Deaths:
Faculty and alumni (print version)
FACULTY AND STAFF
Nathaniel Kleitman, PhD'23, a sleep researcher and retired professor emeritus of physiology, died August 13 in Los Angeles at age 104. In 1953 Kleitman and his associates identified the period of sleep known as REM, rapid eye movement. His cumulative studies on sleep deprivation established sleep research as a separate and important medical field. He is survived by two daughters. (This corrects information in the December/99 issue.--Ed.)
William J. Sturm, an original member of the Manhattan Project, died July 25 in Western Springs, IL, at age 81. Sturm was a nuclear physicist at Oak Ridge (TN) National Laboratory before joining Argonne National Laboratory in 1956, serving as assistant director of applied physics until his retirement in 1984. Survivors include his wife, Arleen; two daughters; and three grandchildren.
1920s
Hildegarde M. Romberg, PhB'21, AM'35, PhD'50, a lifelong educator, died August 27 in Irvine, CA, at age 97. Romberg spent 44 years with the Chicago public schools as a teacher, principal, and district superintendent. She also sponsored several U of C programs in Germanic studies.
Arthur N. Turnbull Sr., PhB'26, a retired teacher and counselor, died July 12 in Chicago at age 94. Turnbull, a high-school teacher for 27 years, also served in the Chicago Urban League and the NAACP. Active in the YMCA and Boy Scouts, and co-founder of the Church of the Good Shepherd, in 1980 he received the Senior Citizens Hall of Fame Award from the city of Chicago. Survivors include his wife, Elizabeth; a daughter; a son; and seven grandchildren.
Arthur M. Frutkin, PhB'29, JD'31, a retired attorney, died June 18 in Rockville, MD, at age 90. He was an expert in mnemonics, a student of bridge and chess, and an amateur piano and banjo player. He is survived by three children, including Earl R. Franklin, AB'65.
Charles A. Warner, PhB'29, a retired policy analyst, died August 21 in Limeuil, France, at age 91. Warner, a retired Air Force colonel, continued to serve in the Reserves after the war, while working as a policy analyst for the Research Analysis Corporation. Survivors include his nephew, Daniel Schneider.
1930s
Jeannette LaPorte Sragow, PhB'33, a retired librarian, died November 14, 1997, at age 86. Sragow worked as a librarian for the Prince Georges County (MD) library system for 17 years. She is survived by her husband, Irving; a daughter; a son; two sisters; and four grandchildren.
Ruth Moulton Gilbert, SB'36, MD'39, a retired psychiatrist and professor, died April 30 in Clinton Corners, NY, at age 83. Gilbert was director of training for the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis, and Psychology (1960-1970), an assistant clinical professor at Columbia University, and an attending psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute until 1980. She wrote several papers on feminism and changing family structure. Survivors include a daughter, two sons, and four grandchildren.
Louis R. Wasserman, MD'36, a leading researcher on hematology, died June 21 in Sandy Hook, CT, at age 88. In 1953, Wasserman established the hematology program at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, which he directed until 1972. He also served as chair of Mt. Sinai's clinical-science department (1967-1972), and wrote some 200 papers on the amelioration of blood disorders. He became an emeritus professor upon his retirement in 1979. The American Society of Hematology named a lectureship in his honor. He is survived by his wife, Julia, and a sister.
Henry O. Cubbon, SB'37, SM'39, a retired dentist, died June 12 in Tavares, FL, at age 83. Cubbon, a lieutenant in the Navy Dental Corps from 1952 to 1954, belonged to several dental societies. Survivors include his wife, Thea; two sons; and four grandchildren.
Jane Morrison Dickerson, AM'37, a patron of the arts, died July 2 in Indianapolis, IN, at age 87. Dickerson helped establish Friends of Art at Indiana University, and she served on the Fine Arts Committee of the Herron School for Art. She was chair and regional director of the Women's Committee of the Indiana State Symphony Society and active in Planned Parenthood. She is survived by two daughters, a son, a sister, and two grandchildren.
Robert W. Mann, MD'37, died July 7 in Mequon, WI, at age 87. Mann served as chief of surgery at two area hospitals, helping to forge an affiliation between Mount Sinai and the University of Wisconsin Medical School. An associate clinical professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin, he retired in 1984. He is survived by his wife, Audrey; two daughters; one son; one stepdaughter; and two stepsons.
Frank Wagner Jr., SB'37, SM'50, a retired physicist, died May 7 in Chicago at age 82. Wagner helped develop radar and sonar technology before joining Argonne National Laboratory as an associate physicist. After his 1981 retirement, Wagner dedicated himself to civic activities. He is survived by his wife, Betty; three sons, including Kurt L. Wagner, MBA'78; and three grandchildren.
Martha Best, AB'38, AM'41, a retired professor, died June 30 in Ellison Bay, WI, at age 80. Best taught French at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for 45 years. After her retirement in 1992, she continued to teach French on a volunteer basis for the University of Wisconsin Guild for Learning in Retirement.
Marcella Fefer Goodman, AB'38, AM'44, a retired insurance agent, died May 11 in Skokie, IL, at age 82. Goodman was executive director of family and children's services in Proviso Township before joining New York Life as an insurance agent, retiring as a senior-level agent. Goodman was a trustee of the Skokie Public Library from 1995 to 1998. Survivors include a son, Robert; a sister; and two grandchildren.
Ivan M. Niven, PhD'38, a retired professor, died May 9 in Eugene, OR, at age 83. Niven taught mathematics at the University of Illinois and Purdue before joining the University of Oregon in 1947, where he helped develop its Ph.D. program in mathematics. Upon his retirement in 1981, he received the Charles E. Johnson Memorial Award for service to the university. He is survived by his wife, Betty Mitchell Niven, AB'39, and a son.
Bonnie Breternitz Olson, AB'38, an antiques dealer, died July 27 in Boston, MA, at age 83. After doing casework for the American Red Cross in WWII, Olson became an executive secretary for Econometrica. She was active in numerous civic organizations and a former delegate to the White House Conference on Children and Youth. Survivors include a daughter, a son, and three grandchildren.
Paul F. McCullagh, PhD'39, a retired professor, died July 13 in Montreal, Canada, at age 96. McCullagh taught classics at McGill University from 1926 to 1988, and was named emeritus professor in 1981.
1940s
Irwin J. Biederman, AB'40, MBA'42, a retired accountant, died March 16 in Highland Park, IL, at age 79. A WWII veteran, he worked for Biederman, Stetter, and Silverman Co. for more than 50 years. He received the University's Alumni Service Citation in 1993 for his fund-raising work. He is survived by his wife, Marjorie; three sons, including Jerry H. Biederman, JD'71; and six grandchildren.
William L. Slayton, AB'40, AM'43, an expert on urban renewal, died August 7 in Washington, DC, at age 82. Slayton left a post with the Ford Foundation to become commissioner of urban renewal under the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. He later served as president of Urban America, Inc., and deputy assistant secretary of state for foreign buildings. He is survived by his wife, Mary; two daughters; a brother; and four grandchildren.
Eleanor Thorberg Hartmann, AB'45, AM'49, died May 26 in Evanston, IL, at age 78. Hartmann, a participant in the civil-rights movement, was a social worker for the state of Illinois and for the Chicago School for the Retarded. Upon her retirement in 1983, she and her husband founded Artisans' Stained Glass. Survivors include her husband, Henry; a son; a sister; and two grandchildren.
Priscilla Joice Spiess, PhB'45, SB'47, died June 19 in Naples, FL, at age 72. Spiess was a statistician for the Swift Company before joining the Joseph Spiess Company, where she rose to vice president of business and to the board of directors before her 1978 retirement. She volunteered for the YMCA and the Junior Service Board. Survivors include her husband, John; three daughters; a brother; and eight grandchildren.
Herbert C. Berthold, MBA'46, a retired executive with Marshall Field's and Company, died June 13 in Wheaton, IL, at age 94. Berthold worked for Marshall Field's for 40 years, retiring as controller of the contract division in 1970. Survivors include his wife, Ruth; two daughters; a son; and six grandchildren.
Roberta Shinn Emerson, X'46, a retired artist and teacher, died May 22 in Huntington, WV, at age 76. Emerson, an artist and teacher at the Huntington (WV) Museum of Art, became its director for 16 years until her retirement in 1987. She also founded the Arts Advocacy Committee of West Virginia.
Peter Wolkonsky, PhB'46, SB'50, MD'52, died July 25 in Chicago at age 76. After serving as chief resident of internal medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York and medical director of the Standard Oil Company of Indiana, Wolkonsky became president of the Arthritis Foundation in 1974 and chair of its executive committee in 1978. In 1993 he was given the Freedom of Movement Award by the organization. He is survived by his wife, Mary; a stepson; and three stepgrandchildren.
Audrey Holzer Douthit, AM'48, died August 11 in Indianapolis, IN, at age 74. Douthit was a social worker for the Marion County Association for Retarded Citizens and New Hope until her retirement in 1984. Survivors include her husband, Harold; a daughter; and two grandchildren.
Alexander S. Farkas, AB'49, former president of Alexander's department stores, died July 28 in Long Island, NY, of cancer. He was 69. Farkas helped build the chain--founded by his father in 1928--into a 16-store business with more than $500 million annual revenue. Farkas resigned in 1984. He is survived by his wife, Linda; two daughters; one son; and three brothers.
1950s
Charles L. Venable, AM'51, a former CIA officer, died November 14, 1998, in Albuquerque, NM, at age 71. Venable served in the CIA for 30 years until his retirement in 1982, when he worked as a part-time real estate appraiser. He is survived by a daughter and two sisters.
Donna R. Allen, AM'52, founder of the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press, died July 19 in Washington, DC, at age 78. Allen taught at Cornell University in the early 1950s, then founded Women Strike for Peace, a group that opposed nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War. She founded the Women's Institute in 1972. Author of two books, she was also editor of the Women's Institute newsletter. Survivors include a son, three daughters, and a brother, Donald C. Rehkoph, AM'54.
Mark Nugent, AB'54, SB'56, a mathematics teacher, died June 12 in St. Louis of a heart attack. He was 65. After serving in the Army, Nugent worked as a high-school and college mathematics lecturer, spending 30 years at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is survived by his wife, Sookja; a daughter, Lynne S. Nugent, AB'94; and a son.
Albert V. Alhadeff, MBA'57, died December 9, 1998, in Vallejo, CA. Alhadeff was a founding member and former cellar master of the Marin International Wine and Food Society. He also was treasurer of the German Wine Society, executive secretary of the Society of Medical Friends of Wine, and publisher of The Wine Register. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; a daughter; a son; and two siblings.
Barbara J. Bellman, AM'57, author of the best-selling 1987 novel Hot Flashes, died July 23 in Baltimore, MD, from complications after vascular surgery. She was 63. Raskin was a flight attendant before teaching English at Catholic and Georgetown Universities. She wrote a second novel and also wrote for numerous publications, including the New York Times. She is survived by a daughter, two sons, a brother, and seven grandchildren.
Warren D. Gilreath, MBA'59, a retired executive, died July 14 in Sarasota, FL, at age 79. Gilreath, a WWII veteran, was a past vice president of Inland Container Corporation and former president of Eastex Packaging. Survivors include his wife, Jane; three sons; a sister; and eight grandchildren. 1960s Ronald L. Danzig, SB'64, died April 26 in Marietta, GA, at age 57. Danzig was the director of the Bucks Rock Creative Arts Camp in New Milford, CT. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; his mother; and two sons.
1960s
Owen C. Sladek, MBA'65, a retired engineer, died April 17 in Reno, NV, at age 75. Sladek, a WWII veteran, worked as an engineer for Western Electric Company until his 1976 retirement. He is survived by two brothers, including Ronald J. Sladek, PhB'42, SB'49, SM'50, PhD'54.
Clifford D. Bidwell, MD'66, a radiologist, died March 18 in Orlando, FL, at age 58. Bidwell, a radiologist at Florida Hospital, was a former president of the Orange County Medical Society. He is survived by his wife, Beverly; his mother; a daughter; a son; and a sister.
Allan S. Bridge, BFA'66, founder of the Apology Line, died August 11, 1995, in a diving accident off Long Island, NY. He was 50. Bridge was a painter before beginning the Apology Line, a free telephone confessional service, and publishing the accompanying Apology magazine. He is survived by his wife, Merissa Waichunas; his parents; and a brother.
John H. Lion, AB'66, founder of the Magic Theatre, died August 1 in Toronto of a heart attack. He was 55. Lion did experimental theater work with Magic before joining the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, for five years, where he produced the annual National College Theatre Festival. Shortly before his death, he was named chair of the theater arts department at California State University-Los Angeles. Survivors include his wife, Kitty; two daughters; two sons; and a sister, Joanna Lion, AB'60, AM'63, PhD'74.
Alvin S. Rosenthal, AB'69, a consultant, died December 15, 1998, in Silver Spring, MD, at age 50. An independent consultant on research design and data analysis, Rosenthal also wrote a book on bidding. He was co-president of the U of C Club of Greater Washington, DC. Survivors include his wife, Diane B. Arnkoff, AB'70; his mother; and a sister.
1970s
Mary Donohue Allen, JD'72, vice president and general counsel for Brunswick, died July 26 in Skokie, IL, of lung cancer. She was 53. Allen began her legal career with the firm of Kirkland and Ellis, becoming executive vice-president and general counsel for Hartmax Corporation in 1994. She joined Brunswick in 1997. Survivors include her husband, Richard Vitkus; a son; a stepdaughter; and a stepson.
Eugene H. Edson, MBA'74, CEO of Maxtec International Corp., died August 7 in Chicago at age 75. After serving as president and CEO of several Chicagoland companies, Edson, a WWII veteran, joined Maxtec in 1995. He is survived by his wife, Fern; two sons, including Gary R. Edson, JD'82, MBA'82; and two grandchildren.
1980s
Carl P. Dolan, AM'83, died July 25 in Salisbury, MD, of heat stroke. He was 43. Dolan taught at the Carolina Friends School and the Friends School of Baltimore before becoming program coordinator for the National Endowment of the Humanities in 1987. In 1994, he founded the Thornton Friends Middle School. Just before his death he became director of the Sandy Spring Fields Middle School. Survivors include his wife, Nina Koltnow Valenta, MST'81; a son; two stepsons; a brother; and a sister.
Harry C. Bull, JD'85, CEO of Bradner Central Company, died August 18 in a boating accident on Lake Michigan that killed his two daughters, Alexandra and Madeline. He was 39. Bull worked for the law firms of Jenner & Block and Winston & Strawn before taking over as CEO of his family's paper firm. Survivors include his wife, Pam; his parents; his son; a brother; three sisters; a stepbrother; and two stepsisters.
1990s
Matthew J. Valenta, AB'98, died July 11 in Seattle at age 22. Valenta was a peer minister with the Youth Ministry Program in Naperville, IL. Survivors include his parents, Joseph and Carol.
©2000 The University
of Chicago® Magazine