In Memoriam

Walter Jackson Bate '39

After a distinguished Harvard career spanning more than 50 years, Porter University Professor of English Emeritus Walter Jackson Bate '39 died of a heart attack July 26 in Boston. He was 81.

Bate was a two-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, gaining recognition for his biographical writings on John Keats in 1964 and Samuel Johnson in 1978. The Johnson biography also won the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Bate was well-known at Harvard for his exceptional lecturing, especially in his popular course, entitled the "Age of Johnson."

He taught English at the College for 40 years and also served as chair of the Department of English and the History and Literature concentration.

Even after retiring, Bate maintained close ties with the University and spent many days in the office he retained in Widener Library.

Gary Bellow

Brandeis Professor of Law Gary Bellow died of a heart attack April 13 in Cambridge, closing a life of progressive legal advocacy and education. He was 64.

Before joining the Harvard Law School faculty in 1971, he worked as a defense attorney and activist for the poor and underprivileged. Groups he defended include the United Farm Workers and its founder, civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, and the radical Black Panther Party.

At Harvard, Bellow was one of the first practitioners of clinical legal education, teaching students in the classroom and sending them into the field to practice what they learned.

With his wife, Lecturer on Law Jeanne Charn, Bellow founded the Hale and Dorr Legal Services Center in Jamaica Plains. The center enables law school students to practice real cases and provides legal services to the poor.

Jeanne S. Chall

An influential researcher and emerita professor at the Graduate School of Education (GSE) who for decades was at the forefront of the debate over how people learn to read, Jeanne S. Chall died Nov. 27 of heart failure at her Cambridge home. She was 78.

Chall, who retired in 1991, was one of the first psychologists to talk of reading as a learning process with developmental stages. She started teaching at the GSE in 1965.

Colleagues said one of Chall's chief contributions to her field was to urge reading teachers to give elementary school students the most challenging literature possible.

Until about a year ago, Chall continued to visit campus regularly to research, teach and write. About two weeks before her death, she finished editing her final work, a retrospective on trends in reading education.

Abram Chayes '43

Frankfurter Professor of Law emeritus Abram Chayes '43 died April 16 from complications of pancreatic cancer. He was 77.

Chayes, who served as a leading legal adviser to the Kennedy administration, taught at Harvard Law School (HLS) for more than four decades.

He worked as an adviser to the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy '40. When Kennedy was elected, Chayes moved to Washington, where he served as legal adviser to the State Department. In that role, Chayes worked on the administration's response to the 1961 Berlin crisis, as well as the Cuban missile crisis.

At HLS, Chayes was a popular and dynamic professor, whose books and articles on international law were widely read.

In 1999, he was part of a committee of international legal experts that advised the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina on issues of corruption.

Burton S. Dreben '49

After a Harvard career that spanned over 40 years, Pierce Professor of Philosophy Emeritus Burton S. Dreben '49 died of lymphoma July 11 in Boston. He was 71.

Dreben served as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences from 1973 to 1975, during which time he cut graduate school enrollments while championing academic ideals.

Dreben was also an active member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), serving as the body's parliamentarian during the tumultuous years of the late 1960s, when he argued for open debate between students and Faculty members over contentious issues like draft deferment and the 1969 student strike.

Faculty members remember a lighter side to the professor, as well.

"He was a delightful man, filled with lots of little idiosyncrasies," said Secretary of the Faculty John B. Fox Jr. '59.

William D. Fahey

A resident tutor in Pforzheimer House from 1995 to 1999, William D. Fahey died on Feb. 16 after a one-and-a-half-year battle with cancer.

A historian by training, Fahey received his undergraduate education at UCLA and did graduate work in diplomatic, American cultural and women's history at Ohio University. He had been planning to attend law school.

Fahey founded the Pforzheimer video library and contributed many books to the House's library.

He was also a wonderful friend to the tutoring staff, and a devoted mentor who "had a great impact" on the students of Pforzheimer, said Pforzheimer Senior Tutor Dirk Killen '82.

Edward S. Gorey '50

An author and illustrator whose dark drawings found bizarre humor in death, Edward S. Gorey '50 died on April 15 after suffering a heart attack. He was 75.

Gorey--who often wrote under amusing anagrams of his own name, such as Ogdred Weary, and D. Awdrey-Gore--authored more than 100 books during the course of his career and illustrated more than 60 works by other authors.

Gorey's best-selling books used rhyme, whimsy and a distinctive cross-hatched style to depict the macabre, from the 26 dying children (one for each letter of the alphabet) of The Gashlycrumb Tinies to the hook-nosed visitor of The Doubtful Guest, who never seems to leave.

The author also won a Tony Award for designing costumes for the 1978 Broadway production of Dracula.

Alan E. Heimert '49

Noted professor of early American history and literature Alan E. Heimert '49, a mainstay on Harvard's campus for more than 50 years, died Nov. 1 in New York City of a heart attack. He was 70.

The Cabot professor of American literature and former master of Eliot House had been on leave this year following a series of health problems over the past few years.

Students awarded him the Levenson award for teaching excellence in 1997. Two years before, the Modern Language Association gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award.

He served as master of Eliot House from 1968 through 1991, in addition to chairing the English department, the history and literature concentration and the graduate program in American civilization at various times during his career.

Henry Stuart Hughes

Former Gurney Professor of History Henry Stuart Hughes, a leader in the field of European intellectual history and a nuclear disarmament activist, died in San Diego of pneumonia on Oct. 21. He was 83.

Hughes taught at Harvard from 1948 to 1952 and from 1957 to 1975.

In 1997, Hughes received the American Historical Association's Award for Scholarly Distinction. The Italian government also commended him for his work in Italian history.

On a pro-disarmament platform, Hughes ran in Massachusetts as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in the 1962 race against Democrat Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56. He was also one of the few Harvard professors to publicly object to the war in Vietnam.

Daniel Henry Holmes Ingalls '36

Former Sanskrit and Indian Studies Department Chair Daniel Henry Holmes Ingalls '36, who taught at Harvard for 35 years, died July 17 of heart failure in Hot Springs, Va. He was 83.

During his time at Harvard, Holmes ushered in a rise in student interest in South Asia.

In this period, Ingalls also published two books that are considered classics of Sanskrit studies. His writings and teachings have had a wide range of influence among Sanskrit scholars.

Ingalls, who also served as president of the American Oriental Society, retired in 1983 to serve as chair of Virginia Hot Springs, Inc., his family business.

A native of New York, Ingalls earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Harvard.

Kirsten P. Kent

A Harvard Extension School student, Kirsten P. Kent, died Jan. 4 following a car accident in Florida on New Year's Day.

For several years, Kent's passion had been treating children with autism--work she planned to continue after her schooling.

"Her idea was touching and talking, not just going by the book--and she had some breakthroughs," her father said.

Friends remembered Kent, who registered with the Extension School this past fall, wrote whole "collections" of poetry. Some of her poems, including one titled "Finding Perfection," were read at a memorial service in Sarasota, Fla.

Though Kent was not enrolled in a degree program, her father said she had hoped to enter the College and go on to receive a Ph.D. to give her the formal training she would need to work in education and speech therapy.

Murray B. Levin '48

Boston University (B.U.) Professor of Political Science emeritus Murray B. Levin '48, a member of the Quincy House Senior Common Room and a scholar-activist, died Dec. 8 of heart problems. He was 72.

Levin, who urged his students to stand up for what they believed, practiced what he preached as a member of the so-called "B.U. Five," a group of tenured professors who taught classes outside to protest the administration's failure to grant secretaries the right to unionize.

Levin is the author of several books, including The Alienated Voter: Politics in Boston, two books on Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 (D-Mass.) and Talk Radio and the American Dream.

After retiring from B.U. in 1990, Levin taught at the Harvard Extension School and spent several years teaching underprivileged students in Boston. This experience inspired his most recent book, Teach Me: Kids Will Learn When Oppression Is the Lesson.

Richard C. Marius

The former director of Harvard's Expository Writing program, a Reformation scholar and an acclaimed novelist, Richard C. Marius died at his home in Belmont on Nov. 5 from pancreatic cancer. He was 66.

Marius became Harvard's director of Expository Writing in 1978 and served until 1993.

Faculty and students remembered Marius--who taught classes on such writers as Shakespeare, Twain and Faulkner--as a devoted teacher and "Southern gentleman" who loved writing. He retired from Harvard last year after becoming sick in order to finish his fourth novel.

His other novels, The Coming of the Rain , Bound for the Promised Land and After the War, portray individuals interacting with major historical events between 1850 and 1950. They are all set in Marius' native Tennessee.

Stanley Miller '52

A local entrepreneur and former member of Radcliffe College's Board of Trustees, Stanley Miller '52 died of lymphoma on Jan. 28 at his Newton home. He was 68.

Jane E. Tewksbury '74, who served on the board with Miller, called him "a true friend of Radcliffe who will be sorely missed."

"One time, an abandoned child was left on his doorstep, and he and his wife made sure it was provided for," said Amey A. De Friez '49, former chair of the Radcliffe Board. "Of all the doorsteps in Newton to be left on, that was probably the best one."

In addition to his service to Radcliffe, Miller was a past president of the Harvard Club of Boston and ran the Newton Planning Board and Park Commission, as well as the Newton United Fund.

A Harvard Business School (HBS) graduate, Miller founded two real estate companies, Space Makers and Realty Financial Partners. He was also a partner in Congress Realty Companies.

Navin Narayan '99

An Adams House resident who received his A.B. summa cum laude in social studies shortly before his death, Navin Narayan '99 died March 13 of cancer. He was 23.

Narayan was a Rhodes scholar and had hoped to become a doctor. He worked throughout high school and college with the American Red Cross, becoming the organization's youngest national committee chair ever in 1998.

But Narayan is remembered by those close to him less for his accomplishments than for his gentle way with people.

"He was easily the most humble and unassuming person I have ever met," said Otto Coontz, the assistant to the Adams House senior tutor.

Narayan's life work was in the field of international health. Having volunteered with his local chapter of the Red Cross since eighth grade, Narayan was asked to speak before the national organization when he was 17. Just months before, he had been diagnosed with facial cancer.

Recently, Narayan spent time in India, where his grandparents live, collecting data on the adverse health effects of child labor for the advocacy group, Physicians For Human Rights.

At a memorial service in May, Adams House Master Judith Palfrey '67 announced that a lecture series and an annual public service award had been established in Narayan's memory.

Benjamin I. Schwartz '38

A pioneering scholar who, at the height of the Cold War, first noted the differences between Chinese and Soviet communism, Benjamin I. Schwartz '38, died Nov. 14 of cancer. He was 82.

Schwartz, a specialist in Chinese history and thought, began teaching at Harvard in 1951. He retired in 1987 as Williams professor of history and political science.

In the 1950s, Schwartz was the first to publish a major study--his first book, Chinese Communism and the Rise of Mao--that treated Chinese communism as an ideology substantively different from Soviet communism.

Schwartz was best known among his colleagues for the breadth of his knowledge, from ancient to modern Chinese history and from Western to Chinese thinkers.

Schwartz maintained his Harvard connections after he retired, coming to campus to write and converse with colleagues into late October.

Robert Shenton

A longtime Harvard administrator, Robert Shenton died Feb. 29 of injuries from a fall he suffered while on vacation in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was 75.

Affiliated with the University for almost five decades, Shenton held positions at the College and on the Corporation and the Board of Overseers.

He directed searches for the two most recent University presidents--in 1991, when President Neil L. Rudenstine was selected, and two decades earlier, when former President Derek C. Bok was chosen.

Two years ago, the Harvard Alumni Association awarded Shenton a Harvard Medal for his service to the University.

Adam B. Ulam

Gurney Professor of History and Political Science emeritus Adam B. Ulam, a world-renowned expert on the history of the Soviet Union, died of lung cancer March 28 in Cambridge. He was 77.

Ulam served as director of Harvard's Russian Research Center from 1973 to 1976 and from 1980 to 1992. A prolific writer, his works included The Bolsheviks and Stalin: The Man and His Era, considered by academics to be among the most important profiles of Lenin and Stalin, respectively.

After graduating from Brown, Ulam received a Ph.D. in government from Harvard in 1947 and taught until his retirement in 1992.

Before his death, Ulam wrote an autobiography that will be published this year.

Raymond Vernon

Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs emeritus at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) and renowned multinational business scholar Raymond Vernon died on Aug. 26 due to complications from cancer. He was 85.

Over the course of two decades, Vernon had a remarkable career in public service. He worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission and State Department and played a role in the creation of the M&M chocolate candy during a two-year stint in private enterprise.

After Vernon came to Harvard in 1956, he held numerous posts at HBS and KSG.

"Ray Vernon possessed a wide-ranging knowledge of international trade and the economics of developing nations that contributed greatly to the expansion of Harvard's global focus in the postwar era," wrote Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine in a statement. "We are grateful for the part he played in the life of Harvard, the nation and the world."

James Vorenberg '48

A former dean of the Harvard Law School and a former Watergate associate special prosecutor, James Vorenberg '48 died April 12 of a heart attack. He was 72.

Vorenberg, who was Pound professor of law, started teaching at HLS in 1962 and served as the law school's ninth dean from 1981 to 1989.

According to Ames Professor of Law Philip B. Heymann, Vorenberg put together the nation's top minority faculty.

Vorenberg also served as master of Dunster House and director of the HLS Center for the Advancement of Criminal Justice, where he worked to promote understanding of legal issues by police officers.

He also played a significant role outside of HLS. According to Heymann, he helped build the special prosecutor's office to withstand the political upheavals of the Watergate investigation. Vorenberg also served as a member of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

Luise Vosgerchian

Naumburg Professor of Music emerita Luise Vosgerchian passed away March 13 after a battle with cancer. She was 77.

Vosgerchian, a native of Watertown, first joined Harvard's music department in 1959 and received tenure in 1971. While a professor and eventually as chair of the department, Vosgerchian taught Music 51, a course on music theory required of all concentrators and a Core course.

During her years at Harvard, Vosgerchian taught many musicians who went on to great fame. One of them was cellist Yo-Yo Ma '76, who credits her for his success.

Students remembered Vosgerchian's personality as standing out from the crowd of Harvard professors.

Vosgerchian also made an impact on music outside of Harvard. She played the piano for many years in the Boston Symphony Orchestra and served on the organization's board of overseers. She also taught pre-concert lessons to audience members on how to listen to music.

Yuan-Chun Wang

A School of Public Health (SPH) student, Yuan-Chun Wang died in a Christmas Eve car accident in Alabama. She was 25.

Friends said Wang, who was on track to receive her Ph.D. in 2002, ultimately wanted to return to Taiwan, the country of her permanent residence, to research and teach.

Friends in the Harvard Republic of China Student Club, where Wang served as a vice president, said they were impressed by Wang's efforts to recruit friends for club events.

Wang studied in Taiwan before coming to the United States to pursue graduate work. She received a master's degree in epidemiology last June and entered a Ph.D. program in environmental health at SPH this past fall.

Louis Weinstein

A Harvard Medical School professor from 1975 to 1993, who devoted his lifetime to the modern medical field of infectious diseases, Louis Weinstein died March 16 in Newton. He was 92.

Weinstein was the founder of the infectious disease service at New England Medical Center, which he directed while also teaching at Tufts Medical School.

At a time when there were few antibiotics and vaccines, Weinstein established the study of infectious diseases as a significant field through his research and teaching.

In honor of his accomplishments, the Infectious Diseases Society of America created "The Louis Weinstein Award" in 1992 for the best clinical article published in its magazine.