1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s | Faculty & Staff
Notifications | Please send notifications of deaths of alumni directly to: Alumni Records, University of Pennsylvania, Suite 300, 2929 Walnut Street, Phila., PA 19104; Email record@ben.dev.upenn.edu. Newspaper obits are appreciated.
1943
Dr. Harold F. Burton V’43, Abingdon, MD, a retired veterinarian; Aug. 31, at 102.
Dr. Morton E. Melman C’43 D’44, Boynton Beach, FL, a former associate clinical professor of restorative dentistry in Penn Dental Medicine; Aug. 6, at 100. He joined Penn in 1964 as an associate in dental restoration, becoming assistant professor in 1974. He eventually advanced to clinical associate professor in the same department before retiring from Penn in 1992. He served in the US Army during World War II. At Penn, he was a member of the choral society and the tennis team. One son is Dr. Barry E. Melman D’77, who is married to Leslie Poul Melman CW’74.
Charles W. Simon C’43, Los Angeles, July 1, 2022, at 99.
1944
Richard B. Anderson W’44, Philadelphia, a retired hospital CEO; April 10. He served in the US Navy.
1945
Aimee Polen Katz CW’45, Bala Cynwyd, PA, a teacher, social worker, and women’s clothing designer; May 7, 2022.
1946
Manuel I. Plavin W’46, West Palm Beach, FL, retired president of the New England Furniture Company; Oct. 16. At Penn, he was a member of Phi Sigma Delta fraternity and the track team.
Carol Christman Spencer CW’46, Potomac, MD, a retired deputy chief of reference services at the National Library of Medicine; June 17. At Penn, she was a member of Chi Omega sorority, the choral society, and the orchestra.
1947
Amy Hickerson Dalton G’47, Richmond, VA, a retired professor at the University of Richmond; July 7.
Nettie Tate Graham Ed’47, Santa Barbara, CA, a retired nurse and former director of a nursing program at Allan Hancock College; Nov. 12, 2022, at 102. She served in the US Army during World War II.
Margaret Hartnett Mohyde DH’47, Stratford, CT, a retired dental hygienist and kindergarten teacher; Sept. 25.
Natalie Foss Stein G’47, Lenox, MA, a retired high school librarian; Aug. 16.
1948
Hon. Harold Berger EE’48 L’51, Philadelphia, a lawyer, engineer, and former judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia who served Penn in multiple capacities; Aug. 26. He served on Penn Engineering’s board of advisors, as chair of the Friends of Biddle Law Library, and as a member of the executive board of Penn Carey Law’s Center of Ethics and the Rule of Law. He established Penn Biddle Library’s Berger Law collection in memory of his parents, and Penn Engineering’s Harold Berger Distinguished Lecture and Award was named in his honor. In addition, he was the recipient of the inaugural Lifetime Commitment Award of Penn Law. Throughout his career, he participated in many complex litigation and class-action matters, including the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the Three Mile Island accident. He served in the US Army during World War II. His son is Jonathan D. Berger W’80.
Dr. Robert C. King D’48, New Scotland, NY, a retired dentist; Aug. 27. He served in the US Navy during the Korean War.
Leon Rosenberg WG’48, San Diego, a retired executive in the textiles industry who later worked as a private management consultant; Dec. 12, 2022. He served in the US Navy.
Margaret Huber Rowe Ed’48, Wycombe, PA, a retired second-grade teacher at a Quaker school; Oct. 14.
Sylvia Gordon Tashman CW’48, Drexel Hill, PA, a retired math and science teacher who previously worked as a microbiologist in a research laboratory at Albert Einstein Medical Center and CHOP; Oct. 20.
1949
Sandra Schaffer Alexander Ed’49, Audubon, PA, Sep. 24.
Edward S. Brinton W’49, Kennett Square, PA, a retired manufacturing manager at DuPont; Sept. 23. He served in the US Army during World War II. At Penn, he was a member of Delta Psi fraternity and the swimming team.
Dr. Leonard Brown C’49, San Diego, a retired dermatologist; June 8.
Lewis Walton Heiss Jr. ME’49, Fort Washington, PA, a retired medical engineer and former president of what is now PWI Engineering; June 16. At Penn, he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.
Albert M. Lyles G’49, Charlotte, NC, a retired administrator at Virginia Commonwealth University and Winthrop University; June 11.
Jean Albertelli Mesropian Ed’49, Phoenix, a former kindergarten teacher; Sept. 16.
John H. Morris W’49, Dubuque, IA, a retired advertising executive; Sept. 25, 2020. He served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II.
Marie “Rink” Cissel Neuhauser CW’49, Cabin John, MD, June 11. At Penn, she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority.
1950
Dr. Robert L. Grimm GEd’50, Conshohocken, PA, Jan. 23. His wife is Dr. Agnes M. Rash.
Norwin E. Katzen W’50, La Habra, CA, April 24.
Marvin C. Shrager W’50, Atlanta, a retired partner of a CPA firm in Scotch Plains, NJ; Jan. 14. He served in the US Navy during World War II. At Penn, he was a member of Phi Sigma Delta fraternity.
1951
Edward L. Balinsky W’51, Kennett Square, PA, a retired executive at Grumman Aerospace Corporation; June 26. He served in the US Navy during the Korean War. At Penn, he was among the first cohort of student broadcasters and on-air hosts at WXPN.
Dorrance Elder Dean CW’51, East Lansing, MI, Nov. 11, 2022. At Penn, she was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority.
Dr. William F. Gebhart M’51, Santa Barbara, CA, a retired nephrologist and assistant medical director of a medical clinic; July 7, 2022.
Fred D. Oyler WG’51, Carlisle, PA, Aug. 18. He retired from DuPont chemical company. He served in the US Navy.
Rabbi Morton A. Wallack C’51, Encino, CA, a retired rabbi; July 22, 2022. One daughter is Claudia Wallack Samuels CW’74.
Joseph A. Zulfer WG’51, Flossmoor, IL, a retired partner at the accounting firm Ernst & Young; Oct. 14. He served in the US Navy during World War II.
1952
Alex J. Adler G’52, Bryn Mawr, PA, retired president of a medical communications agency; Oct. 3, 2022.
Dr. J. Thomas Davis C’52 D’55, Everett, PA, a retired dentist; Sept. 2. He served in the US Navy as a dentist. At Penn, he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and the basketball team.
Lois Kirkpatrick Ely Ed’52 GEd’53, Selinsgrove, PA, a retired English and Spanish teacher; June 7.
Donald N. Leff W’52, South Orange, NJ, retired owner of Audrey’s Farmhouse; April 12, 2022. At Penn, he was a member of Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity, Friars Senior Society, and the rowing team.
Dr. Gus J. Mazzola Jr. C’52, Longboat Key, FL, a retired physician; Sept. 24. At Penn, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
Joseph B. Milgram Jr. WG’52, Cleveland, retired chairman of a paint manufacturer; Aug. 1, 2022, at 99. He served in the US Army during World War II. One son is John S. Milgram C’81.
Janet Brodsky Snyder Ed’52, Baltimore, Sept. 5. At Penn, she was a member of Penn Dance Group. One daughter is Debra Snyder Hirsh DH’80.
1953
Warren J. Adair C’53, West Chester, PA, a retired trial attorney; June 9. He served in the US Navy. At Penn, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, the Daily Pennsylvanian, Glee Club, the ROTC, and the football and rowing teams.
Edward J. Brauner EE’53 GEE’55, Beaverton, OR, a retired manager for an engineering company and longtime volunteer for Habitat for Humanity; July 14, 2022. At Penn, he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity and WXPN.
Martin Breslauer W’53, Del Mar, CA, former assistant property director for the City of San Diego; June 1. He served in the US Navy. At Penn, he was a member of the baseball and rowing teams.
Dr. John C. Bucur GM’53, Falls Church, VA, a neurosurgeon; Aug. 17. He served in the US Army during World War II.
Herbert S. Cassel W’53 WG’54, Fayetteville, PA, a retired professor at Shippensburg University; June 26, 2022. He served in the US Army.
Jeanne Korns Clark Nu’53, Old Lyme, CT, a former nurse; Aug. 23. At Penn, she was a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority.
Nancy Davidson Craig Ed’53, Bensalem, PA, a retired kindergarten teacher; Dec. 28, 2021. At Penn, she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority.
Robert G. Heine W’53, Palm Beach Gardens, FL, a retired banker; June 5. He served in the US Army during the Korean War. At Penn, he was a member of Kappa Nu fraternity.
Joan Wells Lathrap CW’53, Urbana, IL, a retired director of social services at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District; May 24.
Dr. Edgar L. Loy V’53, Wayne, PA, a retired veterinarian and owner of his own practice; May 6, 2022. He served in the US Navy during World War II and later in the US Army Reserve.
Frances Dickson Campbell Shaw SW’53, Phoenixville, PA, a retired supervisor at a child welfare agency; Sept. 21. Her daughter is Mary E. Campbell G’84.
David R. Slocum Ar’53, Avon, CT, an architect; Sept. 23. He served in the US Army. One granddaughter is Hayley R. Kearney Nu’17.
1954
Dr. E. Joseph Charny M’54 GM’58, Pittsburgh, a retired psychiatrist; Jan. 10. He survived the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018, and was featured in the HBO documentary A Tree of Life. He served in the US Army.
Neal D. Coberly Jr. W’54 G’65, Atherton, CA, a financial and management consultant for an international corporation; Oct. 8, 2022. He served in the US Air Force. At Penn, he was a member of ROTC.
Theodore Davis W’54, Boca Raton, FL, a retired executive of a packaging company; May 20. He served in the US Air Force during the Korean War. At Penn, he was a member of Pi Lambda Phi fraternity and the ROTC.
John A. Kosco W’54, Hutchinson Island, FL, a retired accountant for Educational Testing Service; Aug. 19. He served in the US Army and the US Army Reserve. At Penn, he was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity and Mask & Wig.
Dr. William N. “Bill” Mebane III M’54, Gwynedd, PA, a former clinical associate professor in the department of family practice and community medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine; Oct. 1. He practiced for several decades as a pediatrician in Chestnut Hill. He taught at Penn as a clinical associate professor of family practice and community medicine from 1997 to 1999. In addition, he held a faculty position at Jefferson Medical College. He served in the US Army as a battalion surgeon.
William H. Odell W’54, East Bend, NC, retired owner of an actuary service; Sept. 1. At Penn, he was a member of Pi Lambda Phi fraternity, the Debate Council, WXPN, and the baseball team.
Nancy Vogt Spiegel CW’54, Gainesville, FL, owner of a real estate company; June 19.
1955
Dr. Walter M. Bortz II M’55, Portola Valley, CA, a former professor of medicine at Stanford University and a longevity and healthy aging expert; Aug. 5.
Hershey Groff Jr. W’55, Landisville, PA, a retired accountant; Aug. 31. He served in the US Navy. At Penn, he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and the baseball and sprint football teams.
E. Burton Kerr W’55, Briarcliff Manor, NY, a retired accountant; Feb. 20. At Penn, he was a member of Beta Sigma Rho fraternity.
Joseph Moro W’55, Atco, NJ, a retired human resources director; Aug. 28. He served in the US Navy. At Penn, he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and the soccer team.
Hartwell P. Morse Jr. W’55, Cazenovia, NY, a retired bank executive; Sept. 22. He served in the US Army. At Penn, he was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity.
Sonia Callahan Myers DH’55, Milesburg, PA, a school dental hygienist and former instructor at a vocational school; Sept. 18.
Anne M. “Nancy” Rigney CW’55, Media, PA, director of volunteers at a hospital; Aug. 16. At Penn, she was a member of Chi Omega sorority. One brother is John C. Rigney Jr. C’51.
Joseph W. Zahn Jr. W’55, Hackettstown, NJ, a real estate and insurance broker; Jan. 1. He served in the US Air Force. At Penn, he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
Joseph M. Zangerle G’55, Bloomington, IL, a retired executive at State Farm Insurance Company; Sept. 17. He served in the US Army.
1956
Herbert J. Betz ME’56, Morgantown, PA, May 26, 2021. He worked for a Bible translating agency as well as in his family’s construction business. At Penn, he was a member of the rowing team. One sister is Elsie Betz Oerter Ed’49 GEd’50, and another sister was Esther Betz Bader Nu’64, who died Jan. 11, 2023 (see Class of 1964).
T. Vincent Corsini Jr. WG’56, East Sandwich, MA, retired founder of a construction company; Aug. 15.
Robert R. Lerman W’56, Middlebury, VT, a retired executive at a carpet company; Aug. 20. He served in the US Navy.
Ronald J. Mason C’56, Appleton, WI, a retired professor of archaeology at Lawrence University; Sept. 5. He served in the US Air Force during the Korean War.
Thomas H. “Tom” Stoner W’56, Annapolis, MD, cofounder of a radio broadcasting company and what would become the world’s largest network of cell phone towers; Oct. 19. He also cofounded Nature Sacred, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting people with nature [“Profiles,” this issue]. At Penn, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, Mask & Wig, and Sphinx Senior Society. One grandchild is Kristin A. Kelly C’09.
Dr. Ralph G. Wieland Jr. M’56, Chesterland, OH, a retired physician and professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University; May 28. He served in the US Air Force.
J. King Wright C’56, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, a retired executive at Lehman Brothers; Aug. 19. He served in the US Navy. At Penn, he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, Friars Senior Society, and the rowing team.
1957
Edith D. Grossman CW’57 G’59, New York, a renowned translator of Latin American literature; Sept. 4. She has translated books by Gabriel García Márquez, Isabel Allende, Carlos Fuentes, and others into English.
Lt. Col. Thaddeus F. Jacoviak CE’57, Lavallette, NJ, a civil engineer for the State of New Jersey; Sept. 6. He served in the US Air Force for two decades, including during the Vietnam War. At Penn, he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.
Dr. Stuart A. Kleit D’57, Wellington, FL, a retired professor of medicine and associate dean emeritus at Indiana University; Sept. 20. He served in the US Navy.
Leonard I. Korman W’57, Fort Washington, PA, a philanthropist and former chairman and CEO of the Korman Corporation, a construction company; Aug. 16. At Penn, he was a member of Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity. One daughter is Alison Korman Feldman C’82, and his sister is Judith Korman Langsfeld CW’67.
Sheldon A. Nelson C’57, Kingston, PA, a garments and furniture salesman; Sept. 17. At Penn, he was a member of Phi Sigma Delta fraternity.
David P. Willis Jr. W’57, Downingtown, PA, retired president and CEO of a coatings manufacturer; Aug. 16. At Penn, he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.
1958
Francis S. Carnes Jr. W’58, Easton, MD, a retired executive at an insurance agency; Sept. 12. At Penn, he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.
Joseph A. Damico Jr. L’58, Media, PA, a lawyer and former solicitor for Middletown Township (PA); Sept. 7.
Ruth Crispin Helmetag Ed’58, Newtown Square, PA, a former curriculum supervisor for the American Institute for Certified Property & Casualty Underwriters; March 13.
Robert C. Hopkins WG’58, Cincinnati, a retired managing director for Levi Strauss; Feb. 18. He served in the US Air Force.
Rev. Reuel S. Kaighn Jr. C’58, Bluffton, SC, an Episcopal minister; Sept. 13. He served in the US Navy. At Penn, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, Friars Senior Society, the ROTC, and the rowing team.
Dr. John A. Lambie M’58 GM’62, Grand Forks, ND, a retired physician; Sept. 19. He served in the Fargo (ND) Air National Guard during the Korean War.
Dr. Alson W. Sears Jr. C’58, Park City, UT, a retired veterinarian; June 3. At Penn, he was a member of Theta Xi fraternity.
Joan Barckley Trerotola MT’58, Needham, MA, a biochemist and perennial garden designer for a greenhouse in New Jersey; Sept. 10. Her husband is Nicholas F. Trerotola, Jr. W’58.
1959
Dr. Steven W. Babcock M’59, Madison, WI, a retired physician at a Veterans Affairs medical center; June 17. He served in the US military throughout his life, including in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard during the Korean War and the US Army Reserve during the Gulf War.
Leonard J. Cooper C’59 L’62, Laverock, PA, a lawyer; Sept. 27.
Dr. James M. Flickinger V’59, West Hartford, CT, a retired veterinarian; July 12. He served in the US Army Veterinary Corps.
Dr. J. Myron “Mike” Rosen GD’59, Boston, a retired dentist; Aug. 31.
Michael D. Zucker W’59, Sarasota, FL, an accountant; Sept. 19. He served in the US Army Reserve. At Penn, he was a member of Pi Lambda Phi fraternity.
1960
Arlene Johnson Flick CW’60, Newtown Square, PA, Sept. 1. She worked for the Zoological Society of Philadelphia. At Penn, she was a member of Chi Omega sorority and the choral society.
Susan Woodruff Kirkpatrick Ed’60, West Chester, PA, a retired high school math teacher; Jan. 19.
William H. Roberts GLA’60, Philadelphia, an architect and landscape designer; Aug. 19. He was also the former chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Penn. His wife is Jean M. Roberts Gr’85.
Dr. Marvin M. Rosenberg GD’60, North Palm Beach, FL, a retired periodontist; Feb. 3.
Bert L. Zuber C’60 ChE’61, Chicago, a professor emeritus of bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago; June 20.
1961
Patricia T. Cruser G’61, Colorado Springs, CO, a retired professor of literature and film and associate dean for liberal arts at the University of the Arts; Nov. 14, 2022.
Robert A. Gilbert GAr’61, Hertford, NC, a retired architect; Aug. 30. He served in the US Army National Guard.
Louise A. Pascke Hopkins G’61, Hadley, MA, a retired administrator at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and owner of a yarn shop; Sept. 16.
1962
Jennie Lavin Drasin CW’62, Columbia, MD, March 20.
Patricia Gaskill Eckersley Nu’62, Mount Dora, FL, a former nurse; June 14.
Dr. McIver “Mac” W. Edwards Jr. M’62 GM’72, Kennett Square, PA, an anesthesiologist who also taught at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; Jan. 13.
Dr. Robert D. Heckel GD’62, Warren, OH, a retired oral and maxillofacial surgeon who was also a clinical associate professor of maxillofacial surgery at Case Western Reserve University; Sept. 1. He served in the US Navy.
Robert S. Koffler GFA’62, Cheltenham, PA, an artist and a professor emeritus of art at the Art Institute of Philadelphia; March 15, 2022.
Michael C. Krug W’62, Cincinnati, a former human resources manager at Procter & Gamble; Sept. 4. At Penn, he was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity, Friars Senior Society, the Glee Club, and Mask & Wig. One son is John C. Krug C’86.
Dr. Stanley Sigel V’62, Islamorada, FL, a retired veterinarian; Jan. 15. He served in the US Navy during the Korean War.
1963
B. Maralyn Richards Becker SW’63, Cherry Hill, NJ, a retired school social worker; Oct. 20. Two sons are Robert M. Becker C’95 GEd’96 and William I. Becker C’95.
Richard G. Colville Ar’63, Charlottesville, VA, Jan. 28. His wife is Linda Strekis Colville CW’64.
James H. Cook C’63, Southbury, CT, a retired underwriting executive at an insurance company; Sept. 4. At Penn, he was a member of Kappa Alpha Society fraternity and the ROTC. He served in the US Army.
Roland J. Greenwood Jr. ME’63, Granby, CT, a retired engineer for aerospace company Pratt and Whitney and a manager of a horse farm; Aug. 30. He served in the US Air Force.
Kenneth D. Gussion C’63, Humboldt, TN, Sept. 19. He worked in the furniture industry. At Penn, he was a member of Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity.
Joseph E. Illick Gr’63, San Francisco, a retired professor of American history at San Francisco State University; Feb. 23.
Yun Kim G’63, Verona, NJ, a retired professor of sociology and demography and chair of the Asian studies program at Utah State University; March 8. He was also a provost at Far East University in Korea and a visiting professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Lee W. Mistrik WEv’63 W’64, Media, PA, an accountant; Aug. 6, 2022. He served in the US Navy Reserve during the Vietnam War. At Penn, he was a member of the orchestra and Penn Band.
Mukunda Rao GrS’63, Tampa, a retired chief of social welfare for the United Nations; May 2.
Pearl P. Schrack G’63, Lansdale, PA, a retired high school English teacher and supervising instructor; Sept. 13.
Steven C. Shain C’63, Laguna Beach, CA, a retired marketing executive; Oct. 16, 2022. His wife is Lynne Flickstein Shain CW’64, and one daughter is Elizabeth Shain Forgash C’95.
Marylyn S. Ward CW’63 GEd’65 Gr’82, Bala Cynwyd, PA, a retired school psychologist; June 8. At Penn, she was a member of Chi Omega sorority and the tennis team.
Paul S. Wilson W’63 ASC’64, Philadelphia, a former instructor at Villanova University; May 27. At Penn, he was a member of Pi Lambda Phi fraternity and the fencing and soccer teams.
1964
Esther Betz Bader Nu’64, Warminster, PA, a church administrator; Jan. 11. At Penn, she was a member of Penn Singers. Her sister is Elsie Betz Oerter Ed’49 GEd’50, and one brother was Herbert J. Betz ME’56, who died May 26, 2021 (see Class of 1956).
Ronald G. Flegal CE’64, Ardmore, PA, a retired information technology executive at Merrill Lynch; Sept. 6. He served in the US Navy during the Vietnam War. At Penn, he was a member of Theta Xi fraternity.
Loring F. Hill W’64, Elkins Park, PA, retired professor and chairman of the photography and cinematography department at the Community College of Philadelphia; Aug. 28. At Penn, he was a member of the rowing team.
Lauren R. Madden WG’64, Springfield, IL, a retired printing executive; Sept. 13.
Tatjana “Tanya” Balabkins May Nu’64, Medford, NJ, a retired nurse anesthetist; Sept. 14.
1966
Dr. Harvey P. Yeager GM’66, Green Village, NJ, an otolaryngologist and an associate clinical professor of surgery at Rutgers University and an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University; Aug. 20. He served in the US Air Force.
1967
Rosalyn “Roz” Jones Watts GNu’67, Jenkintown, PA, an associate professor emerita in the nursing and biobehavioral health sciences departments of Penn’s School of Nursing; Oct. 19. She joined Penn Nursing’s faculty as an instructor in 1969, moving through the ranks to become an associate professor in the graduate division of nursing in 1982. She also held a secondary appointment in the department of nursing and biobehavioral health sciences. In 1984, she developed the Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist Program, which evolved over the next 10 years into the first Critical Care Nurse Practitioner program in the country. In 1997, she received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. She retired in 1999.
1968
Paul L. Hill Jr. GrE’68, Bedford, MA, a biomedical engineer; Aug. 20.
George Mifflin Dallas Peltz C’68, Hackensack, NJ, a real estate professional; Nov. 1. At Penn, he was a member of the Tau Chapter of Psi Upsilon fraternity.
Edward T. M. Tsoi GAr’68 GCP’68 GFA’68, Arlington, MA, a retired architect; Aug. 19.
1970
Regine Chaletsky Brown WEv’70 CGS’73, Sellersville, PA, a retired senior financial analyst for the state of New Jersey; Aug. 15. At Penn, she was a member of Chi Alpha Phi sorority.
Norman E. Lehrer EE’70, Ventnor City, NJ, a retired lawyer; Aug. 26. At Penn, he was a member of Tau Delta Phi fraternity.
1971
Helene Essrick Feldsher SW’71, Newtown, PA, Aug. 26. At Penn, she was a member of Phi Sigma Sigma sorority.
Roger E. Malman W’71, Charlotte, NC, a real estate developer; Aug. 25. At Penn, he was a member of Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity.
William T. Ondek C’71, Kilbuck Township, PA, owner of a real estate company; June 28.
Dr. Kenneth A. Reinhold D’71, Dunedin, FL, a dentist; Dec. 4, 2022.
1974
Lewis R. Achenbach Jr. SW’74, Pottsville, PA, former deputy secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health and owner and operator of two behavioral centers for adults; Aug. 21. He served in the US Army during the Vietnam War.
Peter J. Bernbaum L’74, Rye Brook, NY, a lawyer and professor at St. John’s University School of Law; Aug. 24.
1975
Dr. Thomas J. Braciale Gr’75 M’75, Charlottesville, VA, a professor of pathology at the University of Virginia; May 19, 2023. One sister is Yael Braciale Shayne C’79, who is married to Mark S. Shayne W’79.
1976
Alain P. Toumayan C’76, South Bend, IN, a professor emeritus of French and Francophone studies at the University of Notre Dame; Oct. 5. His brothers are Paul P. Toumayan C’84 and Eric G. Toumayan C’74 GLA’76, who is married to Trini M. Rodriguez Fajardo GLA’83 GFA’84 GRP’85.
1985
Virginia Hart Rials GNu’85, Roanoke, VA, a nursing instructor at the University of Virginia; Aug. 23. Earlier in her career, she was a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
1989
Joel M. Shmukler L’89, Chesterbrook, PA, an attorney; Aug. 17.
1992
Vicki Wilkof Shinoda GEd’92, Malvern, PA, a therapist; Aug. 27.
1993
Cheryl Neisser-Frankson GNu’93 Gr’03 GNu’15, Warminster, PA, an advanced senior lecturer in Penn Nursing’s department of biobehavioral and health science; Oct. 9. She served as a teaching assistant on Penn Nursing’s faculty from 1991 to 2001. In 2004, she joined the faculty full time as a lecturer. She was promoted to advanced senior lecturer in 2017.
2004
Darcy E. Richie C’04, Birmingham, MI, a former managing director at Teach for America and founding principal of Leadership Prep Elementary School in Brownsville, Brooklyn; April 26, 2022. At Penn, she was a member of Sphinx Senior Society, chair of the United Minorities Council, and a recipient of the 2004 Student Award of Merit.
2026
Michael Gavin C’26, West Chester, PA, a sophomore in the School of Arts and Sciences; Oct. 14. At Penn, he was a member of the football team, and he was awarded the Coach Lake Award for demonstrating leadership and Penn pride.
Natalie Kim V’26, Bryn Mawr, PA, a first-year student at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine; Oct. 24.
2028
Edgar Luzete Monteiro Gr’28, Brasília, Brazil, a graduate student in the department of biology in the School of Arts and Sciences; Oct. 29. He conducted research in the Perelman School of Medicine’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine, focusing on identifying pioneer transcription factors’ domains responsible for chromatin interaction.
Faculty & Staff
Hon. Harold Berger. See Class of 1948.
David E. Boettiger, Davis, CA, professor emeritus of microbiology in the Perelman School of Medicine; Oct. 6. He joined Penn’s microbiology faculty in 1974 and was promoted to full professor in 1986. As a researcher at Penn, he studied the molecular mechanisms of cell adhesion, which is critical for the integrity of tissues and organs and for the infection of cells by microbes and viruses. He retired in 2011.
Eugenio “Gene” Calabi Hon’14, Bryn Mawr, PA, the Thomas A. Scott Professor Emeritus of Mathematics in the School of Arts and Sciences; Sept. 25, at 100. He joined Penn’s faculty as a professor of mathematics in 1964. Three years later, he was named the Thomas A. Scott Professor of Mathematics. He was a seminal researcher who made crucial contributions to differential geometry. He presented the incomplete Calabi conjecture in 1954, which was finally proven, to much fanfare, in the 1970s. In 1982, he introduced a geometric flow, now called the Calabi flow, as a proposal for finding Kähler metrics of constant scalar curvature. He also found the Laplacian comparison theorem in Riemannian geometry and, with Beno Eckmann, discovered the Calabi–Eckmann manifold. He retired in 1994. In 2008, Penn established a Calabi Assistant Professorship of Mathematics in his honor, which was first given to Joachim Krieger.
Dr. McIver “Mac” W. Edwards Jr. See Class of 1962.
Robert A. Kraft, Ambler, PA, the Berg Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies in the School of Arts and Sciences; Sept. 15. He joined Penn’s faculty in 1963, as an assistant professor of religious thought, becoming full professor in 1976. A Guggenheim Fellow, he made important contributions to the study of history and literatures of Judaism in the Greco-Roman Period (particularly the Septuagint and Old Greek translations), Coptic texts, updating and expanding the “Lost Apocrypha of the Old Testament,” and the computerization and digitization of ancient Jewish scriptures in Greek and papyri and related documents. He was named the American Berg Professor of Religious Studies in 1992. He retired in 2003. His sons are Scott W. Kraft C’83, Randall J. Kraft WEv’91, and Todd A. Kraft CGS’93.
Dr. William N. “Bill” Mebane III. See Class of 1954.
Dr. Morton E. Melman C’43 D’44. See Class of 1943.
Paul W. Meyer, Philadelphia, the retired F. Otto Haas Executive Director of the Morris Arboretum and Gardens; Oct. 10. In 1976, he was recruited by the Morris Arboretum as curator and director of horticulture. In 1991, he was appointed director of Morris Arboretum. Under his direction, the arboretum built its botanical staff and its reputation for regional floristic studies. He traveled on 12 expeditions to China, Korea, Taiwan, Armenia, and the Republic of Georgia, and other places, where he collected plants to help increase the arboretum’s genetic diversity, including plants that grow in stressful urban conditions. In 2022, he received the Veitch Memorial Medal, an international prize presented by the Royal Horticultural Society in Great Britain for an “outstanding contribution to the advancement and improvement of the science and practice of horticulture.” He and his wife endowed two funds at the arboretum: the Paul Meyer and Debra L. Rodgers Study-Travel Endowment and the Paul Meyer and Debra L. Rodgers Historic Preservation Endowment Fund. [See “Gazetteer,” Jul|Aug 2019.]
Cheryl Neisser-Frankson. See Class of 1993.
Virginia Hart Rials. See Class of 1985.
William H. Roberts. See Class of 1960.
James A. Spady, a vice dean of Penn’s former School of Public and Urban Policy who most recently served as the director of the Fels Institute of Government; Oct. 21. After earning his PhD from Harvard in 1976, he came to Penn, where he served in a variety of dual faculty/administrative roles. He began as a popular professor of undergraduate courses on American government and politics. In 1979, his role became primarily administrative when President Martin Meyerson appointed him director of the Office of the President. He continued in that position to facilitate the transition to President Sheldon Hackney’s administration. In 1982, he became director of the Fels Institute of Government and chairman of its graduate program in government administration, roles he held until 1997, when he retired.
Rosalyn “Roz” Jones Watts. See Class of 1967.
