Deaths: 1940s and 1950s

Martin A. Cohen, AM'41, associate professor emeritus of economics at the Illinois Institute of Technology, died May 20 in Chicago. He was 84. After serving in the Army during WWII, Cohen worked with his brother in an industrial-contracting business. He began teaching labor economics at IIT in 1964, retiring in 1980. A former vice-president of the National Academy of Arbitrators, he was also an active member of K.A.M. Isaiah Israel Congregation in Hyde Park. Cohen is survived by a daughter; a son; and three grandchildren.

Francis J. Lynch, AB'42, an attorney, died May 11 at age 79 in Franklin, TN. A lifelong resident of the Chicago area, Lynch was a partner in the law firm Braun, Lynch, Smith, & Strobel, retiring in 1998. He served in the Army during WWII, receiving the Purple Heart. He was a member of the Civil War Round Table, a group of 150 history enthusiasts, and was attending one of its conferences at the time of his death. Survivors include his wife, Susan; five children; and four grandchildren.

C. Lois Samuelson, PhB'44, an attorney from Oak Park, IL, died January 5. She was 76. A past president of the Women's Bar Association of Illinois, Samuelson was a lawyer with the Chicago land clearance commission for 15 years, later joining her husband's law firm. On the board of her condominium building, she enjoyed golf and traveling, most recently visiting Antarctica. Survivors include two cousins.

Edgar Z. Friedenberg, PhD'46, a professor emeritus at Dalhousie University, died June 1 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was 79. A scholar of education and gender studies, Friedenberg left the U.S. during the Vietnam era. His 1959 book, The Vanishing Adolescent, a sociological study of teens, has been reprinted ten times and translated into several languages. He was active in the Canadian Civil Liberties Union.

Leon A. Gordon, PhB'47, SB'48, MD'52, a surgeon, died June 20 at age 73 in Los Gatos, CA. After interrupting his studies to serve in the Army during WWII, Gordon earned his medical degree and practiced general surgery in San Jose, CA. He also collected antique clocks and did carpentry in his home workshop. He is survived by his wife, Elsa L. Gordon, PhB'47, SB'50, MD'52; two daughters; two sons, including Joseph R. Gordon, MD'81; a brother; a sister; and nine grandchildren.

Charles E. Fritz, AM'50, a sociologist, died May 5 at age 79. Fritz, a resident of Montgomery Village, MD, specialized in the study of human and organizational behavior in emergencies and disasters and in the organizational mechanisms needed to manage such events. During WWII, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps and was assigned to the Strategic Bombing Survey in England. He remained in the Air Force Reserve until 1981, earning the Air Force Systems Command Meritorious Service Award. He wrote or co-wrote more than 100 books, scientific reports, and journal articles and had advised every presidential administration since Eisenhower on dealing with the effects of nuclear war. In 1995, he received the first Fritz Award for contributions to disaster research. Survivors include his wife, Patricia; a daughter; a son; a sister; and two granddaughters.

E. Delmar Gibbs, PhD'50, a professor emeritus at the University of Puget Sound, died April 22 in Tacoma, WA. He was 88. An assistant dean and chair of the education department at UPS, Gibbs was a member of Phi Delta Kappa, Kiwanis, and other professional and civic organizations. He is survived by two daughters, a son, and six grandchildren.

James T. Holton, JD'50, an attorney in the Chicago area for 45 years, died April 2 in Freehold, NJ. He was 76. Interested in English legal history, in his retirement, he was writing a book on the prefaces of Sir Edward Coke, who served as attorney general under Elizabeth I. He is survived by his former wife, Felicia Antonelli Holton, AB'50; a daughter; and two grandchildren.

Archie S. Wilson, SM'50, PhD'51, a retired research chemist and professor emeritus, died June 6 at age 79 in Redmond, WA. In 1943, he joined the Manhattan Project at Iowa State College, studying x-ray diffraction studies of solid structures. After receiving his doctorate, he worked as a research chemist at the Hanford Laboratories. He authored or co-authored 57 technical works, and held four patents in nuclear-fuel processing. For 18 years, he was a professor of chemistry at the University of Minnesota, retiring in 1989. Survivors include his wife, Ivon; a daughter; two sons; two brothers; and two grandchildren.

Muriel Stewart Pappert, AM'53, a health administrator, died April 26 at age 73 in Naperville, IL. President of the Illinois chapter of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, she also held medical-administration positions with the Telephone Pioneers of America, AT&T, New York Telephone, and Illinois Bell. In 1997, she received honors from the American Association of University Women. Surviving are her husband, Howard; three daughters; and two sisters.

James T. Wiley, MBA'54, an Air Force officer, died May 3 in Seattle. He was 81. A member of the Tuskegee Airmen, Wiley was one of the 24 original members of the 99th Pursuit Squadron and was in the first group of U.S. fliers to land in North Africa. He continued his service until 1965, then worked as an Air Force representative to Boeing until his 1980 retirement. Survivors include his wife, Ruby; a daughter; two sons; and eight grandchildren.

Jane Koukol SB'55, PhD'59, died May 26, 1999, in a car accident in Merced, CA. She was 67. A clinical laboratory specialist at Valley Medical Center in Fresno, CA, she is survived by a sister.

Harriet Lange Rheingold, PhD'55, a child psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, died April 29 in Chapel Hill. She was 92. Interested in infant social behaviors, she studied valued traits, like sharing. In 1985, she addressed the 18th World Congress on Early Childhood Education in Jerusalem. That same year, she coordinated a symposium for the Society for Research in Child Development. She is survived by her husband, Don; two sons; and six grandchildren.

Kenneth B. Basa, SB'56, a chemist, died June 21 in Des Plaines, IL, at age 72. In 1945, Basa served in the Army Signal Corps in Korea. A researcher for Swift-Armour and NASA, Basa worked as a flavor chemist and laboratory manager for H. B. Taylor and Co. for 35 years. A member of his church choir, he was also active in the local Boy Scouts. Survivors include his wife, Amparo; a daughter; four sons; and seven grandchildren.

C. Eric Lincoln, DB'56, a professor emeritus of religion and culture at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, died May 14 in Durham, NC, at age 75. Lincoln wrote some 20 books on the sociopolitical influences on African Americans, including The Black Muslims in America, the first academic text on the movement. Before turning to academe, he worked for Pepsi Cola, as a manager of a Memphis nightclub, as an ordained Methodist minister, and as a road manager for the Birmingham Black Barons baseball team. He is survived by his wife, Lucy; four children; a brother; and six grandchildren.

Sam Venturella, AM'56, a social visionary, died June 4 in Chicago. He was 78. Devoted to the teachings of Henry George-a 19th-century social reformer who believed in abolishing all taxes for a single tax on land-Venturella was Chicago branch president of the Henry George School of Social Science for 20 years and opened a facility for the school in 1986. He also worked as a city planner for Chicago and as a substitute elementary-school teacher. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; two daughters; two sons; and three grandchildren.