Obituaries

1946

Ira E. Shein, retired commodities trader, Teaneck, N.J., on October 28, 2015. After serving in the Navy, Shein earned a degree in 1948 from GSAS and taught at Bronx Science and Forest Hills H.S. He then became a commodities trader, first dealing with foodstuffs and later with precious metals. He and his wife, Myra, had three children: Faith, Jon and David; and five grandchildren.

1947

Ernest Kinoy, screenwriter and playwright, Williamsville, Vt., on November 10, 2014. Kinoy was born on April 1, 1925. He graduated from the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in the Bronx and was drafted into the Army during WWII. He served in the 106th Infantry Division and was taken prisoner after the Battle of the Bulge. He threw away his dog tags, which identified him as Jewish, but the Germans still sent him to a slave labor camp with other Jewish POWs. He later wrote a television play based on the experience, Walk Down the Hill (1957). After the war, Kinoy graduated from the College, where he wrote stage plays, and soon landed a job with NBC. He was president of the Writers Guild of America East, 1967–69. During his career he wrote Broadway musicals, Hollywood screenplays and Emmy Awardwinning episodes of The Defenders and Roots. Among his many notable scripts are Skokie (1981) and Lincoln (1988). Kinoy’s wife of 58 years, the former Barbara Powers, died in 2007. He is survived by a son, Daniel; daughter, Judith; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

1948

Edward P. DeBlasio, television writer and producer, Studio City, Calif., on February 1, 2015. DeBlasio was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. He graduated from the H.S. of Music and Art at 16 and attended the College for two years before enlisting in the Navy. After his service he returned to the College and then in 1950 earned a degree from the Journalism School, where he was president of his class. DeBlasio’s first job was as a copy boy at the Hartford Courant. He traveled to Italy in search of an interview with Lucky Luciano, which he did not get, but sold a few articles to Inside Detective magazine; he eventually became its editor. Later DeBlasio worked for Modern Screen and Photoplay magazines. His first teleplay for East Side/West Side became its premiere episode and launched his career. He also wrote for The Defenders, Marcus Welby, M.D., Ironside, Strange Report and many other shows. DeBlasio and his family moved to Los Angeles in 1971. After freelancing for several years he became executive script consultant for Police Woman and wrote several episodes. DeBlasio was Dynasty’s writer-producer for its first eight years and wrote 94 episodes. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Irene; daughter Gioia Cristina; brother, Peter; two grandchildren; and two nieces. He was predeceased by daughter Michelle Maria in 2012.

Sears E. Edwards ’48

Sears E. Edwards, retired physician, Garden City, N.Y., on August 14, 2015. Edwards was born on October 8, 1928, in Brooklyn, N.Y. After playing freshman football as a Lion, Edwards performed in the Varsity Show, foreshadowing a lifelong interest in theater. He decided to be a doctor at 9, after a hospitalization for septicemia. After graduation in 1952 from New York Medical College, he trained in urology while in the Navy and later at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. While practicing in Garden City, Edwards was elected to lead the county medical society. He married Hope McClean and they had four children: Leslie Wood, Christopher, Jennifer and Craig (deceased). In retirement Edwards maintained his devotion to Columbia sports. He supported the golf team and welcomed generations of Columbia alumni who became physicians into his beloved New York City Physicians Golfing Association.

1949

Thomas F. Buckley Sr., retired casualty insurance manager, Bridgewater, Mass., on May 3, 2015. Buckley was born in Greenfield, Mass., on July 26, 1922. He served in the Navy, attaining the rank of lieutenant during WWII. Buckley lettered in varsity baseball in 1947 at Columbia. He served on the Windsor, Conn., Board of Education and was a committee member of the Capitol West Regional Community College, which facilitated the formation of the Greater Hartford (Conn.) Community College. Buckley was a Boy Scout committeeman and bowled for many years in the Windsor Locks Bradley Bowl bowling league. He also was an avid Yankees fan. Buckley retired to High Pond Estates in Bridgewater and played in its shuffleboard and bocce leagues. He had lived in Windsor, Conn., for 40 years. Buckley’s career spanned 40 years in the insurance business; he retired from Aetna Life and Casualty Co. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Theresa (née Colletti); son, Thomas, and his wife, Donna; daughter, Susan Okolita, and her husband, James; four grandchildren; and a brother.

1950

Stephen L. Wythe, retired manager and consultant, Maryville, Tenn., on November 13, 2015. Wythe was born in Queens and was a longtime resident of Westfield, N.J.; Pickens, S.C.; and Knoxville. He was a WWII Army veteran, serving from 1944 to 1946, and a Bronze Star recipient. Wythe was his College class’ valedictorian. He went to study at Michigan and returned to Columbia, earning a Ph.D. in 1954 in organic chemistry from GSAS. From 1953 to 1982, Wythe was employed by Exxon Corp., where in the 1960s he managed the domestic plastics and lube additives business. He participated in creating and managing Exxon’s corporate research program in the 1970s. After retirement from Exxon, Wythe had his own consulting business from 1983 to 1997. Wythe was predeceased by his wife, Patricia, and is survived by a daughter, Shirley W. Beasley, and her husband, Randy; sons, Stephen M. and his wife, Marilyn, F. David and his wife, Lynn, Scott and his wife, Isabel Parker, and Chris and his wife, Tracy; and 11 grandchildren.

1951

Frank Tupper Smith Jr., attorney, Dallas, on December 30, 2014. Smith was born May 21, 1929, in Englewood, N.J. At the College, Smith was a member of Phi Kappa Psi and the rowing team. He earned a degree in 1954 from the Law School and specialized in estate planning, probate and tax law, and was licensed to practice law in New York, California and Texas, having lived in all three states. Smith spent part of his career as a trust officer in the banking industry. He was an Army veteran, having served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps during the Korean War. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Jill Anita Smith; daughters, Delia Elizabeth West and her husband, Rod, Lisa Noel Gentleman and her husband, Arthur Hogg, and Kathryn Edith Hartle and her husband, Jesse; and three grandchildren. Smith was preceded in death by his sister, Anne Sidaris Reeves. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75231. Memorial messages may be directed to his daughter Kathryn: kathrynhartle@hotmail.com.

1952

Thomas C. Keating, retired SVP of commercial leasing, Plandome, N.Y., on October 6, 2015. Keating retired from Rudin Management Co. He was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Deirdre, and is survived by a son, Thomas, and his wife, Ann Marie; a daughter, Amy; and three grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to The New York Foundling Hospital or Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

1954

Norman Talal, physician, New York City, on April 1, 2015. Talal was born in Brooklyn. He earned an M.D. in 1958 from P&S and in that year wrote the first of his more than 350 medical and scientific publications. He trained at the Presbyterian Hospital, spent a fellowship year at the Pasteur Institute, worked at P&S and then began his career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a research associate. He became a senior investigator in the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases (now the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) and published his first paper on the autoimmune disease Sjögren’s syndrome with Dr. Joseph Bunim in 1964. Talal’s major contribution using experimental animal models was the identification of the role played by female hormones (estrogens) in the development of autoimmune disorders. He was a world authority on Sjögren’s syndrome. Talal left NIH in 1971 to become professor of medicine at UCSF and head of rheumatology at the VA Medical Center there until 1981 and then was professor of medicine and microbiology and head of the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology at UT San Antonio. Talal was a passionate lover of art. He returned to New York in 2000 and taught courses on achieving wellness through the arts with his wife, poet Marilynn Talal. She survives him, as do daughter, Melissa, and her partner, Mark Steere; son, Andrew; daughter-in-law, Marianthi Markatou; and a granddaughter.

1955

Burnell D. Stripling, physician, Menominee, Mich., on December 19, 2014. Stripling was born on July 13, 1934, in the Bronx. He attended Fordham Prep and New York Medical College. Stripling’s internship was at Los Angeles County Hospital, where he completed his residency in internal medicine. He and his medical school friend Dr. Harry Locke then set up a practice in Colorado Springs. Two years later, Stripling was drafted into the Navy and stationed at Great Lakes NH in Illinois. Stripling soon joined the Marinette Medical Clinic, beginning a 33-year career in local medicine. Stripling was an active member of the Menominee Rotary Club, supported the DAR Boys and Girls Club and worked with the elementary students at Lincoln School. He also loved to sail, play tennis, run, watch his kids play sports and watch Menominee football from the sidelines as team doctor. He was an avid supporter of the Green Bay Packers and enjoyed hunting camp. Stripling is survived by his wife, the former Jane L. Gribble; children, Burnell, Wesley, and Wendy Gandy; seven grandchildren; brothers-in-law, Robert Pileggi and Jack Gribble; sister-in-law, Carol Gribble; and nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to Bay Cliff Health Camp, PO Box 310, Big Bay, MI 49808, or to the Grace Episcopal Church, 922 10th Ave, Menominee, MI 49858.

1956

Alfred M. Smith, retired insurance executive, Mount Dora, Fla., on November 30, 2015. Raised in Forest Hills, Queens, Smith summered in Patchogue, L.I., with his widowed father, Alfred R. Smith (Class of 1921, SEAS 1923). The family was of a direct line from Richard “Bull” Smith, founder of Smithtown, L.I. After the College, Smith was called into the Army while working on his M.A. thesis. He married his first wife, Adrienne Angst, while in Germany, and they had three children during their 18-year marriage. On returning to the United States, Smith joined Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. and then Great American Insurance Co., which became American Financial Group. Upon his retirement as VP of commercial claims, Smith moved from the company headquarters in Cincinnati to Sarasota, Fla. He was always very proud of his Columbia background. Smith is survived by his wife, Marie “Mimi”; daughters, Tracey and Claudia; son, Richard; and two grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, 317 South Mary St., Eustis, FL 32726.

1957

John Wellington, retired university and foundation executive, Montclair, N.J., on September 29, 2015. Wellington began his career as a teacher at Montclair Academy from 1957 to 1959. He then was Columbia’s director of admissions from 1959 to 1967 and director of alumni relations from 1967 to 1977. Wellington moved to Bucknell and was VP of university relations from 1977 to 1979, then Fordham’s VP of institutional advancement from 1979 to 1986. From 1986 to 1988, he was VP of American Colleges and from 1988 to 1991 was a fundraising consultant to Fox Chase Cancer Center. From 1991 to his 1999 retirement, Wellington was director of the Mountainside Hospital Foundation. Wellington loved reading, crossword puzzles and playing sports. In high school, he played football, basketball and baseball; he was a four-year member of the Lions football team under Lou Little. Wellington was a founder of the Old Blue Rugby Football Club of NYC and helped create the Old Blue Rugby Foundation, a nonprofit that helps sustain OBRFC financially; he was a foundation trustee and past president. He is survived by his wife, Katie; children, Carole Cox and her husband, Julian, and John; stepchildren, Peter Reinhardt and his wife, Jenny, and Elizabeth Bredahl and her husband, Tom; and 13 grandchildren.

1959

Shelby T. Brewer, engineer, Alexandria, Va., on March 19, 2015. Brewer was born on February 19, 1937. Following the completion of two degrees at Columbia (a B.A. from the College and a B.S. in 1960 from Engineering), Brewer served as a commissioned officer in the Navy from 1961 to 1964. He completed an M.S. and a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at MIT before joining the Atomic Energy Commission in 1971. Brewer was the top nuclear official in the Reagan administration from 1981 to 1984, serving as assistant secretary of energy. After leaving government service, Brewer became president of ABBCombustion Engineering Nuclear Power, one of the world’s leading energy companies. He was also an accomplished tennis player, securing a position on the 1953 Junior Davis Cup Team. Brewer is survived by his wife, Marie Anesten Brewer; children, Jens, and Sara Trewhitt; their respective spouses, Michele, and Philip Trewhitt; sister, Janet Riggs; and five grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Arthur M. Louis, retired journalist, Cheyenne, Wyo., on December 22, 2015. Louis was born in Toledo and raised in Rochester. At the College, he was a Spectator editor. Louis earned a degree in 1960 from the Journalism School and worked for more than four decades as a journalist, including stints at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Fortune Magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle. He authored several books (including non-fiction, fiction and memoir) and was a talented amateur photographer. He is survived by his children and other family members.

1961

Sheldon G. Weinstein, retired attorney, Westfield, N.J., on February 8, 2016. Weinstein earned a degree in 1964 from the Law School and entered private practice in New Jersey. Thereafter, he transitioned to the public sector, and was very proud to be engaged in public service. Weinstein was a skilled and avid tennis player and found friends in amicable games over many years. He enjoyed ping pong, movies, reading and watching professional sports, particularly his beloved Mets. Weinstein also was devoted to youth sports and coached in many New Jersey youth leagues. He was proud of Columbia and was a frequent visitor to Morningside Heights (he loved V&T) and followed alma mater’s doings throughout his life. His family and friends heard many of his fond stories from his time there. He remained a devoted fan of Columbia athletics through years lean and successful and attended many games across a variety of sports. Weinstein is survived by his children, Adam, David, Janet Weinstein-Zanger BC’92 and Stephen ’91; four grandchildren; sister, Marcia BC’66; and brotherin- law Richard Stern LAW’64. Memorial contributions may be made to Columbia College Fund (please earmark for financial aid), the Alzheimer’s Association or Friends for Preservation of Middlesex County Jewish Cemeteries.

1969

Samuel P. Sprotzer, ophthalmologist, Woodbridge, Conn., on April 3, 2015. Born in a displaced persons camp in Germany after WWII, Sprotzer was raised in the Bronx and graduated from NYU Medical School 1973. After a residency at Yale, Sprotzer founded a multi-office medical practice that grew to a staff of more than 60. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Judy Sprotzer BC’72 (née Rubin); and children, Michael, Arielle and her husband, Evan Schlansky, and Elizabeth.

1970

Thomas R. “Rick” McIntosh, attorney, East Falmouth, Mass., on October 12, 2015. Born in 1948 in Boston, McIntosh grew up in Weymouth, Mass. While at Columbia, he participated actively in the campus events of that time. McIntosh wed Deborah “Debby” B. Cahn just after graduation in 1970. He earned a J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1973. Subsequently moving to Falmouth, McIntosh began his work as a VISTA attorney for Legal Services for Cape Cod and the Islands (LSCCI) and its successor entity. He spent his entire career there. McIntosh worked tirelessly to improve the lives of thousands of low-income Massachusetts families who faced exigent legal challenges regarding healthcare, disability, nutritional assistance, housing and unemployment. While at LSCCI, he twice served as acting director. In 1993, McIntosh received the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Legal Services Award honoring his dedication and contribution to civil legal aid. He is survived by his wife; sons, Andrew, and his wife, Jessica Simon, and Daniel and his wife, Jessy; and brother, Stephen, and his wife, Qi.

1978

Jonathan N. Aranoff, anesthesiologist, Bronx, N.Y., on April 27, 2015. Aranoff earned a degree from P&S in 1982 and worked in cardiac bypass surgery at the Manhattan V.A. for more than 25 years. He is survived by his wife, Susana Krausz Aranoff; sons, Akiva, Ben and Daniel; mother, Freda Appleman Aranoff GSAS’45; sisters, Shera Aranoff Tuchman and Gaya Aranoff Bernstein; brothersin- law, Lewis Bernstein and Alan Tuchman; and nieces and nephews.

— Lisa Palladino