May/June 2010

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1929

Richard "Dick" Silberstein '29Richard “Dick” Silberstein, retired radio engineer, Boulder, Colo., on November 30, 2009. Silberstein was born in New York City on September 18, 1906. He first became fascinated with radio when at 9 he saw equipment on a coastal steamship. Silberstein earned two degrees in 1930 from the Engineering School, including a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. When the Great Depression began, he returned to New York and took various jobs in the radio industry, eventually going into business manufacturing radio coils and then marine radio telephones. With the United States about to enter WWII, he joined the Radio Section of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in Washington, D.C., and provided HF radio propagation forecasts and predictions. At night, Silberstein taught courses in electromagnetic theory and communications laboratory at The George Washington University. After WWII, he performed and administered HF propagation experiments for NBS in Washington, D.C., and later Boulder, Colo. During the last six years of his career, Silberstein did similar work for the U.S. Army Radio Propagation Agency at Ft. Monmouth, N.J. At the end of 1966, he retired and returned to Boulder.

1932

Gene F. Kuster, attorney and CPA, Slingerlands, N.Y., on September 20, 2008. Born on February 26, 1910, in New York City, Kuster grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. He earned a degree in 1933 from the Business School and a law degree from Fordham. Kuster was admitted to the New York bar and also was a CPA in New York. For 35 years, he worked for Muir & Co., retiring as v.p. in 1975. Kuster was active in volunteer work throughout his life. He sang in the choirs of each church he attended, as well as with the Columbia Glee Club. He also played French horn in the Columbia band. During retirement, Kuster and his wife of 68 years, Edna (née Iverson), went to more than 50 Elderhostel programs in the United States, Canada and England and took many trips on their own to Europe, including the Mediterranean and Scandinavia. Kuster also loved playing golf. He is survived by his wife; son, Gordon, and daughter-in-law, Sandi; daughter Carole and son-in-law, James Wortley; daughter Joan and son-in-law, Mark Weintraub; two grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to Columbia University Athletics, PO Box 1523, New York, NY 10277-1937.

1937

George E. Saffa, teacher and school administrator, Green Valley, Ariz., on September 8, 2009. Raised in rural western Pennsylvania, Saffa played football at Columbia and eventually earned a Ph.D. at Teachers College. Saffa and his wife, Ruth (née Lulken), resided in New Jersey, where he had a long career in high school education and administration. Retiring in the early 1970s, the couple traveled a bit and moved to Arizona, settling in Green Valley for the last 35 years. They were active in the Southern Arizona AARP “55 Alive” driving program, and Saffa enjoyed developing the college scholarship program for the local Elks chapter. In recent years, he was still striving to perfect his golf game. Saffa was predeceased by his wife in 2005 and is survived by a son, Robert, and his wife, Joan; and three grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to any humanitarian purpose.

1938

Richard L. Hammel, accountant, Laurel, N.Y., on August 9, 2009. Hammel was born in Woodhaven, Queens, on April 27, 1917. His family moved to St. Louis when he was 5 and returned East in 1928. His parents purchased property in Laurel in November 1930 and built a summer cottage. They lived there year-round beginning in 1938. After graduating from Columbia, Hammel served in the Army during WWII. He later worked in accounting for a ladies’ shoe factory in Norwalk, Conn., for Long Island Ice and Fuel Corp. in Riverhead and for the Otis Ford auto dealership in Quogue. Hammel was a trustee of Laurel Cemetery for three years, trustee and president of the Laurel school board for 10 years and a member of the Mattituck Rod and Gun Club for many years. He is survived by his sister, Bernice Duke; and cousins, Roy W. Fuchs and Edward Hammil.

1939

Clark I. Fellers, facilities director, Vero Beach, Fla., on October 27, 2009. Fellers was born on October 15, 1917, in Warren, Pa. He earned a B.S. and a Ph.D., both in mechanical engineering, in 1940 and 1941, respectively, from the Engineering School, and an M.B.A. from the University of Rochester. Fellers was an executive at Eastman Kodak of Rochester, N.Y., for his entire business career. He is survived by a son, Gary; daughter, Gail Fellers Milliman; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Fellers was predeceased by his wife, Sylvia.

1940

Gordon T. Wallis, retired executive, Chicago, on October 23, 2008. Wallis was born in Salt Lake City on August 15, 1919. While at Columbia, he was captain of the fencing team and president of his fraternity. Wallis joined the Irving Trust Co. in 1940, where he rose to become chairman of the board and CEO in 1970. He held the latter position until his retirement in 1983. During that time, Wallis was a member of the boards of Sterling Drug, NYU, J. Walter Thompson, FW Woolworth and GTE. In 1975, he chaired the steering committee of major New York banks, which played a significant role in the solution to New York City’s financial problems during that period. Wallis married Jean Merrill in 1946; she predeceased him in 2006. He is survived by his daughters, Judith W. Fenton, and her husband, Clifton ’70 Business, and Deborah Rei; and six grandchildren.

1942

Theodore S. Furman, retired aerospace executive, Saratoga, Calif., on October 29, 2009. Furman was born on July 23, 1922, in New York City and lived in East Orange, N.J., throughout his school years. He earned a degree in 1947 from the Law School after serving in the Army for four years during WWII. Furman was a Master Gunner, responsible for broadcasting early warning signals to ground troops in France, Germany and Luxembourg. After law school, he relocated to San Diego, where he met and married his wife, Gerry. They moved to the Bay Area in 1955, where Furman spent 40 years in aerospace, working for Lockheed, Ford Aerospace and Loral. He retired at 82. Furman was an avid sports enthusiast, attending his first baseball game at Yankee Stadium on his 10th birthday and watching Babe Ruth play, and was a Yankees fan to the end. He coached several Little League and Senior League teams in Sunnyvale and Saratoga. Furman served on the Zoning Board and Planning Commission in Sunnyvale. He is survived by his wife of 57 years; and daughters, Teri Howes, and Sue.

Allan L. Goulding Jr., physician, Billings, Mont., on September 8, 2009. Goulding was born in Cambridge, Ohio, on November 29, 1920. A graduate of Weill Cornell Medical College, his residency training was done in New York City. Goulding married Natalie C. Sundberg in 1944, and the family moved to Billings, Mont., following his residency training so he could join The Billings Clinic. Goulding established the first isotope laboratory in Montana in the Deaconess Hospital prior to being recalled by the Navy for two years. His specialty was internal medicine and his main interest at the time of retirement was geriatrics. Goulding was on the board of The Billings Symphony, was an elder of The Presbyterian Church and served on the Presbyterian Church Foundation Board. Other interests were birding, fishing, reading, music, gardening and travel. Goulding is survived by his wife; daughter, Christine Dryden, and her husband, Gerald; sons Allan and his wife, Kathy, and Jeffrey and his wife, Georgann; stepson, Jeffrey Betters; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice or to the Nature Conservancy, Billings Clinic Foundation or First Congregational Church Foundation.

1943

Gordon K. “Bill” Billipp, retired salesman, sales manager and business owner, Peterborough, N.H., on June 28, 2009. Billipp was born in Port Chester, N.Y., April 28, 1922. A WWII veteran, he joined the Naval Reserve and after graduating with a B.A. in business administration was commissioned as a Navy ensign. In May 1944, Billipp married Elizabeth A. Whitesell and in June shipped out to the Pacific Theater aboard the destroyer escort USS Howard F. Clark. After the war, Billipp joined Armstrong Cork’s industrial division. For 25 years, he and his family moved all over the country. In 1969, Billipp resigned from Armstrong Cork to move his family to Peterborough, and he bought Wilton Pressed Metals. Billipp was a longtime member of the Monadnock Indoor Tennis Club, the Monadnock Country Club and the Peterborough Rotary Club. Survivors include his wife of 65 years; sons, J. Andrew, James and Peter; daughters-in-law, Susan, Diana and Karen; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Billipp was predeceased by his oldest son, Norman, who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1969. Memorial contributions may be made to the Mayhew Program, PO Box 120, Bristol NH 03222.

1944

Clement C. Curd Jr., retired general and thoracic surgeon, Lenox, Mass., on August 28, 2009. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 20, 1924, Curd earned a degree in 1946 from P&S. He served in the Navy and then worked for the former Pittsfield General Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital. Continuing with their merger as Berkshire Medical Center, he retired in 1992 after 36 years of practice. Following retirement, Curd worked in the surgical department at the Albany Veterans Administration Hospital. He had been chief of staff of Berkshire Medical Center, chief of staff of the former St. Luke’s Hospital, a trustee of Berkshire Medical Center and president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Surgeons. Curd also was an associate professor of surgery at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is survived by his wife, the former Patricia McInerney; daughters, Kathleen Walsh and her husband, William, Patricia Sudek and her husband, Thomas, Marianne Oliva and her husband, Samuel, Madeline Phelps and her husband, David, Rosemary Kirk and her husband, Brian, and Joanne Murphy and her husband, John; son-in-law, James Enos; sister, Mary Dunnigan; and 18 grandchildren. Curd was predeceased by a daughter, Cecilia Enos, and a brother, Eugene.

1945

Jay J. Pack, financial v.p., New York City, on July 31, 2009. A native New Yorker, Pack attended Horace Mann School for Boys and majored in English and economics at the College. He trained as a stockbroker at Francis I. DuPont & Co. and retired in spring 2009 from Burnham Securities, where he was a v.p. He also held the position of president of the Chelsea Block Association. Pack wrote several books, including How To Talk to a Broker; authored numerous magazine articles on stocks, bonds and investing; and was a correspondent for TravelSmart, a monthly publication. He is survived by his children from his first marriage, to Sheila Pack: Jeffrey, and Barbara Ann Wisott; three grandchildren; his wife, Nancy Dunnan; and sister, Ethel Schneider. Memorial contributions may be made to NYU Medical Center, Office of Planned Giving, One Park Ave., 17th Fl., New York, NY 10016.

Harold Samelson, research scientist, Berkeley Heights, N.J., on September 15, 2009. Samelson was born in Manhattan on June 23, 1923, and raised in the Bronx. He was a Pulitzer Scholar at the College, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and received a B.A. in 1947. Samelson earned an M.A. and a Ph.D., both in chemistry, in 1948 and 1952, respectively, from GSAS. He spent most of his career as a research scientist in the field of optics, working on the science underlying lasers and television. Samelson was awarded several patents in these areas. He worked for several companies, including Bell Labs, Allied Signal, Arco Solar and GTE Sylvania, and served on several presidential commissions involving the export of technology. He was a professor of physics at the University of Lowell in Massachusetts. Samelson delayed his studies from 1942–46 to serve in the Army Signal Corps and was sent to the European Theater during WWII. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Bernice Slaff; daughter, Elizabeth Cuthill; son, Matthew ’85; and four grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the Columbia College Fund, Columbia Alumni Center, 622 W. 113th St., 3rd Fl. MC 4530, New York, NY 10025, or www.college.columbia.edu/giveonline.

1947

Peter F. Brescia ’47 Peter F. Brescia, retired diplomat, Alexandria, Va., on January 17, 2010. Brescia was born in Solofra, Italy, on April 14, 1923, and educated in New York City public schools. He served in the Navy from 1943–46, participating in the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach as Radioman Second Class aboard the USS PC-568 as part of the 12th Fleet. Brescia was awarded the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one star and the WWII Victory Medal. He earned a degree in 1950 from SIPA, began his career as a diplomat with the State Department and in 1953 joined the United States Information Agency (USIA). A graduate of the National War College, Brescia received the USIA Meritorious Honor Award. Following his 1980 retirement, he traveled extensively with his wife of 62 years, Mary, and enjoyed swimming, tennis, squash and reading about history. Brescia is survived by his wife; sons, Peter and his former wife, Lorraine, Christopher and his wife, Carol, and Andrew and his wife, Dawn; daughter, Regina M. Holleb and her husband, David; nine grandchildren; five nieces and nephews; and brother, Roland, and his wife, Mary. Memorial contributions may be made to Barakat, 552 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139.

Paul J. Mishkin, attorney and professor, Berkeley, Calif., on June 26, 2009. Born in Trenton, N.J., to Polish immigrants, Mishkin earned a B.A. from the College and a J.D. in 1950 from the Law School. He was on President Gerald Ford’s short list of Supreme Court candidate appointments and served as special counsel alongside Archibald Cox and Jack Owens arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court for the Regents of the University of California in the 1978 Bakke case. Mishkin joined the UC Berkeley, Boalt, faculty in 1973 after teaching at the Penn Law School for 22 years. He was a visiting professor at Colorado, Duke, Michigan and Texas Law Schools, as well as at Haverford College. Mishkin was on the faculty of the Salzburg Seminar in American Studies and was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and at Wolfson College, Cambridge University. He also served on the U.S. permanent committee for the Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise. Mishkin was predeceased by his wife of 28 years, Milli, and is survived by a son, Jonathan Westover.

1948

Kenneth J. Sabella, retired business executive, Bloomfield, Conn., on September 24, 2009. Born on June 6, 1926, in Brooklyn, N.Y., Sabella served in the Navy, stationed in the South Pacific, during WWII. After the war, he earned a B.A. from the College and a B.S. from Cornell. Sabella became a successful businessman, working as partner and CEO of Eastern Food Services. He enjoyed skiing, tennis, boating and especially golf. During his retirement, he served as a Eucharistic Minister at The Church of St. Timothy, served the elderly with the Meals on Wheels program and tutored inner-city youths. Sabella is survived by his wife of 61 years, Marjorie; and children and their spouses, Kenneth and Valerie Sabella, Brien and Linda Sabella, Casey and Patricia Sabella, Kerry and Sheila Sabella, and Ben and Molly Kate (Sabella) Mosher; 25 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

1949

Alvin M. White, professor emeritus, Claremont, Calif., on June 2, 2009. Born in New York in 1925, White was a Navy radio technician aboard a ship during WWII. After the Battle of Okinawa, he was sent to Officers Training at Columbia. He then obtained a master’s from UCLA and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Stanford in 1961. In 1962, White moved to Claremont and joined the faculty at Harvey Mudd College, where he taught for more than 35 years. He was an active participant in the life of the colleges and town, frequently mentoring students from Harvey Mudd and other colleges and serving several terms as president of the Claremont chapter of Sigma Xi and of the local chapter of the American Association of University Professors as well as one term as co-president of the Faculty Senate. White helped create the joint chaplaincy at the colleges. He spent the majority of his career exploring, discussing and writing about creative, innovative and humanistic approaches to teaching and learning. White is survived by his wife of 62 years, Myra; sons and daughters-in-law, Louis and his wife, Susan Miller, and Michael and his wife, Auneea; brother, Wallace; sister-in-law, Shirley; and two grandchildren.

1950

Paul McCoy, businessman, Dunedin, Fla., on October 27, 2009. McCoy was born on January 28, 1928, in Ventnor City, N.J. He graduated from the College with honors and earned a degree in 1952 from the Business School. McCoy moved to Dunedin in 1971. He was a member and commodore of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, an FSU Golden Chief and an avid football fan. He also enjoyed boating and fishing. McCoy was a businessman in Dunedin for 30 years and a pioneer in the agricultural field, developing carboxylate technology. He was predeceased by his wife, Tue, and is survived by his sons, Paul and John; daughter, Nancy Hamilton; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

1952

Donald J. Engel, retired controller, Hopewell, N.J., on September 11, 2009. Born in Pelham, N.Y., Engel lived in New Brunswick, N.J., before moving to Hopewell 41 years ago. He was a controller for Suburban Transit in New Brunswick for 40 years, retiring in 1992. Engel was a member and past president of Branford Electric Railway Association, operating as the Shoreline Trolley Museum, in East Haven, Conn., and a member of the Electric Railroaders Association of NYC. He is survived by many friends and associates in the transportation industry. Engel was predeceased by a sister, Janet Walker. Memorial contributions may be made to Branford Electric Railway Association, 17 River St., East Haven, CT 06512.

1958

William G. Covey, physician, Easton, Conn., on May 28, 2009. Covey was born in New York City and earned a degree in 1962 from P&S. He was a member of the Glee Club at Columbia and sang with the Blue Notes. Covey served as a captain in the Army during the Vietnam War as a physician and was in private practice as a hematologist in Stratford, Conn., for 36 years. He was the medical director at the Jewish Home for the Elderly in Fairfield for the past four years. Covey was dedicated to his field and loved travel, opera, learning to speak Italian and spending time with his large family. He is survived by his wife, Bonnie Meller Covey; children, Anne, David and his wife, Robin, Aaron and his wife, Cinthia, Michael and his wife, Alec, and Laura; and seven grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to The William Grayson Covey, MD Memorial Fund c/o The Jewish Home for the Elderly of Fairfield.

1962

Conrad M. Sherman, stockbroker, Howell, N.J., on September 24, 2009. Born in Brooklyn, Sherman lived in Marlboro, N.J., for 20 years, before moving to Howell nine years ago. At the College, he was an economics major and wrote for Spectator. Sherman earned a J.D. from Penn and served in the Coast Guard. He was a first responder at Seabrook Village in Tinton Falls. He also coached and was an umpire for the Marlboro Little League for more than 10 years. Sherman is survived by his wife, Ingrid (née Chait); sons, Blake, and Tyler and his wife, Catherine; brother, Julius; three nieces; and a nephew.

1965

Roger V. Wetherington Jr., journalism professor, Jamaica, N.Y., on July 25, 2009. After working as a reporter and editor at the New York Daily News, Wetherington began his teaching career in California at Long Beach State University, earning his mass communications/journalism Ph.D. at the University of Southern California. He was a journalism professor at St. John’s University in Queens. Wetherington taught additional classes on Staten Island and spent a year in Kazakhstan teaching on a Fulbright Scholar fellowship. He also was a part-time editor on the weekends at The New York Times. Wetherington is survived by his wife, Andra Miller; son, Brady; sister, Janice Evans; and cousin, Ora Katherine Smith.

1967

John A. Shayner, college v.p., Hackettstown, N.J., on September 23, 2009. Shayner was born in Ipswitch, England, on August 27, 1945, and spent his childhood in Hazlet, N.J. He earned a Ph.D. from Stanford and held numerous titles during his 30 years at Centenary College: v.p. for global initiatives, v.p. of administration, director of international programs, acting president, professor of English and executive assistant to the president. Perhaps his greatest contribution to the college was in the creation of International Programs in 1992. Shayner is survived by a brother, Nigel; and his companion, Jadwiga (Spodaryk) Lon. Memorial donations may be made to the Dr. John A. Shayner Scholarship Fund, c/o Centenary College, 400 Jefferson St., Hackettstown, NJ 07840 or the National Cancer Research Center.

1968

Michael S. Lipari, business executive, Oneonta, N.Y., on August 9, 2009. Lipari was born on October 30, 1946, in Baltimore. He was the president of Empire Abstract of Oneonta and was a member of the Oneonta Lions Club. Lipari is survived by his partner, Cheryl Carter; children, Robert, Joseph and Katherine, and their mother, Cynthia Lipari; sister, Louisa (Martin) Berger ’66 Barnard; sister-in-law, Bobbie Harlem; and a number of nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a brother, Joseph. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lions Club of Oneonta, PO Box 575, Oneonta, NY 13820.

1977

Bruce W. Flannery, director of development and marketing, activist, Exton, Pa., on August 14, 2009. Flannery grew up on Long Island and earned a degree in political philosophy from the College. His early career was as a copywriter, copy reader, and marketing and public relations consultant in New York and Philadelphia. His latter career was with organizations devoted to helping people in need. Most recently, Flannery was director of fund development and marketing for the Maternity Care Coalition. He was a founding member and president of the Pennsylvania Coalition of AIDS Service Organizations. Gov. Tom Ridge named him to the Inter-Governmental Council on Long-Term Care, and Gov. Ed Rendell appointed him to the Department of Health Transition Team. He also was named to the state’s HIV Planning Council, which he served as co-chairman of for six years. Flannery was a technical adviser on the 1993 film Philadelphia. He created a consulting practice assisting nonprofits in fundraising, grant writing and creating public-awareness campaigns and was director of development for Calcutta House. Flannery was interested in historic preservation and served as chairman of the West Whiteland Historical Commissions. He is survived by his partner, Otto Perrone.

1986

Marshall B. Wright, finance executive, Williamsburg, Va., on September 10, 2009. Wright was a native of Williamsburg. After graduating from the College, he worked with the private banking division of the Bank of New York, continuing his career as a v.p. with JP Morgan Chase in New York. He returned to Williamsburg 4½ years ago. Wright was an avid reader and an animal advocate. He is survived by his parents, Margaret and George; sister, Sherwood Wright Crawford; brothers, Wayne and Andrew; and several nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions be made to the Heritage Humane Society or the Williamsburg Public Library.

Lisa Palladino

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