Faculty and Staff
Jack Ralph Benjamin, of Menlo Park, August 26, at 81. He was professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering. He taught at Stanford from 1948 to 1973 and published on theory of structures and statistical decision theory. He was a past president of the Monterey Bay unit of the Wally Byam Caravan Club. His wife, Sarah, predeceased him. Survivors: his son, Roy, ’73; his daughters, Sue Jones, ’66, and Kay Durfee; seven grandchildren, including Patrick Tanner, ’88; and two great-grandchildren.
Paul Barnett Green, of Stanford, August 18, at 67, of pancreatic cancer. A professor of biological sciences and an expert in plant physiology and development and the biophysics of plant growth, he joined the Stanford faculty in 1971. His research in morphogenesis spanned 40 years, including 12 at the U. of Pennsylvania. He served on the Stanford Faculty Senate, the committee on academic appraisal and achievement, and the committee on undergraduate admissions and financial aid. His professional honors included a Guggenheim fellowship, the Botanical Society of America’s award of merit, membership in the Belgian Royal Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts, and a fellowship in the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. Survivors: his wife, Margaret; his sons, Peter, ’84, and Robert, ’85, MS ’86; his daughter, Kate; his sister, Eleanor Wise; and five grandchildren.
Margaret Jewell Mullen, of Menlo Park, August 28, at 89, of cancer. In the late ’30s and early ’40s, she helped shape the University’s dance program. Many years later, she resumed her support as head of Friends of Dance at Stanford. She entered the University of Arkansas when she was 14 years old. Later, she earned a master’s in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin and, at the same time, accumulated credits equivalent to a master’s in dance. Mullen came to Stanford in 1937 after teaching at San Jose State University. As chair of the dance program, she focused both on academics and performance, and established a dance major. Mullen challenged the prevailing notion of dance as a female preserve and quietly recruited male students, to the consternation of President Ray Lyman Wilbur. Mullen left Stanford in 1942 after her marriage to James McLean Mullen. From 1967 through 1979, she worked on career education for high school students. After 1979, she devoted her time to writing, publishing An Arkansas Childhood: Growing Up in the Athens of the Ozarks and two volumes of poetry. Survivors: her daughter, Sally Mullen; her son, Michael and his wife, Leta; and a granddaughter.
1920s
Ervin H. Bramhall, ’26, of Sun City, Ariz., in July, at 93. At Stanford, he was a member of the boxing team and the marching band. After attending MIT, he studied and worked in England at Cavendish Laboratories at Cambridge U., where he earned a PhD in 1933. As a scientist with Adm. Richard Byrd’s expeditions, he spent the next two years in Antarctica and then taught for five years at the U. of Alaska-Fairbanks. During World War II, he served for five years in the Air Force and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. He later was a professor at the U. of Hawaii and then served on the technical staff of the U.S. State Department in Germany. He also worked for Radio Corporation of America before retiring. He was predeceased by his wife, Marion. Survivors include two children.
Lois McQuistion Richman, ’26, of Los Angeles, June 18, at 93. She earned a teaching credential from USC and taught until retirement. She was active in numerous charitable organizations. Survivors: three daughters, Lorijane, Gail Hilbert and Jane O’Shaughnessy; her son, Frederick; four grandsons; and six great-grandchildren.
Ruth Snedden Shoup, ’26, of Laconia, N.H., June 25, at 94. She was a member of the Board of Higher Education of New York City from 1936 to 1970, serving as chair of many board committees and as board secretary. She also was an active member of the New York League of Women Voters. Survivors: her husband of 73 years, Carl, ’24; her daughter, Dale S. Mayer; her son, Paul; eight grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Kenneth Wade Thompson, ’26, of Oakland, July 14, at 93, after a series of strokes. He received his MD degree from Harvard in 1930. In 1937, he was appointed assistant professor of surgery at New Haven General Hospital. He established a private surgical practice in Boston in the mid-1940s and was editor of the New England Journal of Endocrinology. From 1948 to 1968, he was vice president and director of research of the New Jersey pharmaceutical firm, Organon. He then became professor of ob-gyn at the U. of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison. He later moved to New York and was elected president of the New York Academy of Sciences, retiring in 1973. He was predeceased by his wife, Helen, in 1982, and moved to Oakland. Survivors: his son, David, ’63; his daughter, Nancy Thompson Price; his brother, Richard, ’41, MD ’44; and three grandchildren.
Lois Proctor Wilbur Hopper, ’27, of Palo Alto, July 21, at 93. Daughter of Stanford’s third president, Ray Lyman Wilbur, and Marguerite Mae Blake Wilbur, she was born at their campus home. A member of the Palo Alto PTA for 32 years, she was past president of the Palo Alto School Board and a representative to the Governor’s Conference on Children and Youth. She was a volunteer with many local organizations, including the Senior Coordinating Council and the Santa Clara County health and welfare committee. Her husband, Max, predeceased her. Survivors: two sons, John and Steven; seven daughters, Nancy Franklin, ’51, Diane Underhill, Susan Foote, ’56; Rae McKinnon, Lorna Affleck, Carol Anne Anderson and Ellen Harrington; 14 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Herbert A. Behnke, ’28, Gr. ’30, of Newport Beach, Calif., May 10, at 92. At Stanford, he played on the football team. A 60-year resident of Whittier, Calif., he was successful in refinancing bond issues for many cities in the Los Angeles area. Survivors: his wife Vicky; and a stepson, Jerry Dome.
John Y. Pashgian, ’28, of Pasadena, Calif., June 5, at 91, of heart failure. He began his career practicing law in Los Angeles. After serving in World War II, he helped establish and operate Pashgian Brothers Gallery of Fine Oriental Rugs in Pasadena. In 1982, he co-founded Huntington Library Affiliates to increase private support of the Huntington Library, Art Gallery and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. He also served on the boards of Caltech Associates, Pasadena Public Library Foundation, Mountain View Foundation and the Pasadena YWCA.
Francis McCauley Small, ’29, of Palo Alto, August 2, at 91. At Stanford, he was a member of Theta Xi. He served during World War II, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. After leaving the military, he worked as Pacific Mutual’s director of advertising and public relations until his retirement. His wife, Aileen Maude Brown, ’28, predeceased him. Survivors: two sons, F. McCauley Jr. and Richard; a daughter, Jone Manoogian, ’55, MA ’56; four grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
1930s
Clay H. Beattie Jr., ’30, of Santa Barbara, Calif., February 14. While at Stanford, he was a member of Theta Xi.
Frank E. Carroll Jr., ’30, Gr. ’36, of Auburn, Calif., July 6, 1997, at 89. At Stanford, he played on the football team. A parking facilities consultant for universities, hospitals and cities, he invented the first self-parking meters and parking-token meters. Survivors: his wife of 60 years, Adamae; his son, Frank; his daughter, Georgiana Carroll Sims; and three grandchildren.
Harold D. Cramer, ’30, MD ’34, of Los Altos, November 1, 1997, at 89. He was active in the Stanford Medical Alumni Association. Survivors include his wife, Claire, ’35.
Kenneth R. Malovos, ’30, JD ’33, of Los Altos, June 17, at 89. A Santa Clara Valley attorney for more than 50 years, he served as Mountain View’s city attorney from 1941 to 1943 and as a justice of the peace from 1949 to 1953. He later established a private law practice with his daughter, Mitzi, and his son-in-law, Bob Konevich. He was a member of the Mountain View Kiwanis Club and a lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve. A seventh-generation Californian, he could trace his family’s history in the state back to 1769. Survivors: his wife of 58 years, Madeleine, MA ’39; two sons, Gerald and Ken, ’66; his daughter, Marian “Mitzi” Konevich; his sister, Frances Roberta Malovos, MA ’48; and eight grandchildren.
William Y. Penn, ’30, MA ’32; of Midland, Texas, July 26, 1996, at 87, in a car accident. In 1934, he became a partner in the Midland firm of consulting geologists Lloyd and Penn, later Penn, Hills and Turner. From 1942 to 1945, he served in the Army Air Corps photo intelligence unit in Africa, India and Burma. He was a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Legion of Honor. He was predeceased by his wife, Addilee. Survivors: two children, William Jr. and D. Lee; his sister, Sarah Penn Harris; and five grandchildren.
Ward C. Smith, ’30, Gr. ’31, of Cupertino, Calif., June 25, at 92. He was a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park. A former member of the school of earth sciences advisory board, he also was former chair of the Associates of the School of Earth Sciences at Stanford. Survivors include his wife, Genny.
Roger B. Webster, ’30, JD ’33, of Stockton, Calif., November 1, 1997, at 89. He was a patent lawyer for 58 years. Survivors include his son, William.
John B. Binkley, ’31, of Occidental, Calif., in September 1996, at 91. Survivors include his daughter, Judi.
Eaton W. Ballard, ’32, of Seattle, May 29, at 86, of septicemia. In 1949, he joined Broadway-Hale Stores as treasurer and later was executive vice president of Carter Hawley Hale. On retirement in 1977, he became a consultant to the company. He was chair of the boards of the Los Angeles Music Center Operating Co., Pacific Oaks College and Whittaker Corp. He was a trustee of CalArts, a governor of the Performing Arts Council and a director of Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. He also served on the vestry of St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church in San Marino. He was predeceased by his wife of 64 years, Beverly, just 24 hours before his own death. Survivors: three children, Sarah, ’57, Gretchen, ’59, and Jonathan, ’64; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Martha Frances Edwards Twist, ’32, of San Jose, June 1. She was predeceased by her husband, Gerald, ’30. Survivors include her son, Robert, ’60, and her granddaughter, Allison, ’99.
Albert J. Watson, ’33, of Sedona, Ariz., May 3, at 86. At Stanford, he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa. During World War II, he served for five years as a lieutenant commander in the Navy. He worked for 17 years as financial vice president of Market Basket supermarkets in Southern California and was president and board chair of the Blue Chip Trading Stamp Co. of California. He also served on the boards of La Quinta Country Club, the Los Angeles Club, the Suicide Prevention Center of Los Angeles and the Commerce City Bank. Survivors: his son; his daughter; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
John W. “Bill” Beatty, ’35, Gr. ’36, of Portola Valley, August 2, at 85. At Stanford, he was president of Delta Upsilon and a member of the track and field team and the men’s council. Survivors include his wife, Dorothy, ’36; his daughter, Ann Warren, ’70; two sons; and four grandchildren.
Susan Clarke Hellen, ’35, of Montecito, Calif., March 18. At Stanford, she was a member of Cap and Gown. Survivors include her son, Les Roos.
Gilbert Barron, ’36, of Calistoga, Calif., June 9, at 83. At Stanford, he was a member of Theta Delta Chi and the marching band. During World War II, he served in the Navy as a medical officer in the South Pacific, retiring from the Naval Reserves with the rank of commander. From 1949 to 1977, he practiced internal medicine in Berkeley, serving as chief of staff at Alta Bates Hospital and as president of the Alameda County Heart Association and the Northern California Allergy Association. He was a board member of the Visiting Nurses Association and a physician in the allergy clinic at UC-Berkeley’s Cowell Hospital. After moving to Napa Valley, he held a position in acute medicine at the Holderman Hospital of the California State Veterans Home in Yountville. A sculptor and watercolor painter, he was membership chair of the Wine Country Artists Association. Survivors: his wife of 52 years, Mary Grace; his four children, Lin, Kate, Marguerite and Thomas; his sister, Elizabeth Barron Kalaidjian; and five grandchildren.
Mary H. Babson Dittenhofer, ’36, of Carmel, Calif., April 7, at 83. She was a homemaker and a member of the Monterey Museum of Art. Survivors: three sons, Peter, ’60, and Alexander Polson, MBA ’65, and S. William Dittenhofer III, MA ’78; two brothers, Gorham and Arthur Babson; and four grandchildren.
Joseph Rawlins Ray, ’36, of Salt Lake City, April 5, at 83, of Parkinson’s disease. At Stanford, he was a member of Phi Delta Theta. In 1946, he joined his uncle in business at Ray & Whitney Food Brokerage Co. He was president of Civic Music and the Salt Lake Art Center. He served on the boards of Rowland Hall School and Westminster College and was honored as a lifetime member of the Utah Retail Grocers Association. A piano player and music lover, he organized and directed Christmas caroling in the Millbrook neighborhood for 25 years. Survivors: his wife of 60 years, Isabel; two daughters, Josephine Hunt and Penelope Vernet, ’65; his son, William, ’68; his sister, Julia Ray Hills, ’38; and five grandchildren.
Tomiharu “Tom” Hiratzka, ’37, MD ’43, of Moore, S.C., in September 1997, at 84. During World War II, he was interned briefly before completing his medical internship in Ogden, Utah. He was trained in pathology at Detroit Receiving Hospital. He taught at Wayne State U. until 1960, then moved to Wesley Hospital in Wichita, Kan., where he worked for 14 years. Survivors: his wife; four children; 13 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Joseph P. Holloway, ’37, of San Diego, in July, at 82, of pneumonia. At Stanford, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. During World War II, he served in the Army in the Pacific, attaining the rank of major. After the war, he joined his father-in-law’s advertising firm in San Diego, retiring in 1970. He was a member of the Rotary Club and the San Diego Yacht Club. Survivors: his daughter; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
George R. Bergman, ’38, MD ’42, of Wilmington, Calif., May 19, at 82, from complications following a heart attack. At Stanford, he was a member of the track and field team. During World War II, he served in the Navy as a flight surgeon stationed in England. In 1946, he moved to Wilmington where, as a community and family doctor, he delivered more than 3,000 babies. Survivors: his wife of 58 years, Lois; four sons, Jim, Alan, Dale and Bill; and 10 grandchildren.
Marjorie Rosenblatt Goodman, ’38, of Salt Lake City, June 21, at 80, of giant cell arteritis. She was a member of the Utah State Mental Health Board, the Sarah Daft Home, Temple B’nai Israel Sisterhood and Oakwood School PTA. She served on the boards of the Art Barn, Utah Fine Arts Council and the Share Food Pantry. Survivors: her husband of 56 years, Jack; three children, Nathaniel, Kathryn Reynolds and Jean Evelyn Ballard; her brother, Donald, ’43; and four grandchildren.
Neil Dillon McCarthy, ’38, of Beverly Hills, Calif., May 18, at 81, of complications after a stroke. During World War II, he served in the South Pacific. A lawyer who represented Hollywood business interests, his clients included Howard Hughes and the William Randolph Hearst family. He retired in 1994 and remained active at St. Sebastian Catholic Church. His wife of 51 years, Georgette, predeceased him. Survivors: seven daughters, Marguerite Telnack, Leslie Frankenheimer, Sheila Rindge, Honore Rausch, Mary Francis, Georgette Caplan and Clare Bassirpour; two sons, Neil and Sean; two sisters; and nine grandchildren.
Frederick W. Nantker, ’39, of Montecito, Calif., June 21, at 81. At Stanford, he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta. He earned a law degree from Harvard in 1947 and worked for Shell Oil Co. as a land manager until his retirement. He was an active member of the Rotary of Montecito and was a member of the Santa Barbara Symphony board. Survivors: his wife, Carol, ’39, MA ’50, Gr. ’61; his children, Brooks, Susan, Ricky and Judy; his stepdaughter, Lucinda Malott, ’64; and six grandchildren.
1940s
Mary Kathryn Horton Knox, ’40, of El Centro, Calif., June 20, of Alzheimer’s disease. At Stanford, she was a member of Cap and Gown and Delta Delta Delta. In 1995, she served on her reunion committee. She was predeceased by her husband, Reginald, JD ’41. Survivors: two daughters, Mary Marvin Knox Norris, ’63, MA ’65, and Nancy Knox-Brown, ’65; and eight grandchildren, including Reggie Norris, ’98.
David J. Pinkham, ’41, of San Francisco, March 29, at 79. He was a member of Chi Psi at Stanford. Survivors: his wife, Virginia, ’41; his son David; and a granddaughter.
Elizabeth “Betty” Avery Snowden, ’41, of San Marino, Calif., June 5, at 77. At Stanford, she was a member of Cap and Gown and Kappa Kappa Gamma. After graduation, she worked in New York and then to moved Fort Monmouth, N.J., with her husband. After World War II, they moved to Southern California, where she became a docent and research reader at the Huntington Library in San Marino. She was president of the Foothill Guild of the California Institute for Cancer Research. She also was active in the Stanford Women’s Club, Colonial Dames and as a classroom volunteer through the San Marino Schools Foundation. Survivors: her husband of 57 years, Robert; five children, Patty Pollard, ’64, Peter, Bill, Edward “E.Y.,” ’76, and Elizabeth Tallman, ’79; and 15 grandchildren.
Joan Crossman Kester Armstrong, ’42, of Greenwich, Conn., June 15. At Stanford, she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta. During World War II, she worked at the Tanforan Naval Base. She was a member of the Stanford Associates and served on her reunion committee. She was class agent from 1984 to 1991. She was predeceased by her husband of 31 years, William, and her son, Scott, in 1981. Survivors: two daughters, Ellen and Anne Powers; her son, William, PhD ’83; her sister, Clare Kester Berlin, ’46; and nine grandchildren.
Charles Edwin Bull, ’42, of Sonoma, Calif., September 2, at 79, in his sleep. At Stanford, he was a member of the Navy’s ROTC and El Toro and an editor at the Daily. He served as a Marine Corps flight instructor during World War II. In 1956, he and his brother-in-law took over C.H. Bull Co. The South San Francisco firm, started by Bull’s father in 1930, sold construction equipment and heat exchange systems. He was a volunteer for the Girl Scout Council, Belmont Youth Council, PTA, Young Life, Grace Lutheran Church, National Federation of Independent Business and the Hiller Aviation Museum. He served as class correspondent for Stanford and was a member of the Peninsula Banjo Band. He was predeceased by his wife of 47 years, Doris, in 1991. Survivors: his son, Andy; three daughters, Carol McComis, Nancy Branham and Susan Sullivan; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Patricia Ann Palmer Hanson, ’43, of La Jolla, Calif., June 5, at 76, of cancer. At Stanford, she was a member of Delta Delta Delta, the rally committee and Gaieties. She was active in the Pasadena Playhouse and, as crew with the Orange Coast College Sailing Center, she cruised Polynesia in 1990, New Zealand in 1994 and San Juan and the Gulf islands in 1997. Survivors: her husband of 48 years, Emery; her son, Josh; and two grandchildren.
James D. Coyle, ’45, MD ’48, of Sacramento, April 15, at 73. At Stanford, he was a member of Theta Delta Chi. From 1950 until 1989, he practiced internal medicine in Sacramento with his late brother, Richard, ’51, MD ’56. He was past board president of the Sacramento Children’s Home and the Sacramento Pioneer Association and a board member of the Mercy Foundation and the Eskaton Foundation. Survivors: his wife, Herta; three sons, James, Robert and Daniel; his daughter, Anne Maria, ’86, MA ’87; and four grandchildren.
James Burton Lester, ’47, MBA ’50, of Santa Rosa, Calif., May 13, at 75. At Stanford, he was a member of Theta Xi. He served in the Army and the Counterintelligence Corps in Japan until 1954. He was a former partner, securities analyst and investment adviser with Lester, Ryons & Co. of Los Angeles. Survivors: his wife, Evelyn; two sons, James Jr., and William; his daughter, Margaret Brooks Lester Balaris; his brother, Bernadotte Perrin Lester, ’52, MBA ’54; 16 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
David Joseph Basham, ’48, of Santa Barbara, Calif., May 5, at 69. At Stanford, he was captain of the tennis team and a member of Alpha Delta Tau. He served as an officer in the Navy. After working at Dean Witter and Co. in San Francisco, he established Santa Barbara Properties Co., a real estate firm he owned for more than 35 years. A member of the Santa Barbara Club and the Valley Club of Montecito, he served on the boards of the Santa Barbara Lemon Growers Association and First Western Bank. Survivors: his wife of 28 years, Nancy; six children, David Jr., Richard, Douglas, Debra, Mark and Melinda, ’84, MBA ’88; two stepchildren, Douglas and Dorothy; his sister, Betty Archer; 16 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Robert Angus McDonald, ’48, of Petaluma, Calif., April 25, at 74, of a peritoneal infection. At Stanford, he was a member of Theta Chi. During World War II, he served in the Merchant Marine. He worked as a production engineer for Federal-Mogul Bearing Corp. in San Francisco and Fresno, Calif. He purchased Petaluma Auto Parts in 1950 and later opened auto part stores in Sonoma, Novato and San Rafael, retiring in 1984. A trustee of Pepper Preschool, he was an honorary life member of the California PTA. He was past president of the Petaluma Rotary Club and was active in the Boy Scouts of America. Interested in genealogy, he wrote six volumes of McDonald family history. Survivors: his wife, Shirley, ’43; three sons, Doug, ’71, Keller and Bill; and seven grandchildren.
Marie Anna “Mary Ann” Cadle Otterson, ’48, of San Rafael, Calif., June 5, 1997, of kidney failure. She was predeceased by her husband, Jack, ’50, in 1991. Survivors: her daughters, Marilyn Otterson and Susan Slaght.
Thomas A. Bigelow, ’49, of San Mateo, April 19, at 71. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps. After the war, he began his 32-year banking career with American Trust Co. in Sacramento. In 1968, he was promoted to the San Francisco head office of the company that later became Wells Fargo Bank. He retired from Wells Fargo as executive vice president and senior operations officer in 1983. A member of the American Bankers Association from 1970 to 1980, he served as chair of the operations committee. He served on the boards of the California Bankers Association from 1976 to 1979 and the Depository Trust Co. in New York from 1978 to 1981. Survivors: his wife of 41 years, Helen; and three daughters, Megan, Eleanor and Catherine.
1950s
Marilyn Leona Hopwood Lynch, ’50, of Corona del Mar, Calif., June 3, at 69, of cancer. Trained as a singer, she performed in several church choirs, for the Junior League Anchorbelles and for the Children’s Theater Guild. She was a major supporter of Orange County arts organizations, a board member of the South Coast Repertory Theater and treasurer and board member of Ballet Pacifica and the Corona del Mar Baroque Music Festival. She also was active in the PTA, Girl Scouts, Junior League and the Balboa Yacht Club. Survivors: her husband of 48 years, Frank, ’43, Gr. ’48; two daughters, Kathryn, ’73, and Molly; and three grandchildren.
William E. Griscom, ’51, of San Francisco, May 9, at 70. He served as an officer in the Navy during the Korean War. He was a CPA who began his career as an auditor for Touche, Ross & Co. and later specialized in the savings and loan industry. In 1990, he retired from American Savings Bank as an executive vice president and worked as a consultant. Survivors: his wife, Verne, ’53; his daughter, Melinda; two sons, Thomas and Douglas; and his sister, Mary G. Horvat, ’56.
James Carroll Sheppard III, ’51, of Newport Beach, Calif., July 3, at 68. At Stanford, he was a member of Delta Upsilon. He received a master’s degree from Cal Tech in 1952. He was employed for nearly 25 years by Signal Oil and Gas Co. as senior vice president of international production. He then joined Babson and Byrns, later Babson and Sheppard, where he specialized in petroleum consulting. He was active in the R.M. Pyles Boys Camp, the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, the Petroleum Club of Los Angeles, Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Southern California chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society. Survivors: his wife of 41 years, Frankie; his son, James IV, his daughter, Melissa; and his brother, Thomas, ’56.
Stanley Irvin Steinberg, ’51, of Portland, Ore., May 7, at 68, of cerebral ischemia. He served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. He owned Vista Travel Service. Survivors: his wife of nine years, Marie V. Hall; his son, Blake; his daughter, Taina; two sisters, Ilene S. Goldberg and Thelma S. Schnitzer; two stepdaughters, Caroline M. Hall and Victoria Hall Byerly; two stepsons, Peter and MacGregor Hall; and five grandchildren.
Nancy Keogh Graham, ’53, of Los Angeles, June 4, at 65, of respiratory disease. She earned a master’s degree at Azusa Pacific College and was a volunteer at L.A.’s Suicide Prevention Center. For the last 24 years, she was an emergency room social worker at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, Calif. She published articles on the psychological effects of trauma in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services and the Digest of Emergency Medical Care. She lectured at medical conferences across the country and instructed and consulted with the Los Angeles County Paramedic Training Institute, California Department of Health Services, UCLA and USC.
Earl Herring Atkinson, ’54, JD ’56, of Tucson, Ariz., November 24, 1997, at 65. Survivors: his wife of 45 years, Judy; three sons, Steven, David, MS ’81, and John; his daughter, Susan; two brothers, Ray, ’50, and Duane, ’53; his sister, Lois; and three grandchildren.
Edmund Cary West Jr., ’58, of Toronto, January 23, at 61, of cancer. In 1966, he became an assistant professor of physics and later computing services manager at the U. of Toronto. He was a member of the Digital Equipment Computer User Society and Cray User Group. Survivors: his wife, Anna Maria Pezacki; and his stepson, John Paul Pezacki.
Ann Gogins Oxarart, ’59, of Eugene, Ore., November 23, 1997, at 60, of breast cancer. Survivors include her husband, Bob, ’58.
1960s
Ralph Jeffrey “Jeff” Cowing, ’60, JD ’66, of San Carlos, Calif., April 16, at 58, of a heart attack. At Stanford, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. He received an MBA from the U. of Santa Clara. He worked in San Francisco as deputy attorney general and in Woodland, Calif., as deputy district attorney and public defender. He later had a private law practice in Palo Alto. Survivors: his wife of 19 years, Anna Cheng; his mother, Jean Laurence Cowing Oakley; and two brothers, Robert, ’70, and Eric.
Sidney Graeme Smith, ’62, of Washington, D.C., February 15, at 57, of a heart attack. He earned a master’s degree in Russian studies from American U. After serving two years in the Army, he worked for Voice of America and the U.S. Information Agency. From 1969 to 1971, he was program manager for U.S./U.S.S.R. scientific cooperation at the National Academy of Sciences. He also worked in the international exchanges office of the National Science Foundation. During his tenure at the State Department from 1982 until his retirement in 1995, he was deputy director for Soviet affairs, science attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade and science counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. Subsequently, he was executive vice president of Global Resources Information Group. Survivors: his wife, Pamela; two daughters, Catherine and Marian; two sons, Alex and Marc; and his brother, Robert.
Judith Doyle White, ’64, of La Cañada Flintridge, Calif., May 28, at 55, of lung cancer. She began her career in 1965 as an English teacher in the Glendale school district, followed by assignments as assistant principal at Clark Junior High School, district coordinator of the gifted and talented education program, assistant principal at Rosemont Middle School and principal at Roosevelt Middle School. Honored statewide and nationally for her work as an educator, she was author and editor of several educational publications. Survivors: her husband of 33 years, Norman; her son, Kenneth, ’91; her parents, Paul and Annette Doyle; her brother, Bill, ’68; and two sisters, Louise Valente and Alice.
Bette Lynne Beebe Schell, ’68, of Charlotte, N.C., June 27, at 51, of ovarian cancer. She was a decorative painter and a longtime resident of the Long Beach-Los Angeles area before moving to Charlotte six years ago. Survivors: her husband, William; two daughters, Emily and Amelia; her brother, Stephen; and her sister, Bonnie Edwards.
1980s
Erika Louise Knight Fox, ’89, of Glen Ellyn, Ill., June 11, at 30, of cancer. She taught bilingual classes, kindergarten through second grade, in the San Diego area and later in Philadelphia. She was working on a bilingual children’s book, La Maestra Tiene Cancer/The Teacher Has Cancer, at the time of her death. Survivors: her husband of four years, James, ’89; her parents, Marta Knight Rojo and William R. Knight; her sister, Giselle; two brothers, Robert and Benjamin Knight; and her grandmother, Victoria Rojo.
1990s
Kirstin Karla Nelson, ’96, of San Rafael, Calif., June 27, at 23, by drowning. A Latin American studies major, she had studied in Ecuador and was teaching in a school near San José, Costa Rica, at the time of her death. Survivors include her parents, Karyn and John; and her sister, Joanna, ’97.
Christopher Thomas Hooyman, ’99, of Seattle, June 6, at 21, in Alaska. While helping another climber, he was swept off the west buttress of Mount McKinley by severe winds and fell to his death. An engineering student with an interdisciplinary major, he was a member of the cycling team, volunteer at the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, performer with the Stanford Improvisers and a leader of the Outdoor Education Program. He spent the last year kayaking the Grand Canyon and traveling and climbing in Guatemala, Mexico, the French Alps, the northern Sierra and the Mount Fairweather range in Alaska. He had recently completed a monthlong emergency medical technician course. A memorial climb of Mount Rainier is scheduled for June 4-6, 1999. Survivors: his parents, Nancy and Eugene; his brother, Kevin; and his sister, Mani.
2000s
Hayley Carol Wester, ’00, of Dallas, July 28, at 22, of an infection following transplant surgery, after a lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis. An accomplished ice skater, she was a human biology major and worked in the molecular pharmacology lab under Dr. Phyllis Gardner at the medical school. She began laboratory research during her freshman year as a volunteer in psychology professor Jeffrey Wine’s cystic fibrosis research lab. Survivors: her parents, Alan and Judith; and her grandparents, Jack and Arline Roberts, and Henry and Doris Wester.
Education
Margaret Mary Holland, MA ’49, of San Anselmo, Calif., June 13, at 94. She taught at Point Reyes School and the Commodore Stockton School in San Francisco. In 1940, she became assistant principal at Edison School in San Francisco, and in 1942, she transferred to the central office as a supervisor in guidance and counseling. She served as chair of the state guidance committee from 1957 to 1959. In 1967, she was appointed director of special education, retiring in 1969. She is survived by two nephews and two nieces.
Robert A. Naslund, EdD ’51, of Llano, Calif., April 20, at 84. He began his teaching career in Arkwright, N.Y., and came to California in the late 1940s as administrator of instruction for Modoc County schools. He taught at the USC school of education from 1950 to 1976, where he helped develop the doctoral program in elementary teaching and was founding chairman of the department of curriculum and instruction. He was a curriculum consultant to the California Department of Education and to several city and county school systems across the state.
James Robert Briggs, EdD ’54, of Seattle, June 17, at 86. He began his teaching career at Snohomish and Everett high schools, where he coached tennis, golf and basketball, and then taught business education for 25 years at U. of Washington. Survivors: his wife of nearly 50 years, Marion; his daughter, Barbara Pickett; his son, James; and four grandchildren.
Engineering
Thomas Andrew Potemra, PhD ’66, of Chevy Chase, Md., April 3, at 59, after heart surgery. He joined Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratories in 1965. In 1985 and 1986, he served as a senior policy analyst in the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he specialized in space technology. He recently served on a federal budget panel evaluating government geoscience research programs. He also directed and chaired advisory groups for NASA, the National Academy of Sciences, National Science Foundation and the Pentagon. He was principal investigator for many NASA magnetic field investigations, wrote more than 200 technical articles and lectured on the history of science. He was predeceased by his wife, Mary, in 1997. Survivors: his son, James; two daughters, Elizabeth Bulhoes and Jenifer Austin; and a granddaughter.
Charles W. Steele, MS ’67, of Ashland, Ore., April 17, at 73, in a traffic accident. During World War II, he served as a radio technician for the Army. A pioneer of research in the computation of electromagnetic fields, with applications to magnetic recording media, he published numerous technical papers and, in 1997, the second edition of his Numerical Computations of Electric and Magnetic Fields. He was a member of civic, service and nature organizations as well as several professional groups. Survivors: his wife of 41 years, Candace, Gr. ’57; and three daughters, Danae, Heidi and Heather.
Frank S. Delia, MS ’75, MS ’75, of Bellevue, Wash., June 8, at 51. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1968 and served in the Army until 1977, including a combat tour as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. He earned a degree at Hastings College of Law in San Francisco and worked for several years as an attorney in the Portland, Ore., law firm of Stoel Rives Boley Fraser and Wyse. For the last 15 years, he held senior management positions in two high-tech companies -- general counsel and vice president for Mentor Graphics Corp. in Watsonville, Ore., and then president and CEO of Cascade Design Automation Corp. in Bellevue, Wash. Survivors: his wife of 30 years, Ret; two children, Brett and Amy; his parents, Espedito and Stella; his brother, Stanley; two sisters, Vincenza Bowes and Delores Stancil; and two grandchildren.
Humanities and Sciences
Paul John Wells, PhD ’58 (economics), of Menlo Park, June 10, at 72. During World War II, he served in the Army. An economist with Rand Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif., he joined the faculty of California State U.-Los Angeles. In 1957, he took a faculty post at the U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he taught for 36 years. He was a visiting professor at Stanford, the U. of Hawaii and Simon Fraser U. in British Columbia. As a member of the Midwest Universities Consortium for International Affairs, he helped establish a graduate program in economics, political science, government and accounting at Thammasat U. in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1966. He published two books and numerous articles and was an editor of the Journal of Post-Keynesian Economics. He was a member of the U. of Illinois Committee of 500 and a founding member of the Illinois Alliance Against Nuclear Arms. Survivors: his wife, Joanne, two stepchildren, John S. Looper and Susan Looper-Friedman; and five grandchildren.
Law
Mary Osgood Kester, JD ’54, of Santa Cruz, Calif., April 21, at 68. She served as an officer with the U.S. Naval Security Station in Washington, D.C., retiring as lieutenant from the U.S. Naval Reserve. She had a private general law practice in San Francisco for several years. In 1964, she moved to England and taught English and history at Haggerston School in London. In 1971, she was admitted to the English Bar as a barrister-at-law. She returned to California to work at a general law practice and as a part-time law instructor at Foothill Community College in Los Altos Hills. She was a member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Ben Lomond, where she served as a lay reader and chalice bearer. Survivors: her brother, David Brownwood, ’56; two stepsisters, Norma Elliot and Deborah Ritchey; and 10 nieces and nephews.
Medicine
Kelly Husbands Eldredge, PhD ’49, of Sacramento, February 28, at 76, after a brief illness. In 1955, he joined the faculty at California State U.-Sacramento, where he taught microbiology until his retirement in 1991. He consulted for Aerojet, worked in the lab at Mercy General and American River hospitals and also taught at the UC-Davis Medical Center. Survivors: his wife of 44 years, Phyllis; his son, Timothy; three daughters, Kristine Brown, Diane Gomes and Kathryn; and eight grandchildren.
