Paul R. Kirchner, ME’20, Thornville, Ohio, retired vice president of the Lancaster Colony Corp., a glass-making firm; December 4.
Harold M. Hecht, W’24, Los Angeles, chair of the J.W. Robinson Co. chain of department stores from 1959 to 1973; December 2. He also had been regional executive vice president of Associated Dry Goods Corp., when it owned Robinson’s, Lord & Taylor, Goldwaters of Arizona, and other top-line department stores. During his tenure, Robinson’s expanded from four downtown stores in cities to 26 across Southern California. With the new stores, Hecht helped spark a drive in the 1960s and 1970s for better shopping malls. He was a major fundraiser for a number of organizations, including St. John’s Hospital and the Hollywood Bowl. And he had served as president of the Independent Colleges of Southern California.
Martha M. Scheidell, WEF’24, Jeffersonville, N.Y.
Eric E. Alber, WEv’25, Delray Beach, Fla., January 1, 1994.
Martin D. Meyers, W’26, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., retired co-founder of a sales-aids and promotions company; November 27, 1996. He had served on the board of the Philadelphia YMCA. And he participated in the annual re-enactment of the crossing of the Delaware River by George Washington.
Monroe Green, W’27, Palm Beach, Fla., a former vice president of The New York Times who directed the advertising department through more than 20 years of significant innovation and growth; December 7. Among his innovations were the development of annual business and financial reviews and special advertising sections. By the time he retired in 1968, he was a legend who had more than doubled the newpaper’s annual advertising, created a flourishing international operation, and made the Times Magazine pre-eminent in fashion advertising. Recognizing the buying power of women, he attracted so many lingerie ads to the magazine during the 1960s that it became known as the Girdle Gazette. By his retirement, the magazine had for several years published more lines of advertising than any other magazine in the country.
Hon. Walter E. Hoffman, W’28, Norfolk, Va., a retired senior judge in the U.S. District Court there; November 21, 1996. Whether striking down segregation or sentencing popular politicans, “Beef” (a nickname earned in his scrappy youth in South Orange, N. J.) was forceful, blunt, and intolerant of theatrics; during Norfolk’s intergration crisis, he told a hushed courtroom, “I will do my duty if it costs me my last friend on Earth.” At the same time, he humanized his courtroom with his homespun style and irascible humor. A docket clerk described him as having the appearance of “a jolly old elf � he had a warm manner and he cared.” And Judge Hoffman never shunned a politically sensitive case: those on the receiving end of a Hoffman sentence included a vice president, a federal judge, a popular governor, and a popular mayor. The era of desegregation was his most trying: he received hate letters, threatening phone calls, and even had a cross burned outside his house — and friends shunned him. He said of these desegregation cases, “You’re not entitled to any thanks � you just call them the way you see them, and let it go at that.” He regarded the 1973 case of Vice President Spiro Agnew (on a charge of tax-evasion) a breeze by comparison, accepting Agnew’s no-contest and resignation, though he would have preferred to have sent the vice president to prison rather than just fining him $10,000. For some years in the 1970s, he also served as director of the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C., having been invited to the position by then Chief Justice Warren Burger. Even as a senior judge in his eighties, he put in full days and traveled to other districts to hear cases until a stroke hospitalized him in 1991, just before his 84th birthday. For the last five years of his life, he continued going to court twice a week, having lunch with his old colleagues and lending advice to younger judges.
William F. McKenney, W’28, Venice, Fla.
Edward Guion Jr., W’29, Lancaster, Pa., July 3, 1996.
Anthony D. Herbst, CE’29, Philadelphia, September 5, 1996.
E. S. Leopold, W’29, Longboat Key, Fla., a retired attorney; October 5, 1996.
Samuel E. Martz, C’29, PSW’39, Alexandria, Va., a retired financial-research manager for the federal Health Care Finance Administration; December 5. Over the years, he was an advocate for federal programs for the disabled, receiving a distinguished-service award, two superior-service awards, and a citation from the Seceretary of the old Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
Jean Zarr Jaspersen-Batdorf, Ed’30, Williamsburg, Va., retired assistant head of Sidwell Friends School in Washington; December 8.
Leonora P. Berry, PSW’31, Newtown, Pa., October 31, 1996.
Ruth Bogaty DuBose, FA’31, West Hartford, Conn., November 26, 1996. A commercial artist in a NYC advertising agency in the 1940s, she had taken up painting again in recent years, producing a flourish of completed works in the summer before her death.
John M. Huebner, W’31, L’34, Bryn Mawr, Pa., a retired attorney; November 11, 1996.
Dr. Herman C. March, C’31, M’34, Elkins Park, Pa., a professor of radiology at the University of Pennsylvania from 1946 to 1963; November 23, 1996. He had maintained a private practice in radiology until his retirement in 1990.
Walter J. Opekun, W’31, Venice, Fla., a retired athletics coach at Mount St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Md., for 41 years; December 18. At Penn, he had been an all-star football player.
Edna Lockhart Astley, Ed’32, PSW’36, Newtown Square, Pa.
Harry C. Landis, W’32, Bethlehem, Pa., a retired sales manager for Tri-State Distributors in Philadelphia; November 29, 1996.
Ada J. McCloskey, DH’32, Bellwood, Pa., February 9, 1994.
Emmett L. Roach, W’32, Prairie Village, Kans., December 3.
William D. Babcock, W’33, WG’49, Ocean City, N.J., retired senior executive vice president of the General Accident Insurance Co. in Philadelphia; June 29, 1996. He was a former president of the National Organization for Insurance Accounting and a principal contributor to the book Insurance Accounting, Fire & Casualty. He had taught for a time in the Wharton School. He was vice chair of the Ocean City Zoning Board for 12 years after his retirement in 1976.
Herman L. Katten, W’33, New Orleans, retired chair of Ferd Marks Insurance Agency; December 17. He was a past president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Louisiana. And he served as treasurer of the United Way of Greater New Orleans.
John A. McGunagle, WEv’33, Thorofare, N.J., April 27, 1996.
Dr. Edgar A. Zimmerman Jr., C’33, D’36, Mt. Pleasant, S.C., a retired dentist; December 14.
Charles L. Gerecke, W’34, Orchard Park, N.Y., former owner and president of W.H. Prentice, Inc., a Buffalo interior-design firm; December 14.
Milton P. Goldberg, C’34, Teaneck, N.J., a retired chemist for the NYC Water Department; December 10. Earlier, he was a chemist at the Brooklyn Naval Yards for 20 years.
Rev. Harold L. Hertzler, CCT’34, Inverness, Scotland, February 1988.
John C. Howard, W’34, Saddle River, N.J., a retired employee of the Bethlehem Steel Corp.; November 27, 1996.
Dr. Henry P. Beers, Gr’35, Fairfax, Va., a retired archivist with the National Archives for 33 years; December 9. Though retiring in 1969, he continued his archival research, publishing French and Spanish Records of Louisiana and Spanish Records of the American Southwest, which was nominated for a National Book Award. He also had served as foreign-relations historian for the State Department’s historical-policy research division. His Bibliographies in American History: Guide to Materials for Research was a standard reference tool.
Harry W. Serwalt, WEv’35, Philadelphia, a retired hosiery manufacturer; December 16. He later started a hosiery mail-order venture from his home. Then he worked as an accountant for tool-&-die companies, still working until 1994.
Charles F. Henkels, W’36, Fort Washington, Pa., a retired corporate-systems specialist for the old First Pennsylvania Bank, now part of CoreStates Financial Corp.; November 23, 1996. He was treasurer of his Class at the time of his death.
Dr. Shirley Silverstein Bloom, CW’37, Winchester, Mass., a retired physician; October 20, 1994.
Margaret Ford Kearney, Ed’37, GEd’39, Thornton, Pa., October 22, 1996.
Edward Drake, W’38, Ocoee, Fla.
David W. Evans, W’38, Mansfield, Ohio, retired superintendent of agencies for the Lumberman’s Mutual Casualty Co.; August 28, 1996.
Robert E. Lamberton Jr., L’38, Blue Bell, Pa., retired manager of profit-improvement projects for what is now the Sun Oil Co.; December 10, 1996.
Bernard Singer, W’38, Brookline, Mass., former chair of the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency; December 2. He later ran a real estate appraisal business in Brookline.
Bernard J. Myers Jr., L’39, Lancaster, Pa., an attorney; May 4, 1987.
John P. Stokes, W’39, Clarksburg, Mass.
Thomas P. Roth, W’40, Delran, N.J., November 29, 1996.
Dorothy Thornburg Berry, DH’41, West Chester, Pa., October 30, 1996. She served as president of her Dental Hygiene Class.
Dr. James E. Eckenhoff, M’41, La Porte, Ind., a former vice chair and professor of anesthesiology at the University of Pennsylvania who later served as dean of the Northwestern University Medical School (1970- 83) and president of the Northwestern University McGaw Medical Center (1980-85); November 25, 1996. He was recruited to Northwestern in 1966 to start and head its department. Despite his responsibilities as dean and president, he still found time for both the practice and teaching of his speciality. He also was responsible for the consolidation of Northwestern’s medical faculty into an integrated group practice. After retiring, he also served as a Distinguished Physician Consultant to the Veterans Administration for four years. And in 1990, he became chair of La Porte Hospital. An internationally recognized pioneer of modern anesthesiology, his Introduction to Anesthesiology continues to be the standard text for beginning students in that field.
Frank V. Birch, W’42, Clarendon Hills, Ill., retired treasurer and vice president of C.R. Meyers & Sons in Oshkosh, Wis.; April 10, 1996. He had earlier served, for 25 years, as an accountant with Peat Marwick & Main’s Milwaukee auditing practice.
Wanda S. Flinchbaugh, Ed’42, GEd’43, Lancaster, Pa., October 31, 1996.
Frances G. Cohen, PSW’44, Baltimore. She had served as assistant executive director of Central Scholarship Bureau, Inc.
Irving J. Wurtzel, W’45, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., retired owner of his family children’s store; September 28, 1996.
Dr. Emil Jobb, CCC’46, Seattle, a gastroenterologist; November 17, 1996.
Morris Karol, W’47, Philadelphia, November 5, 1996.
Dr. Richard W. Lykes, G’47, Sarasota, Fla., retired professor of American history at George Mason University; December 20. Academically, he specialized in the subject of terrorism.
Vernon H. Reiss, GEd’47, Canton, Ohio, retired head of an insurance company; November 16, 1996. At Penn, he was an assistant swimming coach.
Dr. William L. Thornton, M’47, Meridian, Miss., March 31, 1996.
Elizabeth Deck Faust, PSW’48, Spring House, Pa.
Ambrose M. Starr, GEd’48, Valley View, Pa., November 11, 1996.
Alexander J. Almand, WG’49, Little Rock, Ark., a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force who served in the comptroller’s offices of the Air Force and the Department of Defense; November 18, 1996. He received the Legion of Merit. Retiring from the Air Force in 1969, he served on the board of Little Rock’s City Beautiful Commission, and as chair of the YMCA of Metropolitan Little Rock.
Theodore H. Husted Jr., L’50, Milford, Pa., former vice dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School from 1953 to 1968, who later served as administrative director of the NYC law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton & Garrison (1969-89); November 24, 1996.
Charles R. Hautz, WEv’51, Broomall, Pa., November 23, 1996.
Eugene Michels, PT’51, G’67, College Park, Md., former associate professor of physical therapy at the University of Pennsylvania; November 14, 1996. He later served as associate executive vice president with the American Physical Therapy Association in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Herbert L. Warres, GM’51, Austin, Tex.; a physician.
Edward J. Ganley, G’52, Melfa, Va., November 17, 1996.
David T. Miller, C’52, Philadelphia, January 1993.
Alyce Hutzley, Nu’54, Beverly Hills, Mich., August 10, 1996.
Nathan J. Rubin, WEv’54, Clearwater, Fla., October 26, 1995.
David F. Greenawalt, W’55, Pasadena, Calif., December 31, 1995.
Alice H. Lynch, Ged’55, Southampton, Pa., March 27, 1995.
Dr. Helena Jakubowicz Costantini, V’56, Snowmass Village, Colo., a retired veterinarian who had maintained a small-animal practice in Cincinnati for 30 years; October 13, 1996. In the 1970s, she headed the Association for Women Veterinarians.
Sam Scheiner, SW’56, Bearsville, N.Y., retired director of the Frederic R. Mann Older Adult Center in the Kensington district of Philadelphia; December 17.
Hugh A. Vaughn, Jr., W’56, Hershey, Pa., November 28, 1996.
Kenneth B. Erickson, W’62, G’63, Upland, Calif., December 27, 1994. He was senior vice president and CFO for the Treasure Chest Advertising Co.
Rev. Bruce F. Biever, Gr’65, Milwaukee, 1996. He was an assistant professor of sociology at Marquette University.
C. Daniel Knisely, W’65, New Philadelphia, Ohio, March 21, 1996. He was vice president of a financial-services company.
Eugenia B. Cook, CW’67, Villanova, Pa.
Eric Gilmore, GEE’73, Philadelphia, April 1, 1996.
Stuart E. Soff, C’76, Boynton Beach, Fla., a partner in the Boca Raton law firm of LaValle, Brown, Ronan & Soff, who specialized in divorce law; November 20, 1996, while kayaking through strong rapids on the Zambezi River in Africa.
Daniel Leitch III, WEv’77, Evansville, Ind., retired chair and CEO of American General Finance Co., a consumer-credit firm; November 19, 1996.
John P. McDonald, WG’78, Morristown, N.J., senior vice president and general counsel with the Reuben H. Donnelly Corp. in Purchase, N.Y.; October 27, 1996.
Rosemary T. Gansky, C’80, Lake Oswego, Ore., a screenwriter; September 21, 1996.
Dr. Thomas F. Capone, D’83, Watertown, N.Y., a dentist; November 2, 1996.
Mark R. Rosenfeld, C’87, New York City, April 8, 1996.
John Reilly, CGS’98, Washington D.C., April 14, 1996.
William D. Babcock. See Class of 1933.
Dr. James E. Eckenhoff. See Class of 1941.
Dr. Herman C. March. See Class of 1931.
Theodore H. Husted Jr. See Class of 1950.
Eugene Michels. See Class of 1951.
Walter J. Opekun. See Class of 1931.
Vernon H. Reiss. See Class of 1947.
