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OBITUARIES

1925

John “Jack” Ware, retired engineer and chemist, Westport, Conn., on August 9, 2005. A Manhattan native, Ware was Columbia’s Glee Club manager and a two-time All-American water polo player. He received a master’s from SEAS in 1927 and was selected for Tau Beta Pi, engineering academic honorary. Ware was an engineer and chemist, culminating — as a result of two of his U.S. patents — in the Ware Chemical Corp., ultimately acquired by Kraft-Dart. He was recognized by the American ambassador and others for his contribution to Brazilian agriculture as co-founder of the then-public company, Agroceres, funded pro bono by the Rockefeller Foundation and General Mills. Ware is survived by his second wife, Margaret; two children; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

1933

Max V. Exner, choral music leader and composer, Ames, Iowa, on December 30, 2004. Exner was born on January 13, 1910, in Shanghai. He earned an A.B. in English literature and modern languages from the College and in 1947 earned an M.A. in musicology, composition, conducting and organ from GSAS. After graduation, the Joseph E. Bearnes national composition award allowed Exner to study for a year at the Neues Wiener Konservatorium in Vienna, Austria, his father’s birth country; he received a certificate in conducting and organ in 1937. During WWII, Exner served as field radio operator in the Tunisian campaign and was wounded in action. After recovery, he served first as a French interpreter for a unit of engineers and then as a radio operator on Corsica. In Florence, Italy, in 1945, Exner sang weekly in the mass in a choir of Jesuit monks, standing in his brown uniform among their black cowls. After the war, he composed a full mass in the brothers’ honor, which they performed. Exner met his wife, Eileen Smithers, when both worked for the Extension Service in New York State prior to WWII. They married on November 9, 1945, and moved to Ames, where Exner served in the Extension Service as the State Music Specialist from 1947–80. Exner conducted area training schools for teachers and church musicians and established a music lending library for choir directors. He directed church choirs for more than 70 years, including at Riverside Church. His choral music has been printed by seven publishers, and his anthem, I Have a Dream, was approved by the Martin Luther King Foundation and has been performed widely. In Ames, Exner was active in the arts, participating in choral festivals, the Heartland Senior Variety Show and other events. With his wife, he directed the Ames International Folk Dancers for many years. Exner is survived by his wife; children, Rick (Susan Jarnagin), Heide Larson (Henry) and Alison Kaiser (Helmut); and five grandchildren. His was predeceased by a daughter, Holly Susan Exner-Thompson (Dean Thompson).

1934

James L. Ogle, retired sports writer, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on January 31, 2005. Ogle was born in Newark, N.J., and raised in Avon by the Sea. He graduated from Neptune H.S., where he wrote for the school paper. At Columbia, where he earned a B.S. from the Journalism School in 1935, he inaugurated the first daily sports column in Spectator. Ogle was a sports writer for the Newark Star Ledger for 40 years. After retiring from the Ledger, he worked for the New York Yankees as director of their alumni association, running Old Timers Day and publishing a quarterly newsletter, Pinstripes. Ogle was a lifelong Yankees fan and was particularly proud of his five World Series rings, which team owner George Steinbrenner gave to executives. After accepting the job with the Yankees, Ogle and his wife, Clara, who passed away in 2004, moved to Fort Lauderdale, the Yankees’ spring training site, where he also served as president of the minor league Fort Lauderdale Yankees. During his career as a sports writer, Ogle was the Yankees contributor for the national weekly, The Sporting News, and witnessed every World Series game played from 1945–75. He was in the press box for Bobby Thompson’s “Shot Heard Around the World” in 1951 and for Don Larsen’s perfect game in 1956. Roger Maris was like a “second son” to Ogle, and they authored two books together: Roger Maris At Bat, a homer by homer account of Maris’ pursuit of Babe Ruth’s home run record in 1961, and Slugger in Right, a novel for children, based on Maris’ life. Ogle is survived by his son, James Jr.; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

1937

Walter Schaap, jazz scholar, Queens, N.Y., on May 28, 2005. Schaap studied French history at Columbia and was doing postgraduate work at the Sorbonne in 1937 (he earned a master’s in history from GSAS in 1941) when he became friends with pioneering French jazz researchers Charles Delaunay and Hughes Panassie. Schaap translated much of their work and that of other jazz writers, including Swiss conductor Ernst Ansermet, whose review of a 1919 performance by soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet is widely regarded as the first published work of jazz criticism. Schaap soon was writing about jazz for various publications, in English and French, and working in jazz discography. He contributed to all editions of Delaunay’s Hot Discography, the first comprehensive reference book of jazz recordings, and helped edit the final edition, New Hot Discography, in 1948. From 1949 until he retired in 1970, Schaap was v.p. of a company that made filmstrips and other educational materials. His wife, Marjorie, died in 1990; he is survived by his son, Phil ’73, a jazz historian and on-air WKCR host.

1940

Fredric H. Preiss, retired sales manager, White Plains, N.Y., on July 21, 2005. Preiss served for four years in the Army; drafted in 1942, he served on the Medical Corps as a first lieutenant administrator of hospitals. He played and taught classical and folk guitar and played tennis at the club championship level. He also collected art, stamps and coins with great interest, and loved traveling with his wife, Henriette. She survives him, as do his children, Patricia Harris, Richard and David; stepsons Henry and Jon Blinder; and eight grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the hospice of your choice.

1943

Arthur W. Feinberg, internist and geriatrician, New York City, on November 28, 2005. Feinberg was a graduate of Boys H.S., and after the College earned his M.D. from P&S in 1945. He served as an Army doctor in the Philippine Islands at the end of WWII. A founding doctor of North Shore University Hospital and a leader in medical education, Feinberg was the associate director of the department of medicine from 1974–89. He received a federal grant to establish one of the first primary care training programs in the country. Feinberg also was dean of admissions at Cornell University Medical College and worked with the students for many years. He became the first director of NSUH’s Center for Extended Care and Rehabilitation and also the first chief of its division of geriatric medicine. He was a founding father of the division of ambulatory care and helped establish the vascular diseases laboratory. He was a leader of the American College of Physicians, chairing its Postgraduate Education Committee; chairing its ethics committee; and was a regent of the college. Feinberg also chaired the NSUH Ethics Committee. He wrote extensively, including a medical column for Newsday, and hosted a program on Lifetime Medical Television. At the time of his death, he held the rank of professor of clinical medicine at NYU School of Medicine. Feinberg is survived by his wife, Harriet Newman Cohen Feinberg; children, Nancy Rheingrover (Jim), David (Madeleine), Martha Cohen Stine (Carl), Amy Ziegelbaum (Michael), Susan Hirsch (Bruce) and Patricia Epstein (Stephen); 14 grandchildren; and brother, Martin. His first wife, Jean Dilbert Feinberg, passed away in 1973. Memorial contributions may be made to the Arthur Feinberg Medical Education Fund, North Shore LIJ Foundation..

1944

Allan L. Sindeband, retired superintendent, Pueblo, Colo., on April 29, 2005. Born on October 9, 1922, and a native New Yorker, Sindeband was called away from the campus in 1942 and served with the 10th Mountain Division until 1945, although he earned his B.S. in business in 1944. Sindeband spent 30 years with the Colorado Fuel & Iron Corp., where he became superintendent of the materials handling department before retiring in 1982. Sindeband is survived by his wife, Shirley; two sons; two stepchildren; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. He was predeceased by a brother, Sidney ’36, ’37E, ’38E.

1949

Robert P. Kerker, retired chief budget examiner, South Bethlehem, N.Y., on September 20, 2005. Born in New York City, Kerker was a graduate of Milne H.S. and received an M.A. in 1954 from GSAS; he did doctoral work at the University at Albany. Kerker worked for 35 years in the New York State Division of the Budget and retired as chief budget examiner in 1993. He authored The Executive Budget in New York: A Half Century Perspective and contributed to other publications including a new book, The Encyclopedia of New York State. Kerker was a fellow of the State Academy for Public Administration and at the time of his death was chair of the Public Administration Research Award Committee. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Joan Threadgill Kerker; brother, Sherwood; sons, Robert ’78 (Pamela), Thomas (Mariallane) and Charles (Kimberly); nine grandchildren; one great-grandson; and several nieces. Memorial contributions may be made to South Bethlehem United Methodist Church, Box 98, South Bethlehem, NY 12161.

1951

William G. Streitwieser, retired teacher, Greenlawn, N.Y., on July 10, 2005. Streitwieser was drafted immediately after graduation and served in the United States and Korea, where he was a medical corpsman in a MASH-type outfit. He taught elementary school in Suffern, N.Y., for six years, then began teaching social studies in Northport H.S. In cooperation with the New York State Education Department and the New York State Bar Association, he developed and taught courses in law-related education. For three years, Streitwieser was selected to work on the team writing questions for the State Regents exam in world history. He served as an ombudsman in the high school for more than 10 year, also organizing and supervising student programs. Streitwieser helped establish the United Teachers of Northport in the 1960s and served as president for a year. Before and after his retirement in 1980, Streitwieser wrote for WorldView Softwear, a company that publishes study material for schools. He also wrote Regents review books for Barron’s Educational Series. Among Streitwieser’s survivors are his wife since 1952, Carolyn, and four granddaughters..

1952

Calvin F. Miller, photogeologist, Dallas, on March 12, 2005. Miller was born on November 6, 1926, in Stamford, Conn., and raised in New Canaan. He graduated early from New Canaan H.S. in 1945 in order to enlist in the Air Force, serving as a pilot-navigator in the Air Corps until 1947. On June 28 of that year, Miller married Frances Irene Lemerick. He graduated from the College with distinction with a geology degree and began his 43-year career in geology in Denver for Geophoto Services, where he became part of a team of scientists that pioneered the use of stereoscopic aerial photography to interpret geologic structures in remote regions of the world and to explore for areas of possible mineral and hydrocarbon exploitation. This new branch of science, photogeology, evolved into the broader field of remote sensing with the onset of satellite photography of the earth. Miller was called upon by NASA to help develop satellite imagery technology. In 1954, Miller left the USGS to start Miller and Associates with his brother, Victor. After eight years, he accepted a position as geologist specialist with Hunt Oil in Dallas, beginning a 32-year affiliation. He made maps of most of the western United States, which were of significant help in domestic exploration efforts and later shifted to international exploration, making maps of Yemen, Jordan, Australia, Argentina, Laos, Ethiopia, Niger, Chile and Guyana. Miller was an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Texas at Dallas. His book, Photogeology, has been used as a university textbook. In addition to his wife, Miller is survived by his children, Nancy Hudson (John) and Bruce (Dawn); and four grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Edward, Victor and Walter.

1966

Robert A. Kline, attorney, Beverly Hills, Calif., on September 30, 2005. Born in New York City, Kline practiced entertainment law in NYC and Beverly Hills after graduating from Scarsdale H.S., the College and the Law School (1970). He is survived by his wife, Georgann (née Teeman); daughter, Lisa Paige; parents, Harriet and Eugene; and brother Thomas (Lindsey Lang). Memorial contributions made be made to UCLA Regents Robert A. Kline Kidney Cancer Research Fund at UCLA, c/o Robert Figlin M.D., UCLA Medical Center, Peter Ueberroth Building, Room 2333, 10945 LeConte Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095-7207.

1971

M. David Gelfand, professor of constitutional law and constitutional legal scholar, New Orleans, on September 25, 2005. Born on August 12, 1949, in Buffalo, N.Y., Gelfand was Phi Beta Kappa at the College. He earned a degree from the Law School in 1976 and a master’s of philosophy from Oxford. Gelfand worked at Tulane Law and with its summer program in Cambridge. He was an expert on civil rights, voting rights, redistricting issues and municipal financing. In 1992, Gelfand served as the court-appointed witness who prepared the reapportionment plan that the federal court later adopted for U.S. congressional districts in Florida. Gelfand authored several books and articles on constitutional issues, voting rights and municipal finance, and conducted lecture tours for the United States Information Agency in the 1980s in Japan, Fiji, Liberia, Ghana, Germany, Nigeria and Kenya. He was a Fulbright Senior Lecturer in Japan, and returned to Japan and Korea in 1993 as a lecturer on constitutional law and politics at the Chuo University in Tokyo. He was honored by the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations for his work in bringing constitutional test cases. True to his lifelong commitment to safeguarding legal protections for all, Gelfand had announced formation of a legal aid organization for Hurricane Katrina victims just prior to his death. The New Orleans Coalition for Legal Aid and Disaster Relief was created by Gelfand and others to serve as a clearinghouse for legal information for victims of Hurricane Katrina and a watchdog group to monitor the distribution of disaster relief to New Orleanians. Gelfand is survived by his wife of 33 years, Mary; daughter, Katie; and mother, Ann Malmer.

Lisa Palladino

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