Faculty and staff

Stuart M. Tave, William Rainey Harper Professor Emeritus and former dean of the Division of the Humanities, of Chicago, died January 6. He was 102. Tave was a scholar of British literature who focused on late 18th- and early 19th-century writers including Edmund Burke, Charles Dickens, and Jane Austen. A World War II Navy veteran with degrees from Columbia, Harvard, and Oxford, in 1951 Tave joined—and later chaired—UChicago’s English department. His best-known books include The Amiable Humorist: A Study in the Comic Theory and Criticism of the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries (1960) and Some Words of Jane Austen (1973). In addition to Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships, Tave was a recipient of the University’s 1958 Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and received the Norman Maclean Faculty Award in 2000. After he retired in 1993, the University established two fellowships in Tave’s name to support graduate student teaching. He is survived by four children, Douglas Tave, LAB’67; Niels Tave, LAB’68; Karen Tave, LAB’70; and Janice Stubblefield-Tave, LAB’74, AM’82; and five grandchildren.

Karl F. Freed, Henry G. Gale Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in Chemistry and a former director of the James Franck Institute, of Chicago, died January 11. He was 83. Educated at Columbia and Harvard Universities, Freed joined the UChicago faculty in 1968 and earned international recognition for his fundamental contributions to polymer physics, molecular electronic structure theory, and the dynamics of complex systems. A pioneering theoretical chemist, Freed proved that complex biological and material systems could be understood through rigorous mathematical foundations. Freed received UChicago’s Norman Maclean Faulty Award in 2019 and was a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is survived by two daughters, including Michele Freed, LAB’87; a brother; and a grandchild.

Donald G. York, PhD’71, the Horace B. Horton Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and Astrophysics, died December 26. He was 81. York worked on the Princeton team that developed NASA’s Copernicus satellite before joining the UChicago faculty in 1982. Keen to generate data for research, he oversaw the construction of the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico and in 2000 was the founding director of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The project revolutionized astronomy, calibrating and releasing data for public use that has enabled thousands of discoveries. York himself published nearly 600 peer-reviewed studies and made important contributions to the study of the interstellar and intergalactic mediums. He forged partnerships between UChicago and Chicago Public Schools and received the Royal Astronomical Society Award for Public Service and the University’s 2025 Norman Maclean Faculty Award. Survivors include his wife, Anna; four children; a sister; and six grandchildren.

1940s

James D. Watson, PhB’46, SB’47, died November 6 in East Northport, NY. He was 97. Watson, who entered the College at age 15, changed the history of science by age 25. With Francis Crick at the University of Cambridge, Watson proposed that the DNA molecule takes the shape of a double helix. That discovery—based on data from Rosalind Franklin and others—earned Watson, Crick, and Maurice Wilkins the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Later Watson did trailblazing research on mRNA at Harvard and directed the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory from 1968 to 1994, making it a leader in cancer genetics. He guided the first years of the Human Genome Project and published a memoir, The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA (1968), and a seminal textbook, Molecular Biology of the Gene (1965). Among other honors, Watson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Science. He later attracted widespread criticism for his public remarks on race and IQ. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; two sons; and a grandchild.

George E. Dorsey, AB’48, died October 26 on the island of Maui in Hawaii. He was 98. A US Navy veteran who served in World War II and the Korean War, Dorsey worked in the insurance industry and founded Dorsey and Evan, a firm specializing in reinsurance. After retiring to New York City, he managed a nonprofit supporting people struggling with alcoholism and addiction. Dorsey also joined All Souls Unitarian Church and helped found Navigators USA, a secular, all-gender scouting movement that now has hundreds of chapters around the country. Survivors include extended family.

1950s

Wallace “Wally” Goldfarb, AB’50, died December 5 in Farmington, ME. He was 102. Goldfarb, a decorated veteran of the US Army Air Corps, flew 34 missions during World War II, including two on D-Day. He went on to study statistics in the College and launched a career at Boeing where he was a founding member of a new corporate division, Boeing Computer Services. Goldfarb also was a successful self-taught investor who enjoyed flying gliders, sailing, tennis, and woodworking. Survivors include Rebecca Collins, two sons, two grandchildren, and a great-grandchild.

Marvin E. Stender, AB’51, JD’54, died December 25 in San Francisco. He was 94. In his early years as an attorney, Stender represented or advised Black Panther Party members; Vietnam War resisters; and, during the Freedom Summer of 1964, Black Mississippians. He took a leadership role in the San Francisco chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and handled several high-profile criminal defense cases. In 1980 Stender signed on with the law firm of Garry, Dreyfus & McTernan, where he stayed as a partner for the rest of his career. His first wife, Fay Abrahams Stender, JD’56, died in 1980. He is survived by his wife, Drucilla Stender Ramey; four children; and five grandchildren.

Austin J. Brouns, AB’52, died March 27, 2024, in Dallas. He was 92. Brouns served in the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Army Reserve and earned degrees in fine arts, electrical engineering, and business administration. As a senior research scientist at Lockheed Martin Vought Systems, he focused on acoustic devices, microwave equipment, and infrared detectors, receiving numerous patents for products he designed and publishing papers in engineering journals. Retiring in 1998, Brouns traveled the US and the world, organizing trips to hike, backpack, or research family history. Survivors include extended family.

Paul Ekman, EX’52, died November 17 in San Francisco. He was 91. A clinical psychologist, Ekman gained renown for his research linking facial expressions to the often-subconscious emotions they conveyed. As a researcher affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco, Ekman codeveloped the Facial Action Coding System, a tool he used in his consulting work with law enforcement on detecting deception and with animators on creating believable expressions for cartoon characters. Ekman received a 1994 honorary degree and a 2015 Professional Achievement Award from UChicago. He is survived by a daughter and a son.

John Benfield, MD’55, of Pacific Palisades, CA, died November 11. He was 94. Following his military service in Korea, Benfield became a chief resident and instructor in surgery at UChicago Medicine. He later joined the faculty at UCLA Harbor General Hospital; led the surgery division at City of Hope Medical Center; served as chief of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of California, Davis; and actively retired as professor emeritus of surgery at UCLA Health. His wife, Joyce Benfield, AM’60, died in 2003. Survivors include his partner, Mary Ann Shaw; three children; and nine grandchildren.

1960s

Robert D. Rachlin, JD’60, died December 27 in Burlington, VT. He was 89. A founding partner of Downs Rachlin Martin—now Vermont’s largest law firm—Rachlin represented a variety of clients and interests during his more than six decades in the legal profession. He also was an accomplished pilot and flight instructor, a pianist who helped found and performed with the Vermont Chamber Group, an adjunct lecturer in German and Russian at the University of Vermont, a visiting associate professor at Vermont Law School, and an active participant in the Burlington Chabad community. He is survived by his wife, Catharine; five children; 10 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

Basil B. Talbott Jr., AB’61, of Santa Monica, CA, died January 28. He was 89. Talbott took a job with the Chicago Sun-Times in 1962, establishing himself as a political reporter, editor, and columnist in the 1970s and ’80s before becoming the newspaper’s correspondent in Washington, DC. Remembered by colleagues as tough, honest, and “impervious to spin,” Talbott appeared often on local television and radio. He taught journalism as a visiting professor at the University of Iowa and was inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame in 2002. Survivors include his wife, Susan; a stepdaughter; a brother; and two grandchildren.

Apostolos Evangelopoulos, MBA’62, of Athens, Greece, died August 25, 2025. He was 94. Born in Greece, Evangelopoulos studied at the University of Athens, served in the Royal Hellenic Navy, and worked in the economic research department at the National Bank of Greece before his MBA studies. Returning to Athens, he worked as a marketing manager for several corporations; later, he established his own consultancy and helped organize and manage family business ventures. Evangelopoulos was an avid traveler and skilled sailor. Survivors include a daughter and grandchild.

Donald MacLean Switz, MD’62, of Richmond, VA, died January 19. He was 88. In the late 1960s Switz served in the US Navy at Camp Lejeune, NC, treating injured Marines returning from Vietnam. During his 35 years as a faculty member in gastroenterology at the Medical College of Virginia (now VCU Health), Switz helped pioneer the use of surgical endoscopy and expand access to health care. Throughout his life he enjoyed sailing and volunteered for his church, political campaigns, and medical causes. He is survived by his wife, Lee; three children; and two grandchildren.

Kai T. Erikson, AM’55, PhD’63, died November 10 in Hamden, CT. He was 94. Erikson taught at Yale from 1966 to 2000, where he was the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor Emeritus of Sociology and American Studies, a longtime department chair, and editor of The Yale Review. After publishing Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance (1966), Erikson shifted his focus to collective trauma in the aftermath of natural and man-made disasters with the publication of Everything in Its Path: Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek Flood (1976). He immersed himself in communities affected by disaster and often testified in court on their behalf. Survivors include his wife, Joanna; two sons; a sister; and four grandchildren.

Lawrence G. Hefter, MD’63, of Bethesda, MD, died July 22, 2025. He was 86. Hefter moved to the Washington, DC, area after medical school and worked as a pathologist at Inova Fairfax Hospital for more than 30 years. In his free time he enjoyed underwater photography, windsurfing, fishing, spending time with his family in Maine, and playing the spoons. Survivors include his wife, Susan; two children; a sibling; and four grandchildren.

Mildred “Mili” Rapp, AB’63, died November 22 in Norton, MA. She was 84. A first-generation college student, Rapp studied German literature in the College. Settling in Port Jefferson, NY, she completed master’s degrees in French literature and Spanish and raised two daughters. Rapp taught English as a second language to adults and French and Spanish to elementary, junior high, and high school students. She lived in Connecticut in her later years, and she enjoyed spending time outdoors. She is survived by two daughters, two stepsons, a sister, a grandchild, her step-grandchildren, and a step-great-grandchild.

William R. Sloan, SB’63, MD’67, died October 18 in Los Angeles. He was 84. Sloan had a lifelong love of music and played first violin in the University Symphony Orchestra. He trained as a urologic surgeon, practicing first in Ohio and later in the Los Angeles area. An amateur violinist throughout his life, Sloan owned a 1714 Stradivari and a 1742 Guarneri—and, at age 65, he became a luthier. He frequently shared his knowledge of fine instruments, and he loaned out his famous violins to professional and amateur musicians alike. He is survived by his wife, Judy Beckner Sloan, AB’67, and two daughters, including Anita Lee Sloan, MD’01.

Richard L. Grand-Jean, JD’67, of New York City and Martha’s Vineyard, MA, died January 16. He was 83. A Princeton graduate, Grand-Jean helped create the London office of Salomon Brothers and became a partner in the investment bank. In 1994 he started his own company to provide strategic advice and capital-raising services to companies; later, he held senior positions at the money management firm Hall Capital Partners. Grand-Jean also worked on the 1968 Eugene McCarthy presidential campaign, served on nonprofit boards, and cofounded the Santa Barbara Independent newspaper. Survivors include his wife, Christine Doudna; two children; a sister; a brother; and two grandchildren.

Philip N. Hablutzel, AM’61, JD’67, died January 6 in Durham, NC. He was 90. Hablutzel was a longtime faculty member at Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he helped create a graduate program in financial services law. An expert in international finance and not-for-profit law, Hablutzel drafted model bills for the United States and Illinois and worked on several legislative task forces. He helped establish the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and served as its founding president from 1979 to 1983. Survivors include his wife, Nancy; a daughter, Margo Lynn Hablutzel, AB’83; a son; a sister; and two grandchildren.

Annalee Letchinger, AB’69, of Chicago, died January 10. She was 78. Letchinger worked for the Jewish student organization Hillel and helped it establish a presence on college and university campuses around Chicago. Later she founded and directed the Chicago Jewish Youth Council and became an undergraduate career adviser at UChicago. A cellist and music lover, Letchinger served as executive director of the Evanston In-School Music Association, a nonprofit organization that presents live music programs to public school students. She is survived by her husband, David Hoppe; five children; two brothers, including Edward Letchinger, AB’71, AM’76; and grandchildren.

1970s

Erica “Ricki” Dolgin, JD’70, of Evanston, IL, died December 25. She was 79. Dolgin completed undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan and earned a master’s degree in public administration at Harvard after law school. She coedited a foundational textbook, Federal Environmental Law (1974), and spent many years as an environmental attorney. Survivors include two siblings.

Robert Lee Winzeler, AM’66, PhD’70, of Reno, NV, died November 20. He was 85. For his doctoral dissertation in anthropology, Winzeler did two years of field research in the state of Kelantan in Malaysia. In 1969 he joined the newly established anthropology department at the University of Nevada, Reno, specializing in Southeast Asian cultural traditions. Winzeler traveled throughout the region for research, often accompanied by family, and continued to write, edit, and publish after retiring in 2008. He was also an accomplished woodworker. He is survived by his wife, Judith; two daughters; and three grandchildren.

Robert B. Barnett, JD’71, died September 25 in Washington, DC. He was 79. Barnett clerked for Justice Byron White on the US Supreme Court before joining the Washington, DC, law firm of Williams & Connolly, where he was a longtime partner. Known for representing high-profile clients, Barnett negotiated major book, television, and speaking deals for presidents, royalty, and best-selling novelists. He worked on book contracts for Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and others—but also advised clients across the political spectrum. He is survived by his wife, Rita Braver; a daughter; a sister; and three grandchildren.

Terry Michael Gordon, JD’72, of Oakdale, CA, died January 19. He was 78. Gordon began his legal career as a prosecutor and litigator in Chicago. His responsibilities representing IBM often sent him to San Francisco, and he eventually settled there. Beyond the courtroom, Gordon performed with local singing groups. He is survived by his wife, Janet Morgan; a daughter; a brother; and two grandchildren.

Judy May Leung, AB’72, of Naperville, IL, died December 20. She was 75. Leung devoted herself enthusiastically to all the roles in her life—as a student, wife, mother, employee, caregiver to aging parents, and church member. For 20 years Leung worked as a quality assurance analyst at a software company. From 1984 onward she was active in several ministries at Wheaton Chinese Alliance Church. Survivors include her husband, Linus; two daughters; a brother; and five grandchildren.

Michele Langer, JD’73, of Philadelphia, died November 20, 2024. She was 76. After graduating from Bryn Mawr College, Langer traveled the country to help evaluate the Office of Equal Opportunity’s Legal Services Program. She worked at two Philadelphia law firms—first at Mesirov Gelman Jaffe Cramer & Jamieson and later as a named partner at Toll, Ebby & Gough. She is survived by her husband, Alan Cohen; a daughter; four siblings; and a grandchild.

Michael Bruce McKee, MST’70, MBA’73, died December 10 in Broomfield, CO. He was 78. McKee held leadership positions in corporate and university settings, including the University of Minnesota Hospitals, General Mills, Control Data Corporation, US West, and Bowling Green State University. McKee was active with the Episcopal Church throughout his life and in 1968 helped start Soul Week, which convened theologians to teach Black history and theology. In retirement he served on numerous boards and volunteered with community outreach groups in Colorado. He is survived by his wife, Sallye Cooke McKee, MST’70; a daughter; and a grandchild.

Gilmur R. Murray, AB’75, of Oakland, CA, died December 10. He was 71. In the College Murray studied English and later completed joint degrees in law and economics at the University of California, Berkeley. He worked briefly for a large San Francisco law firm but soon became a plaintiff class action lawyer. Murray represented individuals against banks, insurance companies, and large corporations. He is survived by his partner, Laurie Kappe, AB’76; three children; his mother; four siblings; and three grandchildren.

Melinda E. Gibson, AB’78, died September 27, 2023, in Seoul, South Korea, following multiple hemorrhagic strokes. She was 67. A physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, Gibson trained at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. She concentrated her efforts on providing specialty services to populations and hospital systems most in need—first in Detroit, where she treated underserved patients, and later at Chicago-area and downstate Illinois hospitals. Upon retiring to Florida, Gibson volunteered locally and traveled the world, both independently and on medical missions. Survivors include extended family.

William Heffernan, JD’78, of New York City, died December 31. He was 79. Heffernan went to law school after majoring in political science at Columbia University and completing a PhD in history at Harvard. In 1979 he took a faculty position at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, spending 46 years there as a devoted teacher and scholar of constitutional law. Heffernan was known for his work on the Fourth Amendment, for his book Privacy and the American Constitution: New Rights Through Interpretation of an Old Text (2016), and for cofounding and coediting the journal Criminal Justice Ethics. He is survived by his wife, Denise; three children; and a grandchild.

1980s

Candlin Dobbs Manley, AB’81, of Saint Johnsbury, VT, died December 12, of glioblastoma. She was 65. Manley worked in publishing as a technical writer. She lived in Denmark before founding Luminosity Technical Services in Minneapolis, where she was a consultant, writer, and project manager for more than 20 years. Manley also held leadership roles and taught meditation at the Shambhala Center of Minneapolis. Survivors include her husband, Todd; two stepchildren; a half sister; and a half brother.

John M. Weber, AB’82, of Downers Grove, IL, died May 23, 2022. He was 61. Weber studied physics in the College and became a software developer and information technology manager in the financial industry. He held positions at JPMorganChase, the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, and Northern Trust, among other companies, prior to his retirement in 2018. Survivors include a daughter, a son, his mother, a brother, two sisters, and his partner, Allison.

Michael William O’Hern, MBA’86, died July 11, 2025, in Lake Forest, IL. He was 79. O’Hern, a member of the De La Salle Christian Brothers religious community for 61 years, dedicated his early career to education. With three master’s degrees, he became a teacher and principal at Saint Paul High School, principal of De La Salle Institute, and director of Catholic Secondary Schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago. In 1987 O’Hern moved to Christian Brothers Investment Services and served as its president and chief executive officer until retiring in 2017. Survivors include a sister.

Jennifer Costello McBride, AB’88, died on March 26, 2025, in Princeton, NJ. She was 58. She began her career in public relations in Chicago and New York. Her passion led her to graduating from the French Culinary Institute and to working as a chef at the Consulate General of France, both in New York City, and later to catering in Princeton. A world traveler who spoke multiple languages, McBride trekked to Mount Everest Base Camp, explored the Andes, and skied all over North America and Europe. She enjoyed attending concerts and Irish cultural events. Known for her wit and gregarious nature, she was a formidable trivia competitor, a creative soul who could fix anything, a rescuer of cats, and a devoted daughter and friend. Survivors include her husband, Sterling McBride; her father; and three siblings. (This notice corrects information in a previously published obituary.—Ed.)

1990s

Jordan Camp, PhD’90, of Washington, DC, died December 29. He was 68. Camp worked as a nuclear physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory before taking a position as an astrophysicist at Caltech, where he led the Laser and Optics group for the Laser Interferometric Gravitational-Wave Observatory. Joining the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in 2003, Camp continued in the field of gravitational wave astronomy until his recent retirement. He also practiced Tibetan Buddhist meditation, held a black belt in aikido, and was an accomplished musician. Survivors include a sister.

2000s

Kimberly Hébert Gregory, AM’02, of Woodland Hills, CA, died October 3. She was 52. Gregory graduated from Mount Holyoke College and obtained a master’s degree in social work but always aspired to be an actress. With dozens of television, film, theater, and podcast credits, she was best known for playing a no-nonsense high school principal in the HBO comedy series Vice Principals, which had a planned two-season run from 2016 to 2017. Gregory also appeared on Law & Order, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Big Bang Theory and contributed voice work to animation. Survivors include a son.

Sarah Vandegrift Eldridge, AB’06, of Knoxville, TN, died January 2, of breast cancer. She was 41. A scholar of German literature, Eldridge completed her doctorate at Princeton and taught for 13 years at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she was an associate professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures. Eldridge received a Fulbright research grant, among other awards; published three books; and was a longtime leader and member of United Campus Workers. She is survived by her husband, Steve Johnston; two daughters; her parents, Joan Vandegrift, AM’80, and Richard Eldridge, AM’76, PhD’81; a sister, Hannah Vandegrift Eldridge, AM’07, PhD’12; and a brother.

To request an obituary for a faculty member, staff member, or former student, please send a previously published obituary or a note that includes their accomplishments, surviving family members, and significant facts care of the Alumni News Editor, The University of Chicago Magazine, 5235 South Harper Court, Chicago, IL 60615, or by email: uchicago-magazine@uchicago.edu.