DECEMBER 2000: CLASS NOTES (print version)
DEATHS
Faculty, Staff, and Friends
FACULTY - B. Peter Pashigian, a professor emeritus in economics at the GSB, died October 18 in his Hyde Park home. He was 68. A member of the GSB faculty since 1961, Pashigian conducted research on pricing and shopping practices; from his work in retail pricing of new automobiles, he recently proposed revisions in the Bureau of Labor Statistics's used car price index. His numerous books and articles include Price Theory and Applications and "Internalizing Externalities: The Pricing Space in Shopping Malls" in the Journal of Law and Economics. He was co-editor of the Journal of Business and on the executive committee of the GSB's George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State. He is survived by his wife, Rose; a daughter; a son, Peter A. Pashigian; and a sister.
John A. Simpson, the Arthur H. Compton distinguished service professor emeritus in physics, died August 31 in Chicago at age 83. Simpson joined the U of C in 1943. After the U.S. dropped the first two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, Simpson organized a campaign for the peaceful use as well as civilian control of atomic energy, co-founding the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. His inventions include the neutron monitor, which measures cosmic rays, and the Dust Flux Monitor Instrument, which will be aboard the Stardust mission and will measure the size of dust particles and map their distribution around the nucleus of Comet Wild-2. Simpson directed the Fermi Institute from 1973 to 1978 and was the Smithsonian Institution's Space Science History chair in 1987 and 1988. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; a daughter; a son; and three grandsons.
John E. Ultmann, a professor of medicine and founding director of the U of C Cancer Research Center, died October 23 in his Hyde Park home at age 75. A pioneer in oncology, Ultmann is best known for his work on precise staging of Hodgkin's lymphoma and the uses of staging as a treatment guide. A former chair of the board of scientific counselors for the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Treatment, he also served as president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. At the U of C, Ultmann revised the medical-school curriculum to increase student-patient contact during the first two years of medical education. He also facilitated the $21 million gift from the Duchossois family that helped create the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine. Under his direction from 1973 to 1991, the U of C Cancer Research Center became one of the nation's leading cancer centers. He is survived by his wife, Ruth; two daughters; one son; and five grandchildren.
STAFF - Dorothy Star, a researcher and advocate for the disadvantaged in Chicago, died August 16 in Chicago at age 80. After working her way through Illinois Institute of Technology by wrapping chocolate bars on a Mars Candy assembly line, Star joined the American Red Cross as a counselor for families of servicemen stationed overseas during WWII. Later, she worked for the Illinois Department of Vocational Rehabilitation and spent 17 years at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) as a field worker. She is survived by her husband, Jack; four daughters; a son; three sisters; and five grandchildren.
FRIENDS - Helen Breasted, a volunteer at Chicago's Hull House, died in Tamworth, NH, on August 20 at age 90. The wife of James Breasted, the founder of the Oriental Institute, Breasted volunteered at Hull House in the 1930s, helping immigrant families settle in the Chicago area. She is survived by a sister and five grandchildren.
1920s and 1930s
David W. Bransky, SB'21, a research chemist, died June 15 in Peoria, IL, at age 102. He joined Standard Oil of Indiana in 1925, retiring in his 60s. Survivors include his daughter, Ellen Bransky Solovy, PhB'46, SB'47; a son; and six grandchildren.
Elizabeth G. Norcross, PhB'27, former editor-in-chief of House Beautiful and a proponent of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture, died September 3 in Frederick, MD. She was 94. Norcross worked in the promotion department for Good Housekeeping before becoming editor of House Beautiful in 1941, a position she held for 23 years. She championed modernity, climate control in home building, sliding doors, and a richer style of architecture. She became close friends with Wright after she published an attack on the International style. Survivors include a goddaughter and a sister-in-law.
Frank W. Herlihy, SB'30, a retired president of Herlihy Mid-Continent Company, died June 3 in Chicago at age 91. An engineer, he designed and built highway bridges and Chicago tunnels and worked for the Fermi Lab and the Adler Planetarium. A longtime member of the American Mathematical Association, he studied mathematics and physics throughout his life. He is survived by three children, including Joanna Herlihy Burnette, AB'53, and eleven grandchildren.
Sidney R. Yates, PhB'31, JD'33, former U.S. congressman (Dem.-IL) and champion of government support for the arts, died October 7 in Washington, DC. He was 91. A liberal Democrat who represented lakeside Chicago in the House of Representatives for more than 50 years, Yates pushed for the legislation that established the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in 1965 and chaired the House Appropriations Interior subcommittee that oversaw the endowment. He lost the chair seat in 1994 but vigorously defended the NEA from Republican efforts to cut its funding. He believed in the government's obligation to help the least fortunate in society and was a strong force behind the creation of the Holocaust Memorial Museum and a protector of national parks. Survivors include his wife, Adeline Holler Yates, PhB'34; a son, Stephen R. Yates, AB'63, JD'67; and three grandchildren. Virginia Hunter Cables, PhB'33, died September 9 at age 87. A resident of La Habra, CA, she volunteered actively in the school where her daughter was a principal. Survivors include a daughter and four granddaughters.
Harold T. V. Johnson, PhB'33, of Crete, IL, died July 27 at the age of 89. Johnson worked for the Index Publications in Chicago from graduation until his retirement 45 years later. Survivors include three children and six grandchildren.
Harold L. Hitchens, AB'35, AM'36, PhD'59, a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force, died September 1 in Aurora, IL. He was 85. After serving as a flight instructor during WWII and flying 50 combat missions in the Korean War, Hitchens became a founding member of the faculty at the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1955, serving until 1963 as faculty secretary and associate professor in history. He also served in Vietnam as a battle staff controller. In retirement, he was a senior research associate at the University of Pittsburgh, where he also served as an aide to the chancellor and supervised research projects. Survivors include his wife, Marilyn Buck Hitchens, AA'40; four children; a sister, Jean Hitchens Anderson, SB'38; and six grandchildren.
Libby Winer Fain, AB'37, of Hamilton, Bermuda, died August 1 at age 83. Fain and her husband traveled from 1965 to 1992. She is survived by a daughter, three sons, two sisters, and seven grandchildren. Leslie M. Lipson, PhD'38, an author and a professor of political science at the University of California-Berkeley, died August 15 in Berkeley at age 88. Best known for his textbook The Great Issue of Politics, which was translated into 100 languages, Lipson taught at Berkeley for 34 years. From 1963 to 1976 Lipson was a regular panelist and reporter for the PBS weekly program World Press. After retirement in 1984, he continued to lecture and write opinion pieces for the San Francisco Chronicle. Survivors include his wife, Helen; a son; a stepdaughter, Lisa Fruchtman, AB'70; and a granddaughter.
Frederick C. Bock, AB'39, PhD'50, a retired scientific researcher who piloted one of the planes monitoring the dropping of the atom bomb on Nagasaki, died August 25, in Scottsdale, AZ. He was 82. He rose to the rank of major in the Army Air Forces and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. After the war, he did research in zoology with an emphasis on genetics and mathematical statistics. He is survived by his wife, Helen E. Bock, AM'67; two daughters; a son; a sister; and two grandsons.
1940s and 1950s
Ray H. Freeark Jr., AB'47, AM'53, coach, teacher, and lawyer, died August 12 in Ranch Santa Fe, CA. He was 74. Freeark's love of sports led to a career teaching and coaching at Belleville Township High School in Illinois. Founder and partner in the law firm Freeark, Harvey, Mendillo, Dennis, Wuller and Cain in Belleville, Freeark extensively worked for the Illinois Medical Society. An avid fan of horse racing, he edited and published the Illinois Thoroughbred magazine and wrote for Thoroughbred Record and Horseman's Journal. Survivors include his wife, Arlene; two daughters; a son; two brothers; and seven grandchildren.
Theodora Gordon, JD'47, an attorney, died July 17 in Chicago at age 76. Gordon had her own general practice for 25 years. At age 73, she became the first female president of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, a Jewish bar association. President of the Women's Bar Association of Illinois and the Elaine Settler Foundation, she was a board member for the Women's Bar Association of Illinois Foundation, which awards scholarships to female students. Survivors include a brother.
Raymond L. Scherer, AM'47, of Washington, DC, died July 1 at age 81. During his four-decade career as chief White House correspondent for NBC News, Scherer reported on six administrations, from Harry Truman to Gerald Ford, and was one of the first television "floor men" at the 1956 presidential conventions. He covered Europe as NBC's London correspondent from 1969 to 1973. Upon his return to the U.S., he reported on the Watergate scandal. He served as vice president of RCA, the parent company of NBC, until his 1986 retirement. Survivors include his wife, Barbara, and a brother.
Virginia Lloyd Poste, AM'49, a social worker, died August 27 in Geneseo, NY, at age 88. Poste began her career in juvenile court in Denver and after WWII worked for the United Nations Relief Agency in Germany, where she helped return and place child survivors of the concentration camps. After returning to the States, she worked for the Livingston County Children's Protective Association for 38 years, serving as president from 1962 to 1964 and as liaison between the association and the State Communities Aid Association from 1958 to 1996. Survivors include a daughter.
Lawrence D. Bonham, PhD'50, of Mill Creek, WA, died September 18 at age 78. A first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during WWII, Bonham was a branch chief at the U.S. Geological Survey from 1950 to 1984 and worked on such projects as the first geological map of the moon. An avid birder, he ranked among the top birders in North America with a lifetime count of 727 species. Survivors include his wife, Selma; three children; and three grandchildren.
John M. Beck, AM'47, PhD'53, a lifelong educator, died August 6 in his Hyde Park home. He was 87. Beck was a teacher and administrator at the Chicago Teachers College, now Chicago State University, from 1953 to 1965. In 1966 Beck was one of the founders of the Chicago Teacher Corps, a program to recruit more urban teachers to match the growing student populations in inner-city schools. From 1968 until his death, he was the executive director of the Chicago Consortium of Colleges and Universities. Survivors include three sisters.
Donald F. Mazukelli, SB'55, SM'56, a scientist, died August 1 in Chicago at age 66. Mazukelli led a diverse life, working as a mathematician on a federal weapons evaluation project in Chicago, playing piano concertos in Orchestra Hall, and helping develop Northwestern University's Vogelback Computing Center. He is survived by a brother and two sisters.
Olga K. Skala, AB'56, died July 17 in Sooke, Canada, at age 87. Survivors include a son.
Fred M. Zimring, JD'50, PhD'57, of Cleveland Heights, OH, died August 22 at age 75. At his death, Zimring was the chair of the clinical psychology program at Case-Western Reserve University. Survivors include his sister-in-law.
1960s to Current
Joseph T. Kane, JD'60, a former vice president and secretary of United Airlines and a retired corporate counsel for Allstate Insurance Company, died September 5 in his Kenilworth, IL, home. He was 66. During the mid-1980s, he was instrumental in the acquisition of Hilton International and the Hertz Corp. by United's parent company, Allegis Corp. From 1993 to 1999 he helped transform Allstate from a subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck and Co. into a separate public company. He is survived by his wife, Olwyn; a brother; and a sister.
Sister Candida Lund, PhD'63, the chancellor of Dominican University, died September 4 in Evanston, IL. She was 79. Lund taught social studies in a Sioux Falls, SD, high school before becoming the dean of students at Rosary College (now Dominican University) in 1955, and later, a professor and chair of the political science department. Named president in 1964, she instituted a sabbatical program for faculty, stepped up minority recruitment, and oversaw the college's 1970 transition into a coed institution. She became chancellor in 1981. A lover of the arts, she founded the university's annual Trustee Benefit Concert. She is survived by a sister.
Bruce J. Ennis Jr., JD'65, a First Amendment lawyer and former legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), died July 29 in Boston from complications from leukemia. He was 60. Ennis appeared as counsel in some 250 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and was nationally known both for his work to protect the mentally ill and retarded and to defend the First Amendment. In the 1970s, he was lead counsel for the ACLU's Willowbrook case, which exposed the squalor in Staten Island (NY)'s largest institutions for the mentally retarded. Survivors include his wife, Emily; two sons; his mother; and a sister.
Raymond W. Fannings, AM'65, who devoted his life to human service, died September 2 in Chicago. He was 66. A social worker and a civil-rights advocate, he counseled and assessed soldiers who served in the Korean War, marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in the Gage Park neighborhood, and participated in civil-rights demonstrations. As a retiree, he volunteered as a tennis coach for young people. He is survived by his wife, Rita; two daughters; two stepsons; a sister; and two grandchildren.
Min Ming Tang, SB'65, a professor of mathematics, died July 3 in Minneapolis at age 55. Tang taught mathematics at the University of Missouri-Rolla until his 1990 retirement. He is survived by a son; a brother, I. Ming Tang, SB'62; a sister; and his stepmother.
John H. Lion, AB'66, founder and former director of the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, died August 1 in Seal Beach, CA. He was 55. At the time of his death, Lion was about to be appointed chair of the theater arts department of California State University-Los Angeles, and had most recently served as a college liaison with the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Survivors include his wife, Kitty; two daughters; two sons; a brother; and a sister, Joanna Lion, AB'60, AM'63, PhD'74.
William Simon, PhD'67, a sexuality expert and a professor of sociology at the University of Houston, died July 21 in Houston. He was 70. Simon began his career in 1965 as a sex researcher at the Institute for Sex Research (the Kinsey Institute) and the sociology department at Indiana University. Best known for his book written with John H. Gagnon, AB'55, PhD'69, Sexual Conduct, he directed studies of youth at the Institute for Juvenile Research in Chicago from 1968 to 1975, when he relocated to the University of Houston. Survivors include his wife, Lynn; three sons, including Adam Simon, PhD'92; two brothers; two sisters; and seven grandchildren.
Lynn E. Smith, MAT'73, died September 3 in Reistertown, MD, of complications from leukemia. She was 50. Smith was an active member of the state of Maryland's "Ready at Five," a childhood-education program. She and her husband operated ABS Restoration Products, an automotive-restoration tool business, and she later worked as a project manager at the Baltimore branch office of CitiFinancial, a member of Citigroup. Survivors include her husband, Steve; her father; and a sister.
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