Archive
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Results for "S"
Dorothy Sayers Kramer ’26
Dorothy Sayers Kramer ’26, January 16, 1994, in Newport, Oregon. She was married to Herbert Kramer, who died before her. She lived for many years in Salem, Oregon, moving to Newport in 1992 to be closer to her niece who cared for her.
Bernard R. Sharff ’34
Bernard R. Sharff ’34, April 15, 1994, in Enterprise, Oregon, where he had lived and worked since 1938. He attended the University of Oregon Medical School after graduating from Reed and served his internship and residency at St. Vincent Hospital and Medical Center in Portland. He established a general medical practice in Enterprise in 1938, and in 1939 married his wife, Jean. He retired from practice in 1975. Survivors include his wife, three daughters, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Margaret Grover Swift ’32
Margaret Grover Swift ’32, May 15, 1994, in Newberg, Oregon. She attended Willamette University for one year, transferring to Reed in 1929. She married Herbert B. Swift that same year. Survivors include her husband, a son, two brothers, a sister, two grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Robert Scholz ’40
Robert Scholz ’40, May 15, 1994, in Springfield, Oregon. The son of Reed president Richard Scholz[1921–24] and then dean of women Cheryl MacNaughton Scholz [1925–45], he attended Reed from 1936 to 1939 and later attended Columbia University. He served as a lieutenant in the Navy in World War II. He was branch manager of U.S. Plywood in Sacramento, California and assistant manager of the same company in San Jose. He returned to Oregon in 1967, settling in Eugene. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
Owen S. Stratton ’38
Owen S. (Pete) Stratton ’38, June 7, 1995, in Wellesley, Massachusetts. He received his MA in 1940 in political science and a PhD in 1950 from Stanford University. He worked for the U.S. Bureau of the Budget and the Office of Price Administration, Washington, D.C., and joined the U.S. Navy during World War II, resigning with the rank of lieutenant commander in 1946. He joined the faculty of Wellesley College in 1946, and became professor of political science there in 1958. From 1970 until his retirement in 1976, he held the Ralph Emerson Chair At Wellesley. He wrote widely on American politics, environmental policy, and public administration, and was a consultant to the Department of the Interior, the federal Water Resource Council, and the Public Land Review Commission. His articles have been published in the Progressive, the Western Political Quarterly, the New York Times Magazine, and the New Republic, as well as in numerous government publications. After retirement, he returned to the study of American history and completed projects in the history of the American West. He edited Medicine Man, published in 1989, the memoirs of his father, a medicine show pitchman at the turn of the century who became a respectable country doctor. He is survived by his wife, a niece, and a nephew.
William M. Sutherland ’41
William M. Sutherland ’41, in January 19, 1995, in Roseburg, Oregon. Suds lived in Charleston, Oregon, beginning in 1961, and was a commercial salmon fisherman. In 1977, he was appointed by former governor Bob Straub to represent the commercial fishing industry on a nine-member commission to manage the South Slough Sanctuary at Coos Bay, Oregon. Survivors include a son, a daughter, and a brother, Donald Sutherland ’37.
Janice Cordova Schukart ’43, MAT ’51
Janice Cordova Schukart ’43, MAT ’51, June 4, 1995, in Portland, where she had lived all her life. She taught English in Portland high schools for many years. Survivors include her husband of 49 years, and a sister.
Claudio G. Segre ’57
Claudio G. Segre ’57, of a heart attack while jogging, May 25, 1995, in Berkeley, California. He was professor of modern European history at the University of Texas, Austin, and a distinguished writer, historian, and authority on Italian fascism. He earned a master's degree in English from Stanford University in 1961, a second master's in history from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1963, and a PhD in history from Berkeley in 1970. Before completing his doctorate, he worked as a reporter for United Press International in Los Angeles and the Wall Street Journal in San Francisco. He began teaching at the University of Texas, Austin, in 1970, where he was professor of modern European history. In 1991–92, he was the Charles A. Lindbergh Professor of Air and Space History at the National Air and Space Museum in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He was spending the 1994–95 academic year at the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford at the time of his death. Claudio authored a wide range of books and essays during his career. His 1987 biography, Italo Balbo: A Fascist Life (University of California Press), won the Italian Air Force Historical Association Prize and the Marraro Prize of the Society of Italian Historical Studies. He also wrote a number of essays, books reviews, and humorous pieces for national publications that included the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Runners World. His short stories were published in Midstream, Il Caffe, Easy Life, and A Loving Voice. His last book, Atoms, Bombs, and Eskimo Kisses: A Memoir of Father and Son, about his relationship with his father, Emilio Segre, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, is due for publication in September by Viking. He is survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, and two sisters.
Andrew Seal ’66
Andrew Seal ’66, March 15, 1995, of complications due to AIDS, in San Francisco. He did graduate work in architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and was active in the movement to end the Vietnam War. He was a member of the Bay Area Gay Liberation and was an early participant in KPFA's Fruit Punch radio collective. In the 1980s, became a computer expert and worked at City College and San Francisco State for many years. Survivors include his life partner, his mother, two brothers, and a sister.
Shelley Steinmann List ’51
Shelley Steinman List ’51, of ovarian cancer, May 22, 1996, in New York, New York. She lived in Venice, California and was a television script writer and producer. After graduating from Reed, she earned a master’s degree in English literature from Teachers’ College of Columbia University. She began her career as a theatre reviewer and feature writer for newspapers in Connecticut. In 1972, she published her first novel, Did You Love Daddy When I Was Born? A second novel, Nobody Makes Me Cry, was published in 1975. She moved to California to try her hand at television writing and sold a script which was made into the 1979 movie And Baby Makes Six, an NBC-TV production starring Colleen Dewhurst. Beginning in the ’80s, she and her husband, Jonathan Estrin, worked together to write and produce many television mini-series and situation comedies. From 1986 to 1988, they were supervising producers for Cagney and Lacey, a popular television series about two women police detectives. The couple received the Scott Newman Award at the 1987 Emmy Awards ceremony for a script they wrote for the series that dealt with alcoholism. In 1991, they received the prestigious Writers’ Guild Award for their pilot script for the television series Sisters. She is survived by her husband, two daughters, two brothers, a stepson, and a grandson.
Jenilu Levi Schoolman ’64
Jenilu Levi Schoolman ’64, of cancer, February 24, 1996, in Schenectady, New York. After attending Reed, she transferred to the University of Colorado, where she earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in psychology. She opened a private practice in Schenectady, where she counseled individuals, couples, and children, and developed a specialty in therapy for people with life-threatening illnesses. She served as a psychologist for a demonstration program that worked with neglected and abandoned children and developed intake evaluation procedures for the project. She served on the Governor’s Commission on Children and Youth and the Mental Health Advisory Panel to the governor. She was a consultant to the Ferrano Center for HIV Positive Infants and Children with AIDS, and for Hospice of Schenectady, Saratoga, and Montgomery Counties. In 1988, she received the Rozendaal Award from Hospice of Schenectady. Survivors include her mother and two brothers.
Philip G. Schermer ’65
Phillip Schermer ’65, March 16, 1997, in Kirkland, Washington, of lung cancer. He was the producing director of A Contemporary Theatre and a leader in the Seattle arts community for many years. He earned a master’s degree in drama from the University of Washington in 1968, and was hired to manage the school’s scene shop, a job he held for seven years. He married Shelley Henze, a set designer, in 1972. While at the University of Washington, he began creating lighting and scenic designs for the newly founded ACT, and in 1975 he became the company’s technical director. He also served as production manager before being named producing director in 1989. Under his leadership, ACT first remodeled and expanded the theatre’s existing space, and then made the decision to move to a new location in downtown Seattle. The reconstruction of the facility at Kreielsheimer Place was completed last fall, and the board of directors honored his contributions to the project by naming an eighth floor addition to the theatre the Phil Schermer Theatre Shops. He continued to oversee the work of the theatre and its opening shows until just weeks before his death. He was known for being a master of many trades within and beyond the world of theatre, and he worked in nearly every capacity at ACT, from helping to install the theatre’s plumbing to planting and tending the flower gardens. He is survived by his wife; his mother; two sisters; and a brother.
Patricia Sherry Schiewe ’43
Patricia Sherry Schiewe ’43, April 11, 1997, in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from Reed, and at the encouragement of a Reed counselor, Patricia attended the University of Oregon Medical School (now Oregon Health Sciences University). She received a degree in 1946 and interned and served her residency at Emanuel Hospital. While attending the school, she met and married Paul Schiewe. In 1950–53, she was a ward physician at the Fort Harrison Veterans Hospital in Helena, Montana. With the birth of her two daughters, she left her position, and the family moved to Astoria, Oregon, where her husband established a practice. After his death in 1958, she moved to Portland and began working at the outpatient clinic of the Veterans Administration regional office. The only woman physician on the staff, she was named Federal Woman of the Year in 1966 for her work with the Veterans Administration, and she was appointed clinic director in 1969. She was also active in Girl Scouts and the alumni associations of both Reed and the medical school. Survivors include her two daughters, a sister, and two grandchildren.
Grace Sawyer Bartlett ’32
Grace Sawyer Bartlett ’32, February 9, 1999, in La Grande, Oregon. She was a longtime resident of Joseph, Oregon, and a well known and respected historian of Wallowa County. She attended Reed for three years and then returned to her hometown of Bend, Oregon, where she married. They moved to Wallowa County and she developed an interest in the history of the region. She worked on many historical projects with the official historian of the area, Harley Horner, and coauthored several articles and pamphlets with him. Following a divorce from her first husband, she married Harry Bartlett, a member of the Nez Perce tribe, and the couple bred and raced thoroughbred horses throughout the West. She helped to organize the Wallowa County Museum and served as its volunteer curator until 1995. Her historical research focused on the early settlers of the region, the Nez Perce, and Chief Joseph. Her books included The Wallowa County, 1867–1877, and From the Wallowa, a collection of stories published in 1992. Survivors include a daughter and son by her first marriage; a stepson by her second marriage; seven grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and 1 great-grandchild.
George W. Schwartz ’32
George Schwartz ’32, April 29, 1999, in Portland. After attending Reed for two years, he graduated from Stanford University. He served in the U.S. Navy in World War II and then returned to Portland, where he became a certified public accountant. He was a partner in his accounting firm until his retirement in 1968. He is survived by his wife; a son; a sister; and two grandchildren.
Richard E. Skinner ’55
Richard Skinner ’55, of cancer, March 22, 1999, in Portland. He earned a master’s degree in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1957. He was employed with Parzen Research, Inc., in Westbury, New York, where he was chief engineer and vice president of the company. He returned to Portland in the early 1970s, where he was a consulting engineer and real estate broker. In 1973, he established his own real estate brokerage firm, Top Priority Realty, and also operated R.E. Skinner and Associates, Consulting Engineers, and WSW Construction. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Survivors include his wife, Dorothy Leavitt Skinner ’55, two sons, and two grandchildren.
Estelle Director Sholkoff ’31
Estelle Director Sholkoff ’31, March 4, 2000, in Portland. She attended Reed for one year and then transferred to the University of Washington, where she earned her undergraduate degree. In 1937, she earned a master’s in education from the University of Oregon. She and her husband owned and operated the Portland Outdoor Store from the early 1930s until the 1980s. She taught school in Portland from 1951-61, and was a religious school teacher for Temple Beth Israel in 1947–76. In 1961–66, she was director of religious education at the temple. She served on the board of the Jewish Community Center in 1953–57, and was on the boards of Hadassah and the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods. She was the author of a 75th anniversary yearbook for Portland’s Council of Jewish Women and edited two cookbooks. Her other interests included flower arranging, swimming, dancing, and handicrafts. Survivors include a son, two sisters, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1986, and her daughter in 1998.
Ernestine Copeland Johnson Smith ’41
Ernestine Johnson Smith ’41, January 25, 2000, in Maryland, of complications due to Alzheimer’s Disease.
Margaret Spliid Gearin ’42
Margaret Spliid Gearin ’42, December 5, 2001, in Hillsboro, Oregon. She attended Reed for one year. In 1941, she married John Gearin, and they had two children. She later worked as an interview specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau for about 15 years, retiring in 1983. Survivors include two sons, a brother, and six grandchildren.
Laurel V. Karg Schaubert ’44
Laurel Karg Schaubert ’44, of a stroke following kidney surgery, December 14, 1999, in Dixon, California. After attending Reed for two years, she left to marry a Navy pilot, and during World War II she worked as a medical secretary and for the Red Cross. In 1952, she began studying medical illustration at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. She completed the two year course in 1955, and then joined the staff as an illustrator for the experimental surgery department at the University. She was senior medical illustrator with that department for 16 years, during which time she also taught medical illustration and did freelance work. In 1969, with the encouragement of her second husband, she left the university to start her own medical illustration business. In 1979, she cofounded Biomed Arts Associates, in Dixon, California, with a photographer and a cinematographer. The company provided medical audiovisual support to medicine and science in all media formats. During her career, she illustrated a number of scientific books and journal articles, and she provided illustrations for exhibits, oral presentations, and for courtroom use. She was active in the Association of Medical Illustrators, serving as president in 1976–77 and starting the organization’s Journal of Biocommunication in 1974. Survivors include a daughter from her first marriage. A second daughter was killed in a car accident in 1979.
James M. Setterberg ’37
James Setterberg ’37, February 18, 2002, in Portland. After graduating from Reed, he worked as a lab assistant at a Portland woodworking company for one year before being laid off due to a recession. He attended Northwestern School of Commerce for a year, and in 1940 obtained a job with the city of Portland as a cost clerk in the department of public works. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps during World War II, where he received training in meteorology and spent his active duty with the corps weather service. After serving for four years, he returned to Portland and resumed his employment with the city of Portland. He remained with the city for 35 years in increasingly responsible accounting positions, retiring as city budget officer in 1975. He married Esther Lenon ’42 in 1942, and they had three children. In retirement, they enjoyed traveling throughout the Western United States and abroad. He was also an avid photographer. Survivors include his wife; two sons; a daughter; brothers Harry Setterberg ’39 and Gordon Setterberg ’42; five grandchildren, and numerous extended family members.
Mary Ann Hinckley Seymour ’30
Mary Ann Hinckley Seymour ’30, March 23, 2002, in San Francisco. She taught school in Oregon for a year and then worked in the business office. In 1933, she married Keith Seymour, who was a chemistry professor at Reed at the time [1933–37]. Between 1937 and 1947 they lived in several parts of the United States, including Montana, Illinois, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. After World War II, Keith took a teaching position at Butler College in Indianapolis. Mary returned to teaching while her children were still quite young, earning the necessary credentials for licensing, and worked with gifted students in Indianapolis Schools for 14 years. In 1965, she earned a master’s degree in history from Butler College. After retiring, the couple stayed in Indianapolis until 1976, when they moved to San Francisco. In retirement, they enjoyed travel, church functions, and the study of genealogy, and Mary also pursued her hobby of sewing and needlework. Keith died in 1993.
Manuel Schnitzer ’28
Manuel Schnitzer ’28, March 27, 2003, in Portland. Manuel attended Reed for three years and completed his bachelor’s degree in 1929 at the University of Oregon. He studied law for a year, then went to work for his family’s metal-recycling business, Alaska Junk. Manuel was president of the company for 40 years, and helped to expand the business, which became Alaska Steel and later Schnitzer Steel Industries in the early ’70s, at the time of his retirement. Manuel was said to have been respectful and friendly, a man devoted to his family as well as to his business and to his golf game. His marriage in 1936 to Edith Rothstein, who predeceased him, lasted 61 years. He is survived by their two daughters, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren, and his three brothers and two sisters.
Robert P. Saltman ’75
Robert P. Saltman ’75, March 1, 2003, in Florence, Oregon. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Reed, Robert attended the University of California, San Diego, and completed a PhD. He worked as a research director for E.I. Dupont & Company in California and for Guidant Corporation, and was a consultant for NASA. In 1983, he married Marina Adamich. Survivors include his wife, his parents, and three sisters.
Shana Christine Strode ’06
Shana Strode ’06, March 24, 2003, at home in Texas while on leave from the college.
Anna Skinkle Allen ’24
Anna Skinkle Allen ’24, October 1984, in El Paso, Texas. Anna earned a bachelor’s degree from Reed in chemistry. She received an MD from Johns Hopkins University in 1929, and lived primarily in Texas.
Nancy Snortum Culbertson ’39
Nancy Snortum Culberston ’39, July 28, 2003, in Red Bluff, California. Nancy attended Reed for a year, and earned a BA from Occidental College in 1939. She married C.F. Culberston Jr. in 1947, and they had two sons. She was a kindergarten teacher from 1966 to 1978. An edition of her poetry, Earthward, was published in 1976, and she was editor of the poetry column for the Red Bluff Daily News.
Lois Beatrice Sisson Hutchinson ’33
Lois Beatrice Sisson Hutchinson ’33, March 4, 2004, in Salem. Lois graduated from Reed with a BA in biology, focused on botany. She then trained in medical technology at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland, achieving certification as a medical technologist, American Society of Clinical Pathologists. She worked at Good Samaritan until 1936 when she became a technician and instructor at North Pacific College of Dentistry (University of Oregon School of Dentistry), and taught general histology and pathology, leaving as an assistant professor in 1949. In that same year she married Harold R.B. Hutchinson, and they had three children. The couple spent a year in Boston, where Harold was a resident in pediatric dentistry, and Lois worked as an aide and secretary in the department of nutrition at the Forsyth Dental Infirmary. After returning to Portland, she worked part time as a school secretary and as secretary for the Salem Unitarian Church until 1972 and was medical technologist for the Marion County Public Health Department, working weekly even after retirement in 1994. She is survived by her husband, two sons, and daughter. Her son, Thomas Hutchinson ’70, attended Reed, as did her brother, Merrell A. Sisson ’31.
Grover Sales ’50
Grover Sales Jr. ’50, February 14, 2004, in Tiburon, California, following a short illness. During World War II, Grover served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in the China-Burma-India theatre. While enlisted, he made preparations to enter college without the benefit of a high school diploma, and was later accepted at Reed, where he studied for two years with a focus on humanities. His marriage to Enid Thompson ’44, with whom he had one child, ended in divorce. He graduated from UC Berkeley, Phi Beta Kappa, with a BA in history. Smitten by jazz music as a boy,Groverfound his passion led him to a career focused on music, and enhanced by photography, teaching, and writing. He sold pianos and worked in motion picture advertising. His public relations agency specialized in the arts, and he handled a range of talents for 13 years, from the Monterey Jazz Festival to the Bolshoi Ballet, and from individual artists such as Duke Ellington to Woody Allen. From 1964 to 1967 he worked as theatre and film editor for the San Francisco Magazine. His work expanded to criticism of film, theatre, and jazz, as well as book reviews, for television, newspapers, and magazines, including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times, the Saturday Review, and the Tiburon Ark. In the ’60s, Sales hosted a weekly "World of Duke Ellington" radio program, and was a guest on national and regional television and radio programs. He produced and supported the Chevron School Broadcasts, for which he won a Peabody Award; Third Stream Concerts, introducing little-known musicians in the Bay Area; and ragtime and jazz festivals. Beginning in 1970, he taught University of California extension classes on the history of jazz and American comedy, and lectured widely on jazz, film, theatre, and comedy. His lectures were presented at schools and libraries, including San Francisco State University, the Jazz School of Berkeley, and the Belevedere Tiburon library. He married architect Georgia MacLeod in 1971, and they published The Claypot Cookbook. His other published books include John Maher of Delancey Street, and Jazz: America’s Classical Music.Grover's play Mencken Lives! was performed at Stanford, where he was an instructor in jazz studies. Other plays include The Trial of Lenny Bruce: A First Amendment Comedy and The King of Schnorrers. He also taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Groverwas active in his community, and his successful offensive against gas-powered leaf blowers received national attention. His liner notes for recordings included those for the film, Amadeus, for which he received a Grammy Award nomination. Groverwas a "lucid, literate, and opinionated man," full of energy, and with a gift for language. Survivors include his wife, his daughter, two stepsons, two grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Ednalois Maxon Saunders ’27
Ednalois Maxon Saunders ’27, April 8, 2003, in Portland. Eddie Lo earned a BA in biology from Reed. Following graduation she took a course at Emmanuel Hospital in Portland, and worked as a clinical laboratory technician. In 1930 she attended the University of Oregon to complete her education credentials, and became a math and science teacher. In 1935 she married Caroll W. Saunders, and they moved to Fossil, Oregon, where they opened a pharmacy. After World War II, the couple sold the pharmacy, and built another in The Dalles, Oregon. While her son and daughter were young,Eddie Loworked as a substitute teacher, and then taught full time, retiring in 1968 as head of the math department at The Dalles Junior High School. The couple sold their pharmacy at the same time, and embarked on a traveling retirement, with winters in Mexico.Caroll died in 1981.
Carl Alfred Schroeder ’24
Carl Alfred Schroeder ’24, February 1983, in California. Carl received his bachelor’s degree in general literature from Reed. His career was as a baker; he was married and lived in California.
Edith Schnitzer Goodman ’35
Edith Schnitzer Goodman ’35, February 12, 2005, in Portland. Edith attended Reed for three years, earning her bachelor's degree from the University of Washington; she also did graduate work at Columbia University. In 1939, she married Morton J. Goodman; they had three children. Edith was a fine classical pianist, an avid reader, and an excellent cook, who faced adversity without complaint and engaged others with her warm heart. She served on the board of the Jewish Family and Child Services, the Child Welfare Advisory Committee of Multnomah County, and was president of the P.T.A. for Lincoln High School in Portland. Survivors include two sons and a daughter, four grandchildren, two brothers, and her sister, Mollie Schnitzer Levin ’35. Brothers Manual Schnitzer ’28 and Leonard Schnitzer ’46 also attended Reed. Her husband died in 2002.
Helen Elaine Spradling Olschowka ’45
Helen Elaine Spradling Olschowka ’45, April 29, 2005, in East Gridley, California, following a short illness. Helen received a bachelor's degree from Reed in mathematics, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and earned an MA in mathematics, and a secondary teaching credential, from UC Berkeley in 1946. She taught school in Fort Bragg before moving to Gridley, where she met and married Alfred Olschowka. They had two sons. Helen taught mathematics in the local high school, and transitioned to school counseling. She was instrumental in the formation of Butte Community College in 1969, part of the original staff and faculty, and first to be granted professor emeritus status when she retired in 1989. She taught mathematics, and her counseling position grew to be that of coordinator of counseling and advising for the college. Olschowka was involved with the Gridley Friends of the Library, the A.A.U.W., and the Butte County Retired Teachers Association. She received the lifetime achievement award from the Gridley Chamber of Commerce in 1993. She was also active in parish work for Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Survivors include her sons, four grandchildren, and a sister. Her husband died in 1994.
Carolyn Frances Savinar Selling ’44
Carolyn Frances Savinar Selling ’44, May 4, 2005, in Portland. Carolyn attended Reed for three years, and earned a BA in social welfare from UC Berkeley in 1944. She married John L. Selling ’37 in 1945; they had three children, and later divorced. Carolyn completed a master’s in social work from Portland State University in 1965. She worked as executive director of Social Work Careers in Oregon, and as program consultant and field instructor at Albertina Kerr Homes for nearly 25 years, retiring in 1989. She was also on the board of directors for Albertina Kerr Centers and Planned Parenthood, was a member of the Citizens Review Board, Oregon chapter president of the National Association of Social Work, and a board member of the Reed alumni association. Survivors include her daughter and sons, and two grandchildren.
Darlene Ellen Heath Sherrick-Durussel ’61
Darlene Ellen Heath Sherrick-Durussel ’61, March 23, 2005, in Seattle, Washington. Darleneattended Reed for one year, and received an MA in architectural history from the University of Washington in 1970. For 30 years, she taught at Shoreline High School in Shoreline, Washington, after which she became union president of the Shoreline Education Association and worked for teacher rights. She was part owner of European Vine Selections in Seattle, and used her skill with wine to enhance cooking and entertaining. Darleneenjoyed architecture, art, gardening, and had a love for animals. She was said to be a great friend and an inspiring and challenging teacher. Survivors include her husband, Robert E. Durussel, with whom she traveled worldwide.
John F. Siegrist ’51
John F. Siegrist ’51, October 1, 1990. John received a BA from Reed in biology.
Richard S. Spirtes ’68
Richard S. Spirtes ’68, March 21, 2005, in his home in Seattle, Washington. Richard attended Reed, but did not graduate, later earning an MS in mathematics from the University of Washington. He worked in the computer industry, and volunteered for the Labor Party and Washington State Jobs with Justice. He enjoyed hiking and camping. Survivors include his sister and brother.
Donald W. Stewart ’44
Donald W. Stewart ’44, December 13, 2004, in Oakland, California, from cancer. Donaldattended Reed for a year in the U.S. Army-Air Force premeteorology program, and was an air force B-29 navigator in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. In 1949, he earned a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley, and then a JD in 1951 from the UC Boalt School of Law. He was recalled to serve in the Korean War as a B-26 navigator and bombardier. He also served 17 years in the Air National Guard, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. For 26 years, Stewart was assistant council for the Union Oil Company in San Francisco. In retirement he worked on legislative matters for major oil companies and provided pro bono counsel. He enjoyed hiking in the Sierras, was a librarian for the Society of Mayflower Descendents, and a 50-year member of the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley. He also enjoyed travel, and took “genealogical root trips” in the U.S., Western Europe, and Russia. Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Nancy Haven Stewart; two daughters; one son; four grandchildren; two brothers; and two sisters.
Jean Frances Larrabee Sutherland ’40
Jean Frances Larrabee Sutherland ’40, June 6, 2004, in California. Jean transferred to Reed, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science. She married William M. Sutherland ’41; they had two children, and later divorced. In 1956, she received her teaching certificate from San Jose State, and taught at the Elizabeth Van Auken School, and the Lucille Nixon Elementary School in Palo Alto. Her parents, Mary Brownlie Larrabee ’16 and Charles F. Larrabee ’17, and cousin Edward M. Larrabee ’55, also graduated from Reed.
Donald Howard Simonsen ’43
Donald Howard Simonsen ’43, September 27, 2004. Donald received a BA from Reed, an MA from Oregon State University, and a PhD from Indiana University in chemistry. He married Norma Sims; they had two sons and two daughters, including Susan B. Simonsen ’71.Donald was a research scientist at Upjohn from 1952 to 1956, and joined the chemistry faculty at California State University–Long Beach in 1956. He served as chair of the physical sciences and mathematics department (1960–61), and was appointed associate dean of instruction (1966), academic vice president (1967), and acting university president (1969). Donald's tenure in administration was remembered for many things, including his successful response to an escalating student protest: requesting that the campus sprinklers be turned on, rather than disburse the crowd with force. He was appointed emeritus professor at the time of his retirement in 1980. In retirement, he divided his time between Long Beach, California, and Seaside, Oregon.
James Arthur Seagraves ’51
James Arthur Seagraves ’51, February 25, 2006, from cancer, in Oregon. Jim received a BA from Reed in economics. He did graduate work in economics at Iowa State University, earning an MA in 1952 and a PhD in 1956. During the Korean War, he served with the U.S. Army. He was an agricultural economist at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, retiring as professor emeritus after 30 years. While at the university, he worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Central and South America. In 1989, he moved to Oregon City. Jim enjoyed English country dancing and the waltz; was on the board of the Clackamas County Library; and was a member of the Portland chapter of the Jane Austen Society. Survivors include two sons, including Hal L. Seagraves ’79; three daughters, including Caren L. Seagraves ’89; six grandchildren; and four brothers.
Kathrine (Kay) McCullough Story French, Friend
Kathrine McCullough Story French, June 13, 2006, of pneumonia, in Portland. Kay received a BA in philosophy and anthropology from Pomona College in 1942, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. She earned a PhD in anthropology from Columbia University in 1955, with the dissertation “Cultural Segments and Variation in Contemporary Social Ceremonialism on the Warm Springs Reservation.” In 1943, she married David French ’39[anthropology 1947–88]. The two were, in her words, colleagues, partners, and friends for life. She began her affiliation with Reed in 1947, when David joined the faculty in sociology and anthropology. The couple undertook the first of their exploratory trips to the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in 1949, and initiated summer fieldwork in 1951. Reed alumni who assisted them include Yvonne Phillips Hajda '55, Ed Harper '51, Dell Hymes '50, Gail Kelly '55, and Michael Mahar '53.In the mid-1980s, Kay collaborated with Hajda in the study of continuity and change in ritual practices at Warm Springs. From 1959 to 1980, Kay worked at Oregon Health & Science University, where she planned and directed research on cultural and socioeconomic aspects of health care, lectured to and supervised students in the nursing and the medical schools, and served as associate professor of anthropology in the pediatrics department. She was an expert consultant on public policy issues of mental retardation, gerontology, reading disabilities, and the nature of the hospital as a social environment. Beginning in 1981, she was adjunct professor of anthropology at Reed, and, during the last 15 years, she was consulting ethnographer with Archaeological Investigations Northwest. Kay was also a connoisseur of post-war and Pacific Northwest art. David died in 1994. Her colleagues and friends, Robert Brightman '73, John Huss, Rob Moore, and Michael Silverstein, provided details for this memorial.
Virginia Shook Cordner ’31
Virginia Shook Cordner ’31, February 6, 2007, in California. Virginia attended Reed one year before taking a position with the Oregon Journal newspaper. Her copywriting career began at the Meier & Frank Company in Portland. She worked for the May Company in Los Angeles; wrote a fashion column in the San Francisco News; and for the Women’s Wear Daily in New York, she covered opera, Broadway opening nights, and Madison Square Garden shows. Virginia worked for Lord & Taylor, and then moved on to ad agencies, such as Foote, Cone, Belding and Compton. She was one of nine women in a Printers Ink listing of 100 top copywriters. Virginia, who gave her vital statistics as “twice divorced and thrice widowed,” spent 16 years in Europe, including in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Malta, and France, and retired in Laguna Niguel by the Pacific Ocean.
Anthony L. Smith ’56
Anthony L. Smith ’56, April 15, 2007, in Lakeview, Oregon. Anthony earned a BA from Reed in philosophy and literature. For 30 years, he was a timber planner with the Deschutes National Forest. He credited his Hum 110 experience as being a source for skills in communication that made his career in the forestry service a success. “Clear thinking, creative insight, and analysis are transferable to many kinds of problems,“ he wrote in 1989. Survivors include his wife, Ariel; a son and daughter; two grandchildren; and his cousin, Volney Gay ’70.
Gerald Bruno Selzer ’65
Gerald Bruno Selzer ’65, February 19, 2007, in Potomac, Maryland. Bruno received a BA from Reed in chemistry and a PhD from the University of Oregon in biology in 1972. He studied and worked in the molecular biology department at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. In Geneva, he met Catherine Lewis; they married, and later settled in Bethesda, Maryland. Bruno was a research scientist for NIH; and a program director, molecular biologist, and senior project officer for the National Science Foundation. Survivors include his wife, daughter, son, and mother; his sister, Fern Selzer ’69; and his brother.
Esta Dorothy Miller Smith ’25
Esta Dorothy Miller Smith ’25, who died April 1, 1986, in Portland, received a BA from Reed in history, and lived, at one time, in Norwich (Norfolk), England. The 1925 Griffin notes that Esta came to Reed in her junior year, called The Dalles home, and wrote a thesis on Roman imperialism. “Because she likes ancient history is no sign that she is at all antiquated, though. You ought to see her guard in basketball.”
Henry Harlow Skinner Jr. ’42
Henry Harlow Skinner Jr. ’42, January 17, 2009, in Yakima, Washington. Hal attended Reed for two years before transferring to Amherst, where he earned a BA in biology. He remembered Reed as a community that placed value on an honor principle, on independent thought and expression, and also allowed for some fun. After earning an MD from Case Western Reserve University and completing an internship in general surgery, he served in the U.S. Army for two years. For 23 years, he practiced as a general surgeon in Yakima. When medical malpractice insurance rates soared, he left private practice to be a medical consultant for the Washington State Department of Labor and Industry in Olympia and a surgeon and medical adviser at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla (1976-87). He chaired the clinical program for the Washington State Medical Association, was a member of the Yakima Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce, and enjoyed hunting, fishing, “puttering,” and proofreading. Hal married Mary Kathleen Rivera in 1968; she died in March. Survivors include his two daughters, five grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and sister.
Charlotte Blake Sykes ’43
Charlotte Blake Sykes ’43, February 1, 2009, in Paradise, California. Charlotte arrived at Reed for her sophomore year, and received a BA in psychology before enlisting in the Women's Army Corps. She completed two years of service, and then enrolled at Santa Barbara State, studying for graduate school entrance examinations. Rather than continue her education, she chose to marry Donald Sykes in 1947; they were together until his death in 2005. Charlotte cared for their three children and also provided extended care for three elderly family members. She tutored elementary school children, and enjoyed sewing and baking. In 1989, Charlotte and Donald moved to Paradise, where Charlotte reveled in the scenic beauty of the area. Survivors include two daughters and a son; seven grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and her sister, Frances Blake Howard '46.
Nancy Fitzgerald Stack ’49
Nancy Fitzgerald Stack ’49, March 2, 2009, in Portland, following a longterm illness. Nancy came to Reed from LaGrande, Oregon, and studied at the college for a year before attending Eastern Oregon College. She earned a BA from Washington State College in hotel management, worked in restaurant management for the Stouffer organization, and then returned to LaGrande to operate her grandparents' establishment, the historic Sacajawea Hotel. In 1957, she married Thomas J. Stack; the couple moved to Portland for his medical practice. Nancy's primary focus was her family, which included five children and six grandchildren, who survive her. Her husband died in 2006.
Russell Jackson Schulz ’50
Russell Jackson Schulz ’50, October 14, 2008, in Portland. Jack attended Reed for five years, with a focus on sociology and psychology, and transferred to another institution when funds from the G.I. Bill expired. He was a caseworker for welfare, veteran, and detox programs in Multnomah Country. In 1956, he married Lilli Reschke; they had two daughters and a son.
Julie Saunders ’67
Julie Saunders ’67, March 8, 2009, in Seattle, Washington, from complications of dementia. Julie attended Reed for two years and then transferred to San Francisco State University. She received a Master of Library Science degree and spent most of her career as head of the periodicals department at the SFSU library, a position she retired from after being diagnosed with dementia in 2005. Her Reed friends may recall Julie's quick wit, sweet nature, and readiness to laugh at the absurdities of life. Reed roommate Amelia Rosamond Hard ’67, who provided the details for this memorial, visited Julie several times in Seattle after she returned to live with her family, and writes that “Julie's sprightly personality continued to shine through her dementia; in fact, as the disease forced her to live more and more in the moment, she took ever more pleasure in observing and commenting on the world around her. Almost everything she saw was fascinating and delightful to her.” Julie eventually moved into a group home as her disease progressed. In late February, she refused nourishment of any kind and died peacefully a couple of weeks later. Survivors include her sister.
Richard S. Sanders MALS ’70
Richard S. Sanders MALS ’70, February 9, 2009, in Portland. Dick received his BA in English from PSU, and was an editor, writer, and consultant. In Oregon in the ’50s and early '60s, he taught high school English, journalism, and speech. He refused to sign the loyalty oath required of Oregon teachers during the McCarthy era, and moved to California in 1965 to become acting chief of public affairs for the California social welfare department, and executive secretary of the state social welfare board. He wrote speeches for California governor Pat Brown and coauthored and edited a popular Harper & Row language arts series, New Directions in English. He revised his MALS thesis to serve as the teacher's introduction to the series. In 1977, he returned to Oregon to be speechwriter for Governor Robert Straub. During the last three years of his life, Dick researched and wrote the book Portland State: A History in Pictures, which was published by the Retirement Association of Portland State in April. In his public obituary is this thought: “His professional life reflected his respect for the power and beauty of words.” Survivors include four children, and five grandchildren.
Rosalind Sprague Hickenbottom ’61
Rosalind Sprague Hickenbottom ’61, September 6, 2007, in Ohio. R.S. received a BA from Reed in biology. In 1963, she earned an MA from Mt. Holyoke in cellular and developmental biology, and in 1970, received a PhD from Emory University in pharmacology and pathology. R.S. had a postdoctoral fellowship in pediatrics at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, and worked with the Child Development Center, also in Memphis. 1n 1979, she accepted a position as assistant professor in physical therapy at SUNY–Buffalo, and was later a tenured assistant professor in physical therapy at Ohio University. She married John P. Hickenbottom ’59 in 1968; he died in 1995.
Charlotte Fox Opler Sagoff MA ’40
Charlotte Fox Opler Sagoff MA ’40, April 23, 2007, in Massachusetts. Charlotte received a BA from Hunter College of the City University of New York in 1934.
Nomi Hendricksen Smith ’43
Nomi Hendricksen Smith ’43, August 7, 2007, in Tucson, Arizona. Nomi attended Reed, but did not graduate. She married David Smith ’46; they had a son and daughter.
Janet Kathleen Spurlock Wright ’64
Janet Kathleen Spurlock Wright ’64, March 7, 2007, in Portland. Janet attended Reed for three years, and earned a BA from Portland State University in history. In 1968, she received an MLS from the University of Oregon, and in 1979, an MFA from Idaho State. For 16 years, she was an art and humanities librarian at Portland State University. In 1972, she married Arthur E. Wright. Survivors include her husband and daughter; a stepdaughter and stepson; a grandchild; and her mother, sister, and brother. One daughter predeceased her.
Sally C. Smithson Yeo MAT ’66
Sally C. Smithson Yeo MAT ’66, March 2, 2008, in Anacortes, Washington. Sally earned a BA from Lewis & Clark College in 1964. She taught public school K-12 courses and also taught at a community college. In 1999, she moved to Anacortes, where she worked as a technical writer in computing, and enjoyed painting, gardening, bird watching, and attending art festivals with her life partner, Virginia Foley. Survivors include her partner, two daughters and a son, and one granddaughter.
Eugene Edmund Snyder ’41
Eugene Edmund Snyder ’41, July 15, 2010, in Portland. Only child of Edmund I. Snyder and renowned artist Amanda Tester Snyder, Eugene grew up in Portland, surrounded by books and art. Over the years, his fascination with language and picturesque phraseology led to a distinctive writing style that was precise, eloquent, and humorous. He edited the newspaper at Washington High School and was the school correspondent for the Oregon Journal—which paid him $3 a week. Following a stint as copyboy at the Oregonian, Eugene enrolled at Reed, where he thrived in his role as editor of the Griffin and wrote a political science thesis on the press and the presidential election of 1940. He left Reed intent on a career in writing, but the attack on Pearl Harbor altered his plans. He served three years in the U.S. Navy as a communications officer. After the war, he studied French at Laval University in Quebec, then moved to New York City to write for Business Week. He returned to academia to earn advanced degrees in economics from UC Berkeley and Oxford University, and taught economics at the University of British Columbia, Linfield College, and Portland State University. While lunching in Portland's north park blocks one day, he discovered a plaque dedicated to the “great plank road.” Curiosity drove him to investigate. Subsequent research during evenings and weekends over the course of three years led him to write Early Portland: Stump-Town Triumphant, the first of more than a dozen books on Oregon history. Eugene also wrote about his travels in Mexico and Europe and about art—that of his mother, whose work he curated, and that of his uncle, artist Jefferson Tester. He also ventured into detective and mystery writing—a nod to his “childhood friend” Sherlock Holmes. For two years he successfully ran The News Critic: Oregon's Fortnightly Review of Art, Science, and Political Economy—a “David,” he said, to Portland's newspaper “Goliaths.” His creativity knew no bounds—he once designed and constructed a mountaineering board game, “Peak.” Eugene was an accomplished illustrator, photographer, and artist whose creativity and scholarly work served as companions to the end of his life.
Franklin Robert Scott ’47
Franklin Robert Scott ’47, May 10, 2010, in Walnut Creek, California. Robert earned a BA from Reed and an MA and a PhD from Indiana University in physics. He worked as a program manager for the Electric Power Research Institute and as a private consultant, retiring in 1994. He and his wife, Christine, had two daughters and a son.
Robert Ian Scott ’53
Robert Scott ’53 (right) in the old Reed coffee shop in 1953 with fellow Janus editors D. Marcus Beach ’54 and Marly Scholte ’54
Robert Ian Scott ’53, July 23, 2010, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, of complications from Parkinson's disease. A native of Berkeley, California, Rob earned a BA from Reed in literature and served as editor of the literary magazine Janus. In his senior year, he applied for a Fulbright grant to study in Australia. Notice of acceptance came after he completed an MA in English at Claremont McKenna College. By then, Rob and Karen V. Lund ’55 were married, and their first child—Dana G. Scott ’79—had been born. The three spent two years in Australia, first in Canberra, where Rob studied with Australia's leading advocate for the inclusion of Australian literature as an academic study and with Australia's leading male poet, A.D. Hope, and then in Perth, where Rob was a lecturer at the free University of Western Australia. Rob hoped to enter the PhD program at UC Berkeley upon his return to the U.S., but arrived one day too late to be accepted. Instead, he completed a doctorate at the University of Buffalo [SUNY] in New York, where he taught full time for nine years. His personal opposition to the Vietnam War prevented his advancement in academia, however, so Rob and Karen and their two young sons moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to pursue what he hoped would be a less politically compromised career. The provincial government of Saskatchewan pioneered universal health care in 1962—a social benefit that proved to be of special value in his family's life, and especially so for Rob, whose health began to fail by the time he retired from the University of Saskatchewan in 1997. Skilled in English, linguistics, and semantics, Rob helped write The Writer's Self Starter: A Transformational Rhetoric, the basis for Saskatchewan's curriculum program for grades 7-9. He used his own innovative text for three of his courses, The Specific Writer, for tersely organized English; Words and the World, for semantics; and The Experimental Linguist, for English structural linguistics as an experimental science with practical applications. “Rob's interests were varied and many of them were nurtured while a student at Reed, not only by the proximity of mountainous country and fellow astronomy enthusiasts, but also by the encouragement Reed offered to independent young minds,” Karen wrote. Rob also demonstrated his breadth of interest in his published work, such as “Entropy vs. Ecology in The Great Gatsby” and a series of poems patterned on Christian Morgenstern's Galgenlieder (Gallows Songs), which Rob dubbed The Mangliad. Said Karen: “He was always grateful for the Reed experience and stayed in touch with classmates Sydney Shoemaker ’53, his first roommate; Robert Lockhart ’53 and his wife, Ruthie Beadle Lockhart ’54; Dan Fletcher ’52; Charles Fosterling ’53 and Jesalee Keffeler Fosterling ’53; Gary Snyder ’51; and William Dickey ’51. Many others were fondly remembered.” He is survived by Karen and two sons. His second son, Ian, predeceased him. “Rob was a kind and decent man who will be lovingly remembered by those whose lives he touched.” We are greatly indebted to Karen for all that she shared for this memorial.
Darryl Irene Johnson Stark ’50
Darryl Irene Johnson Stark ’50, May 22, 2011, in Seattle, Washington. Darryl grew up in Nebraska and served in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II as a medical technician. With the GI Bill, she came to Reed, where she developed a love of literature and earned a BA in biology. She also met Benjamin G. Stark ’53 at the college. The couple celebrated 60 years of marriage in 2010. Darryl relished trips to Pacific Coast, especially to LaPush, Washington, and was a member of the Saltwater Unitarian Church. Survivors include Ben, two daughters and two sons, and three grandchildren.
Jean Besley Scott ’51
Jean Besley Scott ’51, July 18, 2011, in Portland. Jean, or Scottie, as she was known at Reed, began her education at the University of Oregon, but felt the school was too impersonal. She moved to Portland, where she lived with a maternal aunt and worked for State Farm Insurance and Albertina Kerr to earn money for tuition. During that time, she met Fred White ’50, who suggested she investigate Reed, where she found both academic challenge and the comfort of a smaller community. “The wonderful thing about Reed was that everybody there cared about the world . . . that had never been my experience before at all.” At Reed, she met Kenneth Tollenaar ’50, who shared her love of music; he was a musician, she sang jazz. They married in 1949; she worked in the coffee shop for a year while Ken finished his degree, after which she earned her BA in education. She loved Reed because of Dorothy Johansen ’33 [history 1934–69] and Ann Shepard ’23 [dean of students 1926–68], who believed in her ability to succeed. “It was very, very hard, because I was so poorly prepared. I hadn’t a clue how to write a paper. I didn’t have a clue how to do research and I didn’t have a very broad area of knowledge. It was a wonderful experience, though, because I grew a great deal.” She also gave credit to Frank Loxley Griffin [mathematics 1911–56]. “That man taught me to count to 10.” After leaving Reed, she taught for two years near Eugene, and then the couple moved to Minnesota and Washington, D.C., for Ken’s graduate studies. Jean worked and raised a family, and then earned a master’s in alcohol and drug counseling from the University of Oregon. She worked for Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation in Clackamas and retired in 1989. She was a member of the First Unitarian Fellowship, a passionate supporter of the arts, and a volunteer for students in grade schools and seniors in retirement centers. She kept a close connection to the college throughout her life. “Jean was delightfully cantankerous. She loved to engage in thoughtful debate and enjoyed being around others who shared the love of ideas. I will miss her in our planning meetings as well as at the events themselves,” said Mike Teskey, director of alumni & parent relations. Survivors include two sons, one daughter, and a grandson.
Mahlon Brewster Smith ’39
Mahlon Brewster Smith ’39, August 4, 2012, in Santa Cruz, California. Prominent social scientist Brewster Smith reported that he arrived at Reed “an all too proper kid from Corvallis” and two years too young for his class. He was the only child of an English professor from Syracuse, New York, who had been appointed dean at Oregon State. Brewster joined the Young Communist League at Reed, using the pseudonym Stephen Daedalus on his membership card. Poor class attendance in his junior year led to his leaving Reed. “I was well launched in psychology by Monte Griffith [1926–54], but I was otherwise an academic basket case, having also majored in adolescent identity turmoil, radical politics, and the lure of the Skidmore Fountain.” He found the study of psychology to be beneficial in his search for self-knowledge. He transferred to Stanford, where he earned both undergraduate and master’s degrees. “Though I didn’t graduate from Reed, I’ve always been grateful to Reed as the place that let me become who I am.” He and roommate Pete Stratton ’38 reminisced often about Reed, providing fodder for a friend’s limerick:
Two students, their minds not too stable,
Have a fondness for myth and for fable.
They go on without heed
Babbling fondly of Reed
While their friends go to sleep at the table.
Mary Kriger Struve ’48
Mary Kriger Struve ’48, June 17, 2012, in Berkeley, California. Mary grew up in a Russian émigré community in Harbin, China, and in the French Concession of Shanghai. Her family arrived in the U.S. in 1938. She attended Black Mountain College and studied a year at Reed, and then completed undergraduate and master’s degrees at UC Berkeley. She and her husband, Glen Struve, collaborated on translations of Russian literature and traveled extensively in the U.S. and Europe. Mary enjoyed walking her dogs in the Berkeley hills and photographing birds, flowers, and landscapes. Survivors include a daughter and son, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1985.
Prof. Helen A. Stafford
Prof. Helen Stafford [biology 1954–87] was the first Reed professor to win a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Prof. Helen A. Stafford [biology 1954–87] died August 12, 2011, at her home in Portland, after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Her interest in plants first blossomed when she gardened beside her father in Philadelphia. “My father was an avid gardener but he had to do everything himself. I was allowed to help him. My father got sick one year and I had to then plant the seeds myself. That just started it all.” Her interest deepened at Wellesley College, where she studied plant physiology, earning a BA in 1944. “Somebody came to give a seminar talk about metabolic biology and I got excited about it. That’s why I like tissue culture, I still like to watch things grow.” A career in science was not easy for a woman at that time, but she was encouraged by her mentors at Wellesley and Cornell, where she worked as a research assistant. She earned a master’s degree from Connecticut College for Women for her groundbreaking thesis on the development of anatomical structures and the effect of light on timothy grass seedlings. Her thesis was published in the America Journal of Botany, the first of more than 70 publications over her career.
Montana Elma Sands Bryant ’49
Montana Elma Sands Bryant ’49, May 23, 2012, in Oceanside, California. A Canadian by birth, Montana was raised in Montana state and moved with her family to Seattle in 1940. She attended Reed for a little more than a year. She worked for the Boeing Company and RCA, and enjoyed traveling, square dancing, and outdoor sports. Montana was predeceased by her husband, Harry E. Bryant, and is survived by two brothers.
Herbert E. Smith ’62
Herbert E. Smith ’62, April 14, 2012, in Richland, Washington. Herbert grew up in Seattle and attended Reed, later graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in chemistry. He moved to Richland in 1965 to work as principal scientist for Westinghouse Hanford Company, and lived in the Tri-Cities for 47 years. Herbert enjoyed sports cars, hot-air ballooning, and travel. His photographs were included in exhibitions in Seattle and Richland. Survivors include his partner, Sue Fritts; her grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and his two sisters.
Lee Frances Sahlins Sherry ’70
Lee Frances Sahlins Sherry ’70, August 13, 2012, in New York. Born in Chicago to Bernard and Fritzie Sahlins, cofounders of the Second City improvisational comedy enterprise, Lee earned her degree in general literature, writing a thesis on James Joyce, “The Ineluctable Modality of the Verbial.” She began her career as an abstract painter in 1970 and studied art at the Art Students’ League and the New York Studio School for Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture. She traveled to Europe and North Africa, and her work was shown in a number of exhibitions, beginning in the mid-’70s. She was art editor and cover designer for ROOF, a magazine created by poet James Sherry ’68. Lee and James married and had one son. Survivors include her father and stepmother.
William Stone ’22
William Stone ’22, December 3, 1993, in Annapolis, Maryland. After graduating from Reed with a degree in economics, he studied for a year at the London School of Economics. William was a freelance journalist in Europe in the early ’20s and interviewed Adolf Hitler when he was beginning his political career in Munich. In 1925, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he was a freelance journalist and director of the Washington Bureau of the Foreign Policy Association. He was vice president of that association from 1933 to 1941. During World War II, he was director of the Economic Warfare Division at the U.S. Embassy in London. He also served on the Board of Economic Warfare and Foreign Economic Administration and was a member of the U.S. Joint Intelligence Committee. After the war, William continued to serve with the State Department, first as the first postwar director of the U.S. Information Service and head of the Office of Information and Cultural Affairs, and then as special assistant and deputy to the assistant secretary of state for public affairs. In 1952, he returned to freelance writing. He was an economic consultant and writer for a variety of public and private institutions, and became senior associate of Economic Associates in Washington, D.C. William also began writing extensively about recreational boating and became the Washington correspondent for Yachting magazine. He was the author of several cruising guides, including A Cruising Guide to the Chesapeake, published in 1961 and revised in 1968, and A Cruising Guide to the Caribbean, published in 1976. He retired in the late 1980s, but continued to work on revisions of his cruising guides. He was a member of the Cruising Club of America, past president of Historic Annapolis, and a member of the National Press Club and the Ethical Culture Society. William married Grace Linklater ’21in 1925, after she completed her studies at the Oregon Medical School. She died in 1964. He later married Jean B. Patterson, who died in 1986. Survivors include a son, a daughter, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Volney Stefflre ’58
Volney Stefflre ’58, May 31, 1994, in Davis, California. After graduating from Reed with a degree in psychology and sociology, he did graduate work at Harvard in anthropology and psychology and was a junior fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows from 1960 to 1963. His studies in sociology, anthropology, and psychology led him to do extensive research, teaching, and writing on a wide range of subjects, including computational procedures for descriptive semantics, mathematical anthropology, business and marketing theory and strategies, and hypnosis and human consciousness. During the 1960s, Volney taught psychology and sociology at Yale; the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and the University of California, Los Angeles and Irvine campuses. In 1965–66, he served as a postdoctoral fellow in computational linguistics at RAND in Santa Monica, California. In 1978, he became a founding professor of the University of Samoa in Apia, Western Samoa. His most recent teaching post was at Trinity College of the University of Dublin, Ireland, where he was visiting professor in the school of business studies in 1990–91. Volney was also the author of Developing and Implementing Marketing Strategies (1986), and two monographs, "Human Capability and the Human Condition," published in 1990, and "Language and Behavior," published in 1991. He was program chair for the meeting of the Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness and was a member of their board of directors at the time of his death. Survivors include his four children and a sister.
Thomas D. Sherrard ’37
Thomas D. Sherrard ’37, December 29, 1994, while vacationing in Costa Rica. After graduation, Thomas taught for a year in a progressive school near San Francisco. There he met John Steinbeck, who urged him to join the U.S. Farm Security Program for migratory farm workers. After working for two years as a public assistance case manager in Albany, Oregon, he took Steinbeck's advice and became a camp manager housing dust bowl refugee farm families in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. In 1940, he married Constance Herring ’38, and the couple lived in Oregon until 1945, when he was recruited by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration for their refugee camp program. He spent three years in China, primarily as director of the Overseas Chinese Repatriation Program. He was then transferred to Europe, where he worked for the International Refugee Organization caring for World War II refugees awaiting resettlement. At the end of the Korean War, he was recruited to direct the United Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency Mission. In 1953, he returned to the United States and entered the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration, earning a master's degree in 1955. After working for three years as director of the San Bernardino County Council of Community Services, Thomas returned to the School of Social Service Administration as a faculty member, teaching community organization. He taught there for 10 years and then moved to Purdue University, where he taught social welfare and urban studies until his retirement in 1979. The couple returned to Oregon, where they built a house in Mosier overlooking the Columbia River Gorge. In retirement, he was a great supporter of the National Scenic Areas Act and the Columbia River Gorge Commission. He and Connie traveled extensively and were active in community affairs. In addition to his wife, survivors include 2 sons, 2 daughters, a sister, and 10 grandchildren.
Thorstein B. Sabo ’57, MA ’62
Thorstein B. Sabo ’57, MAT ’62, November 7, 1994, in Hillsboro, Oregon, of a heart attack. After completing his undergraduate degree, Thorstein was a teacher's assistant at the University of Portland. He taught science in Punahau, Hawaii, for two years and at Catlin Gabel School for five years before taking a position at Hillsboro Union High School. He taught chemistry and physics at Hillsboro Union for 27 years and became chair of the science department in 1971. He was a past president of the Science Teachers Association of Oregon, and a past member of the board of trustees of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. He also served in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and was an active member of the Columbia Pacific Council, Boy Scouts of America. Survivors include his wife, four sons, eight grandchildren, and a sister, Oddny Sabo Everson ’58.
Dolores M. Shipp ’39
Dolores M. Shipp ’39, November 14, 1995, in Portland. She earned a BA from Reed in general literature and psychology, and worked as administrative and executive assistants for advertising companies, banks, legal departments, and realty companies. Dolores was an executive assistant with Bullier and Bullier Realtors in Portland at the time of her retirement in 1982. She enjoyed travel and poetry and she attended many Reed events after her retirement. She is survived by her father and a sister, Barbara Shipp Callahan ’43.
Linda Saarinen Schoenbeck ’62
Linda Saarinen Schoenbeck ’62, December 12, 1995, in Beavercreek, Oregon as a result of injuries sustained during a wind storm. Linda and her husband, Ralph Schoenbeck ’62, owned and operated a sheep and cattle farm in Beavercreek. She earned a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center in 1969 but left the field to raise a family and devote time to their farm. Four years ago she returned to work, taking a position with Oligos Etc., a Wilsonville-based company that makes synthetic DNA for research. She was an active community volunteer who helped organize the annual Beavercreek Bust summer festival and the Beavercreek Boosters food and toy drive. In 1987–88 she took a course in industrial video production at Portland Community College and later volunteered with a Spanish-language community access cable TV program. She loved traveling, foreign films, gardening, and taking continuing education classes. In addition to her husband, she is survived by their two sons, David and Michael ’92.
Katherine Stanley Camber ’39
Katherine Stanley Camber ’39, July 31, 1996, in Redmond, Washington. She married Robert Camber ’39 in 1939, and the couple settled in the Seattle area, where they raised two sons and two daughters. For most of her life, she was a homemaker. She was a lifetime member of the Seattle Yacht Club. Katherine is survived by Robert, their four children, a brother, and two grandchildren.
Linda Shaw Johnson ’36
Linda Shaw Johnson ’36, May 7, 1997, in Bakersfield, California, after a long illness. After graduating from Reed, Linda married William Johnson, from whom she was later divorced. She remained in Portland and raised two children. She worked for three years as a high school teacher and then took a position as an office auditor for the Internal Revenue Service in Portland. She retired in 1968 and continued to live in Portland, where she enjoyed lawn bowling, reading mystery stories, and spending time at her vacation home in Manzanita. In 1993, in poor health, she moved to Bakersfield to be with her daughter, Anne Johnson Scott MAT ’67.Survivors include Anne and her husband David Scott MA ’63; and four grandchildren.
Clara Pierce Shaffer ’40
Clara Pierce Shaffer ’40, March 19, 1997, in Mercer Island, Washington, where she had lived for many years. She worked as a librarian at the Portland Public Library for a year after graduating, and then worked for two years for the Row Lumber Company. She was then hired by Remington Rand Business Machines, who sent her to New York City for training on their machines and how to set up systems for businesses. She was assigned to the San Francisco office, where she set up business machine systems for companies and trained personnel to use them. She married Charles Shaffer in 1950, and in 1952 the couple moved to Mercer Island, where she became a homemaker and raised two children. She later worked as a bookkeeper. She was active in the Mercer Island Presbyterian Church and other community groups. After retirement, she and her husband enjoyed traveling and their four grandchildren. Survivors include her husband; a sister; a brother; a son; a daughter; and four grandchildren.
Muriel Evans Shields ’33
Muriel Evans Shields ’33, August 23,1997, in Pensacola, Florida, where she had lived since 1988. She was a retired teacher who taught in the Los Angeles area for 31 years. Survivors include her husband; a brother, Melbourne Evans ’37; a son, a daughter, four grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
John H. Stalnaker ’40
John Stalnaker ’40, November 7, 1997, in Portland. He attended Reed for two years and then transferred to Willamette University. After graduating, he entered the University of Oregon Medical School (now Oregon Health Sciences University) and obtained an MD in 1945, and then interned at Emanual Hospital, in Portland. In 1946, John was called to active duty in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a physician. He was a medical resident at St. Vincent Hospital from 1948 to 1951, and he then established a practice as a specialist in internal medicine. He married Louise Lucas, a fellow Willamette University student in 1946, and the couple had six children. He was a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the author of a number of medical articles published in medical scientific journals throughout his career. He was also an accomplished trombonist, pianist, and composer who had an early career as a musician and dance band leader while attending Reed. He is survived by his wife; a brother, William Stalnaker ’42; six children; and numerous grandchildren.
Iriss Sawyer Baffaro ’34
Iriss Sawyer Baffaro ’34, September 13, 1998, in Portland, where she lived most of her life. She attended Reed for two years and then transferred to the University of Oregon, where she earned a BA in 1934. She worked for federal, state, and county governments as a social worker and personnel interviewer from 1934 to 1945. She married Joseph Baffaro in 1945 and became a homemaker, raising three children. Survivors include a daughter, two sons, a brother, and five grandchildren.
Antoinette D. Schmitz ’85
Antoinette Schmitz ’85, August 29, 1998, in a scuba diving accident on the Oregon coast. Memorial services were held in the Eliot Hall chapel on September 4. She was a ceramic and graphic artist in Portland. In 1987–88, she was artist-in-residence for the Contemporary Crafts Gallery. She had worked as a graphic artist for Planned Parenthood of the Columbia-Willamette and was self-employed as a graphic designer at the time of her death. She also volunteered for the Feminists’ Women’s Health Center. She married Joe Niski ’83 in 1989. Survivors include Joe, her parents, and a sister.
Harriet Knowlton Schroder ’27
Harriet Knowlton Schroder ’27, August 19, 1998, in Portland, where she had lived most of her life. A daughter of Reed professor A.A. Knowlton [1915–48], she attended Reed for two years and then transferred to Washington State College, where she earned a BS in 1929. After working at the Portland Public Library for several years, she entered the University of California, Berkeley, and earned a degree in library science in 1932. She was assistant librarian for Portland Public Library in 1932–35. In 1935, she married John Schroder, whose career in the military led them to live in many different parts of the United States and in Europe. After his death in 1975, she returned to live in King City, near Portland. She was a volunteer for the King City Library for almost 20 years and also volunteered for the Red Cross Blood Mobile and the American Cancer Society. Survivors include her son; sister, Ellen Knowlton Johnson ’39; and two grandchildren. Another sister, Kathleen Knowlton Wilson ’32, died in 1995. The family suggests remembrances to the A.A. Knowlton Scholarship Fund of .
John A. Schulz ’39
John A. Schulz ’39, of cancer, September 29, 1998, in Portland. He earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Oregon and a PhD in education from the University of Southern California. He taught education at Southern Oregon State College from 1948 to 1963, when he joined the General Extension Division, Oregon State System of Higher Education, in Eugene as a counseling and education instructor. He later taught adolescent psychology for teachers at Portland State University, and retired from that post in 1978. Survivors include his wife, Enny Deutschman; two sons, and three grandchildren. A scholarship in his name has been established at by fellow alumni Robert Grant ’43 and Marion Josselyn Grant ’43.
G. Ray Steed ’41
G. Ray Steed ’41, of cancer, October 20, 1998, in Portland, where he had a long career with Portland Public Schools. A Canadian citizen, he was a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot and captain during World War II, serving in the Atlantic, Africa, and India. After the war, he attended the University of Oregon and earned a master’s in education in 1949. He taught elementary school for a year and was principal of three elementary schools in Portland for 13 years. In 1965, he became director of elementary education for Portland Public Schools, and in 1971 he was appointed as superintendent, with administrative responsibility for one of three geographic areas for the school district. He retired in 1979. Ray married Jeanne Halsey Steed ’47, and they raised two children. He served on the Oregon State Board of Dentistry for eight years and the Multnomah County Board of Equalization for 12 years. He was a past board member for the Portland Youth Philharmonic and was a Reed trustee in 1956–62. In May 1998, he was awarded the Foster-Scholz Club’s Distinguished Service Award. Survivors include Jeanne; a daughter and son; a brother, Frederick Steed ’48; and four grandchildren. The family suggests remembrances to .
Marion B. Bass Stevens ’36
Marion Bass Stevens ’36, September 4, 1998, in Medford, Oregon. She attended Reed for two years and later attended the University Of Oregon, where she earned a bachelor’s degree and teaching credential. Prior to her marriage in 1938, she worked in a Portland department store as a fashion buyer. The couple lived in several locations in the U.S. during her husband’s military career, and in 1954 they settled in Davis, California. After working as a literacy tutor, she returned to school and earned a master’s in employment counseling from California State University, Sacramento, and a doctorate from International College. In 1968–84, she was a career counselor for the Sacramento County Office of Education and the San Juan Unified School District. She was in private practice in Davis and San Mateo, California, and later in Medford, Oregon, until her death. Survivors include her husband and two daughters.
Omer H. Summers ’39
Omer H. Summers ’39, August 5, 1998, at his home in Bend, Oregon. He married Mary E. Berry while still attending Reed. After graduation, he worked for the Bonneville Power Administration, and he served with the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II. After his discharge, he moved to Bend, Oregon, where he and his brother opened the first drive-in restaurant. He also owned the Skyline Steakhouse in downtown Bend and later was in real estate development in the area. Survivors include his son; four daughters, and six grandchildren. His wife died in 1983.
Joel Shekter ’34
Joel Shekter ’34, August 31, 1999, in Portland. He attended Reed for three years. He owned Shekter and Company, a wholesale butter and egg company in Portland, for 40 years before selling it in the mid-’70s. He moved to Modesto, California, in 1972, where he lived until shortly before his death. Survivors include two sons, a brother, a sister, and a grandchild. His wife died in 1995.
Howard Lowell Smith ’55
Howard Lowell Smith ’55, October 16, 1999, in Mission Viejo, California. He attended Reed for two years and later attended Portland State University, graduating in 1958. He was a technical group leader for Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. He was married and had a son.
Stanley R. Spicer MAT ’66
Stanley Spicer MAT ’66, July 25, 1999, in Vancouver, Washington. His undergraduate degree was from Lewis & Clark College. He was an English instructor at Clark College, Vancouver, for 29 years, retiring in 1995. Survivors include his wife; 5 daughters; 4 sons; and 18 grandchildren.
Florence Swanson Ango ’30
Florence Swanson Ango ’30, October 27, 2000, in Portland. After graduating from Reed, she took a job in the engineering field, doing ballistic research for the U.S. War Department in Washington, D.C. She married Walter Ango in 1934. In 1943, they returned to Portland and she joined Bonneville Power Administration as an electrical engineer. As a member of the system engineering staff, she won monetary awards and certificates for her contributions. At the time of her retirement in 1963, Stewart Udall, then Secretary of the Interior, awarded her the department’s Meritorious Service Award. After retiring, she helped her husband in his insurance business, and she began studying law through a correspondence course with Chicago LaSalle Extension University. She earned a diploma in law in 1967. Her husband died in 1989.
Ruell A. Searson ’78
Ruell Searson ’78, October 6, 2000, in Spokane, Washington, of brain cancer. He earned a law degree from Gonzaga Law School in 1983 and an LLM from the University of Florida in 1984, and was a tax attorney in Seattle and Spokane until forced to retire due to his illness. He was also owner of Advance Towne Company, Spokane, for several years. He volunteered as a director of KPBX Public Radio, Spokane, and he was also a bluegrass musician. Survivors include a son, a daughter, his parents, a brother, and a sister.
John A. Simpson ’40
John A. Simpson ’40, LHD ’81, August 31, 2000, in Chicago, of complications following open heart surgery.
He was a pioneering nuclear physicist and astrophysicist whose work has been instrumental in space exploration over the last 40 years. After earning a PhD in physics from New York University in 1943, he joined the faculty of the University of Chicago Institute for Nuclear Studies and physics departmemt, where he worked on the Manhattan Project researching atomic weapons. After the war, became a leader in the campaign for the peaceful use of atomic energy under civilian control, and he was a cofounder of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a professional publication dedicated to the prevention of nuclear war.
Edgar A. Smith ’48
Edgar Smith ’48, July 28, 2000, in Vancouver, Washington. He earned a master’s degree in history from the University of Washington. From 1948 until 1956, he taught social studies at a Vancouver junior high school. In 1956, he joined the faculty of Clark College in Vancouver, where he taught history; he remained there until his retirement in 1984. His interests included travel, museums, and amateur radio. He is survived by his wife, a niece, and a nephew.
Nancy McCourt Steichen ’52
Nancy McCourt Steichen ’52, of ovarian cancer, August 19, 2000, in Milwaukie, Oregon, where she had lived since 1996. She attended Reed for two years and then transferred to Stanford, earning a BA in 1952. She married Everett Steichen ’52 that same year, and while he was in graduate school she worked for the Washington State welfare department and later for a private mental hospital. Nancy and Everett had four children; she was primarily a homemaker while they were growing up. The family lived in Washington, New York, Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco Bay area. When her husband suffered a stroke in 1989, she took a part-time job as a volunteer coordinator for seniors. She later worked as a program coordinator for seniors and the disabled with the Center for Independence of the Disabled in Belmont, California. Her husband died in 1993, and in 1996 she relocated to Milwaukie. Survivors include three daughters, a son, a brother, and five grandchildren.
Jane McAndie Stirewalt ’47
Jane McAndie Stirewalt, ’47, July 10, 2000, in Enterprise, Oregon. After graduating from Reed, she married Dewey Wilson. They had three children and she was primarily a homemaker. In 1970, Jane and Dave Stirewalt married, and they moved to a ranch in Spray, Oregon, where she took up painting. Her watercolors of local scenes were displayed at the Portland Art Museum Rental Sales Gallery. Survivors include a son; two daughters; five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
Louise Odale Simonson ’32
Louise Odale Simonson ’32, July 11, 2001, in Pasadena, California. She worked in hospital laboratories in Portland and Los Angeles following graduation from Reed and was a registered and licensed medical technologist. She married Harry Simonson in 1943, who was in the publishing business. Together, they started Sidale Publishing Company, Los Angeles, and beginning in 1949 she published Lab World magazine, a medical and allied health news magazine. The publication became recognized nationally and internationally as objectively reporting on news related to the clinical and scientific laboratory fields. In 1975, they merged their business with North American Publishing Company, Philadelphia due to her husband’s ill health. After his death in 1976, she continued to write for the company. In 1985, she was appointed a consulting editor with two international medical publications, HospiMedica and MediLab,published bimonthly by Technology Communications. She was the executive director of the Metabolic Foundation of Los Angeles, a nonprofit corporation that funds camping experiences for diabetic children, for more then 30 years. She was a member of the American Academy of Microbiology and served on a police advisory board for community policing. In 1988, as a result of her several trips to China, she researched and wrote the background information used for publicity for the first U.S. tour of the National Dance Company of China.
George Olin Spencer ’43
George Spencer ’43, September 18, 2001, in Chevy Chase, Maryland, from kidney failure. He studied law at George Washington University after graduating from Reed, and was with the State Department until retiring in 1964. He was a foreign service officer in 1954–57, served as embassy secretary in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and also served in the Dominican Republic and Vietnam. He married Mary Albritton in 1941. She died in 1975, and he later remarried. Survivors include his second wife; a son; a sister; and a granddaughter.
Charles H. Stones ’50, MA ’59
Charles Stones ’50, MA ’59, March 16, 2001, in Portland. He taught high school English at Grant High School, Portland, from 1956-66. In 1966, he became assistant director of 's MAT program and was also a lecturer and counselor in the program. He retired in 1974. He married Loraine Hansen in 1943; she died in 1999.
Elna Clare Street ’38
Elna Clare Street ’38, September 13, 2001, in Ventura, California. After attending Reed for three years, Elna moved to Baltimore, Maryland, with her parents and became a medical secretary. She married Dana Street, an orthopedist, in 1940 and they had four children. They lived in Memphis, Tennessee, for 13 years and then moved to Arkansas for three years. In 1962, they relocated to Palos Verdes, California. In 1971, she earned a BA in fine arts from California State University, Long Beach. She is survived by her husband, three sons, and a daughter.
Helen Sutton Gulick ’33
Helen Sutton Gulick ’33, March 10, 2003, in Sacramento, California. Helen attended Reed for two years and received a BA in art from Mills College in 1934. She moved to Boston, sharing an apartment with a sister and volunteering for numerous and challenging community services. She assisted one of the first occupational therapists at the Children’s Hospital in demonstrating the value of craft work in the recovery process for children. Helen did graduate work in child development and taught for two years. She married Luther H. Gulick, and they had three sons. The health needs of one son necessitated a move to California, where she earned her state teaching credentials and worked as a primary school teacher and substitute teacher. She cared for her home and family, and volunteered in the community. She studied painting and taught it to others. Helen and her husband traveled to Hawaii, Mexico, and Europe, and were pleased to be living in Sacramento at a time when its culture and community were rapidly expanding.
Vera Florence Smith Jackets ’28
Vera Florence Smith Jackets ’28, September 3, 2003, in Anacortes, Washington. Vera received a BA from Reed in biology and followed her initial interest in "growing things" to become a pioneer in the field of bacteriology. At Reed she participated in the developing women’s athletic program, including as a member of the Blondines basketball team. Vera then worked as an assistant in the Reed biology department. Simultaneously she attended classes at the University of Oregon Medical School (OHSU), earning a master’s degree in 1930. In pursuit of a PhD, she attended Stanford for a year, and while there learned of a position for research in bacteriophage in Vellore, India. She took the position for two years, focusing her work on cholera and dysentery at Dr. Ida Scudder’s Hospital, a medical school for women, where she also taught physiology. She met and married her husband, an Englishman serving in India, and they had two sons, including Michael Jackets ’56. Vera taught chemistry, biology, and arithmetic at the American school for missionary children, and made several trips to the U.S. with her family before moving back to the Portland area. There she did substitute teaching prior to beginning a nine-year position as a lab assistant at the University of Oregon medical school; she retired in 1955. Vera once noted that the quest for knowledge, felt keenly during her college years, spurred her on throughout her life.
Charles W. Sinclair MAT ’63
Charles William Sinclair MAT ’63, July 29, 2002, in Vancouver, Washington. Following receipt of a BS in chemical engineering from Washington University in 1943, and a term with the U.S. Army in World War II, Charles received a master’s in teaching in mathematics from Reed. His academic career encompassed 30 years of teaching mathematics, including 25 years as an assistant professor at Portland State University. Survivors include his three sons, his only daughter preceding him in death, five grandchildren, one sister, and two brothers.
Earle S. Scott ’49
Earle S. Scott ’49, July 9, 2002, in Ripon, Wisconsin. Earle was a Phi Beta Kappa chemistry graduate at Reed and received a PhD in inorganic chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana in 1952. He taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and at Amherst College before accepting a position at Ripon College in 1962. He retired from Ripon in 1987 and was awarded an honorary degree from the college in 2001. Scott devoted his life to teaching, a career that began as assistant to Arthur Scott [chemistry 1923–79] at Reed. "It was a lulu," he said later of his responsibility to the laboratory program in quantitative analysis, including managing a lab with 40 students. In addition to his work with college students, Earle worked with teachers and students in the public schools, taught in summer institutes for high school science teachers, presided on the local school board, and volunteered for the Ripon Historical Society. During World War II, he served with the Naval Hospital Corps, primarily in the South Pacific. He married Joy Hegg in 1944 and they had seven children, all of whom survived him. He also is survived by his wife, eight grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Letitia Monroe Capell Shrank ’28
Letitia Monroe Capell Shrank ’28, April 12, 2002, in Astoria, Oregon. After high school, Letitia taught in a one-room, multigrade school in Agness, Oregon. She attended Monmouth Normal School (now Western Oregon University), Reed, and the University of Oregon, from which she graduated in 1926. She returned there on a history fellowship, studying history and psychology, and earned a master’s degree in 1934. She married H.C.R. Shrank in 1937, and they moved to Placerville, California, where she organized a branch of the American Association of University Women. In 1954 they moved to Brevard, North Carolina, where she earned a reputation as a beloved and enthusiastic teacher in the local high school. Letitia moved to Astoria in 2001 at the age of 97. She is survived by her daughter, a granddaughter, three nephews, a cousin, and numerous other extended family members. Her husband and son preceded her in death.
Hildegarde E. Schoeler Huestis ’45
Hildegarde E. Schoeler Huestis ’45, July 4, 2005, in Laguna Beach, California. Hildegarde entered Reed as a transfer student from Oregon State College (OSU), graduating with a BA in general literature. After graduation, and without the training or credentials required for a medical social worker, she was hired for such a position at the University of Oregon Medical School (OHSU). The coursework at Reed, and the humanities program in particular, was cited by her employer as adequate preparation for "all the problems in life (and people)." At the school, she met an aspiring physician, Gerald A. Huestis; the couple married and moved to New York for his medical residency. She invested her energy in their home in California and in their family of seven children, including Peter W. Huestis ’85.
Emily Vesta Short Hunter ’28
Emily Vesta Short Hunter ’28, October 12, 2005, in Sioux City, Iowa. Emily Hunter attended Reed for a year, before transferring to Yankton College in Yankton, South Dakota. She taught school for a year in South Dakota, then moved to Sioux City, Iowa, and worked with her father in his newspaper and printing business. She also worked for the Des Moines Register as an opinion pollster, and did U.S. census work. Her marriage to Robert F. Hunter began in 1929, and ended with his death in 1980. Among her many community affiliations were the Girl Scouts, the local public radio station, and the Mayflower Congregational Church. Hunter is survived by her two daughters, nine grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. A daughter and grandson predeceased her.
Mary Eloise Savage Leber ’50
Mary Eloise Savage Leber ’50, October 4, 2005, in Seattle, Washington. Mary attended Reed for three years, leaving to marry Bruce E. Leber ’48and to raise their family. She later she completed a BA and an MA in sociology from the University of Washington, and worked for many years in administration at Evergreen Hospital, and at the Little School in Bellevue. She traveled in the U.S. and abroad, including to South America and New Zealand, and enjoyed playing Scrabble, bird watching, reading, gardening, and performing choral work. With one daughter, she owned Brie and Bordeaux, a Seattle restaurant. She also served as a member of the Reed board of trustees from 1980 to 1983, following her service as an alumni trustee from 1978 to 1980. Survivors include her son, B. Douglas Leber ’77;and three daughters, including Kelly E. Leber ’78;and two grandchildren. Bruce died in 1994.
Helen Francis Backus Shapiro ’34
Helen Francis Backus Shapiro ’34, October 30, 2005, in Fairfax, California. Helen Shapiro received her B.A. in psychology from Reed, and then moved to Berkeley, California, where she took a job with the federal civil service. She was assigned to train Carl Shapiro for his position with the U.S. Naval shipyards, and their ensuing romance led to marriage in 1942. That same year, they moved into the Fairfax home they shared for 60 years. During WWII, Shapiro was a rural mail carrier in Fairfax; and later developed a career in real estate. At 58, she decided to become a lawyer, and attended Golden Gate University Law School with her daughter; both graduated with honors in 1972. Shapiro joined her husband’s law practice in San Anselmo, and she dedicated her career to representing the underdog. In 1995, she was one of five attorneys to receive the Barney Dreyfus Award for humanitarian service. Both she and her husband received the Wiley J. Manuel Award in 2002 for pro bono legal services. Her "abiding interest in justice" and her "fierce advocacy" were said to have made life better for a great number of individuals. Shapiro once stated, "Whatever ability I have to learn and to use what I learn I owe to Reed." Survivors include her husband, her daughter, two sons, 13 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
Gladys Augusta Smith Jensen ’42
Gladys Augusta Smith Jensen ’42, April 13, 2004, in Florida. Gladysattended Reed for a short time, receiving a BS in education, with a focus on sociology and English, from Oregon State University in 1953. The following year, she received an MA in English and French from the University of Michigan. In the ’60s, she taught English literature and composition at the University of Oregon and at Portland Community College, and world literature at Central Oregon College in Bend. She also served as an adviser to women students. In the ’70s she was a French club adviser, and also a substitute teacher for Volusia County in Florida. She spent time in England, Turkey, and New York. In her Florida community, she was coordinator of the Adult Literacy League, and president of Marigold Circle, the garden club of the city of DeLand. Her marriage to Leance E. Carter and later to Ralph Jensen ended in divorce. Gladysleft a bequest in her will to establish a scholarship fund at Reed that would assist women students of need. Survivors include a sister and extended family.
Lucille E. Palm Smith ’48
Lucille E. Palm Smith ’48, May 28, 2004, in Portland. Lucille attended Reed for three years. She married Philip G. Phillips ’49; they had three sons and a daughter. She married Charles I. Smith in 1968, and worked as a metallurgical technician at Tektronix for nine years, retiring in 1982. Lucille was an active community volunteer. She donated her time to many pursuits, including the Oregon League of Women Voters, for which she was vice president, and the Multnomah County Election Office. She was a member of Reed’s Foster-Scholz Club steering committee, the First Congregational Church, the Architectural League of Oregon, the Portland Art Museum, and the Chamber Music Society. She enjoyed symphony concerts, and was an undisputed gourmet cook. Survivors include her husband and four children; one son predeceased her.
Elmer William Stanley ’36
Elmer William Stanley ’36, May 8, 1999, in Washington. Elmer received a bachelor’s degree from Reed in general literature. He worked as a personnel manager for a construction company under contract to the Arabian American Oil Company in Saudi Arabia, and as supervisor of employment for Boeing Aircraft Company in Seattle, Washington. Beginning in 1950, he was executive secretary for the Washington State School Directors’ Association, and was appointed president of the national organization of executive secretaries of state school board associations in 1965. He did graduate studies at the University of Washington. Elmer was married and the father of three children.
Karl Vathauer Steinbrugge ’41
Karl Vathauer Steinbrugge ’41, October 9, 2001, in California. Karl attended Reed for a year, earning a BA from Oregon State University. From 1950 to 1968, he was professor of architecture at University of California, Berkeley, also working with the Pacific Fire Rating Bureau, and as an independent consultant. In 1969, he was named chair of the advisory body to the Joint Committee on Seismic Safety in California, and was the first chair appointed to the Seismic Safety Commission in 1975. Karl was noted for leading a decade of successful progressive legislation for earthquake safety in California.
John David Stevenson ’38
John David Stevenson ’38, July 1987, in Washington. John earned a BA in economics from Reed. Prior to and following World War II, he worked for Dun & Bradstreet, then for a paint store and a railroad company. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at the outbreak of the Korean War, serving in Japan, Colorado, and Washington. He was married briefly after World War II.
John Philip Stodd ’52
John Philip Stodd ’52, June 15, 1997, in California. John attended Reed for a year. He earned an LLB from Northwestern College of Law (Lewis & Clark) and was at one time the assistant district attorney of Orange County, California. He married in 1946, and had a son and daughter.
Hollister McGuire Stolte ’32
Hollister McGuire Stolte ’32, September 11, 2004, in Portland. Hollister earned a bachelor’s degree in premedicine from Reed, and an MD from the University of Oregon Medical School in 1938. That next year, he married Frances E. Smith. In 1940, he became the Yamhill County Public Health Officer, and he and his wife welcomed their twin sons. Hollister was also district health officer for Washington County; combined work that led to a master’s degree from the University of California School of Public Health at Berkeley in 1949. In 1953, he left both positions to become the Clackamas County Health Officer; a position he held to retirement. He was a member of Yamhill and Clackamas County Medical societies, the Oregon Medical Association, and the American Medical Association; a fellow of the American Public Health Association; and a diplomat of the American Board of Preventative Medicine and Public Health. Survivors include his sons, seven grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and his sister, Nancy Stolte Rosenfeld ’42. His wife died in 1993.
Margaret Ethel Shaw Nicodemus ’36
Margaret Ethel Shaw Nicodemus ’36, March 15, 2007, in California. Margaret attended Reed for two years. Following her sophomore year, she accepted a position at a newly formed Idaho Emergency Relief Administration. “This piece of luck was due solely to the fact that I had survived two years at —which strongly influenced the State Director, who had a vast respect for Reed,” she wrote in 1986. In 1935, she married Fred E. Nicodemus ’34. Margaret became Fred's secretary when he was elected to the position of lieutenant governor of Idaho. His next position, with the Social Security Board, took the couple to Hawaii for six years. Following the Pearl Harbor incident, Margaret worked as a cryptographer for the Signal Corps, and organized and taught classes in cryptography. The couple moved to Indiana, and then to Massachusetts, where Fred worked at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory, and Margaret worked in the Tufts College (University) library. She then took a position with the library of Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology, before the couple moved to Mountain View, California, for Fred's position with the Sylvania Electronic Defense Laboratories. Margaret spent 16 years caring for her parents, and lived in Maryland before returning to California. Fred died in 1997.
Donald Morrow Sutherland ’37
Donald Morrow Sutherland ’37, June 30, 2007, in Oregon. Donald received his BA from Reed in economics. His first job was with the Oregon highway department, doing a fiscal survey of local government highway expenditures. He married Mildred F. Blair in 1939; they had two daughters and a son. Financial difficulties forced Donald to conclude his graduate study at University of California, Berkeley, and to take a job with the Farm Security Administration in Oregon, and later one with the Multnomah County Welfare Department. In 1945, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He worked as a statistician for 10 years for the Unemployment Compensation Commission in Salem. In 1951, he took a position as comptroller for the State Accident Insurance Fund (Workman's Compensation Insurance), moving to a position as director of planning and research; his remained with the corporation until retirement in 1985. He learned home building first hand, while creating a family home in Salem, and developed competency in the use of computers. His brother, William M. Sutherland ’41, also graduated from Reed.
Dorothy Inez Glaisyer Sawyer ’41
Dorothy Inez Glaisyer Sawyer ’41, June 6, 2007, in Sequim, Washington. Dorothy attended Reed for two years, earning a BA from Washington State University in economics in 1941. She also did graduate work at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, and at the University of Washington in Seattle. From the university, she earned a teaching certificate. She lived in Richland, Washington, for 20 years. In 1945, she married Elton Sawyer; they had three sons.
Gordon A. Setterberg ’42
Gordon Arthur Setterberg ’42, August 30, 2006, in Portland. Gordon received a BA from Reed in political science. After graduation, he was inducted into the U.S. Army Air Corp, and served in the South Pacific and stateside during World War II. In 1943, he married Dorothy Jean Hamilton ’45. After the war, he worked for EQUIFAX in Atlanta, Georgia, and for the H.J. Heinz Company. In 1951, he began a position with the office of personnel management in the investigations division of the U.S. Government. The couple settled in the Portland area in 1956—Dottie was the Reed chemistry department secretary for 20 years (1958–78)—and in retirement, the couple traveled extensively. Vintage automobiles were a primary field of interest for them both. Gordon's brothers, James M. Setterberg ’37 and H. Donald Setterberg ’39, also graduated from Reed. Survivors include Dottie and Don.
Brent P. Smith ’71
Brent Pendleton Smith ’71, August 22, 2006, near the village of IIiamna, Alaska, securing his fishing boat in a storm. Brent received a BA from Reed in mathematics. He earned a PhD from Louisiana State University in 1977, and taught at Kansas State University, the University of Kentucky, Illinois State University, Cal Tech, and Bellcore, before returning to Kansas as a professor of mathematics in 1989. For his contribution to the resolution of the Littlewood Conjecture, he was awarded a Sloan fellowship (1982–84). His academic contributions also included work on exponential sums and the study of the quantitative behavior of Fourier-Stieltjes transforms. He wrote over 20 publications in analysis and worked on a variety of problems in analytic number theory. During summer months, he did commercial salmon fishing in Alaska. Survivors include his son, parents, brother, and sister.
Mary-Jule Stewart ’42
Mary-Jule Hiller Stewart ’42, February 22, 2006, in Portland. Mary-Jule attended Reed for a year, then went to Northwestern School of Commerce, and was a secretary at Clackamas Community College. She married Lyman Stewart.
Michael Steig ’58
Michael Steig ’58, December 13, 2006, in West Vancouver, B.C., from pancreatic cancer. Mike received a BA from Reed in general literature. After receiving a PhD in English from the University of Washington in 1963, he taught in the English department at Michigan State University. In 1966, he joined the English department at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, remaining there until retirement. His specialties were Victorian and children's literature and reader-response criticism, and he published numerous articles on the subjects. He also published two books, Dickens and Phiz (Indiana University Press, 1978) and Stories of Reading (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988). He retained a great love of music throughout his life, building a large and eclectic collection of recordings. Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Katharine Jaeger Steig '58, two sons, and four grandchildren.
Peter Stafford ’60
Peter Stafford ’60, July 20, 2007, in Santa Cruz, California, as a result of an accident in his home. Peter attended Reed, later earning a BA from the University of Washington in English literature. He spent time in the late ’60s in New York City, working with the War Resisters League, and wrote several New Age books. He moved to Santa Cruz in 1974 and was a typesetter for Good Times and many other alternative newspapers. He also volunteered for the Homeless Garden Project and the California Grey Bears. Survivors include his son, his mother, a brother, and two sisters.
James Bunting Stoll ’05
James Bunting Stoll 05, March 11, 2007, in Wisconsin, from complications related to Crohn's disease. James received a BA from Reed in English literature. He was a gifted artist, writer, and musician, who traveled the globe, and was dear not only to his family but also to friends from all over the world. Survivors include his parents; two brothers, including Adam Stoll '05; and his grandparents.
Tommy Enid Thompson Sales ’44
Tommy Enid Thompson Sales ’44, September 17, 2008, in Carmel, California, from respiratory failure.
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, where her grandfather served as the first non-Mormon mayor, Enid moved west with her mother to attend high school in Berkeley and . She received a BA in general literature from Reed and moved to San Francisco, where she lived for 32 years.
Nancy Stolte Rosenfeld ’42
Nancy Stolte Rosenfeld ’42, September 28, 2008, at her recreation home in Long Beach, Washington. Nancy was a third-generation Portland resident. She attended Stanford and Reed, leaving college in 1940 to marry William W. Rosenfeld, who later served as a member of the board of trustees at Reed. Nancy was “the consummate caregiver” throughout her adult life-devoted to her mother, children, and extended family. She was a talented pianist, and enjoyed gardening, tennis, and travel with her husband. Her community service included that to the Portland Garden Club, Metropolitan Counseling Services, and the Junior League of Portland. Her family notes that holidays and special occasions at the Rosenfeld home were marked by Nancy's grace and beauty, and are cherished memories. Survivors include William; four sons; daughter Leslie, and son-in-law Reed trustee Randy Labbe; and 13 grandchildren, including James M. Labbe '95. Her brother Hollister M. Stolte ’32 also attended Reed.
Duane Leon Sieg ’51
Duane Leon Seig ’51, October 8, 2008, at home in Indialantic, Florida. Duane's family came to Portland from Eastern Kansas and Western Colorado in 1942. He entered Reed, earning a BA in biology, and later earned an MD from the University of Oregon. He met Ruth E. Murray in Portland; they married in 1954. Two years later, he entered the U.S. Navy and interned at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. He also received training in orthopedic surgery at San Francisco General Hospital. He worked at Shriner's Hospital for Crippled Children in Lexington, Kentucky, and was stationed at Jacksonville Naval Hospital. In 1964, he moved to Bremerton, Washington, to be chief of orthopedic surgery at the Naval Hospital. A year later, he left the navy to start a private practice in Melbourne, Florida. Duane and Ruth built a home at Gleneden Beach on the Oregon coast in 1990. He was active with the Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, the Cascade Music Festival, in cultural events in Portland, and reestablished his connection with Reed. In retirement, the couple spent summers at Gleneden Beach and winters in Indialantic. Survivors include his wife, two daughters, two granddaughters, and two sisters.
Beverly Joyce Young Sandmann ’53
Beverly Joyce Young Sandmann ’53, February 1, 2007, in Carlsbad, California, from cancer. Beverly received a BA from Reed in chemistry. She was a lab technician, mother, and homemaker. In 1953, she married William H. Sandmann ’53; they later divorced. Daughter Paula Holden notes that her mother was always very proud to be a Reed graduate. Survivors include three daughters and two grandchildren.
Norman H. Shoup AMP ’44
Norman H. Shoup AMP ’44, November 1, 1982, in Pullman, Washington. Norman attended Reed from February 1943 to February 1944 in the Army Premeteorology Program.
Esther I. Lenon Setterberg ’42
Esther I. Lenon Setterberg ’42, August 26, 2008, from Parkinson's disease, in Portland, where she lived her entire life. Esther received a BA from Reed in psychology and was a caseworker for the American Red Cross. In 1959, she married James M. Setterberg ’37; they had a daughter and two sons. Her sister, Vera Lenon Rigby ’37, and her brother, Harlow Lenon ’35, also attended Reed. Survivors include her children and five grandchildren. James died in 2002.
Leslie Gordon Smith ’77
Leslie Gordon Smith ’77, October 23, 2007, in Boise, Idaho. Leslie came to Portland from Wellesley, Massachusetts, attended Reed in 1973-75, and received a bachelor's degree in biology from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. She moved to Alaska to study wildlife and became involved in the commercial fishing industry. She owned and operated her own fishing vessel, and lived in Kodiak for 25 years before moving to Boise for her daughters' education; the family continued to fish in Alaska during summers. Survivors include two daughters, her parents, a brother, and two sisters.
Estelle Fisher Singleton MA ’62
Estelle Fisher Singleton MA ’62, October 6, 2008, in Eugene, Oregon, of age-related causes. Estelle was born in Ontario, Canada, and attended Canadian schools through high school. She studied at Barnett Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Patterson, New Jersey, and received a BS from Columbia University School of Nursing in nursing education in 1948. In 1949, she married Harold Singleton. During her years in Portland, Estelle worked for the Oregon Department of Nursing Accreditation for nursing education, was a member of the faculty of University of Portland, a research assistant on open-heart study team at the University of Oregon Medical School (OHSU), and earned an MA from Reed in educational administration. She developed and supervised nursing programs at Lane Community College and Southern Colorado State College, and was named professional nurse of the year by the Colorado Nurses' Association in 1973. She also served with Project Hope in Tunisia, and was a consultant for nursing education with the Peace Corps; she retired in 1982. Survivors include her daughter and son, Kenneth Singleton '73; three grandchildren; and a sister. Her husband died in 1986.
Richard Joseph Stensrude MA ’63
Richard Joseph Stensrude MA ’63, October 27, 2007, in Palm Springs, California. Dick received a BA from the University of Washington and an MA from Reed in art. He taught for 12 years at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, where he served as chair of the fine arts and graphic communications division. He retired in 1984. Dick had a son and daughter.
Mary Kate Wheeler Spencer ’40
Mary Kate Wheeler Spencer ’40, June 1, 2008, at home in Menlo Park, California. Portland resident Mary Kate attended Reed during her junior year and graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1940 with a BA in philosophy. During her adult life, she taught nursery school for 20 years in Redwood City, and devoted more than 40 years to the study of Zen Buddhism. She married John Spencer in 1949 and moved to Menlo Park in 1952, where she raised her daughter and son. She received a master's degree in early childhood education from Stanford University in 1958. Her travels took her to Nepal, Afghanistan, and Peru, and in the U.S. West, she enjoyed backpacking in the Cascade Mountains, boating on the Metolius River, and swimming in the Pacific. Mary Kate was active in founding the Jikoji Zen Temple in Los Gatos in 1983. She also wrote poetry; did painting, drawing, potting, and sculpting; and took pleasure is sewing a family of dolls. Survivors include her daughter, Sarah Forsblad, who provided the details for this memorial.
Patricia Svoboda Ruiz ’66
Patricia Svoboda Ruiz ’66, April 12, 2003. Patricia earned a BA from Reed in political science and a master's degree from the University of Washington in library science. She lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she was employed as a holistic health practitioner. She had one son.
Helen Lucille Evans Schley ’35
Helen Irwin Schley ’35 in 2007, at play during an annual family event at the Oregon coast.
Helen Lucille Irwin Schley ’35, November 25, 2009, in Portland. Helen was 16 when she entered Reed, and earned a degree in art. She taught art and did drafting work for the Kaiser shipyard in Vancouver, Washington, during the war. After the war, she worked for the American Red Cross in Japan. In 1949, she took a linguistics course at UCLA that launched her on her “true” vocation-teaching English as a second language. For the next 14 years, she taught English to immigrants in Oakland, California, and in Portland. Helen studied linguistics at Lewis & Clark College, Oregon State University, and Portland State College, where she subsequently taught English to international students for 15 years. She also taught at Mt. Hood Community College and at Linfield College. She had a natural instinct for language and teaching, to which her students responded with joy and enthusiasm. From a public obituary, we learned that Helen cared deeply about civil rights and international justice and attended peace marches and vigils in her 80s. In her 90s, she studied Spanish at Portland Community College. “Reed influenced me, most importantly, by my personal appreciation of intellectual stimulation and activity. By intellectual, I mean, thinking of things and studying things, and thinking of opinions and having to support my opinions. Those are important things from Reed.” Helen's happy marriage to Robert C. Schley, which began in 1953, ended tragically with his early death in 1964. Survivors include their two daughters and her brother, Richard Irwin ’42. A second brother, Phillip R. Irwin ’40, also attended Reed.
Lucy Burpee Shepard Howard ’37
Lucy Burpee Shepard Howard ’37,November 10, 2010, in Portland.
Lucy lived to be 95, and was loved and treasured for her kindness, humor, and creativity. She was youngest of five daughters born to Alice Failing Shepard and Edward Shepard, orchardist and editor of Better Fruit magazine. Following her father's untimely death when she was three, she moved with her family from Hood River, Oregon, to northwest Portland, where her mother assumed management of the Failing family household. The household then was comprised of Lucy and her sisters, including Ann W. Shepard ’23 [dean of students 1926–68], Elsie Shepard Patten ’33, and Henrietta Shepard Pflueger ’35; grandmother Olivia Burch Henderson Failing, who was born in the second covered wagon train to Oregon; and aunt Henrietta Henderson Failing, founder and first curator of the Portland Art Museum.
Marian Helen Stevens Larson ’37
Marian Helen Stevens Larson ’37, October 11, 2010, in Tualatin, Oregon. When Marian graduated from Portland's Lincoln High School, she received the gift of a 1929 Model A Ford, which she named “M.D.,” short for doctor of medicine-her “special dream.” She studied at Reed for two years, leaving the college so that her sister would have the means to attend school. As a mother in 1950, Marian completed a BS in nursing at St. Vincent Hospital in Portland, which, she said, partially realized her original dream. She also earned an MS in nursing from the University of Oregon in 1959 and “set forth on a very rewarding career.” She helped activate a new Veterans Administration hospital in Sepulveda, California, and was the first director of nursing at the Dammasch State Hospital in Wilsonville, Oregon, where she worked for nine years. She also was an instructor in psychiatric and medical-surgical nursing at Clark College for over a decade. In later years, she lived in Tualatin, where volunteered for the Tualatin Historical Society, the Tualatin-Durham Senior Citizens Center, and the Tualatin Presbyterian Church. Marian's son died in 1991; survivors include three grandchildren.
Nancy T. Lindbloom Simmons ’39
Nancy T. Lindbloom Simmons ’39, November 19, 2010, at home in Wenatchee, Washington.Nancy was the daughter of Swedish immigrants who settled in Portland. She earned a BA from Reed in sociology, then worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a stenographer and migratory labor social worker. She was commissioned in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1943, where she served as personnel officer for the supervisor of shipbuilding in Portland. She married John Simmons, a Royal Navy supply officer, in 1944; the couple lived in London after the war and returned to the U.S. in 1948. Nancy earned a teacher's certificate from Northern Idaho Junior College and taught history, social studies, and special education at junior high schools in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and Tacoma, Washington, before retiring in 1979. In retirement, she traveled with John, and was a community volunteer for organizations such as St. Clare Hospital, the Washington State Historical Museum, the Children's Orthopedic Guild, and the AAUW. She enjoyed reading, and playing golf and bridge. In 2004, she and John moved to Wenatchee to be closer to family. Survivors include her husband, three daughters, four grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter.
Barbara Lucille Hervin Schwab ’41
Barbara Lucille Hervin Schwab ’41, November 14, 2010, in Portland, from complications related to Alzheimer's disease.Barbara attended Reed for two years, and earned a BA from Stanford in social sciences. In 1941, she married Sidney Mayer Jr. ’32, a Reed biology graduate and a physician who died tragically in 1944, leaving Barbara with one son and a second son only a few days away from birth. In 1946, she married Herbert M. Schwab, who became first chief judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals; they had a daughter. Barbara reported that life with her family was a happy and rewarding one. She was a wonderful cook, who created legendary pies, and she enjoyed gardening and creating a beautiful home. Although she was gifted as a painter and sculptor, she passed up opportunities for serious study in favor of family obligations. She was also adept at languages and had a wonderful sense of humor. As a member of the Portland Symphony board, Barbara was instrumental in starting the Young Audiences program. She was active in the League of Women Voters, the Boys & Girls Aid Society, the Parry Center, the American Red Cross, Oregon Health & Science University, and the Oregon Humanities Forum; and while living in Salem, she was active in the Bush Barn Art Center, where she started a children's book collection. At Cannon Beach, where she and Herbert lived for a time in retirement, she volunteered for the Clatsop County Historical Society and helped to found and establish the Cannon Beach History House and the Cannon Beach Arts Association. Barbara worked for a year at Reed in alumni relations and event planning, and kept an active connection to the college and its alumni. Barbara's brother, Jason A. Hervin ’41, also attended Reed, and her lifelong friend was Irma Gevurtz Robbins ’41. “My two years at Reed were two of the most pleasant, stimulating, challenging, and maturing of my life,” she noted. “Reed was where I learned about learning and about thinking and about evaluating. What a privilege to have been exposed to those brilliant, gentle, caring, constantly nudging people who comprised the Reed faculty at that time!” Survivors include three children and two grandchildren. Herbert died in 2005.
Mary Jane Chrisgau Sills ’43
Mary Jane Christgau Sills ’43, January 16, 2010, in Portland. Mary Jane began her undergraduate studies at Reed. In 1954, she moved to Washington, D.C., and worked as an aide to Senator Richard Neuberger, and later to Senator Maurine Neuberger. In 1969, she married Harold Sills; they lived in Oakland, California, and enjoyed traveling and visiting their four grandchildren. Her husband died in 1993.
Louis George Stang ’41
Louis George Stang ’41, December 1, 2010, at home in West Simsbury, Connecticut.Louis earned a BA from Reed in chemistry, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. One of his lasting memories of Reed was practicing on the pipe organ in the Eliot Hall chapel. Following graduation, he attended the California Institute of Technology as a student and instructor in analytical chemistry. After the U.S. entered World War II, his mentor at Cal Tech encouraged him to join the National Defense Research Council in Illinois. There he met coworker Dorian Heintz; they married in 1943, and were employed at the Metallurgical Laboratory in Evanston. From there, they went to the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Louis was assigned the task of producing 50 curies of barium-lanthanum-140. To meet this spectacular challenge and to overtake German and Russian military efforts, technology had to be invented and employed to construct the laboratory, the handling equipment, and also the reactor, which became known as the Stang reactor. “Dr. Robert Oppenheimer gave him exactly 365 days to accomplish this. A wager of one nickel was placed by Oppenheimer's team that this couldn't be done. That nickel was to become Louis and Dorian's most prized possession.” Following the war, radioisotope production was used primarily for medical purposes, and the couple went to Upton, New York, to design, build, and operate the hot lab at Brookhaven National Laboratory. They retired in Florida. Louis and Dorian were humble and devout individuals, as well as gifted musicians, who possessed a great sense of adventure. Louis was founder and editor of the journal of the American Nuclear Society, Nuclear Applications, and was a recipient of the American Nuclear Society's distinguished service award. Survivors include three sons and six grandchildren. Dorian also died in 2010.
Marcia Swire Weinsoft ’43
Marcia Swire Weinsoft ’43, July 2, 2009, in Portland. Marcia spent a year at Reed, before she married Jack W. Weinsoft, a wholesale merchant of small household appliances, in 1941. She was secretary to physics professor A.A. Knowlton [1915–48], in his capacity as director of premeteorology training at Reed in 1943–44. She also was a secretary at Kelwin Distributing Company and at Lewis & Clark College. Following her husband's death in 1984, she returned to Reed and audited classes. Survivors include two sons; her daughter died in 1994.
Jean Yount Smithson Heintz ’47
Jean Yount Smithson Heintz ’47, October 17, 2009, in Portland. Jean earned a BA at Reed in psychology and sociology during an era at the college that welcomed returning veterans—both new and former students. Jean said that their presence completely altered campus atmosphere. “They brought a larger perspective on history, and their experiences made their comments in class so valuable!” One veteran was Charles H. Heintz ’49, whom she married. Jean taught social studies, history, and psychology in Portland high schools for 30 years. “Looking back, I realize I learned a lot about teaching just by being a student at Reed. Dorothy Johansen's [’33, history, 1934–84] humanities seminar was my intellectual awakening.” Jean also volunteered with the Parry Center for Children and the Cub Scouts, traveled, practiced Tai Chi, and swam. Survivors include two sons and three grandchildren. Charles died in 1995.
Eva Stern Silver ’52
Eva Stern Silver ’52, April 18, 2009, in Los Angeles, California. Eva attended Reed for two years, later earning a BA from UC Berkeley and an MA from Pepperdine University. She was self-employed as a psychotherapist working with families. Eva was married to Gerald Silver, who died in 2003. They had a son, two daughters, and four grandchildren.
Mary Betty Hurd Savela ’53
Mary Betty Hurd Savela ’53, December 14, 2008, in Kent, Washington. Mary earned a BA from Reed in general literature. She was married to Milo L. Savela for 25 years; they had one son. In 1977, she completed a BA in environmental science and urban planning at the University of Washington. Two years later, she earned an MA in public administration from Seattle University and entered a career as an urban planner for the city of Renton.
Lorna Claire Hart Shute ’57
Lorna Claire Hart Shute ’57, January 14, 2011, in Saint George, Utah.Lorna studied at Reed for a year and a half, and married R. Wayne Shute in 1959. She later completed a BA in English literature at Brigham Young University. Lorna and her husband were very active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served together in missions to China, Armenia, Singapore, Greece, and Cyprus. In her public obituary, we read: “She was refined and cultured in her taste of music and art; she was a talented teacher; she spent her life with good, uplifting literature. Yet with all her well-known gifts, she was humble and unassuming, and spent her time serving her family and anyone she saw in need.” Survivors include her husband, 9 children, 41 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, and her sister.
Lois Ringstrom Helton Spinrad MAT ’63
Lois Ringstrom Helton Spinrad MAT ’63, October 2, 2010, in Seattle, Washington.Lois was an individual of great personal strength: a teacher, weaver, knitter, and musician. She earned a BA in social studies education from Stanford University, and married Paul Helton; they had a daughter and three sons and later divorced. While raising and supporting her children, Lois earned an MAT in chemistry from Reed, and taught science in the Beaverton School District. She worked for the school district for 20 years, and in her position as district administrator she met nuclear physicist Bernard Spinrad. They married in 1983 and moved to Ames, Iowa, where Bernard headed the nuclear physics department at Iowa State University. In Ames, Lois studied weaving with Emmy Hammond Shakeshaft ’51. Lois and Bernard retired to Seattle. Lois is remembered as a loving, disciplined, and adventurous person, who appreciated beauty in the arts and also in nature. Survivors include a daughter and three sons and her sister. Bernard died in 1999.
George J. Szabo MALS ’77
George J. Szabo MALS ’77 and his wife, Hope; daughter Monica is pictured.
George J. Szabo MALS ’77, June 1, 2010, in Boerne, Texas, from an infection contracted at a hospital. George was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, one of eight children, whose father was a Byzantine-rite Catholic priest. He remained a Pittsburgh Steelers fan throughout his life. In 1942, he completed an AB in agriculture, history, and political science at Rutgers. During World War II, he was a captain in the U.S. Navy and was second in command of a landing ship tank that arrived at Normandy on D-Day and was torpedoed by a German submarine. George survived the blast, along with only a few others, and he was awarded the Purple Heart. His primary career was as an executive for the Meier & Frank department store in Portland. In retirement, he earned a master's degree from Reed. Daughter Monica Selk, who informed the college of her father's death and provided details for this memorial, said: “He loved it. He loved the intellectual atmosphere and the nontraditional approach to education.” After completing the degree, he taught history and business at Sandy Union High School, in Sandy, Oregon, and helped students open a school store, equipped with surplus counters and registers from Meier & Frank. George and his wife, Hope, enjoyed 67 years of marriage. Her death in 2009 left George with a broken heart. Survivors include three daughters and two grandchildren.
Jean Elizabeth Fox Sullivan, Friend
Jean Elizabeth Fox Sullivan, December 21, 2010, in Redmond, Washington. Jean was married to former Reed president Richard H. Sullivan [1956–67]. She grew up in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, graduated from Wellesley College, and did postgraduate work at Brown University and Radcliffe College. In notifying the college of Jean's death, her daughter, Barbara Whitson, wrote that Jean had fond memories of her years at Reed and asked that her family convey her gratitude to the Reed community for the warmth and friendship shown to her. Jean was a loving and dedicated wife and mother, who enjoyed gardening and travel. Survivors include two daughters, a son, 10 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren.
Mark Schindler ’45
Mark Schindler ’45, January 2, 2012, in Los Angeles, California. Mark was the son of architect Rudolf M. Schindler and musician Pauline Gibling Schindler. His father emigrated from Austria, worked with Frank Lloyd Wright, and is identified today with the Schindler House in Los Angeles, which he built for his family. The house is internationally recognized as the prototype of the California patio house and is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places due to the efforts of Mark and his family. Mark transferred to Reed from Black Mountain College. He earned a BA in mathematics from Reed and an MS in physics from the University of Southern California. He was a physicist and a consultant in electronic design, and he contributed to U.S. spacecraft projects from the Redstone project through the shuttle program. He also manufactured sound equipment. Mark and Mary DuPont married and had two sons and a daughter; they later divorced. Survivors include a son and daughter and three grandchildren. “He cherished animals, music, yoga, cultural diversity, and ideas. He believed in human rights, a healthy planet, and an exciting universe.”
Mary Nichols Arragon Spaeth ’53
Mary Nichols Arragon Spaeth ’53, November 22, 2011, at home in Corvallis, Oregon. Mary was the daughter of legendary Reed professor Rex Arragon [history, 1923–62; 1970–74] and Gertrude Nichols Arragon [honorary alumna and quondam leader of the Faculty Wives Club], and the sister of Margaret Arragon Labadie ’43. The Reed legacy they shared would later include her husband, Joe L. Spaeth ’53, and their sons, Donald Spaeth ’78 and Alan Spaeth ’84, as well as Margaret’s husband, James H. Labadie ’43, and sons, Marc Labadie ’69 and Matt Labadie ’72. “My memories of Reed are too numerous to list, from riding my tricycle on campus as a small child to working in the Reed library when in grade and high school to attending Reed to seeing my two sons, Donald and Alan, graduate. As for what stands out the most while attending Reed, it is starting to go with Joe in April 1951 . . .” Except for a year in England, Mary spent her childhood in Portland, graduating from the Catlin School. She earned a BA in literature at Reed and an MLS from Columbia in 1954; she and Joe married that same year in the Eliot Hall chapel. Joe was a graduate student at the University of Chicago, and Mary worked in the Chicago Historical Society library until her sons were born. She remained a full-time mother until 1967, when she became editorial director at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. She was later named honorary life member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research. In 1971, she and Joe moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where Mary was editor and librarian (with a variety of titles) in the Survey Research Laboratory; she retired in 1992. Joe retired the following year, and they moved back to the Pacific Northwest and settled in Corvallis. Both took up golf; they played at the Corvallis Country Club and at courses they encountered during their travels throughout the West. Survivors include Joe, Donald, and Alan.
Thayron A. Sandquist ’56
Thayron A. Sandquist ’56, January 14, 2012, at home in Parksville, B.C., Canada. Born and raised in Longview, Washington, Sandy became, at the age of 12, the youngest licensed ham radio operator in the U.S., building much of his own equipment. He won a scholarship from his high school to attend Reed. Deborah Hughes ’59 recalled sharing classes with Sandy under Richard Jones [history 1941–86]. “He was a very bright student of history and politics.” Sandy earned a BA in history from Reed and won a Fulbright to study at the London School of Economics. He completed an MA and PhD at the University of Toronto, where he taught until he retired in 1995. Sandy had a lifelong interest in bicycling. His cycle shop in Toronto, now operated by one of his sons, remains integral to the Toronto cycling community. Sandy introduced his wife, Stella Meades, to cycling and they made several trips in France and Spain; he completed the 1999 Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle ride in 90 hours. Sandy was a master craftsman and woodworker and an inventor and tinkerer. In retirement he designed and built a freestanding workshop, where he crafted model ships, toys, furniture, and other projects. Sandy and Stella designed and built a craftsman-style home and garden. Survivors include Stella and her three daughters, Sandy’s two sons and daughter, nine grandchildren, and his brother. His first wife, Geraldine Davis, and a daughter predeceased him.
Deborah Lynn Smith Martson, Staff
Deborah Lynn Smith Martson, December 9, 2011, in Molalla, Oregon, after a “gritty and graceful” battle with ovarian cancer. Debbie earned a BA in English from Duke, graduating with honors. During her junior year abroad at the University of Edinburgh, she met Rick Martson, a student from Washington and Jefferson College. They married in 1969 and lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, while Rick completed a JD from the University of Michigan. They moved to Oregon, where Debbie worked in public relations for Gary White Advertising and Rick began his law practice. They purchased a farm in Molalla, restored and renovated the 1852 farmhouse on the property, and raised American Saddlebred horses, Suffolk sheep, and Scottish Highland cattle. In 1974, Debbie got a job in publicity and publications at Reed and was appointed vice president for college relations two years later; she was the first female vice president at the college and the youngest member of the president’s staff. She also was a member of the Women’s Committee. After leaving Reed in 1983, she worked part time for Marylhurst University. She was a tireless volunteer and served on the boards of numerous organizations, including the World Affairs Council, Chamber Music Northwest, Young Audiences, the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility for Women, and the United Way. Debbie is remembered as an intelligent and determined individual, full of fun, and engaged fully in life. Survivors include her husband, two sons, three grandchildren, mother, brother, and many friends and admirers.
Paul Byron Simpson ’36
Paul Byron Simpson ’36, January 21, 2013, in Eugene, Oregon. A fourth-generation Oregonian who grew up in Portland, Paul earned a BA in mathematics from Reed and then enrolled in a master’s program in economics at Cornell University. Completing that, he worked for the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C., and enlisted in the navy, serving stateside and as a supply officer in Saipan during World War II. He then returned to Cornell, where he completed a PhD and taught economics and statistics. He also taught at Princeton and Stanford before joining the economics faculty at the University of Oregon. “A man of a vast array of interests,” Paul loved music and performed on piano and viola. During travels in the U.S. and in Europe, South America, Australia, Korea, China, Africa, and Indonesia, he attended concerts and theatre productions and visited art museums. His love of the arts led to the vital role he played in founding Eugene’s Hult Center for the Performing Arts. He also helped found the Pearl Buck Center, which provides support to individuals with developmental challenges. Paul camped, hiked, and kayaked across the U.S. and cultivated a small-acreage farm in Creswell, Oregon. He and Jean W. Miller were wed in 1938 and raised three sons and one daughter. Jean died from cancer in the late ’70s, and in 1984 Paul wed Ellen Coleman Gruetter ’36, his high school and college classmate. “Brilliant and diverse, loved and adored by family and friends,” Paul is survived by three grandchildren and great-grandchildren and by four stepchildren. Ellen died in 2003 and one of Paul’s sons died in 2011.
John C. Siegle Sr. ’47
John C. Siegle Sr. ’47, January 6, 2013, in New Castle, Delaware. John received a BA in chemistry from Reed and a PhD in organic chemistry from Oregon State University. He served in the navy during World War II and taught chemistry at Reed and Purdue after the war. He worked for the DuPont Chemical Company, where he held six patents, retiring in 1985. John was a member of Calvary Episcopal Church and a member of the DuPont Country Club. Survivors include his wife of 34 years, Marilyn; two daughters and two sons; a stepdaughter; eight grandchildren; seven step-grandchildren; and a great grandson.
Joyce Elaine Simon Gillespie ’48
Joyce Elaine Simon Gillespie ’48, November 20, 2012, in Priest River, Idaho. Joyce came to Reed from nearby Gresham, Oregon, and studied at the college for two years. During World War II, she worked at Montgomery Ward, and in 1947 she married her best friend, Duane Gillespie. The couple moved to Priest River in 1954. Joyce worked briefly as a librarian for the Priest River Elementary School, but was primarily devoted to raising her three children and volunteering for 4-H, Job’s Daughters, and the Priest River Friends of the Library. She was passionate about gardening, and did beautiful work by hand, including sewing and quilting. With her husband she enjoyed picking huckleberries, hunting for mushrooms, and stream fishing. Survivors include two daughters and a son, nine grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
George S. Spencer ’50
George S. Spencer ’50, December 14, 2012, in Sun City West, Arizona. George grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, and was at work at the Bank of Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He then enlisted in the army air corps, serving as a pilot and as a pilot instructor. After the war he enrolled at Reed and earned a BA in biology. George was a nuclear engineer with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and was regional director of the Radiological Safety and Safeguards Division in Walnut Creek, California. In retirement, he and his wife, Beth, traveled abroad and moved to Sun City West, where George enjoyed playing golf. Beth died in 1992. Survivors include his wife Carol, two sons, five grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
Victoria Moran Sargent ’54
Victoria Moran Sargent ’54, October 29, 2011, in Berkeley, California. Vicky was at Reed for two years and completed a BA degree in English and social studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She also earned a general elementary school teaching certificate and taught at the Walden Center School in 1962–69. In 1980, she spent a year studying sculpture at École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. She and Thornton W. (Tony) Sargent III ’51 married in 1952 and had two sons. Vicky and Tony were co-owners of the Rubissow Sargent Winery.
Alta-Ruth Schmidt Young ’39
Alta-Ruth Schmidt Young ’39, July 4, 2009, in Oakhurst, California. Alta-Ruth came to Reed after studying in junior colleges in California. She earned a BA in general literature, and returned to the college in 1941 for a teaching certificate. “The year was well spent, although I subsequently went into social work rather than teaching.” She worked with teenagers through YMCA programs in Portland and in Bellingham, Washington. She married Edward H. Young Jr. in 1946 and did casework in Multnomah County for ten years until moving with her husband and their son to Los Gatos, California. Alta-Ruth considered her job as a medical social worker at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose to be her most satisfying work experience. After retiring in 1970, she and Edward moved to a home adjacent to Yosemite National Park. They owned a second home in Oakhurst, near their son and his family. Life in retirement remained busy and full. Alta-Ruth said that the years at Reed taught her to treasure time. “'Free time' is a luxury I have never since taken for granted!”
Claire Elaine Smith Hill ’42
Claire Elaine Smith Hill ’42, May 16, 2009, in Bend, Oregon. Claire earned a BA from Reed in psychology. Her brother, Newton B. Smith ’44, was also a Reed graduate. She had three sons.
Thomas E. Smail ’52
Thomas E. Smail Jr. ’52, September 5, 2009, in Sacramento, California, from complications related to Parkinson's disease. An Oregon native, Tom attended Reed for two years before transferring to the University of Washington. At Reed, he met Ella Lee Stevens ’52; they married in 1952. Tom earned an LLB from the University of Washington and an LLM from New York University. He began his legal career with a clerkship for the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Later he was a trial attorney for the tax division of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and was appointed assistant U.S. Attorney for Northern California in charge of tax litigation. Tom was national co-chairman for the American Bar Association for Incorporations. He also enjoyed golfing. Survivors include Lee, two daughters, five grandchildren, and a brother. A son predeceased him.
Barbara Sloate Isgur ’63 and Trustee
Barbara Sloate Isgur ’63, September 6, 2009, in Woodside, California, from cancer. Barbara, known to family and close friends as Missy, served with distinction on the board of trustees for 16 years (1993–2009). Her careful observation, wise counsel, energy, and dedication enhanced all aspects of the board's work. Her commitment to the college's rigorous education made her a strong leader on the Academic Affairs Committee where she served as a member and as chair (1995–2008).
Although she was not graduated from Reed, her Reed experience left a profound mark on her intellectual development. She later transferred to Columbia University, earned a BA in sociology, and continued in that field at New York University, where she completed a PhD. She was an instructor and research associate at New York University (1973–80) and an instructor at Brooklyn College (1974–77). In 1980, she began a career in investment banking, software development, and consulting. She retired in 1998 as senior vice president of Strategem, and served as a director of Activision Blizzard.
Kurt Derek Sigmon ’70
Kurt Derek Sigmon ’70, April 26, 2009, at home with his family, in Tempe, Arizona. Kurt taught computer science at the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe. Survivors include his wife, Catherine; two daughters; a stepson and stepdaughters; and his mother.
Roger Winslow Stone ’77
Roger Winslow Stone ’77, June 8, 2008, in a sailing accident in the Gulf of Mexico. Roger was born in London, England, and attended Reed for two years. As a safety officer for Texas A&M University, he was on board the sailboat "Cynthia Woods," together with five other crew members, for the annual Regatta de Amigos-a 700-mile race from Galveston, Texas, to Veracruz, Mexico, when the boat suddenly lost its keel. “Stone, who was below deck, began yelling that the hull was breached,” reported the Galveston County Daily News. “Attempts to start the boat's engine failed. Within seconds, the boat rolled onto its side, tossing three overboard. Stone assisted two students out of the boat, but was trapped inside.” The two students, plus three other crew members, were rescued after spending 26 hours in the Gulf of Mexico. Roger drowned in the wreckage. “We now know that Roger Stone died a hero in the classic sense of the word,” R. Bowen Loftin, vice president and CEO of A&M-Galveston, told the newspaper. Roger had sailed the regatta numerous times and was an excellent navigator and accomplished seaman. For his heroic valor, his family accepted the Gold Lifesaving Medal from the U.S. Coast Guard. Survivors include his wife of 18 years, Linda; a daughter and son; and his mother.
James Patrick Seiter ’82
James Patrick Seiter ’82, September 2, 2009, in Cincinnati, Ohio. James studied at Reed and later received his BA in English and his MA in library science from the University of Oklahoma. Survivors include three brothers and two sisters.
Virginia Anne Simmons Wolf ’36
Virginia Anne Simmons Wolf ’36, September 15, 2010, in Bethesda, Maryland, from complications related to Alzheimer's disease. A writer and entomologist, Ginny grew up in Portland in the ’20s. Her education began early: “My dad would bring home great rolls of butcher paper, and we would lie on our stomachs in front of the pot-bellied stove, copying the entire front page of the morning Oregonian in block letters. We could read and write long before we went to school.” At Reed, she earned a BA in literature and also met Harry E. Wolf ’41; they were married in the Eliot Hall chapel in 1938. After Harry completed a degree in physics from Reed, the two did graduate studies at the University of Oklahoma. Following World War II, Harry began a career as a physicist in underwater research with the U.S. Naval Ordnance Lab in Maryland. Ginny worked as a writer and editor. In the ’40s, she sold several stories to national magazines, including a story set at Reed about climbing Mt. Hood. In the ’50s–’60s, she focused on science writing and became publications officer of the entomology research division for the USDA, completing a graduate-level program with the USDA in 1965. A year later, she published “Titling Biological Publications for Proper Storage and Retrieval” in the Bulletin of the Entomological Society of America. Ginny and Harry moved to Hawaii in 1968; there she did editing and writing for the entomological laboratory at the University of Hawaii, while he served on the military's science advisory group. Ginny continued to write and edit for Hawaiian scientists for 18 years. She also served as Maryland state chairman of international relations for the League of Women Voters. She published her poetry and played five versions of the recorder. Her education at Reed was the foundation for her career, she said. “I learned to think on my feet, hold up my end of an argument, and write well.” Survivors include her son, Peter; her daughter, Catherine Wolf Swan ’66; and two grandchildren, including grandson Carl J. Swan ’06. Harry died of brain cancer in 1999.
Ruth Wilhelmina Spoerli Spoerli-Herman ’38
Ruth Wilhelmina Spoerli-Herman ’38, May 4, 2010, in Portland. Ruth was born in Portland, the daughter of Swiss emigrants. Her father was a wood craftsman who made furniture; Ruth attended Reed as a day-dodger, earning a BA in sociology. She then pursued a career in social work. During World War II, she was employed as a medical social worker with the American Red Cross, serving in military hospitals in the Pacific. In 1949, she earned an MA in social work from Case Western Reserve University. Two years later, she joined the staff of the crippled children's division at the University of Oregon Medical School (now Oregon Health & Science University); she retired as chief of the OHSU social work unit in 1986. At the age of 72, Ruth married Jack Herman; it was her first marriage. “My life has not been all work,” she wrote in retirement. “I have been able to travel worldwide as a bird watcher, skier, and tourist, as well as enjoying gardening and growing roses.” She and Ruth Wetterborg Sandvik ’38 maintained their college friendship, visiting one another and traveling together. She also enjoyed keeping up with Beth Tabor Mullady ’38 and Ellen Knowlton Johnson ’39, and was an active member in the Foster-Scholz Club. Ruth's three stepsons survive her. Her husband died in 1993.
Harry Donald Setterberg ’39
Harry Donald Setterberg ’39, October 22, 2010, in Des Moines, Iowa. With a BA in mathematics from Reed, Don moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon, where he taught mathematics, science, and music, and met music teacher Eleanor Smith; they married and moved to Seattle in 1941. Don worked as an engineering supervisor for the Boeing Company for 37 years. He and Eleanor shared a love of music. Don was a gifted banjo and guitar player and performed with the Seattle Banjo Band, the Banjokers, and the Seattle Mandolin Orchestra. Survivors include Eleanor, a son and daughter, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Don's brothers,James M. Setterberg ’37 and Gordon A. Setterberg ’42, were also Reed graduates.
Colleen Ruth Lamont Smith ’54
Colleen Ruth Lamont Smith ’54, August 5, 2010, in Riverside, California, from progressive supranuclear palsy. Colleen attended Cottey College, studied two years at Reed, and received a BA in English literature from University of California, Berkeley. In 1986, she earned an MA in counseling psychology from Chapman College and was a licensed marriage, family, and child therapist. As a breast cancer survivor in Eugene, Oregon, she became founder and state coordinator of the Oregon Breast Cancer Coalition and backed legislation for the Oregon Women's Health and Wellness Act of 1993. Survivors include three sons and four granddaughters. A son predeceased her; her husband, William Smith, to whom she was married for 22 years, died in 1977.
Thomas Michael Shepard ’60
Thomas Michael Shepard ’60, September 20, 2010, in Portland. A Portland native, Tom attended Reed for two years and completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Washington. Survivors include his wife, two sons, three stepchildren, 14 grandchildren, and sister.
John Leasing Selling ’37
John Leasing Selling ’37, January 23, 2010, in Monroe, Washington. John was the grandson of Ben Selling, highly regarded businessman, politician, philanthropist, and social advocate, who built Portland’s historic Selling Building, designed by A.E. Doyle, in 1911. John’s father, physician Laurence Selling, was cofounder of the Portland Clinic, and his mother, Adelaide Selling, established the Selling Family Scholarship at Reed. John left the college after two years and worked in the wholesale grocery business. He also served in World War II. He and Carol Sanier ’44 married in 1945 and had three children. He later married Lenore Friedman. John found his calling as a real estate broker. He received the professional achievement award from the Institute of Real Estate Management and taught commercial and industrial real estate at Mt. Hood Community College and Portland State University for a decade. He traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and abroad for real estate training and conferences, and enjoyed camping and cooking his special barbecue. In his public obituary, we read that he was a vibrant, inquisitive, and giving person—a participant in life, not a spectator. He was perpetually optimistic and demonstrated a willingness to take on new challenges throughout his life. Survivors include his wife, Lenore; his daughter and two sons; two grandchildren; and his sister, Margaret Selling Labby ’40. His brother, Philip Selling ’35, predeceased him.
Oma Izetta Woodcock Singer ’38
Oma Izetta Woodcock Singer ’38, 2011, in Washington. Amy grew up in South Bend, Washington, immersed in the culture of her mother and her ancestors, the Chinook Indian tribe. Amy’s mother taught her the Chinook language and customs, shared her knowledge of medicinal plants, and insisted that Amy and her siblings live by the Chinook honor system and with absolute integrity. Amy attended South Bend High School, but transferred to the Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon, after witnessing racial discrimination aimed at one of her sisters. At Chemawa, she met young people from Montana, Alaska, Arizona, Wyoming, and California; unfortunately, they were forbidden to use their native languages and there was no instruction in Indian culture.
The school’s “outing system,” designed to place young women in homes as maids and housekeepers, bored Amy, who aspired to be a teacher. “And one day the home economics teacher came to me and said, ‘I know of a placement in Portland where you could go. And, maybe if you went there and you learned about the college in the city, maybe you could go there.’” Amy was hired as a housekeeper by professor Larry Hartmus [classics 1930–39], who soon recognized her passion for knowledge (she read her way through the family’s library) and recommended she seek admission to Reed. She was accepted in 1934, becoming one of the college’s first Native American students, and later winning a scholarship from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Psychology professor Monte Griffith [1926–54] advised Amy’s thesis, “The Nature and Source of Referrals to the Child-Guidance Clinic,” for which she earned a BA. Amy also babysat for professor Frank Munk [political science 1939–65]; one of her charges was the young Mike Munk ’56.
Leonard W. Shoepe ’49
Leonard W. Shoepe ’49, September 2, 2011, in Portland. Leonard was a graduate of Franklin High School in Portland. He served in the U.S. Army and then studied briefly at Reed and at the American Institute of Banking. He had a 30-year career with Multnomah County, retiring as county treasurer in 1982. Leonard created oil, watercolor, and pastel paintings, which were shown in a number of art exhibitions. Survivors include three children and four grandchildren.
Barbara Landale Stitt ’71
Barbara Landale Stitt ’71, October 17, 2011, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Barbara earned a BA from Reed in biology and psychology and a PhD from the California Institute of Technology in biochemistry and genetics. She taught biochemistry at the Temple University School of Medicine, with a research focus on the molecular mechanism of Escherichia coli transcription termination factor Rho. In 1984, she married Charles Grubmeyer. Her hobbies included reading, gardening, collecting glass paperweights, and attending antique auctions.
Lew Carey Sayers MAT ’73
Lew Carey Sayers MAT ’73, October 4, 2011, in Dallas, Texas. Lew was instructor in English and developmental and technical writing for 36 years at Mountain View College and was highly regarded by students and fellow faculty members. He earned a BA in psychology from Dartmouth College and served with honor in the U.S. Army in 1969–72. His master’s degree from Reed was in English. Outside of teaching, Lew was a mentor for area youth, volunteering through the Trinity River Mission and other programs, in order to help individuals find success in academic and professional endeavors and to make decisions that improved their lives overall. In addition, he enjoyed fishing and playing basketball and tennis. “Lew Sayers made a difference in all the lives he touched. His unbridled optimism, kind-hearted spirit, brilliant sense of humor, calm patience, and enduring compassion made him a great teacher and a treasured friend.” Survivors include his wife, Jan, and his sister and brother.
Marjorie Jean Sinclair Wolf ’47
Marjorie Jean Sinclair Wolf ’47, September 14, 2012, in Portland. Marjorie attended Reed for one year and completed her bachelor’s degree in English literature at Willamette University. She also earned a master’s degree from Lewis & Clark College. For 27 years, she taught language arts to children in middle schools in Canby, Oregon. She was also a member of St. Patrick Church in Canby. Survivors include her husband, Cleophas Wolf, whom she married in 1953; three sons, including Lewellyn S. Wolf ’76; three daughters; 14 grandchildren; and a sister.
Sharon Elaine Shuteran ’74
Sharon Elaine Shuteran ’74, May 5, 2012, on a hike in Baja California, Mexico, from a heart attack. Sharon attended Reed for two years before transferring to the University of Denver, where she earned a BA and a JD. She began her legal career as a VISTA attorney in Denver; her final position was judge for the San Miguel County Court. In 1979, she moved to Telluride, where she owned and operated the Excelsior Café with her spouse, Peter Muckerman. For 14 years, she did the baking for the café in the morning before going to court. Sharon and Peter had one son, Eliot; they later divorced. Sharon was known outside the courtroom for her tireless work as a volunteer for nonprofits and local festivals, for her work with a medical team in Bhutan, for hosting international students, and for organizing a charter school in Telluride. In addition, she taught conflict resolution workshops. Colleagues remember her as an unfailingly fair judge: she did not move people through the court system, but was attentive to details and committed to finding creative sentencing solutions for every defendant. Friends remember her as compassionate, kind, and generous. “Sharon’s ego was not part of any of her behavior or activities,” said one friend. “It was not in need of reinforcement. Her need was to be of help to others in the world.” Survivors include her son.
Ruth Sittner Nishikawa ’51
Ruth Sittner Nishikawa ’51, March 2, 1995, in Portland. She worked as a certified medical assistant and worked for 20 years as an assistant to her brother, a physician. She was a member of the Second German Congregational Church. Survivors include her husband, a brother, and a sister.
Susan Scott Holman ’33
Susan Scott Holman ’33, December 17, 1995, in Portland. She attended Reed from 1929 to 1931 and married Donald Holman ’31 in 1935. She was a homemaker and an active volunteer with Loaves and Fishes, providing meals to the elderly. She was also a former member of the Junior League of Portland, Trinity Episcopal Church, the Multnomah Athletic Club, and the Forest Hills Golf Club. Her hobbies included golf and gardening, and she was an avid cat lover. Survivors include two sons, a daughter, a sister, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
Lilian Schwichtenberg Neilson ’34
Lilian Schwichtenberg Neilson ’34, January 29, 1996, in Portland. After graduating from Reed with a BA in biology, she and her twin sister, Marian Schwichtenberg Neilson Ellis ’34, entered the University of Oregon Medical School, where they both earned masters degrees in bacteriology with minors in biochemistry. Lilianworked as a bacteriologist for the State Board of Health from 1935 until 1942. She married Duncan Neilson in 1938 in a double ceremony with her sister, who married Neilson’s identical twin brother. After World War II, Lilian'shusband practiced medicine in Portland while they raised a family of seven children. Their hobby of growing orchids eventually expanded, becoming a family business. She took an active role in propagating and cloning the plants. After her husband’s death in 1971, Liliancontinued to work as the business’ master plant propagator and vice president until her retirement in 1986. She was active in the Westminster Presbyterian Church and a longtime volunteer with the March of Dimes. Survivors include her twin sister; four daughters; three sons, including Duncan Neilson II ’65; and 13 grandchildren.
Ethel Bond Saucerman ’17
Ethel C. Bond Saucerman ’17, January 1, 1996, in Portland, where she spent most of her life. After graduation with a degree in mathematics, she taught math at Reed for a brief time, and she later taught at local rural schools and in Vancouver, Washington. She married Fletcher Saucerman in 1927. Survivors include two daughters, a step-daughter, seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to .
Albert H. Schwichtenberg ’26
Albert H. Schwichtenberg ’26, November 15, 1996, in Melbourne, Florida. He graduated from the University of Oregon Medical School in 1929 and married Lucille Shumway ’27 in the same year in the chapel in Eliot Hall. He served in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps for 30 years. During World War II, he was honored with two Legion of Merit Awards for his involvement in evacuations of the wounded. In 1949 he became a brigadier general and was senior medical officer for the Secretary of Defense. His final military assignment was as surgeon of Air Defense Command. After retiring from the military in 1959, he became head of the Department of Aerospace Medicine and Bioastronautics at the Lovelace Foundation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he directed the medical phase of the first astronaut selection program. After his retirement from Lovelace in 1970, he worked on development of a computerized medical care system for remote medical care on Indian reservations. He was a founder of the Museum of Natural History in Albuquerque. Albertwas loved boating and fishing, and the couple spent many summers sailing in the San Juan Islands, Washington, and in the Inland Passage to Alaska. In their later years, they settled in Melbourne.Lucille died in1995. Survivors include their son, daughters Anna Lou Schwichtenberg Hall ’52 and Joann Schwichtenberg Freimund ’58, 12 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
Lucille S. Shumway Schwichtenberg ’27
Lucille Shumway Schwichtenberg ’27 died October 9, 1995, in Melbourne, Florida. Lucille andAlbert H. Schwichtenberg ’26 were married in 1929.She taught for two years at Mt. Baker School until her marriage in 1929. During Albert's 30-year career with the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps, and his workat the Lovelace Foundation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lucillegave her attention to raising their three children and earned a master’s in library science from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Albert was an boater and fisherman, and the couple spent many summers sailing in the San Juan Islands, Washington, and in the Inland Passage to Alaska. In their later years, they settled in Melbourne. Survivors include Albert, their son, daughters Anna Lou Schwichtenberg Hall ’52 and Joann Schwichtenberg Freimund ’58, 12 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
Marian Schwichtenberg Ellis ’34
Marian Schwichtenberg Ellis ’34, January 6, 1998, in Portland, where she lived for most of her life. She earned a master’s degree in bacteriology from the University of Oregon Medical School in 1935 and worked in the allergy clinic there in 1935–42. She married physician Ronald Neilson in 1938 and they had six children. During this time, she was a homemaker and an active volunteer with the March of Dimes in Portland. After his death in 1960, she was forced to return to work to support her family, and she returned to work in the allergy clinic at the University of Oregon. In 1967, she married William Ellis, adding his four children to her family. After his death in 1976, she moved to a retirement community in Tigard. She and one of her daughters traveled to Russia and China, and she also visited Hawaii with friends. She was a member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church for over 50 years and was active in the Lake Oswego Garden Club. Survivors include 6 children, 4 stepchildren, 19 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.
Ralph Schoenbeck ’62
Ralph Schoenbeck ’62, December 15, 1997, of liver failure, in Beavercreek, Oregon. He was chief executive officer of Electro-Chem Metal Finishing, where he worked for 36 years. He was married to Linda Saarinen ’62; she died in 1995. He served four terms on his local school board, and his leisure interests included travel, photography, fishing, reading, and archaeology. Survivors include his sons Michael ’92 and David; and a sister.
Roger K. Smith ’47
Roger Smith ’47, October 26, 1997, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. He was a retired structural dynamics engineer. In 1944, he married Marion Bruner, and they had four children.
Constance Herring Sherrard ’38
Constance Herring Sherrard ’38, February 7, 1998, in Portland. She married Thomas Sherrard ’37 in 1940, and they lived in Chicago, where she was a teacher. After their retirement in 1979, they returned to Oregon, where they purchased a home in Mosier, east of Hood River. They were active in community affairs and in events at Reed. After her husband’s death in 1994, Constance moved to Portland. Survivors include two sons; two daughters; and 10 grandchildren.
Rosemary Elizabeth Cowen Shull ’31
Rosemary Cowen Shull ’31, January 21, 2000, in Lewis and Clark, Montana. She attended Reed in 1927-28 and was employed with the University of Idaho for 16 years. Survivors include two sons, seven grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.
Richard M. Smith ’43
Richard M. Smith ’43, January 27, 2000, in Portland. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Air Force as a meteorologist in North Africa, and he later studied at Oregon State College. He was an engineer with Bonneville Power Administration for 22 years, retiring in 1984. He enjoyed genealogy and golf. He is survived by three nieces.
Evelyn Mills Snyder ’42
Evelyn Mills Snyder ’42, November 3, 1999, in Lake Oswego, Oregon. She attended Reed for one year. She married in 1947 and was a homemaker, raising four children. Later, she earned a BA and master’s degree from Boston University, and she was a high school teacher at Lexington High School in Massachusetts for 10 years. After retiring from teaching, she returned to live in Portland and was a volunteer mediator with Resolutions Northwest. She also served as president of the Portland chapter of the Older Women’s League. Survivors include two sons; two daughters; two brothers; nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Joyce Stevenson Pyle ’44
Joyce Stevenson Pyle ’44, January 8, 2000, in Bellingham, Washington. She earned a master’s degree in library science at Columbia University in 1945 and worked at the library of Wellesley College for three years. in 1948, she accepted a position with the library of the University of California, Berkeley as assistant head of the loan department, and in 1970 she became head of technical services at the new Hayward College Library. She retired in 1980, and she and her husband, Robert, later moved to her hometown of Bellingham, Washington. Her husband died in 1992, and there are no known survivors.
Ronald L. Scott ’49
Ronald L. Scott ’49, December 22, 2000, in California. After graduation, Ronald earned an MD from Washington University, St. Louis, in 1952 and completed a residency at the Sonoma County Hospital in Santa Rosa, California. He married Elizabeth Bruce ’50 in the chapel in Eliot Hall in 1947. They moved to Sonoma in 1956, where Ronald had a medical partnership for four years. From 1960 until his retirement, he was associated with Kaiser Permanente in Napa, Vallejo, and Fairfield. Most of his career was spent working as a family practitioner and anesthesiologist, and he was one of the first physicians to write and pass the family practice boards. His outside interests included fly fishing, woodworking, and leatherwork. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, a son, and four grandchildren.
Ruth Simmonds Tunturi ’39
Ruth Simmonds Tunturi ’39, December 25, in Portland. She attended Reed for one year and later attended Marylhurst College. From 1939 to the mid-’50s, she was a reporter and editor of the women’s page for the Oregon Journal. She later worked as a personnel counselor with Commercial Industrial Personnel Service, retiring in 1970. She married Archie Tunturi ’39 in 1948. She was a volunteer counselor for the William Temple House in Portland for almost 30 years, and was a member of St. Mark Anglican Church, where she edited the church newsletter from 1962 to 1995. She was a former member of the board of the Oregon Symphony and also served on the Reed Women’s Committee. Archie died in 1990.
Thea Snyder Lowry ’53
Thea Snyder Lowry ’53, January 22, 2002, after being struck by a car in Novato, California, while helping to clear the road of a lawn mower that had fallen from a pickup truck. She was a writer, publisher, airplane pilot, artist, and marriage counselor, and in the ’50s was part of the Beat Generation with her brother, Gary Snyder ’51, Jack Kerouac, and others. She attended Reed in her freshman year, and in 1971 she earned a BA from New Mexico Highlands University. In 1973, she earned a master’s in psychology from Goddard College. She was a marriage counselor and graduate level instructor in the counseling department of San Francisco State University in the ’70s and ’80s, and she was codirector of the University’s Center for Counseling Skills. In 1972, she and her then husband served on the staff of the Masters and Johnson Clinic in St. Louis as part of the research team investigating sexual dynamics and relationships. After retiring from counseling, she wrote and published aviation manuals and started her own publishing firm, Manifold Press. She was the author of three books: Montgomery Remembered, Petaluma’s Poultry Pioneers, and Empty Shells: The Story of Petaluma, America’s Chicken City, working from dozens of oral histories she gathered over years of research. The books gained both popular and critical praise from genealogists, historians, and local poultry farmers. She is survived by her brother and a son.
Helen Genevieve Smith Evans ’31, MALS ’68
Helen Genevieve Smith Evans ’31 MALS ’68, October 14, 2002, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Helenreceived a BA in French language and literature from Reed, was a National Defense Education Association Scholar, and studied at the Institute of Touraine in Tours, France. She married Leo M. Evans in 1935, and they later divorced. In 1968, she received MA and MALS degrees from Reed. She taught French and Spanish at Parkrose High School in Portland for nearly 28 years and was a member of the Oregon Retired Educators Association, receiving the Citizen of Dedication award in 1991. Additionally she served as president of the Business and Professional Women of Parkrose, the Multnomah County Classroom Teachers Association, and the Oregon State Spanish Teachers Association. In 1994, she moved to Pearl River, Louisiana. Survivors include five daughters, 18 grandchildren, 43 great-grandchildren, and 17 great-great-grandchildren.
Julius F. Sue ’38
Julius F. Sue ’38, November 6, 2002, in Los Angeles. Sue came to the U.S. from Canton, China, at the age of 13. He attended Reed with a focus in premedicine, completed a BS in 1938 at Oregon State University, and an MD from the University of Oregon School of Medicine in 1941. During World War II, he served as a medical officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps in Atlanta, and later as group surgeon with the Flying Tigers. After the war, he provided medical services to veterans and their families, and to immigrants, in Chinatown, in Los Angeles. His work to improve health care for the Asian community earned him the nickname, the "Godfather of Chinatown." Sue served as chief of medical staff and as a member of the board of directors of French Hospital (Pacific Alliance Medical Center), where he was instrumental in setting up the ICU and CCU units. He was also vice president of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, commander of the American Legion Post 628, and was a founding member of the Chinese American Medical Association of Southern California (Chinese Physicians for Chinatown). He married Eleanor Young in 1947, and they raised three sons.
Elena J. Scovil ’63
Elena Joan Scovil ’63, February 17, 2003, of breast cancer, in Salinas, California. Elena attended Reed for a year, raised two daughters, and worked as a seamstress and bookkeeper before becoming a contract programmer analyst in the Bay Area, including with the Granite Construction Company in Salinas. Her daughter, Autumn Scovil Richey, reported that Elena's time at Reed was one of the best experiences in her life.
Margaret Helen Salz Lezin ’45
Margaret Helen Salz Lezin ’45, November 6, 2002, in her home in Santa Cruz, California. Margiereceived a BA from Reed in political science. In 1946, she married Norman S. Lezin ’48 and they had three children. She wrote of her time at Reed that she met lifelong friends, spent hours in great conversation, studied incredibly hard, and survived the "total terror" of her thesis orals. An "extremely difficult" statistics course in the economics department at Reed enabled her to get her first job as a test writer analyst for the Portland Civil Service, and she felt well grounded by the public administration focus of her major to undertake the community work that characterized her life. Margieserved on Santa Cruz’s first Historic Preservation Commission; and was founder of the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, of the Family Service Association, and of the Art Museum of Santa Cruz. She was a board member of both the county Mental Health Advisory Board and Planned Parenthood, and was chairwoman of the Santa Cruz chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. She was named woman of the year by both the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club. Margiewas a "guiding light," and a "principled person," who devoted her life to helping others. She was a painter, and enjoyed bridge, tennis, and skiing. She is survived by her husband, her daughter and sons, and eight grandchildren.
Paul G. Schrader ’44
Paul Gordon Schrader ’44, April 8, 2002. Paul received his bachelor’s degree from Reed in chemistry, and continued his education at Oregon State University, receiving an MS in organic chemistry in 1945. In 1948 he married Edith May DeMartini, and they had two children. His career as a research chemist at Dow Chemical Company in Pittsburg, California, extended from 1945 to 1981. Paul was an inventor with numerous patents in the field of phenolic resins, which included the nose cone formulation for the Explorer spacecraft. For 40 years he was a choir member and soloist for the Antioch United Methodist Church, and enjoyed classical music and opera. Other interests were reading, woodworking, and photography. He was a devoted and loving member of his family, humble, with a wry sense of humor, and with strong personal determination and integrity. He is survived by his wife, his son and daughter, three grandchildren, and a sister.
Raymond Swanson ’60
Raymond Leonard Swanson ’60, October 11, 2002, of cancer, in his home in Olympia, Washington. Rayattended Reed for four years with a focus in biology, and served as an Army M.P. in Korea. His 50-year career in plant work spanned the greenhouses and nurseries of the West Coast and Canada, including the Boulevard Nursery in Olympia, Washington, which he owned from 1978 to 2001. Swanson was a member of the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association, and of specialty plant societies, reflecting his particular interest in rhododendrons and orchids. With the Ag-Forestry Educational Foundation of Washington, he traveled to China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in 1992. He enjoyed vegetable gardening along with his horticultural pursuits, and music, reading, and fishing. Raybelieved that "you should live life like you would die tomorrow and learn like you would live forever." He married Janet Schmidt; they had three children, and later divorced. He is survived by his wife, Sue, whom he married in 1984, his daughter and sons, including Steven L. Swanson ’84, three grandchildren, and his mother and sister.
Stefanie Kelly Stroh ’88
Stephanie Stroh ’88, in October 1987, in Nevada. Stephanie's two-year study at Reed focused on philosophy, after which she embarked on a trip around the world.
Wilma (Billie) Seltzer Rosenblum ’49
Wilma Seltzer Rosenblum ’49, December 1, 2002, in Portland, Oregon. Billiegraduated from Reed with a BA in sociology. In 1948, she married Morton T. Rosenblum ’49, and they had two sons. After graduation, she worked at two different newspapers, as an at-home mother, and as a preschool teacher. Her working career focused on nonprofit organizations, including a role as program director for the Portland Area Council of Camp Fire. She was president of the board for the Northwest Neighborhood Nurses; a volunteer for the League of Women Voters; and she worked part time in fundraising, including six years for United Way; and in grantwriting. Billieenjoyed travel and was a member of Temple Beth Israel and president of the Beth Israel Sisterhood. She volunteered on the steering committee for the Foster-Scholz Club and served as vice president of the Reed alumni association. Survivors include Morton and their sons and two grandchildren.
Elizabeth Edith Bruce Scott ’50
Elizabeth Edith Bruce Scott ’50, September 22, 2001, in California. Bettyattended Reed for two years with an interest in physical education, and in 1947 married Ronald L. Scott ’49, who died in 2000. The couple’s two daughters and son, and the activities accompanying their family and home were the focus of her adult life.
Jeanne Coblentz Senders ’41
Jeanne Coblentz Senders ’41, November 15, 2003, in Washington. Senders attended Reed for one year. Jeannemarried Ralph Senders in 1939, and they had four children. After her family moved to Mercer Island, Washington, in 1962, Jeannecontinued her lifetime interest in social causes by helping to found the Central Area Mental Health Center, and teaching at the Seattle Central Area YWCA. In the late ’60s, she started a travel business, developing an expertise in travel to Hawaii and Asia. She was a columnist and frequent contributor for the Mercer Island Reporter.Jeanne was active in the Sisterhood of Temple de Hirsch, and was the first woman to deliver a sermon at the synagogue. Her dry and sarcastic sense of humor assisted her fight against rheumatoid arthritis, and helped her beat the initial medical prognosis given when she was a teen. Survivors include her husband, two daughters, and two sons.
Norma Jeanne Goodman Smith ’42
Norma Jeanne Goodman Smith ’42, January 8, 2004, in Orlando, Florida, from complications following hip surgery. Encouraged to attend Reed by her uncle, Norman K. Harrington ’34, Jeanne once stated that it was the "right road taken." She studied at Reed for four years with a focus on political science, and in 1942 married Douglas B. Smith ’42. They had one child. Following educational and career goals, the couple lived in Boston, San Francisco, New York, and the beltway of Washington, D.C. Jeanne earned a BA in 1953 and an MA in 1958 in government and politics from the University of Maryland–College Park. She also attended Wagner College in New York (1957–58) to earn a substitute teaching certificate, and taught in the Montgomery County (Maryland) school district. For five years she worked in the Department of Public Welfare, and spent 16 years at the National Institute of Health, where she tracked child health legislation in the U.S. Congress until retirement in 1984. "I don’t believe volunteerism will save the world or advance equality; law is better," she wrote. Jeanne moved to Florida in 2001 to be near her family. Survivors include her daughter and grandchild. Douglas predeceased her in 1983.
James P. Strainic ’77
James Paul Strainic ’77, May 16, 1986, in an automobile accident. James received a BA in biology from Reed, then worked as an owner and operator for Wheaton Van Lines in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Lona Jean Stewart Burns ’38
Lona Jean Stewart Burns ’38, December 13, 2004, in Boise, Idaho. Lorna attended Reed, the College of Idaho, and the University of Washington. She married Willard R. Burns in 1942, and they had two children. Burns was a member of the Saint Alphonsus Auxiliary, the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, and a volunteer for the Red Cross. Survivors include her son and daughter, four grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and a sister.
Melinda Rose Silva ’98
Melinda Rose Silva ’98, January 6, 2005, in Brooklyn, New York, from a sudden illness. Melinda graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in history from Reed. A year’s study in Florence, Italy, influenced her thesis subject on the relationship between patron and artist in the Renaissance, and she developed an intense passion for art. Following graduation Melinda took an internship at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., and then a position in marketing and communications at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. In 2001 she moved to London, England, and studied art history and photography, receiving a master’s degrees in 2003 from University College London and University of Westminster, respectively. She was also a volunteer guide at the Highgate Cemetery. Melinda relocated to New York, where she pursued a career in freelance writing and photography, and was associate publisher for index magazine. Travels in childhood produced a great network of friends and a variety of experiences with culture that she relished and benefited from in her young adulthood. Survivors include her mother, stepfather, three brothers, a stepsister and two stepbrothers. Her father predeceased her. Melinda’s friends are organizing a bookplate memorial for her at Reed, and hope to create a scholarship fund to assist a future Reed student’s study abroad experience in Florence.
Elisabeth Lorrayne Willer Solomon ’30
Elisabeth Lorrayne Willer Solomon ’30, April 6, 2004, in Portland. Libbyemigrated from Russia with her family in 1914, briefly attended Reed, and worked as a medical laboratory technician. Drawn together by their mutual interest in the Oregon Commonwealth Federation, a liberal labor coalition, she and Gus J. Solomon ’26 were married in 1939. During that decade and the next, she organized training groups for women in the Democratic Party. Libbywas a staunch advocate for civil rights; fighting intolerance and discrimination through activism, including in her work with the Portland chapter of the American Jewish Congress. She assisted the development of the Judaic studies program at Portland State University, and, with her husband, created the Gus & Libby Solomon Scholarship Fund at Reed for talented and needy students in English and creative arts. Her interest in the arts led her to the position of trustee of the Arts & Crafts Society (Oregon College of Art and Craft) and the Contemporary Crafts Gallery. She also chaired the Portland Art Commission. Stories and Poems, published in 1998 (Barlow Road Press), featured her collected writing. Survivors include three sons, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Gus died in 1987.
Monique Marie Steele ’81
Monique Marie Steele ’81, December 14, 2004, in Berkeley, California, from cancer. Monique earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Reed. Following graduation, she worked in Portland as a legal investigator for the Urban Indian Council before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area where she became a paralegal. She attended CUNY Law School, Queens College, New York, receiving a JD in 1987, after which she accepted positions at legal firms in San Francisco and Oakland, working toward a specialty in civil rights law. In 1997 she was employed by Matthew Bender & Company, a legal reference book publisher, and in 2000 became a staff attorney for the California Public Utilities Commission. She was also a volunteer for the Coalition for Civil Rights. Survivors include her partner, Peter Bordwell, and their two children; her mother, longtime Reed staff member Ineke Steele; her father, brother, and sister.
Madeline Dorothy Saremal Thomas ’44
Madeline Dorothy Saremal Thomas ’44, August 8, 2003. Maedline attended Reed for three years, and also attended Columbia. She played music professionally in New York and Oregon, and taught piano and organ for many years out of her studio in Milwaukie, Oregon. In 1966 she married William Thomas ’30, and they traveled to Mexico, Canada, Spain, Portugal, and South America. After his death in 1991, she moved to Washington, D.C., and lived at the Army Distaff Hall (Knollwood). For the local paper, she wrote the column "Out and ," detailing her "finds" in the metro D.C. area, as well as those related to local travel. (She reported a way to travel from Washington, D.C., to New York City using only mass public transportation for slightly over $4.) She also lived in California, Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina. A first-generation American, Madeline’s family emigrated from Canada and Estonia. In 1997 she realized a lifelong dream to travel to Estonia with her daughter. After that, they took a number of trips back to Estonia, and to Canada, Scandinavia, and Europe, even though Madeline was suffering from multiple myeloma. Survivors include her daughter, Tanya, who supplied the details for this in memoriam, a sister, and her best friend for nearly 78 years, Marge Spoelstra.
Marian Louise Stuart Meacham ’41
Marian Louise Stuart Meacham ’41, December 27, 2005, in Port Townsend, Washington. Marian attended Reed, where she met Roy L. Stilwell ’50; they married, had a daughter, and later divorced. She then married Merle Meacham ’48. The family lived in Portland before moving to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, where she designed and was assisted in the building of a log cabin, and later a full-sized house. They lived briefly in Seattle, where she completed her bachelor’s degree, and earned a master’s degree in philosophy in 1968. She taught philosophy at Edmonds Community College before returning to the Olympic Peninsula, where she worked as a designer and opened a clothing store in Port Townsend. As a citizen activist, she served on the Jefferson County Shorelines Commission, created an experimental forest design, and was instrumental in ending county pesticide spraying on roadways. In 1983, she received an award from Washington State for her environmental work. Survivors include her daughter, grandson, two great-granddaughters, and a sister. Merle died in 2003.
Richard S. Seltzer ’52
Richard S. Seltzer ’52, July 5, 2005, in Bellevue, Washington. Dick earned a BA from Reed in economics. He worked in financial management for Boeing Aircraft in Washington for 40 years. He married Berta Shaffer, and they had three children. Dick was devoted to his family, and enjoyed summer outings at their property on Lake Roesiger in Snohomish County, fishing, and gardening. Survivors include his wife, two daughters and a son, and one grandchild. His sister, Billie Seltzer Rosenblum ’49, also graduated from Reed.
Roy Alvin Stilwell ’50
Roy Alvin Stilwell ’50, January 26, 2006, in Portland. Roy attended Reed for a year before entering into World War II with the U.S. Army Signal Corps. After the war, he returned to Reed, studying for two more years; he earned a BA in English literature from Portland State University in 1959. In 1951, he became part of the first violin section of the Oregon Symphony; he performed with the symphony for 40 years. In 1991, he became principal second violinist in the Oregon Sinfonietta of the Oregon Chamber Music Society. He taught strings in private and public schools. In retirement, he played in amateur orchestras, at parties of small groups, and pursued his interest in studying languages. His performances at Reed included the "Sound Experiments," and Gilbert & Sullivan productions. He played in many concerts at Reed during the years Herbert Gladstone taught music (1946–80), and participated in the annual Reed holiday ceremony with the Boar's Head Ensemble. Survivors include his wife, Geraldine, two sons, three daughter, six grandchildren, two great grandchildren, and a sister.
Jane Day Steward ’36
Jane Day Steward ’36, December 21, 2005, in St. Helens, Oregon. Jane received a BA from Reed in biology. She worked as a medical technologist, enjoyed and supported the arts, and also enjoyed reading, poetry, travel, calligraphy, geology, and gardening. Survivors include her son and two daughters, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. She was married to J. Byron Steward, who died in 2003.
Lois Evelyn Dobbie Sigeti ’46
Lois Evelyn Dobbie Sigeti ’46, March 27, 2004, in San Diego. Lois attended Reed for two years, later earning an MA in social service administration (1948) from the University of Chicago. She married Emery Sigeti, and they had two sons. Her career in social work involved serving as an instructor at Bellevue Community College in Washington. Survivors include her husband and sons, including David E. Sigeti ’77; and four grandchildren.
Ann Charlotte Stearns Whitehead ’44
Ann Charlotte Stearns Whitehead ’44, June 11, 2005, in El Cerrito, California. Ann attended Reed, but did not graduate. She earned a BS in general studies from Simmons College in 1944, and a PhD from University of California, Berkeley, in 1953. She married and had two children, and was employed as a clinical psychologist, retiring from practice in 1987. In 1985, she married Carleton Whitehead ’41. She enjoyed tennis, scuba research diving, travel, and freelance travel writing. Carleton died in 2004. Her brother, John R. Stearns, and sister, Mary Stearns Williams, also attended Reed.
Carl Mantle Stevens ’42
December 28, 2007, in Oregon, following a long illness.
Carl Stevens earned his BA from Reed in economics. After graduation, he served four years in the U.S. Navyaboard the destroyer U.S.S. Stembel in the Pacific Theatre.
Dorothy Jean Hamilton Setterberg ’45
Dorothy Hamilton Setterberg ’45 (right) is elated to see Nicky Larson, a longtime Reed bookstore employee
Dorothy Jean Hamilton Setterberg ’45, November 15, 2007, in Clackamas, Oregon. Dottie Setterberg attended Reed for a year, leaving to marry Gordon A. Setterberg ’42. The couple lived in Georgia, and then settled in Clackamas in 1956. From 1958 to 1978, she was the secretary for the Reed chemistry department, and in retirement, the couple traveled and worked on their primary interest and hobby, vintage automobiles. Survivors include her sister and two brothers. Gordon died in 2006.
Marjorie Anita Cohn Spring ’45
Marjorie Anita Cohn Spring ’45, December 3, 2007, in Seattle, Washington. Marj attended Reed but did not graduate. In 1968, she moved to Seattle, where she worked for the Bank of California until her retirement in 1983. She was an accomplished bridge player, and maintained a love of learning throughout her life. Survivors include two daughters and six grandchildren. Her father, Charles S. Cohn, graduated from Reed in 1918.
Francis Hardin Shaw ’48
Francis Hardin Shaw ’48, May 28, 2007, in Corvallis, Oregon. Frank received a BA from Reed in history. He earned an MA from University of California, Berkeley, and from Harvard, and a PhD from Harvard in 1957. He married Roberta Chatfield ’46, who died in 1992. Frank was a professor of history at Oregon State University. His career included receipt of a Rockefeller Foundation grant in support of a visiting appointment for study at Miles College in Birmingham, Alabama; service on the minority affairs committee at OSU; and receipt of a Civil Liberty Award for “outstanding leadership in establishing a comprehensive curriculum in Afro-American history,” and for his long-standing commitment to civil liberties. Survivors include his wife, Joan; his son; and two stepchildren.
Joseph Robert Senuty ’54
Joseph Robert Senuty ’54, October 20, 2007, in Bellingham, Washington, following an extended illness. Joe attended Reed, and transferred to Washington State University, where he earned a BS in pharmacology. He purchased an apothecary in Bellingham, transforming the business into Senuty's Pharmacy (Price-Rite Drugs), which he operated for 45 years. He also enjoyed golf and fishing. With his first wife, Faye Hanson, he had two sons. Survivors include his wife, Arlene; his sons and stepsons; and a granddaughter.
Doris M. Isaak Seibert MAT ’64
Doris M. Isaak Seibert MAT ’64, December 4, 2007, in Canby, Oregon. Doris worked as a burner and welder in the Portland shipyards during World War II. She received a BS from Oregon State University in 1947, after which she taught at the Children's Farm Home in Albany, Oregon. Following receipt of an MAT, she taught at Jefferson High School in Portland. She worked as a teacher and counselor at MacLaren School for Boys in Woodburn for 10 years, retiring in 1986. She was a volunteer with the Clackamas County Juvenile Services Commission; co-owner of North Willamette Book Company in Oregon City; and a member of various organizations, including those connected to her German-Russian heritage. She married Arthur L. Seibert; they had four daughters. Survivors include her husband, daughters, 14 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Judith Strasser ’66
Judith Strasser ’66, January 29, 2009, at home in Madison, Wisconsin, surrounded by family.
Judith was born in New York City, and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received a BA from Reed in history, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and an MS from Stanford University in communications research. She married Steve Ela in 1972; they traveled throughout the U.S. in a van for over a year before settling in Davis, California, where their first son was born. A second son was born in Madison; the couple divorced in 1989. Judith was instrumental in the creation of the Madison Children's Museum. She donated time to community radio station WORT, the Wisconsin Public Radio Association, the Madison Literacy Council, and the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, among other organizations. She was a grant writer and grants administrator for the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board from 1983 to 1985. In 1985, she produced an award-winning documentary on women judges in Wisconsin, and for the next five years worked as an independent scriptwriter and producer for Wisconsin Public Radio. In 1990, she was hired as a producer and on-air interviewer for To the Best of Our Knowledge, a nationally syndicated weekly public radio program. She left this career to write her books, Black Eye: Escaping a Marriage, Writing a Life and Facing Fear: Meditations on Cancer and Politics, Courage and Hope. She also wrote two collections of poetry, Sand Island Succession: Poems of the Apostles, and The Reason/Unreason Project, which won a Lewis–Clark Expedition Award. She was coeditor with Robin Chapman of On Retirement: 75 Poems.
Catherine Stevens Simon ’74
Catherine Stevens-Simon ’74, November 16, 2007, in Oregon. Cassiereceived a BA from Reed in biology. In 1979, she received an MD from Boston University College of Medicine, and completed a residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in adolescent medicine at the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver, along with a second fellowship in adolescent medicine at the University of Rochester Health Science Center in Rochester, New York. She served as an instructor in the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical School before joining the faculty of the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1989. Cassiewas an associate professor in the pediatrics department at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. She also directed the Adolescent Medicine Fellowship Program at the university and the Colorado Adolescent Maternity Program. Her research interests included adolescent health, teenage pregnancy, and diseases of the reproductive tract. A recipient of the Young Investigator Award of the Society for Adolescent Medicine in 1992, she was also recognized with a Denver Top Doctor Award in 2005. At the time of her death, survivors included her husband, Jack H. Simon; her son, Joshua D. Simon ’05; her mother, Janice Robinson Stevens ’44; ڲٳ, Carl M. Stevens ’42; andher brother.
James R. Sacksteder ’80
James R. Sacksteder ’80, October 1, 2007, in Longmont, Colorado. Jim received a BA from Reed in philosophy. He attended law school at Willamette University, lived in Seattle and Boulder, and worked as a paralegal, security guard, and election official. He was an advocate for the poor, was active in 12-step programs, and assisted college ministry work at St. Aidan Episcopal Church in Boulder. Survivors include his mother and two sisters.
Leila Heise Shoemaker ’31
Leila Heise Shoemaker ’31, July 30, 1995, in Scappoose. She was a retired music teacher who taught at Sherman and Clay Music, Portland, and in her home in Scappoose. She was an active volunteer with her church, a cancer support group, and the Scappoose Library. She married John Shoemaker in 1930; he died in May 1995. Survivors include a son, a daughter, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
David P. Shoemaker ’42
David P. Shoemaker ’42, August 24, 1995, in Albany, Oregon. After graduating from Reed, he studied chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, earning a PhD in 1947. He was professor of chemistry at MIT from 1951 until 1970. During this time, he married Clara Brink, a fellow chemist with whom he collaborated on numerous research projects. They moved to Corvallis, Oregon, in 1970, where he became chairman of the department of chemistry at Oregon State University. He retired in 1984, and he and his wife continued to work together on research projects. He was the author of many scientific articles and coauthored a textbook in physical chemistry. He was president of the American Crystallographic Association in 1970 and was a member of the American Chemical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. In 1986, he was named the recipient of the Howard Vollum Award for Science and Technology, in recognition of his research on X-ray crystallography. He is survived by his wife; a son, Robert Shoemaker ’78; two brothers, Frank and Sydney Shoemaker ’40; and one grandson.
Diane Scott ’53
Diane Scott ’53, of cancer, August 7, 1995, in Seattle. She attended Reed from 1949 to 1952. She is survived by two nieces and a nephew.
Clifford Anderson Sather ’93
Clifford Sather II ’93, June 29, 1996, in a hiking accident in Oneonta Gorge in the Columbia River Gorge. Andy attended Reed in 1986–88 and spent the past year playing chess tournaments in New York City. Survivors include his parents, Georgeann and Clifford Sather ’61, his sister, and his grandmothers. The family suggests that contributions in his name be made to .
Preble Stolz ’53
Preble Stolz ’53, June 11, 1996, of a heart attack while sailing in San Francisco Bay. He was professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law and a noted authority on government and the courts. After graduating from Reed, he married Audrey Brooks ’52, and the couple had three children. He earned a JD from the University of Chicago in 1956 and then clerked in the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco and for Justice Button of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was a deputy attorney general, an aide to Governor Pat Brown, and director of planning and research during Governor Jerry Brown’s term of office. In 1961, he joined the law faculty at Boalt and became widely known as one of California’s leading scholars on state government. His 1981 book on the state Supreme Court, Judging Judges: the Investigation of Rose Bird and the California Supreme Court, is considered on the leading books on the state’s high court. His recreational activities included sailing and playing with his grandchildren. He is survived by his son, two daughters, and seven grandchildren.
Robert O. Sproul ’35
Robert O. Sproul ’35, July 8, 1997, in Portland. He worked at Oregon Worsted Mill and Commercial Iron Works for several years after leaving Reed, and was a clerk for U.S. National Bank in Portland for 16 years. In 1955, he became the business manager of Reynolds School District, where he worked until his retirement in 1976. Survivors include four daughters, a son, a stepdaughter, and nineteen grandchildren. His wife died in 1970.
Laura E. Smith ’31
Laura E. Smith ’31, in September 9, 1997, in Tigard, Oregon. Laura was a retired IRS auditor who first began working for the IRS in Portland in 1933. She was also an accomplished singer and was involved in musical events in Portland. After her retirement in 1965, she devoted her time to music, her family, and a variety of volunteer activities. She is survived by five nieces and five nephews.
Gregory L. Smith ’56
Gregory L. Smith ’56, July 29, 1997, of a heart attack while hiking at Echo Peak, California. He was a retired professor of geography and an activist for a wide variety of environmental causes. After graduating from Reed, he taught school in Maine and San Francisco. He returned to Reed in 1959 to take a position in the admission office, and he also worked for one year as dean of students. In 1963, he married June Burlingame ’56. He then entered the PhD program in geography at the University of Washington, graduating in 1968, and shortly thereafter was hired as the first geography professor at California State University, Dominquez Hills. He retired from that institution in 1992. During his career, he became known and respected for his work in conservation and land use issues. He was the former head of the Los Angeles Tree Commission, president of the Point Fermin Residents’ Association, and active in the Coalition Los Angeles and League of Conservation Voters. He was chiefly responsible for the Christmas Tree Grove at Ft. MacArthur as part of the Beautification of San Pedro Project, and worked on many other tree planting projects in the area. Survivors include his wife, two children, and three brothers.
Patricia Staver Wallace ’33
Patricia Staver Wallace ’33, April 25, 1997, in Sacramento, California. She was a resident of Portland and Beaverton for most of her life. After attending Reed, she worked for the Oregon Journal, where she met her husband, Arthur. During World War II, she worked for Iron Fireman in Portland. After her husband’s retirement, the couple moved to Lopez Island, Washington, but she returned to Portland after his death in 1977. She is survived by her son, a brother, and one grandchild.
B. Sue Sherry MAT ’67
B. Sue Sherry MAT ’67, on March 24, 1998, of cancer, in West Linn. After attending Reed, she taught at Jefferson and Cleveland High Schools. She also served as a team leader of the Teacher Corps training program for the University of Oregon, where she taught and was a PhD candidate. Through the Close Up program, she helped to raise money for several years so students could travel to Washington, D.C., to observe Congress. She was accepted as a fellow in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Institute at Hyde Park, New York. She is survived by her husband.
Mary Sweeney Byers ’39
Mary Sweeney Byers ’39, on July 20, 1999, in Los Alamos, New Mexico, of pancreatic cancer. She earned a master’s degree in hygiene and physical education at Wellesley College. She taught at Middlebury College in Vermont, Oregon State College, and in the Los Alamos public schools. She also worked in recreational activities for the city of Portland and in Los Alamos. From 1965 to 1967, she served as an associate historian for the Atomic Energy Commission in Los Alamos, and she helped to found the Los Alamos Historical Society. She competed in swimming in the National Senior Olympics in 1989. Survivors include her husband, four children, a brother, six grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.
Sol Siegel ’35
Sol Siegel ’35, July 6, 1999, in Portland. He graduated from Northwestern College of Law in 1940. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific. He practiced law in Portland for 55 years, primarily with his firm of Goldsmith, Siegel, Engel and Littlefield. In 1990, he left the partnership to join the law firm of Grenley, Rotenberg, Laskowski, Evans and Bragg as counsel. He married Julia Benton in 1951, and they had three children. He was a past president of the Urban League of Portland and a past member of the Multnomah Commission on Aging. Survivors include his wife; two daughters; a son; and one grandchild.
Edna Selzer Barton ’29
Edna Selzer Barton ’29, December 10, 1999, in Arcata, California. She taught school for a year before marrying George Barton in 1930, and then spent 13 years as a homemaker in Rainier, Oregon. She taught in public schools in Columbia County, Oregon, for nine years and was a librarian, audiovisual coordinator, and teacher at Rainier Union High School for 18 years, retiring in 1970. In 1963, she received a master’s in library science from the University of Washington. After retiring, she served on the Rainier Public Library Board and the county retired teachers’ organization, and learned to play the organ. After her husband’s death, she moved to Arcata, California.
C. Alan Smith ’42
Curtiss Alan Smith ’42, May 30, 2000, in San Diego. After graduation from Reed, he worked in the radiation lab at MIT, researching and developing radar systems and navigation techniques. During World War II he installed the first microwave radar systems in Panama for the defense of the Canal. After the war, he attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he met and married his wife, Bette. He worked for the naval research lab in Washington, D.C., for several years and then relocated to California. After working briefly for the Naval Air Test Center at Point Mugu, he joined Atomics International Division of North American Aviation, later Rockwell, where he stayed 25 years. In 1960 he took a four-year leave of absence to earn a master’s degree in physics and work on a doctorate at the University of Oregon. In 1968 he joined Ampex Corporation, where he worked on magnetic recording discs, and in 1970 he started his own business, Davis-Smith Corporation, which manufactured magnetic recording heads. He later sold the company and started another, Aid Land Sea, Inc., buying, repairing, and selling scientific instruments. He was also a consultant in applied physics until his death. His interest in antique radios led him to help start the Southern California Antique Radio Society in 1976. Survivors include his wife, 2 daughters, 4 sons, and 11 grandchildren. The family has suggested donations in his name to .
Harriet Nichols Stevenson ’29
Harriet Nichols Stevenson ’29, June 8, 2000, in Lake Oswego, Oregon. She taught high school in Washington for three years and later did administrative work for Pacific Northwest Bell, retiring in 1960. She is survived by a niece.
Alison Rowe Stuart ’48
Alison Rowe Stuart ’48, January 5, 2000, in California.
Myrta B. Swallow ’22
Myrta B. Swallow ’22, May 27, 2000, in Oregon City, Oregon. She entered Reed in 1918 and trained as a physical therapist as part of the reconstruction aides program. After taking a year off to work as a teacher, she returned to Reed for two years. She studied piano and became a piano teacher, establishing her own studio in Gladstone, Oregon. She taught piano for over 50 years, finally retiring in 1988. Her hobbies included bridge and bowling, and she also enjoyed traveling. Survivors include a niece and a nephew.
Sandra Shaw Gullikson ’63
Sandra Shaw Gullikson ’63, July 4, 2001, in Portland, from Lou Gehrig’s disease. She was the founder and owner of Clearwater Graphics, best known for its “Coyote” greeting card line. Shortly after graduating from Reed, she married Mel Gullikson. The couple moved to a small farm in Wilsonville, where she gardened and raised livestock, and raised two children. They moved to La Grande, Oregon, in 1977, where she pursued her career in art by working as a graphic artist and practicing drawing and fine arts, primarily in watercolors. She also edited several poetry chapbooks and began publishing a quarterly journal of prose and fiction. In the early 1980s she founded Clearwater Graphics to distribute her line of greeting cards based on her characters Coyote, the cactus-eared rabbit, and others. When the family relocated to Little Rock, Arkansas, she began developing the company into one of national recognition, and her greeting cards and calendars won many national awards. In 1989 they moved to Bristol, Vermont, where she continued the business and also wrote and illustrated a children’s book, Trouble for Breakfast, published in 1990 by Dial Books. Her other artistic activities included painting large murals for local businesses and working as a scenic artist. In late 1999 she was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, and in May 2000 the couple returned to Portland to be nearer to their children. Survivors include her husband, a daughter, a son, a granddaughter, and a sister.
Constance Sumner Lapham ’43
Constance Sumner Lapham ’43, June 28, 2001, after a long illness from a series of strokes, at a care facility in Stanwood, Washington. She married Dudley Lapham ’43 in April of their graduating year. From 1945 to 1946 she worked as the Reed switchboard operator. Constance and Dudley moved to California, where he had a career in municipal management in La Mesa, Garden Home, Seaside, and other communities. She was active in the League of Women Voters and served a term as chairperson of the Seaside, California, Planning Commission. She had a keen interest in environmental and animal protection issues, and she was active in a successful campaign to reduce entrapment of waterfowl in plastic beverage holders. She also volunteered for Friends of the Sea Otter Center in Carmel, California. She was an avid gardener, with a special interest in old garden variety roses, and was frequently recognized for her trophy showings. She was the editor of the Bay Rose, a monthly newsletter of the Monterey Bay Rose Society. In the ’80s she wrote a weekly garden column for the Herald, a Monterey newspaper. In 1992, after several strokes, she and her husband, along with several other family members, relocated to Friday Harbor, Washington, where she entered a convalescent center. Survivors include her husband; a daughter, Roseamber Rain Sumner ’73; a son; three grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.
Mary Grunen Shaman ’33
Mary Grunen Shaman ’33, April 1, 2001, in Portland. She married David Shaman in 1937, and they settled in Portland and had one son. She was a homemaker and later a clerk for the National Council for Christians and Jews and the State of Oregon before retiring in 1975. She was a member of Congregation Neveh Shalom, Portland, for 64 years. Survivors include her son and two grandchildren.
James Watson Schomer ’52
James Watson Schomer ’52, July 10, 2001, in Washington, from cancer. James studied math and physics during his three years at Reed.
Leonard E. Schnitzer ’46
Former trustee Leonard E. Schnitzer ’46 died June 8, 2003, of complications from cancer at age 78. He joined Reed’s board of trustees in November 1980 and served on the board until 1986. He also supported the college with continued and active membership in the Griffin Society and founded a scholarship fund for Reed students in 1979.
Leonardwas the ninth child of Russian immigrants Rose and Sam Schnitzer. His father founded a one-man Portland scrap business in 1908, the Alaska Junk Company. Under Leonard and his brothers, the family business became a steelmaking, shipping, and real estate empire known as the Schnitzer Group; Leonard became the CEO of Schnitzer Steel Industries in 1973 and remained chairman until his death. It became a publicly traded company in 1993 and is one of the largest scrap metal recyclers in the United States, handling 4.5 million tons of scrap metal annually.
Leonardspent his childhood in Portland, graduated from Lincoln High School in Portland, attended Reed, and then later attended Stanford University. He was the youngest graduate from the North Pacific Dental School and practiced dentistry in the Navy during World War II. He left the practice in 1946 to work for Schnitzer Steel Products.
Beepske Brevet Selhorst ’41
Beepske Brevet Selhorst ’41, August 19, 2003, in her home in Alameda, California. Beepskereceived a BA in psychology at Reed, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, then attended American University’s graduate program in mathematics. She married Henry H. Selhorst in 1942 in Washington, D.C. In 1947 they moved to Alameda, and moved again to Baltimore, Maryland, for Henry’s position with the Social Security Administration. For the next 16 years they lived in Baltimore and raised their 13 children. After her husband’s death in 1973, Beepske moved back to Alameda. She was well known in the town for, amongst other things, her enjoyment of tricycling. She also swam, studied Cantonese, supported community charities, and attended St. Barnabas Catholic Church. Survivors include her children, 32 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and her brother, Frits Brevet ’50.
Bernard Shevach ’41
Bernard Shevach ’41, June 20, 2003, in Portland. Bernard graduated from Reed with a BA in political science, and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He received a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, and practiced as an attorney in Portland. Survivors include his sister, and his nieces and nephews.
Clayton J. Schurman ’44
Clayton J. Schurman ’44, September 11, 1999, in Clarkston, Washington. Clayton attended Reed in the U.S. Army premeteorology program, and was then sent to Yale College to study communications before serving in the South Pacific. In Clarkston, he owned and managed Schurman’s Hardware, and was a standing member of the school board, the Rotary Club, and the Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife, Dorothy, raised two daughter and two sons.
Ellen Coleman Gruetter Simpson ’36
Ellen Coleman Gruetter Simpson ’36, June 21, 2003, in Forest Grove, Oregon, from progressive muscular degeneration. Ellen earned a bachelor’s degree in general literature from Reed at a time, she asserted, when society did not value the intellectual capacity of women. She entered the college after earning straight "Es" in high school, and engaged in activities and studies she honored throughout her life. She was a member of many organizations, including the Audubon Society, World Affairs Council, League of Women Voters, City Club, Unitarian Church, Eastmoreland symphony auxiliary, and the Opera Guild, and was a volunteer for the Reed alumni association. Ellen enjoyed athletic pursuits, including swimming, hiking, and canoeing. She was instrumental in establishing theatre at Reed, and extended this interest to the Ashland Shakespearean Festival. She was a trailblazer in gardening, planting native species before they were popular. In 1938, Ellen married James G. Gruetter ’36, who predeceased her, and they had four children. For nearly two decades, she taught English and French at Madison High School in Portland, was chair of the foreign language department, and a student adviser; she retired in 1979. Following retirement, Simpson studied French at the Sorbonne in Paris, and traveled to Mexico, Alaska, Ireland, Italy, Africa, and Australia. "Funny world," she once remarked. "How the human race survives is a bumbling, glorious mystery." In 1984, she married Paul B. Simpson ’36. To the end of her life, Ellen remained a scholar, and when her illness required that she be in assisted-living, she took time to read to another resident. Family members who also attended Reed include her father, Matthew J. Coleman ’21, her sister, Mary U. Coleman ’37, and her brother, Matthew J. Coleman Jr. ’39. Survivors include her husband, her two daughters and two sons, 10 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and her sister.
Marian L. Simonds Dukehart ’33
Marian L. Simonds Dukehart ’33, July 6, 2003, in Sherwood, Oregon. Marianattended Reed for a year and also attended Northwestern University. In 1939, she married John K. Dukehart, who died in 1968; they raised two sons and three daughters. Marianwas an avid skier at Mt. Hood, and a member of a group of skiing enthusiasts, the Nile River Yacht Club, who maintained a cabin near Timberline Lodge. Excluded initially from participation in the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol because of her gender, Mariannevertheless assisted with the patrol’s first aid efforts. Her community service included serving as president of the Junior League of Portland and of the Women’s Architectural League. She volunteered with the Boys and Girls Aid Society and Portland schools PTA. She served as secretary of the Reed alumni association, and was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church. In 1962, she worked at Markham Grade School and later at Jackson High School in Southwest Portland. She was president of the Portland Federation of Teachers and Classified Employees. In 1977, she married Frank Kristner Jr., who died in 1980. The couple moved to Sherwood where she was active in the Friends of the Sherwood Library and the library board, and was a member of the Sherwood Garden Club. Marianalso enjoyed painting and took classes at the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts. She is survived by her children and nine grandchildren.
Sandra Schwartz Tangri ’62
Sandra Schwartz Tangri ’62, June 11, 2003, in her home in Bethesda, Maryland, from lung cancer. Sandyattended Los Angeles City College and Reed, and earned a BA in psychology with honors from University of California, Berkeley, in 1960. At Reed, Sandysaid, she learned to learn, and how to become her own teacher. After graduation, she went to India to do research. There she met and married Shanti Tangri; they had one son, and later divorced. Sandyreceived an MA in psychology from Wayne State University in 1964 and a PhD in social psychology from the University of Michigan in 1969. In the early ’70s, Sandymoved to Washington, D.C., to start a research office at the Commission on Civil Rights, and later moved to the Urban Institute before joining the psychology department at Howard University where she taught for 20 years. She retired as an emeritus professor in 2001. She was a Fulbright fellow, a fellow of the American Psychological Association, and served on the council of the Society for the Psychology of Women, which awarded her a top honor. She was also a member of the Association for Women in Psychology. A pioneer in research and studies of women and their careers, she wrote more than 40 abstracts, articles, and books, and lectured internationally. Her research extended to working women in other countries, and in varying phases of life, and was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the MacArthur Foundation, the National Institute of Education, and the Labor Department. In 2000 she received the Carolyn Wood Sherif Award for contributions to the field of psychology of women from Division 35 of the American Psychological Association. Her role as teacher and mentor provided her with a great deal of pride, and she encouraged her students to become better people—not just better scholars—and to challenge the system when necessary. She enjoyed swimming, dancing, painting, and sculpture. In retirement her quilt depicting her father’s family’s emigration from Russia was locally exhibited. Her social and political activism extended to support her neighborhood community, and the lesbian community, and she founded the Passages Conference, which celebrated multiculturalism and diversity. She is survived by her son; and her partner, Nan Bowman.
Robert Wayne Schillereff ’50
Robert Wayne Schillereff ’50, April 17, 2004, in Seattle, Washington. Robert served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, attended Reed for two years, and was an engineer for Boeing in Seattle.
William R. Swing ’51
Bill Swing ’51 (far right) served as executive assistant to Senator Mark Hatfield
William Randolf Swing ’51, June 10, 2004, in Portland, from natural causes. Billjoined the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II. Following the war, he attended Olivet College in Michigan, then earned a bachelor’s degree from Reed in political science. He married Yvonne Hauser in 1947; they had eight children, and later divorced. Swing joined KPTV in 1952, as Oregon’s first television news director; and was a reporter for the Oregonian and a stringer for the New York Times and the National Observer from 1957 to 1967. In 1967 he moved with his family to Washington, D.C., to be an executive assistant to Senator Mark Hatfield. In 1969, he operated the first television news bureau in D.C. for Chris-Craft Industries. He returned to Portland, and became KATU-TV news assignment editor and reporter in 1972, moving to KPTV as news director in 1977; he retired in 1991. In retirement, he opened Bill Swing Rare and Fine Books in downtown Portland, specializing in modern American first editions. Billalso enjoyed the arts, travel, fly-fishing, and cooking. His professional associations included the Radio-Television News Directors Association, the Oregon Bar/Press/Broadcasters Joint Committee, Associated Press Broadcast Services. He volunteered for the Reed alumni association as vice president in 1954 and as director in 1955. Survivors include his six daughters and two sons, 17 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and two sisters.
Phyllis J. Corbett Sundquist MAT ’66
Phyllis J. Corbett Sundquist MAT ’66, May 28, 2005, in Portland. Phyllis earned a BA from the University of Oregon, an MS in social work from the University of Southern California, and an MAT in history from Reed. She taught in Portland Public Schools, particularly Marshall and Roosevelt high schools. Survivors include her husband, Clarence Sundquist, whom she married in 1950; and extended family, including Robert R. Donaldson ’57.
Nina Dee Schectman Mollett ’72
Nina Dee Schectman Mollett ’72, April 29, 2006, in Tucson, Arizona. Nina received a BA from Reed in general literature, and received an MS in resource economics from the University of Alaska–Fairbanks (UAF). Her career included a position with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Juneau, freelance writing, reporting for the All Alaska Weekly and the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. She also worked for the Sea Grant Program at UAF, and for the Sustainable Fisheries Division at the National Marine Fisheries Service in Juneau. She enjoyed bird watching, and was politically active, particularly in the issue of preservation of the Artic National Wildlife Reserve. She married David L. Mollett ’75 in 1975; they had one son.
John R. Sterne ’70
John R. Sterne ’70, May 12, 2006, in Woodland Hills, California. John received a BA from Reed in anthropology, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He was awarded a Woodrow Wilson fellowship. In 1971, he joined the Self-Realization Fellowship Monastic Order in Los Angeles. In 1988, he left the order, but remained a lay member of the fellowship throughout his life. He then worked as a computer software designer in the Los Angeles area. He enjoyed 25 years of backpacking adventures, was active in square dancing, was an accomplished brewmaster, and a cat lover. Survivors include his brother, Ted, who provided the details for this memorial.
Frederick Benjamin Steed ’48
Frederick Benjamin Steed ’48, May 24, 2006, in Seattle, Washington, from a heart attack. Frederick left Reed in 1941 to serve in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. He was awarded a Purple Heart and the Silver Star. He resumed his education at the University of Oregon, and earned teaching and principal credentials from the University of Washington. Frederick worked in Seattle public schools for 30 years, retiring in 1982. His recreational interests included mountain climbing, hiking, and sailing. Survivors include his wife, three daughters, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Evelyn Rosella Shields Dusenbery ’37
Evelyn Rosella Shields Dusenbery ’37, May 24, 2008, in the Ray Hickey Hospice House in Vancouver, Washington. Evelyn entered Reed along with her twin sister, Adelyn Shields Dudley ’37.Evelyn attended Reed for two years before transferring to the University of Oregon, where she completed a bachelor's degree. She then attended business school. In an oral history interview with Morton T. Rosenblum ’49 in 2004, Evelynand her husband, Harris Dusenbery ’36, discussed their meeting through Reed's Outing Club, on a Mount Hood climb. Said Harris, “I remember Evelyn up on about the 9,000-foot level, and talking to her for the first time.” Evelyn recounted: “Actually, when we got up to the 9,000-foot level, that's where the sun would hit you. So you wanted to prevent any sunburn and the only thing was that awful zinc oxide. And Harris was the only person that put it on his ears. And I thought, 'What a show off!' However, I later changed my mind and married him in 1940.” During World War II, Evelynworked as a bookkeeper. The couple moved to Vancouver in 1951, and she was employed as an accountant at Clark College during the ’60s. She was dedicated to her community, and demonstrated it in a number of capacities, including as a volunteer for the First Presbyterian Church, the Columbia Arts Center, Friends of the Library, Friends of the Columbia River, the County Health Department, and Planned Parenthood. In 1996, she received the YWCA Woman of Achievement award. She also was a 50-year Honorary Life Member of the American Association of University Women. In retirement, Evelyn and Harris traveled to many countries on all continents. For her 50th-class reunion in 1987, she wrote: “We have been as far north as North Cape, as far south as Cape Horn, and as high as Lake Titcaca in Peru and Leh in the Ladakh Valley in India.” Survivors include Harris; her son and daughter, David B. Dusenbery '64 and Diane Dusenbery Waggoner '68; two grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Louise Elizabeth Stubblebine Young ’48
Louise Elizabeth Stubblebine Young ’48, April 25, 2008, in Ojai, California. Louise attended Reed for three years. She married Robert L. Young ’49 in 1947, and they moved to Vershire, Vermont, where they founded an economic cooperative that included a sawmill, maple syrup company, and weaving cooperative. In 1954, the couple and their three children moved to Nantucket, Massachusetts, where Louise worked as a reporter and copy editor for the local paper, the Town Crier. In 1960, the family moved to Alexandria, Virginia. Louise received a BA from the American University in history in 1962, and went on to earn an MA from George Washington University in guidance and counseling. She worked as a counselor with the Fairfax County School System in Virginia for 30 years, and was honored for the guidance she provided to adolescents and their families at Hayfield Junior High. In 1973, she received certification in reality therapy from the Institute of Reality Therapy. In retirement, she was a certified Master Gardener and studied piano. In 1999, Louise moved to Carpinteria, California, where she was active in the library literacy program, League of Women Voters, the Energy Alliance of Santa Barbara, and attended the symphony. Survivors include two daughters and a son. Robert and Louise divorced in 1972; Robert died in 2003.
John Finley Scott ’55
John Finley Scott '55, June 2006, in Davis, California, a victim of murder; John's body was discovered in April. John received a BA from Reed in philosophy. From Stanford, he received an MA in 1956, and from University of California, Berkeley, a PhD in 1966, in sociology. He married Lois Heyman in 1965; they divorced in 1987. John taught at University of California, Davis, retiring in 1994 as emeritus professor of sociology. He published Internalization of Norms: A Sociological Theory of Moral Commitment (Prentice Hall) in 1971. John was inspired by the photography of Ansel Adams to become an outdoorsman. A mountain-climbing accident at 23, which left permanent injuries, led him to seek alternative ways of ascending the California mountains. He was known in Davis as a “bicycle pioneer,” and described himself as a “bicycle guru.” He was instrumental not only in helping to establish bicyclists' rights in the State of California, but he also built the first prototype of the mountain bike in 1953. In 1960, he developed a “Woodsie,” a lighter-weight, off-road bike, which was a precursor to the modern mountain bike. His personalized license plate, “Homeric,” was attached to a double-decker London bus he created for mountain-bike touring. In 1980, he purchased the Cupertino Bike Shop, which he sold in 1989. His love of the outdoors endured, and he spent later years camping and developing his skills in photography. Survivors include his sister, Jane Scott Chamberlain. His father, Frank C. Scott ’15, also attended Reed.
Rosamond E. Stricker Day ’33
Rosamond E. Stricker Day ’33, January 14, 2006, in San Rafael, California. Rosamond was born in Grants Pass, Oregon, and moved frequently during her first eight years, while her father worked as an army physician. The family settled in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, and Rosamond grew up playing on the Reed campus. At age 9, she decided that her career would be in art. To achieve that goal, she attended the Portland Museum Art School for three years and then completed a BA in art at Reed. For a few years following graduation, she remained in Portland and painted, took business courses, and worked as a secretary. Art remained her passion, and after traveling to San Francisco to view two exhibitions, she decided to move to the city, and there she studied design and textile printing, taught classes, worked at World's Fair on Treasure Island, and did independent designing on table linens and draperies. In 1941, she married artist and teacher Edward C. Day and moved to San Rafael. With her husband in military service during World War II, she continued her teaching in San Francisco and at Dominican College in San Rafael. She did freelance designing and printing and worked for the innovative American textile designer and weaver Dorothy Liebes, at her design studio in San Francisco. “It was a stimulating period for craftsmen at that time, and finely designed products were made,” she noted. Rosamond and Edward had one son, Donald J. Day ’68. Following her husband's first heart attack, Rosamond determined that she should earn a teaching credential, which she did at Dominican; Edward died prematurely. Rosamond volunteered in scouting, PTA, and at Boyd Natural Science Museum, where she conducted tide pool studies. Eventually her work at the museum inspired her to study marine biology, marine algae, land plants, botany, natural history, and conservation. She went birding with the Audubon Society, did annual bird counts, and later focused on work with the California Native Plant Society. She tended her acres of native oak and grassland, joined the Sierra Club, explored Yosemite, and traveled abroad to Europe and Asia. A study of Pre-Columbian art prompted travel to ruins in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and the Yucatan. She expanded on that experience with other trips to Costa Rica, Kenya, and the Hawaiian Islands. Prior to her 50th-class year reunion at Reed, she scheduled an extensive trip to Alaska. And for that reunion, she recounted a few of the details of her life after Reed. “My house is full of collections of many kinds, from herbariums, family heirlooms, cookbooks, unfinished projects, drawers of sketches, and just plain junk.” Pursuit of knowledge, supported by experience, drew her steadily onward.
Janette Louise Cobb Schneider ’41
Janette Louise Cobb Schneider ’41, April 19, 2009, in Portland. Following receipt of a BA from Reed in general literature, Janette accepted a position as assistant garden editor for the Oregon Journal. “This was a wonderful experience, because I worked with Dean Collins, a most creative and literate man.” She later held a secretarial position for the assistant to the publisher at the Journal, and, still later, was a legal secretary for her husband, attorney Alexander Schneider, whom she married in 1950. Janette volunteered as a Camp Fire leader and board member, and was a member of the Contemporary Crafts Association, the Japanese Garden Society, the Portland Ice Skating Club, and the First Unitarian Church. Survivors include her daughter. Her sister, Marcella A. Cobb ’43, and nephew, Jeffrey L. Cobb ’80, also graduated from Reed.
Arsalan Serajian ’04
Arsalan Serajian ’04, December 22, 2007, in New Mexico. Arsalan had been missing for two months before his body was discovered in a snowy canyon in the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument in December 2007. He died of a shotgun wound, according to local authorities; searchers found two sawn-off shotguns and a pistol next to the body. Arsalan's undergraduate work began at Reed and continued in Boulder, Colorado; he had enrolled in a master's program in computer science in Santa Barbara, California, but failed to show up for classes. Arsalan was last seen alive on a Motel 6 security camera in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. His car was later discovered in the parking lot of the visitor center at the Gila Cliff Dwellings; its license plates had been removed and VIN numbers destroyed, but the keys and expensive new camping equipment remained inside. Arsalan's parents stated that he had been reading Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, before he left for New Mexico. The unusual circumstances of Arsalan's death led friends and family to suspect foul play, but New Mexico State Police ruled it suicide.
Wilson Ring Smith ’42
Wilson Ring Smith ’42, January 20, 2010, in St. Augustine, Florida. Wilson earned his BA from Reed in physics and was a civilian engineer assisting military operations in England during World War II. He earned an MS in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1950, and was a manager for the laboratory test plans and evaluation division at Avco Missile Systems. He was also an amateur radio operator and photographer. Wilson moved to Florida from Massachusetts in 1991, and trained students at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in code for amateur radio licenses. Retirement brought more opportunities for him to enjoy sailing, bicycling, hiking, and travel. Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Amanda, four daughters, a son, and grandchildren. One son predeceased him.
John Lloyd Siemens ’46
John Lloyd Siemens ’46, March 5, 2010, in Port Angeles, Washington. John attended Reed for a year, and received an MD from the University of Oregon Medical School. He and nursing student Patricia Rush met during that time; they were married for 62 years. In 1950, John completed an internship and family practice residency in Portland, and the couple moved to Port Angeles, where they started a medical practice. The practice evolved into the Port Angeles Physicians Clinic, from which John retired in 1994. With the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, John provided medical services on transport ships between Seattle and Korea. He also had a sabbatical in the Marshall Islands in the early ’70s. John was active in Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, president of the YMCA board of directors, and a member of the Hurricane Ridge ski patrol. In retirement, he continued to hike in the Olympic Mountains, bike, travel, and to spend quality time with his family. Survivors include his wife, daughter, son, and five grandchildren.
Ann Bradley Rogers Stamps ’45
Ann Bradley Rogers Stamps 45, March 3, 2000, in Florida. Ann attended Bennington College and Reed before leaving to marry James B. Stamps ’43, with whom she raised two sons and a daughter. She later completed her undergraduate studies in English at the University of New Hampshire and received an EdD from Boston University. For 20 years, she lived in Boston and West Newton and served as aide to Massachusetts state senator Jack Backman. She helped found and sustain the New Hampshire Music Festival, and was a benefactor and board member for the organization for many years. She also supported a number of other organizations, including those focused on education, conservation, hunger, and peace.
Bernard Smith ’48
Courtesy of Special Collections, .
Rocket scientist, weaponry expert, and sailboat designer Bernard Smith ’48 died on February 12, 2010, in Boca Raton, Florida, from liver cancer.
The son of poor Russian immigrants, Barney grew up on the Lower East Side of New York City, leaving public schools at 14 in order to support his family. He was a remarkable genius, whose creativity was fueled in childhood by a voracious reading habit and a fearless nature; by outings in nature and visits to the public library and museums; and by attending free evening lectures at Cooper Union and Columbia University. “If poverty and ignorance aren't enough to motivate the disadvantaged, what stronger motivation can be found?” he stated in his autobiography, Looking Ahead from Way Back.
Valerie B. Strahl Rabe ’48
Valerie B. Strahl Rabe ’48, February 9, 2010, at home in Hillsboro, Oregon. Valerie attended Reed and the University of Oregon, and worked at the Kaiser and Oregon shipyards and with the Red Cross canteen corps during World War II. She married Ronald C. Rabe in 1947. Living in Hillsboro, Valerie was active in the PTA, the League of Women Voters, and the Hillsboro Jaycettes. She traveled to 48 countries and pursued hobbies in gardening and genealogy. Survivors include two sons, three daughters, 16 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and a sister.
John Roger Sheridan ’55
John Roger Sheridan ’55, November 29, 2008, in Langley, Washington. Roger earned his BA from Reed and a PhD from the University of Washington in physics. Just out of graduate school, with wife Carol Buckner Sheridan and one child (a second followed), he accepted a joint appointment at the Geophysical Institute and the University of Alaska–Fairbanks. He became department head and full professor in physics at the university, retiring as emeritus professor in 1987. During his career, he served as chair of the National Research Council's graduate fellowship committee in physics and astronomy and conducted research in atomic and molecular collision phenomena. He was a member of Sigma Xi and fellow of the American Physical Society. Roger and Carol were Danforth Faculty Associates at the university; he also held offices in the United Presbyterian Church and Fairbanks Council of Churches and was the first chairman of the (interdenominational) United Campus Ministry Board at the university. In retirement, the couple operated a computer software development business, Sheridan Software, on Whidbey Island, Washington. In 2002, Roger retired fully and completed treatment for prostate cancer.
S. Leslie Scalapino ’66
S. Leslie Scalapino ’66, May 28, 2010, in Berkeley, California. As a child, Leslie traveled throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe with her father, Professor Robert Scalapino, founder of the University of California, Berkeley, Institute for Asian Studies; her mother, singer Dee Scalapino; and her two sisters. She grew up to be a writer, and her work, which included poetry, novels, plays, and essays, showed the influence of those early explorations. Leslie wrote her first serious poems in a class taught by Kenneth Hanson [English 1954-86]. “It's then that I realized I was going to write poetry,” she told Gay Walker ’69 in an oral history interview. She earned her BA in general literature, writing her thesis on William Faulkner. “I found that Reed had a philosophy that was very sustaining, and in terms of life preparation it was excellent,” she said. After Reed, Leslie received a Woodrow Wilson fellowship and completed an MA in English at University of California,Berkeley. Her first book, O and Other Poems, was published in 1976; she would publish 30 others, including a detective novel, Orchid Jetsam, under the pseudonym Dee Goda.
In 1986, she founded O Books, a small press focused on young and emerging poets and on prominent, innovative writers. Leslie also taught at University of California,San Diego, Mills College, the San Francisco Art Institute, Bard College, the Otis College of Art and Design, and the Naropa Institute, and was the recipient of two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her poem "way" received the American Book Award, the Poetry Center Award from San Francisco State University, and the Lawrence Lipton Prize. In the ’80s, she met Philip Whalen ’51; they became friends, and Leslie acted as his representative at the end of his life, ensuring that a collection of his work and his personal library would reside at the Bancroft Library at University of California,Berkeley. Leslie contributed a poem to the feature “Memo to Self: What I Would Say to the Person I was at Reed” in the spring 2007 issue of Reed magazine, and wrote an introduction to The Collected Poems of Philip Whalen, which was reprinted in the winter 2008 issue. This spring, she gave Reed more than $1 million to endow a scholarship. Leslie and her husband, Tom White, were together for 35 years.
Victoria Frances Summers ’35
Victoria Frances Summers ’35, March 31, 2011, in Sun City, Arizona.Vickie earned a BA in mathematics from Reed and an MA in hygiene and physical education from Wellesley College. She taught high school mathematics for Department of Defense overseas dependent schools in the Philippines, Okinawa, Germany, Spain, and Turkey, and traveled in 40 countries before retiring in 1980.
Hulbert Elmer Sipple ’43
Hulbert Elmer Sipple ’43, February 21, 2011, in Los Angeles, California.Bert earned a BA in chemistry from Reed and became a research chemist and petroleum engineer for the Shell Chemical Company. He worked initially in the Bay Area with army ordinance, and eventually assumed responsibility for product development and petrochemicals in 11 western states. In 1952, he married Mary Retherford; that same year he studied lubrication engineering at MIT. Bert retired in 1982 after 40 years with Shell. In retirement, he and Mary led an active life in Long Beach and in their numerous travels. He pursued interests in skiing, golf, fishing, biking, piano, photography, ham radio, candle making, and remote-controlled airplanes. A voracious reader, he approached life with enthusiasm and a trademark joie de vivre. Survivors include Mary, a son, a daughter, and three grandchildren.
Priscilla Joubert Schwejda ’45
Priscilla Joubert Schwejda ’45, February 14, 2011, in Forest Grove, Oregon. Percy, as she was known at Reed, earned a BA in political science, and worked for Braniff Airways in Texas after college. A layover in Chicago led to a visit to the Jane Addams Hull House, where she took a job as the organization's program secretary. At Hull House, she took piano lessons from Donald Schwejda; they married in 1948. Don's teaching and study took them to Indiana and to Pacific University in Oregon. Percy spent 15 years at home raising their four children, before becoming a teacher's aide. After earning degrees from Pacific University and Western Oregon University, she taught reading for Yamhill schools. “Children need to be encouraged to take risks when reading. They need to be given the opportunities to try a lot of things and not to fear failure,” she said. Percy used songs, poetry, plays, and puppetry to point out differences in written and spoken language and to demonstrate the beauty of language. “Although my formal study for teaching took place long after I attended Reed, the habits of critical thinking and methods of research that I learned there were invaluable for academic work. And, hopefully, the Reed passion for learning was contagious for my students.” Outside of teaching, she enjoyed camping with her family, photography, calligraphy, drawing, painting, and sculpture. She appreciated the marvels of nature found in bird watching, viewing a sunrise or sunset, or in hiking. She also attended Elderhostels around the country and was a longtime member of St. Anthony's Parish in Forest Grove. Percy and friendsBetty Havely Golding ’45and Eleanor May ’45 gathered once a year for 30 years in the summer to reminisce about Reed. Survivors include two sons and daughters, six grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and two sisters.
Clifford Kentner Scott ’48
Clifford Kentner Scott ’48, May 4, 2011, in Greenbrae, California.Kentner attended Reed for two years before pursuing a long career in commercial banking, real estate, and nonprofit accounting. In 1985, he founded Emergence International, a community of gay and non-gay Christian Scientists, and served as editor of the journal Emerge! In the first issue, he described the journal's mission: “To focus on solutions, not problems. Its goal will be to inspire, to uplift, to heal. Re-fighting church battles will not be part of its mission, but diversity and respect for individual points of view will be. Its columns will be open to the discussion of controversial ideas.” Kentner also played piano and recorder and was interested in genealogy, history, and politics. Survivors include his life companion, Sterling Rainey, a son, and a sister.
Robert Egan Sullivan ’49
Robert Egan Sullivan ’49, January 26, 2010, in La Mesa, California.Robert earned a BA from Reed in chemistry and an MEd from Oregon State University. “The most important thing I learned at Reed was to keep an open mind and to believe very little that I heard without first conducting my own investigation.” Robert said he valued his study with Reed's chemistry department and taking classes from F.L. Griffin [mathematics 1911-56]. Robert taught chemistry, mathematics, and general science in public schools for several years then worked as a physical chemist for the U.S. Navy in Pasadena and San Diego. He became a computer specialist, performing scientific programming, and served as a training coordinator. In San Diego, he served on the missionary commission of San Carlos Methodist Church. As a result of his experiences with the organization in border towns of Mexico, he began studying Spanish. This study led to a BA in Spanish linguistics and a translator's license from San Diego State University. Robert helped translate Invitación a la muerte, by Mexican dramatist Xavier Villaurrutiua, a play based on Hamlet set in modern day Mexico City. His favorite activities were reading, travel, and bridge. A frequent participant in bridge games at Reed, he later became a life master in the American Contract Bridge League and attended tournaments in Hawaii, Nevada, Arizona, and California. Two tournament partners were Carol Ellsworth Wilkinson ’51 and Stuart Oliver ’52. Robert spent considerable time visiting old mining towns of the West, and traveled extensively in Mexico, wintering in Puerto Vallarta, where he owned a small grocery store. He was married to Cicely Hargrove; they divorced, after which he adopted a son, who was a Nicaraguan refugee. Survivors include his son and five grandchildren.
John Jay Salasin ’63
John Jay Salasin ’63, March 26, 2011, in Rockville, Maryland, from a stroke.John attended Reed for a year and later earned a BS in zoology from George Washington University. He and Susan E. Crawford ’64 were married in Portland in 1964, and had two daughters. John continued his education at the University of Minnesota, where he earned an MS in neurophysiology and a PhD in computer and information science. During his career in information technology, he worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie-Mellon, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. John was an expert in the field of Natural Language Understanding. In recognition for his outstanding work at the agency, he was presented with the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service in 2008. John is remembered for his dry wit and his enjoyment of photography and landscape gardening. Survivors include Susan, their two daughters, two grandchildren, and his beloved greyhound, Ginger.
Helen Clifford Peters Sloss ’36
Helen Clifford Peters Sloss ’36, February 27, 2012, in Yorba Linda, California. Helen hailed from Galveston, Texas, and earned a BA from Reed in sociology. She was an executive with Pacific Telephone for 37 years, pioneering positions for women that traditionally had been held by men. She also served in key leadership positions in the Presbyterian Church, including as interim executive of the Los Angeles Presbytery. In 2006, at the age of 94, Helen sent in news for class notes in Reed: “I really don’t need to be reminded that it has been 70 years since I was on campus,” she quipped. She was still driving her Volvo station wagon and reflected on the contribution that her classmates had made to the world. She is survived by a son and daughter, seven grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. Her brother,Warren Peters, also attended Reed.
Frederic Claiborne Shorter ’44
Frederic Claiborne Shorter ’44, February 21, 2012, in Olympia, Washington. Fred grew up in Seattle, the son of a Congregational clergyman. “My father was usually quite poor, and was a pacifist and a socialist, and quite outspoken,” he said in an interview in 2005. His father strongly approved of Fred’s choice to attend Reed, and Fred’s sisters, Mary Alice Shorter Holmes ’45 and Ruth Shorter, also studied at Reed. Fred managed the bookstore and the student union and did kitchen and janitorial work to finance his undergraduate years; he also sold women’s shoes. He lived in a room in the SU with Jerry L. Kelley ’44 and participated in hijinks to ferry the Doyle owl off and on campus. Fred earned a BA in economics and got a job in a public accounting office in Seattle before enrolling at Haverford, where he earned an MA in international administration. At Haverford, he met Bani Knight Shorter. They were married for 30 years and adopted a daughter and son. After Haverford, he worked for the American Friends Service Committee, spent a year in India analyzing the jute industry on a Ford Foundation fellowship, and earned a PhD from Stanford in economics. Fred taught at UCLA and at Harvard, where he was part of an advisory group in Dacca (then, East Pakistan). Four years later, he went to teach at Princeton and to work in Turkey. “I began to branch towards demography and population studies—more about the demographic context.” He later worked for the Population Council in New York. In that capacity, he was in Egypt for many years and married Belgin Tekçe. They were together for 19 years and also lived in Turkey and in British Columbia. In 2004, he married Zeynep Angin and found his way to Idaho and Washington, where he was a visiting scholar at the University of Washington. Fred said that at Reed he learned to read and criticize, to work with other people, and to participate in discussion groups—“all extremely helpful as experience and optimism that enabled me to do the work I did in Cairo and Turkey all those years. As an outsider in those countries, one must have something to give and be considerate of the people you work with. Now, perhaps, I had some of those qualities already from my family, but they were certainly reinforced at Reed.”
Katharine Marie Saremal Cornwell ’40
Katharine Saremal Cornwell ’40 and Bruce Cornwell
Katharine Marie Saremal Cornwell ’40, March 4, 2013, in Brooklyn, New York.
Katharine was one of three daughters born to William Saremal, a partner in the contracting firm that built many of the bridges and tunnels along the Columbia River Highway. After studying at Reed for two years, she transferred to Oregon State College and received a BA in home economics.
Christina Slawson Siegel ’90
Christina Slawson Siegel ’90, April 1, 2013, in Los Angeles. Christina earned a BA in philosophy and political science, working with Peter Steinberger [political science 1977–] as a thesis adviser. She credited him as one of the influential people in her life. She graduated from Reed Phi Beta Kappa and also was a Rhodes Scholar finalist. “She was a terrific student,” says Steinberger. Christina went on to earn a JD from Harvard and returned to her hometown of Los Angeles, where she practiced health care law for 10 years, specializing in mergers, acquisitions, and regulatory work. She married Mark Siegel and left her legal practice in order to raise their twin daughters. During the five years she enjoyed as a mother, she found time to serve on the board of directors for the Eisner Pediatric Medical Center and the Center for Early Education and to be a member of the Blue Ribbon. Christina is remembered for her wit, intelligence, beauty, unsurpassed integrity, and kindness. “Her sudden, unexpected, and unexplained passing leaves a painful void in the lives of all who knew her.” Survivors include her husband, daughters Elizabeth and Sarah, and her mother and brother.
James Bradley Stamps ’42
James Bradley Stamps ’42, April 9, 2013, in Westminster, California. The day after graduating from Reed with a BA in economics, Jim joined Jeanne Goodman Smith ’42 and Doug Smith ’42 on a leisurely journey to Washington, D.C., in a 1930 Ford Model A. “Shortly after arrival, I received a telegram from the navy telling me to report for duty in Portland in seven days. It was a hairy trip back.” He was commissioned in the navy air corps in 1943, and that same year married Ann B. Rogers ’45. Following his active duty in the South Pacific, Jim and Ann moved to Laconia, New Hampshire, where he was employed at the Allen-Rogers Corporation, Ann’s father’s woodturning factory. The couple had two sons and a daughter and parted ways in the mid-’60s, after which Jim entered the Peace Corps and lived in India for two years, working in the Aid to Small Industries program. “Leaving India, I took a boat to Kenya, bought a motorcycle and toured East Africa, then Israel, Greece, and so on, up to England, where I put the motorcycle on a plane and flew back to the U.S.” He taught methods analysis at Dartmouth and led executive training programs before returning to England. There he bought a 31-foot cruising boat and sailed for 10 years and nearly 85,000 miles, successfully circumnavigating the globe. Jim and Joan Smith married in 1983. They sailed together and also traveled widely in a recreation vehicle, with a home base in Seal Beach, California. They skied, bicycled, hiked, attended college, and wrote novels. Jim stated that the Reed education proved superior to many other academic programs. “I speak not so much of the academic, as of the more subtle abilities to analyze a problem in a constructive manner. I am grateful.”
Dorothy Shumann Stearns ’45
Dorothy Schumann Stearns ’45, July 21, 2013, in Portland. Dorothy grew up in a German-speaking family in Sellwood and attended Lincoln High School, where she met many students who went on to study with her at Reed, including her good friend Aileen Young Yip ’45. “I felt right at home in the humanities and I also had absolutely no problem with math,” Dorothy said in an interview in 2004. “Dr. Griffin [F.L., mathematics 1911–56] used to make little poems. I just loved that math class.” She suffered from amblyopia, which proved challenging when studying long hours or earning P.E. credit in conventional ways. Evelyn R. Hasenmayer [physical education 1930–46] allowed her to fulfill the P.E. requirement with daily walks home. Dorothy enjoyed classes with Victor Chittick [English 1921–48] and loved his modern literature course. “I did not enjoy writing the thesis but, of course, I got it done in record time. It was not long. It was done on exactly the day it was due. On that day the death of Hitler was announced. And I was coming to Reed from the bus stop and Madame C.L.M. Pouteau [French 1934–49] was walking across the campus. She was quite a ways away from me and she was swinging a paper and I was the only person in sight, and she yells at me, ‘Hitler is dead. The war is over!’ It was just an unforgettable memory.” Dorothy and Aileen were Lloyd Reynolds’ [English & art 1929–69] first calligraphy students and they worked with Reynolds informally. “He hadn’t started a class yet, so we’d meet with him after school.” Dorothy also worked in the Hauser Library during her four years at Reed, including the first summer. By the second summer, she had taken Reynolds’ drafting class—she was the only woman in the class—and was hired in the drafting department at the Kaiser Shipyards in Vancouver, Washington. “At the end of the summer my father said, ‘You quit now and you go back to Reed. You’ll regret it all your life if you don’t.’ He was absolutely right.” Dorothy earned a BA in German and then went on to earn a certificate in business administration from Harvard-Radcliffe in 1949. She was later acknowledged as an alumna of the Harvard Business School and she remained friends with her peers in the program. She also earned an MSW at the University of Southern California in 1953 and did field work at the Los Angeles County Hospital polio ward. Another student in the master’s program was Gerry Stearns, who was attending school on the GI Bill. They married in Portland in 1954. Dorothy was a professional public servant for the state of Oregon in the ’50s. Her skill and drive enabled rapid progression through a variety of positions, including frontline caseworker, compliance investigator, and senior-level administrator. Dorothy and Gerry then moved to Berkeley for other positions in social services—Dorothy supervised first-year social work students at UC Berkeley, established new social service organizations and programs, and was a fair hearing officer for federal aid programs. They welcomed a son, Charles. In the ’80s, Dorothy worked as an arbitrator for human resources grievances at the UCB and volunteered as an arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau. Her skill and savvy earned her the bureau’s National Arbitrator of the Year award. Dorothy loved to travel, spearheading multiple trips to Europe. With her background in German and French, she never shied away from conversations with those she met; many conversations became part of her family’s lore. In 1996, Dorothy and Gerry returned to Portland and reestablished relationships in the community. Dorothy delighted in actively participating in Reed alumni dinners, lectures, and other social events, and in volunteering at the Portland Art Museum. Dorothy became a grandmother in 2001 and experienced the joy of imparting stories and love to her grandson. Survivors include Gerry, Charles, daughter-in-law Ellen, and grandson Max, who remember her as a forceful, playful, and caring individual who could be relied on to drink a single glass of wine and hold forth on the effect Goethe had on the work of Thomas Mann.
Stella M. Savage Zamvil ’47
Stella M. Savage Zamvil ’47, May 11, 2013, in Palo Alto, California. Born in New York to Orthodox Jewish parents who had emigrated from Russia, Stella graduated from high school at the age of 15 and enrolled at Brooklyn College. In 1944, she married physician Louis Zamvil. His wartime military assignment to the Oregon Medical School (Oregon Health & Science University) brought Stella to Portland, where she studied English and Latin at Reed. She then completed a BA in English and creative writing at San Jose State and earned an MA in creative writing at San Francisco State. Stella taught Latin and poetry to middle and high school students and taught creative writing and film at several area junior colleges and senior centers. She published collections of short stories and poetry, including In the Time of the Russias; My Father Hunts Zulus, My Mother Puts Up Pickles; and Silently You Taught Me Much: and Other Poems. She and Louis were cofounders of Temple Beth Am in Los Altos Hills and Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto. Stella was a choir member at Kol Emeth and also sang in the West Bay Opera. Survivors include two sons and a daughter, nine grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
Alice V. Hanson Senter ’55
Alice V. Hanson Senter ’55, March 27, 2012, in Seattle, Washington. Alice was married to Vance E. Senter, a medical officer in the navy, who was at Reed for a semester in 1955–56 as part of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project. Music was her passion, and she studied theory at Reed with Herb Gladstone [music 1946–80] and trombone performance with John Trudeau at Lewis & Clark. In addition to caring for her home and raising three sons and four daughters, she was manager for the Rainy Daze Jazz Band and performed trombone in the band, as well as in the Shoreline Community College Concert Band and the Ballard Sedentary Sousa Band—a senior dance orchestra. Vance played trumpet in the bands. Alice also was a published poet.
Lynne Clara Sherley ’53
Lynne Clara Sherley ’53, September 26, 2013, in Portland. Lynne earned a BA in anthropology from Reed and degrees in education and music from Portland State and Marylhurst universities. She taught fourth grade and orchestra in the Tigard Schools for 20 years. With her musical ability and a quick wit and wry sense of humor, she inspired many young musicians. She was accomplished in both piano and cello, and formed her own group, Trillium. Lynne also enjoyed making and teaching art, doing quilting, and traveling, and spoke six languages. She did organic gardening and supported many organizations, including Oregon Tilth and the Portland Japanese Garden. She was a member of the Ananda community, where she volunteered as a teacher and office assistant. Survivors include a son and two daughters, four grandchildren, and a brother.
George Kemp Schlesinger ’69
Photo by Michael Thompson ’65
George Kemp Schlesinger ’69, August 2013, in Maryland. After finishing his thesis at Reed, for which he earned a BA in philosophy, Kemp continued philosophy studies at the University of Oregon. He later lived in Yachats, where he produced a series of uniquely satirical collage books (unpublished) while studying computer programming. Another entertainment was music: Kemp began playing the flute at age 5 and mastered several other instruments, including saxophone, oboe, bassoon, piccolo, and piano. Terrel Brand ’67 says, “I met Kemp first in Sisson, where he collaborated with another roommate in a jazz group. His considerable skill and profound interest in music had a great influence on my own skill (modest) and interest (huge).” Those who loved him recall his quiet sense of humor, the outbursts of spontaneous silliness, the breadth of interests—in addition to playing music, Kemp played chess, Go, and mahjongg—and a gentleness of spirit. Cricket Parmalee ’67 remembered: “What is startling to me is how very specific my physical recollection of Kemp is. More than anyone else I have known, he was so individual in the way he looked, moved, and spoke. He was often very silent, but focused, and would then abruptly take the floor with a comment or commentary. His physical presence—kicking a pebble down the street, doing a little dance, like a soccer player, or breaking into a smile . . . forget Wittgenstein and think Buster Keaton!” Steven Halpern ’67 recalled Kemp as quiet and self-effacing, “yet always having something interesting to say, especially when pressed about one of his interests. His inner life, which I was convinced was rich, was, at the same time a complete unknown. I think of him as being the sweetest of human beings, with a sweetness that, unfortunately, he could not access for his own well being.” A move to Germany, as David Dod ’67 says, seemed to be the happiest and most fulfilling chapter of his life. “Having a job where he had talent and was valued, traveling to work with clients, and joining the municipal-sponsored town band of Heppenheim.” He had returned to the United States in 2005, after 20 years as a programmer at Software AG, one of the leaders in software application development. During his years in Germany, he traveled extensively for the firm, overseeing installations in various European countries and the U.S., aided by his facility for languages. In addition to fluency in English and German, he was comfortable in French, Italian, Dutch, and Hungarian, many of which he studied independently. In later years, he learned Chinese as an entertainment. Declining health led to Kemp’s return to Maryland, where he lived with his sister, Fran, who provided this memorial. Always able to amuse himself, Kemp was a film buff, particularly loving noir films of the ’30s and ’40s. He read extensively, everything from comics, to “trashy” Chinese novels, to history, philosophy, and economics. After a few years, retirement palled and he took part-time work at the local public library as supervisor of page services, solving logistical problems, developing systems, mentoring younger colleagues, and enjoying interactions with the youngest patrons. Kemp had a special kinship with children, sharing jokes and letters with nephews and nieces. His “uncleness” included great generosity of time, interest, and affection. Photographs of Kemp, taken by Mike Thompson ’66 during a day trip to Short Sands Beach, show the playful side of Kemp. “I remember him as a gentleman, quiet, and drawling his words out; happy to be included in outings and a good sport about putting up with photographers, but generally keeping himself in the background.” Kemp was kind to those he felt close to and, as one colleague at the public library noted, he was a dear sweet friend. “It is not often that you find someone who ‘gets’ you and Kemp was much loved and respected.” Kemp’s family held a memorial at the Harford County Public Library to commemorate his love of learning, his curiosity, and his humor that will remain with those whose lives he touched.
Mary Katharine Stanley, Staff
Mary Katharine Stanley died on January 6, 2003, in SeaTac, Washington. A former staff member who greatly enjoyed working with students and faculty members, Kat was known for her lively and attentive nature, as well as her interest in the world around her. She was a graduate of West Seattle High School, the University of Oregon, and the University of Washington, where she graduated in 1928 with a degree in journalism and met her future husband, Carter (Dook) Stanley, whom she married in 1931. They lived in Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland before returning to Milwaukie, Oregon, in 1943. Kat began working at Reed in 1959 as secretary to alumni directorCarleton T. Whitehead ’41 [1952–83]. From there, she moved to the president's office as executive secretary, serving presidents Richard H. Sullivan [1956–67] and Victor G. Rosenblum [1968–70], as well as acting and interim presidents Ross B. Thompson [vice president 1966–72] and Byron L. Youtz [physics 1956–68]. Although the president's office was occasionally occupied and shut down, Kat remained upbeat and amiable throughout these periods of turbulence. She retired from Reed in 1970. After her retirement, she lived in Tigard, Oregon, until 1995, when she moved back to Seattle. She read and traveled widely, and followed current events with special interest. She wrote professionally and had articles published in the New Yorker and Parents magazine. Kat is survived by her two daughters, including Laura Stanley Saunders ’63, two granddaughters, a great-granddaughter, and a sister.
Chester Albert Schink ’41
Chester Albert Schink ’41, November 22, 2013, in Portland, following a short illness. Born and raised in Portland, Chet came to Reed, where he earned a BA in chemistry. He went on to complete a master’s degree in biochemistry from Oregon State College (University), and was recruited for service in World War II by the Hercules Power Company in Washington, D.C. He also served at Radford Ordnance Works. Following the war, he returned to Oregon State, where he completed a PhD in organic chemistry, and where, on a blind date, he met Hannah Johnson. “Her willingness to type his PhD dissertation convinced him that he’d met the right girl.” The couple married in 1947 and moved to New Jersey, where Chet worked for the DuPont Company in their research and development office. In 1951, Chet and Hannah and their children returned to Oregon. He was employed with Krishell Laboratories, a small agricultural chemical company that did research on antitumor agents and heterocyclic and other biochemical compounds. In 1956, he began a 30-year career at Tektronix, where he managed the electrochemical laboratory, developed a company-wide chemical safety system, and was a leader in worker safety. He was a member of the American Chemical Society and a founding member of the Portland Section. He also taught general and organic chemistry at Mt. Hood Community College. Colleagues greatly respected Chet for his integrity and support; his wealth of knowledge, generously shared; and his practical insights, humor, and wisdom. Chet is also remembered as a patient, determined, and compassionate individual. He loved to travel and he achieved a lifelong goal of visiting all 50 states; he and Hannah also traveled to western Europe, Scandinavia, and Australia, and cruised the Mediterranean. A great conversationalist, and loyal to friends and family, Chet maintained strong friendships throughout his life. He gardened and enjoyed community activities, including a longstanding role with the Masons and as a volunteer with the Boy Scouts, 4-H, DeMolay, and Job’s Daughters. He also was a member of St. Mark Lutheran Church. In retirement, Chet used his keen interest in history to volunteer for the Portland-based Urban Tour Group, a nonprofit providing historical tours of Portland for schoolchildren. Chet and Hannah established the Chester and Hannah Schink Science Book Fund at Reed. Survivors include Hannah, a daughter and son, one granddaughter, and two great-granddaughters.
Margaret Rose Sullivan Guthrie ’47
Margaret Rose Sullivan Guthrie ’47, December 4, 2013, in Santa Rosa, California. Madge (or Sully) was a valedictorian in her Colorado high school and received a scholarship to Reed, where she pursued an interest in chemistry. Madge and George B. Guthrie ’40 married in 1946 and moved to Pasadena, where Madge enrolled at Caltech and completed a BS in chemistry. They then moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and began a family. Following their divorce in 1960, Madge went to California. She was a science editor for the Stanford Research Institute, and there met Bruce Barclay. They married and made a home in Malibu. She became a resident of Santa Rosa in 1991. Madge was a photographer, a writer, and an editor, who sought to convey intellectual joy and to combat ignorance through her work. She took pride in her personal library and read thousands of books, noting each one in the journal she began in high school. Beyond an enjoyment of reading and a passion for learning, Madge developed an expertise in numerous other subjects that fascinated her, including sewing and acting. She is remembered as an engaging individual who enjoyed lively and in-depth conversation on a wide range of topics. Reflecting on her education later in life, Madge stated that Reed was part of a continuum of learning and a gem in recollection. “The variety of learning Reed provided increased knowledge and confidence, useful in my several occupations.” Survivors include three sons and three grandchildren.
Eric Oswald Stork ’50
Eric Oswald Stork ’50,February 2, 2014, in Arlington, Virginia, from kidney failure.
A brilliant and controversial bureaucrat, whose stand on motor vehicle emissions made him a “thorn in the auto industry’s flesh,” Eric Stork defied stereotypes and faced career challenges with integrity and vision.
Barbara June Donnell Stockley ’55
Barbara June Donnell Stockley ’55,December 5, 2013, in Elgin, Texas.Barbara and her family moved from Washington to Hawaii when she was 8 years old. She graduated from high school in 1943 and worked for the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor until she left to attend Reed, making her way to Oregon on a navy transport ship in summer 1945. After two years at the college, she went back to Honolulu but returned to Reed in 1953 to finish her studies and write her thesis, “The Face and Symmetry of Truth: A Study of the Imagery of Sir Thomas Browne.” Barbara earned a BA in general literature with honors, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She went on to earn an MA in English literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and moved to Austin to teach freshman composition at the University of Texas. Barbara then became a book editor for the University of Texas Press. She subsequently served as an editor forpublications ofthe Texas State Historical Association, including Southwestern Historical Quarterly and the encyclopedic reference volumeThe Handbook of Texas: A Supplement (Vol. 3, 1976). In 1959 she married cattle rancher Franklin C. Stockley; they lived in a rustic, 19th-century, wooden ranch house north of Elgin until his death in 1993. In the late ’90s, she did some of the grant writing that led to the Elgin Historical Association’s obtaining the funds necessary to rehabilitate the then-derelict former railroad depot into the local history museum it has become, the Elgin Depot Museum. One of the permanent exhibits in the museum presents an enlargement of a photograph of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which marked the opening of the museum in 2002, in which Barbara appears alongside other members and officers of the historical association. At that time, she was still living out on the ranch, albeit in a modern manufactured home, until she moved into town in 2006. She served as a volunteer docent at the museum, working principally behind the counter on the historical newspaper archiving project, from its opening until 2011, when her declining health made her participation no longer feasible. Survivors include her brother, Alan Donnell; nephew Howard Donnell, who provided this memorial; nephew John Goode; niece Helen Donnell; and cousin Gordon Gray.
James Edmund Story ’68
James Edmund Story ’68,February 27, 2010, in Roseburg, Oregon.Jim completed a BA in chemistry from Reed and went on to earn an MS in counseling psychology from Lewis & Clark College and a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of New Mexico. He was program director for the ADAPT counseling outpatient program in Roseburg. Jim and his wife, Margaret, had one daughter.
Bonnie Anne Stockman ’69
Bonnie Ann Stockman ’69,October 8, 2013, from ovarian cancer, at home, in Oregon City, Oregon.An “army brat,” Bonnie grew up in various places, including Georgia, Alaska, Monterey, California, and Washington state, before coming to Reed, where she studied psychology when she wasn’t folk dancing or having other adventures. She took a break from Reed to study Zen Buddhism at the San Francisco Zen Center and Tassajara Zen Monastery, and spent a summer living in a miner’s cabin above Amador City, California. In 1974, Bonnie graduated from Portland State University with a BA in psychology and a certificate in social service. Her husband, David Lynn ’70, writes: “Bonnie combined a tremendous technical ability with a deep abiding passion and concern for other living creatures and the world they inhabit. That shows up in her early social work and community action jobs, her time as an ombudsperson for the startup HMO Cascade Health Care, later as a customer care specialist and systems analyst in the information technology department for various banks and finally Con-Way Trucking. While she was holding all of those positions, she actively participated with Oregon Equestrian Trails, which campaigns to keep Oregon trails and the environment generally open for use by people and their horses. Poet Gary (’51) Snyder’s book Mountains and Rivers without End was everywhere in her thoughts and actions.” Bonnie was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer in 2009, shortly after returning from a trip to Iran in search of oriental rugs. Her response to her diagnosis was a renewed determination to live every moment to its fullest. She took early retirement, which freed her to travel to Turkey and China (more carpets!), and to Hawaii, Washington, and California. She went horse camping on Mount Hood and participated in maintaining various horse campgrounds. Not content with that, she embarked upon the study of Argentine tango and tai chi chuan, including the sword form. She volunteered with the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Oregon and Southwest Washington and with support groups for women with reproductive cancers. She served as a consumer reviewer for Ovarian Cancer Research Program proposals for the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. Bonnie spent the final weeks of her life at home in rural Oregon, surrounded by her family and close friends. According to her wishes, she was cremated wearing an old pair of jeans, a T-shirt with the John Muir quote “The mountains are calling and I must go,” earrings from the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, sexy underwear, and red satin tango shoes. This memorial was written by Deborah Ross ’68, who helped care for Bonnie and her family in the final weeks of Bonnie’s life. Survivors include David and two grown children.
Richard E. Sharvy ’64
Richard E. Sharvy '64, July 1, 1988, in Eugene, Oregon, from cancer. Richard earned a BA in philosophy from Reed and a PhD in philosophy in 1969 from Wayne State University. He taught at a number of institutions, including Swarthmore College; Wayne State; University of Auckland in New Zealand; the University of California, Irvine; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; North Carolina State; and the University of Miami. He published at least 30 articles on various topics in metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophy of logic, and history of philosophy. The obituary appearing in the APA Proceedings, Vol. 61, noted that: "In addition to being a philosopher, Sharvy was also a linguist, logician, musician, politician, journalist, novelist, and debater. He had working knowledge of Greek. Latin, French, Italian, German, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, and Creole. Above all, Sharvy was an American-style rugged individualist. Almost everything he did was carefully measured for its intelligence, skill, efficiency, humor, and grace." Survivors include his son, Benjamin ’89; mother, Ruth; and sister, Rayna.
Robert Bailey Scharf ’40
Robert Bailey Scharf ’40,June 25, 2013, at the Arkansas Regional Medical Center in Colorado.Dusty came to Reed from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He was a member of the Outdoor Club and was elected president of the student body. Among his memories of Reed was rooming with Emilio Pucci MA ’37, we learned from his granddaughter. “He loved to tell the story that, one night, Emilio came back to their room, looked out the window at a full moon, and proclaimed, ‘On nights like tonight, Italians make love.’” (Emilio promptly left the room.) Dusty earned his BA in political science, joined the U.S. Army Flying Cadet Program in 1941, and served with the 232nd Squadron as a fighter pilot in the South Pacific. After the war, he went to Las Animas, Colorado, and opened the Walters and Scharf Motor Company, which later became Scharf’s Auto Body Shop. He was also an air force reservist. Dusty owed his chance meeting of Alma Backum to serving with her brother during the war. Dusty and Alma were married in 1947. Dusty taught mathematics and was a school principal before becoming superintendent of the Las Animas School District. He completed an MA in education administration from Adams State College in Colorado. He also was a member of the First Presbyterian Church and was active in many community organizations. Survivors include his daughter Susie, son Donald, and a granddaughter and grandson. Alma died one month after Dusty’s death.
Bruce Saunders ’63
Bruce Saunders ’63,February 26, 2014, after a yearlong battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in Seattle, Washington.Bruce was a philosophy major at Reed, and went on to earn a master’s degree in journalism from UCLA and a PhD in sociology and education from UC Berkeley in 1975. He spent several years on the faculty at Pennsylvania State and the University of Washington before working as an independent scholar to advance educational reform in religious schools in rural areas of developing countries as an offsetting influence to urbanization. In addition to scholarly publications, he completed two books of fiction. His novel The Mexican Cowboy, the Coyote and the Thing in the Sky combines New Mexico folk tales, science fiction, theology, and philosophy. The book had its origin in tales told to Kaiti, daughter of Bruce and Laura Stanley Saunders ’63, when she was four. The stories focus on the value of connection between humans and among humans and animals, as well as the protection of wild animals, bioengineering, the conflict among animals’ gods, and war and peace. Set in the Rio Grande valley and Manzano Mountains south of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Bruce’s second book, Bruce’s Fables, which he wrote following the ALS diagnosis, is a collection of short pieces that examine our need to take care of one another. Bruce is survived by Laura, Kaiti, and son-in-law Rob Colenso.
Jeanne Isabel Casstevens Savery ’60
Jeanne Isabel Savery Casstevens ’60,February 21, 2014, in hospice care in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, from cancer.
Jeanne was a remarkably successful and prolific author who wrote more than 40 novels and novellas, populated by a dizzying array of pretty widows, brooding marquesses, witty rakes, scheming schoolboys, mischievous noblewomen, blind lords, cross-dressing twins, and the occasional vampire—all published after she turned 50.
Susan Singer Burnett ’66
Susan Singer Burnett ’66died in 2012. This memorial was composed by Lucinda Parker McCarthy ’66 and Sue’s sister Linny Stovall.
Sue was born in Torrington, Connecticut, to Harold and Laverne Singer, the middle of three daughters. Her father was a dentist, and her mother was a nurse. Coming west to Reed as a freshman in 1960 was the beginning of a joyful exploration of the world, geographically and artistically. Her roommates at the college that first year were Lynn Bowers ’65, Lucinda, and Leslie Mueller Stewart ’64. Three went on to study in Reed’s five-year combined program with the Museum Art School (PNCA). “Our parents were not quite thrilled, but we were. Two years of serious academics, and then three years of hands-on, six-hour days of studio work knit together our left and right brains. Reed at that time cost $1900 per semester and the museum school was $200 a semester. What a deal.” Sue did her senior thesis project in sculpture with Prof. Manuel Izquierdo [art 1953–56]. With her friend, who had been wounded in the Vietnam War, she homesteaded on an isolated island in British Columbia in 1971. Everything had to be built from scratch, so they learned carpentry, house raising, furniture making, water diversion, and gardening. All the while Sue was painting and working on a children’s book, based on the skills of living in deep nature. After several years, the friends returned to Portland: he went to medical school, and Sue went to dental school. Subsequently Sue practiced dentistry in northern California, in Kenya, and back in Portland. “Teeth are teeth worldwide.” Later she sailed to Hawaii on a ferro-cement sailboat; lived in Ireland, helping friends with a new baby; traveled to Sicily; and for over a decade spent winters in Baja, where she and husband Jim Hall, a retired fire captain, built a straw bale house. (Sue was married twice: first to John Burnett, a doctor in Hawaii, and for 20 years to Jim.) Sue and Jim made their main residence in Portland in an old house surrounded by woods and beautiful gardens. Sue excelled in every creative project she pursued, and was especially attracted to bold color in watercolor, painting, tiles, sewing, and gardening. “A restless, curious, coordinated, highly energetic soul, she changed the world for the better everywhere she went. We miss her very much.” Sue is survived by two sisters, Linny of Portland and Jean Singer of Whidbey Island, plus two dear nieces, Zoe and Shawn.
Jeffrey E. D. Siegel ’64
Jeffrey E. D. Siegel ’64, January 19, 1989,in an automobile accident near Sisters, Oregon. Jeff earned a BA from Reed and a PhD from the University of California, San Diego, in physics. In 1969, he began a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular biology at the University of Oregon. Jeff remained in Eugene, working for a time for Water Analysis & Consulting. In recent years, he had held a variety of jobs in different fields. Survivors include his wife Marie, twins Kyle and Nicole, stepchildren Sean and Heather, and a brother, Paul Siegel ’62.
Eugene Markus Samhofer ’64
Eugene Markus Samhofer ’64, December 21, 1965. Following graduation from Reed in with a BA in philosophy, Eugene moved to New York City. His mother, Magda Samhofer Koch,notified the college of his death.
David W. Scharles ’64
David W. Scharles ’64,November 3, 2004, in Oxnard, Caiifornia. David studied at Reed in 1960–62 and later attended the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1977, he was a mathematician at UCLA; by 1980, he was a technical writer. From the late ’70s until his death, he lived in Oxnard, and, at least part of the time, with his younger brother, John, a computer specialist who died in 2003. David and John were both ham radio operators. An anonymous online tribute to David reads, “DavidScharleswas a brilliant mathematician, a wise man and, above all, a great friend in good times and bad. He wasmy dear friend who helped me when I was down. He could never say no to a friend. I never met a person who didn't likeDavid. May Almighty G–d takeDavidto His bosom and give him peace.” [Compiled by Leslie Mueller Stewart ’64from various sources,July 2014.]
John G. Sperling ’48
John Sperling gambled his life’s savings on a radical venture that became the University of Phoenix. Photo by Jeff Noble
John Sperling ’48, a professor-turned-entrepreneur who revolutionized the field of adult education, died in San Francisco on August 22, 2014, at the age of 93. Over the course of his life, he played many roles—sharecropper’s son, gas station attendant, merchant seaman, union organizer, author, and billionaire—but was best known for founding the University of Phoenix, which tapped into the demand among working adults for education that was accessible, practical, and relevant to their careers. He was, as President Steven Koblik [1992–2001] once said, “the Henry Ford of higher education.”
Born the youngest of six children to an impoverished family of sharecroppers, John spent his first years in a log cabin near the Ozark hamlet of Freedom House, Missouri. Looking back, he came to view his poverty as a gift. “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose,” goes the Kris Kristofferson song “Me and Bobby McGee.” Invoking those lyrics, John remarked, “That’s the freedom that comes to those who, like me, embark on life with nowhere to go but up.”
Melissa Jeanne Schlachtmeyer Faculty
Melissa Schlachtmeyer, assistant professor of theatre [2012–14],August 6, 2014, while traveling in Florence, Italy, of complications from cancer.
Prof. Melissa Schlachtmeyer was a beloved and valued teacher, mentor, colleague, designer, daughter, sister, mother, wife, and friend. She was a broad-based costume designer whose designs were selected for opera, dance, and theatre productions in the U.S., France, Germany, Hungary, and Mexico. She enjoyed working with physical performers and the tribal nature of clothing, and she was a nominee for a Henry Hewes Design Award. In an interview with the Brooklyn Rail in December 2011, Prof. Schlachtmeyer said, “When faced with a script, my first question is the same question a director or any other theatre artist would ask, which is where this piece lives: in the head or the heart, in the tragedy or black comedy, in social satire or in empathy?”
Daniel Richard Siegel ’79
Daniel Richard Siegel ’79, September 1, 1991, in Seattle, Washington, from a heart attack. Daniel earned a BA from Reed in economics, writing the thesis "An Artificial Supply-Demand Mechanism for the Local Externalities Case"with adviser Arthur Leigh [economics 1945–88]. His sisterNaomi Siegel Soderstrom ’82also graduated from Reed.In 1983, Daniel earned a PhD in economics and taught at Northwestern University before accepting a position on the faculty at the University of Washington. He was married toDiane Freeman ’79,with whom he wrote and publishedFuture Marketsin 1990. In January 2015,Stephen Levien ’80shared the following memorial piece for Daniel, which was written by O. Casey Corr and published in the Seattle Timeson September 24, 1991.
"Daniel Siegel, 35; UW Professor, Internationally Known Economist"
When the University of Washington's Business School set out to hire an outstanding scholar to fill a newly endowed professorship, it selected Daniel Siegel, who, at 34, was already internationally prominent in economics.
Georgia Lodema Shumway Edmonds-Hassett ’33
Georgia Lodema Shumway Edmonds-Hassett ’33,November 30, 2014, in Redmond, Oregon, at the age of 102 years.Georgia graduated from Mount Baker High School as a salutatorian and came to Reed, where she earned a BA in general literature. Her sister Lucille Shumway-Schwichtenberg ’27 also graduated from Reed. “Like many of us, I couldn’t get a job until I was employed by the Portland Library Association in April of 1934,” Georgia wrote at the time of her 50th class reunion. “Teaching positions were at a premium and I was glad to be an assistant librarian at Jefferson High School until I got my first teaching job in 1936 in Sisters, Oregon. I taught everything the principal did not teach. From there I went to a three-teacher high school at Rickreall, Oregon.” In 1940, she received an appointment to a clerical job at the VA Hospital in Roseburg, Oregon. She met Walter I. Edmonds in Roseburg; they married and had one son. Georgia helped with the family ranch in the Lookingglass area and with an automobile repair business they operated in Roseburg. When they retired in 1968, the couple moved to Redmond. Georgia was active in the Presbyterian church and in book clubs. She enjoyed golf and bridge. Walter died in 1976, and Georgia later married John Hassett, who predeceased her. Survivors include her son, two grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Georgia’s niece Joann Schwichtenberg Freimund ’58 also attended Reed. “As I look back at my education at Reed,” Georgia wrote, “I am appreciative of the thirst for knowledge those years gave me. It was a good education and certainly broadened my life.”
Mollie Levin Schnitzer ’35
Mollie Schnitzer Levin ’35,November 5, 2014.Born in Portland to Rose and Samuel Schnitzer, Mollie earned a BA in sociology from Reed. Her siblings, Edith Schnitzer Goodman ’35, Manuel Schnitzer ’28, and Leonard Schnitzer ’46, also attended Reed. On a visit to Los Angeles in 1938, she met Bernard Levin—they were happily married for 66 years and raised three children, Ellen, Harold, and Nancy. Mollie was self-employed as a realtor in Beverly Hills for many years. Survivors include her children, three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Her husband and one grandson predeceased her.
Mary Jo Summers Gettmann ’66
Mary Jo Summers Gettmann ’66,September 14, 2014, in Portland, from cancer.Born and raised in Bend, Mary Jo loved the Cascade Lakes, skiing at Mount Bachelor, and being in 4-H in Bend. After high school, she spent a year traveling across Europe earning money as a translator. She attended Reed for two years and went on to earn a BS in mathematics from Oregon State University. In 1966, she married her next-door neighbor from childhood, Gary Gettmann. She dedicated her life to raising their family. She also served as a volunteer in teaching children how to program computers and worked with children in track, JROTC, band, and 4-H. Mary Jo was a master gardener and was active in maintaining and preserving urban greenery. She loved to cook, fish, travel, and spend time with her family. Survivors include her husband, daughter Melissa and son Brian, and four siblings. She was predeceased by her daughter Laura.
Gerald Stone ’65
Gerald Stone ’65,September 2014, at home in Alameda, California.
Gerry studied at Reed for a year and a half and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley. He served as editor for the Bancroft Library at Berkeley and was also a writer and photographer. “I met Gerry while we were registering for classes in 1961,” writes David Casseres ’65. “I looked over his shoulder at his paperwork and saw that he had attended Escola Americana in Rio de Janeiro. I went there, too, and we almost overlapped in time. We soon became close friends. We could make jokes with each other in Portuguese, baffling everyone around us. Gerry and I both loved to sing folk songs. Nobody else could sing like Gerry when the music moved him. He sang with a pure, angelic madness and with the authentic voice of cosmic laughter and sorrow—I look for words here, but those who heard him will know what I mean. And he made up little songs that sounded like nonsense, yet left you thinking about them for the restof your life. ‘Fol the diddle i dee,’ sang Gerry.”
David and Gerry remained friends after Reed, though they were out of touch during the past few years. “He had a sad, funny, beautiful life while it lasted, and we all wish we could have him back again.” Marisa Casseres Schaer ’65 writes, “I didn’t see Gerry after my years at Reed, so my memories of him belong to the foolishness and joy of youth. My memories of Gerry Stone are serious, though. Along with being winsome, he was unfailingly kind, generous, and accepting. His was the kind of friendship that improves later life.”
Jennifer Hartman Seminatore ’06
Jennifer Hartman Seminatore ’06,September 7, 2014, in Sacramento, California.Jenny earned a BA in sociology and wrote the thesis “From Negotiation to Critique: The Changing Character of U.S. Labor and Environmental Movements Confronting Issues of International Trade” with Prof. Erich Steinman [2005–06]. While in a doctorate program in sociology at UC Berkeley, Jenny earned the 2010 American Sociological Association Labor and Labor Movements/Critical Sociology Distinguished Student Paper Award for “The Consequences of Collective Action: The Blue-Green Coalition and the Emergence of a Polanyian Social Movement.” Prof. Alex Hrycak [sociology 1998–] notes that Jenny was very involved in unionizing grad students at Berkeley and was shop steward for her union (UAW Local 2865). Jenny was married to Samuel D. Walling and had a stepdaughter, Ziola Meereiltagh. Survivors include her mother, Cecilia Hartman, and brother William. Her mother remarked, “Reed was a wonderful part of Jenny’s short life.” Memorial donations may be made to for a scholarship program in Jenny’s honor that will foster collaboration between students and members of the sociology faculty on research projects motivated by Jenny’s commitments to social justice.
Paul Elliott Sikora ’70
Paul Elliott Sikora ’70,January 17, 2015, in Washington, D.C.
Paul came to Reed from California and earned a BA in art, working primarily in sculpture and painting. His thesis, “The Reed Campus: Conglomeration, Continuity and Harmony,” was written with adviser Prof. William Lipke [art history 1969–70]. His four years at the college were “very difficult but wonderfully rich,” he wrote later. Paul defined his early career as an aspirant writer and he enjoyed travel. “I would program computers for awhile, then use the savings to travel or to hole up in a cheap place in Seattle writing fiction. I traveled mainly by thumb. One of my journeys led to digging wells in Upper Volta. I published none of the fiction.”
Michael Allen Schoenbeck ’92
Michael Allen Schoenbeck ’92,November 2, 2014, in Arlington, Virginia.Mike (“Doc”) earned a BA in mathematics-economics, and wrote “An analysis on the Credit Card Market: The Implications of Interest-Rate Rigidity,” with Prof. Jeffrey Parker [economics 1988–]. After graduation, Mike worked as a research assistant with the Federal Reserve Board and spent the next 19 years at Freddie Mac, in the Office of the Chief Economist.
Ernest Martin Scheuer ’51
"The report of my death was an exaggeration," Mark Twain declared in 1897, responding to some mangled newspaper accounts of his fate. In the June issue of Reed, we mistakenly reported the demise of Ernest Scheuer ’51. In fact, he's alive and well and living in southern California. Somehow his name crept into a database we rely upon for this sort of news. We offer our sincere apologies to Ernie and to all our readers for our erroneous report.
John Paul Scott Jr. ’64
John Paul Scott Jr., 1973, in Mississippi. Paul was always a nomadic person. Summers while in high school, he hitchhiked around the country, and continued using that mode of transportation unless he owned his own set of wheels. He enrolled at Reed in fall 1960, but dropped out before the Christmas break, even though his academic performance was excellent. He stayed in Oregon, working as a surveyor’s assistant in Astoria as part of the planning for the Astoria-Megler Bridge across the mouth of the Columbia River. He returned to Portland most weekends to pursue his new passion for folk dancing and to visit with Reed friends. At the International Folk Dance Camp in June 1961, he was asked by the dean of the United States international folk dance instructors, Vyts Beliajus, to drive Vyts across the U.S. to various folk dance camps, for no pay, but for the dance experience. Paul bought s 1953 Chevy from Jay Rosenberg ’63, and in four months racked up 13,000 miles, starting in Stockton, California, and ending in Denver, Colorado, via Kentucky, Maine, Quebec, and many points in between. During this time, Paul was the de facto copy editor and proofreader of Vyts’ folk dance magazine Viltis; this was a high point for the magazine. After that adventure ended, Paul returned to Portland, where he frequented the Reed campus and worked as a construction machine operator. He re-enrolled at Reed in the fall of 1962, beginning from scratch, but again dropped out before Christmas because of restlessness. In 1963, he enrolled at the University of Oregon and graduated in two years; soon afterward, he earned a PhD in psychology from Northwestern University, and went to an assistant professor position at the University of Peterborough, Ontario. Along the way, he was briefly married. Following the end of that marriage, he reconnected with Angele Wilking Blanton ’64, who was then living in Franklin, Louisiana. Driving from Ontario to Louisiana in 1973 to marry Angele, he picked up a hitchhiker, who killed him; his body was found in 1987 at a highway rest stop in Mississippi, and is buried in Laramie, Wyoming, where his family had connections. [This memorial is based upon contributions by Jim Kahan ’64 and Angele Blanton, August 2014.]
Nathalie Elizabeth Georgia Sato ’45
Nathalie Elizabeth Georgia Sato ’45,September 2, 2014, in the Highlands, North Carolina.Nathalie was born in Ithaca, New York, where her parents, Frederick R. Georgia and Lolita Healey Georgia, lived while teaching at Cornell University. Her father was one of the founders of Black Mountain College in North Carolina in 1933, and Nathalie resided in the Highlands in 1931–32 when her father bought the Flat Mountain one-room schoolhouse and converted it into the family’s summer home. She earned a BA in political science from Reed, writing the thesis “The Political Activities of Wendell Willkie” with Prof. Charles McKinley [political science 1918–60]. “The intellectual environment of Reed may have been overpowering,” she wrote later, “but my social and political beliefs had their beginnings at Reed.” Nathalie went on to study political science and city planning, and received an MA from Cornell and a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She worked as a planner in state and local government, beginning her career as the chief urban planner for Chicago area transportation studies, and, at the time of her retirement in 1983, she was a planning analyst for the Pennsylvania state planning and development office in Harrisburg. In retirement, she returned to the family’s summer home in the Highlands. “When not walking the dogs in the woods, I do get out for new and old hobbies, and for volunteer work.” Nathalie hiked, gardened, and also did weaving on the loom that her father had built at Black Mountain. She served as docent at the Highlands Historical Museum and helped catalog the archives of the Highlands Historical Society. She was preceded in death by her son, who died in an accident in 2006, and her brother.
Ann Westenhaver Shepard ’23
Ann Westenhaver Shepard ’23,February 15, 1972, in Portland, following hospitalization for a long-standing heart condition.
Ann was the daughter of E.H. Shepard, orchardist and editor of Better Fruit magazine, and Alice Failing Shepard. She was born in Portland, and at age one moved with her family to a 40-acre apple ranch in lower Hood River Valley, living there until age 16, when her father died. She moved with her mother and four younger sisters—including Elsie Shepard Patten ’33, Henrietta Shepard Plueger ’35, and—to the Failing household in northwest Portland.
Arthur David Soderberg AMP ’44
Arthur David Soderberg AMP ’44,April 21, 2015, in Lakeside-Marblehead, Ohio.A Seattle native, Art earned a BS in chemical engineering from the University of Washington and attended Yale. During World War II, he studied at Reed in the premeteorology program and served as a navigator and in search and rescue operations with the U.S. Army Air Corps. After the war, Art pursued a career with U.S. Gypsum, and he worked in numerous plants throughout the Midwest over a span of 40 years. He played semi-pro baseball and enjoyed boating, golf, swimming, and gardening. He was a member of the United Methodist Church, the American Legion, the Elks, and Kiwanis. His family notes that he was a role model of patience, perseverance, and optimism. Art and Dorothy J. Sandberg were married for nearly 50 years. Survivors include their daughter, three sons, seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Allan Silverthorne ’56
Allan Silverthorne ’56 on the Reed campus Courtesy of Special Collections, Eric V. Hauser Memorial Library,
Allan Silverthorne ’56,January 25, 2015, in Washington.Allan earned his BA from Reed in philosophy and political science, writing his thesis, “A Definition of Freedom,” with Prof. Edwin Garlan [philosophy 1946–73]. Allan went on to earn an MA from UC Berkeley in political science, to teach at Chabot College, and to earn a PhD from UCLA in political science. Allan’s concern for issues of justice and equality were central to his professional and personal life. He worked for the federal government as an organization development specialist, assisting in changes to major private and public institutions such as Blue Cross, Pacific Bell, and the FAA. He also supported the work of many diverse nonprofit organizations. He enjoyed spending time in California’s mountains, deserts, and coastline, and took pleasure in hiking, body surfing, skiing, and basketball. He also enjoyed music and a good pun. He was passionate about ideas, and studied and read extensively throughout his life, including study in spirituality through the Diamond Approach. In the ’90s, Allan moved from California to Seattle and there met Ann Tamminen, whom he married. They lived in Normandy Park. Allan was very close to his daughters from his first two marriages, Barbara and Katherine, and their families, who survive him, as do Ann, her children, and his brother, Wesley Silverthorne ’62.
David B. Smithhisler ’57
David B. Smithhisler ’57,October 13, 2014, in Portland.David was a U.S. Army veteran who attended Reed for one year with a focus on physics. He later worked for Tektronix. He loved the outdoors, art, music, culture, and travel. Survivors include a sister and two brothers. His wife, Clara Brainerd Smithhisler, predeceased him.
Richard Carl Spangler MAT ’65
Richard Carl Spangler MAT ’65,May 2, 2015, in Tacoma, Washington, from ALS.Dick grew up in West Seattle and served in the navy during the Korean War. Following the war, he enrolled at Seattle Pacific College, where he met Margaret Wubbena in a math class; they married and raised three children. Dick earned a master’s degree in education from Seattle Pacific and an MAT with a focus on teaching math from Reed. He taught math in elementary and junior high schools and community colleges in Washington, where he initiated the first community college math learning center in the state. He also created a mathematics-learning lab (now MARC) at Tacoma Community College, where he served as head of developmental education and also was active in literacy associations. Dick worked as a consultant and reviewer for major publishing houses and wrote 22 books on mathematics, which have been used in classrooms across the United States. He retired in 1993 and enjoyed travels with Margaret to many destinations abroad. In reporting his death to the college, Margaret wrote that Dick felt that Reed had opened the door for furthering his love of individualized instruction for students of mathematics. Dick’s love of mathematics was also shared by his daughter and two sons, who survive him, as do his four grandchildren.
Carole Anne Smith Taylor ’65, MAT ’67
Carole Anne Smith Taylor ’65, MAT ’67,March 11, 2015, in Scarborough, Maine.
Carole earned a BA from Reed in general literature and a master’s degree in teaching. Her adviser, Prof. George Roush [English 1964–70], assisted with her thesis “Piers the Plowman: Toward a Re-Evaluation of the Allegorical Method.”
Frederick David Schatz ’50
Frederick David Schatz ’50,March 7, 2015, in Jacksonville, Oregon.Fred graduated from high school in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and served two years with the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II. He spent two years at Reed and served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. In 1955, he completed a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Oregon and became a certified public accountant. Fred and Donna L. Anderson married in 1957 and lived in the Willamette Valley and Rogue Valley. In 1967, they built a home in Jacksonville, where they raised their two children. The family enjoyed visits to the cabin Fred built on Crescent Lake in Oregon—they sailed, canoed, skied, and hiked. Fred volunteered on the Jacksonville planning commission and with the Boy Scouts. As a member of the Jacksonville Kiwanis, he helped design and build more than 100 wheelchair ramps throughout the Rogue Valley. He also built beautiful furniture. Survivors include his wife, son, daughter, granddaughter, brother, sister, and nephew.
Dean St. Dennis ’53
Dean St. Dennis ’53,January 11, 2015, in Port Haywood, Virginia, from congestive heart failure.Dean attended Reed for three and half years. He became a journalist, working on several newspapers before reporting for the Associated Press and later the San Francisco Chronicle. He then moved to Washington, D.C., where he was appointed assistant director of public affairs under Attorney General Ramsey Clark at the U.S. Department of Justice. He worked for the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration and set up the press office for Archibald Cox during the Watergate investigation. He also worked for the FBI and was assistant director of public affairs under Director Louis Freeh. Survivors include his wife, Helena Uunila St. Dennis, to whom he was married for 54 years, and his daughter and brother. A son predeceased him.
Fay Stender ’53
Fay Stender represented prominent Black Panther leaders Huey Newton and George Jackson. The Oregonian
By Douglas Perry of the Oregonian
"Have you ever betrayed anyone?" the man asked.
"No," Fay Stender replied, knowing she wasn't giving the desired answer.
She felt the cold steel of the .38-caliber pistol press against the back of her head. It was 1:20 a.m. on May 28, 1979, and this large, angry man had just burst into her Berkeley, Calif., home.
Edith Katherine Griffith Swoboda ’48
Born in Portland, both Edith and her brother, Joseph Griffith ’48, majored in physics at Reed. She worked with Prof. Raymond T. Ellickson [physics 1946–48] on her thesis on diffraction patterns with X-rays. In her work as a scientist, she did textile testing for Dupont and also studied environmental influences in the Chesapeake Bay watershed—the latter, related to her role on a Delaware state commission, reflected her enjoyment of fishing. She was a gardener and an active member in local garden clubs. She was a member of the League of Women Voters and a charter member of the Skating Club of Wilmington, Delaware. We read that Edith surpassed the pregold level ice dance, the Blues, with flying colors at age 69, and she was an accomplished ballroom dancer. Edith and Thomas J. Swoboda were married for 44 years. Survivors include Thomas, two daughters, a stepson, and two grandchildren. “We still miss her warm, welcoming smile and unbridled enthusiasm.”
David Bradley Straus ’53
David came to Reed from Francis Parker School in Chicago, Illinois, driving west in fall 1950 with Joe Hearst ’53 and Murray Work ’53. Before leaving home, the Reed freshmen were admonished not to exceed more than 500 miles in one day and not to drive after sunset. David earned a BA in chemistry in three years, writing his thesis on the gamma irradiation of insulin with his adviser, Prof. Art Livermore [chemistry 1948-65]. At Reed, he met Harriet McWethy ’54; they married in Portland in 1955.
David earned a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Chicago in 1960 and did postdoctoral work at Princeton University. He taught at SUNY–Buffalo and SUNY–New Paltz, where he researched the structure of RNA and taught biochemistry, nutrition, and a course on pollution, population, and the future of human life. David served as a councilor for the American Chemical Society for many years. He was involved in environmental preservation and land use issues, and was active in local government and with the Gardiner Democrats. He did photography throughout his life and was an early adopter of new technologies. He also enjoyed spending time gardening and in the outdoors. In addition to Harriet, who provided the details for this memorial, survivors include their daughter and two sons, Lisa, Lee, and David; eight grandchildren, who were truly enjoyed and encouraged by their grandfather; and a sister and brother. “In memory of David, please preserve the environment and vote for the candidate of your choice.”
Arthur M. Schneider ’51
After studying at Reed for two years, Arthur earned a BA in physics. He received an MS in electronic engineering from the University of Southern California and worked for a number of corporations as a research engineer, and also was a programmer and analyst in data processing for Los Angeles County. He and Alice Berson were married in 1957 and lived in San Dimas. Arthur participated in Reed alumni events in the Los Angeles area.
Margaret Selling Labby ’40
In keeping with the way she lived, Margaret Labby died with her family around her. An avid reader, enthusiastic cook, curious traveler, and beloved teacher, she was first and foremost the openhearted, supportive center of her family. Every year Margaret gathered them around her at the house in Seaview, Washington, where she had spent summers as a child.
She was born into a Jewish family that included her grandfather, Oregon state senator and philanthropist Ben Selling, and her father, Laurence Selling, a founder of the Portland Clinic.
Ena June Shrauger ’47
Born in 1916, Ena obtained her bachelor’s degree in biology from Reed. At the time of her death at age 97, she was living in Aurora ,Colorado; she was buried in the Pawnee City Cemetery in Pawnee City, Nebraska.
Donald A. Schaefer ’58
Born in 1928, Don grew up on a small farm in Klemme, Iowa, attending a one-room country school for the first eight grades. After high school, he was selected for the last Army Specialized Training Reserve Program, an accelerated program in pre-engineering and advanced military training at South Dakota State College, where he also excelled in boxing. After serving in the Army, he went to college at Upper Iowa University on the G.I. Bill, and earned his bachelor’s degree in math, physics, and philosophy in 1949. At Upper Iowa he met and married the college homecoming queen, Mary Freeman of McGregor, Iowa. He always maintained it was the most important thing that ever happened to him. They married in 1948 and were together for nearly 59 years, until her death in 2007.
Don taught math and science at Iowa’s West Union High School from 1949–1956. The family then moved to Bettendorf, where he taught physics, chemistry, and advanced science until 1990. He was one of 50 U.S. math and science teachers selected for the first NSF-sponsored Academic Year Institute at the University of Wisconsin, and earned a master’s in science education in 1957. That same year he was selected as one of the first 50 physics teachers to develop the new Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC) Physics course in U.S. high schools. Don did graduate work at various institutions from 1952 through 1985, including a graduate summer course at Reed in 1958.
Jack L. Stendal ’41
Born in Boise, Idaho, to George and Henrietta Stendal, Jack graduated from Lincoln High School in Portland before attending Reed. His college days ended in the winter of ’41 when he was called for military duty. He got the chance to attend the U.S. Naval Academy’s reserve midshipman training at Annapolis, and after receiving further training in sonar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, he reported to the Pacific Fleet for anti-marine duty. Except for a time as an instructor at the Navy’s sound school in San Diego, he served in the South Pacific until the end of World War II.
In 1943, he married Irene Applegate, and their daughter, SueAnn, was born while they were stationed in San Diego. After the war, Jack was a CPA with Haskins & Sells, and later with the Oregon Department of Revenue. He was active in Oregon politics, the campaign treasurer for Governor Tom McCall and Secretary of State Clay Myers. Jack also served on and chaired the Oregon Fair Commission. An enthusiastic woodworker and carpenter, he loved to travel and take pictures. He is survived by his daughter, SueAnn Peters (Dan), and sister, Geoetta Whitney.
Jerome Stern ’48
Devoted son, adoring little brother, loving husband and father, Jerry was also an entrepreneur, community leader, philanthropist, and so much more.
He was born to immigrant parents, idolized his older brothers, Sol and Reuben, and suffered with the family through serious health issues and increasingly difficult financial straits. These experiences informed his life, leaving him forever able to empathize with the pain and difficulties of others.
Robert William Spooner ’67
Rob left Reed with a degree in mathematics but ended up a magazine publisher, a trajectory he attributed to chaos theory, which holds that small differences in initial conditions yield widely diverging outcomes.
Born and raised in Grapeview, Washington, he was active in 4-H. At Reed he majored first in physics and then in math, writing his thesis, “An Investigation of Elementary Category Theory,” with Prof. John Leadley [math 1956–93]. After earning his master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Saskatchewan, he discovered that nobody wanted to hire a man with a master’s degree in algebraic topology. So he opened a computer company in in Calgary, Alberta, designing and building operating systems. His first marriage had ended in divorce, and in Calgary he met Alicia Dunn, whom he married in 1978.
Joel Schiff ’68
The antiques community has lost one of its icons: Joel Schiff unexpectedly died in his apartment over the holidays. He was 72 years old.
Joel’s passion for cast iron and wrought iron cookware is legendary in the antiquing world. Anyone who has ever shopped Brimfield, Madison Bouckville, or Kutztown will know Joel by his familiar question—“Cast iron cookware, per chance? Waffle irons, wafer irons, anything unusual or rare?” You would also know Joel because with one leg and crutches, he was the fastest across any field or show. And in his 70s, he still carried a backpack full of iron — and first aid and lunch and desserts for all his friends. He was so generous. The T-shirt he wore featured rare items that he was seeking.
Mildred Voth Schneider ’44
Mildred Schneider ’44. “Plant where you are and you’ll never be hungry.”
Born in Salt Creek, Oregon, Mildred graduated valedictorian from Dallas High School in 1938, and after earning a degree as a registered nurse from Emanuel Hospital School of Nursing in Portland, attended Linfield College. She then transferred to , where she was the school nurse living in the infirmary and taking classes. During this time the 69th Army Air Force Tech Training Detachment were taking pre-meteorology courses, and Mildred enjoyed working with the group of more than 200 men. A sociology/psychology major, she wrote her thesis on prepaid medical care in the Portland area.
In 1944, she married Gilbert Schneider, her high school sweetheart, and two years later the North American Baptist Convention commissioned the couple as missionaries to Cameroon, West Africa. Her new home with its volcanic mountains, rich soil, and crater lakes reminded her of Oregon. They built churches, clinics, schools, and a hospital inspired by one Mildred studied while at Reed, in the town of Vanport, Oregon. In 1948, the Vanport Hospital was swept away with the rest of the town in a flood while she was in Cameroon. Mel’s hospital design, realized at Mbingo, Cameroon, in 1952, has grown to be a major health care facility today. She worked for 10 years at a self-sufficient leprosy control settlement that she helped build.
Margaret Joy Spalding ’48
Born in Princeton, Massachusetts, to Willard and Margaret Spalding, Joy attended Reed, but graduated from American University with a degree in anthropology. She obtained both a master’s and a PhD in social work at Bryn Mawr College, and taught at the University of Virginia Medical School, Portland State University, and Oregon Health & Science University.
She married Kenneth Rabin ’47, and the couple had three daughters, Margaret, Katherine, and Deborah Rabin Haupt ’85. As the wife of a foreign-service officer, Joy lived in Australia, the Philippines, Belgium, and West Africa. After divorcing Kenneth, she continued to travel extensively, visiting friends and acquaintances all over the world. She later married Prof. Harold Goodhue Vatter, who taught at PSU for years.
Joy worked as a clinical social worker, psychotherapist, teacher, and clinical gerontologist. She was interested in nursing home reform, and was a member of the Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Gray Panthers. She also reviewed manuscripts about mental health and aging for publication, and wrote book reviews in these fields. Her daughters survive her.
Thorsten Stromberg ’58
A first generation American, Thor was born in Aberdeen, Washington, to Carla and Beda Stromberg, Swedes who immigrated to America through Ellis Island in the late 1920s. Growing up in Port Angeles, he loved fishing salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest with his uncles and friends.
At Reed, he wrote his thesis, “A Pentane Bubble Chamber for Cosmic Ray Studies,” with Prof. Byron Youtz [physics 1956–68], and went on to get a doctorate in physics from Iowa State University. He worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory until 1967, when he was hired as an associate professor of physics at New Mexico State University, and retired as associate department head after 33 years of service.
He was devoted to Elizabeth, his wife of 40 years, who survives him in addition to his daughter, Emily Montoya.
Jean Anne Swift Daly MAT ’66
Jean was nearly 40 years old when she enrolled at Reed for her MAT and had fond memories of her time there, especially in being able to do calligraphy with Prof. Lloyd Reynolds [art, English 1929–69] and Prof. Robert Palladino [art 1969–84].
Born in Boise, Idaho, she attended the University of Washington before coming to Reed. She began her teaching career in 1966 at the new Jackson High School in Portland, where she taught calligraphy, art, and art history. She wrote the Portland Public Schools eco aesthetics course, and served on the advanced placement in art committee in New York. During those years she also taught calligraphy at Portland Community College, and classes in calligraphy and environment art at PPS in-service classes.
In 1947, she married Lawrence Gillen; they had six children together. She married Francis “Pete” Daly in 1973, and they resided for 31 years in Beavercreek, Oregon. She was a member of Alpha Chi Omega, Lambda Rho, Italic Handwriting Society, St. Philip Benizi Altar Society, the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, and the Young Ladies Institute. At the age of 60 she began taking piano lessons and absolutely loved it. She and her husband kept two and a half acres in flower and vegetable gardens, and she did volunteer work for the elderly, the illiterate, and the poor.
Marjorie Foster Saltzman ’44
A pioneer in the field of family planning, Marjorie volunteered at Planned Parenthood for longer than any other person in America, teaching thousands of teenagers about birth control, family planning, and sexual health.
Marjorie considered overpopulation the world’s most pressing problem, and she wanted every pregnancy in Portland to be a planned one. In her straightforward manner, she delivered the unvarnished facts. Even sniggering boys in the classrooms snapped to attention when she explained Oregon’s laws on paternity testing and 18 years of child support payments.
Louise Klemperer Sather ’61
Louise once defined the central task of her life as “searching for new ways of seeing or understanding things, or facilitating others’ searches.” She began life in Chicago, the only child of Leo and Helen Klemperer. Growing up on the North Shore in Winnetka, she inherited a lifelong love of classical music from her father, and in high school and at Reed played the string bass. Distantly related to the great conductor Otto Klemperer, her father took Louise to summer concerts at Ravinia whenever he was performing there. She remembered going backstage, where the great man would address her as his “little relative.” At Reed, she majored in literature and wrote her thesis on the Joseph novels of Thomas Mann, with Prof. Wesley Blomster [German 1960‑61] advising.
During her first semester at Reed, she met Clifford Sather ’61 in German class. A romance bloomed until their final year, when they parted—Clifford to go to graduate school at Harvard and Louise to pursue a career as an artist.
In reality, Reed had never been a perfect fit for Louise. “I was very emotionally immature when I went to Reed and not prepared or able to grow to meet Reed’s challenges,” she admitted. By her senior year, she was keen to begin something new, preferably involving her hands more than her intellect. Remembering the pleasure of working with clay in grade school, she took a pottery class. The experience was a revelation: “Sitting at the pottery wheel trying to shape the soft, spinning clay, I felt I’d rather be right here, right now, doing this than anything else in the world.” Following formal training in ceramics and a master’s of fine arts from Alfred University in New York, she became a potter.
Carol Sawyer ’62
Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, Carol attended high school at Ruston Academy in pre-Castro Cuba. She remained a citizen of the world throughout most of her life. She attended Reed through her junior year, and spent most of her post-Reed life in South America, France, India, and Spain, returning to the United States in 1991. She worked as a teacher, freelance editor, and translator, and was fully multilingual in English, Spanish, and French and adept in Portuguese, Italian, and Hindi.
In the late 1990s, Carol was working on her doctoral dissertation at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco when her health declined. She moved to Vernonia, Oregon, in 2001, to live her retirement years in a quiet, green river valley. She passed away after four years of complications from diabetes and other conditions. She treasured her years at Reed.
Ruth Wetterborg Sandvik ’38
“Reed taught me how to get along with people,” Ruth said of her alma mater. “That was always my aim and ambition: to be a person would could work with different kinds of people successfully.”
She was born in Grants Pass, Oregon, to Hermann and Vesta Wetterborg, and moved to Portland after her father got a job with Portland Electric Power Company. By the time Ruth and her sister, Betty Wetterborg Cronyn ’41 (wife of Prof. Marshall Cronyn ’40 [chemistry 1952–89]), got to Reed, it had already acquired the unofficial motto “Communism, Atheism, Free Love.”
Kaye V. Smith Ladd ’63
Born in Seattle, Kaye V. graduated from West Seattle High School. At Reed, she majored in chemistry and wrote her thesis, An Attempt to Determine the Existence of a Tetramethylene Radical in the Pyrolysis of Cyclobutane at 450° C., with Prof. Frederick D. Tabbutt [chemistry 1957–71] advising. She remembered washing the glassware in Prof. Helen Stafford’s [biology 1954–87] lab to earn money for books. “Dr. Stafford was the only woman scientist at Reed when I was there (and for a long time afterward),” Kaye V. observed. “She was an important role model for many of us.”
After getting a divorce in the late 60s, Kaye V. decided to keep her married name. She received her master’s in physical chemistry from Brandeis University in 1965, and her doctorate in inorganic chemistry in 1974. Living in Boston, Massachusetts, she worked as a scientist at Tyco Industries, as a research consultant at the New England Aquarium in Boston, and as a chemistry instructor at Suffolk University. Beginning in 1974, she taught chemistry at Evergreen State College in Olympia for 22 years, and inspired many students with her enthusiasm and energy. She once mused, “Preparation for ‘life in general’ is done well before someone reaches college. If I’m successful I can develop better analytical abilities in my students (increase knowledge and tools) and I might inspire a career choice, but I’m not going to make behavioral changes.”
Justin Simpson ’62
Born in Seattle, Washington, Justin graduated from Jefferson High School in Portland. After attending Reed and Portland State University, he received his master’s from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and then an MAT from Minnesota State University.
Justin served as a specialist in the U.S. Army Chemical Center and School in Fort McClellan, Alabama. He married Barbara Summerville in Nooksack, Washington, in 1970. For nearly 30 years, he taught special education at Kasson-Mantorville High School in Minnesota and Mankato East High School. As coach of the Mankato East Academic Decathlon Teams, he led the teams to state championships at the national competitions. He served as coordinator of the Sunday school and chairman of the council for Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Peter, and with Barbara spent most summers in Oxford, England, and Portland.
Kurt Peterson Shanfield ’86
Kurt Peterson Shanfield ’86: fierce intelligence, resounding laughter.
Kurt cut a wide swath through Reed with her fierce intelligence and resounding laugh. Following the trajectory of her mother’s academic career, she grew up all over the world, from Dallas and Puerto Rico to Chicago and Australia, ultimately landing in Portland in 1982 as a freshman wise beyond her years. That made her instantly a “mom” figure for many of her friends: smart and centered, ready to clear the table, tackle your problem, and send you back out stronger than before.
Not that she was all seriousness. That laugh—more like an explosive cackle—was her calling card, punctuating everything that had her stamp of approval. It echoed around the Quad from the passenger seat of a “borrowed” golf cart careening around Renn Fayre, or while she made divots in the turf as she taught “Australian rules rugby” to the Reed team for PE credit. It resounded off the stained glass ceiling of Huber’s, adding backbone to a(nother) sweet Spanish coffee, and syncopated a Michael Jackson song driving one of the many Whirlpool parties over which she reigned. Brightening a heart-to-heart talk drawn into the early morning, you had her full attention, the full scope of her considerable mind, and there was no place or time that could ever matter more.
Richard D. Schultz ’55
March 25, 2017, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Born in Portland, Richard graduated from Reed in 1955 and earned his MD from the University of Oregon Medical School. He interned at Gorgas Hospital in the Panama Canal Zone and took his residency in pathology at St. Vincent Hospital in Portland, receiving a specialty degree in anatomic and clinical pathology. Richard served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps as a doctor and captain at the William Beaumont General Hospital in El Paso, Texas. He moved to Sioux Falls in 1966, joined the Laboratory of Clinical Medicine, and served as a pathologist at Sioux Valley Hospital (now Sanford Health). Richard was the first medical doctor to serve as the Minnehaha County Coroner. After 33 years of practice, he retired in 1999.
Marietta E. Bunzel Spencer ’44
Marietta was a pioneering social worker who revolutionized attitudes towards adoption. She established terminology that removed the stigma of being adopted and was a fierce advocate for the rights of adoptees to have access to their medical history throughout their lives.
She grew up in Vienna, the youngest of two children born to a merchant family in the jewelry trade, and moved to the United States during World War II after receiving an academic scholarship to Reed. An anthropology major, Marietta wrote her thesis, “Acculturation Among the Austrian Refugees of Portland, Oregon,” with Prof. David French ’39 [anthropology 1947–88] and met her life partner and collaborator, Prof. Robert Spencer [sociology 1946], who taught at Reed.
Lucien Smartt ’48
For his thesis, Lucien wrote about the great Italian engineer, sociologist, economist, political scientist and philosopher Vilfredo Pareto, who established the Pareto principle, also known as the 80–20 law, which holds that a small proportion of the cause accounts for the bulk of the effect. In other words, 20% of the customers generate 80% of the business, 20% of the students ask 80% of the questions, and so on, you listen to 20% of your records 80% of the time, and so on.
During his years at Reed, Lucien confessed to being “mightily influenced by Sandy MacDonald ’46 and his infectious enthusiasm for the 18th century.” Lucien became wild about baroque music. After earning a bachelor’s degree in history from Reed, he went on to get an LLB degree from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. He served in the United States Army from 1950 to 1953, mostly with the 45th Division Artillery in Korea. Lucien joined Public Utilities Reports, Inc., in Washington, D.C., in 1963, and retired as the editor-in-chief in 1990. He is survived by his sister, Joyce Ray.
Rosalie Libbey Swanson ’51
Adopted as an infant by Fay and Rose Libbey, Rosalie lived in and around Phoenix, Arizona, until the family moved to Portland in 1936. She graduated from Catlin Gabel School and then attended Reed. At Reed, she met John Swanson ’51, who became both her husband and her best friend for 67 years. After he graduated in 1951, they moved to Richland, Washington, where they raised three children. Being a stay-at-home wife and mother gave Rosalie time to enjoy her family and friends, and to pursue her various interests as a volunteer. She is survived by her husband, John; her daughters, Libbey Brunette and Susan Swanson; and her son, Jack Swanson.
Kent R. Smith ’53
Kent was an early proponent of looking at the effects the environment has on one’s health. In the ’60s, he worked with Tektronix to identify environmental hazards in the workplace, and in particular particles inhaled that one has no idea are being inhaled. In his practice, he insisted that an annual physical include a pulmonary exam to determine the effects of smoking or smog, for example, on health.
Born in San Francisco, he spent his early years in Spokane, Washington, and Portland. He finished his senior year at Reed while also completing a first year in medical school at the University of Oregon School of Medicine. His residency in internal medicine was followed by public health service doing research in heart and lung disease through a program at the University of Southern California and performed at Los Angeles County General Hospital. The study included the effects of smog on the heart and lungs, as well as clinical studies for measles, mumps, and rubella. With his wife, Ann, and children, he returned to Oregon to practice internal medicine in the Beaverton Medical Clinic for many years. Kent served on the staffs of St. Vincent Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital, and Tuality, was a member of the Oregon Medical Association and past president of the Washington County Medical Society. In the early ’60s, he volunteered for Outside In, helping people deal with addiction.
Barry Spector ’59
A lifelong Minneapolitan and travel professional, Barry was fluent in French, Spanish, and Italian, with a smattering of Russian and Japanese. He was a world traveler who also loved his hometown, and passed away in the home he had lived in for almost 70 years.
Barry adored his Lake Calhoun neighborhood, and was a dedicated gardener who posted a sign in his front yard encouraging passersby to “please stop and smell the roses.” He took great pleasure in preparing gourmet meals for friends and family, choosing recipes from the more than 50 countries he had visited.
Gerald Suttles ’59
Gerald was a pioneer in the study of disadvantaged neighborhoods, gangs, and ethnic conflict—shaping the discipline of urban sociology. He mentored a new generation of scholars in the field, and though the cities he studied may have changed, his insights will endure.
In 1963, as a young sociology graduate student pursuing his PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he moved to the rough-and-tumble Addams neighborhood on Chicago’s west side (now part of the Tri-Taylor area), not because the rent was affordable, but because he wanted to study it. The neighborhood was a mix of races and ethnicities, both migrants and native born. By the end of his three-year stay, Gerald had become a local fixture, adopted by an Italian family and talking his way out of a proposed marriage. His study detailed a highly neighborhood-specific code that trumped accepted moral standards of broader society. Five years later, he published The Social Order of the Slum: Ethnicity and Territory in the Inner City, a definitive work on the rules of conduct of the residents. Gerald believed that one of the tasks of urban sociology was to explore how and why slum communities provide their inhabitants with local norms.
Prof. Scott Baldwin Smith [Russian ’97–’02]
An electrifying and devoted teacher, Prof. Scott Baldwin Smith was committed to shaping the lives and minds of students to do vital work outside of the academy. As a visiting assistant professor of Russian, history, and humanities, he was a historian of the highest rank, and trained a cadre of Reed students who became professional historians and Slavists. He succumbed to lung cancer at his home in Southeast Portland, surrounded by family and close friends. In his final days from his hospice bed, he gave a riveting lecture on sexual politics in Gogol’s “The Nose” to several former students, and described the thrill of revisiting his most beloved texts and seeing them with fresh eyes.
Pedagogy was in Smith’s DNA. He was born in Massachusetts and attended Phillips Academy Andover, where his father taught mathematics. After earning his BA at Yale in 1986, he attended Harvard University, where he was awarded an AM in 1991 and a PhD in 1995, both in history. For several years he served as a lecturer on history and literature at Harvard, before taking up a position as visiting assistant professor of history and humanities at Reed.
Allen Silverstone ’65
A researcher and teacher specializing in immunotoxicology, Allen once described himself as “an inveterate social-deviant trouble-maker with a sense of humor about it.” He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and graduated from Bowen High School. At Reed he wrote his thesis, “The Synthesis and Reactions of a [Beta]-aryl Ether Lignin Model Compound,” with Prof. Marshall Cronyn [chemistry 1952–89] advising. Years later, the things he most remembered about Reed were “its ideal of learning (making knowledge your own), and the patience of assorted faculty with this crazy kid from industrial Chicago.” He got his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Edinburgh and MIT, and researched and taught at MIT, Sloan-Kettering, and State University of New York Upstate Medical University. He was the author of more than 70 reviewed papers and was cited thousands of times. Allen also advised multiple Environmental Protection Agency Superfund committees in New York City and State. An antiwar and environmental justice organizer in Boston, New York City, and Syracuse, he was a tireless crusader for civil rights, economic justice, public health, and public education. He is survived by his son, David.
Larry Shaw ’61
The sympol π, as every Reedie knows, represents a fundamental geometrical constant—the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter—whose precise value is elusive, but which famously begins 3.14159 . . .
The unknowable depth of pi is an apt metaphor for Larry Shaw, physicist, artist, educator, and inventor of Pi Day.
Jean Saliman ’53
Jean was born in Denver, Colorado, and attended Reed before graduating from Washington University in St. Louis. A loving mother, she was also a devoted teacher of the hearing impaired and a champion for her students, both in and out of the classroom. Her Jewish faith was important to her, and she had a passion for social justice for those who are vulnerable and voiceless. Jean was a founding member of the National Organization for Women chapter in Tucson and was active in the sanctuary movement. She had an intense interest in the world, loved nature and gardening, and was avidly interested in politics. She was also a longtime member of an Alzheimer’s caregivers group. Jean is survived by her children, Shanna, Sarra, Joshua, and Aaron.
James S. Bennett ’52
Among other things, Jim will be remembered for his love of music, playing his trumpet, and an affection for puns. After two years of serving in the marines, he returned to Portland, and began at Reed, where he met and married his wife, Leile Olson ’52. He wrote his thesis, “The Effects of Fluoride on the Soft Tissues of the Hamster,” with Prof. Frank P. Hungate [biology 1946–52] advising. Jim then served for two years in Korea, after which he and Lee were reunited in Portland. By 1958, Jim had received his DMD from the University of Oregon Dental School, and in 1961 he received an MS degree in oral pathology. He was on the faculty of the school, which was renamed Oregon Health and Science University, from 1961 to 1989.
Lee, his wife of 66 years, survives him as do his children, Terrea, Annie, Leslie, Carol, James, and Bonny, and his brothers, Lawton, John, and Lynn.
William Smart ’48
A straight-shooting journalist, Bill was instrumental in turning the Deseret News, a church-owned newspaper in Salt Lake City, into a regional powerhouse. He was with the paper for four decades, rising to become its editor and general manager for 14 years. The investigative team he established rocked Utah’s establishment by sniffing out scandals, and in addition to being a community leader, Bill helped pioneer televised political debates in the state.
He was the fourth of six children born to Thomas Smart and Nellie Buckwalter in Provo, Utah. Bill loved to read: adventure stories, Richard Halliburton’s travel books, and anything by Jack London. By the time he was 12, he had read all of the books in the junior section of the city library and was accorded a card for the adult section.
Don Edwin Sullivan ’50
Upon graduating from Oregon City High School, Don moved to Salinas, California, to attend college and play basketball. One of the courses he took was aviation, and when World War II began, Don served in the Army Air Forces. He developed vertigo and a badly infected knee and washed out of pilot training. He served as a B-17 electrical specialist, stationed in England and Libya.
After the war, Don attended Reed, and while in Portland he met and married Medora Matteson. In 1950, their only child, Mark, came into the world. For most of his career, Don worked in Washington State’s adult correction division. He was a parole officer and a regional administrator, and was chosen by Governor Dan Evans to sit on the parole board.
Marshall Sherwin MAT ’69
Born in Laramie, Wyoming, Marshall attended schools in Laramie and in Eugene, Oregon, where he received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon. In 1950, he married Adelle Buchanan. He got his master’s degree from Reed, an accomplishment of which he was inordinately proud, and began his teaching career in Joseph, Oregon. He also taught at Douglas High School and Roseburg High School, where he served as chair of the social studies department. His volunteer work included Crater Lake National Park, Battered Persons Advocacy, and Umpqua Actors Community Theatre. He is survived by his children, Michael Sherwin, Marian Parsons, and Alice Ann Eberman.
Peter G. Stone MAT ’67
In order to feel potent, Peter needed to put his hands in clay. He created for more than 70 years and his work is included in the Tokyo International Museum of Art and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. He traveled the world to discover art and was an art ambassador to Micronesia and Japan.
At the age of 6, Peter began studying art at the Seattle Art Institute. His creative talents were further energized two years later, when his father built him a darkroom in the family home. He was a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Air Force in the ’50s and went on to earn a bachelor of science degree from the University of Washington and a master’s in teaching from Reed. He once said, “My time at Reed was the first time I understood what learning was all about. My association with educators like Prof. Lloyd Reynolds [English and art 1929–69] made me a far better teacher and person.”
Virginia Hake Speckman ’44
May 28, 2018, at her home in West Salem, Oregon.
Born in her family home in Toppenish, Washington, Virginia was raised in the Yakima Valley. She learned how to tell a good story from characters among the farmhands in her father’s employ, a skill she used to entertain friends and family for the rest of her life. After graduating from Toppenish High School, she attended Reed for two years, attending classes while working at the post exchange (PX) on the Portland Army Air Base. On base she met her future husband, Lt. Henry A. Speckman, a native of Newport, Rhode Island, and after a short courtship, they married at the base chapel in 1943. They were married 58 years and had five children. In the mid-’60s she reentered the workforce alongside Henry until they both retired in 1985. Until her final day, Virginia’s sense of humor remained sharp, bringing smiles and laughter to her friends and family. Her strong will, impeccable memory, and fierce independence kept her behind the wheel and living in her own home. Preceded in death by her husband, Henry, she is survived by her children: Jean Eves, Jim Speckman, Bob Speckman, Steve Speckman, and Jane Ellsworth.
Benjamin Stark ’53
March 6, 2018, in Kent, Washington.
Benjamin grew up in Seattle in a house his grandfather built at the end of the streetcar line in Rainier Beach in 1908. He was oldest of six children known to neighbors as “Stark’s Army.” Fearing attack during World War II, the family moved to a “country estate” in Kent. Liking neither school nor farm work, Ben dropped out at age 16 to work on the Northern Pacific Bridge crew. After the war, he returned to graduate from Meridian High. When his father insisted he attend college, Ben chose Reed. There he met Darryl Irene Johnson ’50. After she graduated, they moved to Newhalem, where Ben surveyed the upper Skagit River for Ross Dam power lines.
Neal Snyder ’63
March 11, 2018, in San Leandro, California, of prostate cancer.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Neal started at Reed but finished his bachelor’s degree in sociology at UC Berkeley, where he also got a master’s. In 1972, he got his law degree from Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska. As an attorney, Neal specialized in protecting children from abuse and became a role model for others in the field.
When he was a teenager, Neal discovered DJ Johnny Otis, whose shows inspired his love of jazz, Latin jazz, blues, rock, R&B, and soul. In recent years, Neal wrote an online newsletter, Music and More, alerting fans to favorite Bay area musicians. He was a lifelong traveler, and with his wife, Yvonne Garcia, spent winter months in Southeast Asia. He loved shooting hoops and watching the Warriors and was an avid follower of the news and a supporter of independent progressive reporting. He is survived by his wife; his children, Alanya, Rumeli, and Dann; and his sister, Karen Mead.
Paul Somerson ’73
May 25, 2018, in Providence, Rhode Island.
An award-winning writer, Paul was an editor for PC Magazine in the 1980s, publisher and editorial director of MacUser, and the editor-in-chief of PC/Computing from 1991 to 2000.
Ellen A. Spear ’52
September 11, 2017, in Eugene, Oregon, from complications due to a stroke.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Ellen moved to Camas, Washington—her mother’s hometown—following the death of her father when she was five. She grew up exploring the woods, creeks, and rivers surrounding Camas and developed a lifelong love and respect for the natural world. She graduated from Camas High School, where she played clarinet in the band that marched in the 1948 Pasadena Rose Parade. Ellen attended Reed and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UC Berkeley in 1958.
She moved to San Francisco in 1952 and lived in the Bay Area for many years. Ellen loved writing, bicycling, gardening, literature, geology, social justice, classical music, painting with watercolors, and making things with her hands. While living in Berkeley in the early ’70s, she was an avid political activist, organizing a group that fought to end illegal taxation and for public ownership of Berkeley’s municipal utilities. She was also a committed antiwar activist, and to the last days of her life was a self-reliant feminist, ahead of her time, who valued intellectual and creative thought. In 1973, she moved with her daughters to Eugene, Oregon, where she lived the remainder of her life. She worked state government jobs and spent much of her career assisting students in the government documents section of Knight Library at the University of Oregon. Ellen is survived by her daughters, Pamina and Renata Ewing, and her brother, John Speer.
Virginia Shirley Wright ’52
May 24, 2017, in Shell Beach, California.
A Portland native, Virginia graduated from Franklin High School before starting at Reed as a music major. She was a private student of prominent clarinetist A. Owen Sanders, and played principal clarinet with the Portland (now Oregon) Symphony Orchestra from 1950 to 1953. While playing in the radio station orchestra at KOIN in Portland—broadcast from the Heathman Hotel—she met Mr. Wright. A clarinetist and profession jazz saxophonist, Marshall Wright played alongside Virginia in the orchestra. They married, had two children, and in 1960 moved to California’s central coast, settling in Shell Beach. Virginia joined the San Luis Obispo Symphony orchestra in 1971 and continued until she retired in 2011. Her solo performances included the Première rhapsodie by Claude Debussy, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, and Copland’s Clarinet Concerto.
Ruth Settling Grinspoon ’55
September 4, 2018, in Aspen, Colorado.
Ruth was born in Vienna, Austria, to American parents who were working to defeat General Francisco Franco. Raised in Greenwich Village in New York City, she attended the Little Red School House. She started her college education at Reed, but finished at UC Berkeley with a bachelor’s in anthropology. In 1973, she earned her master’s in library science at Pratt Institute.
She married Kenneth Grinspoon and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Jennifer. Ruth later said, “It was not a successful marriage.” She worked first as a teacher and then as a librarian for the New York City Board of Education, always in Manhattan. Going to the Aspen Music Festival durinwwg her sabbatical 27 years ago, she could often only afford to stand outside the tent. In more recent and secure times, she wouldn’t miss concerts from her seat inside. Ruth split her retirement between her Chelsea apartment, Aspen, and traveling. She never purchased an Aspen property, staying at the Holland House, the St. Moritz, and finally at the Hearthstone. At all of these residences she met dear friends and earned her uncounted flyer miles pursuing them, especially in Australia. She loved to ski, and scuba diving was a passion.
Ramon Shoen ’56
November 17, 2018, in Eagle, Idaho, of cancer.
Ramon was born in a farmhouse in Turner, Oregon, the youngest of seven children. After graduating from Reed, he earned a medical degree from the University of Oregon Medical School. He was working as a physician for Douglas Aircraft in Southern California when he met his wife, Elissa Dudley. They were married in 1964 in Hollywood, California, and later moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, where they had two sons, Jay and Jon. In 1978, the family moved to Las Vegas, where Ramon worked as a physician for the Nevada Test Site before deciding to specialize in emergency medicine. He worked as an ER physician in Las Vegas until his retirement in 1995. During retirement, he enjoyed skiing and fishing with his family. When Elissa died in 2006, Ramon moved to Boise, Idaho, to be near his son, Jay. In Boise, he met his dear friend WenHua Hawkins, with whom he enjoyed dining out and playing ping pong at Boise State University. Ramon is survived by his two sons, Jay and Jon.
Prof. Charles Svitavsky [English ’61–98]
January 5, 2019, in Carnation, Washington.
Prof. Charles Svitavsky began acting when he was a seventh grader in Racine, Wisconsin. He later admitted, “I have a streak of ham in me a yard wide.” That showmanship would serve him well as a beloved professor delivering humanities lectures at Reed.
Billy Joe Storseth ’44
January 13, 2017, in Granbury, Texas, in his sleep.
Born in Amarillo, Texas, Billy Joe was the last survivor of eight siblings. In 1946, he married Frances “Jean” Barnes, who preceded him in death in 2016.
Jane Shell Raymond ’59
December 16, 2018, in Panorama City, California, from septic shock.
Born in Portland, Oregon, to Stanley Shell and Katharine Galbraith Shell, Jane spent her early years in Wallowa in eastern Oregon. After losing her mother at age 6, Jane moved to Portland and lived under the care of her grandmother and her maternal aunt, Helen. She spent some vacations with her father (who suffered recurrent illnesses due to injuries sustained in World War I). Aunt Helen taught grammar school and encouraged Jane intellectually. When her grandmother passed away during her senior year of high school, Jane wished to continue living with her aunt.
Ethel Katz Suher Briller ’46
January 29, 2019, in Seattle, Washington.
Ethel grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts, where she attended Classical High School. She worked on the school paper and received a scholarship to American International College, a local private college.
In high school, she met her first husband, Ted Suher, and they were both at AIC when America entered the Second World War, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Ted was placed in the Army Specialized Training Program to be trained as a dentist. While he was attending classes in Vancouver, Washington, he asked Ethel to join him. Portland had a very good college called Reed, he told her, and sent her the catalog.
Joan Campbell Snodgrass Callaway ’54
May 5, 2019, at home in Davis, California.
On New Year’s Eve in 1970, Joan tucked her 12-year-old son Keith into bed following a family skiing trip. Later that night, a fire broke out in their Davis home. Joan and her husband, Glen Snodgrass ’53, rushed to get the kids and dog out, but one of the children shouted that Keith was still in the house. Glen broke a window and pulled Keith onto the grass as the fire trucks arrived. Both Glen and Keith died as a result of the fire. Years later, Joan wrote a book about that awful night, It’s an Ill Wind, Indeed . . . That Blows No Good, recounting how she and her four surviving children survived, coped, and eventually healed from the tragedy. The memoir is a hopeful exploration of grief from the vantage point of a widow and her teenaged children, who lost not only a father and brother, but also a mother as they had always known her.
Margaret Zundel Shirley ’55
January 25, 2019, in Portland, Oregon, of natural causes.
Margaret was a respected Northwest artist and a beloved art teacher for more than 40 years, inspiring students at Reed, Portland State University, Mt. Hood Community College, and Marylhurst University.
Lisa Shara Hall ’74
March 9, 2019, in Portland, from ALS and related dementia.
At an early age, Lisa learned to cook at her mother’s elbow. She ran her own catering company when she was in high school and went on to forge a dynamic career as a food and wine writer, becoming a champion of Oregon’s wine industry.
Roberta Siegel ’76
March, 20, 2019, Gleneden Beach, Oregon
Roberta was an American studies major at Reed, where she wrote her thesis, “Pre-Revolutionary Domestic Architecture in New England: From Colonial to Aristocrat,” with Prof. John Tomsich [history 1962–99]. She went on to get a law degree from Northwestern University, eventually setting up a practice in Portland with her husband, Nathan Sanders. They specialized in working with the elderly and mentally impaired populations. The couple had two children and restored a historic Tudor revival home in Portland’s Laurelhurst neighborhood that was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2013, she married Jack Walsh and the couple moved to the Oregon coast. Roberta retired from her law practice and began doing mosaic art full time. Jack, a lifelong ceramic artist and teacher, created a studio next to their home. Roberta is survived by her children, Rachel Hawks and Owen Sanders.
Mary Lou Hershey Scioscia ’49
June 5, 2018, in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
Born in Toronto, Canada, Mary moved with her family to the United States in 1929. In 1946, she married Frank Scioscia, and they lived on the West Coast for 20 years before moving to Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.
A quiet woman with a bountiful outpouring of goodwill, Mary got her master’s in psychology from Columbia University and worked as an English teacher. She was especially gifted at igniting a love of reading in young adults who had previously struggled and not yet realized that reading was something to love.
Barbara Weeks Shettler ’50
April 12, 2019, in Portland.
Barbara came to Reed upon graduating from Portland’s Grant High School. She would long carry fond memories of the beautiful, well-used interior of the old library, where she wrote her thesis, “The Historical and Theoretical Background of the Junior College with Implications for the State of Oregon,” with Prof. Harold Bernard [education 1947–50] advising. Barbara learned to folk dance and waltz in the old SU.
Grant Gawaine Stipek ’86
June 16, 2019, in Bremerton, Washington.
Grant grew up in Seattle and, after graduating from Roosevelt High School, worked aboard a cruiser and an Alaskan crab-fishing boat. After traveling on his own through Europe for four months, he started at Reed.
Grant decided he wanted to write his thesis on Frank Lloyd Wright and spent his senior year at Taliesin West, the architect’s laboratory outside of Phoenix, Arizona. He wrote his thesis, “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Concept of Organic and His Ideal in Man,” with Prof. Charles Rhyne [art 1960–97]. While at Taliesin, Grant met the CEO of Cassina—an Italian company that manufactures furniture designed by the world’s great architects—who offered Grant a job following graduation. When he graduated from Reed, Grant turned down an opportunity to attend University of Oregon’s Graduate School of Architecture and went to work in Cassina’s research and development department.
Jane Hartwell Stevens ’46
October 21, 2019, in Seattle, Washington.
Jane was born in Portland and attended . She graduated from Cornell University– New York Hospital School of Nursing and worked as a public health nurse in New York City. She married Alexander Stevens, and, except for the two years Alec served in the army in Heidelberg, Germany, they made their home in Seattle, where they raised three daughters.
Jane was a phenomenal mother and homemaker who made her own bread, kept fresh flowers in the house, and was a generous entertainer. She and her sister, Tory, spent wonderful summers on the Oregon coast with their children. Jane was a founder of the Wednesday Walkers, enthusiast hikers who walked every Wednesday from the mid-’60s until shortly before her death. This was typical of Jane, who was always game for any adventure. She volunteered at many places, including food banks, the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival, and St. Stephen’s Church.
Irene Saloum Ellicott ’48
September 12, 2019, in Portland.
Born into a Portland retailing family, Irene worked after school at H. Saloum, her father’s dry-goods store. She both loved and hated working in retail.
Virginia Sacressen Rausch ’50
August 5, 2019, in Bainbridge Island, Washington.
A dedicated and pioneering mammalogist, Reggie and her husband, Robert Rausch, began their careers studying the mammals and parasites of Alaska and ended their careers at the University of Washington and the Burke Museum in Seattle.
Chelsea E. Spooner ’92
July 31, 2019, in Rainier, Washington, from a fire.
Chelsea graduated as valedictorian of her class from North Mason High School in Belfair, Washington, where she was also a star basketball player. Following in the footsteps of her father, Robert Spooner ’67, and her grandmother, Emily Louise Spooner ’30, Chelsea studied at Reed for two years, majoring in English. She then began a career with the Washington State Labor and Industries Department in Tumwater, Washington. A free spirit, she was smart, funny, and a funky fashionista who referred to herself as “Mama Soo.” She and her beloved dog Koko Puffs died in a fire at her home in Rainier. She is survived by her mother, Jeanne Spooner.
Marcia Starr MALS ’93
October 18, 2019, in Portland.
Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Marcia graduated from Bennington College and moved to Portland in 1957. A graduate of the MALS program at Reed, she made lifelong friends through this program. Her friends knew her as loyal, trustworthy, and witty woman who spoke many languages, loved Oregon, and traveled the world. She was a docent at the art museum and taught English to immigrants studying for citizenship. Marcia is survived by her sons, David and Philip.
Janice Robinson Stevens ’44
November 27, 2019, at her home near Butteville, Oregon, of natural causes.
Born in Portland, Jan grew up in Portland’s Irvington neighborhood, attended Grant High School, and spent her freshman year at Willamette University. She transferred to Reed, following in the footsteps of her mother, Edna Shainwald ’18, and as a lifelong freethinker and iconoclast, Reed was the better fit. Jan wrote her thesis, “A Critical and Historical Analysis of Biological Thought,” with Professors Ralph W. Macy [biology 1942–55] and Charles A. Reed [biology 1943–46] advising.
Elizabeth Tarr Schneider ’44
Jean McCall, Betty Tarr Schneider ’44, unknown
December 27, 2019, in Palo Alto, California.
Betty was an active artist her entire life. She was fascinated with shadows and stripes as a child in Portland and won an elementary school art contest. At the insistence of her brother Bob Tarr ’43, she came to Reed. She and Jane Gevurtz ’44 were welcomed to Abington by having their beds short-sheeted, alarm clocks hidden throughout their room, and their clothes hung from the roof turrets. They retaliated by turning on the fire hoses to flush the giggling residents from their rooms and were each fined $50.
Jacqueline King Shank ’50
November 13, 2019, in Lincoln City, Oregon.
Born to Myrtle Hoff, Jackie was adopted by her stepfather, Yank King, and as a child spent time at the Waverly Baby Home in Portland. A literature major at Reed, she wrote her thesis, “Shakespearean Comedy from Jonson to Johnson: A Study of Changing Critical Attitudes Toward Shakespearean Comedy in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries,” with Prof. William Alderson [English 1943–64] .
Eric Schoenfeld ’66
September 14, 2019, at his home in Haines, Oregon.
Eric grew up in Portland and attended Grant High School. He worked for the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol during the winter and as a smoke jumper with the U.S. Forest Service through the summer.
Jim Ronzio ’68 was his off-campus roommate during Eric’s two years at Reed.
Martha Bair Steinbock ’71
December 8, 2019, in Olney, Maryland, of neuroendocrine cancer.
Martha was born in Eureka, California, and grew up on a ranch near Arcata. She completed high school in Rio Linda, near Sacramento, and attended Reed, where she met and married Joseph Steinbock ’69.
Katherine Izquierdo Smith ’75
January 8, 2020, in Silver City, New Mexico.
Katy was born in New York City and at the age of three moved with her family to Portland. Her mother, Lois Baker Janzer ’50, was a Reedie, and her father, Manuel Izquierdo, was a sculptor and woodcut artist who taught at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. Katy completed a bachelor’s degree in art at Reed and earned a BA in fine arts at the Portland Museum Arts School.
Although Katy continued to make art for the rest of her life, she never liked the idea of living as a “starving artist.” She earned an MBA from Portland State University and began working as a certified public accountant. She was controller at Georgia-Pacific Corp., financial director at Omolon Gold Mining Company, and CPA for the State of Alaska. With her adventurous spirit, she found jobs around the world, including in the Russian Far East, Norway, Europe, and Central and South America.
Rodney A. Shaw ’58
May 3, 2014 in Norwood, Colorado, following a fall.
A sculptor whose predominantly female figures revealed, in his words, “a sneaking fondness for calming beauty,” Rod worked in many media, but his favorite was terra-cotta.
Philip H. Schwartz ’66
July 19, 2006, in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Phil wrote his thesis, “An Attempt to Therapeutically Modify a Child’s Behavior by Controlling Responses of the Mother,” advised by Prof. Carol Creedon [psychology 1957–91]. He became a highly respected teacher who enjoyed a spirited and intellectual debate and was always passionate about social justice and education. He is survived by his son, Bernard.
Matthew E. Smith ’66
May 19, 2019, in Olympia, Washington.
When Matt was growing up in Iowa, every summer his family drove across the country to Shelton, Washington, where his father had a seasonal job as a camp custodian. The trips brought the family closer, and Matt took to the Northwest woods. He returned to the Northwest to attend Reed, where Humanities 110 and 210—the Greeks and Romans, medieval Europe, Renaissance and Reformation—hooked him on “the genuine joy of doing hard intellectual work.”
Walter Satterthwait ’70
February 26, 2020, in Poulsbo, Washington, from congestive heart failure.
Walter wrote mysteries filled with complex and colorful characters, including an imaginative use of historical figures like Lizzie Borden and Oscar Wilde as detectives. One of only eight Americans to win France’s Prix de Romans d’Aventures, the insight and empathy that informed his work was also evident in the extraordinary gift he had for forming and maintaining deep friendships wherever he went.
Prof. David Elson Sheppard
July 28, 2020, in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, from complications due to pancreatic cancer.
Born in Chester, Pennsylvania, David attended public schools through ninth grade and graduated from the Mount Hermon School for Boys. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Amherst College and a PhD in biology-genetics from Johns Hopkins in 1964.
J. Victor Samuels ’64
June 14, 2020, in Houston, Texas.
A seventh-generation Jewish Texan, Vic was born in Corsicana and moved to his lifelong home of Houston when he was only six months old. He famously got his first job at age six and worked continuously for the following 69 years. He was a star athlete at Lanier Junior High and Bellaire High School, and was always proud of his accomplishments on the football field and baseball diamond.
Lawrence Marvin Skidmore ’64
July 4, 2020, in Clackamas, Oregon, from brain cancer.
Born and raised in Portland, Larry graduated from Franklin High School and then attended Reed. He completed his graduate studies at the University of Puget Sound and worked most of his career in marketing. But his real passion was building a better society through politics. Larry was an ardent supporter of the Democratic Party and served in multiple volunteer and leadership roles, including as chair of the Democratic Party of Clackamas County. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn Donovan; his siblings, Steve Skidmore and Darlene Weisen; his children, Jeffrey Skidmore, Jill Showalter, Julie DeVore, Nathan Skidmore, and Sarah Sell; his stepdaughter, Kim Wong; and his stepson, Michael Schmunk.
William Carl Schieve ’51
September, 19, 2020, in Fredericksburg, Texas.
A Portland native, Bill was an honor student and track star at Grant High School. He majored in physics at Reed, where he wrote his thesis, “Bose-Einstein Gases,” advised by Prof. Jean Delord [physics 1950–88]. He married Florence Gilleland ’53 in Portland; his lifelong friend David Ashmore ’52 was his best man. Bill and Florence moved to Pennsylvania, where he earned both a master’s and a PhD in physics from Lehigh University. He wrote his dissertation on “The Equations of Motion of Point Singularities of the Electromagnetic and Charge-Symmetric Scalar Meson Fields.”
Robert Lloyd Smith ’57
November 15, 2020, in Corvallis, Oregon, at home.
A professor at the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University, Bob’s special interests included coast upwelling, dynamics of the ocean over the continental shelf and slope, and eastern boundary currents.
Nancy Standhardt Seifert ’58
June 15, 2020, in Portland.
Nancy was born in Roswell, New Mexico, and graduated from Roswell High School. She came to Reed, where she met her husband, Harold Siefert ’55. For many years she worked at the Goose Hollow Inn as head of kitchen. Nancy was an accomplished pencil and ink artist and enjoyed being a homemaker with pets galore. She belonged to the Oregon Society of Artists and was a member of the Multnomah chapter of the D.A.R. She is survived by her son, Paul Siefert.
Diane Shamash ’77
August 13, 2006, in New York, New York, from cervical cancer.
Diane devoted her life to bringing art to the people. Millions of people thrilled to the droll installations she organized on the streets of Seattle and an island that floated the waterways of New York. She understood the power of whimsy and said, “Just to have something out there that’s unusual and unexpected that makes people think is important.”
Elliot Jacob Sturman ’80
July 14, 2020, Los Angeles, California.
Elliot started at Reed but finished his bachelor’s degree in behavioral psychology from Muir College at UC San Diego. He earned an MBA in quantitative methods and human resource management from Northwestern University.
Margery Feldman Senders ’42
October 27, 2020, in Portland, just shy of her 101st birthday.
Marge could remember her early days in Portland where she watched her father crank the car to get it started. Years later, she watched men walk on the moon. She attended Lincoln High before coming to Reed, which she attended for one year. While at Reed, she was skiing at Timberline and met Bruce Senders of Albany, Oregon. They married a week after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Joe L. Spaeth ’53
December 19, 2020, in his sleep at home in Corvallis, Oregon.
Joe spent his early years in Seattle, and then his family moved to Long Beach, California. As he neared the end of high school at Long Beach Polytechnic, he began considering colleges.
Herschel B. Snodgrass ’59
November 24, 2020, in Portland, from multiple myeloma.
An internationally recognized astrophysicist for his work on sunspots and solar magnetism, Herschel began life in Portland. His father, Herschel R. Snodgrass ’36, became radicalized during the Comintern (Communist International) movement, and the family was forced to flee Portland in the ’30s. The senior Herschel eventually became a professor of physics at what is now UC San Diego.
Encouraged to savor art, music, and nature, the young Herschel grew up in a family dedicated to exploring the meaning of existence and maintaining a wonderful curiosity about things. He disdained the notion that “time equals money.”
Robert Slavin ’72
April 24, 2021, in Baltimore, Maryland, of a heart attack.
Relying on evidence-based research to determine how children learn, Robert translated the science of learning into effective teaching practices. He became an expert on reading instruction and an early advocate for mixing students of different aptitudes together in small groups. With his wife and research partner, Nancy Madden ’73, he created Success For All, an influential reading program widely used in schools across the land.
Prof. Jack Scrivens [physical education ’61-99]
April 22, 2021, in Charbonneau, Oregon.
Prof. Jack Scrivens was a master at finding myriad ways for reluctant students to complete their PE requirement. His legacy includes starting the Reed squash team and playing a key role in the development of the Portland city squash team. After 35 years at Reed, he retired in 1999 as chair of Reed’s physical education department and associate director of the sports center.
Margaret Newton Sprinkle ’44
January 21, 2021, in Portland.
By the time she passed away at the age of 97, Maggie had lived well, laughed loud, and loved much. No one needed to be reminded that she was not only the smartest person in the room, but also the funniest.
Lorene Schmidt Burman ’52
November 25, 2020, in Bangor Maine.
A Portland native, Lorene wrote her thesis, “An Illustrated and Printed Edition of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge,” advised by Prof. Lloyd Reynolds [art and English 1929–69]. She was employed running craft shops for the U.S. Army in France, Germany, and Japan. During her work assignments, she traveled through Europe studying and photographing art and architecture and, for a time, attended art school in London. While working for the Army, she met and married her husband of 33 years, Lt. Col. Charles Burman. Together they traveled the world before settling in Coopers Mills, Maine, to raise their son.
Lorene worked as a bookbinder, calligrapher, and artist. She moved to Orrington, Maine, 20 years ago to be near family and is survived by her son, William Burman.
Berenice Stocks Jolliver ’52
March 29, 2020, in Vancouver, Washington.
Berenice was raised with six brothers and sisters in Portland. Vibrant and quick-witted, she loved school and particularly enjoyed student government and debate. She received a scholarship to Reed and attended a dual-enrollment program with the Portland Art Museum. Through this program, she met her future husband, artist Irvin Jolliver ’51. They shared a common interest in the arts, married, and built a home in Vancouver, Washington, where they raised a family and enjoyed creative pursuits for 68 years.
A passionate advocate for the arts, Berenice chaired the Vancouver Art Fair and organized regional Northwest artists to create Vancouver’s long-running Hudson’s Bay Art Fair. Art and community were also highlighted in her work for the Columbian and the Fort Vancouver Regional Library, and her list of volunteer works included art, education, and community. An enthusiastic and eclectic reader, she loved finding new sources of inspiration for herself and others. She is survived by her children: Cerise, Linette, Cynthia, Holly, and Vincent.
Harriett McWethy Straus ’54
November 29, 2020, in Gardiner, New York.
Born in Chadron, Nebraska, Harriett grew up on a ranch in Wyoming. At Reed, she studied Russian literature and met David Straus ’53, marrying him in 1955. She went on to earn a degree in library science from SUNY Buffalo and worked as the law librarian for the Ulster County Supreme Court in Kingston, New York, until retiring in 1996. She was civically engaged as a member of the League of Women Voters, and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, supported the American Friends Service Committee, and donated time to the Office for the Aging.
A dedicated researcher with eclectic curiosity, Harriet was interested in local history and native flora and fauna. She enjoyed book groups and supported local libraries. She is survived by her three children: Lisa, Lee, and David.
Henry Van Meter Stevens ’58
December 2, 2020, in Billings, Montana.
Born in Sheridan, Wyoming, Hank was a true child of the West. During a bout with rheumatic fever as a child, he developed a love of reading and technology. He lived by the motto “carpe diem” and never stopped learning. At Reed, he wrote his thesis, “The Effects of Automation on Job Satisfaction,” advised by Prof. Carl Stevens [economics 1954–90]. He married Thelma Stuart in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, in 1963. They moved to Billings, Montana, in 1975, where Hank worked as a controller at the Billings Sash & Door Company and then as a manager at the Montana Heart Institute.
He enjoyed photography—with a special interest in capturing the many phases of the moon—and loved classical music, the arts, and animals. He is survived by Thelma, his wife of 57 years, and his daughters, Lora, Krista, and Rebecca.
Phillip O. Smith ’73
July 20, 2020, while hiking in the Olympic Mountains of Washington.
Philip discovered a passion for exploration as a child in Pacific Palisades, California, playing with his siblings Cathy, Lisa, and Bruce on mountain paths and back roads. As a father, he would pass along his delight in wild places to his daughters, Rachel and Jen.
Prof. Edward Barton Segel [history ’73–’11]
September 30, 2021, in Portland, Oregon.
Whether the subject was Beethoven or Vietnam, Aristotle or the Cold War, Prof. Ed Segel’s sparkling lectures inspired generations of students. For a remarkable 38 years, from 1973 to 2011, he taught history and humanities at Reed, always prompting his students to consider the Big Questions. His academic domain was European diplomatic history, in particular the relations between the European great powers from the late 18th century to the present. But his passion lay in seeing his students succeed.
Robert Shimabukuro ’67
March 29, 2021, in Seattle, Washington, of natural causes.
As a child growing up in Maui, Bob’s life was ruled by asthma. The illness kept him out of school for nearly half of each year. When his congestion got bad, his parents or sister would rub his back to provide relief, and as they massaged and talked, he would listen.
Andrea Ireland Stapley ’69
June 1, 2021, in La Mesa, California.
When Andrea walked across the stage at Reed to receive her diploma, the waterfowl in the canyon burst out in a chorus of quacks and peeps. “I felt that Nature was applauding my success!” she said.
Jacqueline Moore Svaren ’50
November 20, 2021, in Seattle, Washington.
A leading figure in the revival of the art of calligraphy, Jaki spearheaded a national renaissance of the art form, putting Portland on the map as one of its centers along with England and Germany.
Lotus Simon Miller ’46
October 24, 2021, in Ames, Iowa.
Lotus was born in Portland, the younger of two sisters both named after attractive flowers. Her sister Calypso, however, preferred the nickname Mitzi. Lotus was president of her senior class at Reed and graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Prof. Ralph Macy [biology 1942–55] advised her on her thesis, “An Investigation of the Zonation of Intertidal Animals of Boiler Bay, Oregon,” a topic she chose to become more knowledgeable than her father in at least one area of natural history.
Emmy Hammond Shakeshaft ’51
August 22, 2021, in Ames, Iowa.
Emmy was born in White Plains, New York, and came to Reed because she had determined it was like Sarah Lawrence with boys. She wrote her thesis, “An Introduction to the Work of Dylan Thomas,” advised by Prof. Donald MacRae [English 1944–73].
Glen Shipley ’55
November 25, 2017, in Portland, Oregon.
Growing up on a farm, Glen learned the work ethic that carried him through life. In high school, he decided that becoming a doctor would be perfect for his curious and caring nature. At Reed, he wrote his thesis, “Preliminary Investigations Aimed at Isolation of the Chromatophorotropic and Retinal Pigment Stimulating Hormones in Astacus trowbridgii,” advised by Prof. Lewis H. Kleinholz [biology 1946–80]. After earning a doctorate in medicine from the University of Oregon Medical School, Glen became a physician and psychiatrist, spending most of his career as director of the Student Health Center at Southern Oregon University.
He met his wife, Laurie, when they were both working at St. Vincent Hospital in Portland; they were married for 54 years. After retiring, they lived in Lincoln City and traveled extensively. After Laurie died, Glen moved to Beaverton to live with his son, Curtis, and daughter-in-law, Rachel, spending his days making art, going for walks, watching movies, and competing with the cat for his desk chair. He is survived by his sons, Matthew and Curtis.
Donald Scott III ’59
September 3, 2021, in Saint James, New York.
Born on New Year’s Day in New York City, Don spent most of his youth in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, summering at the family home on Lloyd Neck. He attended Germantown Friends School and , and served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
While in the reserve, he developed a love for engineering and mechanical tinkering. Don was a motorcycle enthusiast and an avid racing fan who rode a Triumph Tiger Cub across much of England, Holland, and France. He was a passionate outdoorsman and environmentalist. As the longtime chair of the Atlantic Chapter River Touring Committee, he led many Sierra Club canoe trips in the New York metro area. He met his wife, Lisa Wurm, canoeing and kayaking on the Nissequogue River. Venturing further afield, Don canoed on Canadian rivers and sailed his catamaran through the Northeast, with favorite ports of call in Mystic, Connecticut; Block Island; and Nantucket. Later in life, he sailed many parts of the Caribbean and boated along rivers in England and France. He lived and worked in Manhattan until the mid-’70s, when he moved to the family home in St. James with his wife, Lisa, and son, Charles, until his death.
John Mills Stidd ’65
June 14, 2021, in Los Altos, California.
John was born in Pendleton, Oregon, and attended Reed before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force, where he served during the Vietnam War. His keen mathematical talent and computer training brought him to Silicon Valley, where he worked for a series of tech startups and then for the famous Xerox research labs in Palo Alto.
Mary Stuart Steinle ’71
October 20, 2021, in Portland.
Mary grew up number six in a poor family of eight during the Great Depression. At the age of 17, she was recruited for the war effort by Alcoa Aluminum in Portland. She married, had four children, got divorced, and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Portland State University. She came to Reed, where her sister, Carolyn Russell ’66, was an alum, and earned a master’s degree in teaching.
Mary taught business for years in Estacada, Gladstone, and Corbett high schools, and was department head at Corbett. After retiring from teaching, she worked part time as a public relations officer for the school district and was a substitute teacher. She became a licensed tax preparer and did tax returns, taught creative writing classes through Mt. Hood Community College, and led workshops on memoir writing. In 1972, she married Arthur Steinle, with whom she shared many adventures, including hiking, skiing, and traveling. They spent winters at their home in Yuma, Arizona. Preceded in death by Arthur and by her daughter, Barbara, she is survived by her son, Charles Brenton Jr.; daughters, Rebecca Brenton and Beverly Brenton; and stepchildren, Robert Steinle, Anne Steinle, and Linda Steinle.
Marianne Shipley Buchwalter ’45
February 17, 2022, in Portland.
Marianne was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1924. Four days after Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass), a pogrom against Jews in November 1938, she left Nazi Germany with her parents and younger brother. Through a series of highly improbable circumstances, the family ended up in Portland. Years before, her uncle had exchanged his property in Germany for property in Portland owned by an Oregonian smitten by Hitler. Marianne’s father purchased a business that manufactured uniforms and she began a remarkably rich and fruitful new life. Many years later, she recalled her first 14 years of life in a memoir, Memories of a Berlin Childhood, that described how everyday life eroded in Berlin as the Nazis tightened their net.
Lois Shoemaker Markus ’45
December 11, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Lois began her life in North Dakota as the daughter of a Presbyterian minister. From early childhood she demonstrated exceptional visual and musical memory and taught herself to read music from church hymnals. A curious, observant, and resourceful child, she loved using her hands to draw, paint, sew, and embroider. She enjoyed school and spent hours reading library books. In high school, she played flute in the band and orchestra and delighted in art classes.
At Reed, she found herself among kindred spirits. Her reading strengths allowed her to study broadly, focusing on early modern European history, and upon graduation she was awarded a prize for her senior thesis, “The Puritan Movement and the Problem of Authority in the Tudor State, 1570–1603,” advised by Prof. Reginald Arragon [history 1923–74].
Mary Louise Stearns Williams ’51
December 21, 2021, in Windsor, California.
Mary Louise was born in Pasadena, California, with an abiding love of animals. Her childhood was filled with cats, springer spaniels, a goose named Caesar Agoosetus, and a rotation of Arabian horses. She graduated from Chadwick School in Palos Verdes before coming to Reed, the alma mater of her sister, Ann Whitehead ’44, and later her brother, John Stearns ’53. She studied Russian literature and enjoyed skiing, square dancing, standing up for her ideals, breaking the rules, and singing. While at Reed, Mary Lou met and fell in love with Bill Williams, who was visiting from the University of Colorado.
Richard S. Sakurai ’53
January 29, 2022, in Gresham, Oregon.
Not long after he was born in Portland, Richard’s parents, Chiyoko and Masaru Sakurai, acquired some farm acreage in Troutdale, Oregon, that had a beautiful view of Mt. Hood. Dick spent the first 15 years of his life on the farm and attended public school in Corbett. When the U.S. entered World War II, persons of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast were interned in U.S. internment camps scattered throughout the West. Dick and his family were interned in the camp at Minidoka, Idaho, where they spent the next three and a half years. He graduated from high school while in Minidoka, and when the war ended in September 1945, the family moved to the Vanport area of Portland.
Ardeth Owen Steere Fortier ’55
October 25, 2021 in San Francisco, California.
Contributed by John Sheehy ’82
Mark (Peter) Shaffer ’61
January 8, 2022, in Eureka, California.
Born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Mark moved with his family to the Los Angeles area when he was seven. Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, he made lifelong friends, among them Reed classmate Bob Ross ’61.
William T. Stewart ’73
October 20, 2021, in Edgartown, Massachusetts, from thyroid cancer.
William grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, where his father was a math professor at Brown University. The family spent summers at a camp on Seth’s Pond, and, as a child, William lived in London for several years while his father was a visiting lecturer at Imperial College.
Marcus Emmett Smith ’00
December 1, 2021, in Portland.
As a child, Marcus loved to tinker. He made things out of wood and took things apart to see how they worked. It was something he did throughout life, and in addition to taking computers, bikes, or cars apart, he mostly put them back together again.
David C. Scott MAT ’63
January 24, 2022, in Aptos, California, from kidney failure following a fall.
David was born in Palo Alto, California; his family moved to Chico when he was 10, and he graduated from Chico High School. He enrolled in Stanford University, where he majored in journalism and was the editor of the Stanford Daily his senior year. While working on the Daily, he met Anne Johnson ’67, and they married the week of his graduation. He began working as a journalist, but decided he’d rather be a teacher.
Robert Royhl Smith ’71
January 12, 2022, in Bozeman, Montana.
Born in New York City, Robert grew up in Tucson, Arizona, which, along with the Sonoran Desert, became a major influence on his life and art. He graduated from high school and then studied at many schools across the country, including Reed. Robert graduated with both a bachelor’s degree and an MFA from the University of Arizona and began teaching at the Tucson Museum of Art School, where he influenced countless students.
Diana Miller Sauerhaft ’84
October 5, 2021, in Los Altos, California.
Contributed by David Sauerhaft ’82
Enny Deutschman Schulz ’40
December 23, 2021, in St. George, Utah, at the age of 103.
Enny was a Portland native who came to Reed as a “day-dodger.” She took part in weekend hikes facilitated by the college, including climbing Eliot Glacier on Mt. Hood, and particularly appreciated the humanities program. “To be sure,” she said, “the introduction of that program was too fast-paced, too overwhelming for a naïve freshman student. But since then, it has been a boon as a guide for stimulating reading material.”
She wrote her thesis, “Rousseau’s Contributions to Music,” advised by Prof. Cecilia Tenney [French and music 1921–63]. Enny’s objective was to be a teacher, and she ended up teaching high school in Oregon, first in Taft, and then in Gresham. She spent the last 17 years of her life in St. George, Utah.
Jeanne Steed ’47
June 14, 2022, in Salem, Oregon.
Jeanne grew up on the south shore of Long Island in the small town of Westhampton. She was glad to have grown up in New York, because at the time she felt it was ahead of the rest of the country in providing opportunities for girls to be physically active. She participated in a sport or activity every season, including baseball, basketball, volleyball, archery, and dance. In addition, she swam, rowed, biked, and hiked. She attended a two-room grade school, graduated from Westhampton High, and then did postgraduate study at Northfield Seminary.
Her parents had been enchanted by the Northwest when they toured it on their honeymoon, and when it came time for Jeanne and her sister to choose colleges, they set their sights on Northwest schools. Jeanne chose Reed, where she majored in biology and took as many PE courses as possible, including badminton, team sports, and swimming, earning her lifeguard certificate swimming in the outdoor pool. She wrote her thesis, “A Study of Mitotic Rate Fluctuations in Tadpole Tails,” advised by Prof. Ralph Macy [biology 1942–55].
Sydney Shoemaker ’53
September 3, 2022, in Ithaca, New York, following a brief illness.
Professor emeritus of philosophy, Sydney was a leading figure in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell. Remembered as a powerful thinker and brilliant teacher, he contributed to the outstanding reputation of Cornell philosophy during the latter half of the 20th century.
Katharine Jaeger Steig ’58
August 12, 2022, in West Vancouver, British Columbia, from complications of a stroke.
Katharine met her husband Mike Steig ’58 at Reed. She finished her degree in education at the University of Washington. In 1966, she and Mike moved to West Vancouver, British Columbia, where she worked in the library and became actively involved in protecting the parks and wilderness on the edge of urban and suburban Vancouver. Katharine’s greatest passions were wild plants and the nature that supports wild creatures and nourishes humans. Her legacy can be seen from Vancouver to the North Shore Mountains, where an important stand of old growth forest still exists because of her efforts, and where two peaks in Cypress Provincial Park were saved from future development. She is survived by her two sons, Joseph and Eric; and her sister Winifred Wood ’55.
Donald (Donangelo) Robert Schuman ’57
October 19, 2022, in Bend, Oregon.
Born Donangelo Schuman in Chicago, Illinois, Don spent his childhood in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where his father was a political science professor.
Judith Michie Sakurai Yamauchi ’60
July 12, 2022, in Portland, Oregon.
Judy was born in Portland, the last of six children of Chiyoko and Masaru Sakurai. Since her mother was induced one month early so that the doctor could go on vacation, Judy was quite small (5 lb.) and slept most of her first year. When she was three years old, she and her family were sent to the Portland Assembly Center (Pacific International Livestock Exposition Pavilion) until the permanent concentration camps could be set up in south central Idaho. She spent ages four to six at the Minidoka Relocation Center in Idaho.
Thomas Swanson ’62
July 12, 2022, in Portland, Oregon from peritonitis.
With the exception of two years he spent in the Peace Corps, Tom lived most of his life in Portland, where he was born. At Reed, he wrote his thesis, “Theory of Equations for Polynomials in One Indeterminate,” advised by Prof. Dorothy Christensen [math 1959–65], and the following year received his MAT. He went on to earn a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Oregon.
Jeremy Thomas Stone ’99
September 24, 2022, in Vancouver, British Columbia, took his own life as a consequence of long-term depression.
Jeremy grew up in the small coastal town of Angleton, Texas, the son of a preacher and a stay-at-home mom. The family lived on the margins of the poverty line; Jeremy’s father was often between jobs, and his mother was mentally ill and could not work. This experience formed his lifelong dedication to social justice, working with marginalized communities, and his passionate work in community economic development.
Margaret Strawn Mesirow ’62, MAT ’64
December 5, 2022, in Portland, at home.
Margaret was born in Pocatello, Idaho, and was one of four valedictorians graduating in her Pocatello High School class. She attended Reed, majored in Russian, and wrote her thesis, “Yuri Zhivago in the ‘Superfluous Man’ Tradition,” advised by Prof. Vera K. Krivoshein [Russian 1949–72]. Two years later, she received her master of arts in teaching from Reed. While at Reed, she met David Mesirow, whom she married in 1962. They were married for 52 years, until his passing in 2014.
Conrad Churchill Skinner ’74
March 2, 2023, in Denver, Colorado, after a short and sudden illness.
The eldest of four sons, Conrad grew up in McLean, Virginia, and attended Potomac School and Choate Rosemary Hall boarding school, where he excelled at soccer and visual arts. He spent a year in France as a high school student, learning French and memorably sporting an opera cape and smoking cigarettes in the balcony at the Paris Opera.
Gary Schlickeiser
Nina Johnson '99
March 10, 2023, in Portland, Oregon, of illness.
For 38 years, Gary kept Reed connected. The former director of Technology Infrastructure Services (now Information Technology) maintained the campus network, email, phone system, internet connection, and other vital technology resources. He was equally committed to the well-being of students, faculty, staff, and co-workers. Marty Ringle, chief information officer emeritus, said, “As the person with primary responsibility for Reed’s technology infrastructure, Gary was genuinely ‘on duty’ 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” and he kept everything up and running “more than 99.9% of the time.” When Gary was asked how he achieved such success, he’d always credit his staff. “They were great,” said Ringle. “Thanks to the way that Gary mentored them, respected them, and cared for them.”
John L. Shipley ’49
May 2, 2023, in Portland, Oregon.
John was a child of Berlin, Germany, and a proud citizen of Portland, Oregon. Born in 1927 to Julian and Erna Schybilski, John enjoyed a comfortable childhood, along with his older sister, Marianne Buchwalter ’45. John’s father ran a successful men’s clothing business, and the family enjoyed ski outings in the Alps and beach vacations along the North Sea. Tragically, their sense of security gave way to peril with the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis in the 1930s. In 1938, after Kristallnacht, the family gave up hope of a secure life in Germany and left for the United States.
Willis Eldridge Sibley ’51
March 13, 2022, in Shady Side, Maryland.
Will arrived at Reed just two years after the conclusion of World War II. A 17-year-old with no military experience, he found himself studying alongside many veterans. In an interview for Reed’s oral history project, Will said these young men (and some women) had a no-nonsense approach to school and life that forced him to grow up quickly.
Janet Schmidt Swanson ’60
March 28, 2023, in Olympia, Washington, peacefully.
Born on January 8, 1938, to Elliott Emil and Alice Harris Schmidt, Janet was born and raised in West Seattle. She enjoyed the outdoors from an early age, camping with her family, riding horses, and working as a counselor at a girls’ summer camp. She was also active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, where she played the organ for services and taught primary classes.
Edwin Schneider MAT ’56
April 16, 2022, in Portland, after a brief illness.
Ed was a committed career educator. After graduating from Reed with a master’s in teaching, he worked as a teacher, a high school principal, and an assistant superintendent in Portland public schools. He also served as a part-time adjunct instructor at Portland State University.