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OBITUARIES
Compiled by Lisa Palladino
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1926
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Hugh J. Kelly, retired publishing executive, Olive Bridge,
N.Y., on November 19, 2001. Kelly retired in 1970 from McGraw-Hill,
where he worked for 43 years and was a member of the board of directors
since 1949. At the College, Kelly was elected Phi Beta Kappa and
served as editor of Spectator. He briefly worked for Columbia University
Press before joining McGraw-Hill’s newly formed college book
division in 1927. In 1932, he was chosen to lead McGraw-Hill’s
new trade book division, which he headed through the 1940s. During
World War II, Kelly served as a major in the Army on the national
headquarters staff of General Lewis B. Hershey, where he helped
plan and direct the Selective Service System; he received the Army
Commendation Ribbon. In 1953, Kelly was appointed a corporate vice
president of McGraw-Hill, where he headed all manufacturing and
services, a role he held until shortly before his retirement. In
1956, he was named executive vice president. Kelly also served as
a director of Federal Paper Board Co. and of the Columbia University
Press. He was active in Columbia fund raising, and at one time served
as chair of the Friends of Columbia Libraries. In 1997, he made
a gift and established the Hugh J. and Catherine Kelly Endowment
for the annual Thomas Merton Lecture on campus. Kelly was a knight
of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a trustee of the Ulster
County Historical Society and was awarded the Sister Mary Charles
Medal, the highest recognition given annually by the Benedictine
Health Foundation. Kelly’s wife, the former Catherine M. Rice,
died in 1990. He is survived by his daughter, Sister Agnes Kelly
OSU; four sons, Hugh Jr., Edmund, Neill and Daniel; 18 grandchildren;
and 29 great-grandchildren.
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1928
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Royal M. Montgomery, retired dermatologist, Silver Spring,
Md., on December 14, 2001. Montgomery received his medical degree
from P&S in 1931 and practiced in New York City from that year
until his relocation to Silver Spring in 1983. Following is an excerpt
from a letter that CCT received from his son, Andrew: “I can
remember as a child being brought up on Lion baseball, basketball
and football. In the fall, we seemed to attend all home games sitting
on the 50-yard line, just above the box where Dwight Eisenhower
sat. The highlight of those years was the Lions’ 1947 21-20
defeat of Army with a spectacular [Gene] Rossides [’49] to
[Bill] Swiacki [’48] pass in the far right-hand corner. At
Homecoming, the attendance award always seemed to go to the Class
of 1928. Both my dad and uncle, Andrew Peers Montgomery ’24,
sponsor scholarships for deserving students. Dad was a varsity swimmer,
a member of Delta Upsilon and always active in Columbia functions.
Manhattan was his island and Manhattan was his drink. Our whole
family appreciated our ties with Columbia and can’t wait for
the Lion to roar once more.” Montgomery married Maxine Cooley
in 1934; she predeceased him in 1997. He is survived by his sons,
Andrew and R. Bruce; daughter, Clare Davis; 12 grandchildren; and
16 great-grandchildren. Another daughter, Diane Greene, predeceased
him.
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1932
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Harold Carnegie Apisdorf, attorney and real estate developer,
Longboat Key, Fla., on April 13, 2000. Apisdorf was born on July
14, 1912, in New York City, the nephew of prominent American fashion
designer Hattie Carnegie. He received his law degree from Yale and
practiced in New York City and Greenwich, Conn., which he left more
than 20 years ago to relocate to Longboat Key. Apisdorf was a member
of Temple Beth Israel on Longboat Key, the Longboat Key Country
Club, and the Columbia University Club of Sarasota. He is survived
by his wife, June E.; son, Peter; stepsons, Thomas, Douglas and
Wayne Huebner; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
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1935
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Oliver M. Neshamkin M.D., retired physician, New York, on
July 8, 2001. A native New Yorker, Neshamkin earned a master’s
in zoology from the Graduate School in 1937 and his medical degree
from Anderson College, Glasgow, Scotland, in 1942. While at Columbia,
Neshamkin was a cartoonist for Jester and won the Silver
Crown. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps
as a combat surgeon with the 75th Division and earned three Battle
Stars in the European Theater. After retiring as a captain, he returned
to New York and joined the staff of Midtown Hospital. He served
as the corporate physician for various companies before establishing
a general practice in Manhattan that he maintained for more than
45 years. Unwilling to stay retired, he went back to work in his
80s at the ILGWU clinic. His love of words and humor are reflected
by his uncounted entries (and prizes) in the New York Magazine
Competition. He won many awards for sculpture, painting and photography
at the New York Medical Society annual shows. His love of Columbia
football was shown by his almost 55-year long attendance record.
He is survived by his wife, the former Lucy Kinghorne McCallum;
son, Paul ’63 and his wife, Ruth; daughter, Linda, ’67
Barnard, and her husband, John W. French; and two granddaughters,
Anda French, Barnard ’02, and Jenny French.
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1936
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Donald K. Beckley, retired marketing expert, Hollywood,
Fla., on December 8, 2001. Beckley was born in Washington, D.C.,
on March 27, 1916. After graduating from the College, he received
a master’s from the Business School in 1937 and a Ph.D. from
the University of Chicago in 1948. Beckley worked in department
stores for several years after graduation, then became an instructor
of retailing at the Rochester Institute of Technology from 1939–42.
He was on the staff of the U.S. Armed Forces Institute at the University
of Chicago for the next year, followed by a year as a teacher of
naval flight preparation at Monmouth (Ill.) College. Beckley served
with the U.S. Army Air Force from 1944–45. He was a professor
of retailing and director of the Prince School of Retailing at Simmons
College in Boston from 1946–58. He then was the executive director
of the Boston Center for Adult Education for the next four years,
and later the director of development operations and donor relations
for NYU from 1962–68. Beckley was a consultant for Franzreb
and Pray Associates from 1968–75 and development coordinator
for the American Museum of Natural History for a year after that.
From 1977-81, he was coordinator of the New York State Commission
of National Health Agencies for Federal Campaigns. Beckley co-authored
several publications on merchandising. Beckley’s stepson, Jeffrey
Sussman, wrote CCT that Beckley will be missed for “his uproarious,
delighted, body-shaking laughter; his sunny disposition; his piercing
intelligence; his love of music; and the love he shared with my
mother.” Beckley’s first marriage, to Eugenie Smith, ended
in divorce. Flora Mack, who he married in 1980, died in 1999. Beckley
is survived by his stepson and his stepson’s wife, Barbara
Ramsay Sussman.
Seymour J. Sindeband, engineer and inventor, Pound Ridge,
N.Y., on February 1, 2002. Born April 20, 1916, in New York City,
Sindeband also received a B.S. in 1937 and an M.A. in electrical
engineering in 1938 from the Engineering School. He received the
1996 John Jay Award for Distinguished Professional Achievements
from the College and the 1989 Egleston Medal for Distinguished Engineering
Achievement from SEAS. Sindeband served in the Navy from 1940–46
and the Naval Reserves from 1946–55, achieving the rank of
commander. His professional accomplishments include work as an engineer,
inventor and facilitator of research and development in computers.
Sindeband developed the early telephone reservation systems for
American Airlines, TWA and United Airlines. He pioneered real-time
commercial use of computers and related communications equipment,
exploiting the use of the magnetic disk and envisioning novel engineering
and commercial potential; designed computer systems for railroads,
banks and hotels; and developed early computer systems for the American
Stock Exchange that used stored vocabulary to synthesize voice responses.
He was a leader in the development of sonic digitizers with many
applications in medicine, motion studies and robotics. Sindeband
held three patents with the Navy for inventions involving magnetic
mines and magnetic acoustic depth charges as well as nine patents
for inventions and developments in metallurgy involving high-temperature
materials and corrosion and wear-resistant parts. He was technical
director for American Electro Metal Corp.; president of Mercast
Corp. and Alloy Precision Casting; president of Teleregister Corp.;
vice president of C.I.T. Financial; president of Kensington Equities;
and president/chairman of Science Accessories Corp. Active in his
community, Sindeband was a founder of Bedford Central School District
#2 and later became president of the school board. He also served
on the Advisory Council of the Engineering School. His interests
and hobbies focused on politics and history; classic cars; collecting
autographs of scientists and inventors; collecting antiques, artifacts,
maps, currency and art; humor and public speaking; beekeeping; bird
watching; gardening; travel; theater; and the arts. According to
a remembrance sent to CCT by his son, Markham ’64, “All
who knew him found him to be a passionate, inspiring and remarkable
person of great loyalty, patriotism, humor and intellect. His vitality
lay in his capacity to remain interested in all that the world had
to offer. His family and friends’ hearts are filled with infinite
pride and all whose paths crossed with his feel privileged to have
known this great man.” Sindeband married Elizabeth Bennett
in 1939; she predeceased him. He is survived by his brother, Allan;
son, Markham ’64 and his wife; daughter, Carolyn S. Ricker;
eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
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1937
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Vincent P. Cieri, teacher, developer and consultant, Little
Silver, N.J., on February 20, 2001. A native of Union City, N.J.,
Cieri was a pioneer in the development of computer-assisted instruction
for the U.S. Army. He received master’s and doctorate degrees
in education from Teachers College in 1947 and 1955, respectively.
During World War II, Cieri served from 1941–43 in the U.S.
Army Signal Corps at Fort Monmouth, N.J., and the Pentagon, reaching
the rank of captain. He taught at Emerson High School, Union City,
from 1938–42, and was director of research and measurement
for the Union City schools from 1946–58. As chief of testing
and evaluation for the Signal Corps at Fort Monmouth in the 1950s,
Cieri was instrumental in the development of computer-assisted instruction
for the Army. He was later the Signal School’s education adviser,
from 1970–76, and chief of the training development office
for CORADCOM at Fort Monmouth from 1976–79. Upon retirement
from civil service, Cieri served as a consultant to Bell Labs, Data
Communication, New York Institute of Technology, Florida State University,
GTE Sylvania, Norden Systems/United Technologies, System Development
Corporation/Burroughs and Tech Dyn Systems, among others. He was
an adjunct faculty member in psychology at Monmouth’s Graduate
School of Education from 1956–70. He also taught at Brookdale
Community College. Cieri authored several technical papers and was
a panelist at numerous seminars on training technology, including
the NATO Advanced Study Institute in Greenwich, England. He received
many awards, including the Army Meritorious Civilian Service Award
in 1970 and 1979. He was a member of the American Educational Research
Association, the National Association of Retired Federal Employees,
Phi Delta Kappa and American Legion Post #1000, Trenton, N.J. He
is survived by his wife, Marie Corse Cieri; daughter, Nina, and
son-in-law, Harmon Willey; daughter, Marie E. Cieri; and grandchildren,
Allison Willey and Todd Willey.
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1939
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Ralph C. Staiger, retired professor and reading professional,
Newark, Del., on January 7, 2002. Born September 10, 1917, in New
York City, Staiger earned a master’s from Teachers College
in 1942 and was awarded his doctorate in the psychology of reading
by Temple University in 1952. He was executive director emeritus
of the International Reading Association (IRA), serving that professional
society from 1962–84. Its professional library is named in
his honor. He also was adjunct professor of education at the University
of Delaware until his retirement in 1984 and served as chairman
of the University of Delaware Association of Retired Faculty. Beginning
his education career as a teacher in Quinwood, W. Va., Staiger later
took assignments as supervising principal in Portland, Pa., and
reading consultant for the Utica, N.Y., school system. At the University
of Southern Mississippi, he was professor of psychology and director
of the school’s reading clinic. He also taught in summer programs
at Cornell, Rutgers and Syracuse, as well as in the U.S. Indian
Service. During Staiger’s tenure as chief administrative officer
of the IRA, the association grew from 12,000 to 80,000 members.
Staiger initiated the IRA’s Literacy Award, presented annually
by UNESCO to honor meritorious work in promoting literacy internationally.
Staiger served as consultant to the U.S. Department of Education,
was a member of the executive committee of the U.S. National Commission
for UNESCO and served on the advisory committee of the Library of
Congress Center for the Book. He received numerous reading-related
awards and commendations and was elected to the Reading Hall of
Fame in 1980. He also served as the organization’s president.
He was active in several other reading organizations. After his
retirement from the IRA, Staiger was elected president of the United
States Board on Books for Young People. He authored more than 80
publications on reading, including Roads to Reading, which
has been translated into six languages. Staiger was his class’s
CCT correspondent (1998–2002) and treasurer. He is survived
by his wife of 56 years, Marian Carpenter Staiger; son, Charles,
and daughter-in-law, Marsha; daughter, Joan; three granddaughters;
and a goddaughter.
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1943
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James J. Lennon, Haddonfield, N.J., independent business
problem analyst, on February 17, 2002. Lennon was born on May 7,
1921, in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., and attended parochial schools in Dobbs
Ferry and Hastings-on-Hudson. After graduating from high school
at 15, he worked for two years for the Yokohama Specie Bank in New
York. At the College, he won a $750 scholarship and worked multiple
jobs on- and off-campus, graduating with a degree in international
relations. He was president of the student advisory board and a
member of the Nacoms and Van Amringe honorary societies, and won
his classmates’ vote as Most Likely to Succeed. Lennon served
as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in the Mediterranean and Pacific
during World War II. From war’s end through the 1970s, he worked
for RCA in the United States and Canada as a manager of sales, distribution
and marketing. In the late 1970s, he left RCA to found his own management
advisory firm, the Lennon System, which worked with private and
not-for-profit clients throughout the Delaware Valley. Lennon was
active in the Haddonfield Democratic Club, Haddonfield Rotary and
the Columbia Alumni Club of Philadelphia. He spearheaded and was
chairman emeritus of the Columbia War Remembrance, an alumni group
organizing an on-campus memorial dedicated to the memory of Columbia
alumni who died in service to America from the Revolution to the
present. In a letter to CCT, his son, Mark, wrote that Lennon
“was eternally grateful for the opportunities that Columbia
provided for him. It’s fair to say that his time and accomplishments
at Columbia were among his happiest. The good relationships and
friendships he forged and maintained through his association with
Columbia have been among the most important of his recent life.”
Lennon is survived by his wife of 55 years, Patricia Willett Lennon;
brother, Joseph; son, Mark; grandsons, Emerson and Edgar Lennon;
and adopted grandson, Steven Hardgrove.
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1948
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William A. Vessie M.D., physician, Kalispell, Mont., on
December 1, 2001. Born in New York City on November 20, 1922, Vessie
attended school in Greenwich, Conn., and graduated from Hackley
Prep School in Tarrytown, N.Y., in 1941. He attended Dartmouth for
a year, then enlisted with the Marine Corps in December 1942. After
the war, he returned to New York, completed his education at the
College and received his M.D. from P&S in 1954. He did his residency,
internship and fellowship in the urology department at Roosevelt
Hospital in New York. Prior to an accident in 1964 that left him
quadriplegic, Vessie was a world-class athlete, holding international
high jump records that were unbroken for 30 years. Vessie later
moved to Montana, which he had vowed to do after seeing the area
during the war while he was in charge of transferring troops from
Chicago to San Francisco. He practiced in Kalispell, Mont., until
1983, and then accepted a position as a prison physician in Deer
Lodge with the Montana Department of Institutions until his retirement
in 1990. His interests included fly-fishing, fly-tying, calf-roping
(he became one of the world’s 10 best rodeo ropers), race horses,
falconry and dogs. He then returned to Kalispell. Vessie is survived
by his wife, Donna; sons, Joel, Thomas and Timothy; stepchildren,
Dixie, Lance, Lisa, Julie and Brenda; and numerous grandchildren
and great-grandchildren.
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1952
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Robert N. Landes, retired executive vice president and general
counsel, Naples, Fla., on January 25, 2002. Landes earned a degree
from the Law School in 1954, where he was editor of the Columbia
Law Review and a Harlan Fisk Stone Scholar. From 1954–57, he
served as a lieutenant junior grade in the Navy. From 1957–61,
Landes was an associate with Shearman & Sterling. He then moved
to U.S. Industries, where in 1970 he was named vice president and
general counsel of U.S.I. Apparel, a subsidiary. In 1974, he joined
McGraw-Hill, where he handled first amendment cases, negotiated
acquisitions and divestitures and defended McGraw-Hill against a
hostile takeover in 1979. He retired from the company in 1996. Landes
was on the board of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
Under the Law and a member of the New York City Bar Association.
He chaired the Lawyers’ Committee of the Association of American
Publishers as well as the legal affairs committee of the Magazine
Publishers Association, and wrote articles for the New York Law
Journal. Landes served on the Board of Directors for the Society
of Columbia Graduates and was treasurer of the Law School Alumni
Association. He lectured at the Law School during 1996. Landes is
survived by his wife, Phyllis Markman Landes; son, Jeffrey; daughters,
Lucy Harrop and Kathy Braddock; daughter-in-law, Andrea Landes;
son-in-law, Mark Harrop; and three grandchildren.
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1961
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James F. Dana M.D., physician, Nesconset, N.Y., on December
28, 2001. Dana attended the Hill School on a Dupont Scholarship
and the College on an academic scholarship. While in prep school
he won the American Legion Oratorical Championship for Pennsylvania,
and while at the College he won the trophy in original oratory in
the Irish feis, a cultural festival that was held at Fordham. While
at the College, he ran track and rowed crew on the lightweight team.
He attended New York Medical College, and after becoming a physician
served as a commander in the U.S. Public Health Service. He later
served as deputy coroner and narcotics examiner of Suffolk County.
Dana taught many physical therapists at Touro College, where an
academic chair was endowed in his name. He also served as a forensic
specialist in legal trials. At the time of his death, Dana was a
practicing physician of physical rehabilitative medicine. He is
survived by his wife, Alice; son, James; daughters, Ali Nicole and
Melissa; and brother, Thomas ’58.
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