ELVA S. CREEGER

ELVA S. CREEGER, 84, a scientist whose research centered on such diverse topics as mathematical modeling of piezoelectricity in crystals, cell membrane permeability, and cancer research, and who received a master’s degree in physics in 1953, and a PhD in biophysics, died Mar. 29, 2013. She was the daughter of the late long-serving Wesleyan Professor of Astronomy Carl L. Stearns of the class of 1917 and the sister of the late Robert L. Stearns of the class of 1950. She received a BA from Vassar College and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and to Sigma Xi. After receiving Louise Hart Van Loon and NIH graduate fellowships, her career included teaching and research posts at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Newington, Conn., and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, Germany, where she worked with a team quantifying the DNA molecule. After retiring she became a policy editor for Hartford insurance firms. A certified Water Safety Instructor for many years, she was an avid, life-long swimmer and was also a consistent blood donor. A son, Carl Creeger, died. Survivors include her husband, Wesleyan Professor of English Emeritus and former Dean of the College George R. Creeger; two children; two grandchildren; her sister; and a nephew, Marshall E. Stearns ’82.