JUSTINE JACOBY COOK, 53, a former casting director and production manager, died Nov. 7, 2013. She worked as a casting director for film and television in Hollywood and later as a production manager for the Marat Daukayev School of Ballet in Los Angeles. Her husband, Douglas Cook, and two children survive.
PATRICK W. KOCIAN, 50, a labor attorney, died March 29, 2007. He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi. He received his law degree from New York University. Among those who survive is a sister.
MARIDZA ACABA MARTINEZ died of cervical cancer Mar. 9, 2003 at age 45. A college counselor at Chelsea High School in New York City and a U.S. Army veteran, she received a master’s degree from City University of New York. Known for her commitment to her students and for her keen sense of understanding, she worked tirelessly on their behalf. Among those who survive are her son, Angel Daniel Martinez, and her longtime companion, Albert Robinson.
DARYLE R. WALL, a writer and poet, died Apr. 22, 2007, at age 48. A writer for the United Negro College Fund and for Con Edison, at the time of his death he was working on a collection of poetry. His father predeceased him, and he is survived by his mother, Tina Wall, a sister, two godchildren, and a large extended family.
RICHARD H. VELAJ, M.D., a radiologist who specialized in neuroradiology, died Oct. 14, 2011, at age 52. He received his degree magna cum laude. After receiving his medical degree from Duke University, he trained at George Washington University and at Massachusetts General Hospital. He joined the Greenwich (Conn.) Radiological Group and the staff at Greenwich Hospital in 1990. In addition to Board certification in general radiology, he achieved additional Special Competence in neuroradiology. He was also a senior member of the Greenwich Hospital Peer Review Committee and president of the Greenwich Radiological Group. He is survived by his wife, Nicole Velaj, two daughters, his parents, and his brother.
JOHN H. STEEB, 36, died Apr. 20, 2004. A diverse musician, he played the bass, trumpet, double bass, and guitar. Among those who survive are his parents, his grandmother, and two sisters.
JUDITH CAREY SCHLESINGER, a psychotherapist, died of breast cancer Aug. 15, 2008. She was 40. A government major at Wesleyan, she graduated with honors and earned her master’s degree in social work from Smith College. She is survived by her husband, Eric Rosenthal ’87, two children, her parents, three sisters, and a large extended group of family and friends.
ELIZABETH R. TURNER ’86, a former resident of Bethesda, Md,, died on Oct. 12, 2003, at the Baylor University Medical Center, in Dallas, Texas. She had been suffering from leukemia.
Elizabeth was born in Bethesda and graduated from Winston Churchill High School, a valedictorian and member of the National Honor Society. She attended Wesleyan University, graduating in 1986. She worked as a paralegal for Williams & Connolly, in D.C., before attending Harvard Law School; and worked at Miller and Chevalier, in D.C., between her first and second years of law school. She received the Juris Doctor degree in 1990, and then moved to Dallas to join the law firm of Hughes & Luce, specializing in estate planning and trusts. She became a partner in 1999.
At Winston Churchill, Elizabeth developed a strong and continuing interest in stagecraft, along with her interest in choral singing, and, at Wesleyan, extended that interest to performing and writing for the musical stage, and adding singing lessons to her curriculum. At Harvard, she was president of the Harvard Law School Drama Society and helped stage and appeared in the 30th annual law school show, a musical, The Crimson Slippers. In her early years in Dallas, she continued voice lessons and began writing for and performing in the annual Bar None satirical musical revues put on by the Dallas Bar Association, to raise money for law scholarships. When her illness prevented her performing, herself, she still contributed her ideas and songwriting. And, last spring, she performed in the XVIII Bar None revue, My Big Fat Geek Lawyer.
Elizabeth worked on construction projects with the Dallas chapter of Habitat for Humanity, co-chaired the Dallas Bar Association’s Community Involvement Committee, and became an active member of Altrusa International, Inc., serving on the board. She gave lectures at legal conferences and published several articles in law journals. In 2001, the magazine Texas Lawyer named her one of the “Top Forty Under Forty” lawyers in the state of Texas. She was admitted as a Fellow of the Dallas Bar Foundation and elected a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Elizabeth was also cited as an “unsung hero” in Head Notes, the monthly newsletter of the Dallas Bar Association. In all her associations, people knew Elizabeth for her intellect, humor, sensitivity, and her profound concern for the well being of others.
She is survived by her fiance, Joshua Kamman of Dallas; her mother and father, Nancy and Bob Turner of Gaithersburg, Maryland; her borhter, Michael Turner of Takoma Park, Maryland; and her sisters, Christie Degener of Pittsboro, North Carolina, and Wendy Sullivan of Gaithersburg.
RICHARD B. SMITH, 48, a screenwriter, director, and creative director of digital media and live events, died June 29, 2011. He received a master’s degree from The School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California, from which he launched his screenwriting career. In addition to writing for the screen he also wrote a novel and was a member of the Writers Guild of America. He created immersive media for trade shows and experiential installations for museums, and he worked with numerous corporate clients. In addition to his professional accomplishments, he was also lead guitarist for the band Nooner, and an avid tennis player and sailor. Among those who survive are his wife, Mariana Schwartz; three daughters, including Adriana Clare Smith ’15; his mother; three sisters; three brothers; and a large extended family.
JAMES S. ROBINSON, an award-winning journalist, died Jan. 13, 2004, of complications from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 44. After graduating from Wesleyan he received a master’s degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism. At the time of his death he was the associate director of the Stanford University News Service and edited the university’s faculty/staff newspaper. Under his editorship the paper won the Gold Medal for Excellence from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in 2002. He came to Stanford in 1998 following a distinguished career at newspapers including the Springfield (Mass.) Republican and Agence France-Presse. A certified interpreter, he spoke French, Italian and Spanish fluently. Survivors include his partner, Ken Wingard, his parents, a brother, and a nephew and niece.
