DR. ELTON G. GILBERT, D’19, Allentown, Pa., a retired dentist; September 23, 1994.
K. RUSSELL KNOBLAUCH, ChE’24, Port St. Lucie, Fla., September 1.
ANNA DILLER WHITESIDE, Ed’26, G’30, Olney, Md., July 2.
ROSE SATINSKY ABRAMS, Ed’28, Media, Pa., March 4, 1996.
HARRY P. VOLDOW, W’28, L’31, Philadelphia, a retired attorney; August 3.
CATHERINE CHAPMAN, PSW’29, Denver, a retired social worker; August 20.
RUTH I. KARLSON, Ed’29, PSW’38, Media, Pa., retired head social worker in the Urbana, Ill., public-school system; October 14.
DR. DANIEL L. BIEMESDERFER, G’31, Lititz, Pa., August 1989.
DR. VICTOR A. DIGILIO, M’31, Philadelphia, a retired cardiologist who had maintained a practice in Center City, Philadelphia for nearly 60 years; October 15. He also taught at the old Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania and served on the staffs of Temple University Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital. Though he retired from active practice nine years ago, he still showed up a few days a week until recently at St. Joseph’s to help the cardiology staff read electrocardiograms.
VIVIAN BEATTIE PRATT, Ed’31, Bethesda, Md., June 8, 1995.
MARCUS L. SCHMIDT, W’31, Allentown, Pa., a retired manufacturer’s representative for the Welbilt Corp.; September 25.
JOHN M. SHEFFER, Ar’32, Hanover, Pa., June 28.
J. PENNINGTON STRAUS, C’32, L’35, Philadelphia, senior counsel at the Philadelphia law firm of Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis, at which he had been the founding chair of its trusts and estates department; September 27. He helped write the uniform probate code adopted by two thirds of the states, being referred to as the Father of the Uniform Probate Code. A past president of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, he still served as a regent emeritus. He was a member of the board of governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association and founder of its section on probate and trust law. He also served on the boards of the Settlement Music School, and Chestnut Hill College.
CARLETON B. ROBINSON, W’33, Belleair Beach, Fla., retired president of George A. Robinson Co., of Rochester, N.Y.; October 5.
SAMUEL FOSTER MEARS, W’34, Frederick, Md., retired company treasurer and financial vice president of the Acacia Mutual Life Insurance Co.; October 1996.
ALICE TALONE CASHORE, G’35, Conshohocken, Pa., a retired teacher of English and history at the old Conshohocken High School; September 8.
GEORGE F. GROFF, W’35, Sarasota, Fla., retired vice president of finance for the Crucible Steel Company of America in Pittsburgh; October 2.
PETER S. REED, W’35, West Hyannisport, Mass., October 11.
THEODORE P. NANZ, W’36, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., a retired CPA, who had maintained a practice for over 40 years; August 31.
DR. ROBERT L. PATTERSON, M’36, Chattanooga, Tenn., a retired physician; February 26, 1996.
BR. METHODIUS SHIGO,WEF’36, a monk of the Benedictine arch-abbey of St. Meinrad, Ind.; June 19. After serving in Europe during the Second World War, (for which he was awarded the Bronze Star), he worked for the Veteran’s Administration in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. He joined the community in 1959, first serving in the abbey’s treasury and business office. He later took instruction, and became its locksmith. The abbot wrote: “Throughout his monastic life, he suffered physical disabilities incurred from his military service. He never engaged in self-pity, however, but took pride in his longevity and endurance. A quiet and retiring man, he would appear as it seemed from nowhere to take his turn as cantor or to sing in the monastic schola.”
DR. DALE T. ANSTINE, C’38, Hollywood, Fla., a cardiologist who had served as chief of staff at Hollywood Hospital; October 5. He also had served on the staffs of the Memorial Regional Hospital and the Hollywood Medical Center.
BENJAMIN SIMON, W’38, Philadelphia, September 5.
WALTER A. FULLERTON JR., WG’39, Oviedo, Fla., an investment counselor and former owner of Lifetime Investors Planning Co. in St. Petersburg; September 28. He had helped in the founding of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in St. Petersburg.
DR. IRA M. ISRAEL, C’39, Old Westbury, N.Y., a retired physician; September 1, 1995.
WILLIAM J. MILLER, W’39, West Chester, Pa., September 10.
MARY LOUGHERY NODERER, GEd’39, Philadelphia, January 27, 1996.
JOHN DAVEY IV, W’40, Conneaut, Ohio, May 4, 1996.
GEORGE A. NOREN JR., W’40, Charleston, S.C., October 3. He was a retired U.S. Navy officer.
DR. ROBERT A. BUYERS, M’43, Lower Gwynedd, Pa., a physician; September 19.
JOSEPH E. McKEOWN, WEv’43, Trevose, Pa., retired inspector and UAW shop steward at a Budd Red Lion plant; September 29.
DR. CHARLES G. STEINMETZ III, C’44, GM’51, Philadelphia, former chief of general ophthalmic practice at Wills Eye Hospital; September 16. He also served on the staff of Bryn Mawr Hospital.
LILLIAN C. HOMELSKY, PSW’45, Willingboro, N.J., November 17, 1995.
WILBERT W. MILLER, W’45, Wheeling, W.Va., retired head of his family’s real estate business; February 22. He served on the National Association of Real Estate Boards, and was a former president of both the Wheeling Real Estate Board and the West Virginia Association of Realtors. At Penn, he was the drum major in the marching band, and was known for throwing his baton high over the goal posts.
BERNARD WEXLER, W’45, L’49, Washington, D.C., a retired attorney with the New York City law firm of Gordon, Altman & Butowsky, who, when he served with the Securities Exchange Commission, was in charge of the writing of a critical Federal study of 1966 that led to reforms in the early days of the mutual-fund industry; October 15. The reforms that resulted included the reduction of fees and sales charges and the replacement of fixed commissions with those that evolved from competition. After serving with the SEC from 1964 to 1978, he joined the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, directing the office that wrote the agency’s decisions. He joined Gordon Altman in 1984, retiring two years ago. Long dazzling colleagues with his extraordinary memory and encyclopedic knowledge, especially of the intricacies of securities law and history, he also had a gift for transforming the dry language of law and finance into vibrant, plain English: instead of additional capital, he would say fresh money.
LEE A. COHEN, W’47, Haddonfield, N.J., August 1996.
KARL F. LANG, C’47, L’50, St. Louis, an attorney; July 3.
MARY WERT, WEF’47, Carlisle, Pa., January 4, 1996.
DR. GEORGE C. MORRIS JR., M’48, Shepherd, Tex., a physician; August 29.
HON. JOHN F. HENDERSON, L’49, New Castle, Pa., retired president judge of the Lawrence County Courts; August 28.
WILLIAM G. MATHEWS, C’49, Sun City, Calif., November 1, 1995.
JAY B. BENEMAN, W’50, Wyndmoor, Pa., retired senior officer with Elkman Advertising; October 6. He had earlier served as vice president of Werman & Schoor, and as managing director of the Philadelphia office of Rumrill-Hoyt; during his career, he had guided the marketing plans of Monsanto, American Home Products, and Herr’s Potato Chips. He had served on the Committee of Seventy, and on the Philadelphia Bicentennial planning group. From 1988 to 1992, he served as an adjunct professor in the Wharton School, teaching courses on advertising and marketing. He was president of his Class.
CHARLES R. KROMBACH, WG’51, Wild Rose, Wis., a retired employee of Quick & Reilly; October 4. He was a former broker for Robert W. Baird. And he served on the local school board.
JAMES A. NEWPHER JR., C’52, WG’57, La Grange, Ill., July 29.
ANTHONY J. CAMPITELLI, W’54, Malvern, Pa., an attorney; June 1, 1995.
CHARLOTTE LONG, Ed’55, Philadelphia, March 1996.
BARBARA J. MAYS, CW’55, New City, N.Y., a retired manager with AT&T; December 14, 1995.
DR. ROBERT J. COURTNEY, Gr’57, Havertown, Pa., professor emeritus of political science at La Salle University; October 6.
STEPHEN J. FRIEDMAN, W’57, Los Angeles, a film producer, he had produced The Last Picture Show, Slap Shot, and The Big Easy; October 4. An attorney with Paramount and Columbia Studios, he was intent on becoming a producer, so he acquired the film rights to the novel The Last Picture Show; the film was released in 1971. In 1984 he formed King Road Entertainment, a company that produced more than 20 films, including All of Me.
DR. LEONARD HAUS, V’60, Pittsburgh, a veterinarian; September 16.
DR. JOHN S. PACKARD JR., C’64, 65’GEd, Julian, N.J., a retired associate professor of nursing at Pennsylvania State University; April 22, 1996. He also taught nursing in the University of Utah and the educational administration at the University of Oregon. A farmer, he devoted the last eight years of his life to creating a locally available supply of organic food.
SR. RUTH M. HILGER, GNu’65, Gladwyne, Pa., a Lutheran deaconess who taught nursing at Lankenau Hospital for 33 years; August 6. She was consecrated a Lutheran sister in her home parish in Milwaukee in 1954. The head of the Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses noted, that when not teaching, Sr. Ruth was renowned for her work with psychiatric patients, blending her sense of humor with patience and compassion.
DR. JOSEPH A. SHIELDS JR., M’65, Anchorage, a retired orthopedic surgeon who had maintained a practice in Ketchikan; September 20, in the crash of his single-engine plane, near Little Minto Lake. In recent years, he served as physician for scientific expeditions in Greenland and Antarctica. He was a member of the Sourdough Ski Patrol in Girdwood. And last March, he participated in Joe Redington Sr.’s Iditarod Challenge, traveling 1,200 miles from Anchorage to Nome by dog-sled.
DR. THELMA L. WILLIAMS, GNu’67, Philadelphia, emeritus assistant professor of nursing at the University; September 8. She joined the nursing faculty in 1966 as an instructor, and was appointed assistant professor in 1972. She worked to promote healthcare for minorities and under-served populations. At Penn, she established a public-clinic experience for the undergraduate students, in conjunction with the U.S. Public Health Services Indian Medical Center in Tuba City, Ariz. She was recognized, by the School of Nursing, at the 1995 Black Health Care Conference for her efforts for African Americans and Native Americans.
REV. BARTON M. LLOYD, GEd’69, Needham, Mass., an Episcopal priest who had taught at the Virginia Theological Seminary; October 13. He was a founder, in 1969, of the Mid-Atlantic Career Center.
DR. BARRY P. LUZZI, M’73, Bellbrook, Ohio, a physician; October 2.
CYNTHIA A. EBERT, CW’74, St. Davids, Pa., an employee of ITI, Inc.; September 1996. She had co-founded Soft-Switch, Inc., in 1979.
JEFFREY DAVIS PRESTON, C’74, WG’87, Gunnison, Colo., June 8, 1995.
SUSAN C. TEKLER, SAMP’74, Northbrook, Ill., March 13, 1995.
DR. BRUCE BURD, C’75, GEd’79, Elkins Park, Pa., March 1, 1996.
MARTHA H. PLATT, L’88, Silver Spring, Md., an attorney in the investment management division of the Securities and Exchange Commision; September 25, after being struck by a school bus while out jogging on the Mall in Washington. She had been an associate in the law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey before joining the SEC in 1991.
JAY B. BENEMAN. See Class of 1950.
DR. THELMA L. WILLIAMS. See Class of 1967.
