1935

Francis R. Gay, on June 13, 2008.



1936

G. Russell Nance, on September 24, 2008.



1939

Leo R. Beard, in Austin, Texas, on March 21; he was 91. After graduating from Caltech, he joined the Army Corps of Engineers, where he remained until 1972, when he retired as founding director of the Corps' Hydrologic Engineering Center in Davis, California. Following his retirement, he joined the University of Texas as a professor of civil engineering and, later, the engineering consulting firm of Espey, Huston, and Associates. Known for his pioneering work on the application of statistics to hydrologic engineering, he lectured worldwide. He was a member of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the International Water Resources Association, as well as a fellow and honorary member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and an honorary member of the American Water Works Association. He served as chair of the ASCE Water Resources Planning and Management Division, president of the AGU Hydrology Section, and editor in chief of Water International. Elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1975, he received the ASCE's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 and Ven Te Chow Award in 2007. Predeceased in 1973 by his first wife Marian, whom he married in 1939, he is survived by his second wife, Marjorie, whom he married in 1974; his daughter, Patricia Huntzicker; two sons, Thomas and James; three stepdaughters, Patricia Fowler, Ann Bonner, and Kay De Vaux; a stepson, Thomas Wood; and 22 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.



1940

Rolf O. Langerud, on January 26; he was 91.



1941

William B. Hebenstreit, on April 16.

William Schubert, of Palo Alto, California, on March 21; he was 89. He spent 21 years during and after World War II in the U.S. Navy and, as a young officer at the Naval Engineering Experimental Station in Annapolis, Maryland, was involved in rocket and jet engine research and development, including development of the first successful U.S. pulsejet engine. He received several patents for his role in inventing the valveless pulsejet. He later served at NASA headquarters as chief, Centaur Class launch vehicles, and, after retiring from the Navy with the rank of commander, went to work at Aerojet in Azusa, California. He eventually joined SRI International in Menlo Park, California, where he remained for the next 17 years. Along the way he earned a Harvard MBA. After retiring from SRI, he and his wife enjoyed travel and sailing, and they produced community programs for the Palo Alto cable station. A talented musician, Schubert played piano in local nightclubs while at Caltech, and continued playing over the years at parties and other events. Most recently he headed his own trio, SOFJAZZ, playing Bay Area gigs with them as well as with other jazz bands. He is survived by Betty, the vocalist for SOFJAZZ and his wife of 63 years; a son, William; two daughters, Deborah and Stephanie; and a granddaughter, Emilie.



1942

Victor G. Bruce, of Princeton, New Jersey, on May 29; he was 88. During World War II he worked at the MIT Radiation Lab on the development of radar. He received his PhD from Stanford in 1950, then did postdoctoral work at Caltech and the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen. He joined the faculty of Princeton's biology department in 1956, where he remained until his retirement in 1982. His primary research focus was circadian rhythms. Bruce spent summers with his family in Chilmark, Massachusetts, from 1968 to the present. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; three sons, Peter, James, and Andrew; and eight grandchildren.

Thomas L. Kirtley, MS, on August 31, 2008; he was 89. He spent 40 years with Hercules Inc. as a chemical engineer. According to his son Tom, “His mind was sharp right up until the last days of his life, in keeping with the Caltech tradition.” He is survived by his wife, Jean; two sons, Thomas and Frank; and six grandchildren and two great-grandsons.

Kenneth D. Schureman, of Laguna Hills, California, on March 5.

Haskell Shapiro, MS '47, PhD '57, on February 4; he was 87.



1943

George D. Avant, MS, on October 1, 2007.

Robert G. Gustavson, on January 10, 2008. He is survived by his wife, Patricia.

George R. Stuart, Meteorology Certificate, MS '52, on February 6, 2008; he was 86.



1944

E. Erdley Beauchamp, MS, on April 7; he was 93.

William R. Davis, MS '47, on January 28; he was 85. Having received his BS from Caltech, he went to Annapolis and served in the U.S. Navy until the end of World War II. After earning his MS he joined Lockheed, where he designed missile guidance systems, and while at Lockheed he received a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford. He spent 42 years in the aerospace industry, contributing to the U.S. space program, before retiring in 1989. Davis enjoyed playing basketball and volleyball, particularly two-man beach volleyball, and he won nearly 50 trophies playing in handball tournaments. In addition, he was inducted into the Northern California Handball Hall of Fame in 1992. Davis also backpacked yearly in the Sierra Nevada from his teens until 1990, when he felt his knees had had enough. His greatest enthusiasm, however, was square dancing, which he began participating in around 1953. Eventually he became an award-winning caller as well as a teacher, and in 1958 he cofounded the Santa Clara Valley Callers Association. He was also a longtime member of the Square Dance Callers Association of Northern California and was involved with a number of other programs and organizations. He was a pioneer in technical aspects of contemporary square-dance calling, presenting papers, attending conventions, and participating on committees, including as chair. He also wrote prolifically about square dancing, and was extensively involved in teaching. In 1972 Davis published his first book and began a yearly Top Ten series on choreography that became the "Big Five" dictionaries of square-dance definitions and usage. Also in 1972, he began a national caller's note service that at its peak had over 1,000 subscribers in the United States and nine other countries. Davis is survived by Bobbie, his wife of 37 years, and by six daughters, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Almeron J. Field, on January 25.

James B. Garrison Jr., CAVU, MS '50, on May 14. He was one of a group of students during World War II who received certification after completing an accelerated training program in meteorology, and who referred to themselves as Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited.

William F. Roberts, on May 5; he was 85. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant. After several years in the engineering field, he became a stockbroker, and he remained in that field for the remainder of his career. He retired in 1990 and in 1998 moved with his wife to Valley Center, California. Predeceased by his oldest son, Ronald, Roberts is survived by his wife, Emily; his son Norman; two daughters, Vivian and Lorraine; and five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.



1945

Dale H. Austin, on February 18; he was 83.

George McIntosh Wilhelm, of Boise, Idaho, on February 2; he was 85. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and after graduating from Caltech he received a Harvard MBA in 1948. He spent most of his career in the forest products industry, working in engineering and operations for M & M Woodworking, Crown-Zellerbach, and especially Boise Cascade, where he contributed to the company's emerging status as a significant player in the plywood industry with a strong presence in the southern United States. In the early '80s he left Boise Cascade and joined Hoff Lumber Company of Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, as vice president. When Boise Cascade acquired Hoff, Wilhelm joined Morrison-Knudsen as manager of its forest products engineering group. He retired in 1989. Active in his community, he served on the board of the Boise Family YMCA and of the University of Idaho's College of Engineering, and he was a member of the Boise Downtown Rotary Club for over 50 years. He enjoyed golf, bird hunting, skiing, and tennis. Wilhelm is survived by Dede (Nadine), his wife of 56 years; three sons, David, Steven, and Peter; four grandchildren; and a brother, Peter.

Ralph D. Winter, of Pasadena, California, on May 20; he was 84. He served in the Navy during World War II and, after his discharge, did graduate work in linguistics, anthropology, and mathematical statistics at Cornell. He then moved to Columbia, where he received a master's degree in teaching English as a second language. He was ordained a Presbyterian minister at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1956, and he commenced his career as a Presbyterian missionary in Guatemala that same year. A decade later he joined Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena as professor of missions, utilizing his experience in Latin America to train missionaries. In 1974, at the International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland, he called for proselytizing to people unreached by Christianity by focusing on so-called ethnic pockets, where isolation as well as language, culture, and religion had impeded the spread of his religion. In 1976 he founded the U.S. Center for World Mission on the former campus of Pasadena Nazarene College. A year later, after establishing a research institute there, he also founded William Carey International University. He was named one of America's 25 most influential evangelicals by Time magazine in 2005. Predeceased in 2001 by his first wife, Roberta, with whom he had four daughters, Winter is survived by his second wife, Barbara; his daughters, Elizabeth Gill, Rebecca Lewis, Linda Dorr, and Patricia Johnson; 14 grandchildren and one great-grandchild; and two brothers, Paul and David.



1946

William F. Horton, MS '48, of Carpinteria, California, on February 2; he was 82. Horton served as an ensign in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and after the war he went to work for the aviation industry, where he helped develop an autopilot with William Powell Lear Sr. He received his PhD from UCLA in 1966. In 1968, he joined California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, as professor of electrical engineering. He also served as both associate and acting dean of Cal Poly's School of Engineering. He and his friend and colleague Dr. Saul Goldberg founded Power Systems Consultants and consulted for utility and other companies. Together, they published over 50 technical papers, including an authoritative work on electromagnetic fields and their public-health implications. A rancher as well, Horton was noted for his success at sustaining the beauty and health of the Berry-Horton Ranch in Carpinteria while maintaining a successful business raising avocados. He and his wife, Glenna, established a public walking trail on the ranch and a conservation easement with the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County that will preserve the property for years to come. Very involved with civic and charitable organizations in his communities, Horton served on the grand jury for the county of San Luis Obispo and the board of directors of the Red Cross for the county of Santa Barbara, and he was a docent at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the Carpinteria Historical Society. Predeceased by his parents and stepdaughter Linda Luschei, he is survived by his wife of 32 years, Glenna Berry-Horton, also known as Glenna Luschei in the poetry, arts, and publishing communities; three daughters, Theresa Duer, Katherine Horton, and Susan Horton; two stepsons, Erich Luschei and Thomas Luschei; stepdaughter Gabriela Luschei; and eight grandchildren.

Webster C. Roberts, MS, of Falls Run, Virginia, on March 16; he was 90. He taught mechanical engineering, worked as an engineer developing rocket engines for Bell Aircraft, and eventually returned to Cleveland, Ohio, his birthplace, where he joined Brush Electronics and later served as director of research and development for the Harris Corporation and then as director of commercial press engineering for Harris's Cottrell Division. In 1978 he moved to the Langston Company, a New Jersey manufacturer of equipment for producing and printing corrugated board, where he became vice president for engineering. He served a term as president of the Technical Association of Graphic Arts and as president of the Research Directors Association in Cleveland and, after retiring, worked as an engineering consultant and designer. He also served a term as president of the Unitarian Church in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and as moderator for the Unitarian Universalist Church in Norwich, Connecticut. Enthusiastic sailors, he and his wife were members of the Sandusky Yacht Club and the Sandusky Sailing Club while in Ohio and later, in Noank, Connecticut, of the Ram Island Yacht Club. They belonged to several sailing societies as well. Moving to Falls Run in 2004, he and his wife joined the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg. Predeceased by his wife, Jeanne, and a daughter, Betty Deane Stetson, Roberts is survived by his son, William; two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; and a sister, Jeanne Flegel.

David H. Whitlow, MS, of Seattle, on October 13, 2007; he was 86. He learned to fly during World War II and, after briefly working for the Northrop Corporation, he joined the Boeing Company, where his initially worked on the B-52 and went on to a variety of projects. He flew single-engine light planes for many years and was co-owner of a Globe Swift. He and his wife, Olivia, loved the outdoors, particularly skiing and spending time at the beach, and they had a second home at Ocean Shores in the 1960s, which they traded for a room in Skiers Inc. at Crystal Mountain. They retired to the beach on Camano Island but eventually returned to West Seattle. Also an avid sailor, Whitlow owned a Star in the 1950s and a San Juan 21 in 1970s, which he took on several adventures to the San Juan Islands. He is survived by Olivia, his wife of 52 years, and by their three children, Marc, John, and Leslie, and their families.



1947

Walter T. Ogier, PhD '53, on May 5. He retired in 1989 from the faculty of Pomona College, where he had served 16 years as a department chair. “His support for Caltech was unwavering and he highly valued his education and the opportunity to serve his sabbatical terms there as an NSF Senior Faculty Fellow. At the time of his death, he had prepared research papers covering new ideas on the energy transport mechanism of Helium-4 in low-temperature films, high-energy atomic array effects, and the relation of butyric acid and diet to disease and aging processes.”



1948

Stuart M. Butler Jr., of Rancho Santa Fe, California, on March 17.

Edward A. Taylor, MS, of Modesto, California, on March 16; he was 91.



1950

Harvey J. Amster, on August 23, 2008.

Charles R. Bennett, on March 6.

Howard E. Clark Jr., in West Hills, California, on January 14, 2006.

Palmer E. Hakala, MS, on August 8, 2005.

Michael A. Hall, on March 19.

Richard H. Knipe, on March 9; he was 81.

James A. Vivian, MS, on February 15. He was a retired colonel in the U.S. Army.



1956

Hans C. Freeman, Ex, on November 1, 2008. His daughter Maeva writes, “My father often spoke of his time at Caltech and the opportunity he had to learn under Linus Pauling and Eddie Hughes—both men greatly influencing the work my father did once he returned to Australia to head up the School of Chemistry at Sydney University.”



1958

David E. Wallis, on September 22, 2006.



1962

John R. Golden, of Pittsford, New York, on February 23; he was 69. After graduating from Caltech, he received a master's degree in applied mathematics from the University of Kansas in 1964. He then went to work for RCA Labs. In 1968 he entered the field of data processing with ITT Data Services, and his career included innovative data-systems work at Xerox and Kodak. Eventually he served as principal in his own business, Information Technologies. An avid reader whose interests included science and science fiction, information technologies, economics, politics, and religion, he wrote and had published letters to the editor concerning politics, and articles about science and religion. He was also a ham radio operator who maintained his amateur license for over half a century. In addition, for 32 years he taught and mentored youth in confirmation classes at his home church, Mountain Rise United Church of Christ, in Fairport, New York, and stayed in contact with many of them. He is survived by his wife, Jean; two sons, James and Rob; and three grandchildren.



1964

Michael McCammon, on June 9, 2008.



1965

Thomas C. McGill Jr., MS, PhD '69, on March 19.



1967

Donald G. Coyne, PhD, on October 1, 2008.

David A. Hammond, on March 17; he was 63. He is survived by his wife, Marlene.



1971

John P. Messmer, on February 1.

Terrence M. Morris, MS, of Marietta, Ohio, on April 27; he was 61. He graduated from Harvard Business School in 1977. A strong supporter of Marietta College, from which he had received his bachelor's degree in 1969, he served as a Marietta College trustee for several years. He taught several classes at the college as an adjunct professor. Actively involved in crew through much of his life, he was on the first Marietta High School crew team, and at Marietta College he served on three Dad Vail–winning Varsity 8 boats. He was inducted into the Marietta College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. In addition, he coached women's crew for a short time and led the women's Varsity 4 to a Dad Vail championship. An avid reader who loved learning, he also enjoyed spending time with his family. He is survived by Melissa, his wife of 19 years; two sons, Terrence and Matthew; and two daughters, Hannah and Emma.



1972

James C. Fuhrman, on April 6; he was 58. He worked at JPL and served as a “user consultant” for users of the Univac 1108 computer. Stricken with multiple sclerosis while still in high school, he was forced to retire on disability about 15 years ago, after which he continued to be active in his church and to perform volunteer work.

Thomas S. Hedges, on November 16, 2007; he was 57.



1973

William A. Hiscock, on April 21; he was 57. A former head of Montana State University's physics department, he played a central role for 18 years in fostering NASA research in Montana. Even after he had ceased working on MSU's campus, he continued to direct the Montana Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) from home, as well as serve on President Barack Obama's transition team for NASA. Hiscock wrote the grant that started the consortium in 1991. Part of a national program for helping students become aerospace leaders, MSGC provides Montana college students with a number of space-related opportunities, including developing space-borne experiments, designing instruments for satellites, experiencing weightlessness in NASA aircraft, and exploring near-space with high-altitude balloons. Hiscock has also held state and national leadership positions, including chairman of the National Council of Space Grant Directors. He belonged to the board of directors for the National EPSCoR Foundation, represented MSU at the Associated Universities for Research in Astronomy, and was Montana's representative to the Aerospace States Association. Hiscock was involved as well in several NASA missions, including the LISA Mission Definition Team. He headed the science team for OMEGA and served as education/outreach team member for THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms). Hiscock's numerous honors included top faculty awards at MSU, a national service award from the EPSCoR/IDeA Foundation, and the Frank J. Malina Astronautics Medal. He published more than 100 papers in astrophysics, gravitation theory, cosmology, and quantum field theory. Described as enthusiastic, supportive, decisive, and wise, Hiscock was highly respected by space grant consortium directors all over the nation. After Congress had established NASA's National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program in 1989 and the program became available to every state, Hiscock applied for the grant that established the Montana Space Grant Consortium in 1991. Hiscock served as its only director. In addition, he was one of the six original members of an MSU group that gained international renown in relativity and astrophysics. A former Eagle Scout, Hiscock was noted for living up to the Scout code of being “trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind and cheerful.” Diagnosed in 1991, at age 39, with a rare illness called Light-Chain Deposition Disease (LCDD)—he was perhaps the 500th person and the youngest in the world to be diagnosed with the disease—he was given three months to five years to live. Instead, he lived for 18 years, undergoing periodic rounds of chemotherapy. (A blood cancer sometimes known as smoldering multiple myeloma, LCDD causes excess protein to be circulated in the blood and attacks different organs at different times.) Hiscock earned his master's and doctoral degrees in physics from the University of Maryland. He came to MSU in 1984 and became MSGC director in 1991, a full professor in 1993, and director of the Montana NASA EPSCoR Program in 1994. He served as head of the physics department from 2003 to 2008. Hiscock is survived by his wife, Barbara Oyster, and by two sons, John and Dale.



1974

Phillip J. Arnold, on April 8.



1984

Richard E. Honrath Jr., of Houghton, Michigan, on April 17; he was 47. An avid outdoorsman, he died in a kayaking accident on the Silver River near L'Anse, Michigan. After graduating from Caltech, he went on to receive an MS in civil engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1987 and a PhD in atmospheric chemistry at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1992. He joined the faculty of civil and environmental engineering at Michigan Technological University in 1992, becoming an associate professor in 1998 and a full professor in 2003. He taught both undergraduate and graduate classes, supervised grad students and postdocs, and worked in many service roles at Michigan Tech. The author of 50 professional papers, he was internationally recognized for his research program in atmospheric sciences, with his research interests focusing on global and regional atmospheric impacts, anthropogenic pollutants and boreal wildfires, and the interactions of snow, ice, air, and light. He had received the Michigan Technological University Research Award in 2006, and he was serving as a member of the Advisory Committee for the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs and had active research programs in Greenland and the Azores. He was also the director of Michigan Tech's atmospheric sciences doctoral program. Honrath enjoyed mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and white-water kayaking, and for several years was a Nordic ski coach for the Copper Country Ski Tigers. He is survived by Lori, his wife of 24 years; a son, Ramey; a daughter, Prabha; his parents, Richard and Laura Honrath; and two sisters, Linda VonWartburg and Lisa Ransdall.

 

 

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