In Memoriam / March 2020
Faculty, Staff and Friends
Dr. Judith “Judy” Cohen Saffran, Queens, N.Y., 96. She was an assistant professor of pathology and a member of a team investigating the binding of hormones to cell proteins. She also served as associate director of toxicology and director of the drug-testing laboratory.
**Dr. Amir Askari, Toledo, 89. He joined the Medical College of Ohio faculty as professor and chair of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics in 1975. Askari was chair of the department until 1997 and later served as chair of physiology at UToledo. Askari studied the heart muscle at the molecular level, focusing on its function during good health and disease. In addition to decades-long support from the National Institutes of Health, Askari was the lead investigator on a project titled “Control Mechanisms of Cardiac Proteins and Enzymes,” which received funding for more than 20 years from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
Georgene M. Shock, Toledo, 82. She was a volunteer with the Satellites Auxiliary.
James Tipton, Blissfield, Mich., 88. He served as board president of The University of Toledo Federal Credit Union.
Dr. Henry C. Wente, Toledo, 83. He joined the UToledo Department of Mathematics as an assistant professor in 1971. Wente was promoted to associate professor in 1974 and professor in 1977. His research focused on mathematical problems arising from the physics of liquid drops and soap films. In 1985, Wente was one of the first UToledo faculty members to receive the University’s Outstanding Research Award. That same year, he also took home the Sigma Xi Award for Outstanding Research. Wente was named a Distinguished University Professor in 1989; that appointment was regularly renewed. He taught a variety of mathematics courses until his retirement in 2009, and he was a referee for several academic journals and reviewed grants for the National Science Foundation. Wente was a member of the Ohio Gamma Chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon National Mathematics Honor Society. In 2010, he received the Delta X UToledo Chapter Award for outstanding achievement and service in promoting mathematical interest. In 2013, he became an inaugural Fellow of the American Mathematical Society.
Rosemary “Rose” Woodson, Toledo, 68. She was a volunteer with the Satellites Auxiliary.
Bessie Louise Wright, Toledo, 85. She worked in food service at the University.
Dr. Zi-Jian Xie (Ph.D. ’90), Saline, Mich., 59. As a professor of physiology, pharmacology and medicine, Xie’s laboratory became internationally recognized for work elucidating the mechanism of several pathways and their association with renal, heart and vascular disease, and cancer. He also served as co-director of the M.D./Ph.D. Program before leaving the University in 2013. Xie was an adjunct professor of physiology and pharmacology from 2014 to 2018.
Rev. Langston C. Bannister, Toledo, 85. He joined the faculty in 1971 and retired in 2002.
Patty Belle (Tilley) Dempsey, Swanton, Ohio, 83. She was a library media technical assistant who retired from the University in 1996.
Frederick Folger III (Ed ’61), Toledo, 80. He taught local history classes at the University from 1976 to 1992 and taught social studies for 31 years in Washington Local Schools in Toledo.
David N. Gillmore (Ed ’60, MEd ’65), Houston, Texas, 82. He taught television and broadcasting classes at UToledo from 1963 to 1966.
Eddie-Jean Harris, Toledo, 59. She was a food service worker at the hospital from 2000 to 2019.
Dr. Irwin A. Horowitz, Corvallis, Ore., 80. He joined the University as an assistant professor in 1966. Four years later, Horowitz was promoted to associate professor and received tenure. He was a professor when he left in 1994. His research, supported by the National Science Foundation, focused on jury selection and jury nullification, as well as the effect of group norms on bystander intervention.
Cindy E. Klostermeier, Toledo, 63. She was hired at MCO in 1982 and retired from UToledo in 2010 as housekeeping manager in Environmental Services.
Dr. Raymond D. Otto, Toledo, 91. He was a longtime area dentist who was a clinical assistant professor at MCO/MUO from 1980 to 2006.
Dr. John A. Pigott, Toledo, 85. He was a local pediatrician and clinical associate professor at MCO/MUO/UToledo from 1970 to 2009.
John C. Rider, Toledo, 80. He was a former MCO/MUO employee who retired in 2006.
Donald Seeman (A/S ’51, Ed ’55), Toledo, 92. He was a former instructor in the Department of Music. In addition, Seeman was a piano technician who tuned pianos at the University and area venues.
Dr. Michael D. Sherman, Toledo, 78. He joined the College of Business in 1979 and taught finance classes and Executive MBA Program courses. Sherman served as an economic adviser for the natural gas industry and appeared as an expert witness in regulatory hearings before the Federal Power Commission, Federal Trade Commission and state regulatory bodies. He served as a consultant for several companies, including Eli Lilly & Co., Standard & Poor’s Compustat Services Inc., and United Energy Resources Inc. In 2015, Sherman retired from the University and was named associate professor emeritus.
Lorraine K. Smith, Perrysburg, Ohio, 66. She worked at the University from 1977 to 2010.
**Anna Vaughan (Bus ’92), Grand Rapids, Ohio, 89. She was an office manager of the outpatient clinics at MCO for many years.
**Margaret Tams, Sylvania, Ohio, 93.
**Barry Sucher, Sarasota, Fla., 76.
**George Burtch, Largo, Fla., 89.
1940s
Gladys Mens (Bus ’46), Sylvania, Ohio, 95.
1950s
**Marilyn Warner Abel (UTCTC ’51, Ed ’06), Jordan, Minn., 90.
Dr. Gene Geisert (MEd ’51), Jefferson City, Mo., 92.
Mildred Richards (A/S ’52, MEd ’82), Concord Township, Ohio, 90.
Dr. Carl Leistner (A/S ’54), Perrysburg, Ohio, 87.
**Donald Thurber (Ed ’52), La Salle, Mich., 92.
Carol Payette (Ed ’57), Toledo, 85.
Thomas Shiple (Eng ’54), Perrysburg, Ohio, 88.
Matilda Gilmore (Ed ’54, MEd ’60), San Rafael, Calif., 105.
Carol Payette (Ed ’57), Toledo, 85.
1960s
**Robert Scheer (Law ’69), Walnut Creek, Calif., 75.
Robert Priest (Eng ’69), Columbus, Ohio, 91.
Kenneth Mazur (UTCTC ’68), Toledo, 73.
Lawrence Leach (A/S ’66), Luna Pier, Mich., 83.
*Richard McKaig (Bus ’61), Perrysburg, Ohio, 86.
**Walter Lange (Ed ’61, MEd ’65, Ed Spec ’77), Swanton, Ohio, 81.
Owen Gibbons (Bus ’60), Beaver Creek, Ohio, 85.
Judith Bialecki (UTCTC ’67), Sylvania, Ohio, 72.
Robert Buchs (Bus ’67), San Diego, Calif., 74.
Betty Fish (Ed ’67), Millbury, Ohio, 89.
1970s
Dr. Patrick Campbell (Law ’78), Oakland, Calif., 66.
*Phillip Cashin (UTCTC ’78), Toledo, 80.
Larry Zahn (Eng ’77), Southfield, Mich., 64.
Dr. Bruce Crider (A/S ’77, MED ’82), Saline, Mich., 65.
Anthony Bill (UTCTC ’73), Toledo, 77.
Dr. George Maxymiv (A/S ’76), Roanoke, Va., 65.
Peggy Smith (MEd ’78), Palm Harbor, Fla., 80.
Barbara Ford (Ed ’71, MEd ’88), Delta, Ohio, 70.
Daniel Grabarczyk (Bus ’78), Lambertville, Mich., 65.
Daniel Pavuk (Bus ’77), New Bern, N.C., 73.
1980s
Dennis Bailey (UTCTC ’85), Maumee, Ohio, 75.
Teresa Martin (UTCTC ’85), Medina, Ohio, 58.
Stephen Scarbrough (Bus ’89), Sylvania, Ohio, 53.
John Parrish (Bus ’85), Sylvania, Ohio, 57.
Jeffrey Barnes (Bus ’81), Sylvania, Ohio, 61.
Alberta Dagbe-Williams (UTCTC ’83), Toledo, 69.
LaDonna Mason (Ed ’82), Vail, Ariz., 93.
Robert Anderson (UTCTC ’83), Holland, Ohio, 69.
1990s
Stephen Simon (Bus ’91), Toledo, 56.
Marilyn Stukey (MEd ’92), Swanton, Ohio, 77.
Lucy Osbourne (Univ Coll ’94, MEd ’99), Toledo, 91.
Bradley Folger (Bus ’95), Fiskdale, Mass., 48.
Melvin Bridges (Univ Coll ’94), Ottawa Hills, Ohio, 81.
2010s
Julie Adelphia (MHS ’15), Holland, Ohio, 41.
Ryan Cleghorn (Eng ’15), Waterville, Ohio, 26.