Deaths
Faculty and Staff
Melvin Griem, professor emeritus in radiation and cellular oncology, died February 7 in Chicago. He was 85. A WW II veteran, Griem joined the University’s staff in 1957, becoming section chief of radiation therapy by 1966. Helping to establish the field of radiation oncology, he was a founder of the University’s neutron-therapy unit and conducted critical studies on the effects of therapeutic radiation. In 2010 Griem received the radiology department’s Paul C. Hodges Alumni Excellence Award. His wife, associate professor of dermatology Sylvia F. Griem, died in 2010. He is survived by daughters Katherine Griem, U-High’74, and Melanie Griem, U-High’80, MD’90; son Robert Griem, U-High’77; a sister; and three grandchildren, including Hugh Montag, U-High’07, William Montag, U-High’09, and current Lab Schools student Caroline Montag.
Miriam Hansen, the Ferdinand Schevill distinguished service professor in the humanities, died of cancer February 5 in Chicago. She was 61. An expert in American silent film and film theory and founder of the University’s Committee on Cinema and Media Studies, Hansen wrote Babel and Babylon: Spectatorship in American Silent Film (1991). A Guggenheim fellow and three-time winner of the Katherine Singer Kovacs Essay Award in film, television, and video studies, Hansen completed a book manuscript on Frankfurt School film theorists Siegfried Kracauer, Walter Benjamin, and Theodor W. Adorno shortly before her death. She is survived by her husband, Chicago history professor Michael Geyer, and a brother.
Cita V. (Tupurins) Milbergs, CER’61, died September 12 in Harvey, IL. She was 88. Milbergs worked for the University of Chicago for 26 years, first as a secretary for surgeon and cancer researcher John Van Prohaska, SB’28, MD’34, and then as secretary and event planner for the Biological Sciences Division’s development office. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Governors State University at age 72.
William “Bill” Simms, associate professor of physical education and head coach of the men’s and women’s tennis teams, died January 23 in Chicago. He was 72. Joining the University in 1967, Simms led the tennis teams to 350 wins before retiring in 2000. Winner of several professional tennis tournaments, he was also a gymnast and was inducted into the Gymnastics Hall of Fame at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He is survived by his wife, Jewell Oates.
Bruce Winstein, the Samuel K. Allison distinguished service professor in physics, the Enrico Fermi Institute, and the College, died of cancer February 28 in Chicago. He was 67. A particle physicist and cosmologist, Winstein studied the aftermath of the big bang, producing the first definitive evidence that matter and antimatter are not mirror opposites. A Guggenheim fellow and recipient of the American Physical Society’s 2007 Panofsky Prize for outstanding achievements in experimental particle physics, he cofounded the University’s Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics. Winstein was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is survived by his wife, Joan Winstein, AM’73; a daughter; a son; and a sister.
1930s
Ruth Debs, PhB’32, died December 6 in San Francisco. She was 100. A 40-year Chicago resident, Debs chaired the local chapter of the National Council Conference of Christians and Jews and served on the boards of the Chicago Jewish Welfare Federation and the League of Women Voters. In 1974 she moved to San Francisco, where she endowed a scholarship fund at the City College of San Francisco and funded a dental clinic. Her husband, Jerome H. Debs, PhB’28, died in 1997. She is survived by a daughter; two sons, including Robert Debs, MD’77; seven grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Frances B. Corwin, AB’38, JD’40, an attorney, died February 1 in Evanston, IL. She was 92. Corwin spent more than 60 years at the Legal Aid Bureau of Metropolitan Family Services in Chicago. In 1991 she received the Lawyer’s Trust Fund Annual Award for her commitment to representing the underprivileged. She also received the Samuel S. Berger Award from the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Survivors include three sons, a brother, a sister, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
1940s
Sidney Lipshires, AB’40, died January 6 in West Hartford, CT. He was 91. A WW II veteran, Lipshires taught history at Manchester Community College for 30 years and cofounded a statewide union, the Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges, for community-college professionals. For 12 years he represented the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition on the Connecticut Investment Advisory Council. Survivors include a daughter, two sons, a sister, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Anne Borders Lynch, AB’40, died January 31 in Weston, MA. She was 93. A reading tutor, Lynch taught at the Cambridge Friends School for more than 30 years. A social activist, she enjoyed volunteering, the arts, and travel. Survivors include two daughters, including Catherine Lynch, AB’71; two sons; a brother; and three grandchildren.
Beatrice Gaidzik Perry, X’42, died January 12 in Livingston, NY. She was 89. Perry co-owned and directed Washington’s Gres Gallery, working with emerging international artists. Her husband, former U of C trustee Hart Perry, X’39, AB’40, AM’40, died in 1991. Survivors include a son and two grandsons.
Verna Y. Barefoot, SM’45, died February 18 in Kentucky. She was 94. After serving with the Navy’s WAVE unit during WW II, she practiced medicine in New Bern, NC. Barefoot then directed the Craven County Health Department and the North Carolina Division of Maternal and Child Health, creating programs for pediatric health, hospice, and family planning. Named outstanding health director by the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, she also received the Craven Regional Medical Center Foundation’s 2006 Health Care Award of Excellence. Survivors include two daughters and three sons.
Virginia “Ginny” (Lus) Pomerance, X’45, died February 7 in Elmhurst, IL. She was 87. A longtime volunteer with Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, Pomerance was copresident of her local PTA and served as a Brownie and Girl Scout leader for more than two decades. She also worked as part-time interviewer for the Census Bureau. She is survived by her husband, Eugene C. Pomerance, SB’42, MBA’47; two daughters; a son; five grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
Josephine M. Wecker, SB’45, died January 7 in Chicago. She was 88. Wecker taught junior-high mathematics in the Homewood, IL, school system for 30 years. She is survived by her husband, Norman; a daughter; two sons; five grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
Harriet (Kraemer) Beck, AM’46, a clinical psychologist, died April 15, 2009, in Phoenix. She was 88. After being named director of the Arizona State Department of Mental Health in 1955, Beck founded the first child-guidance clinic in Arizona. She later ran a private child psychology practice. Survivors include two sons and two grandsons.
Lenora Berson, PhB’46, died February 12 in Philadelphia. She was 84. During more than 40 years in Philadelphia politics, Berson served as director of special events in the Office of the City Representative. Wife of former state representative Norman Berson, she headed the Center City Residents Association and wrote for the Daily News, Philadelphia magazine, and the New York Times Magazine. She is survived by her husband, a daughter, a son, and a grandson.
Gorin Farny, SM’46, a biologist, died January 22 in Newark, DE. She was 85. After 13 years as a natural-sciences professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Farny joined Lincoln University in 1968 and retired in 1995. She is survived by her husband, Jim; a son; and a sister.
Blaise Levai, AM’46, died December 20 in Jacksonville, FL. He was 91. After serving as a missionary pastor and professor in South India for more than 15 years, Levai worked as managing editor for the American Bible Society and director of literature for the Methodist Board of Missions. He later served as pastor at churches in New Jersey, Florida, and Nepal. He is survived by his wife, Marian; four daughters; a son; ten grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
William MacFarlane Neil, AB’46, AM’48, PhD’51, a historian, died November 15 in Galloway, NJ. He was 90. A WW II veteran, Neil taught at Indiana University Northwest, retiring as professor emeritus in 1985. Survivors include a daughter, a son, ten grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren.
David Broder, AB’47, AM’51, a Pulitzer Prize–winning political columnist, died March 9 in Arlington, VA. He was 81. As a senior political correspondent for the Washington Post and frequent Meet the Press guest, Broder was known for his balanced commentary. His 1987 book Behind the Front Page (Simon & Schuster) explored press coverage of politics—Broder covered every presidential convention since 1956. Awarded the 1973 Pulitzer for his Watergate reporting, Broder received the University’s 1978 Professional Achievement Award and its 2005 Alumni Medal. He is survived by his wife, Ann (Collar) Broder, AB’48, AM’51; four sons, including Michael Broder, MBA’91; and seven grandchildren.
S. Levinson, AM’47, died February 3 in Toledo, OH. He was 91. Levinson was executive director of the Northwest Indiana Jewish Welfare Federation and then the Toledo Jewish Welfare Federation until 1984. In retirement he did fundraising and community relations for nonprofit agencies. He is survived by his wife, Madeline Weiner Levinson, PhB’44, SB’46; a daughter; a son; and two grandchildren.
Berneice Lowe Clayton, AM’48, died December 17 in Sacramento, CA. She was 87. Working with the Sacramento school district, Clayton launched one of the country’s first Head Start programs and started the early childhood development department—later named after her—at Sacramento City College. Founder and past president of California Community College Early Childhood Educators, Clayton retired in 1993. She is survived by her husband, Norman Clayton, AM’48; three sons; and two grandchildren.
Elmer William Kuhlmann Jr., PhB’48, an engineer, died February 1 in Morris Plains, NJ. He was 86. A WW II veteran, Kuhlmann spent his career with Bell Labs, working in missile defense and later on the team that developed the mobile phone. He is survived by his wife, Frances; three daughters; a son; three grandchildren; and four step-grandchildren.
Sheldon Nathan Reibman, AB’48, died in February in Boca Raton, FL. He was 81. A founding partner of law firm Reibman and Hoffman, Reibman is survived by his wife, Beverly; a daughter; two sons; a brother; and five grandchildren.
Clayton B. Edisen, PhB’49, MD’53, a neurologist and psychiatrist, died January 8 in Metairie, LA. He was 83. A professor at Tulane University, Edisen practiced medicine in New Orleans for more than 50 years. Recipient of a gold key to the city for his community service and an honorary state senator, Edisen sat on the board of the New Orleans Opera Association for more than 25 years. Survivors include two daughters, a son, two stepchildren, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Roland “Scott” Grybek, PhB’49, a microbiologist, died January 1 in Tampa, FL. He was 85. A WW II veteran, Grybek founded science consulting company Interscience Inc., was a founding member of the American Microbiology Association, and served as president of the Florida Advisory Committee on Arson Prevention. He is survived by his wife, Diane (Darrow) Grybek, U-High’46, AB’50; a daughter; two sons; and five grandchildren.
Morris J. Seide, PhB’47, SB’49, MD’53, died December 29 in West Hartford, CT. He was 89. A WW II veteran, Seide practiced internal medicine at Hartford Hospital for 50 years, retiring at age 82. Seide also taught medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and the University of Connecticut. President of the Hartford County Medical Association and the Hartford Medical Society, he was named physician laureate of Connecticut by the American College of Physicians. He is survived by his wife, Sylvia; two daughters; a son; a sister; and five grandchildren.
1950s
Charles W. Cure, PhD’50, died January 15 in Columbus, IN. He was 90. After serving as neurosurgery chief in the US Army Medical Corps, Cure ran a private neurosurgery practice in Indianapolis from 1955 to 1976. Moving his practice to Columbus, he also was on staff at Bartholomew County Hospital until his 1983 retirement. He is survived by his wife, Eloise; a daughter; a son; and five grandchildren.
Stephen Terry McDermott Jr., AB’51, died February 8 in Greenville, SC. He was 80. A pianist, composer, and conductor, McDermott taught music theory and dance history at Stephens College in Columbia, MO, for 25 years. Before retiring in 1990, he was also music director for the Harriette Ann Gray Dance Company and on the artistic staff of the Perry-Mansfield School of Theater and Dance. He is survived by his wife, Jenifer.
Irene Landkof Jerison, AM’53, a writer and translator, died January 6 in Santa Monica, CA. She was 84. After surviving a Nazi concentration camp, Jerison met her husband, Harry Jerison, SB’47, PhD’54, at the University. The couple moved to Los Angeles, where she edited the third edition of Los Angeles: Structure of a City (LA League of Women Voters, 1976). Jerison also wrote travel pieces for the Los Angeles Times. She is survived by her husband, a daughter, two sons, and five grandchildren.
Donald H. Treese, DB’55, died January 21 in Carlisle, PA. He was 80. Treese was a United Methodist pastor at central Pennsylvania churches before retiring in 1993. For 14 years he was also the associate general secretary for the ordained ministry division of the Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville, TN. He is survived by his wife, Lois; two daughters; a son; a brother; a sister; and one grandson.
Dewey Alvin Ganzel Jr., AM’54, PhD’58, an English professor, died January 31 in Oberlin, OH. He was 83. A scholar of the modern American novel, Ganzel joined Oberlin College in 1958 and retired in 1997. Ganzel published two books, Mark Twain Abroad (University of Chicago Press, 1968) and Fortune and Men’s Eyes: The Career of John Payne Collier (Oxford University Press, 1982). He is survived by his wife, Carol Henderson Ganzel, AM’54; three daughters, including Emily Frances Ganzel, AB’85; and three grandchildren.
George Kenneth Romoser, AM’54, PhD’58, died February 1 in Durham, NH. He was 81. An expert in German politics, Romoser was professor emeritus at the University of New Hampshire. Cofounder and chair of the Conference Group on German Politics, he launched an advanced-study internship program with the German parliament. He is survived by his wife, Mechthild; two daughters; and five grandchildren.
Leonard Bushkoff, AM’59, died December 25 in Boston. He was 78. Bushkoff taught history at Oakland University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Roxbury Community College. Also a writer of modern history, he published features, book reviews, and op-eds on military history in national newspapers. At the time of his death, he was writing a history of mid-20th-century CIA front groups in Europe. He was predeceased by his first wife, Sheila (Englund) Bushkoff, AM’59. He is survived by his second wife, Kathleen; a son; a stepdaughter; and a stepson.
William Gernon, SB’59, MD’63, a head and neck surgeon, died December 20 in University Place, WA. He was 72. Gernon served for more than 22 years in the US Army Medical Corps, retiring in 1987 as a colonel and recipient of the Legion of Merit. He then joined the Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative staff, where he spent 12 years, including time as chief of the ENT Service at Tacoma Specialty Center. He is survived by his wife, Norma Andrea “Andie” Schmidt Gernon, AB’61; four sons, including John Hall Gernon, AB’85; and three grandchildren.
1960s
Robert E. Lienhard, MBA’61, died June 6, 2010, in Madison, CT. He was 72. Lienhard began his international business career with Standard Oil and then became an early partner at Boston Consulting Group. After 14 years he joined BOC International Group and Forte Group PLC, retiring in 1997. He is survived by his wife, Mary; a daughter; two sons; and six grandchildren.
Albert Earl Nichols, AM’61, died December 16 in Oconomowoc, WI. He was 80. A pastor in Beloit and in Sussex, WI, he chaired the ministerial relations committee in the Presbytery of Milwaukee and led efforts to ordain gays and lesbians. Nichols also served on the boards of Planned Parenthood and NARAL. Survivors include three sons, a brother, and five grandchildren.
Judith “Judy” (Field) Erickson, AB’62, AM’63, died February 18 in Chicago. She was 70. A federal government employee for more than 20 years, Erickson later was a substitute high-school history teacher. She also worked in the Chicago headquarters of President Obama’s 2008 campaign. She is survived by her husband, Dennis; three daughters; a stepdaughter; a sister; and three granddaughters.
Charles Anthony Gordon, SB’64, died of cancer December 24 in Princeton, NJ. He was 68. A research meteorologist for four decades, in 1972 Gordon joined the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. He is survived by his wife, Ann, and a brother.
Robert J. Potter, PhD’65, died December 18 in Asheville, NC. He was 87. A WW II and Korean War veteran, Potter taught sociology at Flint Junior College (now Charles Stewart Mott Community College) and at the College at Brockport campus of the State University of New York. He retired in 1987. Survivors include a daughter, two sons, a sister, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Benjamin C. Duster III, MBA’67, an attorney who helped end Chicago school segregation, died February 11 in Chicago. He was 83. The grandson of civil-rights activist Ida B. Wells, Duster ran a corporate and real-estate practice on the South Side for three decades. In the 1970s he chaired the city’s desegregation advisory panel, which laid the groundwork for a 1980 court decision to integrate public schools. He also cofounded the Ida B. Wells Foundation. He is survived by his wife, Murrell; two daughters; a son; two brothers; a sister; and 11 grandchildren.
William Hinkley, AM’68, died October 2, 2009, in Washington. He was 65. After two years working at Tribhuvan University Library in Kathmandu, Nepal, with the Peace Corps, Hinkley joined the Library of Congress as a serials bibliographer. He retired in 2005. Survivors include a sister.
John “Jack” Calfee, AM’69, an economist, died of a heart attack February 16 in Bethesda, MD. He was 69. Focusing on the pharmaceutical industry, Calfee worked at the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Protection Bureau before joining the American Enterprise Institute as a resident scholar. During his 16 years there, he wrote on government regulation and testified before Congress on issues of drug safety and advertising. His three books include Biotechnology and the Patent System (AEI Press, 2007), which argued that biotechnology companies should receive intellectual property protection. He is survived by his wife, Brenda; three daughters; his mother; a brother; a sister; and two grandchildren.
Salvatore V. Ferrera, AM’58, PhD’69, died December 7 in Oak Park, IL. He was 77. As director of Chicago nonprofit Metropolitan Housing Development Corporation for 40 years, Ferrera helped create affordable housing for low-income residents. As music and program director of the Cavaliers drum and bugle corps, he led the group to national championships and was admitted to the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame in 1986. He is survived by his wife, Ellen Dick; four daughters, including Victoria “Tory” Ferrera, AB’89; two sons, including Vincent Ferrera, AB’83, PhD’89; a brother; two sisters; and seven grandchildren.
1970s
James E. Mungas, MD’70, died of ALS January 19 in Great Falls, MT. He was 66. Mungas ran a private practice in general and vascular surgery for 30 years. He is survived by his wife, Carol; a daughter; a son; two brothers; and a sister.
William Hersh, MBA’74, died January 24 in Chicago. He was 72. An IBM systems engineer, Hersh also taught at DeVry University and was the financial manager for the Pegasus Players theater company. He also volunteered with local organizations. He is survived by his wife, Mary, and two sisters.
Ivan Brauer, AB’75, died December 1 in Phoenix. He was 56. An internist, he ran a private practice in Sun City, AZ. Brauer also was an artist and a small-aircraft pilot. He is survived by his companion, James, and a sister.
Jonathan Barry Bowens Rubin, AM’76, died December 28 in Madison, WI, of graft vs. host disease after a bone-marrow transplant. He was 58. A school social worker, Rubin spent 32 years with the Hopkins (MN) School District before joining the Madison public schools. He is survived by his wife, LuAnne; a daughter; a son; his mother; and a sister.
1990s
David L. Smith, AM’97, died January 14 in Chicago. He was 59. A supervisor with the City of Chicago’s Aviation, Environmental, Regulatory, and Contracts Division, Smith worked on O’Hare Airport modernization and on Chicago River clean-up efforts. He enjoyed travel, music, and theater. He is survived by his wife, Rebecca; a daughter; and two grandchildren.
2000s
Nathaniel Pascale, AB’09, died January 5 in Toronto. He was 24. While a student in the College, Pascale spent a summer in Delhi, India, as a writer for the English-language newspaper Express India. After graduation Pascale pursued a TESOL certificate to teach English abroad. He is survived by his parents and a sister.