Paul Bridges Densford

Paul Bridges Densford (McC61), 68, Peoria, Ariz., Nov. 30. Following a move to Arizona from Chicago in 1994, Mr. Densford became the president of the NU Alumni Club of Sun Cities, where he served for more than seven years. His wife, Patricia Elder Densford (Mu60), served as an officer in the alumni club as well.

Mr. Densford spent most of his career as a research scientist at Crown, Cork and Seal packaging company in Chicago, where he helped develop the easy-open, flip-top beverage can.

After retiring in 1994, he traveled extensively, enjoyed many rounds of golf and spent each June fishing and boating in Wisconsin.

He is survived by his wife, his son, Michael, and his brothers, Robert and Jim.

Wilma Dykeman

Wilma Dykeman (C40), 86, Asheville, N.C., Dec. 22. The voice of a region, Ms. Dykeman wrote 18 novels and nonfiction books about Appalachia.

An environmental activist and civil rights advocate, Ms. Dykeman wrote Neither Black nor White, a personal view of integration in the South, with her husband, James R. Stokely. The book won the Sidney Hillman Award as the best book of 1957 on world peace, race relations or civil liberties.

She worked as a Knoxville News Sentinel columnist for 40 years. She served as honorary historian for the state of Tennessee from 1981 to 2002.

Ms. Dykeman is survived by two sons, Dykeman and James, and two grandchildren, including Will Stokely (WCAS10).

Robert Freeark

Robert Freeark (FSM49, 52), 79, Riverside, Ill., Dec. 12. Dr. Freeark, a Chicago physician and educator, served as an early pioneer of trauma care and established one of the first trauma units in the country at Cook County Hospital.

After serving as director of Cook County Hospital in the 1960s, Dr. Freeark went on to serve as chair of surgery at Loyola University Hospital, where he led development of the hospital’s aeromedical program in the 1980s. He also pushed for a regional system of trauma care.

Dr. Freeark also served as a professor of surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine. He received a Northwestern Alumni Association Merit Award in 1980.

Dr. Freeark is survived by his wife, Ruth, daughters Kim and Kristine, a brother, Fredric, and a granddaughter.

Bernard Kleiman

Bernard Kleiman (L54), 78, Pittsburgh, Dec. 13. Mr. Kleiman represented the United Steelworkers for 46 years. He was instrumental in a 1973 agreement that barred strikes in exchange for contract arbitration in an effort to discourage steel imports when union contracts were up for renegotiation. He also played a key role in the 1974 consent decree that brought the steel industry into Civil Rights Act compliance. During his tenure as general counsel, the union won 13 out of 18 cases argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.

He is survived by his wife, Gloria; a daughter, Leslie; a son, David Kleiman (L82); a daughter-in-law, Angela Lai Kleiman (SCS98, KSM05); five stepchildren; a brother, David Kleiman (L59); a sister, Carolyn; three grandchildren; and nine step-grandchildren.

Lola J. May

Lola J. May (SESP50, GSESP65), 83, Evanston, March 13. A pioneer in mathematics education, Ms. May appeared on television, wrote several books and released a video series, Lola May’s Fundamental Math, in her efforts to promote her “new math.”

Ms. May’s engaging teaching style — she was known to dance at the blackboard — endeared her to students at New Trier High School, where she taught until 1960. She consulted at the Winnetka Public Schools until 1998. She also taught methods classes for elementary and secondary mathematics at Northwestern.

She received a Northwestern Alumni Association Merit Award in 1999 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

She is survived by a sister-in-law and two nieces.

Deborah Slotkin Orin-Eilbeck

Deborah Slotkin Orin-Eilbeck (GJ73), 59, New York City, Jan. 28. The Washington, D.C., bureau chief for the New York Post since 1988, Mrs. Orin-Eilbeck covered every presidential campaign since 1980. She was known for her political knowledge and independent thinking. In a statement, President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush noted Mrs. Orin-Eilbeck’s enduring passion for politics and her tenacity in the White House briefing room.

Before beginning at the Post in 1977, she worked for the Chicago Daily Press and the Long Island Press.

Mrs. Orin-Eilbeck also cultivated her interests in gourmet cooking and gardening.

She is survived by her husband, Neville, her father, Aaron, and a brother, Mark. 

Sydney Sheldon

Sidney Sheldon (WCAS38), 89, Los Angeles, Jan. 30. Following an award-winning career as a playwright and screenwriter, Mr. Sheldon (see “The Other Side of Sheldon,” fall 1999) became most famous for his novels about strong women who thrive amidst cold-blooded men.

After serving as a pilot in World War II, Mr. Sheldon worked a Tony Award–winning stint on Broadway. He also won an Academy Award for best original screenplay for The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer in 1947.

Mr. Sheldon then produced the Emmy-winning series I Dream of Jeannie. During the show’s last season he wrote his first novel, The Naked Face, which sold 3.1 million paperback copies. He received a Northwestern Alumni Association Merit Award in 1978.

He is survived by his wife, Alexandra; a daughter, Mary; a brother, Richard; and two grandchildren.

James Stephens

James R. Stephens (G53), 81, Naperville, Ill., Feb. 2. If you cook or drive a car, chances are you’re acquainted with Mr. Stephens’ work. During his more than 30-year career as a chemist with Amoco (formerly Standard Oil of Indiana and now BP), he patented a high-strength plastic, a coating for cookware and wires and thermoplastics used in auto and jet engine parts.

He established 47 U.S. patents throughout the course of his career. Among his other creations was a combination calculator-printer, a predecessor to the personal computer, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Mr. Stephens, a World War II veteran, is survived by his wife, Beatrice; a daughter, Rhea; three sons, Andrew, Paul and James L. Stephens (McC80); a sister, Carol; 10 grandchildren, including Jaimee L. Stephens (WCAS07); and a great-grandchild.