Deaths

Faculty & Staff

Ruth French Carnovsky, a librarian and educator, died November 2003 in Oakland, CA. She was 95. Carnovsky taught at Chicago’s Graduate Library School from 1954 to 1971, retiring a professor emeritus. During the ’60s she served as GLS dean.

Robert L. Graves, X’58, a mathematician, died March 2 in Flossmoor, IL. He was 77. Joining the University’s faculty in 1958, Graves served as GSB deputy dean, associate provost, and associate dean for the Ph.D. program, and as associate provost for the University, retiring in 1995 a professor emeritus. His research focused on mathematic programming, scheduling problems, and bidding models. Survivors include his wife, Barbara; four daughters; a sister; and two grandchildren.

Toshiko Kuki Mayeda, SB’49, a chemist, died February 13 in Chicago. She was 81. Beginning her career as a research associate with Nobel laureate Harold Urey, Mayeda worked for the Enrico Fermi Institute for 58 years, studying climate and measuring meteorite isotopes. In 2002 an asteroid was named in her honor. Survivors include a daughter.

Alfred L. Putnam, a mathematician, died March 1 in Chesterton, IN. He was 88. Joining the University in 1945, Putnam chaired the College mathematics program and twice received the Quantrell Award for outstanding teaching, retiring a professor emeritus in 1987. He studied Eastern European math education and his teaching emphasized theory and the foundation of mathematics. Survivors include his wife, Maryann, and a sister.

Karl J. Weintraub, AB’49, AM’52, PhD’57, the Thomas E. Donnelley distinguished service professor emeritus in history, social thought, history of culture, humanities, and the College, died March 25 in Chicago. He was 79. Beginning his teaching career in 1954 as an intern in the College’s Western Civilization course, Weintraub rose to chair the program and the Committee on the History of Culture. Dean of the Humanities Division (1973-84), he received two Quantrell Awards and in 2001 the Norman Maclean Faculty Award for contributions to teaching and the student experience. Survivors include his wife, Mary Kay O’Brien Weintraub, AB’75, AM’76, PhD’87, who for many years lectured in the College, and a sister. [See A historian's task in time.]

1920s

Sidney M. Perlstadt, PhB’28, a lawyer and CPA, died February 14 in Chicago. He was 96. Perlstadt first worked for the Internal Revenue Service, earning a DePaul University law degree in 1942. He then joined the firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, where he became partner. Survivors include a daughter; son Harry Perlstadt, AM’66, PhD’73; and four grandchildren, including Roger Perlstadt, JD’02.

Melanie Loewenthal Pflaum, PhB’29, a writer, died March 5. She was 94. With her late husband Irving B. Pflaum, PhB’28, X’30, Pflaum worked as a correspondent and freelance writer covering the Spanish Civil War. During WW II she joined the Board of Economic Warfare in Washington, DC, and later moved to Evanston, IL, where she taught English and creative writing at Northwestern University, retiring to Spain. She is survived by three sons, including Peter E. Pflaum, AB’58, AB’59, and Thomas M. Pflaum, JD’76; nine grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

Charles L. Swan, PhB’29, a sociologist, died March 26 in Lexington, KY. He was 94. After serving as a teacher and church superintendent in India, where he was born, Swan joined the faculty of Albion College and later Wayne State University. Retiring in 1979, Swan taught for two more years in Turkey with the U.S. Air Force. He is survived by two sons, including Alan C. Swan, JD’57; six grandchildren; and ten great-grandchildren.

1930s

Harold N. Solomon, JD’31, a lawyer, died March 7 in Chicago. He was 95. A Law School teacher in the 1930s, Solomon served in the Army during WW II and in 1945 was appointed as a special U.S. war-crimes prosecutor in Germany. He returned to Chicago to practice law, working pro bono part time for veterans through the ’90s. Survivors include a son, a brother, three grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Frances Allison Mayer, AM’32, died January 31 in Chicago. She was 94. After teaching in Illinois and Vermont high schools Mayer turned to community activities, supporting her husband’s career and, after he died, heading the bank where he had been president. Survivors include two daughters.

Margaret Barrows Ferkinhoff, PhB’33, AM’58, a social worker, died February 17 in Hobart, IN. She was 95. A psychiatric caseworker for East Chicago elementary schools, Ferkinhoff was also active in the community. Survivors include two daughters, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Robert E. Herzog, AB’34, a public-relations executive, died April 5 in Northbrook, IL. He was 90. A fund-raiser for nonprofit educational and cultural institutions, Herzog worked for Brandeis University, Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre, and DC’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Survivors include his wife, Ruth; two daughters; a son; and three grandchildren.

William S. White, AB’35, JD’37, a judge, died February 16 in Chicago. He was 89. After Navy service White worked as a lawyer for the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, and was named the Cook County juvenile court’s presiding judge in 1968. He was sworn in as a First District Appellate Court justice in 1980. Survivors include a daughter, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Gordon G. MacLean, AB’37, died February 19 in Incline Village, NV. He was 87. MacLean founded and directed banks in California and Nevada, was a commercial real-estate developer, and owned two newspapers. After moving to Lake Tahoe, NV, in 1968, he became a trustee and director of Sierra Nevada College and built its MacLean Observatory for astronomical research. Survivors include his wife, Janice; a daughter; five sons; 13 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Louis M. Marks, SB’37, MD’40, a gastroenterologist, died February 7 in Northbrook, IL. He was 88. After WW II Army service, Marks opened two family practices and helped launch St. Joseph Hospital’s gastroenterology department, which he ran until retiring in the ’90s. He also taught at Loyola and Northwestern universities. Survivors include a daughter, two sons, and seven grandchildren.

George P. Antonic, SB’39, a foundry executive, died February 19 in Reston, VA. He was 88. An All-American during his U of C football career, Antonic played briefly for the Chicago Bears, felled by a knee injury in his fourth game. He worked as a metallurgist and foundry consultant before moving to industry management, retiring in 1982 as executive vice president of a motor-casings company. Survivors include a daughter, two sons, and five grandchildren.

1940s

Peter R. Levin, AB’40, died February 28 in Wilton, CT. He was 84. A WW II Army veteran, Levin worked as a management and economic consultant, joining consulting firm Smith, Stanley & Company, where he became vice president of operations. In 1962 he moved to General Electric, where he managed international trade-policy development. Retiring in 1980, Levin remained active in electronic industry associations. Survivors include his wife, Alice Nathan Levin, AB’43; two sons; and four grandchildren.

John R. Russell, SB’41, SM’42, MD’45, a neurosurgeon, died February 14 in Rochester, MN. He was 81. Russell was a professor at Indiana University School of Medicine and a past president of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. Survivors include his wife, Jane Bureau Russell, SB’41; two daughters; two sons, including John B. Russell, PhD’76; a brother, William H. Russell, AB’42, AM’47; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

William H. Snead, MD’41, an orthopedic surgeon, died January 10 in Springfield, MO. He was 89. After WW II Army service, Snead practiced in Springfield, where he also recruited and volunteered for local health services. Survivors include his wife, Barbara; a daughter; and three sons.

Eleanor Hammer Suiter, AB’41, died September 2 in Reston, VA. She was 82. Suiter served as secretary for two Alexandria, VA, elementary schools, retiring in 1983. Survivors include two daughters; a son, Richard J. Suiter, AM’67, PhD’72; a sister; and six grandchildren.

Dale Tillery, AB’41, a psychology professor, died March 5 in San Francisco. He was 85. A WW II veteran, Tillery taught at Contra Costa College and later the University of California, Berkeley, School of Education, where he rose to dean and retired a professor emeritus. An advocate for community colleges, he helped plan school systems in the United States, Chile, Peru, and Kenya.

Armand S. Donian, X’42, a WW II veteran, died January 26 in Northbrook, IL. He was 84. A real-estate investor, Donian also owned ice and ice-cream companies. Survivors include two sons, a sister, two grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Joseph J. Hackett, AB’42, SB’48, a computer entrepreneur, died February 25 in Chicago. He was 82. After WW II Army service, Hackett became a military statistical analyst in Germany, then joined IBM in 1952. Six years later he formed his own company, which he sold in 1977 to pursue consulting. Survivors include his wife, Merilyn McGurk Hackett, PhB’45; three daughters, including Patricia Hackett Gilbert, MBA’82; two sisters, Genevieve Hackett Jones, SB’43, and Elaine R. Hackett, AB’47; and four grandchildren.

Bates Lowry, PhB’44, AM’52, PhD’56, an art historian, died March 12 in Brooklyn, NY. He was 80. After serving in the Army during WW II, Lowry taught at institutions including Chicago, Brown, and Pomona. During the ’60s and ’70s he chaired Cria, a group dedicated to preserving Italian art. In 1980 he became founding director of the National Building Museum, a post he held until 1987. Survivors include two daughters, four grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter.

Rhoda Feinberg Fisher, PhB’45, AM’47, PhD’56, a psychologist, died March 21 in Medina, OH. She was 79. Maintaining a private practice in Manlius, NY, Fisher wrote several articles and books with her late husband Seymour Fisher, AM’43, PhD’48. Her studies covered the comic mind and Leonardo da Vinci. Survivors include a daughter and a son.

Joseph B. Norbury, AB’45, JD’52, died March 5 in Washington, DC. He was 76. A WW II Army veteran, Norbury joined the Foreign Service in 1955, serving in Europe and South America, and in posts with the State Department and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. After his 1982 retirement he taught Russian at a local prep school. Survivors include his wife, Marthe; a daughter; a son; and a sister.

Gerald S. Specter, PhB’47, JD’51, a lawyer, died January 31 in Chicago. He was 76. After WW II Navy service, Specter practiced public-interest law and community organizing before joining Acacia Mutual Life Insurance, where he was an estate planner and broker. He retired in the late ’80s. Specter also organized and consulted on local and national political campaigns. Survivors include his wife, Elaine; a daughter; two sons; his mother; a sister; a brother; and three grandchildren.

David F. Ricks, AB’48, PhD’56, a psychology professor, died April 13 in Shepherdstown, WV. He was 77. After teaching at Harvard, Brandeis, Columbia, and Cornell universities, Kabul University in Afghanistan, and City College of New York, Ricks joined the University of Cincinnati in 1976 as psychology department chair, retiring in 1992. He wrote, contributed to, and edited several books. Survivors include his wife, Annie Russell Ricks, PhB’47; three daughters; two sons; 13 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

Harriet Frazier Beaubien, AM’49, died January 27 in Silver Spring, MD. She was 83. Living in Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, Beaubien was active in local women’s clubs and school boards. Settling in Washington, DC, in 1969, she became a community activist and a member of the Woman’s National Democratic Club. Survivors include her husband, Mark S. Beaubien, SB’44, MD’46; two daughters, including Harriet F. Beaubien, AM’76; a son, David W. Beaubien, AM’77, PhD’84; a brother, Robert G. Frazier, PhB’43, SB’45, MD’47; two grandchildren; and a step-grandchild.

1950s

Thomas B. Sanford, PhB’50, SB’51, died February 27 in Baypoint, CA. He was 77. A WW II Navy veteran, Sanford was a certified industrial engineer, spending his 35-year career with United Airlines. Survivors include his wife, Violetta; three daughters; a son; a brother; two sisters; and three grandchildren.

Harold W. Weinstein, AM’51, an advertising executive, died February 25 in Chicago. He was 80. After WW II service, Weinstein worked as a copy supervisor before joining Leo Burnett Worldwide in 1958, rising to group vice president in 1980. He retired in 1982 to found a consulting company, Percepta. Survivors include his wife, Yvonne; a daughter; a son; and five grandchildren.

Edwin G. Carr, AB’52, died December 31 in Bloomington, IN. He was 71. Survivors include his ex-wife, Iris; three daughters; a sister; and two grandchildren.

Michael S. Gordon, AB’52, JD’55, a lawyer, died February 1 in Washington, DC. He was 70. An Army veteran, Gordon worked for the U.S. Department of Labor for 13 years and through the mid-1970s was counsel to the Senate Labor Committee. He later opened a private practice, specializing in pension and labor law. Survivors include his wife, Sonya; a daughter; and two grandchildren.

Margaret Mortimer Myerson, AB’53, AM’59, a public-housing and transportation administrator, died February 27, 2003, in New York City. She was 69. After working in London, Myerson moved to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where she worked for 20 years. She later became bid administration director for the NYC Transit Authority, retiring in 1988. Survivors include her husband, Howard L. Myerson, X’50.

Ernest N. Poll, SB’53, AM’73, an earth-science teacher, died January 20 in Chicago. He was 83. Mapping China’s coast during his WW II service, Poll later ran a summer camp and dude ranch with his wife, Marial. He taught at the School of Education and the Lab Schools, where he remained until retirement. Survivors include his wife, three daughters, three sons, and 15 grandchildren.

Farnham S. Jory, SM’54, PhD’55, a physicist, died February 23 in Danville, CA. He was 77. During a two-year Army stint Jory researched cosmic rays with a University of Maryland group, then worked in the private sector. He later taught at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Long Beach State University. Survivors include two children, a brother, and a sister.

Jane Allen Guthrie, AB’56, MFA’61, an art critic, died January 31 in Cornwall, England. She was 68. After working as an art instructor for Chicago State College and as an art critic for the Chicago Tribune, Guthrie became founding editor of the New Art Examiner. Moving to Washington, DC, in 1982, she continued art criticism and later curated for the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. She served as a Smithsonian Institution senior resident fellow before expatriating to England. Survivors include her husband, Derek; a daughter; a brother; a sister, Constance A. Nathanson, AM’58, PhD’67; and a grandson.

Thomas R. Fitzgerald, PhD’57, a Jesuit priest and college president, died March 22 in Washington, DC. He was 82. Ordained in 1952, Fitzgerald held posts at Georgetown University, including college dean and academic vice president, until the ’70s. He served as president of Fairfield University and the University of St. Louis before retiring a Georgetown professor emeritus in 1999.

1960s

Sydney Jacobs Harth, PhD’60, died January 9 in Madison, WI. She was 77. After teaching medieval English literature at Edgewood College, Harth began her career as a fiction writer, publishing some 50 short stories in various magazines. Survivors include her husband, Phillip Harth, AM’49, PhD’58; two daughters; a son; and six grandchildren.

Sherman R. Lewis Jr., MBA’64, a financier, died of leukemia March 11 in New York City. He was 67. In 1973 Lewis joined the brokerage firm Loeb, Rhoades & Company, becoming president and co-chief executive four years later. The company underwent several mergers, and in 1984 he became cohead of investment banking and vice chair at Lehman Brothers, where he remained through his career. Survivors include his wife, Dorothy; two daughters; two sons; two brothers; and two grandchildren.

Jose A. Morales, AM’65, a social worker, died March 25 in Cicero, IL. He was 71. Morales was an administrator at the SSA and later taught or held administrative posts at Purdue, Northeastern Illinois, and Concordia universities. He also worked with several nonprofit and governmental social-service organizations, developing and overseeing self-help, care-giving, and youth-intervention programs. Survivors include his wife, Gayle; two daughters; three sons; a brother; a sister; and three grandchildren.

Elinor Smith Miller, AM’54, PhD’66, an English professor, died January 19 in Port Orange, FL. She was 72. Miller taught at several institutions before joining Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, where she chaired the humanities and social-sciences department. She retired in 1994 a professor emerita, and in 2002 she published Prisms and Rainbows: Michel Butor’s Collaborations with Jacques Monory, Jiri Kolar, and Pierre Alechinsky. Survivors include one daughter, three sons, and four grandchildren.

1970s

Martin SooHoo, AB’70, MBA’75, a CPA and health-care industry executive, died of a heart attack June 15, 2002, in Chicago. He was 52. Serving Westlake Hospital, Westlake Health Systems, and Synergon Health Systems, SooHoo most recently was vice president and CFO for Sherman Health Systems in Elgin, IL. During his career he hired and mentored a number of Chicago alumni. Survivors include his wife, Judith Ng SooHoo, AB’78; a son; his mother; and two brothers.

Barry J. Suprenant, MBA’76, died of cancer January 30 in Longview, WA. He was 52. From 1976 to 1995 Suprenant lived in Racine, IL, working as an engineer and executive. He later moved to the University of Glasgow, where he was a doctoral candidate in astrophysics before returning to the United States for treatment. Survivors include his wife, Victoria; his mother; three brothers; and a sister.

1980s

Rose C. Jackson, AM’82, DMN’86, a gospel singer and pastor, died February 16 in Hazel Crest, IL. She was 75. In addition to religious studies, Jackson pursued music, psychology, and nursing and was a licensed mortician and cosmetologist. For 25 years she was minister of music and an associate minister at the Apostolic Church of God and later served as pastor of the Greater Faith Apostolic Pentecostal Church. Survivors include three daughters, two sons, a brother, two sisters, and 50 grandchildren.