Faculty and staff

Ronald Coase, the Clifton R. Musser professor emeritus of economics, died September 2 in Chicago. He was 102. A pioneer in the field of law and economics, Coase published groundbreaking articles, including “The Nature of the Firm” (1937) and “The Problem of Social Cost” (1960), which laid out what is now known as the Coase theorem. In 1991 he received the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. A statistician with the British war cabinet during WW II, Coase taught at the London School of Economics, the University of Buffalo, and the University of Virginia before joining the Law School in 1964. He served as editor of the Journal of Law and Economics until 1982 and published his final book, How China Became Capitalist (Palgrave Macmillan), at age 101. In February 2013, thanks to a generous gift from Richard and Ellen Sandor, UChicago’s Institute for Law and Economics was renamed the Coase-Sandor Institute for Law and Economics.

Jean Bethke Elshtain, the Laura Spelman Rockefeller professor of social and political ethics, died August 11 in Nashville, TN. She was 72. Joining the Divinity School in 1995, Elshtain also taught in the political science department and in the Committee on International Relations. With work on topics ranging from bioethics to feminism, Elshtain lectured around the world and published influential books, including Women and War (Basic Books, 1987) and Just War Against Terror (Basic Books, 2003). She was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Guggenheim Fellow. In 2002 she received the American Political Science Association’s Goodnow Award. Survivors include her husband, Errol L. Elshtain, AB’64; three daughters; a son, Eric P. Elshtain, PhD’10; and four grandchildren.

Peter Huttenlocher, professor emeritus of pediatrics and neurology, died August 15 in Chicago. He was 82. Huttenlocher was the first researcher to describe how children’s brains develop neuron connections quickly before gradually “pruning” as they mature; he later developed the timetables for this process in three regions of the brain associated with the acquisition of specific cognitive skills, which led to changes in early childhood education. After teaching at Harvard and Yale, in 1974 he joined UChicago, where he taught and practiced for almost three decades. With funding from a grateful patient’s family, Huttenlocher founded the first US clinic for children with tuberous sclerosis. Retiring as professor emeritus in 2003, he received honors including the UChicago Medical and Biological Sciences Alumni Association’s Gold Key Award. He is survived by his wife, Janellen Huttenlocher, the William S. Gray professor emeritus of psychology; a daughter, Anna Huttenlocher, U-High’79; sons Daniel Huttenlocher, U-High’76, and Carl Huttenlocher, U-High’90; and four grandchildren.

Eizaburo Okuizumi, Japanese studies librarian for the East Asian Collection, died July 21 in Chicago. He was 72. After posts at Keio University in Tokyo and the University of Maryland, Okuizumi joined UChicago in 1984. Over his 29 years at the Regenstein Library, he enhanced its Japanese collection, considered one of the best in the United States. A visiting scholar for many years at Meisei and Hosei Universities in Japan, he also was a historian of US-Japan wartime and postwar relations. He wrote and edited more than 200 publications, including a 148-volume set of historical materials on the experiences and achievements of early Japanese immigrants to America. In 2004 Okuizumi was honored by the Japanese government for his work to promote US-Japan relations. Survivors include his wife, Keiko; daughters Yuri Okuizumi-Wu, U-High’86, AB’90, and Kaoru Okuizumi, U-High’86, AB’90; two brothers; and five grandchildren.

1930s

Simon H. Bauer, SB’31, PhD’35, died July 14 in Davis, CA. He was 101. Bauer joined Cornell’s chemistry faculty in 1939. He retired as professor emeritus in 1977 but continued to publish and work with students until 2005. The author or coauthor of some 400 publications, Bauer pioneered the use of shock tubes to study reaction kinetics at high temperatures. Among his awards was the US Senior Scientist Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Survivors include his children, grandson, and great-granddaughter.

Jacob L. Mosak, AB’35, PhD’41, of Cedarhurst, NY, died June 24. He was 99. During WW II, Mosak served as regional head of the Office of Price Administration and as director of economic stabilization in the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion. In 1947 he joined the United Nations, rising to assistant secretary-general as the UN’s highest-ranking economist. Mosak also was an adjunct professor at Columbia University. He is survived by two sons, seven grandchildren, and 21 great-grandchildren.

Myrtle (Levinson) Nieder, AB’36, of Danville, CA, died June 8. Nieder taught preschool and elementary school in Chicago before moving with her family to Walnut Creek, CA. Survivors include two daughters, two sons, 12 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.

Frederic R. Wickert, PhD’38, of Lake Barrington, IL, died July 15. He was 101. A pioneer in industrial psychology, Wickert was one of 25 psychologists the Army brought to Washington to evaluate draftees during WW II (he later joined the Air Force as an officer). After the war, Wickert became a professor at Michigan State University, retiring as professor emeritus in 1993. The recipient of nine Fulbright grants, Wickert also helped to launch the Peace Corps. His wife, Dorothy Dodge Wickert, SB’38, died in 1992. He is survived by two daughters and two grandchildren.

1940s

Grace “Bunnie” (Harnsberger) Mateo, SM’45, died September 28, 2012, in Pineville, NC. She was 93. A nurse practitioner, Mateo taught at the University of Minnesota and worked with her husband in their private practice in St. Paul, MN. In retirement, she tutored adult literacy students. Survivors include her husband, Guillermo Mateo, SB’45, MD’48; a daughter; two sons, including John Stephen Mateo, AB’81; and three grandchildren.

Joyce Grace (Jedlicka) Bloomfield, PhB’46, died July 26 in Rolling Hills Estates, CA. She was 88. Bloomfield was a social worker for the Cook County courthouse until she and her husband, Joseph Robert “Bob” Bloomfield, MD’52, moved to Vancouver, Canada, in 1952. Bloomfield and her husband, who died on May 24, were married for 62 years. Survivors include two daughters, a son, and two grandsons.

Harley Flanders, SB’46, SM’47, PhD’49, a mathematician, died July 26 in Ann Arbor, MI. He was 87. Flanders taught at institutions including the University of California, Berkeley; Purdue University; Tel Aviv University; and the University of Michigan. Author of a book on differential forms, Flanders was associate editor of Transactions of the American Mathematical Society and editor in chief of the American Mathematical Monthly. He also received the NCRIPTAL/EDUCOM Distinguished Software Award for his MicroCalc educational software program. Survivors include two sons, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Irma (Geller) Gusfield, PhB’46, died January 5 in Danville, CA. She was 86. A social worker at Children’s Hospital in San Diego (now Rady Children’s Hospital), Gusfield spent 17 years working in the oncology/hematology unit. She also helped organize one of the first Ronald McDonald Houses in the country, serving on its board for many years. Gusfield retired in 1991. She is survived by her husband, Joseph R. Gusfield, PhB’46, AM’49, PhD’54; a daughter; a son; and three grandchildren.

Jerome W. Sandweiss, PhB’46, AM’48, JD’50, died July 16 in St. Louis. He was 88. A WW II Army veteran who served in the Counter Intelligence Corps, Sandweiss practiced law for five decades in St. Louis. In one case he successfully represented a local Jewish temple before the Missouri Supreme Court, helping to set a standard that grants religious institutions the freedom to establish themselves without government interference. Serving 36 years on the board of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, Sandweiss also taught Sunday school at a local temple and political philosophy courses in Washington University in St. Louis’s continuing education program. Survivors include his wife, Joy; two daughters; one son; and six grandchildren.

Barbara (Gross) Mertz, PhB’47, AM’50, PhD’52, a best-selling mystery writer and an Egyptologist, died August 8 in Frederick, MD. She was 85. Mertz wrote more than 35 mysteries under the pen name Elizabeth Peters and 29 suspense novels under the pen name Barbara Michaels; many of those books, including the 19 in the Amelia Peabody series, take place in Egypt. She also wrote two nonfiction books about ancient Egypt under her own name. The winner of a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America, Mertz also received a Professional Achievement Award from the UChicago Alumni Association. She is survived by a daughter, a son, and six grandchildren.

Catherine (Leinen) Meyer, PhB’47, died June 13 in Chicago. She was 90. Meyer taught elementary school in the Chicago Public Schools and hearing-impaired children at York Community High School in Elmhurst, IL, and at Hinsdale South High School. She also gave piano lessons for more than 60 years. Her husband, Robert L. Meyer, AB’42, died in 2011. She is survived by two daughters, including Catherine Meyer Luchins, MD’85, and grandson Matthew Luchins, U-High’10.

Walter S. Fitch, U-High’43, AB’48, PhD’55, of Oracle, AZ, died June 2. He was 87. A WW II Navy veteran, Fitch taught astronomy at the University of Arizona, where he mechanized the 36-inch reflecting telescope in the institution’s observatory. An expert on pulsating stars, Fitch retired from the university in 1986. In retirement, he kept a detailed record of precipitation and temperature and corresponding bird and animal sightings along the Coronado National Forest border. He is survived by his wife, Nancy B. Fitch, AB’47; three daughters; a son; and two grandchildren.

Roy Melvin Johnson, AB’49, SM’51, of Sun Lakes, AZ, died July 21. He was 86. A WW II Army veteran, Johnson joined the faculty of Arizona State Teacher’s College (now Arizona State University) in 1952. A microbiologist, he helped establish Arizona State’s botany department. He taught at ASU as a full professor for more than 20 years, retiring as professor emeritus. Survivors include four daughters, a sister, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

1950s

Alfred W. Bull, PhB’48, SB’50, died May 31 in Geneva, IL. He was 82. An Army Medical Corps veteran, Bull was an anesthesiologist at what is now Adventist Hinsdale Hospital for 24 years, also serving as the anesthesiology department’s chair and treasurer. Survivors include his wife, Nanine Therese (Thurber) Bull, AB’52; two daughters; two sons; a sister; five grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

Jane (McCahan) Mather, X’50, died August 15 in Chicago. She was 85. A staff member at the Chicago Children’s Choir, Mather led a fundraising campaign to finance the choir’s first international tour. In the 1980s and ’90s, she was an editor with the American Journal of Sociology. She is survived by two daughters, including Christine Mather, U-High’81, and a son.

Joseph Robert “Bob” Bloomfield, MD’52, died May 24 in Torrance, CA. He was 89. A British national living in Shanghai, Bloomfield was imprisoned in an internment camp run by the Japanese during WW II. After attending college and medical school in the United States, he practiced family medicine in Torrance for almost four decades. As chief of staff of Riviera Hospital, Bloomfield also served on the board of directors when the hospital merged with Torrance Memorial Hospital (now Torrance Memorial Medical Center) and was chief of the family practice department. He was a founder of the South Bay Squash Racquets Club. His wife, Joyce Grace (Jedlicka) Bloomfield, PhB’46, died on July 26. Survivors include two daughters, a son, and two grandsons.

Ernest L. Hartmann, AB’52, died August 7 in Truro, MA. He was 79. An expert on dreams, Hartmann was a psychiatry professor at Tufts University School of Medicine and directed the Sleep Disorders Center at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. The author of nine books, including The Biology of Dreaming (Charles C. Thomas, 1967) and The Nature and Functions of Dreaming (Oxford University Press, 2011), Hartmann also was the first editor of the journal Dreaming and a past president of the Association for the Study of Dreams. Survivors include a daughter, a son, a brother, and a grandson.

Ronald M. Brown, U-High’50, AB’54, of Phoenix, AZ, died July 30. He was 78. A lawyer for more than 35 years, Brown was a senior counsellor of the Illinois State Bar Association. Survivors include his wife, Marlene; three sons; a sister; and six grandchildren.

J. Gerald Phillips, AM’54, died August 19 in Leominster, MA. He was 85. A WW II Navy veteran, Phillips composed sacred music and was an organist for several New England parishes. In addition to composing the first English setting of the Mass, Phillips cofounded Trivium School and was its choir director and a music teacher until retiring in 2008. He also taught music at a local university and college and was an assistant editor for a sacred music publishing company. Survivors include two daughters, a son, a sister, and five grandchildren.

Winifred C. (Olson) Van Oel, MAT’54, of Des Moines, IA, died July 24. She was 95. Starting her career with the Cadet Nurse Corps in Iowa, Van Oel later directed the pediatric nursing department at the University of Iowa Hospitals and taught nursing at Grand View College (now Grand View University). Survivors include two sons, a brother, and a sister.

William Grant Black, DB’55, the seventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio, died July 7 in Springfield, IL. He was 93. A WW II Army veteran, Black was a rector for more than a decade at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Athens, OH. He also chaired the Athens Human Relations Commission and was appointed to the 13-state Appalachian Regional Commission. Moving to Cincinnati in 1973, Black became a rector at the Church of Our Savior, leading an effort to establish ecumenical dialogue among Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Cincinnati area. Elected a bishop in 1979, Black served an 88-parish diocese until 1992. His honors included being named Man of the Year by the Southeastern Ohio Regional Commission and the UChicago Divinity School’s 1972 Alumnus of the Year. Survivors include his wife, Frances; a daughter; two sons; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Nelson A. Moffat, MD’55, died July 29 in Dousman, WI. He was 82. An Army veteran, Moffat practiced urology and held leadership positions at the Marshfield Clinic for almost 30 years, retiring in 1992. For seven years, he served on the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board. A registered piano technician, Moffat also rebuilt, repaired, and tuned pianos. His wife, Joan (Burkhart) Moffat, AM’53, died in 2010. He is survived by a daughter, two sons, a sister, and four grandchildren.

James S. Kahn, PhD’56, died July 27 in Galena, IL. He was 81. After a stint as a geology professor at the University of Rhode Island, Kahn joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he rose to chief executive officer. In 1987 he became president and CEO of Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, where he opened the permanent Take Flight exhibit and introduced the world’s first scientific exhibit on AIDS and HIV. Leaving the museum in 1997, Kahn then did consulting work. Survivors include his wife, Barbara; a daughter; sons Douglas L. Kahn, SM’81, MBA’88, and Randall S. Kahn, MBA’91; and four grandchildren.

John Edwin Norbeck, SM’56, PhD’56, a nuclear physicist, died July 13 in Iowa City, IA. He was 83. Joining the University of Iowa’s physics and astronomy department in 1960, Norbeck taught there for more than four decades. A pioneer in using computers to record data from nuclear physics experiments in the early 1960s, Norbeck received the inaugural Computer Applications in Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. In 2000 he joined Iowa’s high energy physics group, part of the Compact Muon Solenoid collaboration at CERN. He continued this experimental work after his 2002 retirement from Iowa as professor emeritus. He is survived by his wife, Janet; two daughters; a son; two stepdaughters; two stepsons; a sister; a grandson; five step-grandchildren; and two step-great-grandchildren.

Warren R. Maurer, AM’57, died June 5 in Urbana, IL. He was 84. Maurer—a scholar of German literature, folklore, and the origins of proper names—taught at the University of California, Berkeley; Indiana University; and the University of Kansas. Survivors include a daughter, a son, a brother, a sister, and two grandchildren.

Felicia Antonelli Holton, AB’50, died October 7 in Canaan, CT. She was 91. After serving in the Women’s Army Corps during WW II, Holton attended the University on the GI Bill. A reporter for publications including the Wall Street Journal, she twice served as editor of the University of Chicago Magazine, from 1955 to 1957 and from 1980 to 1989. In 1957, under her leadership, the Magazine received the Robert Sibley Award for alumni magazine of the year (see Editor’s Notes). The Archaeological Institute of America named its nonfiction book award for Holton in recognition of her work with archaeologist Stuart Struever, PhD’68, on Koster: Americans in Search of Their Prehistoric Past (Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1979). Her husband, James T. Holton, JD’50, died in 2000. Holton is survived by a daughter, a sister, and two grandchildren.

Dominic Ciardi, MBA’58, of Piscataway, NJ, died August 21. He was 81. A Marine Corps veteran, Ciardi joined M&T Chemicals, rising to director of human resources and administration before his 1995 retirement. He was a member of the Piscataway school board for 26 years, and the Piscataway High School athletic field is named in his honor. He is survived by his wife, Pat; two daughters; three sons; two sisters; and nine grandchildren.

1960s

Daniel Bilo, AB’62, died August 13 in Chicago. He was 72. A printer for the Chicago Tribune for 15 years, Bilo later worked in the City of Chicago’s Department of Water Management. Survivors include a brother and a sister.

George Borge, MD’63, a psychiatrist, died August 7 in Burr Ridge, IL. He was 74. After serving as a staff psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health and doing psychiatric research, in 1976 Borge joined Edward A. Hines Jr. VA Hospital outside of Chicago as chief of psychiatry services. He developed a biological psychiatry laboratory at the hospital where doctors could take brain scans of veterans to help with their treatment. He also was the psychiatry department chair at what is now Vanguard MacNeal Hospital. Retiring from Hines in 1999, Borge then maintained a private practice. He is survived by his wife, Renee; two daughters; a son, Marc Andrew Borge, MD’89; a sister; and five grandchildren.

H. Y. Lau, SM’64, PhD’67, died in November 2012 in Guangzhou, China. He was 75. A chemist, Lau and his wife, Noland Kong, SM’65, PhD’67, worked in national laboratories in the United States, Germany, and Italy before returning to China in 1972. They worked for the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for more than 20 years and then joined Sun Yat-sen University, from which they later retired. Survivors include his wife, a daughter, a son, and two grandchildren.

Richard Alan Edwards, AM’62, PhD’68, of Woburn, MA, died July 4. He was 78. A New Testament scholar, Edwards taught at Bethany College in Lindsborg, KS; Thiel College in Greenville, PA; Virginia Tech; and Marquette University. His books include Matthew’s Story of Jesus (Fortress Press, 1985). He is survived by three children, two grandsons, one great-grandson, and two sisters.

H. Gene Blocker, AB’60, of Cleveland Heights, OH, died April 12. He was 75. A philosophy professor, Blocker joined the faculty of Ohio University in Athens in 1972, serving as department chair in the 1980s. His many articles and books include The Metaphysics of Absurdity (University Press of America, 1979) and Fundamentals of Philosophy (Pearson), now in its eighth edition. He retired from Ohio as professor emeritus in 1998. The founder of the Athens Dixieland Jazz Band, Blocker played the cornet. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Jeffers; two daughters; a son; a brother; a sister; and a grandchild. (This notice corrects information in the July–Aug/13 issue.—Ed.)

1970s

Gerald N. Evascu, MBA’70, died of complications of autoimmune hepatitis and liver cancer July 26 in Asheville, NC. He was 69. After working as a money manager with a Los Angeles bank and with A. G. Becker & Co. in Chicago, Evascu became an independent consultant to money management firms. In 2011 he completed one of his life goals: to see every play written by Shakespeare. Survivors include his wife, Kathleen; two daughters; a brother; and five grandchildren.

Armand L. Andry, AB’71, of Oak Park, IL, died of complications from multiple myeloma June 6. He was 63. Andry operated his own law firm for more than 30 years. He also was the first African American appointed to the Oak Park Fire and Police Commission. He is survived by his wife, Sally; three sons; a brother, Duane A. Andry, AB’73 (Class of 1974); two sisters, including Mamie V. Andry, AB’72; and four grandchildren.

Michael Charles Flachmann, PhD’73, an English professor, died August 8 in Cedar City, UT. He was 70. A Shakespeare scholar, in 1972 Flachmann joined the newly opened California State University, Bakersfield, where he remained for the rest of his career. The author of more than 20 books, he received several awards for his teaching, including being named US Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation. Flachmann also founded and directed CSUB’s University Honors Program, helped coach the women’s tennis team, and taught judo. In addition to his teaching, Flachmann was a dramaturge for more than 100 Shakespeare productions across the country, including at the Tony-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival. Survivors include his wife, Kim; a daughter; a son; and two grandsons.

Woodie T. White, AM’72, PhD’77, died of kidney failure August 12 in Chicago. He was 66. White was assistant dean of the University of Wisconsin’s College of Letters and Science and volunteered with the Madison (WI) Festival of the Lakes before returning to Chicago in 1990 to become executive director of the Dance Center of Columbia College. He established an alumni program there and raised the center’s profile, then became vice president of development for the college. In 2003 White took a job with the United Negro College Fund, serving as the Midwest region’s vice president of field operations. He retired in 2007. He is survived by his son, his mother, and a brother.

1980s

Ron May, X’81, of Chicago, died of complications from diabetes June 23. He was 57. A Chicago technology columnist and watchdog, May published an e-mail newsletter and online journal called the May Report. Survivors include his mother, two brothers, and a sister.

Donald J. Mulvihill Jr., MBA’82, died of leukemia July 19 in Maywood, IL. He was 56. In 1980 Mulvihill joined Goldman Sachs, where he was a specialist in pension and retirement planning. In the 1990s he launched the firm’s asset management business in Japan. Returning to the United States in 1997, Mulvihill became a managing director in the firm’s Chicago and New York offices, introducing funds such as the US Equity Dividend and Premium Fund and serving as co-CIO of Goldman’s Quantitative Investment Strategies group. Survivors include his wife, Jill; daughters Ruth A. Mulvihill, ’14, and Ellen A. Mulvihill, ’15; a son; a brother; and three sisters.

Vince Casanova, MBA’84, died of stomach cancer July 24 in Chicago. He was 60. In 1979 Casanova joined the Chicago Tribune as auditing manager. Over 33 years he rose to president and COO of the Chicago Tribune Media Group. In addition to developing Tribune Direct into a national direct marketing company, Casanova oversaw the launch of the Tribune’s digital subscription model. He retired in March. Survivors include his wife, Nancy; two sons; and a brother.