1920s
1925
Ruth A. Huzzard Ed’25, Spring City, Pa., an English teacher at Princeton High School in New Jersey for 23 years, until her retirement in 1964; July 31. She was 104 years old.
1929
Samuel Podnetsky C’29, Bloomfield, Conn., Aug. 4. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army in Europe. His memoir, The Gargoyles, was published in 1990. He was 101 years old.
1930s
1932
Otto H. Heck WEF’32, Wyomissing, Pa., Aug. 13.
Grace Kennedy Quinby GEd’32, Fernandina, Fla., a former substitute teacher in Long Beach, N.Y.; July 26.
1933
John Baxter W’33, Portsmouth, Ohio, a specialist in public transportation; May 2. For 33 years he held operating and management positions with the Port Authority of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh.
Joachim B. May W’33, Glencoe, Ill., vice president of sales for Benjamin Wolff & Co. and then Production Steel Co., until subsequently operating his own steel import and export business; July 27. He commanded a submarine chaser during World War II; in command of a destroyer escort in the Pacific, his ship rescued sailors from the U.S.S. Indianapolis.
1935
Lewis F. Laird GEd’35, Largo, Fla., the retired superintendent of Garwood Schools in New Jersey, where he worked for 17 years; Sept. 6. He celebrated his 103rd birthday in July.
1936
Irwin S. Rubin C’36, Souderton, Pa., a founding partner in the Lansdale law firm of Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Gifford, until his retirement in 1995; Aug. 25.
1938
Hon. Barron P. McCune L’38, Washington, Pa., a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, which he served from 1971 until his retirement; Sept. 10. He previously served on the Court of Common Pleas. During World War II he served in the U.S. Navy.
1939
Edward F. Anixter W’39, Chicago, president of the old Englewood Electrical Supply Co.; July 18. During World War II he was a sergeant in the U.S. Army, serving in the Battle of the Bulge and in the liberation of concentration camps. He was awarded a Bronze Star.
Ruth Edwards NTS’39, Pen Argyl, Pa., a retired registered nurse at Easton Hospital; July 26. During World War II she served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Nursing Corps.
1940s
1940
Beatrice H. Keyser Bagan NTS’40, Bridgeton, N.J., Aug. 17.
Dr. H. Oliver Musser M’40, Akron, Ohio, an anesthesiologist who practiced from 1946 until his retirement in 1981; May 17. During World War II he served with the U.S. Medical Corps as a lieutenant commander aboard the U.S.S. Endicott and at medical hospitals in Quantico, Va., and Oak Knoll, Calif.
Robert E. Nagle W’40, Fresno, Calif., Aug. 3.
1941
Francoise E. Jones CW’41, Chestnut Hill, Pa., a French teacher for more than 40 years, until her retirement in 1989; July 22. She joined Springside School in 1954. She wrote the children’s book, Messenger of Fair Island.
E. Colton O’Donoghue Sr. WEv’41 W’47, Moorestown, N.J., a partner in Gardner-O’Donoghue, a manufacturing representative for merchandising displays; Sept. 13.
1943
Richard W. DeVey W’43, Richardson, Tex., July 15. A former industrial engineer with the Heil Co. in Milwaukee and then Carrier Corp. in Syracuse, N.Y.
Dr. Willis B. Fast C’43 M’47 GM’53, Newtown, Pa., a retired surgeon and officer at Lower Bucks Hospital; July 14. He served as president of the medical staff there, 1970-72, before retiring in 1986. During the Korean War he served as a captain in the U.S. Army in Texas.
Stuart B. Silverman W’43, Downingtown, Pa., manager of the fine-jewelry department at Macy’s in King of Prussia, until his retirement in 1992; Sept. 8. Earlier he had worked for Bamberger’s department stores. He was president of his Class. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army in New Guinea.
Dr. Albert D. Thorp V’43, Delray Beach, Fla., a retired veterinarian; Sept. 5. He had written a historical novel, Volunteers for Glory, about the 118th Pennsylvania Volunteers in the American Civil War.
1946
William D. Valente C’46 L’49, Philadelphia, emeritus professor of law at Villanova University, where he taught from 1965 until 1994; July 30. He wrote several textbooks, including Law in the Schools, Local Government Law, and the two-volume Education Law Treatise.
1948
Dr. Martin S. Becker C’48 M’51, Easton, Pa., an obstetrician and gynecologist at Easton Hospital for 40 years, until his retirement in 2003; Aug. 20.
Harry J. Hartz ChE’48 WEv’52, Elkins Park, Pa., a retired engineer and businessman; Sept. 18. After working for other companies, he established, in 1982, H.J. Hartz and Associates, a mergers and acquisitions consulting firm, from which he retired in 2003.
Helen Kraus McCulloch CW’48, Chatham, N.J., a longtime community volunteer and activist; Aug. 29. Her father was the late Otto Kraus Jr. W1906 L1908. She was an activist with the Newark Fair Housing Committee, and business manager for the Chatham Community Players.
1949
Martin Berdit C’49 SW’52, Columbia, Md., a retired administrator for health-care organizations, including the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, until his retirement in 1990; Aug. 3. During World War II he was a U.S. Army sergeant.
Dr. Frank B. Engley Jr. Gr’49, Columbia, Mo., emeritus professor and former chair of microbiology at the University of Missouri; July 29. He had also served on the faculties of Penn and the University of Texas-Medical Branch.
Lt. Col. Archibald W. Garvin Jr. W’49, Abington, Pa., July 28.
Dr. Philip P. Haines C’49 D’53, Willistown, Pa., a dentist who had maintained a practice for more than 40 years, until his retirement in the late 1990s; Aug. 31. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Force.
Robert G. Ives C’49, Milford, Conn., Aug. 7. He wrote two volumes of short stories. During World War II he served in the U.S. Navy.
Dr. Lawson A. Pendleton C’49 G’51, Bryn Athyn, Pa., Sept. 9. He was president of the old Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science (now Philadelphia University), 1973-78, and then president of Urbana College in Ohio, 1979-81.
Rev. William E. Shea C’49, Gainesville, Fla., a retired minister; Dec. 22, 2007. He served the Highlands Presbyterian Church in Gainesville, 1957-90, and the First Presbyterian Church in Crescent City, 1990-2000. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army.
1950s
1950
Alfred F. Block W’50, West Deptford, N.J., a former chief executive of Block Jewelers; July 11. The firm, which was started by his father in 1929, once included several stores, including one in Philadelphia. He had been a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, and was recently honored by the Athelstan Masonic Lodge as a 50-year member. Three of his sons are Douglas E. Block C’74, Ronald E. Block C’76, and Dr. Andrew B. Block W’80.
James E. Gledhill Ed’50, Jenkintown, Pa., Aug. 1.
1952
Dr. Rita A. Mariotti CW’52, Glendora, N.J., a family physician who maintained a practice in Woodbury Heights for more than 35 years; Aug. 26. In her fifties she operated a small restaurant in her home and, after retiring in 1995, took writing classes at Penn. Her 2003 book, The Coal Miners’ Doctor, detailed her experience of being a woman physician at a hospital owned by a coal company, where she treated miners with black-lung disease [See an excerpt in Gazette, May|June 1998].
Dr. Henry P. Pendergrass M’52 GM’54, Gladwyne, Pa., former faculty member of the radiology department at the School of Medicine; Sept. 21. His father, Dr. Eugene P. Pendergrass, had chaired the department. Dr. Henry was an assistant professor of radiology at Penn, from 1960 to 1996, and also held faculty positions at Harvard and Vanderbilt universities; he was also vice-chair of the Penn radiology department from 1976 to 1995. After becoming emeritus professor at Vanderbilt, he was adjunct professor of radiology at Penn until 2005. “Henry was an internationally recognized expert in pulmonary diagnosis using radiological techniques,” said Dr. Luther W. Brady GM’56. Dr. Henry Prendergrass’ honors include the Distinguished Service Award Gold Medal from the American Medical Association in 1994 and the American College of Radiology Gold Medal in 2002.
Joan Boerner Saunders Ed’52, Montrose, Pa., a first-grade teacher in the Montrose Area School District for 19 years; Aug. 15.
1953
Raymond E. Mack G’53, Monroeville, Pa., a teacher of economics and history at the Community College of Allegheny County from 1967 until his retirement in 1995; Aug. 1.
1954
E. Alden Richards Sr. W’54, Ocean City, N.J., a science teacher at Middle Township Middle School in Cape May Court House for 28 years; Aug. 24. At Penn he was a member of Alpha Chi Rho fraternity.
Dr. James D. Shepperd Jr. C’54, Highland Beach, Md., a former faculty member at the Howard University College of Medicine; Aug. 9. He worked for the WHO during the 1970s. He was a chief of medicine in the U.S. Air Force for three years.
Albert R. Thiernau G’54, Tempe, Ariz., July 10.
1955
George Silverman WEv’55, Plymouth Meeting, Pa., co-owner of the former B. & G. Silverman menswear in Philadelphia; Aug. 22.
Gerald Silverman L’55, Cherry Hill, N.J., an attorney who had maintained a practice in Philadelphia for 50 years; July 24.
1956
Dr. Robert B. Brendze GM’56, Chestnut Hill, Mass., Aug. 6.
Dr. Anthony Lewandowski GD’56, Lafayette Hill, Pa., chief of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Roxborough Hospital, from 1968 to 1992, and clinical professor at Temple University Dental School, from 1958 to 1987; Aug. 25.
Dr. Wesley J. Peterson Gr’56, Athens, Ohio, he taught micro-anatomy and embryology at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine until his retirement in 1990; March 7.
Dr. Hisao Yamada GEE’56 GrE’60, Abiko-Shi, Japan, former faculty member at the Moore School; May 21. As a graduate student at Penn he, together with former Penn professor Dr. Robert McNaughton, wrote seminal papers on the theory of regular expressions and finite-state automata theory. His work in real time computability “played a key role in the early days of the field of computational complexity,” according to Dr. Aravind Joshi, the Salvatori Professor of Computer and Cognitive Science at Penn. Before returning to Penn to teach, Dr. Yamada worked in the Information Processes Laboratory of General Dynamics in Rochester, N.Y., 1960-62, and then in the IBM Research Division at Poughkeepsie, N.Y. In 1966 he joined the Moore School’s computer and information science program, where he played a key role in the establishment of the PhD-granting graduate group, now the Department of Computer and Information Science. He left Penn in 1972 to become a professor of information science at the University of Tokyo, where he remained until 1991. From 1988 to 1996 he also worked for the Japanese National Institute of Informatics, and from 1996 to 2001 he was a professor of computer and cognitive sciences at the Chukyo University, Nagoya. While in Tokyo he invented the T-Code, a keyboard method for Japanese.
1959
Dr. Henry E. Clare M’59, Audubon, Pa., a retired psychiatrist who had maintained a practice for 38 years, and most recently served on the staff of Paoli Hospital; Aug. 30.
Dr. Dermot A. Murray GM’59, Rockville, Md., a physician who was also a retired captain in the U.S. Navy; April 30.
1960s
1961
Dr. Samuel B. Stevenson Jr. D’61, Darien, Conn., a retired dentist who had maintained a practice for 36 years; Sept. 3.
1962
John C. Bry GEE’62, Voorhees, N.J., an engineer for RCA, until his retirement in 1985; July 26.
Hon. Alexander Endy L’62, West Chester, Pa., a judge of the Chester County Orphans Court and the family court from 1984 until his retirement in 2002; July 30.
Dr. Harry A. Snyder D’62, Palmerton, Pa., a retired dentist who maintained a practice there; July 20.
1963
Dr. Paul G. Killenberg M’63, Durham, N.C., emeritus professor of medicine at Duke University, where he had taught for 36 years; July 23.
1964
Dr. Warren D. Grobman C’64, Austin, Tex., a retired physicist with Sematech and Motorola Semiconductor; July 9.
Donald H. Stevens W’64, Baltimore, July 15.
1966
Karl W. Corby III CE’66, Chevy Chase, Md., July 17.
Dr. Thomas B. Darlington Gr’66, Medford, N.J., operator of J. J. White, a family cranberry and blueberry business for 55 years; Aug. 22. A board member of Ocean Spray Cranberries for over 20 years, he was involved in its transition to a major juice brand in the 1960s.
Steven J. Pottash W’66, Boonton, N.J., Sept. 13.
1968
Bonnell T. C. Gardner C’68, Wayne, Maine, a retired English teacher at the Hill School in Pottstown, Pa., and the Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine; July 29. At Penn he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
James W. McCormick G’68, Honoka’a, Hawaii, Feb. 2, 2008.
1969
Elizabeth A. Lyons CGS’69, Haddonfield, N.J., July 22. She had been working on a biography of the local founder, Elizabeth Haddon.
1970s
1970
Caleb F. Fox IV, WG’70, Ambler, Pa., senior vice president in the industrial division of Binswanger Corp., where he had worked since 1978; Sept. 14.
1971
Dr. Phillip L. Coulston D’71, Clayton, Calif., a dentist and partner in the Antioch Dental Group, where he had practiced for 34 years; Aug. 24.
1973
Gihon Jordan EE’73 G’84, Philadelphia, a traffic engineer for the streets department from 1993 until his retirement in 2005; Aug. 7. After five years with the New Jersey Department of Transportation, he worked for Philadelphia’s Planning Commission before joining the streets department in 1989. An avid biker, including internationally, he wrote Bicycling, Transportation, and Energy: Handbook for Planners, and he designed cross-state bike routes for Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation. His brother is J. Paul Jordan Jr. EE’64 GEE’65.
1976
Dr. Mary Sheehan Howett Gr’76, Harrisburg, Pa., chair of the bioscience and biotechnology department at Drexel University; Aug. 20. She was an internationally known AIDS researcher.
1980s
1980
Dr. Jonathan A. Ship C’80 D’84, Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., a professor of oral and maxillofacial pathology, radiology, and medicine at New York University, and founding director of its Bluestone Center for Clinical Research; April 22. In 2007 he received the Alumni Award of Merit from Penn Dental Medicine.His father, Dr. Irwin Ship, had been a professor at Penn’s School of Dental Medicine.
1981
Dr. Leif H. Finkel M’81 Gr’85, Wyncote, Pa., professor of bioengineering; October 7. He returned to Penn in 1989, and became a full professor in 1998. He forged a strong link between engineering and numerous neuroscience researchers in the School of Medicine. He built a world-class laboratory in neuroengineering; published more than 90 papers, proceedings, and book chapters; mentored masters, doctoral, and post-doctoral students; and raised substantial grant support. With expertise in neuroscience and neuroengineering, He focused on the computational mechanisms underlying visual perception, especially how visual processes can be integrated, based on cortical connectivity. He also worked on the applications of neuroengineering to disease, with applications to epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, and schizophrenia. His many honors include the 1996 Faculty Recognition Award of the Institute of Neurological Sciences. In 2006, he was awarded Penn Engineering’s highest teaching honor, the S. Reid Warren, Jr. Award; and last spring he received the Award for Faculty Advising. One of his sons is Jacob S. Finkel C’12.
1986
M. Sharon Lewellen WEv’86, New York, Nov. 27, 2007.
1987
Roseann Biondi Moreno SW’87, Medford, N.J., Sept. 16.
Carolyn Ruddell Samuels GFA’87 GFA’97, Santa Barbara, Calif., co-owner of Caravan, a business that markets textiles purchased from women’s cooperatives worldwide; Aug. 30.
2000s
2005
Dr. Frederick F. Samaha M’05, Villanova, Pa., associate professor of medicine at the University and chief of cardiology at the nearby Veterans’ Administration Medical Center; Aug. 26. He specialized on the effect of diet and metabolic status on heart disease. The New England Journal of Medicine published his study comparing low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets in 2003. For the past several years, he had examined the interplay of diet, diabetes, and heart disease. In the 10 years since he joined the Penn faculty in 1998, he transformed the division of cardiology at the V.A. hospital, and established nationally recognized programs in cardiovascular medicine and clinical research. The Veterans Administration presented him with the Scissor Award, its highest honor, in 2000. Dr. Samaha wrote more than 50 research articles and review papers in the New England Journal of Medicine, theAnnals of Internal Medicine, and Nature. Despite his illness, “Rick was, remarkably, the author or co-author of 12 manuscripts in 2007 and 2008,” recalled Dr. Michael S. Parmacek, the Herbert C. Rorer Professor of Medical Sciences and chief of cardiovascular medicine at Penn.
Faculty and Staff
Frank B. Engley Jr. See Class of 1949.
Dr. Leif H. Finkel. See Class of 1981.
Dr. Gunter R. Haase, Newtown Square, Pa., professor emeritus of neurology at the School of Medicine; Sept. 13. He came to Penn in 1974, and chaired neurology till 1989. Also in 1974 he was appointed director of neurology at Pennsylvania Hospital. He became emeritus in 1996.
Dr. Daniel J. O’Kane, Winchester, Va., former chair and professor of microbiology at the University; Dec. 21, 2007. He joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 1947, became associate professor in 1951, and professor in 1956. He chaired the graduate group in microbiology, 1960-68, and went on to serve the old Graduate School of Arts and Sciences as vice dean, associate dean, and then acting dean from 1966 until 1974. He became deputy associate provost for academic affairs in 1974, a position he held until being appointed chair of biology in 1978; he was chair and associate chair until 1985, retiring in 1986. A mentor to many throughout his long career at Penn, he was fondly remembered as an ardent teacher and devoted academic by Dr. Leonard M. Pakman C’56 Gr’63, professor emeritus of microbiology and immunology at Temple University. Dr. O’Kane’s research focused on bacterial physiology, especially pyruvate metabolism. He published widely, and for the last time in 1982.
Dr. Henry P. Pendergrass. See Class of 1952.
Dr. James R. Rooney, Chestertown, Md., former faculty member in the pathology department of the School of Veterinary Medicine; Sept. 5. He came to Penn in 1968; resigning from the standing faculty in 1976, he joined the associated faculty as an adjunct professor of pathology in pathobiology, a position he held until 1988. The school created the James R. Rooney Opportunity Scholarship in his honor. From 1976 to 1983 he was a pathologist for ICI Americas, Inc., in Wilmington, Del. He returned to the University of Kentucky in 1983, and became emeritus professor in 1989. He wrote Autopsy of the Horse (now Rooney’s Guide).
Dr. Frederick F. Samaha. See Class of 2005.
Dr. Hisao Yamada. See Class of 1956.
