We celebrate and honor our graduates who have passed on

In Memoriam: Spring 2019

Eustace P. Hetzel ’39, former test pilot and chief test engineer for North American, Northrop, and Rockwell, and translator of Russian periodicals; July 6, 2018.

Wylie J. Childs ’44, Ph.D. ’48, professor emeritus, Rensselaer, former principal engineer, GE nuclear energy division, and metallurgy manager, EPRI; Jan. 18, 2019.

Neilson E. Marshall ’44, retired facilities manager, Shell Oil Company, and WWII and Korean War Marine Corps veteran; Jan. 9, 2019.

Thomas Van Arsdale ’46, former business manager, Local Union 3, IBEW, president, NYC Central Labor Council, and WWII Navy veteran; May 20, 2018.

Robert D. Dennis ’47, aeronautical and mechanical engineer for such companies as Lear Siegler, Nelson Stud Welding, and TRW, and U.S. Navy veteran; Aug. 17, 2018.

Malachi P. Kenney Jr. ’47, retired president, Engineered Metal Products Division, ITT Corp., and U.S. Navy veteran; Feb. 22, 2018.

William G. Schalin ’47, retired telecommunications planning and engineering manager, president, Dorbazon Planners, and U.S. Navy veteran; Sept. 27, 2018.

Wayne E. Struble ’47, retired partner, Struble & Skelton Architects, Medford, Ore.; May 2018.

Richard A. Seymour ’48, retired engineering supervisor, Eastman Kodak Co., and WWII Army Air Force veteran; Feb. 17, 2002.

William R. Haselton ’49, former chairman, St. Regis Paper Co., and vice chairman, Champion International; Feb. 19, 2018.

George R. Johns ’49, founder, Harsen & Johns architectural firm, and highly decorated WWII and Korean War Marine Corps fighter pilot; June 2018.

Ronald E. Woodward ’49, M.Arch ’51, former supervising architect, Burns and Roe, vice president, Roe Design Group, and U.S. Navy veteran; Nov. 24, 2018.

Max Bleck ’50, retired president, Raytheon Co., former president of Beech, Learjet, and Cessna, and member, Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame; Sept. 2, 2018.

J. Herbert Fithian ’50, retired plant engineer, Owens-Illinois Inc.; Sept. 6, 2018.

Albert J. Rieger ’50, retired after a 40-year career as a metallurgical engineer with Alcoa, at various locations; Dec. 29, 2017.

William A. Tynan ’50, retired senior engineer, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, and amateur radio satellite pioneer who took amateur radio to the ISS; Aug. 7, 2018.

Paul D. Van Gelder ’50, retired distributor manager, U.S. Electrical Motors Division, Emerson Electric Co., and WWII Army veteran; Oct. 14, 2018.

George L. MacCurdy, MCH ’51, retired chemical engineer, Bendix Corp., art museum volunteer, and WWII Navy veteran; Sept. 3, 2018.

Robert D. Vanderminden ’51, retired CEO and chairman, Telescope Casual Furniture, where he was an innovative product, machinery, process, and plant designer; Dec. 27, 2018.

Reyman R. Branting ’52, engineer with Alcoa, Graver, and PBI, certified financial planner with AG Edwards, and Korean War Army veteran; Aug. 20, 2018.

Burton J. Seelig ’52, real estate developer, retired associate, Serota & Sons, formerly with Irving Seelig and Son architecture firm, and U.S. Army veteran; Nov. 18, 2018.

Ronald F. Voigt ’52, retired contract manager, Stanley Aviation and North American Aviation; Nov. 18, 2018.

Richard D. Warren ’52, retired lieutenant commander, U.S. Navy, and entrepreneur in computer technology and land development; Sept. 29, 2018.

Donald G. Beebe ’53, retired manager, coating and corrosion control, CBI Industries; Nov. 29, 2018.

Stewart B. Fritts ’53, retired director of purchasing and stores, United Illuminating, retired Air National Guard captain, pilot, and train locomotive engineer; Sept. 6, 2018.

Robert W. Graham ’53, retired chemist, Eastman Kodak Co., and sailor; April 27, 2018.

Peter V. Laquidara ’53, retired secretary-treasurer, Laquidara Inc., builder of dams, water treatment, and hydroelectric plants; Oct. 11, 2018.

Robert D. Shangraw ’53, retired mechanical engineer, United Aircraft Corp., board of education chairman, and Korean War Navy veteran; June 9, 2018.

Francis B. Vigezzi ’53, M.Arch. ’54, retired district manager, building and real estate, AT&T, and U.S. Army veteran; Nov. 26, 2018.

Matthew J. Donachie Jr. ’54, retired metallurgist, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, ASM fellow, and adjunct professor, Rensselaer at Hartford; Oct. 22, 2018.

Peter Guesnon ’54, former president, Peter Guesnon Inc., designer of air flow systems for commercial buildings, and president, Boston Acoustical Society; Dec. 27, 2018.

Edwin D. Reilly Jr. ’54, M.S. ’58, Ph.D. ’69, retired professor, computer science, University at Albany, and longtime Niskayuna Town Supervisor; Aug. 1, 2018.

Thomas Mason ’55, retired co-founder and president, Airgas Inc., active in industry associations, and retired U.S. Navy pilot; Nov. 26, 2017.

John D. McKendree ’55, retired computer scientist and senior project manager, U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency, and competitive barbershop singer; Sept. 29, 2018.

James J. Shaughnessy ’55, retired civil engineer, prominent railroad photographer, author, and historian; Aug. 7, 2018.

Paul J. Vinett ’55, retired electrical engineer and director, high-tech services, Central Hudson Gas & Electric Co.; June 15, 2018.

Robert A. Knapp ’56, retired manager, design engineering, General Electric Co.; March 13, 2018.

Leonard A. LeSchack ’56, U.S. Navy captain, CIA analyst, geologist, and originator of the Project Coldfeet mission to a Soviet station in the Arctic; Dec. 15, 2017.

Saul Y. Levy ’56, professor emeritus, applied mathematics and computer science, Rutgers University; Oct. 23, 2018.

John P. Locher III ’56, retired technical director, Mitre Corp., who made contributions to worldwide air traffic control, woodworker, and model railroader; Dec. 18, 2017.

Robert F. Aldrich Jr. ’57, who spent his career in manufacturing management positions, published author of limericks, and U.S. Navy veteran; Oct. 19, 2018.

Frank P. Presta ’57, recognized IP lawyer and partner, Nixon & Vanderhye P.C., in Arlington, Va.; May 3, 2018.

C. Carter Rich ’57, retired program manager, GE Aerospace, and dealer in fine minerals; Sept. 6, 2018.

James L. Caldwell ’58, retired advisory engineer, IBM, who worked to make technology accessible to the disability community, and U.S. Navy veteran; Sept. 21, 2018.

Robert T. Drew ’58, environmental health scientist, developer of national toxicology labs, and retired department director, American Petroleum Institute; Nov. 14, 2018.

Joseph S. Ingber ’58, former electrical engineer, photographer, entrepreneur, attorney, and ba’al t’fillah; Oct. 9, 2017.

Alex C. Young ’58, former president and CEO, Rotex Global LLC, active in Rensselaer alumni and development affairs and in Cincinnati, Ohio, organizations; Jan. 12, 2019.

Ernest A. Meyer Jr. ’59, retired high school math teacher, and former electrical engineer, Sperry Gyroscope; Jan. 8, 2017.

James F. Rappolt ’59, retired quality manager, Westvaco Corp. and manager, customer technical support, Weyerhaeuser Co., and U.S. Navy veteran; July 12, 2018.

Joseph M. Pitkin ’59, M.E. ’61, Ph.D. ’82, retired senior engineer, Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, and U.S. Army veteran; Oct. 11, 2018.

Thomas P. Giammo ’60, pioneer in IT management and senior executive in federal agencies including SSA, NOAA, and USPTO; June 19, 2018.

Robert A. Monteleone ’60, retired senior engineer, Sikorsky Aircraft, and teacher, Bridgeport Engineering Institute; June 18, 2017.

Frank J. Denniston ’61, MEE ’67, former NYNEX Global Systems vice president and chief engineer, and U.S. Army veteran; Oct. 1, 2018.

Arthur May ’62, FAIA, retired partner at Kohn Pedersen Fox, and principal at May & Pinska, recipient of architecture prizes, and painter; July 20, 2018.

George K. Hansen ’64, retired environmental engineer, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and longtime board of appeals chair; April 11, 2018.

Richard S. Piper ’64, architect, nationally recognized building materials consultant, and wood-turner; May 3, 2018.

Glenn Randers-Pehrson ’64, retired physicist, Picatinny Arsenal and Aberdeen Proving Ground, co-author, PNG image format, and U.S. Army lieutenant colonel; Oct. 19, 2018.

Chester A. Winsor ’65, MEE ’67, DE ’69, retired vice president, technical operations, electronics sector, Lockheed Martin Corp., and active alumnus; Sept. 18, 2018.

Beverley Sved ’66, retired systems engineer, analyst, and corporate strategist, IBM, and former mayor and honored citizen of Scarsdale, N.Y.; Sept. 22, 2018.

Michael R. Cannon II, M.E. ’68, Ph.D. ’70, retired consultant, Duracell and Cannon Instrument Co., and owner of Skyflight; Oct. 3, 2017.

Andrew J. Dwyer ’68, M.S. ’69, physician-radiologist, National Institutes of Health, and retired captain, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; Oct. 26, 2017.

William D. Lawrence ’70, retired hematologist and oncologist with Century Medical Associates; May 18, 2018.

Joseph J. Paterno, Ph.D. ’70, retired corporate vice president, Norton Co., and director of industrial relations activities at the University of New Hampshire; Nov. 30, 2018.

Stephen F. Scheiber ’70, founder, ConsuLogic Consulting Services, engineer, writer, and former DJ, who was active in the RPI Players and WRPI; Dec. 10, 2018.

Judith A. Barnes, M.S. ’71, Ph.D. ’84, communications consultant, author, and adjunct professor at Rensselaer, active on community boards; Dec. 14, 2018.

Stephen A. Youngwirth ’71, ophthalmologist, U.S. Air Force major, and flight surgeon; Jan. 21, 2017.

Jon C. Jackson ’73BAR ’74, FAIA, retired principal at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, known for his humane and award-winning designs of academic spaces and laboratories; Aug. 17, 2018.

John E. Leimseider ’74, renowned synthesizer technician, who played keyboards professionally with Iron Butterfly and other bands; Sept. 14, 2018.

Garry J. Cap ’75, retired vice president, TD Bank, formerly with Wells Fargo Bank, Liberty Bank, and HSBC; Dec. 1, 2018.

John L. Adami ’77, cardiologist on the Outer Banks and in Elizabeth City, N.C.; Oct. 30, 2018.

Richard F. Morris ’78, six-year management/law graduate, an international corporate tax attorney and managing director, JPMorganChase Bank; April 21, 2018.

Michael J. Pickett ’81, former sales director at Brooks Automation and Innovent Technologies, world traveler, and lifelong hockey player; Aug. 21, 2018.

David J. Didio ’82, retired U.S. Naval Reserve commander, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond IT expert, and home improvement company partner; Sept. 4, 2018.

Stanley R. Stober, MBA ’84, advanced technology development manager, Pfizer Inc.; Sept. 27, 2018.

Brian J. Daly ’85, pioneer of mezzanine financing in the power sector, and director of the power group at TCW; June 1, 2018.

John R. Hope ’86, founder of Hope Elder Law, an estate planning and special needs planning law firm in Watertown, Mass.; April 19, 2018.

Jonathan S. Baeslack ’10, former research intern at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland and holder of a second degree black belt in karate; Nov. 8, 2018.

Ricardo E. Urdaneta ’11, former engineer for Greene, Tweed and Co., specialty materials, Tae Kwon Do black belt, and guitarist; Aug. 27, 2018.

Paul J. Pagnozzi, M.E. ’14, retired physician, more recently an environmental engineer at Seed Solar and adjunct professor at Rensselaer; Nov. 24, 2018.

Jose M. Borrego, professor emeritus, electrical, computer, and systems engineering, whose research focused on thermoelectrics and semiconductors; Aug. 17, 2018.

Joseph S. Levinger, theoretical nuclear physicist and professor emeritus, physics, at Rensselaer, where he spent nearly three decades; Oct. 25, 2018.

Herbert H. Richtol, professor emeritus of chemistry and dean of the undergraduate college at Rensselaer, and later, program director at the National Science Foundation; Jan. 3, 2019.