We were saddened to hear of the passing of Jonathan Alder, OH 1947-57, who emigrated to America while in the Sixth Form.  He leaves behind his wife of 50 years and three daughters.

Jonathan started at Hymers College in September 1947, before leaving for America in June 1957.  While at Hymers, he was Head of Brandesburton House and Joint Head Prefect, participating in the Squash and Tennis Teams, and was a member of the Combined Cadet Force (C.C.F.).

During his career, he became a distinguished lawyer, writing books on State and Federal law.

Below is an obituary on Jonathan's life, written by former classmate, David Gosling, OH 1948-57:

Jonathan Alder was born in Nottingham, moving to the Hull area of East Yorkshire with his parents where he was enrolled at the Junior School of Hymers College, Hull’s most prestigious boys’ school, shortly after World War II had ended. He was offered a place at Cambridge, but chose the USA where his parents had emigrated, joining Princeton University in 1957 to read history.
After Princeton, Jonathan studied law at Duke University and practised labour law for over 40 years. He was responsible for a determinative publication summarising the variations of disability laws in different US states and the relationships between these and federal law.

At Hymers College, Jonathan and I were in the same class up to the ‘O’ level exams, when he opted for the humanities and I chose science. But in the school cadet force, we jointly produced a humorous revue which went down extremely well, especially with the headmaster, Harry Roach – dubbed ‘Mad Harry’ by Jonathan (Mr Roach knew this!). Jonathan was the natural choice as senior student for the whole school – relaxed, self-confident, witty and yet disarmingly unassuming.

I visited Jonathan shortly after he emigrated, arriving in New York to stay with Martin Luther King’s Press Secretary, a college friend of Jonathan’s. I joined Jonathan in Washington DC and he drove me along the incredibly beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway to Durham in North Carolina. We stopped at Chester in West Virginia, staying with another of Jonathan’s friends. Going to church on Sunday I was surprised by the exhortation to leave our guns at the reception!

We took another beautiful car journey through the Smoky Mountains almost as far as Tennessee. At one point we stopped for me to dutifully offload an empty food package into a roadside waste bin. Just as I did so, a bear appeared from below the ledge on which the bin was standing. Jonathan saw what was happening, backed the car towards me and flung open the back door.
I can still remember the thud of the bear’s paw against the closing window. There was a rifle on the back seat, but no time to reach for it; in any case, wounded bears have a decidedly unfriendly reputation!

I stayed with Jonathan once, after he moved to Pittsburgh, and we attended a baseball match together. His sister, Susan Boulden, came to see me some years later and filled me in on his many activities. When she died he phoned to tell me this clearly heartbreaking news.

I did not see Jonathan again although he maintained a lively correspondence. One letter ended with the exhortation ‘May God rot the socks of John Foster Dulles’. I wonder what he would say if asked for a comment about Donald Trump? Enough to make the most stalwart angel blush!

Jonathan died on 15 July 2024 of Alzheimer’s disease. He is survived by his wife, Toni Magnifico Alder, children Joanna, Devon and Lauren, and seven grandchildren.

David L. Gosling, OH 1948-57