Growth and chairman of the
Technology Innovation Committee for the New England
Environmental Business Council. Two memorial services
for Nicholas Humber were held in Boston and Springfield,
MA in September following his passing.
Scott Robertson (excerpt reprinted with permission from the
October 24, 2001, issue of the Rensselaer Polytechnic)
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