Faculty and Staff
William A. Lyell, of Palo Alto, August 28, at 75, of complications from cancer of the esophagus. He was a graduate of Rollins College and earned his master’s and PhD from the U. of Chicago. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War as an interpreter of Mandarin and as a combat soldier. An associate professor emeritus of Chinese language and literature, he taught at Chicago Teachers College and Ohio State U. before joining the department of Asian languages at Stanford in 1972. He wrote or translated six books, mainly focusing on modern Chinese literature and in particular 20th-century writers Lu Hsun and Lao She. Survivors: his wife of 44 years, Ruth; two daughters, Miriam Boisa and Deirdre, ’88; two sons, Sean and David; and seven grandchildren.
Alan Manne, of Stanford, September 27, at 80, from injuries sustained when he fell off his horse. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College at age 18. During World War II, he served in the Navy, and later returned to Harvard for his doctorate. He spent much of four decades at Stanford, as a professor at the Graduate School of Business from 1961 to 1967, a faculty member of the economics department and later a founding member of the department of operations research. A prolific scholar, he published seven books and more than 120 papers. He focused on the development of large-scale optimization and equilibrium models to help understand the world’s critical issues, and was known for modeling the influence of energy consumption on national economies. He worked for Rand Corporation and the U.S. Agency for International Development in New Delhi. Survivors: his wife, Jacqueline; one daughter, Elizabeth; two sons, Edward and Henry; 11 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Milan R. Henzl, of Palo Alto, September 26, at 77, of cancer. A postdoctoral fellow at Stanford and Syntex Corp. in 1966, when Soviet troops invaded his native Czechoslovakia, he stayed in the area to become a research scientist at Syntex and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford. At Syntex, he developed a variety of women’s health products, including the antifungal drug butoconazole, used to treat yeast infections, and nafarelin, a treatment for endometriosis. He was the first to conduct clinical trials that determined a certain painkiller could relieve severe menstrual pain. The painkiller would later be known as Aleve. A prolific scholar, he wrote 140 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 14 books, monographs and textbook chapters. Survivors: his wife, Vera, ’71, MA ’73, PhD ’75; a daughter, Renata Mullen, ’80; a son, David; and six grandchildren.
1920s
John Whittemore, ’21 (mechanical engineering), of Santa Barbara, Calif., April 13, at 105. A member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, he played on the baseball team. He was the oldest member of USA Track and Field and the oldest registered athlete in the world. He competed in a meet as recently as October 2004, and set at least eight age-group world Master’s records over the years. Survivors include his daughter, Joan Close, ’48.
1930s
Charles M. Bagley, ’33 (preclinical medical science), MD ’37, of Duluth, Minn., August 18, at 94. A member of Theta Delta Chi, he served in the Navy during World War II and introduced penicillin to the Azores Islands. In his long medical career, he served as chief of staff at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth, president of the St. Louis County Medical Society and board member of Minnesota Blue Shield. He retired in 1981 and moved to Florida, establishing scholarship funds in both Minnesota and Florida for students interested in medicine and nursing. His wife of 62 years, Ruth, died in 2003. Survivors: four sons, David Linnes-Bagley, Charles, Fred and Peter; two daughters, Susan and Nancy; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
William R. Willard, ’33 (general engineering), Gr. ’37 (civil engineering), of San Mateo, October 2, at 94. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta. An engineer and manager at U.S. Steel Corporation in San Francisco from 1937 to 1962, he became a management consultant for AMA, Case & Company, O.K. Earl and TRW. His wife, Margaret, died in 1993. Survivors: one son, Bruce; one daughter, Ann Watts; four grandchildren; and his companion, Lois Steger Robinson.
Kenneth Olney Rhodes, ’34 (history), of Pasadena, Calif., August 23, at 93, of natural causes. He was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma. He earned his law degree at Harvard and served in the Navy during World War II. A trustee of Scripps College in Claremont, he had his own law firm in Los Angeles for more than 30 years before joining Taylor, Kupfer, Summers & Rhodes in 1979. In 1948, he made the decision to give one-third of his day to pro bono work, and served on the boards of the Thacher School, the Hathaway Home for Children and Valley Hunt Club. He was an avid mountain climber who thrice trekked the Himalayas. His wife, Elizabeth Fleming, pre-deceased him. Survivors include: three sons, Edgar, Thomas and Richard, ’63; and one daughter, Margaret, ’64.
Margaret Woolverton Savage, ’34 (general engineering), of Cupertino, August 4, 2004, at 90. President of Cap and Gown, she studied abroad at Lingnan U. in China. One of the first women in traffic engineering, she worked for the National Safety Council, Dibble & Woolveton and Quinto Engineers, before stopping to raise her family. After 1984 she returned to work, becoming the president of Water Chemists. Her husband, Robert, ’34, MBA ’36, died in 1984. Survivors: three sons, Neal, ’77, Kent, and Jerry; and eight grandchildren.
James Gwavas Beckerley II, ’35, PhD ’45 (physics), of Wells, Maine, April 18, at 90. A nuclear physicist, he taught at Columbia U. and at Judson College in Rangoon, Burma, before Japan bombed the country in 1942. He was the director of classification for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission from 1949 to 1954, testifying in the trial of convicted spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Later, as an employee of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, he worked on the purification of graphite, which was eventually used in the production of plutonium from uranium. In the 1970s, he became involved in environmentalism, eventually becoming senior policy analyst at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. There he worked on the creation of hydrogen heavy water, which is used as a moderator in nuclear reactors. In recent years, he volunteered with the Wells Reserve. His wife, Lucille, predeceased him. Survivors include his son, James.
Philip R. Westdahl, ’35 (preclinical medical science), MD ’39, of San Francisco, September 16, at 93, after surgery for a fall sustained two weeks before. During World War II, he served in Casablanca as part of the 59th Evacuation Hospital of the Army Medical Corps. He performed pioneering work in treating breast cancer until his retirement in 1983, including early use of lumpectomies against cancers, and he was involved in several professional associations. He also volunteered his time to give medical examinations to disadvantaged Bay Area youths. He is predeceased by one son, Philip. Survivors: his wife, Georgia; three daughters, Laurie Furia, Georgia Kuhn and Paula Westdahl; two grandchildren; three stepgrandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and one stepgreat-grandchild.
Alexander Wakefield Berger, ’37 (general engineering), of Los Altos Hills, September 14, at 89, of colitis. He was a member of Delta Chi. In 1948, he and a partner opened the accounting firm Berger-Lewis in San Jose. In 1951, he became the second president of the San Jose chapter of the Certified Public Accountants Society, and last year received the chapter’s first distinguished service award. He served on the boards of several associations and clubs. Survivors: his wife, Jane; one daughter, Suzanne Erikson, ’62; two sons, Laurence and Alexander; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Robert Foster Corrigan, ’37 (political science), of Bethesda, Md., September 26, at 91, of pneumonia. He joined the State Department in 1940 and served in Brazil and as private secretary to the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela during World War II. He served as an ambassador to Rwanda in 1972 and 1973 and as deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs from 1973 to 1975. His service also included work with the U.S. European Command and the U.S. Southern Command and assignments in Guatemala. After retirement from government service in 1975, he held positions at United Brands and Chiquita Brands International, most recently serving as director and program chairman of the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs and a member of the international affairs committee of the Cosmos Club. Survivors: his wife of 53 years, Jane; two sons, Kevin and Robert; three daughters, Mary Ogden, Martha and Susan; and nine grandchildren.
Alfred Rust Dole, ’37 (general engineering), of Oakland, August 21, at 91. He spent many years with Pacific Telephone in Berkeley as an electrical engineer, moving to Oakland in 1996 upon his retirement. He was a lifetime member of St. John’s Presbyterian Church and the Sierra Club. Survivors: his wife of 67 years, Helen, (Seeley, ’38); five children, Seeley, Fred, Sanford, Kathy and Martha; 11 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Charles A. Shreve, ’37 (social science/social thought), of San Francisco, Calif., August 11, at 92. A social worker who worked with Skid Row denizens and migrant farm workers from the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, he graduated from the Virginia Episcopal Theological Seminary and became a canon and bishop’s chaplain at Grace Cathedral. He later served at churches around the world, becoming acquainted with many dignitaries in Rome before returning to Grace Cathedral as nave chaplain in 1996. Survivors: one son, David; one daughter, Helen; and his sister, Ruth Grant.
Marjorie Pirdy Hatfield, ’39 (education), of Redlands, Calif., September 4, at 87, of a heart attack. A member of Tri Delta, she was an active member and past president of Panhellenic in Redlands. She taught elementary school and during World War II worked as a civilian aircraft spotter. Her husband, Robert, died in 1990. Survivors include her daughter, Peggy Neumann; and two granddaughters.
1940s
Eloise Roberta Lambert, ’40 (speech & drama), of Bakersfield, Calif., September 24, at 86. A member of student drama and Phi Beta Kappa, she headed USO shows in San Diego County during World War II. During the 1950s and 1960s, she performed as a singer in theaters and nightclubs, becoming an interviewer for Young & Rubicam in Hollywood, Calif. She wrote four novels, one of which was published on the Internet. Survivors include her companion, Lawrence Ramey.
Herbert Granville Bull, Jr., ’41 (economics), MBA ’46, of Menlo Park, September 18, at 85, of complications from a fall and Parkinson’s disease. A lifelong Bay Area resident, he played shortstop on the University frosh and varsity baseball teams and was a member of Delta Chi. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he had a long management career with Del Monte Foods and Foremost Dairies, retiring in 1985. In Palo Alto, he was involved with the Boy Scout Council and the First Presbyterian Church. His first wife, Jean, (Hansen, ’41), predeceased him. Survivors: his second wife, Doris; two sons, Herb, ’66, and Bill; two stepdaughters, Carol Johnson and Beth Shafer; one granddaughter; four stepgrandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Margot Jean “Peggy” Hermann Hagstette, ’41 (letters), of Houston, June 28, at 86. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she volunteered for the Navy as a WAVE during World War II and achieved the rank of full lieutenant, serving in naval intelligence. She went into the CIA after the war and volunteered for a Cold War intelligence operation in Europe with her husband. She was an avid golfer and a longtime volunteer. Survivors: her husband, Ed; two sons, Eric and Guy; two daughters, Margot Grangaard, ’79, and Jean; eight grandchildren, including Elise Grangaard, ’09; and one great-grandson.
Theodore “Ted” Moreno, ’41 (general engineering), MA ’42 (electrical engineering), of Los Altos Hills, in March, at 84, of a heart attack. A member of Alpha Kappa Lambda, he played water polo for the varsity team. During World War II, he was employed at Sperry Gyroscope Co., where he wrote Microwave Transmission Design Handbook, published during the war as a confidential document and then later in a declassified version by McGraw-Hill. After receiving his doctorate at MIT, he worked at Hughes Aircraft Company before joining Varian Associates in Palo Alto, where he remained until his retirement. Survivors include: his wife, Lillian; two daughters, Nancy and Jacqueline; and one son, Frederick, MS ’70, Gr. ’73.
Charles Cassius Gates Jr., ’43 (general engineering), of Denver, August 28, at 84. A billionaire philanthropist and retired rubber tycoon who developed and sold the Gates Rubber Co., he was appointed vice president of Gates Rubber in 1951. A decade later, he took the company’s helm and expanded the company’s holdings into several different ventures. After the company was sold to London-based Tomkins PLC for $1.6 billion, he became the chairman of the Gates Family Foundation, which has donated more than $147 million in grants since 1946. He sat on the boards of several organizations, including the Nature Conservancy, the Denver Art Museum Foundation, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. His wife, June, ’43, died in 2000. Survivors include: one son, John; and one daughter, Diane Wallach, ’76, MBA ’83.
Paul M. Herron, ’43, of Sacramento, September 9, at 85, of kidney failure. A renowned swimmer, he was the first American to cross the English Channel both ways in 1958 and 1959. At Stanford, he won the 400-meter freestyle in a national meet. He made the 1940 Olympic swim team, but the Games were cancelled. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He later taught high school, coached the El Salvador swim team in the Pan American Games and coached Olympic record setter Mark Spitz. After retiring in 1981, he became a traveling missionary. Survivors: two sons, Gregory Burke and Paul; five grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and his former wife, Vi.
Oliver Roy Henrickson, ’44 (general engineering), of San Marino, Calif., August 25, at 82, of Shy-Drager syndrome. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. During World War II, he served as a deck officer in the South Pacific. He worked as a petroleum engineer, founding Control Specialists and Dolphin Controls. An avid sailor, he was a member of the Balboa Yacht Club and the Transpacific Yacht Club. Survivors: his wife of 61 years, Helen Schwab, ’44; two daughters, Sue Blanchard and Karen Courington; and three grandchildren.
Helen Blanche Reed Craddick, ’47 (graphic arts), of Piedmont, Calif., August 20, at 78. She was a noted interior designer for more than 50 years. She was predeceased by her sister, Elizabeth, and her brother, Robert.
Jane Frasier-Smith, ’47 (humanities), MA ’49 (education), of Sunnyvale, September 29, at 79. Active in music and theater, she was a member of Ram’s Head Drama Society and the Band. She taught at area schools and for a year at The American School in Manila in the Philippines. She was involved in several performing arts groups, including serving as musical director of the Palo Alto Light Opera and singing with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. She was a freelance timpanist and private piano teacher. Survivors: her husband, Richard Smith, ’49, EdD ’56; three daughters, Holly Liberatore, Julie Valentine and Jeannette; one son, Kenneth, ’74, MA ’75, five grandchildren; and one great-grandchid.
Elmer David Sitkin, ’47 (English), of Linden, Calif., August 25, at 82, of heart disease. A member of the El Campo eating club, he served as code clerk with the U.S. State Department in Moscow during World War II, then returned to Stanford. He taught high school English and history in Berkeley and Lodi, Calif., then turned to business development. Survivors: his wife of 59 years, Patricia, (Whittle, ’47); two sons, David, ’71, and Roger, ’73; one foster son, David Dial; and five grandchildren.
Phyllis Irene Bartlett Stephens, ’47 (psychology), of Belmont, Calif., Septem-ber 10, at 80. A lifelong volunteer, she was involved in several organizations, including the San Mateo school district, Friends of the Belmont Library, the “Friendship House” of San Mateo County Mental Health, Twin Pines Cottage and many other groups. She participated in worker marches in the Central Valley as well as the MLK Freedom Train. She was involved with the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish for more than 50 years. Survivors: her husband, Richard, ’47; seven children, including Elizabeth, ’77; and 13 grandchildren.
Robert Vance Brown, ’48 (electrical engineering), MBA ’50, of Portola Valley, August 26, at 79, of a rare form of leukemia. He spent two years in the Navy and studied radar at MIT before attending Stanford, where he was a member of the Los Arcos eating club. For several years, he ran the construction company started by his father in 1932, Vance M. Brown. A leader in the incorporation of Portola Valley in 1964 and a council member for 16 years, he was mayor of the town three times. He was active in the Palo Alto Rotary Club and helped raise funds for a permanent home for the Peninsula Conservation Center, now Acterra. Survivors: his wife, Patricia, (Hegg, ’51); two daughters, Kristin and Susan, ’82, MBA ’90; two sons, Loren and Brian, ’88; and five grandchildren.
Dennis Sullivan Fox, ’48 (biological sciences), of Santa Rosa, Calif., August 29, at 81. He served in the Army during World War II before attending Stanford, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta and the baseball team. For 37 years, he worked in sales and research on domestic and international projects at Stauffer Chemical Company. Survivors: his wife, Lourdes; one son, Joseph; two stepchildren, Christina and Boyet; and his grandchildren.
Gordon Floyd Levy, ’49 (law), MBA ’51, of San Jose, September 5, at 78, of a heart attack. He postponed his education at Stanford while he served with the Army Air Force, becoming a war correspondent and attending the Nuremberg trials. At Stanford, he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa and a sprinter on the track team. He began his career at Dean Witter as a security broker in 1951, becoming partner and branch manager of the San Jose office before leaving for the San Jose Chamber of Commerce to become general manager of the Convention and Visitors Bureau from 1974 to 1985. He returned to Dean Witter/Morgan Stanley in 1985 as vice president and financial adviser. He was a member of the Rotary Club of San Jose for 51 years, an avid athlete and a fan of Stanford athletics. Survivors: his wife of 55 years, Gerry, (Martin, ’50); two daughters, Debra Austen and Cary Wagner; one son, Douglas; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
1950s
Dennis Dolan Butcher, ’52 (undergraduate law), of Santa Barbara, Calif., August 17, at 75, of pancreatic cancer. A member of Phi Sigma Kappa, he attended the U. of Colorado Law School and clerked for Judge Latourette of the Oregon Supreme Court. He moved to Santa Barbara in 1956, working first for the district attorney’s office and later in private practice with Brelsford, McMahon, Butcher and Loberg. He was a member of the Sierra Club and the Democratic Central Committee. Survivors: his wife of 53 years, Susan, (Hickok, ’52); two daughters: Sharon and Patricia; three sons, Lawrence, David and Andrew; and two grandchildren.
Donald George Gillin, ’52, MA ’53, PhD ’59 (history), of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., August 29, at 75, of Alzheimer’s disease. He was a respected China scholar and the former head of the Asian studies program at Vassar College, where he taught at from 1968 until his retirement in 1992. Previously, he taught at Duke U., and was a visiting member of the faculty at several universities, including the U. of Michigan, U. of North Carolina and Stanford. He spoke fluent Mandarin, and wrote dozens of articles and several books, which include Warlord: Yen Hsi-shan in Shansi Province, which is still used as a textbook nearly 40 years after its publication, and Falsifying China’s History: The Case of Sterling Seagrave’s The Soong Dynasty, which challenged a bestselling Asian studies book. His wife, Rose Marie, died in 2000. Survivors: one son, Paul; one daughter, Presto Rubel; and two grandchildren.
Michael H. Shlaudeman, ’55 (history), of Pasadena, Calif., July 5, at 72. A member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, he was an avid hunter, fisherman, gardener and Stanford football fan. He suffered a stroke 20 years ago and was a resident of Woodbury Terrace for the last five years. Survivors: his wife, Marion; one son, Robert, ’82; one daughter, Jennifer; and three grandchildren.
Diane Fink, ’57 (preclinical medicine), MD ’60, of Oakland, September 30, at 69, of a heart attack. She developed several cancer prevention and education programs at the American Cancer Society, including a breast cancer detection awareness program and telephone information system, and later studied psychosocial effects on the family of cancer patients and helped link cancer prevention to several factors. Before joining the American Cancer Society, she spent 10 years at the National Cancer Institute. Survivors: two daughters, Laura DeFina and Janice; and two grandchildren.
Henry I. Goldberg, ’59 (history), of Tiburon, Calif., September 20, at 67, of cancer. He was a member of the El Campo eating club. He was awarded many honors as a professor of radiology at UCSF, and enjoyed his family, music and teaching. Survivors: his wife, Jan; two daughters, Lara Gremmels and Debra; one son, Steven; and two grandsons.
1960s
Dennis Gary Seinfeld, ’61 (political science), of Tacoma, Wash., August 1, at 65, of injuries suffered from a fall off a ladder. A member of the Breakers eating club and a graduate of Yale Law School, he worked as an assistant attorney general for the state of Washington in the mid-1960s before joining his father in private practice. In the summer of 1965, he donated legal help to black Mississippi residents who had been wrongfully arrested. He was a chairman of Tacoma’s human relations commission and helped draft the charter to establish the county’s council-executive form of government. He enjoyed cross-country skiing and kayaking. Survivors include: his wife, Karen, (Goodman, ’61); two sons, Keith, ’88, MA ’89, and Jeffrey Alexander “J.A.”, ’90, MA ’90; one daughter, Tzippora (Nicole) Banschick, ’92; and several grandchildren.
Frederic Chopin Opalach, ’68 (classics), of Rockaway, N.Y., at 59, of emphysema and complications from schizophrenia. He was a poet and student of religion. Survivors: one daughter, Bethany; and his former wife, Trish Freudiger Grantham, ’67.
Burton C. Ambler, ’69, MS ’70 (industrial engineering), of Fort Collins, Colo., September 4, 2004, at 57, of cancer. He was on the wrestling team and had a long career with Hewlett-Packard, beginning in the manufacturing division in Palo Alto in 1970 and transferring to the Loveland, Colo., facility to work in test and measurement information technology and manufacturing engineering. His most recent position was at Fort Collins in pre- and post-sales consulting and integration. He was an active member of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Survivors: his wife, Kim; three daughters, Carol Wilson, ’88, Treva and Christina; one stepson, Jon Willis; and three grandchildren.
William Thomas Axtell, ’69 (economics), MBA ’71, of Glendale, Ariz., August 12, at 61, of cancer. He owned and operated William Axtell Financial Management. Survivors include: his wife, Mary; three sons, Michael, Jason and Benjamin; two daughters, Betsy and Susan; five grandchildren; and his mother, Marian.
1980s
Kim White Kambourian, ’81 (international relations), of Brasilia, Brazil, August 29, at 46, of cancer. She was a Foreign Service officer who was recruited by the Reagan administration to join the White House’s speechwriting office shortly after graduation. She joined the Foreign Service in 1986 and served tours in Portugal, Brazil, Washington, Haiti, Chile and Argentina. She worked in human rights, environmental treaty obligations and democracy building, and received several State Department performance awards, including runner-up for the 2004 Human Rights Reporting Award. Survivors: her husband, John; two daughters, Alison and Laura; and one son, Gregory.
Stephanie Elaine Brown Cadet, ’86 (psychology), of Redwood City, July 9, at 40, of heart disease. She began her career at Oracle Corporation, leaving to join the start-up Crystal River Engineering in 1994 as the manager of sales. Later, she worked for and consulted with a variety of technology firms until she began caring for her son, who developed a debilitating neurological condition after he was born. She volunteered for a variety of programs related to his condition. She was involved with several community service projects, including special needs advocacy, Stanford minority student orientation programs and church work. Survivors: her husband, Ron; one son, Charles-Andre; and one daughter, Mia.
2000s
Michael Wallace Eckert, ’05 (chemical engineering), of Mountain View, June 26, at 32, in a rafting accident. He worked as a ranger at Jasper Ridge and interned with the Nektar, a chemical company in Redwood City. He was an avid swing dancer. Survivors include: his father, John; his mother, Scotty; one sister; and one brother.
Education
James Oakley Booker, MA ’40, of Sacramento, Calif., May 14, at 96. He began his teaching career at Redlands California High School, but stopped to serve in the Air Force during World War II from July 1942 to August 1945. After the war, he joined the Veterans Administration to advise GIs who planned on returning to college. Later, he served as registrar at CSU-Sacramento before working as dean of admissions, dean of guidance, teacher and counselor in the Los Rios Community College District. He and his wife, Dorothy, were founding members of the Centennial United Methodist Church. Dorothy died in 2002. Survivors: four sons, Paul, MS ’72, John, Phil and David; and 10 grandchildren.
Dominick Berardinelli, MA ’51, of Portola Valley, September 15, at 84. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State U. During World War II, he served with the Army’s 14th Air Force in China. A teacher for the early part of his career, he then spent 39 years as a self-employed real estate broker, specializing in properties at the Sea Ranch, north of San Francisco, with an office in Gualala. Survivors: his wife, Annelise; three daughters, Michelle, Jennifer Scher and Andrea Gillis; and three grandchildren.
James Sumner Blais, MA ’51, of Cupertino, October 9, at 90, of pneumonia. He was a Marine who achieved the rank of brigadier general during his 20-year career and served in notable battles in the Pacific theater during World War II. During the war, he commanded the Marine detachment on the carrier USS Hornet. After he received his master’s degree, he served as commanding officer of the Fifth Marine Regiment at Camp Pendleton before retiring in 1957. He was awarded several honors for his military service, including the Legion of Merit, a bronze star and two China service awards. As a civilian, he worked for Lockheed and was chief business officer for Menlo School and College from 1973 to 1978. He was predeceased by his first wife, Jean. Survivors: his second wife, Nathalie; two daughters, Barbara Insel and Betsy Shotwell; two stepsons, Jack Baldwin and William Baldwin; two stepdaughters, Carliss Baldwin and Kyle Cunningham; four grandchildren; and seven stepgrandchildren.
Cornelia Manley Sabine, EdD ’54, of Colorado Springs, Colo., August 20, 2004, at 94. She studied music at Northwestern U. and later received degrees in psychology and human behavior from Colorado College. She began her career in counseling with the Pikes Peak Family Counseling and Mental Health Center and with the Colorado Springs Child Guidance Clinic. In 1970, she moved to private practice, retiring in 1993. She was a charter member of the El Paso County Psychological Society, which named an annual award in her honor, and a member of several other professional associations. She established the Sabine Endowed Fund, which supports the Colorado College psychology department. The Cornelia Manley Sabine Award is present annually to the outstanding graduating psychology senior. Survivors include an extensive stepfamily.
Kenneth Erwin White, MA ’59, of Palo Alto, on August 28, at 80, of emphysema. A lifetime resident of PaloAlto, he served in the Army Air Corps during World War II before receiving a degree in mathematics and secondary-school teaching credentials from San Jose State U. He taught mathematics for 31 years and coached basketball for 20 at Palo Alto High School, coordinating alumni gatherings after his retirement. He also compiled a history of Palo Alto High sports. Survivors: his wife of 59 years, Priscilla; two daughters, Penelope Hughes and Susan Holzer; one son, Jon; and six grandchildren.
Engineering
Robert Marron Lyness, MS ’48 (civil engineering), of Berkeley, October 2, at 81. A World War II veteran, he was a vice president for Safeway Stores for 33 years. He later taught at San Jose State U., John F. Kennedy U., and volunteered in the computer lab at the Lawrence Hall of Science. He led a youth group at the First Congregation Church of Berkeley for 25 years. Survivors: his wife, Eleanor; and five daughters, Robin, Anne, Stephanie, ’77, Cynthia and Audrey.
William Ross Taylor, MS ’94 (computer science), of Kirkland, Wash., September 11, at 37, in a boating accident on Lake Washington. He received an undergraduate degree in computer science from the U. of Illinois. He worked for Cray Research for several years, then worked for nearly 10 years at Microsoft as a computer programmer, obtaining three patents during this time. He was an Eagle Scout, private pilot, snorkeler, skier, worldwide traveler and accomplished jazz drummer. Survivors include his 3-year-old son.
Humanities and Sciences
Robert Allen Baker Jr., PhD ’52 (psychology), of Lexington, Ky., August 8, at 84. A “ghostbuster” who specialized in debunking beliefs in supernatural apparitions, he devoted much of his career to helping those traumatized by the perception that they were being visited by ghosts. He wrote several books and articles concluding that sightings of supernatural apparitions were the result of hallucinations, often by those who suffered psychological or cerebral disorders as well. He served in the Army Air Force during World War II as a cryptographer, becoming interested in psychology in the process. He received his bachelor’s degree from the U. of Kentucky and returned there to teach in 1969, becoming chair of the university’s psychology department. Survivors: his wife, Rose; three daughters, Carol, Belinda and Kathryn; and three sons, John, Michael and Robert.
George Thomas Oberlander, PhD ’52 (biological sciences), of San Francisco, September 11, at 92. He received his BS and MS degrees from UC-Berkeley, and taught in several San Francisco high schools and worked as a chemist and metallurgist for U.S. Steel before receiving his doctorate. He was a professor of biology at San Francisco State for 27 years and traveled around the world to study algology. Survivors: his wife of 53 years, Dorothy Jeane; one stepdaugh-ter, Diana Sandberg; and two granddaughters.
Wilbert O. Crockett, PhD ’74 (English), of San Jose, August 22, at 70. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the U. of Kansas, and was a professor of English at San Jose State U. for 29 years until his retirement in 1996. He enjoyed reading, playing word games, golf and spending time with his family. Survivors: his wife of 50 years, Verdis; one daughter, Jennifer; and one son, Roger.
