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OBITUARIES
John J. Dropkin, physicist and professor emeritus, Brooklyn, N.Y., on August 5, 2007. Born in Bobruisk, Russia, on February 22, 1910, Dropkin was professor and chair of the physics department of Brooklyn Poly from 1947–88. According to a note CCT received from his wife, Ruth Zeitlin Dropkin, he “could — and would — chant all of the verses of the Columbia anthem in loving recollection of his years [at Columbia,] from which he garnered not only a Phi Beta Kappa key, a graduation math award and a TA position with I.I. Rabi but also all the needed sources for the genuinely educated person he was until his death.” Dropkin is survived by his wife; daughters, Frances, Vivian Ubell and Devorah Zeitlin; son, Jonathan Zeitlin ’72; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to Polytechnic University, Attn. D. Duncan, 6 Metrotech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
Edward der Mateosian ’35  Edward der Mateosian, physicist emeritus, Bradenton, Fla., on May 20, 2006. A member of the 1934 intercollegiate fencing championship team, der Mateosian earned an M.A. in chemistry from GSAS in 1940. A physicist emeritus at Brookhaven National Laboratory, he was a veteran of the Manhattan Project and a pioneer in the development of new detectors, electronics and computers for use in nuclear spectroscopy. Der Mateosian was the first to advocate and develop enriched Ca crystal scintillators for the detection of dark matter, an approach still used and cited. The correlations of beta decay with gamma ray emission were first measured by der Mateosian in the 1950s and he published a tabulation with Columbia’s C.S. Wu on beta spectra. With his wife, Ann, der Mateosian taught children ballroom dancing in Bellport, Long Island. He studied painting with Gertrude Quastler and sold many watercolors. Der Mateosian’s extensive civic work included the founding of the Bellport Village Association, and he was a driving force in obtaining a beach on Fire Island for the Village of Bellport. He built and sailed a 28-foot ketch. Der Mateosian is survived by his daughters, Maro Lorimer and Lisa.
Adolph Surtshin, retired physician, Los Angeles, on July 24, 2007. Born in 1916 in the Bronx to immigrant parents, Surtshin graduated from Stuyvesant H.S. in 1932. At the College, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior. Surtshin received his M.D. from St. Louis University in 1941 and served in the Army Medical Corps during WWII. Surtshin joined the faculty of Washington University School of Medicine in 1949 and later that year married Marjorie Winterbotham. In 1957, they moved to California, where he assumed a research position at Riker Laboratories. In 1960, Surtshin became assistant dean of the California College of Medicine, now part of UC Irvine. In 1968, he opened his private practice in Mission Hills, Calif., treating patients until 1996, when he retired. An avid sailor and traveler, Surtshin pursued both hobbies until shortly before his 90th birthday. He was an active member of the Ethical Culture Society of Los Angeles for more than 45 years. Surtshin was predeceased by his wife of 49 years and is survived by his children, Stephen ’75, Julia ’75 Barnard and Ann; and two grandchildren.
Daniel B. Posner, Flushing, N.Y., on August 2, 2007. Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Posner later raised his family in Flushing. He earned his LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1941. After serving in WWII, Posner worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission. He later practiced law with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, where he was a senior partner. For many years, Posner contributed a yearly review of securities legislation to The Business Lawyer. He often sailed on Little Neck Bay, in good weather and bad. His love for the water was matched by his love of classical music, especially the violin concertos of Beethoven, Bruch and Sibelius.
Vincent J. Merendino '37 Vincent J. Merendino, retired ob/gyn, Englewood, N.J., on April 8, 2007. Merendino was born on January 5, 1917, in New York City, where he lived until 1937, when he moved with his parents to Englewood. At the College, Merendino was voted “graduate with the most personality.” He received his M.D. from New York Medical College in 1942. Merendino was a captain in the Marine Corps during WWII, where he was chief of surgery for the 112th Evacuation Hospital. Among the positions he held were chief of gynecology, Prospect Hospital (1948–76); professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology, New York Medical College (1976–88); chief of service, obstetrics and gynecology, Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospital (1975–86); lecturer in obstetrics and gynecology, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine (1976–86); attending gynecologist, Metropolitan Hospital (1954–88); and associate attending gynecologist, Lenox Hill Hospital (1976–86). Merendino was the author and co-author of 10 papers published in American Journal of Surgery; Gynecology and Obstetrics; American Journal OB:GYN; and Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is survived by his wife, Rita; his daughter, Melissa; his wife’s daughter, Debra Solomon; and two grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to Englewood Hospital, Foundation Office, 350 Engle St., Englewood, NJ 07631.
Cecil J. “CJ” Francisco Jr., retired engineering v.p., Austin, Texas, on May 28, 2007. Born in Sioux City, Iowa, on September 23, 1917, Francisco’s early years were spent in Denver, Colo., and Cheyenne, Wy. He earned three Columbia degrees (B.A., 1939, B.S., 1940 and M.S., 1941, the latter two from the Engineering School). Francisco started his career at Sinclair Oil in East Chicago, Ind., starting in the refinery and moving through many different divisions including research, patents and licensing and petrochemicals. During WWII, Francisco was involved with the war effort in the production and delivery of aviation fuel. He married Martha Marie Daniels in 1944. As he was promoted, they moved to New York City, Philadelphia and finally, Houston. Francisco retired from ARCO as a v.p. in 1981. He is survived by his children, David and his wife, Donna, Alice Wipfler and her husband, Bob, Cecil J. III and his wife, Jeanette, Claudia Vier and her husband, Rick, and Brian; 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association or the SPCA. Russell J. Hill, WWII correspondent, writer, Medford, N.J., on July 31, 2007. Born in New York on September 29, 1918, Hill attended school in Europe and the United States. He graduated from the College as a Phi Beta Kappa and was awarded a scholarship to study in Cambridge, England, but was caught on the continent by the outbreak of the war. He went to Berlin and was hired by the New York Herald Tribune but soon was expelled by the Nazis for his articles. He continued to cover the war in the Balkans and North Africa; he recounted the latter campaign in the books Desert War and Desert Conquest. Accompanying Allied forces in Italy and France, Hill was wounded during the first attack into Germany. Stationed in Europe after the war, he contributed to the debates at the outset of the Cold War with his book Struggle for Germany. Starting in 1952, he reported on European politics for Radio Free Europe, becoming its senior correspondent in Washington D.C., in 1963. He covered the U.S. government there until his 1983 retirement. Hill is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Catherine (Kay) Hill, née Phillips; sister, Anabel Barahal; sons Philip, Alan, Ralph and KC; and nine grandchildren.
Alvin Turken, orthopedic surgeon, Beverly Hills, on August 1, 2007. Turken earned a degree from P&S in 1943 at 21. During WWII, he served as a medical officer, general surgery, with the 4th General Hospital in Luzon, Philippines. After the war, Turken trained as an orthopedic surgeon and moved his practice to Los Angeles in 1959. He served many years on the Board of Governors of Technion University in Haifa, Israel, and was a member of the American Technion National Board of Regents and a past member of the Board of Directors and the Technion International Board of Governors; he participated in Technion events in Southern California for more than 30 years. Turken is survived by his wife of 58 years, Deborah; sons, James, Donald and David, and daughters-in-law, Karen and Julie; and four granddaughters. [Editor’s note: For more on Turken, see the May/June 1940 Class Notes.]
William M. Franks '41 William M. Franks, retired industrial chemist, Decatur, Ga., on June 26, 2007. Franks grew up on Long Island and earned a degree from Stevens Institute of Technology. He served in WWII in the Army Air Corp as a pilot of a B24 in Italy. Franks was an industrial chemist for 40 years. Upon retirement, he served the International Service Corp with such assignments as Korea, Brazil, Pakistan, Mexico and Sri Lanka. Franks is survived by his wife of 65 years, Allene Adams Franks; children, William, Dona Carol Farishta, Douglas, Lynn Franks Ranew and Leslie Franks Cusack; sons-in-law, William Franklin Ranew and Marty Cusack; daughters-in-law, Mabel Franks and Basia Franks; 17 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the Smile Train.
Russel G. Van Metre, retired engineer, San Mateo, Calif., on November 22, 2006. Born in 1920 in New York City and raised in New York, New Jersey and Vermont, Van Metre’s father, Thurman Wm. Van Metre, was a professor of transportation at the Business School. Van Metre earned a B.A. and the same year a B.S. in mechanical engineering, the latter from the Engineering School, and soon after married Rosemary Ellen Short, a Barnard alumna. Upon graduation, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving in the Pacific theater, principally Okinawa and Saipan. After WWI, Van Metre retuned to New York to obtain a master’s in mechanical engineering in 1947 from the Engineering School. In 1947, he went to work for Proctor & Gamble in Cincinnati and remained there until his 1971 retirement. From 1971–91, he and his wife lived in Pompano Beach, Fla., before moving to California to be near their family. Van Metre is survived by his wife of 64 years; daughter, Patricia Thiers, a Barnard alumna and ’76 GSAS and her husband, Eugene ’65E, ’70E; two grandchildren; and two step-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the National Humane Society.
William G. McGuinness '46 William G. McGuinness, ob/gyn, Greenport, N.Y., on June 4, 2007. McGuinness earned his medical degree at NYU and served in the Army Medical Corp during the Korean conflict. He practiced obstetrics and gynecology in Rockville Centre for more than 35 years and was a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In his later years, McGuinness, with his wife, Cornelia (Keena), at his side, was as an international medical missionary in Africa, the West Indies and Haiti. He worked tirelessly caring for patients and sharing his knowledge by training local physicians. McGuinness is survived by his wife; children, Maureen, Bill, Hallie, Georgeann, Peggy, Brian, Matthew and Martha; their spouses; and 14 grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to Crudem Foundation, in support of the Hospital Sacre Coeur, in Milot, Haiti, where McGuinness and his wife volunteered for many years: Crudem Foundation, PO Box 804, Ludlow, MA 01056.
Richard M. DiDiego Jr., retired textile designer, Greenwood, S.C., on June 26, 2007. Born in the Bronx on January 9, 1924, DiDiego attended Columbia’s painting and sculpture school and studied textile design at various schools. During WWII, he was attached to the Third Field Artillery Observation Battalion and served in the European Theater. DiDiego moved to Greenwood in 1974, when he was transferred with Milliken, and was a designer of automotive fabrics at Abbeville Mill. After his 1996 retirement, he was a consultant for several more years. He was an active member of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church as well as of the Knights of Columbus. DiDiego was an avid golfer was a professional guitar player in New York. He was predeceased by a son, Billy, and brother, Ted. Surviving are his wife of 50 years, Ann Theresa “Boots” Gilligan DiDiego; brother, Robert; daughters, Marianne Melton and her husband, Pat, Laura Harrington and her husband, Bill, and Caroline Elsken and her husband, Paul; sons, Tim, and his wife, Kerry, and John, and his wife, Michele; and eight grandchildren. Memorials contributions may be made to Our Lady of Lourdes Life Center Building Fund, 915 Mathis Rd., Greenwood, SC 29649 or to Hospice House, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646. Condolences may be left at www.blythfuneralhome.com.
John J. Iorio, English professor emeritus, Tampa, Fla., on February 7, 2007. Iorio was born on January 1, 1925, in Casandrino, Italy. His family immigrated to the United States when he was 2, settling in Trenton, N.J. Iorio joined the Army at 17 and was a decorated WWII veteran. As a member of the 17th Airborne Division, his paratroop division jumped across the Rhine River and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, he completed high school and college and earned an M.A. in English and comparative literature from GSAS in 1951. Iorio did his doctoral studies at Minnesota and Penn. He began his teaching career at Dickinson College and received a Fulbright Internship to teach at Vassar before going to Colby College, where he taught for eight years. In 1963, Iorio accepted a position at the University of South Florida, where he taught in the English department for more than 30 years. He was a published short story writer. Iorio is survived by his wife of 56 years, the former Dorothy Lockett; sons, Jay J. and Paul L.; daughter, Pam; son-in-law, Mark Woodard; two grandchildren; sisters, Katherine Bartolini, Susie Cirillo and her husband, Andrew, and Mary Koch and husband, George; brothers, Louis and his wife, Vera, and Christopher and his wife, Fran; and many nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to the USF Foundation, John and Dorothy Iorio Award, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., ALC 000, Tampa, FL 33602 or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
Arthur C. Ingerman ’52 Arthur C. Ingerman, retired dentist, Brooklyn, on August 3, 2007. Born in Brooklyn, Ingerman worked his way through the College primarily with jobs at the Johnson (now Wien) Hall Cafeteria and the Tau Epsilon Phi (TEP) Fraternity House, where he was an active brother, writing songs, plays and satires on college and fraternity mores. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in his junior year. After graduating from the Dental School in 1955, Ingerman became a captain in the Air Force and in 1957 opened a dental practice in Brooklyn; he later had offices in Manhattan and Rockland County. Ingerman was an active alumnus, serving on reunion committees and attending football and basketball games as well as Dean’s Day. After Homecoming, Ingerman threw an annual cocktail party at the Tennis Club at Baker Field for TEP members and guests. He was his class’ CCT Class Notes correspondent from 2002–07. Surviving are his wife, Rosalie; daughters Ellen Yamshon, Lauren Gerlis and Michele Henderson; son, Adam; and five grandchildren, including Samuel Yamshon ’11.
Robert H. Elwell, physician, Upland, Calif., on June 5, 2007. Elwell was born May 28, 1932, in Bennington, Vt.. An Army veteran, he was an Upland resident for 17 years. Elwell earned a master’s in psychology from GSAS in 1955 and graduated with honors from the University of Vermont College of Medicine in 1959. His internship and residency were at Walter Reed General Hospital, Washington, D.C., and upon completion, he was assigned to Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio as acting chief of neurology. Elwell later was appointed assistant professor of neurology at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. Starting in 1970, he maintained a private practice in Glens Falls, N.Y., for 20 years. Elwell is survived by his wife, Patricia; children, Deana, Wendy and Robert; brother, Jon; sister, Patricia Graham; and one granddaughter.
Stephen Gilbert ’54 Stephen Gilbert, retired neurologist, Brooklyn, on July 12, 2007. Born in Manhattan on January 18, 1932, Gilbert attended Forest Hills H.S. and ran track at the College. He minored in art history, attended Syracuse Medical School, interned at the University of Chicago and was a neurosurgery resident at Bowman Gray. Gilbert initially practiced at Montefiore Hospital, then Maimonides Hospital and Kings County Hospital, where he was chairman of neurology. He also practiced at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, where he served terms as president of the medical staff, as chairman of neurology and numerous committees. He was in private practice for more than 40 years. Gilbert was a lifelong bridge fanatic and tournament champion on the national level. He is survived by his wife of almost 46 years, Sandra; son, Ira ’84; and daughter, Holly ’87. Memorial contributions may be made to The Rogosin Institute, www.rogosin.org/donations or 212-746-1552.
David Pass, retired government employee, Silver Spring, Md., on July 18, 2007. Pass earned a master’s from the Architecture School in 1962, a B.S. from the Engineering School in 1964, a master’s in city planning from UC Berkeley and the equivalent of a Ph.D. in city planning from Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. A career employee of HUD from 1973 until his 2003 retirement, Pass worked in the New Cities Program and then later in Indian Affairs. He is survived by a sister, Rodna Hurewitz, and her husband, David; nephews, Joel Hurewitz, and Barry Hurewitz, and his wife, Alison; and numerous cousins. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.
James R. Ayers, accountant, St. Petersburg, Fla., on September 19, 2007. Ayers was born in Mt. Airy, N.C., on August 26, 1932, and spent his early years there. From 1942–1945, the Ayers family lived in Baltimore; they returned to Mt. Airy in 1945 following the end of WWII. After high school, Ayers enlisted in the Army and served in Korea during the Korean conflict. Following four years of military service, in 1956, he entered the College. He later transferred to Bentley College in Waltham, Mass., where he earned a degree in accounting. He went on to have a distinguished business career as a CPA and a financial adviser in the Boston area. Ayers and his wife, Christine, moved to St. Petersburg in 1998, where he continued his CPA practice. Ayers is survived by his wife; children, James, Diana and Jerald, and his wife, Heidi; a grandson; stepchildren, Geoffrey and Elena and her husband, John, and their daughter; brothers, Perry, and his wife, Fannie, and Nyles ’57 and his wife, Cynthia Young.
Richard J. Haber, physician and professor, Lagunitas, Calif., on June 11, 2007. Born on December 8, 1944, in Torrance, Calif., and raised in the Bronx, Haber graduated from the Bronx Science and Cornell Medical College (’69). He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was elected to the medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha. At San Francisco General Hospital, Haber had been vice-chief of the Medical Service, chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine and founding director of the UCSF/SFGH Primary Care Program. He won more than a dozen teaching awards and was an incipient member of the Debas Academy of Medical Educators. Haber was an avid skier, backpacker, bicyclist and horseman and was especially fond of his time spent in Jackson, Wyo., as a young ski area doctor; he continued to patrol with the Squaw Valley National Ski Patrol for many years. He also played piano and guitar. Haber is survived by his wife, Jacqueline; and son, Lawrence ’02. Memorial contributions may be made to the UCSF Internal Medicine Residency program at SFGH. Make checks payable to UCSF Foundation, memorial gift for Richard Haber M.D.; mail to K. Cooper, UCSF Foundation 44 Montgomery St., Ste 2200, San Francisco, CA 94104.
Meade H. Anderson ’07 Meade H. Anderson, Glendora, Calif., on August 14, 2007. Anderson, who graduated with a degree in philosophy, competed on the varsity fencing team during his four years at Columbia. His best season was 2005–06, his junior year, when he won eight of 10 bouts. With the addition of two newcomers, Anderson did not appear in any matches during his senior year, and finished with a 16–12 career record. He was a highly successful Cadet and Junior fencer before entering Columbia. Anderson was a U.S. Fencing Association Cadet national champion and was ranked as high as 13th nationally among U.S. Juniors in men’s foil. Lisa Palladino
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