people and the profession

Institute of Transportation Engineers. ITE Journal, Feb 2007

OBITUARIES

ITE has been notified that the following ITE members recently passed away. We recognize them for their contributions to ITE and the profession, and we send condolences to their families.

Harvey B. Boutwell, P.E. (F), an ITE stalwart, died on November 20, 2006 at a nursing home in Hamden, CT, USA. He had been ill for some time and had suffered a second stroke in September 2006.

Harvey was born on May 16, 1924 in Concord, NH, USA. Following graduation from high school, he enlisted in the United States Navy. In 1943, he entered the Navy V-12 Reserve Officers Training Program at Yale University. Shortly after his arrival in New Haven, CT, he met Margaret (Peg) Hindinger, from Hamden. He completed the accelerated three-year program at Yale, receiving his B.S. in engineering in spring 1946. Harvey and Peg were married on July 6, 1946. They recently celebrated their 60th anniversary.

Following separation from active duty, Harvey returned to New Hampshire to join his father in the family business as a funeral director. He was licensed as a mortician in the state of New Hampshire and continued to maintain that license long after his transition into his chosen profession, traffic engineer.

In 1954, Harvey joined the New Hampshire Highway Department in the Secondary Roads, Planning and Economics Division. He joined ITE during that period and became active in the New England Section. In 1960, the Highway Department sponsored Harvey's participation in the Bureau of Highway Traffic at Yale University. He graduated in 1961 in one of the largest classes in the history of the program.

In 1964, he returned to Yale as a research assistant in the Bureau of Highway Traffic and the family moved to Cheshire, CT. Harvey spent four years with the Bureau and, in 1968, joined Kaehrle Traffic Associates in West Hartford, CT. In 1971, he started his own firm, Highway Traffic Consultants.

Harvey was dedicated to the technical and administrative activities of ITE. He went through the chairs in the New England Section and was section president in 1970. In 1971, he participated in the ITE Constitutional Convention in Hot Springs, AR, USA. He was a member of the Editorial Committee that worked through each night documenting the recommendations that various subcommittees had reached during the day.

He served as the international director for District 1 from 1974 through 1976. During his years as a director, he served on the Program Development Committee as board representative to the Government Relations Subcommittee. He was board representative to the Technical Council Committee on Traffic Engineering for Small Communities. He was active in the development of the Traffic Technicians Training Program during the mid-1970s.

Harvey received the New England Section's first distinguished service award in 1974. He was chairman of District 1 in 1977. Through the 1980s and 1990s, he served as administrator for District 1, maintaining membership, financial and historical records. In 1981, District 1 established the Harvey Boutwell Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his service.

Harvey's dedication to the Bureau of Highway Traffic alumni association was equally as impressive. For several decades, the association operated informally. In 1985, the association decided it needed a formal organization. Harvey had served as the association's voluntary secretary for several years and had assumed responsibility for organization of the annual luncheon.

At the 1985 annual meeting, Harvey was elected for a five-year term as the Bureau of Highway Traffic Association clerk and member of the executive committee. He continued to serve in that capacity until 2000. In 1997, Harvey collaborated with Woody Rankin on publication of a history of the bureau.

At the 64th Annual Meeting in Dallas, TX, USA, in 1994, ITE awarded Harvey die Burton W. Marsh Distinguished Service Award, ITEs highest recognition of outstanding contributions to the advancement of ITE over a period of several years.

Harvey valued his friends, and he had many. It was not uncommon for him to travel the length of the country to attend a reception recognizing an honorary member, a retirement dinner for an associate, or the funeral of a fellow Yale alumnus. He seldom missed an ITE annual meeting or District 1 meeting and often attended meetings of other districts. Harvey will be missed.

In addition to his wife, Peg, Harvey is survived by his daughter, Meg, and her husband, John Kolaya, of Plainfield, NJ, USA; his son, Bill, and his wife, Holly, of Vernon, CT; and four grandchildren. Memorial contributions in Harvey's name may be made to ITE and will be used to assist young members in attending ITE conferences and annual meetings.

James B. Rudden, P.E. (FL), of New York City, NY, USA, died on November 25,2006. Last rites for James B. Rudden, 87, a widely-known pioneer in the field of traffic engineering, were held December 6, 2006.

Jim received the 1995 ITE Distinguished Member Award in recognition of his long and distinguished career in the transportation field. In honoring him, ITE observed that "his 42-year career has been punctuated by innovative and practical solutions to transportation problems." His work resulted in his being granted six patents by the United States Patent Office.