1920s
1927
Margaret Condon Reaves Ed’27, Reston, Va., a high-school teacher in the Philadelphia area for over 30 years; Jan. 30. A pianist and music lover, she once recalled that while at Penn she and a friend used to regularly walk the 15 blocks to the Academy of Music to hear the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra play. She was an amateur poet her entire life, writing her last poem, “November Sunset,” at age 97. During World War II she sent clothes to a British family who had lost their home in the bombing of London; she remained in correspondence with them for the next 50 years and visited them twice, most recently in 1995. She taught Sunday school and played the piano for weeknight services at church. In her seventies she explored the pyramids and jungles of Central America, flying into remote areas in a three-seater plane.
1928
Alexander Katzin C’28 L’31, Bala Cynwyd, Pa., a retired attorney and the former special deputy attorney general for the state of Pennsylvania; March 14.
1929
Dr. Cyrus A. Draper Jr. C’29 D’30, Ramsey, N.J., a dentist for nearly 35 years, until his retirement in 1964; Feb. 1. At Penn he was a member of Delta Sigma Delta fraternity and graduated with honors.
Sadie Erkes Wurman Ed’29, Scottsdale, Ariz., Dec. 29, 2003.
1930s
1930
Pator Bruce D. Compton C’30 G’43, Litchfield Park, Ariz., the pastor of Morningside Presbyterian Church in Phoenix, until his retirement in 1975; Feb. 28. He began his religious calling as a pastor at Sherwood Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. In 1946 he was invited to teach in the religion and philosophy department at Macalester College. He returned to the ministry in 1953 as pastor of the first Presbyterian College in Danville, Ky., where he remained until moving to Arizona in 1960. Following his retirement he worked as a volunteer for World Vision and served as head of the Evangelical Ministers Association.
Joseph B. Shamonsky WEF’30, Pinellas Park, Fla., Sept. 29, 2001.
1931
Elizabeth G. Reilly NTS’31, Lakewood, N.J., June 2, 2004.
Theodore K. Warner Jr. C’31 L’34, Philadelphia, an attorney and president of the Canada Southern Railway until his retirement in 1970; Feb. 6. While at Penn he worked part-time at RCA in Camden, N.J., while earning his degrees. Earlier in his career he was an attorney for the Pennsylvania Railroad, where he served as vice president for three years. In 1993 he was named president of the Independence Foundation, an organization that supports nonprofits in the Philadelphia region, including Project HOME. He was secretary-treasurer at the time of his death. “Ted was a person of quiet strength,” said Sister Mary Scullion, executive director of the foundation. “He encouraged me and many others who wanted to improve the quality of life in Philadelphia.” He walked every day to the Independence Foundation and to the Union League, where he was a 50-year member, for lunch. And he liked to recall taking a ferry across the Delaware River from Camden to Philadelphia before the Benjamin Franklin Bridge was built in 1926. He was known for his trademark daily comment on life, “It’s been fun!”
1933
Henry G. Fischer W’33, Washington, a retired attorney and legal publisher; Jan. 3. He began his career working at the Securities and Exchange Commission. The following year he co-founded Pike & Fischer Inc., a legal publishing company; begun in a basement, it operated continuously until it was purchased by the Bureau of National Affairs in 1984. It published Federal Rules Service, Federal Rules Digest, Federal Rules of Evidence, Administrative Law, and Radio Regulation. After serving in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II, he continued the publishing house and founded the law firm of Fischer, Willis & Panzer, which specialized in communications law and civil procedure. He represented Col. William F. Friedman, a leading American codebreaker who had not been properly compensated for his cryptographic inventions because of their classified nature until Congress awarded him $100,000 in 1956. From 1940 to 1956 (except during his Army service), Fischer taught a graduate seminar on federal practice at Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law. During the 1960s he and his partners dissolved Fischer, Willis & Panzer in order to concentrate on legal editing and publishing. He was a co-founder and former president of Temple Sinai. A passionate golfer, he played several times a week until age 92.
Maurice S. Peizer C’33, Cedar Grove, N.J., the assistant creative director for the McAdams Medical Advertising Agency of New York, until his retirement in 1980; Jan. 20. He was a past president of the American Medical Writers Association; and her served on the board of the Cedar Grove Historical Society.
Richard H. Rhoads W’33, Kennett Square, Pa., retired partner, president, and chair of his family’s firm, J. E. Rhoads & Sons; Feb. 26. America’s oldest company, it was founded in 1702; he was employed there for over 50 years. A Quaker, he served on committees for numerous school, civic, and international service organizations, and in 1949-50, coordinated feeding Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip for the American Friends Service Committee. He was a founder of Runnemeade, an integrated housing development near Wilmington, Del., and he founded Pacem in Terris, a Wilmington peace and social-justice group. In his later years enjoyed compiling family genealogies from stories and biographies of descendants and cousins. A proud gardener, he helped grow gigantic pumpkins, including one that weighed over 230 pounds, larger than the biggest pumpkin grown at Longwood Gardens that year.
1934
James R. Caiola L’34, Norristown, Pa., an attorney for more than 55 years and an advocate for police officers; Feb. 24. Out of concern for police officers who had no pension, in 1944 he helped found Norristown’s police union and in 1947 establish its pension fund—one of the first for police in Pennsylvania. He served as the union’s solicitor for nearly three decades and was also solicitor for the colice chiefs of Montgomery County from 1945 to 1990. He retired from private practice just before his 90th birthday, according to his son Frank. He gave lectures on police procedures at seminars in Europe and Puerto Rico, and conducted a course for FBI agents on courtroom procedure and presentation of evidence. He was an instructor at the Kratz Bar Review Course in Philadelphia. In the 1960s his use of the temporary-insanity defense in murder trials attracted attention. He was founder and past president of the Norristown Republican Club and was past president of Camp Rainbow, a nonprofit for underprivileged children. He served on the board of the Norristown Child Development Center. And he established the Legal Assistance Project for low-income senior citizens in Norristown.
Bernhardt K. Stabert W’34, Gladwyne, Pa., a senior officer for Huggins & Co., an actuarial consulting firm, until his retirement in 1978; Jan. 23. Earlier, he had worked as a teller at Germantown Savings Bank. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army in the Solomon Islands.
Olga Cohen Waldman Ed’34 G’37 GEd’60, Haverford, Pa., Jan. 5. Her daughter is Dr. Glenys A. Waldman Gr’75.
Evert D. Weeks W’34, Des Moines, Iowa, Dec. 16, 2002.
1935
Herbert C. Schley W’35, Winter Garden, Fla., Dec. 12. At Penn he was a member of Delta Chi fraternity. According to his son Herbert, he “was very proud to attend the Wharton School and still had several items from the school and his fraternity.”
Marietta Ash Settle Ed’35, Sonoma, Calif., Dec. 4, 2000. Her husband is Walter M. Settle Ar’35.
Mary Groom Ward Ed’35, Newtown Square, Pa., Feb. 26. She worked as a office secretary for a number of years. She volunteered at Paoli Hospital for over 25 years.
1936
Dr. William H. Crosby C’36 M’40, Joplin, Mo., a hematologist who invented one of the first devices to obtain biopsies of the bowel; Jan. 15. From 1951 to 1965 he was chief of the department of hematology at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington. He was also chief of the cancer chemotherapy program at Walter Reed General Hospital, 1960-65. While there his interest in a link between anemia and a bowel disorder led to his developing, with Heinz W. Kugler, what became the Crosby-Kugler capsule, a device that removed tiny pieces of tissue from the small intestine in a non-surgical procedure. Dr. Ernest Beutler, chair of the department of molecular and experimental medicine at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, described Dr. Crosby as “one of America’s five leading hematologists in the 1950s and 1960s.” Dr. Crosby studied a range of topics that included the effects of nutrition on anemia and other blood disorders, damage done from too much and too little iron in the body, and the functions of the bone marrow and spleen. He also examined ways to save lives by restoring the proper amounts of blood and fluids to victims of war injuries and accidents. Following a tradition of medicine, Dr. Crosby volunteered to participate in his research projects. “Anything he did in experiments he always did on himself,” said Dr. Lewis R. Weintraub, professor of hematology at Boston University. According to Dr. Emanuele Salvidio, a retired professor of hematology at the University of Genoa, in 1957 Dr. Crosby was the first to correctly theorize that a type of anemia known as favism resulted from a deficiency of the enzyme G6PD, among people who ingested fava, or broad, beans. During his 30-year career in the U.S. Army, he obtained the rank of colonel and was awarded the Bronze Star in 1944 and two Oak Leaf Clusters, in 1945 and 1953. From 1965 to 1972 he was chief of hematology at the Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston. He next moved to the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, then returned to Walter Reed. In 1985 he went into private practice in Joplin. Dr. Crosby wrote papers on the misuse of blood transfusions and the history of medicine, and translated the poetry of Baudelaire from French into English in a published work, The Flowers of Evil and Paris Spleen: Poems.
Lillian B. Gilbert CW’36, Philadelphia, an English teacher at South Philadelphia High School from the 1950s to the 1970s; Feb. 6. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, she looked the other way when students such as Chubby Checker, Fabian, and other regulars on American Bandstand left class early to appear on the show. Earlier, she had studied ballet in New York with Vaslav Nijinsky. She received an alumni award of excellence from Temple University, her graduate alma mater, in 2001.
Horace Hagedorn W’36, Sands Point, N.Y., the founder and promoter of Miracle-Gro plant fertilizer; Jan. 31. He began his career selling advertising time on radio, after which he produced a radio crime-drama series, The Big Story. While working for a small Manhattan advertising agency, he was inspired by advice he received from celebrated ad man Martin Small, who told him how to make a million dollars: “Find a need and fill it.” In the mid 1940s one of Hagedorn’s clients, a German-born nurseryman named Otto Stern, sold trees and plants by mail, which often arrived in poor condition. He and Stern hit upon the idea of fertilizer and hired a Rutgers University professor, O. Wesley Davidson, as a technical consultant to develop a water-soluble fertilizer. The dry product, easy to ship and store, was mixed with water and applied. Hagedorn’s wife Peggy created the name Miracle-Gro, and the company was founded in 1950. When Miracle-Gro’s sales had passed $500,000 annually four years later, Hagedorn left the advertising business to work full-time for the company. He bought out Stern in the mid-1980s. He did marketing and sales for the firm and farmed-out manufacturing, packaging, and distribution to smaller organizations, thus creating what might be one of the first “virtual companies”—that is, businesses that exist essentially to be successful brands, said his son James, now president, chair, and CEO of the company. His marketing strategies included hiring a colleague to paint folksy advertisements, using craggy-faced James Whitmore for TV commercials, and offering a $100,000 prize for a tomato of world record size grown using Miracle-Gro. The green-and-yellow package he commissioned became so famous that other companies, including AT&T and Hyundai, used it for ads in their products. He charged them nothing as long as they spelled Miracle-Gro correctly. The company’s current share of the home-fertilizer market is estimated to be about 85%. In 1995 the large garden-products concern, Scotts Company, merged with Miracle-Gro that left the Hagedorns, as the largest shareholders. At the time of the merger, Hagedorn had already given much of its stock to needy children. He took the $50 million he personally earned from the sale to set up a charitable trust. He gave tens of millions to children’s charities, including supporting the education of 50 million poor Brooklyn schoolchildren, with the goal of sending them to college. About 85% are currently enrolled, and he recently offered a sixth-grade class in Columbus, Ohio, the same arrangement. Among his many gifts, most to children’s causes, were contributions to Hofstra University’s education school and to Adelphi University’s business school, both of which are now named for him. Although a multimillionaire, he drove a Gremlin for many years, and said that he owned three suits and two pairs of shoes.
Gilbert S. Levitt W’36 L’39, Philadelphia, a retired attorney; March 16.
1937
Norman D. Einziger W’37, White Plains, N.Y., Feb. 18.
Ann Sherrerd Houpt Ed’37, Nokomis, Fla., Aug. 30, 2004.
Hazel Bergman Osborne CW’37, Devon, Pa., Feb. 2. At Penn she was a member of the swim team and was captain of the riding team during her senior year. “She was always a most dedicated Penn graduate, and told her children and grandchildren many amusing tales of her life as an undergraduate,” said one of her stepchildren, Marian Osborne McMullan CW’60. She was active with the American Association of University Women, Welcome Wagon, and the YMCA, and volunteered with Meals on Wheels for many years.
Dr. Nathan P. Salner C’37 M’43 GM’54, West Hartford, Conn., the chief of radiology at Jeanes Hospital in Fox Chase, Pa., for more than 20 years, and an assistant clinical professor of radiology at the University’s Medical School; Feb. 8. He also maintained a radiology practice in Philadelphia, until his retirement in 1983.
1938
Howard F. Beir W’38, Salisbury, Conn., Jan. 23.
Dr. Thomas W. Clark M’38, Gwynedd, Pa., the retired medical director of All Saints Hospital in Chestnut Hill, Pa., and former head of the diagnostic clinic at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; March 10. Earlier he had been a part of a family practice in Chestnut Hill. He joined the staff at HUP in 1960. Following his retirement Dr. Clark was actively involved in developing policies for Pennsylvania through the Center for Advocacy of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly. After moving to Maine, he was active in the Southwest Harbor Episcopal Church, where he was a vestryman. He served on the board of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory and was a volunteer for the community library and the local school. After returning to Pennsylvania, he was head of the library board at the Foulkeways Retirement Community, and oversaw the implementation of the Dewey Decimal of cataloguing. And he assisted in the design of new library space during a major building campaign. During World War II he volunteered for the U.S. Army field hospital formed by physicians of the Pennsylvania Hospital. He spent two years with the hospital in the Pacific Theater, seeing service in Australia, New Caledonia, New Guinea, and the Philippines, where he was part of the Luzon invasion. One of his daughters is Dr. Elizabeth R. Clark V’85; his sons are Frederic W. Clark L’68 and Dr. Hugh R. Clark C’70 G’76 Gr’81: his two children are George P. Clark C’99 GCP’03 and William L. Clark C’02.
Dr. Edmond F. Cohen GM’38, Colorado Springs, Colo., a retired physician; Nov. 18, 2003.
Dr. Gerald M. Jaffe C’38 Gr’42, Verona, N.J., Feb. 8.
1939
Henry Hudson Barton IV W’39, Philadelphia, president, chair, and director of the Barton Mines Corporation, until his retirement in 1984; Feb. 24. During his tenure, the company’s garnet abrasives business became the largest in the world, and the company itself became the oldest U.S. mining company under continuous family ownership. An environmental conservationist, he centered his efforts on the protection of salt marshes along Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts, of lakes in New York’s Adirondack mountains, and of streams throughout the Delaware Valley. He was a founding trustee of Adirondack Community College and an active member of several conservation groups. A private pilot, he remained active in outdoor sports and recreation. During World War II he served as a captain in the U.S. Army. His son is Henry Hudson Barton V W’76 and his daughter-in-law is Elisa Menocal Barton C’77.
Maurice P. Felton Jr. W’39, Blue Bell, Pa., Dec. 26.
Charles W. Keinath C’39, Westbrook, Maine, Dec. 22.
Dorothea H. Haydock Lewis GEd’39, Newtown Square, Pa., Jan. 22.
Sarah Longstreth G’39, Wilmington, Del., a high school English teacher for 45 years; Feb. 8. She taught first at Friends Select School in Philadelphia and then at Wilmington Friends School, where she served as head of English.
Roland N. Price Jr. W’39, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jan. 13.
Regina Shoenfelt NTS’39, Norton, Ohio, Sept. 15.
Evelyn Spencer NTS’39, Rising Sun, Md., May 12, 2004.
1940s
1940
Leonidas A. Allen C’40, Philadelphia, a retired attorney; Oct. 29, 2003.
Leon Hurwitz W’40, Studio City, Calif., Feb. 14.
1941
Dr. Paul Maier M’41 GM’47, Portland, Maine, an ophthalmologist for many years; February. He was a 50-year member of the Woodfords Church, where he served as a deacon for several years. He served as a major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, 1943-46.
1942
Dr. George N. Aldredge Jr. M’42, Dallas, an orthopedic surgeon for nearly 35 years; Feb. 1. He began his medical career in Dallas in 1951 and retired in 1985. Dr. Aldredge was chief of staff of St. Paul Hospital in 1959, and he taught emergency medicine at Southwestern Medical School. After retirement he volunteered his services for Tapings for the Blind and Meals on Wheels. A devout Roman Catholic, he and his wife hosted and participated in many years of religious discussion groups. And he was an avid ham radio operator and ballroom dancer. During World War II he was a doctor in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in New Guinea and the Philippines, obtaining the rank of captain.
Frank R. Donahue Jr. L’42, Haverford, Pa., a retired attorney; Oct. 27.
Mary Greene Hazelbaker Ed’42 GEd’43, Paoli, Pa., March 12.
Robert L. Jarrard C’42, Honey Brook, Pa., March 23, 2003.
Leonard S. Kaplan W’42, Washington, Jan. 23, 2004.
Dr. Herbert L. Shore C’42, Davis, Calif., Sept. 26.
Dr. Sidney Wertimer W’42, Clinton, N.Y., emeritus professor of economics at Hamilton College, where he taught for 52 years; Feb. 1. At Penn he was the manager of the Mask & Wig Society, where he wrote, produced, and starred in several fully staged theater productions. According to Vige Barrie CW’74 WG’76, “he used to say he majored in Mask & Wig at Penn when they presented 30 performances a year and had their own train. He said the sense of timing and speech training Mask & Wig gave him later allowed him to hold 200 students ‘in the palm of his hand’ during convocation and classes.” John T. Refermat, a Hamilton alumnus, said, “No one, but no one, told a story the way Sid Wertimer did. That was just one of the ways he taught us.” In addition to teaching finance, money and banking, and accounting, he served as chair of the economics department, associate dean, provost, and college marshal. Former student Michael H. Granof, now the Ernst & Young professor of accounting at the University of Texas at Austin, said Wertimer “had a unique understanding of undergraduates and could bring out the best of them, both socially and intellectually … He was an exemplar of what a university professor should be. Indeed, it was largely because of Sid that I went into academe. Even today, I find myself modeling myself after him—using some of his pet expressions; affecting many of his mannerisms.” Although Dr. Wertimer officially retired in 1991, he continued to teach basic accounting under special appointment and was responding to student e-mails from his hospital bed days before his death. He was the author of Economics and Man, a college textbook used nationally. His passion for teaching amassed a devoted following, including numerous Fortune 500 business executives and financiers, some known as “Sid’s boys.” He also served as a mentor to Delaware congressman and former governor Mike Castle and Iowa governor Tom Vilsack. In 1989 a contingent of his former students established the Sidney Wertimer Professorship, awarded to a member of the Hamilton College faculty who exemplifies his devotion to teaching and mentoring. In 1969 a graduating student and his family established the Sidney Wertimer Prize Scholarships in Economics, and in 1999 another former student established a fellowship in Dr. Wertimer’s name at the Harvard Business School. Last November, when a beloved cucumber magnolia tree on the Hamilton campus was removed due to decay, Sid Wertimer prepared a personal tribute to the college’s trees. In recognition of his devoted service to Hamilton and its students, the former DKE fraternity house will re-open this fall as a residence hall in honor of Sidney and Eleanor Wertimer. He remained a volunteer firefighter for the village of Clinton for 50 years, and kept a department radio crackling in his kitchen 24/7. During World War II he served as an ensign aboard the U.S. Navy destroyer William D. Porter, where he saw action in the invasion of Luzon in the Philippines and the bombardment of the Japan. A supply officer, he commanded an anti-aircraft gun in the Battle of Lingayen Gulf against heavy kamikaze attack. Two of his children are Peter Wertimer C’71 and Sheila Wertimer CW’73. His brother is Ned Wertimer W’49.
1943
Gabriele D. Schiff PSW’43, New York, Aug. 31, 2002.
Dr. Melvin A. Shengold D’43, Greenport, N.Y., a retired dentist; Jan. 28, 2004.
Dr. Lester M. Silverman D’43, West Palm Beach, Fla., a retired dentist; Feb. 27.
Henry S. Stiegler W’43, Greenville, Del., retired manager of marketing for the du Pont Co.; Dec. 29. He was an officer of the Class of 1943 and editor of its newsletter, which received an alumni award at their 50th reunion in 1993.
Dr. Robert W. Tilney Jr. M’43, Far Hills, N.J., a retired physician; Jan. 6.
Joseph E. Tofani C’43, Glenside, Pa., Jan. 29.
Dr. Victor S. Wojnar C’43 M’46, Champaign, Ill., a retired cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon; Feb. 15. At Penn he was a member of the crew team that won the national championships in 1945 and would have gone on to the Olympics except for cancellation of the games during World War II. He served as chief of surgery at Veterans Administration Hospital in Sunmount, N.Y., and as assistant professor of surgery at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. From 1964 to 1968 he was head of the department of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Christie Clinic in Champaign, and pioneered open heart surgery in the community. During the 1970s he served as chief of surgical services at Veterans Hospital in Clarksburg, W.V., where he also held the position of associate professor of surgery at the West Virginia University School of Medicine. He resumed private practice in 1976, while also serving as the medical director of the Mercy Hospital emergency room. Later in his life he became an avid runner who competed in the senior Olympics at the state, regional, and national levels, for which he won numerous awards. He was an advocate of community projects of a historical nature, including restoration of the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis. And he was a former president of the Torch Club, a group of retired professionals. Dr. Wojnar served as a medical officer and captain in the U.S. Army in Germany, 1947-49.
Elizabeth Greenfield Zeidman CW’43, Philadelpia, an arts patron and political activist; Feb. 9. As daughter of the late Albert M. Greenfield, the prominent real estate developer and philanthropist, she helped establish the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation in 1952, and later served as its president. The foundation directs financial grants to support Philadelphia educational and arts institutions. Foundation projects that she initiated include the Albert M. Greenfield Center for Black Literary Studies, now part of the University’s Albert M. Greenfield Intercultural Center. At her retirement from the foundation in 2001, the board established the Elizabeth Greenfield Zeidman Lecture, an annual event at the Moore College of Art and Design, which, said Happy Fernandez G’70, president of Moore, “gives our students and the community … the opportunity to hear from and meet with visionary women from around the nation.” She described Zeidman as “an ardent feminist, a staunch Democrat, and strong advocate for the arts and for the disadvantaged. She had a wry sense of humor, which made it a joy to be in her company.” Active in Democratic politics at the county level, she served for many years as a committeewoman and member of the Montgomery County Democratic Executive Committee. She was a delegate to the 1956 Democratic presidential convention. In the later 1950s she served on the Pennsylvania Securities Commission. A founding board member of the Philadelphia Dance Academy (now part of the University of the Arts), she formerly served on the YWCA board in Philadelphia. In her 40s she began collecting works by contemporary artists such as Milton Avery, and later donated paintings from her collection to art schools, including the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and University of the Arts. Her brothers are Gordon K. Greenfield WEv’42, who is married to Harriet C. Greenfield CW’43; and Albert M. Greenfield Jr. W’53, whose wife is Barbara Littman Greenfield CW’53. Their son, Albert M. Greenfield W’78, and his wife, Wendy Marcus Greenfield W’78, are the parents of Jason L. Greenfield C’04.
Dr. John N.B. Livingood Gr’44, Jacksonville Beach, Fla., Dec. 5, 2002.
Dr. William Most C’44 G’45, Collingswood, N.J., an internist and endocrinologist; Feb. 20. At West Jersey Health System, now Virtua Health, he was chief of general internal medicine and chair of the department of medicine. “He was active until he died,” said his wife Winifred.”He loved his patients … they were his friends.” Dr. Most was a captain in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps, serving stateside during the Korean War. His daughter is Lisa M. Most C’92.
Dr. Bernard M. Poritzky D’44, Boynton Beach, Fla., a retired dentist; June 25, 2004.
1945
Berenda Weinberg Abrams Ed’45, Merion, Pa., Feb. 9.
1946
Edith Muriel Sutton NTS’46, Bonita Springs, Fla., June 13, 2004.
1947
Anna Ethel Cheyney GEd’47, Hockessin, Del., a school teacher for 45 years who, with her students, planted trees and shrubbery along Old Lancaster Pike, Old Wilmington Road, and at Hockessin School in Delaware, where she taught; Feb. 13.
John P. Connelly Jr. W’47, Devon, Pa., March.
Malcolm C. Newell W’47, Hingham, Mass., a retired security analyst with the Old Colony Trust Department of the First National Bank of Boston and a partner in the securities firm H.C. Wainwright & Co.; Feb. 6. He was past president of the Boston Security Analyst Society, trustee of Morgan Memorial, incorporator and trustee of the Hingham Institution for Savings, and a member of the policyholders protection board of the Savings Bank Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts. And he was past president of the Hingham Centre Cemetery. During World War II he served with the U.S. Army in the 106th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron in France. He was a POW in Germany and Czechoslovakia, 1944-45.
1948
John T. Grey C’48, Wynnewood, Pa., a retired examiner for the Pennsylvania State Insurance Department; Feb. 4. A permanent officer of the Class of 1948, he served on numerous committees in support of the University’s mission. He was a committeeman for the Republican Party, and during the 1960s served as a town commissioner of Lower Merion. An interest in civic affairs, particularly environmental issues, led to his service on the YMCA board; he was also president of the Shortridge Civic Association. And he served as a deacon of the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church.
Alice Terrien Henry Ed’48, Exton, Pa., November.
Katherine B. McClenon GEd’48, Washington, Sept. 1. Her husband is Paul R. McClenon WG’47.
Henry H. Meigs C’48, Berwyn, Pa., a property manager and conservationist; Feb. 21. After serving in U.S. Army Intelligence in Europe during World War II, he helped manage his family’s properties, including a farm in Roxborough, Pa. Later he managed the Andorra Shopping Center, which had been built on family-owned land. During the 1950s he was involved in Democratic politics and supported the campaigns of Joseph Clark and Richardson Dilworth. He also backed community projects for the underprivileged. An avid conservationist, he was active in the preservation of the Tinicum marshland, the Holgate Beach Preserve in New Jersey, and the sea turtle sanctuary on Little Cumberland Island, Ga. He served on the board of the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, which was established in the 1960s by his mother and her siblings, who donated 500 acres and money to fund the center. In 1997 the center presented him with the Founders’ Conservation Award, in recognition of his more than 30 years of service.
Henry T. Reath L’48, Philadelphia, an attorney at Duane Morris for 53 years, until his retirement in 2001; Jan. 31. He worked for the rights of the disadvantaged, particularly poor prisoners without adequate legal representation. As an advocate for judicial reform and First Amendment rights, he was the principal organizer and co-chair of Good Judges for Philadelphia. He also advocated a merit-system judiciary for the state of Pennsylvania. Twice he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court: in 1975, for the rights of parents and students to receive public funds to supplement private, nonsectarian education; and, in 1985, on behalf of students’ free-speech rights. Near the end of his career he represented, pro bono, inmates serving life sentences at Graterford Prison. He was honored with the Judge William H. Hastie Award from the NAACP, the first Criminal Justice Award from the Pennsylvania Society, and the Champion of Justice Award from Community Legal Services. “Henry Reath was an incredibly skilled lawyer who … was a fighter for justice, for our society’s most challenged citizens,” said Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell C’65 Hon’00. “The people he helped have lost a champion.” During World War II he served in the U.S. Army, where he was awarded the Bronze Star as a combat officer in Europe. He commanded the German POW camp at Ansbach before being discharged as a captain in 1946. His father and grandfather were graduates of the University’s School of Law.
Allen O. Shafer W’48, Ridgefield, Conn., a retired financial manager and realtor; Nov. 6. At Penn he was a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. He was a financial manager from 1948 to 1972, and a realtor from 1972 to 1984, when he retired. In Ridgefield he served on and chaired the board of education, the board of finance, and the library board. He was a member of the firehouse study committee and the fixed assets review committee there. And he was one of the original incorporators of the Village Bank. During World War II he served as a captain in the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Corps in the 167th Field Artillery stateside, and in the 397th Air Base Squadron in the Aleutian Islands.
1949
William O. Bailey WG’49, New York, the former president, chief operating officer, and vice chair of Aetna; Jan. 28. As a senior executive at the then Aetna Life and Casualty Co. during the 1970s, he persuaded the insurance industry to guarantee municipal bonds by enlisting four other firms to jointly offer state and local governments insurance that would ensure the repayment of money lent by investors. By reducing investor risk, the Municipal Bond Insurance Association, started in 1973, allowed municipalities to borrow money from the public at lower interest rates. While at Aetna he became the first president and later chair of MBIA Inc., a separate, publicly traded company that took over the association’s business in 1987. He served as president and chief operating officer of Aetna from 1976 to 1987 and as vice chair from 1987 to 1988. “Under his leadership Aetna grew to become the nation’s largest shareholder-owned insurance organization,” said John W. Rowe, Aetna’s current chair and CEO. As a spokesman and leader of the industry, Bailey advocated tort reform, coordinated a bailout of the car insurer Geico in 1975, and persuaded several reluctant insurers to underwrite the makers of swine flu vaccine for widespread distribution. He served as chair of the American Insurance Association, the Health Insurance Association of America, and the Property Casualty Insurance Council.
Jerome M. Berman C’49, Colonia, N.J., Dec. 22, 2002.
Gerald C. Bloch W’49, New York, Jan. 9.
Ruth O. Franciscus NTS’49, Mesa, Ariz., Jan. 4.
Dr. Margaret A. Friel CW’49 GM’57, Philadelphia, a retired physician; Feb. 4.
Virginia A. Lang CW’49, Hollidaysburg, Pa., Jan. 9.
Carter H. Lippincott Jr. W’49, Bala Cynwyd, Pa., a retired businessman; Dec. 3. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force, 1943-45. While training as a tail gunner, he survived a plane crash in New Mexico in which six members of the crew were killed.
Dr. Byron M. Rothhouse C’49, Elizabeth, N.J., a retired dentist; Jan. 7, 2004.
Dr. Philip F. D. Seitz Sr. GM’49, Washington, a retired physician; May 31, 2004.
1950s
1950
John E. Dolan W’50, Savannah, Ga., Jan. 1.
Jacqueline Goldberg CW’50, West Palm Beach, Fla., March 14, 2003.
William E. Handy W’50, Easton, Md., Jan. 21.
John H. Honywill L’50, New Brunswick, N.J., June 29, 2004.
Dr. Donald J. Marva C’50 G’55, Philadelphia, a retired physician; Feb. 28.
Ann Munnell McDonald CW’50, Langhorne, Pa., Jan. 8. Her husband is Martin J. McDonald Jr. W’48.
Frederic E. Mitchell W’50, Wilkes Barre, Pa., March 7, 2003.
David G. Paul Jr. C’50, Philadelphia, Oct. 6.
Elizabeth Canter Prior SW’50, Baltimore, Md., Jan. 21.
Rev. Edward W. Rettew Jr. G’50, York, Pa., July 11, 2004.
Dr. Andrew G. Smith Gr’50, Ellicott City, Md., Sept. 2.
1951
Peter W. Disston W’51, Shady Side, Md., Nov. 7.
Hon. James McGirr Kelly W’51, Overbrook, Pa., a federal judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; March 5. He served as a law clerk for the Hon. Edward J. Griffiths in the Court of Common Pleas, 1957-58. He was assistant district attorney for Philadelphia from 1958 to 1960 and assistant U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, 1960-62. He served as master of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas jury selection board, 1963-64, and was the special assistant commonwealth attorney general, 1964-65. He maintained a private legal practice in Philadelphia from 1962 to 1983. From 1977 to 1983 he served as vice president of regulator practices for the American Water Works Co. He was nominated a U.S. District Court judge in 1983 and assumed senior status in 1996, a position he held until his death. Judge Kelly was an adjunct professor of business law at Drexel University from 1965 to 1989.
John H.C. King FA’51, New York, Dec. 21.
Clarence Maiden GEd’51, Baltimore, Sept. 26, 2002.
Roy E. Michie WEv’51, Reedville, Va., Dec. 19.
1952
Elizabeth Burns Andringa DH’52, North Branford, Conn., May 5, 2004.
Barbara Ann Duffy L’52, Philadelphia, a retired attorney; Aug. 25, 2004.
Richard A. Huettner L’52, Morristown, N.J., a retired partner at the New York law firm of Kenyon & Kenyon; March 9. He received the Yale Medal in 1983.
Richard M. Lacy G’52, Arlington, Vt., an international personnel manager for American Cyanamid Co. (now Wyeth) and Schering-Plough pharmaceutical companies, until his retirement; Feb. 24. An avid environmentalist, he spent much of his last 40 years serving on planning, zoning, water, and health boards. He and his family operated a horse farm in Goshen, N.Y., where he was frequently sighted doing chores in his tricorn hat. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps.
Kenneth A. Nelson ME’52, Santa Barbara, Calif., Jan. 20.
George M. Todd WEv’52, Secane, Pa., July 9, 2004.
Dr. Sidney Yaverbaum Gr’52, Alexandria, Va., Feb. 27, 2002.
1953
Francis X. Basile W’53, Sarasota, Fla., the retired chair and CEO of CIT Group/Factoring; July 1, 2004. He had worked in the commercial-finance field for 35 years. He held several offices in the National Commercial Finance Association, including board chair. He later served on the board for Ames Department Stores and on a special advisory board for FleetBank Investment Services in Sarasota. One of his sons is John Paul Basile W’86, and his daughter is Lisa B. Basile GEd’88.
Dr. William P. Dodson GD’53, Alexandria, Va., a retired dentist; Sept. 10.
Dr. Gloria Darden Gettys SW’53, Philadelphia, professor emeritus of social work at Temple University; March 2. In the early 1970s she worked for Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services, specializing in child welfare. She began teaching at Temple in the mid-1970s and retired in 2004; she was editor of its social-work newspaper, The Advocate, from 1999 to 2003.
Dr. Richard C. Horn V’53, Santa Ana, Calif., a retired veterinarian; Jan. 28.
Robert E. McKee C’53, Exton, Pa., the Palestra’s official scorekeeper for 47 years; Feb. 6. He began keeping score at Penn basketball games as an undergraduate. He served as scorekeeper for Penn and other games at the Palestra until 2001. He also served as a statistician for Penn and Villanova basketball games. In 1990 he was inducted into the Big Five Hall of Fame. He was honored with a plaque at the Palestra’s scorers table when he retired in 2001. Also active with Penn football, he was a press box announcer for the 2004 season, according to his son, Gary N. McKee W’77. He worked as a sales representative for class rings manufacturer L.G. Balfour for 17 years and for Spatola Wines for 10 years, until his retirement in 1984. For 20 years he coached baseball for the Lionville Youth Association, and he was a former commissioner of the girls softball program. He had served on the Uwchlan Township Park and Recreation Board.
Dr. Miriam C. Reed GM’53, Newtown, Pa., a retired physician; Aug. 12, 2004.
1954
Dr. Alan E. Besas D’54, Norwalk, Conn., a retired orthodontist; Feb. 12. He was a diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics and president of the Darien Rotary Club. And he served as treasurer of the Waveny Chamber Music Society for 22 years. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard the U.S.S. Coral Sea.
Dr. Theodore R. Lammot M’54, Ventura Calif., a retired orthopaedic surgeon; Dec. 17.
Dr. Edward F. Reichert GD’54, Wilmington, Del., a retired oral and maxillofacial surgeon; Feb. 18. Earlier, he was an instructor at Temple University’s dental and oral-hygiene schools. Also an artist, he had two of his paintings exhibited in the Hagley Museum. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army and was awarded a Bronze Star.
William J. Stein W’54, Newton Center, Mass., March 12.
1955
Hon. Simon Chrein W’55, Roslyn, N.Y., a retired judge; March 15.
Dr. Leslie A. Commons D’55, Shelter Island, N.Y., a retired dentist; Nov. 30.
William H. Dittmar W’55, San Marino, Calif., a retired attorney; Dec. 17.
Warren Higginbotham WG’55, New York, Aug. 20, 2004.
Rose Leeder Osman CCC’55, Chesterfield, Mo., April 27, 2004.
Anna Penchassoff FA’55, Feb. 27, 2004.
1956
Dr. Wesley Guy Peitz V’56, Oakmont, Pa., a retired veterinarian; Dec. 5.
1957
Leo V. Jordan W’57, Breezy Point, N.Y., Jan. 20.
1958
Robert A. Brand G’58, New York, Dec. 20.
Ralph J. Jamgochian W’58, Villanova, Pa., a retired fleet manager for Aramark Corporation; Jan. 31. Earlier, he and his brother ran a business rebuilding vending machine equipment. After selling their company to ARA (now Aramark), he worked for the food service supplier. He had served on the board of the Delaware County Christian School. During the Korean War he served in the U.S. Army in Austria.
1959
Abe H. Frumkin L’59, Philadelphia, a retired attorney; Feb. 4.
1960s
1960
Ramsey Demir C’60 WG’65, North Haven, Conn., June 15, 2004.
Robert W. Jackson WEv’60, Southampton, N.J., March 9.
1961
Edna Mentzer Jackson GEd’61, Woodstown, N.J., Feb. 19.
Dr. George A. James WG’61, Presque Isle, Maine, founder and president of Lucerne Farms, the first producer of value-added forage products for horses in the U.S.; Jan. 19. Earlier, he had worked for the University of Maine for 10 years, where he was the driving force behind the construction of the current University Campus Center. In 1995 he left the university to found Lucerne Farms, in an attempt to encourage farming and jobs in Aroostook County. The company produces bagged forage feeds under various labels, including their own. The high temperature drying process of their feed kills mold spores in hay, making the products essential for horses struggling with allergies and equine respiratory problems. Ann Dionne, marketing director at Lucerne, recalled customers at trade shows saying, “‘This product saved my horse’s life!’—which just made him so happy.” A former employee admired his “ability to see the potential in people and his desire to nurture that potential at every possible opportunity … even when it came at a cost to himself.” His civic contributions included serving on the board of the Presque Isle Chamber of Commerce and the Aroostook Medical Center. He was a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International.
Seton Shanley C’61 New York, Dec. 30, 2000.
1962
Richard L. Edwards WEv’62, Lakeland, Fla., Jan. 9.
Edward W. Gordon ChE’62, Owings Mills, Md., June 16, 2002.
1963
Merritt W. Hallowell WG’63, Rydal, Pa., Feb. 15.
Dr. Frederic G. Hyde Gr’63, Chalfont, Pa., a former newspaper reporter and a retired professor of journalism at Bucks County Community College; Feb. 25. He began his journalism career as a reported for The New London Day in Connecticut. He joined the staff of The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1936, where for the next 23 years he worked as a reporter and rewrite man amidst a climate of stiff competition from the six other daily papers in the city. While at the Inquirer, he covered the 1937 Hindenburg disaster, and he won an award for a story about four youths killed in an automobile accident. He left journalism in 1959 and taught at the University while earning his doctoral degree in English literature. In 1965 he was among the first faculty members to be hired by the newly opened Bucks County Community College. He established a student newspaper, taught journalism, and chaired the faculty affairs committee. He served as marshal at the college’s graduation ceremonies for 10 years, and gave the commencement address in 1975, the year he retired. Following his retirement he lived in Maine for 14 years, where he grew Christmas trees and fruit trees. After returning to Chalfont in 1999, he taught English and poetry for two years at Delaware Valley College’s Center for Learning in Retirement.
1964
Ottoway M. Evans C’64, Philadelphia, Aug. 18, 2004.
Robert H. Kirby GCP’64, Richmond, Va., Aug. 8, 2004.
Dr. David M. Kozart M’64 GM’70, Philadelphia, an ophthalmologist with the Scheie Eye Institute, where a memorial fund has been established in his name; March 16. His wife is Elizabeth Lubell Kozart GCP’74 and their son is Dr. Michael F. Kozart M’93.
1965
Anthony G. Bateman Sr. L’65, Philadelphia, a former district attorney and 1983 mayoral candidate; Feb. 14. He began his career in 1966 as an assistant district attorney in the homicide division. In 1976 he entered private practice. An eighth-generation Irish Catholic Philadelphian, he enjoyed living in Germantown and talking about the Revolutionary War battle fought there. In recent years he seriously studied Latin, often using the phrase Sic transit gloria mundi, “thus passes the glory of this world.”
1966
Frederick D. Raine C’66, New Rochelle, N.Y., the assistant vice president of managed care at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Hospital; Sept. 26. His career as a hospital administrator spanned 30 years. One of his sons is Evan M. Raine C’96.
1967
Virginia Brown Bird SW’67 Oaks, Pa., Feb. 17.
1968
Leonard H. Point CGS’68, Sun City Center, Fla., Dec. 31.
1970s
1971
Elizabeth F. Doherty Nu’71, Drexel Hill, Pa., Dec. 12, 2003.
Gregor P. Kudarauskas C’71, Cambridge, Mass., an attorney; Dec. 13.
1972
Olin C. Johnson GEd’72, New York, March 10.
Dr. Arthur E. Wolf WG’72 GrD’80, Jenkintown, Pa., a former comptroller and the retired vice president of operations at Delaware Valley College; Feb 13. For 24 years he worked for Rohm & Haas, rising to the position of comptroller for its Philadelphia operations. After his three children graduated from college, he decided to go too, and did so while working full-time, according to his wife Betsy. He became dean of the business division of Spring Garden College and assistant superintendent of business affairs at the Colonial and Central Bucks school districts before coming to Delaware Valley College. He was the author of a book on computer information systems. He was active in the local Rotary Club and had served on the school board. He served in the U.S. Army in occupied Japan and Panama. One of his sons is A. Edwin Wolf WG’84.
1974
Dr. Arden M. Hayden, D’74, Sudbury, Vt., a dentist; Nov. 13.
1977
Kenwyn M. Dougherty CW’77 G’77, Drexel Hill, Pa., a retired co-managing partner at the Philadelphia law firm of Post & Schell; Feb. 28. In 1980 she was the first woman associate hired by the firm. She was named partner in 1985. Her sister is Patricia D. Duncan CW’74, whose husband is Robert Charles Duncan G’81.
1980s
1980
Dr. John W. Grelis GrEd’80, Springfield, Pa., a principal and teacher in the Philadelphia school district for 33 years, until his retirement in 1996; Feb. 14. He was principal of Comegys and Key elementary schools and, most recently, of Lea Elementary School. “At one time he taught day, night, and summer school,” said his wife Ruth.
Julia F. Jones WG’80, Greenwich, Conn., Feb. 11. She pursued a career in international banking in San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York. And she was interested in educational activities for children.
Jean E. Owens GNu’80, Lansdale, Pa., Oct. 29.
1983
Dr. Kathryn J. Engebretson WG’83 GrW’96, Philadelphia, president of the William Penn Foundation and former vice president for finance and chief financial officer at the University; Feb. 10. She was vice president of Lehman Brothers from 1984 to 1991 and then served as city treasurer of Philadelphia, where she turned around the city’s financial ratings and refinanced its debt. She joined Miller Anderson & Shepherd, an institutional assets arm of Morgan Stanley, in 1994, and became a principal there. Dr. Engebretson served as vice president for finance and chief financial officer at Penn from 1997 to 1999, when she became the CFO of BET.com. In 2001 she was named president of the William Penn Foundation, where she worked extensively to advance the competitiveness of Pennsylvania through the Campaign to Renew Pennsylvania program.
1990s
1990
Marvin P. Lyon Jr. C’90, Springfield, Mass., Oct. 4.
2000s
2004
Michael P. Murray CGS’04, Philadelphia, assistant director of classes and reunions in the Development and Alumni Relations office of the University; Feb. 7. He had previously worked on Wall Street, beginning in the mail room and working his way to a position in international finance. While at Penn he founded the College of General Studies student advisory board in 2003 because he believed that non-traditional students were lacking a voice and clear presence on campus. He also had been an administrative assistant in Wharton’s MBA career management office. He joined the alumni relations staff as an alumni officer in 2004. Bob Alig C’84 WG’87, assistant vice president of alumni relations, spoke of his “deft touch with the diversity of Penn’s alumni,” which included engaging both the Old Guard and young alumni in alumni activities, including reunions and Alumni Weekend programming.
Faculty & Staff
Dr. Thomas W. Clark. See Class of 1938.
Dr. Kathryn J. Engebretson. See Class of 1983.
Richard Greenfield, Boston, a former research coordinator for the Philadelphia Social History Project; Feb. 19. He joined the University as a teaching fellow in 1975 and was a research coordinator when he left in 1982. The Philadelphia Social History Project was directed by Dr. Theodore Hershberg, professor of public policy and history and director of the Center for Greater Philadelphia. From the mid 1970s through the early 1980s Greenfield made major contributions to the project in selecting the appropriate social science research methodologies to analyze a computerized database of nineteenth-century population and infrastructure data on Philadelphia. He went on to work in the city’s Records Department, and spent several years in Saudi Arabia, where he was a GIS consultant. More recently he was a volunteer for Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands.
Britton B. Harris, Philadelphia, emeritus professor of city and regional planning; Feb. 8. Before coming to Penn in 1954, he worked with the Chicago Housing Authority and the government of Puerto Rico. He became UPS Professor of Planning, Transportation, and Public Policy in 1972. He served Penn in many capacities, including chair of the department of city and regional planning, 1970-73, and of the graduate group, 1972-75; dean of the now-defunct School of Public and Urban Policy, 1977-81; and through joint appointments in several other departments and graduate groups. He became professor emeritus in 1984. Following his retirement he continued to write and lecture and taught in the appropriate technology and liberal studies programs. He spent the year 1986-87 as a visiting professor at Stanford University. He felt that his most productive contributions came from his work on the Penn Jersey Transportation Study, which led to a special issue in May 1965 of The Journal of the American Institute of Planning and to a conference on transportation planning, published in the volume Special Report no. 97, by the Washington-based Highway Research Board. An early and consistent advocate of the use of computers and models in urban planning, Professor Harris continued to pursue the use of computer technology, especially geographic information systems, in planning support applications to explore urban form. His writings in this area include an essay co-written with Michael Batty, “Locational Models, Geographic Information and Planning Support Systems” in Planning Support Systems (2001) and an article, “Accessibility: Concepts and Applications,” in Journal of Transportation and Statistics(2001). Dr. Eugenie Ladner Birch, professor and chair of the department of city and regional planning at the University, said that Professor Harris “was an intellectual giant whose students were not only Penn graduates but all who were interested in advancing the art and science of the field through rigorous and thoughtful analysis of the dynamic processes of spatial interaction that shape urban places.” In 1991 the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning awarded him its Distinguished Educator Award. And in 2000 he was inducted into the American Institute of Certified Planners College of Fellows. He was a member of the Ford Foundation Delhi Master Planning Team in Puerto Rico and a past president of the Regional Science Association. His wife is Ruth B. Harris GLA’73.
Dr. Frederic G. Hyde. See Class of 1963.
Robert E. McKee. See Class of 1953.
Michael P. Murray. See Class of 2004.
Virgil F. Puskarich. See Class of 1976.
Dr. Nathan P. Salner. See Class of 1937.
Two well-known members of the English faculty died in the spring:
Dr. Paul J. Korshin, Philadelphia, March 2.
Dr. David J. DeLaura, Villanova, Pa., April 10. His wife is Ann B. DeLaura WG’81, and their children are Michael L. DeLaura C’85 and Catherine DeLaura C’89.
Below are reminiscences by two of their colleagues:
Dr. David J. DeLaura, the Avalon Professor Emeritus of English
David DeLaura’s impressive scholarly accomplishments are easy to list: a named professorial chair; fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities; numerous books and articles on important figures in literary and intellectual history; and invitations to serve as keynote speaker at countless conferences. He was universally respected by his colleagues for his immense erudition, and his work appears on the syllabi of many a class on the Victorians. Frequently asked to serve as an outside reviewer for English departments in other schools, his good sense, commitment to his profession, and the depth of his experience made him a fit judge and consultant for those who valued excellence.
But he was much more than that. David took his teaching as seriously as he did his writing, earning the love and respect of countless students across the years and winning the coveted Ira Abrams Teaching Award from the School of Arts and Sciences. Although he lived firmly in the modern world, he had a special kinship with the Victorians; for he, like the Muscular Christians of the 19th century, saw service to others as a human obligation. Thus he took on the job of chairman of the Department of English, with the long hours that position requires, and when, recognized for his evenhandedness and ability to work with almost anyone, he was later asked to become the University’s ombudsman, he agreed to assume that taxing and emotionally draining position. That assignment was a special challenge, for it forced him to work regularly with people who treated their
fellows badly, but it also allowed him to change for the better the lives of many and to serve as an example of what integrity and compassion can do in the world. Typically, he agreed not long before his death to return from retirement and act as interim director of the Writing Program, a position he held for two years.
David was full of ideas, always eager to learn as well as to speak. Serving with him on various search committees, one could watch him weigh and measure with serious attention the theories put forward by young scholars, eager not just to find a good new assistant professor but to add to his understanding of literature and human nature. People, as individuals and as a whole, interested him profoundly.
It is not surprising that Matthew Arnold was perhaps David’s favorite Victorian. Both wrestled with religious questions and confronted the darker side of human behavior with an attempt to maintain their faith in human decency despite all evidence to the contrary.
David spent many years studying with the Jesuits before embracing an academic career, and in his scholarly work and his interactions with others he carried with him the serious thoughtfulness born of that experience and with it a capacity to honor the best in others. It is no wonder that so many turned to him for wisdom, advice, and a willingness to discuss questions that went beyond the academic. Nor is it a surprise that the book he was working on before he died was on friendship among the Victorians, for he was a master of friendship himself.
—Dr. Alice Kelley GEd’89, assistant dean for advising in the College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Paul J. Korshin, Professor of English
Paul was nothing less than unforgettable, so distinctive in his manner, so original, so striking and lively in his person. All of us remember those tokens of his bright-eyed singularity—his impeccable bow ties and his sleek bespoke suits.
Paul was an indefatigable bon vivant, a man of the world with many and varied pleasures and interests. A frequent sojourner in London, where he was for years a fixture in the rare-book room, the North Library in the reading room of the British Museum, he had in recent years traveled farther afield with his wife, Joan, regaling us with tales of his travels in southeast Asia and Africa as well as in Europe. But you could never predict Paul’s interests; he was full of surprises. He was especially fond of the old Donald Duck comic books. Like Dr. Johnson, Paul understood that nothing is too little for so little a creature as man.
He loved music, especially opera, and once told me that he owned no high-fi equipment, that he hated mechanically reproduced music. He was to the end of his elegant fingertips a gourmand and oenophile, as well as a cook of cordon-bleu accomplishments whose dinner parties were legendary. But it was not all foie gras and bechamel sauce with him; he had omnivorous tastes.
For those who knew him well, there was much more to Paul than the public persona he had cultivated since his college days. Beneath the Wildean, dandyish exterior, the worldly hedonism, the aristocratic hauteur, the scholarly ironies and acerbities, the Johnsonian abruptness and even aggression in argument, the eccentric anglophilia, there was a deep core of fellow feeling and human decency that he showed only to his close friends. I still remember my surprise when he told me with an intensity that startled me that he hated racism, sexism, and even ageism. Without wearing his heart on his sleeve and without a trace of moral superiority or solemnity, he was a democrat with a small “d” who passionately hated injustice and inequity. He was a Democrat in capital letters as well, and I can still hear his hilarious evocation of various Republican bêtes noirs. Yet under that playful frivolity and subversive wit, Paul was very much a mensch, a man of deep and genuine feeling, which often enough erupted spontaneously amid the artifice of his persona.
For me, that fellow feeling, that core of humanity and decency, of generosity and kindness in Paul, were all the more valuable as the private complement to his elegant but sometimes brittle public persona. Those who saw Paul the public person most often were his fellow 18th-century literature scholars, whom he had served years ago as the second executive secretary of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. Paul was not only one of the founding leaders of the society but a formidable scholar, respected for the great depth and range of his knowledge, who salted his learning with irrepressible wit and high spirits. An intensely committed editor of The Age of Johnson, the journal that he founded, Paul nurtured and encouraged in its pages and at professional gatherings over the years many younger scholars. He is remembered by many of his students and colleagues as a friend and mentor. To reverse Shakespeare’s Marc Antony on what survives us after our death, that good lives after him.
—Dr. John Richetti, Professor of English (Dr. Richetti delivered a longer version of these remarks at the April memorial in College Hall for Dr. Korshin)
