Deaths
Trustees
Max Palevsky, PhB'48, SB'48, a University trustee emeritus, died May 5 in Beverly Hills, CA. He was 85. A founder of computer-chip company Intel, the WW II veteran worked on Bendix Corporation's first computer in the mid-1950s. Joining Packard Bell in 1957, he and 11 coworkers later founded Scientific Data Systems to create small and medium-size business computers. When Xerox purchased the company for $1 billion in 1969, Palevsky used a portion of his profits to launch the semiconductor start-up that would become Intel. Leaving the technology world in the 1970s to focus on other interests, like producing movies and helping to finance Rolling Stone magazine, Palevsky also supported Tom Bradley's successful 1973 Los Angeles mayoral race. An avid collector of American Arts and Crafts furniture and Japanese woodcuts, he donated both to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. A 1996 University Medal recipient, Palevsky had a long history of supporting Chicago, donating $5 million in 1996 to endow the Palevsky Faculty Fund and $20 million in 2000, a gift commemorated by the naming of the Max Palevsky Residential Commons. His donations also allowed the University to build Max Palevsky Cinema in Ida Noyes Hall. Survivors include his wife, Jodie; a daughter; four sons; a sister; and four grandchildren.
Faculty and Staff
Marjorie "Marj" Bohnhoff, SB'44, SM'50, senior research associate in microbiology, died March 4 in La Grange, IL. She was 87. A researcher of sexually transmitted diseases, she taught at the University of Chicago School of Medicine (now Pritzker) while earning her master's and later did fieldwork in surrounding neighborhoods, studying topics ranging from soldiers' venereal diseases to AIDS. She retired in 1987. Survivors include nieces and nephews.
1930s
Ethel Virginia "Ginny" Patton Keith, PhB'30, died April 16 in Winnetka, IL. She was 101. A Winnetka resident since 1935, Keith was active in the community. A charter member of the Chicago Curling Club, she played the sport into her 70s. Survivors include two daughters, a son, nine grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren, and a great-great-grandchild.
Ruth R. Wolff, PhB'32, died April 4 in Tucson, AZ. She was 99. A longtime St. Paul, MN, resident, she was a patient advocate at Regions Hospital and was Women's Auxiliary president at the Ramsey County Medical Society. Survivors include a daughter and two sons.
Martin Gardner, SB'36, died May 22 in Norman, OK. He was 95. The author of more than 70 books on philosophy, magic, pseudoscience, and literary criticism-including annotations of famous works, like The Annotated Alice (1960)-Gardner was a longtime columnist at Scientific American. A WW II veteran, he started his career at the Tulsa Tribune, and then returned to the University to work in press relations. After freelancing for Esquire and working as an editor at children's magazine Humpty Dumpty, in 1956 Gardner wrote his first piece for Scientific American, where he went on to write the monthly "Mathematical Games" column until 1981. With Carl Sagan, AB'54, SB'55, SM'56, PhD'60, and others, Gardner formed the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (now known as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) to debunk false science, writing a monthly column for its journal, Skeptical Inquirer, until 2002. The winner of a 1971 University of Chicago Alumni Association Professional Achievement Award, Gardner inspired a biennial mathematics and magic conference, Gathering for Gardner. He is survived by two sons and three grandchildren.
Wasley Krogdahl, SB'39, PhD'42, an astrophysicist, died September 16, in Lexington, KY. He was 90. Both he and his wife, Margaret Kiess Krogdahl, PhD'44, were students of Chicago Nobelist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. After teaching in Northwestern University's astronomy department (1946-1958), he joined the University of Kentucky, where he taught until 1986. As a Harlow Shapley visiting lecturer with the American Astronomical Society, Krogdahl spoke at universities throughout the South and Midwest. In addition to his wife, survivors include a daughter, a son, and a grandson.
Ross Netherton, U-High'35, AB'39, AM'40, JD'43, died April 30 in Arlington, VA. He was 91. A WW II veteran, he spent 27 years in the Army Reserve, retiring as a colonel in 1973. Netherton taught law for almost a decade at Chicago-Kent College of Law and American University's Washington College of Law, and then was a consultant for more than 40 years. An expert in land-use planning law, environmental law, and historic preservation, Netherton designed and implemented research programs for national organizations including the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Transportation and the American Bar Association. Survivors include a daughter, two sons, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
1940s
Alice T. Schafer, SM'40, PhD'42, died September 27 in Lexington, MA. She was 94. An advocate of equality for women in mathematics, Schafer taught at institutions including Connecticut College and Wellesley College, from which she retired in 1980. A former president of the Association for Women in Mathematics, Schafer received the Mathematical Association of America's 1998 distinguished service award. Survivors include her husband, Richard Schafer, PhD'42; two sons; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Joan Salmon Dreyfus, U-High'41, PhB'43, an educator, died November 21 in Fairfax, VA. She was 83. Spending most of her career in Latin America, Dreyfus worked on literacy projects in Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, and Costa Rica. Survivors include two sons, a stepdaughter, 18 grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren.
Joan Wehlen Morrison, U-High'40, AB'44, of Morristown, NJ, died February 18. She was 87. A writing teacher at the County College of Morris, Morrison coauthored American Mosaic: The Immigrant Experience in the Words of Those Who Lived It (1980), recognized as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. A member of the National Society of Arts and Letters, she chaired the New Jersey chapter's literature committee. She predeceased her husband, Robert T. Morrison, PhD'44, by two months (see below); she is survived by a daughter, two sons, and five grandchildren.
Robert T. Morrison, PhD'44, died April 25 in Morristown, NJ. He was 91. A WW II Navy veteran, he taught at New York University for two decades, retiring in 1968. His 1959 organic-chemistry text (coauthored with Robert N. Boyd, SB'36), now in its sixth edition, is one of the best-selling college textbooks on any subject. In 2001 Chemistry named the text one of the 24 "Great Books of Chemistry." His wife, Joan Morrison, U-High'40, AB'44, died two months earlier (see above); he is survived by a daughter, two sons, and five grandchildren.
Loren DeWind, MD'45, died December 26 in Palm Desert, CA. He was 92. A WW II veteran, he was an internist and endocrinologist in the Los Angeles area, where he helped develop weight-loss surgery techniques. Retiring in 1986, DeWind did quality-assurance work and conducted medical-records reviews. He is survived by his wife, Annette; two daughters; and three grandsons.
Robert Carter, PhB'46, AM'49, PhD'53, died February 22 in Bronx, NY. He was 82. Ordained in 1963, he was one of the first Roman Catholic priests in the nation to publicly declare he was gay. Cofounder of what later became the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Carter was also a trained social worker. He helped launch the New York chapter of gay Catholic support group DignityUSA, counseled AIDS patients, and supervised the outpatient AIDS program at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital Center. Survivors include a sister.
Virginia M. Ohlson, SB'46, AM'55, PhD'69, a nurse, died April 10 in Northbrook, IL. She was 95. Following WW II, Ohlson traveled to Japan to assist with public-health efforts. She later served as director of nursing for the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission in Hiroshima, a group created to study the effects of atomic-bomb radiation, and helped to establish a system for licensing Japanese nurses. In 1963 Ohlson joined the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Nursing faculty, developing a master's program in public-health nursing and founding the Office for International Studies (now the Office of Global Health Leadership). In 1991 Ohlson received Japan's Third Order of the Precious Crown. Survivors include a sister.
Jack Meltzer, AM'47, died May 5 in Washington. He was 88. As director of planning for the University's South East Chicago Commission, Meltzer drew up urban-renewal plans for blocks between 47th and 59th streets. He later launched his own urban-planning firm, consulting on projects for the University of Illinois at Chicago. Meltzer rejoined UChicago in 1963 as director of the Center for Urban Studies and professor in the Social Sciences Division and the College. He chaired the College's public-affairs program and the School of Social Service Administration's social-development program before becoming dean of the University of Texas at Dallas's school of social sciences (1983-86). He was predeceased by his wife, former SSA adjunct professor Rae Libin Meltzer, AB'43, AM'59. Survivors include his daughter, Ellen Meltzer Schneider, U-High'73; two sons; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Adriana Bouterse, AM'49, died April 6 in Grand Rapids, MI. She was 97. A social worker, Bouterse served as director of the Chicago Half-Orphanage (now Chapin Hall), directed Cleveland's East End Neighborhood House, and worked at a Cleveland rehabilitation facility. In retirement, she consulted part time for a nursing home. Survivors include a brother and two sisters.
Bill F. Rothschild, SM'49, died December 28 in Sherman Oaks, CA. He was 85. A WW II veteran, he was an electrochemist in the aerospace industry, working at Autonetics (which became a division of Rockwell International) and Boeing. Named one of Rockwell's Engineers of the Year in 1975, he served as president of the American Electroplaters Society's Los Angeles chapter. In retirement, he volunteered at the Santa Ana Zoo. Rothschild is survived by his wife, Gertrude "Trudy" Rothschild, X'49; a daughter; two sons; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
1950s
Louis E. Harper Jr., AM'50, a psychologist, died April 29 in Bayside, WI. He was 85. A WW II veteran, he worked at the University's Orthogenic School for 20 years, as a counselor, teacher, and principal. Moving to Milwaukee in 1970, Harper taught at Lakeside Children's Center and was a school psychologist at local public schools. He is survived by his wife, Joan; two daughters, including Jennifer Boettcher, U-High'69; three sons, including Joseph T. Harper, U-High'70, MBA'78; 15 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Nathan Keyfitz, PhD'52, died April 6 in Cambridge, MA. He was 96. A research statistician with Canada's Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Keyfitz later taught at Chicago, Berkeley, and Harvard, where he chaired the sociology and public-health departments. Retiring from teaching in 1983, he became director of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis near Vienna, Austria. He was named the institute's first president in 1998. A pioneer in mathematical demography, Keyfitz was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Statistical Society. Survivors include a daughter; son Robert Keyfitz, U-High'64; a sister; and three grandchildren.
Marigolden "G-G" Guest Tritschler, AM'52, died April 28 in Austin, TX. She was 79. Tritschler held administrative positions at Kenwood Academy in Albany, NY, before being named head of the Bancroft School in Worcester, MA. Under her leadership (1981-1992), a capital campaign generated funds to endow teacher and student programs, as well as new facilities. In her honor, the school established the G-G Tritschler Fund, which contributes to an annual faculty award. Survivors include a daughter, a son, and four grandchildren.
David S. Noss, PhD'52, died January 7 in Tiffin, OH. He was 89. Noss joined Heidelberg College's religion and philosophy faculty in 1950, teaching there even after his 1989 retirement. The 12th edition of his text A History of the World's Religions was published in 2007. His wife, Elizabeth Noss, AB'45, AB'57, died in 2004. Survivors include a daughter, a son, and seven grandchildren.
David C. Knapp, AM'48, PhD'53, died April 13 in Concord, MA. He was 82. Joining the University of New Hampshire in 1953 as an assistant professor of government, Knapp then held administrative positions at UNH and Cornell and was named president of the University of Massachusetts in 1978. Under his leadership, the university added two new campuses and strengthened its economic-development and international-relations programs. Awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan for his oversight of the Massachusetts-Hokkaido Sister State Committee, Knapp retired in 1990. He then led the governing boards of the Japan Society of Boston, the New England Board of Higher Education, and the Renaissance Charter School. He is survived by his wife, Rita; two sons; a sister; and four grandchildren.
Raymond J. Corsini, PhD'55, a psychologist, died November 8, 2008, in Honolulu. He was 94. After working in San Quentin State Prison and other correctional facilities, he developed the Corsini 4-R system, a model based on Adlerian psychology that launched a worldwide network of schools. He edited a four-volume Encyclopedia of Psychology and coedited the best-selling text Current Psychotherapies. Corsini spent the last 44 years of his life in Honolulu, where he was an adjunct professor at the University of Hawaii and founded the Family Education Center of Hawaii. He received the Hawaii Psychological Association's 2004 lifetime achievement award and was a fellow of the American Psychological Association's Society for General Psychology. He is survived by his wife, Kleona; and daughter Evelyn Corsini, U-High'61.
Walter F. Murphy, PhD'57, died April 20 in Charleston, SC. He was 80. A Korean War veteran, he taught political science at Princeton for 37 years, retiring as professor emeritus in 1995. A constitutional scholar, he pioneered the study of Supreme Court judicial politics. His 1979 novel, The Vicar of Christ, spent three months on the New York Times best-seller list and won the Chicago Foundation for Literature Award. A member of the Supreme Court of New Jersey's committee on judicial conduct, Murphy served as vice president for the American Political Science Association and was a Guggenheim, Fulbright, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences fellow. He is survived by his wife, Doris; and two daughters.
Jay E. Wagner, MD'57, an orthopedic surgeon, died August 27, 2009, in Commack, NY. He was 77. After serving as an Army Medical Corps captain, Wagner practiced for 42 years in Bay Shore, NY. He is survived by his wife, Mickey; two daughters; and three granddaughters.
A. C. "Tony" Genova, AB'57, AB'58, AM'58, PhD'65, a philosophy professor, died March 20 in Lawrence, KS. He was 80. An Air Force veteran, he taught at Wichita State University before joining the University of Kansas, where he spent 38 years and was department chair from 1978 to 2004. A Kantian, he sat on the advisory board of the Southwest Philosophy Review for more than 15 years and served as president and chair of the Central States Philosophical Association. He is survived by his wife, Veronica; and a daughter.
Carolyn Kiblinger Mandel, AB'59, died May 13 in Port Washington, NY. She was 72. After marrying Maurice Mandel, AB'56, AB'57, she settled in Port Washington, where she taught English and raised a family. She also owned a floral-design business and helped lead the Baxter's Pond Park beautification project. In addition to her husband, Mandel is survived by three sons; two brothers; sister Katherine Gottschalk, AB'62, AM'63, PhD'74; and seven grandchildren.
1960s
Devra G. Kleiman, SB'64, a biologist, died of cancer April 29 in Washington. She was 67. An expert on giant pandas and Brazil's endangered golden lion tamarins, she spent most of her career at the National Zoo helping to develop the conservation-biology field. She joined the zoo in 1972, rising to assistant research director in 1986. Her cooperative breeding program helped change the tamarin species' status from critically endangered to endangered. Retiring from the zoo in 2001, Kleiman continued to teach at the University of Maryland as adjunct biology professor-a position she had held since 1979. She is survived by her husband, Ian; three stepdaughters, including Elise Edie, AB'85; her mother; brother Charles S. Kleiman, AB'69; and four grandchildren.
John Moland Jr., PhD'67, a sociologist, died March 22 in Zachary, LA. He was 83. An Army veteran, Moland spent most of his career at Southern University and Alabama State University. He directed Southern University's Center for Social Research for nearly two decades, followed by 13 years as director of Social Science Research at Alabama State. His many professional honors included the American Sociological Association's DuBois-Johnson-Frazier Award (later renamed as Cox-Johnson-Frazier Award). Survivors include a daughter, two sons, a sister, and a grandson.
Anita A. Kieras Yurchyshyn, AB'67, an environmentalist and educator, died February 19 in Boston. She was 64. Yurchyshyn served five years as the Sierra Club's vice president for international affairs, winning the organization's inaugural Sherman Award for Outstanding International Leadership. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was a U.S. delegation representative to the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention. Her husband, George B. Yurchyshyn, JD'65, MBA'67, died in 1994. Survivors include two daughters; sister Arlene (Kieras) Cook, AB'63; and two grandsons.
Jeffrey P. Froehlich, MD'69, of Baltimore, died of surgical complications August 2009. He was 66. In 1972 Froehlich, who studied cellular-transport mechanisms, joined the Gerontology Research Center at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging, working his way up to chief of the membrane-biology section in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science. Retiring in 1999, he then taught at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His recent research included developing stents for coronary treatments. He is survived by his wife, Sandra; a son; a sister; and two granddaughters.
1970s
William LaFleur, AM'71, PhD'73, died February 26 in Villanova, PA. He was 73. LaFleur taught Japanese intellectual history at universities including Tokyo's Sophia University before joining the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. The first non-Japanese scholar to win the Watsuji Tetsuro Prize, for his research on Japanese Buddhism and philosophy, his work includes books on medieval monk-poet Saigyo and abortion in Japan. He is survived by his wife, Mariko; two daughters; and a son.
Ethel Betty Flecker Taub, MBA'74, died March 27 in Sarasota, FL. She was 80. The first female business student admitted to Rutgers University, she founded Chicago advertising company Creative Displays Inc. with her husband, Ronald. Taub was the first woman to win the Point-of-Purchase Advertising Institute's Man-of-the-Year Award. She is survived by her husband; three daughters, including Liba Taub, AM'78, and Zisl Edelson, JD'87, MBA'87; and four grandchildren.
Robb Murray, AM'77, died of natural causes February 10 in Chicago. He was 56. Murray worked briefly at the Chicago Public Library before becoming a computer programmer. He later launched his own computer-education company and did voiceover work for radio and television. Survivors include his father, a brother, and two sisters.
Myron Hoff Davis, AB'79, a photographer, died April 17 in Chicago. He was 90. Davis became Life magazine's youngest photographer on staff after he started as a freelancer in 1940. Dropping out of the College in 1941 (he didn't return to finish his degree until 1976), he soon joined the full-time staff, working in the Chicago office before transferring to Washington, where he photographed President Roosevelt and General Eisenhower. A war correspondent photographer in the Southwest Pacific during WW II, he covered five invasions. In 1950 Davis left Life to freelance for Ladies' Home Journal and the Saturday Evening Post, and he also worked for the Chicago Sun-Times. He shot the iconic photo of actors Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster embracing on a beach in From Here to Eternity. Survivors include a daughter, two sons, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
1980s
Carolyn M. Rodgers, AM'84, a poet, died of cancer April 2 in Chicago. She was 69. Rodgers's work explored the challenges facing African American women. Her 1975 collection How I Got Ovah: New and Selected Poems was a finalist for the National Book Award. Also a critic and short-story writer, Rodgers taught at Chicago's Malcolm X and Harold Washington colleges, and she lectured at universities including Fisk and Emory. Survivors include her mother and two sisters.
1990s
Ellen Renee Meyer, MST'91, died of colon cancer April 25 in Portland, OR. She was 43. Meyer taught elementary school and then became an educational researcher. An active member of Congregation Havurah Shalom, Meyer moved to Portland in 2005. She is survived by her husband, Doug; a daughter; a son; and two brothers.
2000s
Sarah Damaske, a student in the Harris School's MPP program, died of cancer February 21 in St. Joseph, MI. She was 28. After graduating from Michigan State University in 2003, she worked for state senators Harry Gast and Michael Bishop. When her cancer was diagnosed, she had just been selected for a summer internship at the White House Office of Management and Budget. She is survived by her parents, a sister, and a grandmother.
2010s
Daniel Firkins, Chicago Booth Class of '14, died May 22 of injuries after being dragged by a cab near his Chicago home. He was 32. A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Firkins was a stock trader before enrolling at Chicago Booth. Survivors include his parents, two sisters, and a grandmother.