Obituaries | 1960-1969

ROBERT G. VOTAW, a microbiologist and medical school administrator, died Jan. 26, 2016. He was 77. A member of Eclectic, he received his degree with distinction in biology and was elected to Sigma Xi. He received a PhD in microbiology from Case Western Reserve University in 1964 and taught there until 1966 when he was appointed associate professor of biochemistry and director of multidiscipline laboratories at the soon-to-be built University of Connecticut Health Center. During his tenure with the UConn Health Center, he was instrumental in the design of the multidisciplinary labs and the medical school’s first microbiology curriculum. Later, he also served as an assistant dean of medicine and led the development of the school’s first computer-based education program. After retiring from UConn he was an alternate energy project developer. He was married to the former Joye Lynn Dickens in 1961 and the couple divorced in 1988. Among those who survive are three children, a grandson, and his close friend, Norma Hartley.

KEVIN F. MCCARTHY, 70, a RAND Corp. social scientist who worked on projects ranging from immigration to the arts, died Mar. 17, 2015. After receiving master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he was an instructor there and a consultant with the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. He joined RAND in 1976 and retired in 2007 but continued to contribute to RAND research in an adjunct capacity until 2013. He began his career working on housing policies, an area where he developed tools to help predict family mobility and its impact on housing. He later directed the RAND Institute for Civil Justice and headed an initiative at RAND that studied the role of the arts in the American economy and society. He also authored a series of studies examining the impact of immigration on California’s economy and studied options for rebuilding housing in the Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina. In addition, he conducted analyses of demographic and economic trends in Mexico and the Caribbean Basin, the Middle East, and Russia. Known as one of RAND’s most versatile researchers in terms of the range of public policy issues he tackled, according to its president, his work “helped cities, states, judiciaries and museums address some of their most difficult issues.” He is survived by his wife, Susan Edwards McCarthy.

JOHN R. VINTON, M.D., a physician and retired medical administrator, died July 8, 2015. He was 73. After receiving his degree with honors and with distinction in letters, he served first in the U.S. Army and then in the Peace Corps in Chile, where he learned Spanish and taught pottery techniques. He then returned to the U.S. and received his medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania. In 1977 he moved to Damariscotta, Maine, where he and his wife practiced internal medicine. In 1985 they moved to Salt Lake City, where he worked as a medical administrator. An able outdoorsman, he trekked, skied, and rowed, in addition to traveling widely. Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Dr. Mary Ann Chase, two sons, three granddaughters, three sisters, and a large extended group of family and friends.

HAL H. WYSS, 75, professor emeritus of English at Albion College, died July 28, 2015, of pulmonary fibrosis. A member of Eclectic, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in English. He also received a master’s degree and a PhD from Ohio State University. In 1970 he accepted a position at Albion College, where he taught until his retirement in 2005. He specialized in American literature, with a particular love for Hemingway, Frost, Twain, Faulkner, and Melville. He also worked as an administrator, serving at times as the assistant, interim, or acting dean of the faculty. He served on all major faculty committees and was an early member and chair of the college’s pre-medical program. Named Albion College Advisor of the Year, he was also a recipient of the Student Senate’s Teacher of the Year Award. After retirement, he enjoyed teaching and taking classes through Albion’s Lifelong Learning program. He was also an accomplished fisherman and birder, as well as a gardener. His wife, Melissa Blair Wyss, survives, as do a daughter, two grandsons, his brother, and several nieces and nephews. One daughter predeceased him.

RUTH W. LEBERGOTT, a psychologist and educator, and the wife of the late Stanley Lebergott, professor emeritus of economics, died Apr. 6, 2015, at age 97. An alumna of the University of Michigan, she received a master’s degree from George Washington University and a master of arts in teaching from Wesleyan in 1969. She worked first as a speech pathologist and later as a psychologist with students and families in the Haddam, Conn., school system. She was a passionate advocate for liberal issues. Predeceased by her husband as well as by her son, survivors include her daughter, Karen Lebergott, and five grandchildren, including StarRose A. Keyes-Lebergott ’10.

TIMOTHY H. POLK, 69, a theologian who taught religious studies at Hamline University for 30 years, died July 8, 2015. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta and received his degree cum laude. After earning a master’s degree in divinity from Yale University, he received his PhD in religion there. He taught a variety of courses in religion and was involved in many initiatives across campus. An enthusiastic teacher, he was an internationally recognized scholar of Soren Kierkegaard’s work as it relates to Christianity. He was also an active lecturer and participant in the broader community. Survivors include his wife, Lucy, three children, one grandson, and his sister.

FRANC A. BARADA JR., M.D., a rheumatologist, died Feb. 8, 2015. He was 69. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he received his medical degree from the University of Virginia. After interning at the University of Wisconsin, he completed his training at the University of Virginia, in between serving as chief of medicine at the Fort Defiance Indian Hospital on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. He was assistant professor of rheumatology at Duke University and in 1982 founded Durham Rheumatology. He served the Durham community for more than 30 years and was also an active volunteer in both medical and local organizations. He helped to found Project Access of Durham County to secure medical specialty care for the uninsured. He is survived by his wife, Placide Noell Barada, two children, four grandchildren, and his sister.

ROBIN M. BURNS, 70, an architect in New York City, died Feb. 5, 2015. A member of Kappa Nu Kappa, he received his degree cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving his master’s degree from the Columbia University School of Architecture, he worked for New York City agencies for four decades to improve the design of public buildings. Among those who survive are his wife, Rena Grossfield, his daughter, two grandchildren, and his brother.

Rena writes, “Robin graduated from Columbia School of Architecture and spent most of his career working for various agencies in the City of New York, including City Planning, the Office of Downtown Brooklyn Development, the Department of General Services and the Department of Design and Construction (DDC). He served as chief architect of the Parks Department, overseeing the buildings in the city’s 200-plus parks. In the mid-’80s, he left public service to head the real estate development arm of the South Street Seaport Museum, at the time when the Rouse Corporation was transforming the Seaport area into one of its “festival marketplaces” akin to its projects in Boston and Baltimore. In his final years back with the city at DDC, he was senior project manager for the new multi-building police academy going up in Queens and the city’s new backup 911 emergency call center.

“Besides me, Robin left behind his daughter Jenny Burns and her husband, Geoff Sanoff, our two grandsons, Alexei (8) and Jesse (6), his brother Bruce, and his former wife and our dear friend Judy Burns and her wife Pat Magnuson. As I wrote in The New York Times obituary, he was a good man, taken too soon. Donations may be made to Learning Ally, where Robin was a longtime volunteer reader, 545 5th Avenue, NY, NY 10017; or to support Dr. Eileen O’Reilly’s pancreatic cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering: mskcc.convio.net/goto/Robin_Burns.” Rena may be reached at rgrossfield at gmail.com.

MICHAEL E. TIMM, 72, an attorney and former assistant New York State attorney general, died Mar. 15, 2015. He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi and received his law degree from New York University Law School. He practiced law in private practice and as an assistant attorney general. In 1995, he and his wife opened the Bijou Galleries, an antiques and collectibles shop in Cold Spring, N.Y. Survivors include his wife, Jane Silver Timm, his son, and his granddaughter.