June 2023

The University recently learned of the passing of these Cornellians

Editor’s note: Please submit notification of alumni deaths—including an obituary, if possible—to the University at cubio-deceased@cornell.edu. Once the University records an alumni death in its database, the relevant information is forwarded to Cornellians for inclusion in a future In Memoriam section.

1940s

’43—Vera Welker Kennard of Fairview Park, OH, May 27, 2021; nurse, Bradley Road Nursing Home in Bay Village, and St. Vincent Charity Hospital employee health clinic in Cleveland; homemaker; PEO and Scout leader and Meals on Wheels volunteer; enjoyed international travel, hiking, missionary work, choral singing, and discussion groups; active in community, religious, and alumni affairs.

’46 BS HE—Mary Morris Kelsey of Ithaca, NY, formerly of Dryden, NY, March 6, 2023; homemaker; accomplished photographer; Scout leader; community volunteer; enjoyed the outdoors, gardening, long walks, and cooking; active in alumni affairs. Delta Gamma.

’46, BS HE ’47—Janet Elwin Starr of Hanover, PA, formerly of Fayetteville, NY, March 22, 2023; pioneer in the development of home healthcare; executive director, Home Care Association of New York State, working to improve availability, quality, and financing of home healthcare services; founder, Genesee County Homemaker Service and head of the Homemaker-Home Health Aide Association of NYS and the Coalition for Home Health Services in NYS; Scout leader; member, Planned Parenthood governing board and the local school board; avid gardener; active in alumni affairs.

’47 BA—Sonya “Sunny” Ries Rothenberg of New Rochelle, NY, October 30, 2022; avid golfer and bridge player; enjoyed ballroom dancing; active in community and alumni affairs. Alpha Epsilon Phi.

’47 BS HE—Lenore “Lee” Krasnow Sanders of Easton, MD, October 15, 2022; homemaker; studied nutrition; enjoyed international travel, boating, crabbing, and entertaining; active in community affairs.

’47 BA—Barbara Pond Shepard of Phoenix, AZ, June 2018; active in alumni affairs. Kappa Alpha Theta.

’48 BS CALS—Calvin R. Sanders of Easton, MD, March 22, 2023; U.S. Circuit Court Judge in the State of Maryland; professor, Washington College of Law; attorney in private practice; veteran; enjoyed international travel, boating, crabbing, and making wine and beer.


1950s

’50 BS CALS—Robert V. Call Jr. of Oakfield, NY, April 15, 2023; co-owner and partner, My-T Acres Inc. and Call Farms Inc., the family farm businesses; co-owner Batavia Farm Equipment, an International Harvester tractor dealership; and co-owner, Genesee Farms Dairy Store; veteran; founder, NYS Vegetable Research Committee for Processing Vegetables, Cornell University; expert in rural land utilization and original member, Governor’s Commission on Preservation of Agricultural Lands; president, Pro-Fac Cooperative, helping in the acquisition of the Birdseye Foods business and the formation of Agrilink Inc.; recipient of several university and state honors and awards; life member, Cornell University Council; licensed pilot and avid flyer; enjoyed international travel, choral singing, and hosting exchange students; active in community, professional, religious, and alumni affairs. Alpha Zeta.

’50 PhD—Katherine Fischer Drew of Houston, TX, March 19, 2023; professor of history and the first woman faculty member, Rice University; editor, “Rice University Studies” pamphlets; chair, Department of History; acting chair, Department of Art and Art History; acting dean, Humanities and Social Science; recipient of numerous teaching awards, grants, residencies, and fellowships; editor or author of several books on historical laws and social institutions.

’50—Dolf L. Goldsmith of San Antonio, TX, March 10, 2023; worked in oil and gas exploration ventures; consultant to police departments on firearms and their acquisition as props for Hollywood movies; also worked in the import-export business in San Francisco, Singapore, and Hong Kong; served in the Hong Kong Auxiliary Marine Police during the Cultural Revolution; veteran; gun and rifle enthusiast, competitor, historian, trainer, and author; enjoyed international and cross-country travel, summers on Lake George, camping, catching frogs, and studying Chinese history and Cantonese.

’50 BS HE—Adele Hoffstein Potter of Lexington, KY, formerly of Ithaca, NY, February 10, 2023; teacher, NYS Pre-Kindergarten Program; substitute teacher, Ithaca and Stamford (CT) school systems; nursing home and Service League volunteer; conservationist; enjoyed international travel, opera, and the family cabin on Cayuga Lake; active in community, humanitarian, religious, and alumni affairs.

’50 BS CALS—Norman N. Potter of Lexington, KY, formerly of Ithaca, NY, March 6, 2023; award-winning professor emeritus of food science, Cornell University; researched the effects of processing on microbial safety, the functional and nutritional properties of foods, and the preservation of foods for developing regions; visiting scientist and curriculum developer, University of Puerto Rico; consultant and program planner, FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition; visiting professor, University of Reading, England; textbook author; veteran; avid reader and amateur artist; enjoyed international travel, the outdoors, classic movies, fishing, and playing the harmonica; active in professional and alumni affairs.

’51 BS HE—H. Jean Anderson of Chapel Hill, NC, formerly of New York City, January 24, 2023; editor, journalist, and award-winning author; food columnist for New York Newsday and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate; chief consulting editor, Reader’s Digest cookbooks; contributing editor, Family Circle and Diversion magazines; managing editor, Ladies’ Home Journal; also wrote articles in Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Gourmet, More, Travel + Leisure, and other magazines; authority on Portugal and its food, wine, and folk art; co-chair, James Beard Journalism Awards committee, and member, James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame; active in professional and alumni affairs.

’52 BA—Joan Boffa Gaul of Pittsburgh, PA, April 11, 2023; founder, Joan Gaul Communications; assistant to the VP for government affairs, American Broadcasting Company; also taught courses on the history of stained glass in Pittsburgh; contributing editor to three Pittsburgh newspapers; longtime Class of 1952 correspondent and secretary; volunteer in the Pittsburgh Public Schools; author; avid gardener; enjoyed travel, theater and symphony performances, fine food, and entertaining; active in civic, religious, and alumni affairs. Delta Gamma.

’53—William C. Duncan of Whittier, CA, December 24, 2019. Pi Kappa Alpha.

’54 BA—Stanley H. Beals of Glenview, IL, March 20, 2023; marketing and advertising professional; co-owner and managing director, Jones Lundin Beals; VP of advertising and public relations, Edward Lowe Industries; executive, Bozell & Jacobs agency; manager, Needham, Harper & Steers, where he helped develop the McDonald’s “You Deserve a Break Today” advertising campaign; veteran; enjoyed international travel, baseball, golf, music, and theater; active in community affairs. Lambda Chi Alpha.

’54 BA—Sidney Lorvan of Pacifica, CA, March 24, 2022; attorney in private practice in the areas of criminal law, probate, and estate planning.

’56 BA—Laura Treman Almquist of Tucson, AZ, March 28, 2023; advocate for the wellbeing, education, and mental health of the children of Arizona; chair of several task forces affecting children’s services; member, Tucson Unified School District governing board during the days of desegregation; treasurer on three of the political campaigns of Gabby Giffords, MRP ’97; member, New York State Welfare Board and several other academic, civic, humanitarian, and medical boards; active in religious and alumni affairs. Kappa Alpha Theta.

’56 BA—Laura Lawrence Good of Portland, OR, January 4, 2023; computer science professional; manager, software evaluation/development systems operation and university technical liaison, Intel Corp.; systems programmer analyst, Anderson Jacobson Inc., San Jose, CA; also worked at General Electric; philanthropist; Scout leader; avid collector of souvenirs and new art; enjoyed international travel, the performing arts, the Ashland Shakespeare Festival, and keeping up with global affairs and current events; active in community, educational, humanitarian, religious, and alumni affairs.

’56, BEE ’57—Eric S. Yueh of Sarasota, FL, December 6, 2022; sales and executive management professional, IBM; led, managed, and developed the expansion of IBM business interests in China; systems engineer, Bell Laboratories; competed for China in the high hurdles, 1952 Helsinki Olympics; enjoyed international travel, Hawaii, poker club, New York Giants football, and attending Wimbledon tournaments and Super Bowls; active in community affairs. Psi Upsilon.

’57 BS Hotel—Thomas M. Potter of Indian Wells, CA, formerly of Sewickley, PA, March 7, 2023; chairman, International Magnesium Association, Northwest Alloys, Alcoa Inc.; accomplished pianist, musician, painter, and sculptor; world-class fly fisherman and teacher; community volunteer; enjoyed tennis, golf, skeet, and trap; active in cultural and alumni affairs. Sigma Phi.

’58 MS, PhD ’79—Irene Wald Stein of Ithaca, NY, March 26, 2023; public servant, political activist, mentor, and advocate for social justice; director, Tompkins County Office for the Aging; evaluation consultant, Cornell Cooperative Extension; also worked at Ithaca College; chair, Tompkins County Democratic Party and the Democratic Rural Conference; Democratic National Committee member, superdelegate to two national conventions, and two-time member of the Electoral College; avid reader; enjoyed international travel, New York City theater and opera, and New York State summer festivals.

’59 BS Hotel—Peter D. Baldwin of Makawao, HI, June 30, 2022; business leader, horseman, and fifth-generation rancher; owner, Haleakala Ranch and Dairy Inc.; inductee, Paniolo Hall of Fame; philanthropist; multi-sport athlete and prize-winning polo player; founder and benefactor, Maui Youth Soccer Organization; active in community affairs. Sigma Nu.

’59 BA—Gladys Kessler of Washington, DC, March 16, 2023; U.S. District Court Judge and advocate for social justice and equality; co-founder of one of the first public interest law firms; attorney, National Labor Relations Board; legislative assistant; co-founder, Women’s Legal Defense Fund, National Association of Women Judges, and Our Place, DC; addressed the D.C. foster care system, the treatment of Guantanamo Bay detainees, and the tobacco industry; enjoyed the arts, animals, and mentoring young people.

’59 BA—Eleanor Ross Levieux of Paris, France, March 19, 2023; prolific writer and translator with a special interest in art and the culture of France; co-author of dictionaries of colloquial French and translator of books by French artists and historians; professor in the French department, University of Oregon; lecturer of English at Sciences Po, a political science institute; assistant professor, University of London Institute in Paris; editor, International Chamber of Commerce; enjoyed international travel, hiking, swim­ming, reading, music, theater, and discussions on politics and literature; active in alumni affairs.


1960s

’60, BA ’61—Jonathan E. Emerson of Farmington, CT, March 10, 2023; computer sales and management professional, IBM, Digital Equipment Corp., and Hewlett-Packard; veteran; avid sailor and boater safety teacher; enjoyed travel, skiing, following Cornell football, and practicing French; active in alumni affairs. Delta Phi.

’60 BS Hotel—Peter P. Harp of Beesley’s Point, NJ, March 10, 2023; realtor, Berger Realty; owner, Tuckahoe Inn restaurant, the family business; veteran; honorary lighthouse keeper, Hereford Inlet Lighthouse; enjoyed history, antiques, playing banjo, and flying; active in alumni affairs. Theta Chi.

’61 BA—Norman G. Knopf of Chevy Chase, MD, March 20, 2023; attorney, U.S. Department of Justice; represented governmental agencies, businesses, communities, and individuals in civil rights, antitrust, land use, and other matters; political activist and civic leader; active in community and alumni affairs.

’61, BA ’62—Jeffrey C. Sutherland of Pensacola, FL, March 5, 2023; geologist and civil engineer at several environmental consulting firms; specialized in the decontamination of groundwater; classical concert violinist, math tutor, and black belt in Taekwondo; avid reader; enjoyed competitive running, stargazing, and volunteering with the elementary school orchestra.

’62 BS HE—Barbara Kopman Gardiner of Boca Raton, FL, formerly of New York City, March 11, 2023; psychologist in private practice; licensed social worker; elementary school teacher in Harlem; co-author of several children’s books about how to deal with emotions; avid reader; enjoyed travel, classical music, and playing cards.

’62 DVM, PhD ’66—Francis A. Kallfelz of Ithaca, NY, April 5, 2023; professor emeritus of veterinary medicine and nutrition, and director of the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine; international expert in clinical nutrition, mineral metabolism, and metabolic diseases of domestic animals and veterinary nuclear medicine; worked with the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council Subcommittee on Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats; prolific scientific writer; mentor; enjoyed travel, gardening, camping, coaching several youth sports teams, playing poker, cooking, and entertaining the neighborhood dogs; active in professional, religious, and alumni affairs. Wife, L. Heidi Gantner Kallfelz ’63.

’62 BS CALS—John E. Miller Jr. of Canandaigua, NY, and Ponce Inlet, FL, March 7, 2023; award-winning nurseryman; consultant, Wegmans Organic Farm & Orchard; president/co-owner, J.E. Miller Nurseries, the family business; expert in the propagation and quality of fruit trees and grapevines; member or officer on several banking, horticultural, and hospital boards; member, Kiwanis; conservationist; enjoyed international travel, hunting, fishing, boating, collecting vintage hunting items, and classic car shows and racing; active in historical, religious, and alumni affairs.

’63 LLB—Neil M. Day of Weston, MA, 2022; attorney; active in alumni affairs.

’63, BS CALS ’64—Kevin J. Freeman of Portland, OR, March 10, 2023; businessman and champion equestrian; co-founder, the Freeman Group, a commercial real estate company; co-owner/operator, J.A. Freeman and Son, a century-old farm implement manufacturing company; medalist on the U.S. equestrian team at three Olympic Games and at the Pan American Games; inductee, Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, U.S. Eventing Association Hall of Fame, and Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame; international coach and mentor; enjoyed skiing, reading, and following college and professional basketball. Beta Theta Pi.

’63 BA—Thomas E. Frumkes of Prescott, AZ, March 31, 2017; professor and research scientist, Sensory Physiology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Queens College–CUNY; expert in rod-cone interactions in achromatic vision, human visual psychophysics, and amphibian visual neurophysiology; prolific academic author; enjoyed building harpsichords from scratch and performing in classical musical groups; active in alumni affairs.

’63 DVM—Joseph R. Kessinger of Young Harris, GA, March 12, 2023; veterinarian, Union County Pet Hospital and several animal hospitals in the Atlanta/Marietta area; founder, Community Animal Hospital, Dutchess County, NY; enjoyed exploring the natural world, midnight field trips, raising bees, vegetable gardening, cooking, and lively debate.

’63 PhD—James H. Sherman of Ann Arbor, MI, March 6, 2023; research scientist and professor emeritus, Department of Physiology, University of Michigan Medical School; textbook author; enjoyed golf, bowling, and Michigan football.

’63 DVM—Anton M. Stenzler of Chestnut Ridge, NY, April 4, 2020; small animal veterinarian specializing in dogs, cats, and ferrets, Pearl River Animal Hospital. Watermargin.

’64 BS CALS—Roger E. LaMont of Albion, NY, March 21, 2023; sixth-generation apple farmer; owner, Roger LaMont Farms; known for planting new varieties, adopting new marketing and storage techniques, and working with other growers; also owned Ridge Equipment, a Massey-Ferguson dealership; president, New York Apple Growers LLC, which worked with Cornell University to manage and market the exclusive new varieties SnapDragon and RubyFrost; enjoyed genealogy and studying history; active in civic, community, professional, religious, and alumni affairs. Alpha Zeta.

’64 PhD—George Lust of Lancaster, NY, formerly of Ithaca, NY, March 23, 2023; professor of physiological chemistry, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Baker Institute for Animal Health; expert in canine hip dysplasia; avid reader and hiker; enjoyed travel and New York Yankees baseball.

’65 BS Hotel—Bruce Baltin of Long Beach, CA, March 9, 2023; hospitality, tourism, and real estate consultant to hotels, resorts, clubs, restaurants, theme parks, national and state parks, and government entities; director of the U.S. office, PKF hospitality group; managing director, CBRE Hotels’ Los Angeles office; founding partner, PKF Consulting; adjunct faculty, Cal Poly Pomona, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USC, UCLA, and the Collins College of Hospitality Management; corporate operations analyst, Sheraton Corp. of America; mentor; recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the L.A. Tourism and Convention Board; member of numerous professional and community organizations; enjoyed Japanese cuisine, fine wine, and basketball; active in alumni affairs.

’66 MAT—John J. Kotmel of Lansing, NY, April 5, 2023; mathematics teacher and football and wrestling coach, Lansing Central School District; inductee, Lansing Athletic Hall of Fame; expert fly fisherman and avid vegetable gardener; active in religious affairs.

’67 JD—David K. Diebold of London, United Kingdom, February 2, 2023; CEO, David Diebold & Associates, business consulting and services in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong; active in alumni affairs.

’67 MA—Jennie Lavin Drasin of Columbia, MD, formerly of West Lafayette, IN, March 20, 2023; watercolor painter; active in community, cultural, and philanthropic affairs. Husband, David Drasin, PhD ’66.

’68 BS HE—Sandra Goldman Gross of Miami Beach, FL, July 2022; active in alumni affairs. Sigma Delta Tau.

’68 BS Hotel—John A. Ireland of State College, PA, March 19, 2023; international healthcare management professional; operations and restructuring leader, Teknon Medical Center, Barcelona, Spain, and on other major continents; president, ABC Medical Center, Mexico City; CEO, Clearfield Hospital (State College) and Tyler Memorial Hospital (Tunkhannock); veteran; enjoyed running, tennis, coaching soccer, fitness classes, and supporting Barça futbol, the Barcelona soccer team; active in philanthropic, professional, and alumni affairs.


1970s

’70 JD—William M. Barron of Weston, CT, March 2, 2023; attorney and partner, Franzino & Scher LLC and Alston & Bird LLP; member, Kiwanis; enjoyed choral singing, classical music, book groups, and discussion groups on global issues; active in religious and professional affairs. Wife, Jennifer Buss Barron, MFA ’70.

’71 MS—Karen Markovich Lowry of Jenkintown, PA, March 9, 2023; pharmacist, Abington Hospital; medical research assistant, Jefferson University; organic chemistry teacher, Holy Family College; researcher, Beacon Research, Arcadia University; scientific writer and patent holder; enjoyed travel, cooking, and gardening; active in humanitarian and religious affairs.

’74 MA, PhD ’78—Richard W. Bodman of Faribault, MN, March 28, 2023; professor of Chinese language, culture, and literature, Department of Asian Studies, St. Olaf College; poet and polyglot; director, ASIANetwork China and Freeman Foundation faculty seminars; Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan; avid collector of books, posters, art, and other materials about China; enjoyed cats and researching family history.

’75 DVM—Gerald J. Balonek of Canandaigua, NY, March 4, 2023; small and exotic animal veterinarian; owner, East Ridge Animal Hospital; also treated and rehabilitated injured, orphaned, or sick wildlife at no charge; worked in Rochester, NY, at the Seneca Park Zoo, Midtown Veterinary Hospital, and the Pittsford Veterinary Group; recipient of the Genesee Valley Veterinary Medical Association lifetime achievement award; enjoyed hunting, fishing, and practical jokes.

’75 MA—Deborah S. Barnes of Knoxville, TN, April 15, 2023; writer and associate editor, Oak Ridge National Laboratories; English instructor, Knoxville College; award-winning teacher to young children; founding member and soprano section leader, Praise, Honour, and Glory traveling community choir; avid reader; active in religious and alumni affairs.

’78 MA, PhD ’85—David S. Peterson of Lexington, VA, February 25, 2023; professor emeritus of history, chair of the department, and head of the Medieval and Renaissance Program, Washington and Lee University; expert on the relationship between religion and politics, church history, and political thought in medieval and Renaissance Italy; also taught at Cornell University, Stanford University, and the University of Texas, Austin; recipient of numerous grants, fellowships, and humanities prizes; active in academic affairs.


1990s

’94 BS CALS—Alessandra Sagasti of Takoma Park, MD, January 15, 2023; professor of biology and ecology, Montgomery College; expert in marine benthic ecology; environmentalist; enjoyed travel and the Chesapeake Bay; active in alumni affairs. Husband, Christopher A. Taggi ’94.


2020s

’22 BS Hotel—Hannah R.L. MacDonald of New York City, formerly of Orange, CA, March 23, 2023; studied hotel and restaurant administration; project coordinator for restaurant design firm Jacobs Doland Beer; avid and award-winning cook; enjoyed working out, musical theater, and restaurant planning.

’23, BS HE ’22—Samuel O. Kesselman of Washington, DC, formerly of Newton, MA, March 27, 2023; studied policy analysis and management; government consultant, Ernst & Young; held leadership positions in several university business organizations; fluent in five languages; avid camper and counselor; enjoyed cooking, lively debate, and playing volleyball; active in civic, professional, and religious affairs. Zeta Beta Tau. Partner, Irene Partsuf ’23, BS ILR ’22.


Editor’s note: Please submit notification of alumni deaths—including an obituary, if possible—to the University at cubio-deceased@cornell.edu. Once the University records an alumni death in its database, the relevant information is forwarded to Cornellians for inclusion in a future In Memoriam section.

Top: Photo by Ryan Young / Cornell University.

Published June 1, 2023