Joe Axelson
Joe Axelson (J69), 80, Coronado, Calif., June 1. As general manager of the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, Mr. Axelson won the NBA's first executive of the year award in 1973 after guiding the Cincinnati Royals franchise, now the Kings, in its move to Kansas City in 1972.
Mr. Axelson, known for some questionable trades as a general manager, worked with the Kansas City-Omaha Kings until 1979, when he became the NBA's director of operations. He returned to the Kings in 1982 and became the unpopular face of the franchise's move to Sacramento in 1985.
Mr. Axelson served as chair of the NBA's Competition and Rules Committee for 15 years. He worked with the players' union to set up programs for combating drug abuse in the NBA during the 1980s.
Mr. Axelson is survived by his children, David, Mark and Linda; and six grandchildren.
Steve Cisler
Steve Cisler (WCAS65), 65, San Jose, Calif., May 15. A dedicated librarian, Mr. Cisler worked to share the benefits of technology with the world.
After Northwestern, Mr. Cisler created a school library in rural Togo, West Africa, as a Peace Corps volunteer. He later started Apple Computer's Apple Library of Tomorrow, a grant program for innovative projects in libraries and museums.
He also worked on deregulation of the radio frequencies that became Wi-Fi and spent seven years consulting overseas about projects involving telecenters and school computer labs and with indigenous groups about using technology.
Mr. Cisler is survived by his wife, Nancy; sons Geoffrey and Erik; daughters-in-law Karen and Tiffany; and granddaughters Anna and Lena.
Alfred DeBat
Alfred L. DeBat (J53, GJ54), 76, Arlington Heights, Ill., March 30. A globetrotting photojournalist, Mr. DeBat traveled to 175 countries on every continent during a career that spanned more than 50 years.
A stint with the U.S. Army sparked his wanderlust. Then, in 1959, he embarked on a round-the-world excursion that took him to destinations such as Cambodia and Afghanistan.
Mr. DeBat worked as a photo editor for Playboy and later helped expand its foreign editions to Europe, Asia, South America and Australia.
Always on the cutting edge, Mr. Debat embraced digital photography and wrote about the technology often. He served as an editor in chief of Digital Imaging Digest, Professional Photographer and Creative Camera.
Mr. DeBat is survived by his companion of 25 years, Marla Kalbhen; a daughter, Avril; and a sister, Dorothy.
Robert A. Dentler
Robert A. Dentler (WCAS49, G50), 79, Lexington, Mass., March 20. An education expert, Mr. Dentler oversaw desegregation of Boston's school system in the mid-1970s. He not only created the plan, which included widespread busing, but he also helped carry out the details, from transferring students to purchasing sports equipment. He implemented similar plans in 17 other cities across the country.
Last year Mr. Dentler received the American Sociological Association's Distinguished Career Award in honor of his work for racial justice.
He is survived by his wife, Helen Hosmer Dentler (WCAS50); two sons, Eric and Robin; a daughter, Deborah; and six grandchildren, including Lucas Dentler Segall (Mu11).
Melvin Gutterman
Melvin Gutterman (GL67), 70, Atlanta, Jan. 28. A faculty member at the Emory University School of Law for nearly 40 years, Mr. Gutterman focused his teaching and research on prisoner's rights.
Mr. Gutterman began his career with the criminal law division of the New York Legal Aid Society but soon discovered a love for teaching. A two-time recipient of Emory law school's Most Outstanding Professor Award, he embraced technology in his teaching and developed the interdisciplinary course "Criminal Justice and Film" that combined his interests in legal matters and love for film.
In 1985 he spent a semester in Paris, where he visited prisons and participated in workshops for law professors and practitioners. He continued his study in comparative law during a tour of Germany, where worked with prison administrators and lectured to German law students on the U.S. prison system.
Mr. Gutterman also served as the chief of staff of then-Gov. Jimmy Carter's Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals.
He is survived by his wife, Judy; a son, Danny; and a daughter, Suzanne.
Kathryn Harvey
Kathryn Harvey (Mu31), 98, Corte Madera, Calif., April 2. Known for her versatility and dramatic flair, Ms. Harvey, a regaled soprano, mastered about 100 operatic roles, singing throughout northern Europe for more than 30 years.
After conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a performance of her composition, she launched her singing career in New York City under notables such as Arturo Toscanini and Bruno Walter.
In Europe, Ms. Harvey performed in Zurich, Frankfort and Munich as well as Paris and London, where she sang under Igor Stravinsky. She also taught at the State Conservatory in Nuremberg, Germany, recorded with Zurich Radio and appeared in two films, including an Abbott and Costello comedy.
Upon returning to the United States she taught at a number of colleges and universities.
Ms. Harvey is survived by a niece, Ann.
James D. Hemphill
James D. Hemphill (WCAS52, G89), 78, Northfield, Ill., May 9. Starting as a laborer, Mr. Hemphill worked his way up to head the family business, Home by Hemphill, which built signature residences on Chicago's North Shore.
After retiring in 1994, he shared his skills with the world. He trained entrepreneurs in Ukraine and oversaw the remodeling of a former Soviet Union embassy into college classrooms in Germany. He also volunteered in Iraq and China.
He is survived by his wife, Peggy Ayars Hemphill (C53); six children; six grandchildren; a brother; sisters Barbara Hemphill Ingalls (WCAS44) and Patricia Hemphill Ketchum (WCAS47); a brother-in-law, Mason Ingalls (WCAS44); and a niece, Christopher-Ann Ingalls (WCAS67).
Donald R. Kaplan
Donald R. Kaplan (WCAS60), 69, Kensington, Calif., Dec. 17. A botanist and expert on the development of diverse forms and shapes of plants, Mr. Kaplan taught at the University of California, Berkeley, for 36 years.
In addition to his research, Mr. Kaplan enjoyed classical music, opera and railroads. He published Duneland Electric: South Shore Line in Transition (PTJ Publishing, 1984) about the South Shore Line that runs along Lake Michigan.
He caddied for famed golfer Charles "Chick" Evans Jr. (WCAS13) as a teenager and attended Northwestern on a scholarship from the Evans Scholars Foundation.
Mr. Kaplan is survived by his wife, Dorothy Thurnauer Kaplan (WCAS62); sons Andrew and Timothy; and a sister, Barbara.
Geoffrey Kent
Geoffrey Kent (GFSM58), 94, Arlington Heights, Ill, April 11. A professor of pathology emeritus at Northwestern, Dr. Kent began his career in the Netherlands and England during World War II before moving to Canada and eventually the United States.
In May 1940 Dr. Kent helped 60 Jewish children escape Amsterdam, mere hours before the Nazis invaded the city. Later that year, he helped care for the wounded during the Manchester Blitz.
After emigrating to Canada and working in pathology in Saskatchewan, Dr. Kent moved to Chicago, where he earned his doctorate in pathology and began teaching at the University.
Dr. Kent, who retired in 1976, performed pioneering research in translational science. His family established the Tripartite Legacy Faculty Award in his honor. Jacob I. Sznajder, Ernest S. Bazley Professor in Asthma and Related Disorders, professor of cell and molecular biology and chief of pulmonary and critical care at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, received the award.
He is survived by sons Jonathan, Simon and Paul Kent (WCAS71, KSM79); a daughter, Helen; three daughters-in-law, including Frances Higgins Kent (WCAS72); a son-in-law; eight grandchildren, including Christine Kent (WCAS04, L08) and Larah Kent (WCAS06); and a sister-in-law, Annie Higgins (WCAS78).
Sheldon Morgenstern
Sheldon Morgenstern (Mu60), 69, Collonges, France, Dec. 17. A distinguished orchestral conductor, Mr. Morgenstern founded the Eastern Music Festival at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., in 1962. For more than three decades he served as conductor and music director of the training program and summer music festival that pairs aspiring young musicians with professional artists. He retired in 1997 and moved to France.
The acclaimed musician, who received a Northwestern Alumni Association Merit Award in 1990, served as guest conductor of the North-western University Symphony Orchestra in 1993.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia; a brother, Morton; a sister, Judith; a daughter, Sali; four stepchildren; and six grandchildren.
Herbert R. Peterson
Herbert R. Peterson (WCAS41), 89, Santa Barbara, Calif., March 25. As a McDonald's franchisee, Mr. Peterson invented the Egg McMuffin to expand his breakfast-hour business (see "Marketing McGenius," fall 1999).
Mr. Peterson spent 16 years with D'Arcy Advertising, where he wrote McDonald's first advertising slogan and helped create the persona for Ronald McDonald.
Mr. Peterson opened his first McDonald's in Santa Barbara in 1968. He modeled the Egg McMuffin after his own breakfast favorite, eggs Benedict, and in a few years the sandwiches formed the foundation of McDonald's breakfast business.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara; a son; three daughters; 11 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Leonard Peterson
Leonard Peterson (C38), 90, Toronto, Feb. 28. A legendary figure in Canadian radio, Mr. Peterson became one of the country's most prominent dramatists during the golden era of radio drama in the 1940s and '50s.
Mr. Peterson sold his first radio drama to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. for $15 and then went on to write more than 1,200 plays and screenplays. His works, often experimental and sometimes controversial, won numerous awards.
Mr. Peterson, a two-time Ontario Wrestling Alliance champ, enlisted in the Canadian Army infantry in 1942 but was assigned to write radio dramas and other propaganda after his superior officers discovered his radio skills.
He is survived by his wife, Iris; daughters Ingrid, Jill and Wendy; son Anthony; and six grandchildren.
R. Eugene Pincham
R. Eugene Pincham (L50), 82, Chicago, April 3. Revered for his dedication to his clients and his keen legal mind, Mr. Pincham practiced as a trial lawyer in Chicago, then took a seat in the criminal division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. He later served as an Illinois Appellate Court judge. He ran for mayor in 1991 but lost in the Democratic primary to Richard M. Daley (H08).
Mr. Pincham, who served as president of the Northwestern Law Alumni Association and lectured at the law school, won the Northwestern Alumni Association Merit Award in 1975 and the Service Award in 1989. He was posthumously inducted into the Northwestern University Black Alumni Association Hall of Fame in May.
Mr. Pincham is survived by two sons, Robert Eugene Pincham Jr. (L77) and James Frederick Pincham (L87), and a daughter, Andrea.
Joseph Edward Rall
Joseph Edward Rall (FSM44), 88, Naperville, Ill., Feb. 28. A thyroid specialist who studied victims of radioactive fallout, Dr. Rall developed therapies to prevent thyroid disease that were used after the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.
In 1955 Dr. Rall embarked on a half-century career with the National Institutes of Health, where he served as director of intramural research at the National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases. He oversaw projects that won Nobel Prizes for several colleagues. He served as a Distinguished Alumni Visiting Professor at the Feinberg School of Medicine.
He is survived by a daughter, Priscilla; a son, Edward; a son-in-law, Richard; a daughter-in-law, Sue; and three grandchildren.
Mary Riehm
Mary Riehm (GJ68), 62, Louisville, Jan. 20. Ms. Riehm had a three-decade career in journalism and civic affairs, including five years as a reporter for Louisville's Courier-Journal and 15 years as deputy mayor of Louisville.
Ms. Riehm became the first female deputy mayor of Louisville in 1985. She worked on neighborhood, waterfront and downtown development and educational initiatives and became an expert on local government reorganization.
She was named one of the Top 50 Most Powerful People in Louisville by Louisville Magazine and Most Admired Woman in Politics by Today's Woman in 2005.
She is survived by her husband, Melvin E. Greer; a stepson, Boyce; a sister, Louisa; two brothers, Charles and John; and 12 nieces and nephews.
Chanda Taylor
Chanda Taylor (J94), 35, Newnan, Ga., June 26. During a career as a television news producer, Ms. Taylor developed a reputation as an unflappable leader.
In 1998 Ms. Taylor became a news producer for Atlanta's WSB-TV, where she ran newscasts and special productions for the ABC affiliate. After seven years with WSB, Ms. Taylor served as executive producer at WFTV in Orlando, Fla., before returning to Atlanta in 2007 to work as a producer at CNN.
During her time at WSB she served a term as president of the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists. She is credited with leading the organization with a strong hand during a time of financial insecurity.
Ms. Taylor is survived by her mother, Carolyn, and a sister, Loren.
Lorena McGregor Tinker
Lorena McGregor Tinker (G44), 86, Fayette, Mo., Feb. 28. A psychologist, Ms. Tinker dedicated her life to civil rights and peace activism. In 1964 she participated in "Freedom Summer" in Mississippi.
She helped defend students' right to free speech in the Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District. Her children, the plaintiffs in the case, won the right to protest the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands to school, an act protected as symbolic speech by the ruling.
Ms. Tinker, a Quaker, later served as an election observer in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and she opened her Texas home to refugees.
She is survived by her six children, 13 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and a sister. |
