Deaths |
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August 27, 2013,
Volume 60, No. 2 |
Mr. Bryan, DRIA
Mr. David W. Bryan, Jr., director of operations for athletic facilities in the Department of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics (DRIA) from 1999 to 2011, passed away on July 17 of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); he was 54.
Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Mr. Bryan graduated from Mainland High School in 1977 and earned a bachelor’s degree in business at what is now the College of New Jersey in 1981.
Prior to Penn, he worked in the accounts receivable office at Harrah’s Resort and Casino in Atlantic City from 1981 to 1984. He moved to Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino, where he was involved with labor analyses from 1984 to 1989, then with Trump Sports & Entertainment, where he left in 1995 as a director of housekeeping.
Mr. Bryan promoted boxing events in Atlantic City and New York City for New Contenders Boxing from 1995 to 1997 and was an account manager for Chesapeake Advertising in Baltimore until 1999, when he came to Penn.
Mr. Bryan is survived by his wife, Suzanne; son, David W. III; daughter, Emily; his father, David W. Sr.; and a brother and sister.
Donations may be made to the ALS Association of Greater Philadelphia, Suite 260, 321 Norristown Rd., Ambler, PA 19002. |
Dr. Cooper, Surgery
Dr. David Y. Cooper, professor emeritus of surgical research, passed away August 2 of cancer; he was 88.
Born in Henderson, North Carolina, Dr. Cooper studied chemistry at University of North Carolina and earned a BS degree in medicine in 1946. While a student at North Carolina, he entered the United States Naval Reserve (USNR) and served two years of active duty, 1943 to 1945. In 1946 he entered the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where he earned a doctor of medicine degree two years later. Following graduation, he interned at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) for a year.
He returned to active duty with the USNR in 1949, continuing in the service until the end of 1952. He rose to the rank of lieutenant and received an honorable discharge in 1958.
From 1953 to 1957, he was a resident in surgery at HUP. During those years he performed dual duties as a resident and a fellow of the department of surgical research. He earned board certification in surgery in 1959 and was appointed to Penn’s faculty in the Harrison Department of Surgical Research. He spent his entire career at Penn before retiring and being named professor emeritus in 2004.
Dr. Cooper’s most notable contributions in the medical field include the discovery of the role of cytochrome P-450, which is a series of enzymes found in the body, and the introduction of mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration.
He wrote dozens of scholarly articles and also co-authored with Marshall A. Ledger, Innovation and Tradition at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine: An Anecdotal Journey (1990), which was published in conjunction with the 225th anniversary of Penn’s School of Medicine.
Dr. Cooper belonged to several professional organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Chemists, the New York Academy of Science and the College of Physicians. He served on several local and national committees, such as the National Institute of Health.
Dr. Cooper is survived by his wife, the former Cynthia Laughlin; daughters, Allison Cooper Hamilton and Lucy Cooper Karlsson; and four grandchildren. |
Dr. Kissick, Wharton
Dr. William L. Kissick, emeritus professor in Wharton and the Schools of Medicine and Nursing, passed away June 30 at age 81.
Prior to joining Penn in 1968, Dr. Kissick first came to national attention during his work in the federal government. There, along with other White House assignments, he was one of two physicians on a small team that wrote what became the 1965 law establishing Medicare. For the rest of his professional life, he remained a nationally renowned expert on health care policy.
During his career at Penn that spanned over three decades, Dr. Kissick played a pivotal role in new interdisciplinary scholarship initiatives focused on stitching together the curricula of medical science and the business management of health care. This was triggered by the launch of Medicare and the realization that new sorts of research were needed to fill fundamental gaps in the evidence base essential to making informed policy decisions about the organization, management, financing and delivery of health care on such a large scale.
After Wharton established the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI), the incoming Dr. Kissick was named to LDI’s governing board and soon became its long-time chair. He also was the George Seckel Pepper Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine; and professor of health care systems and professor of health policy and administration in the School of Nursing.
Within two years, LDI had organized and launched the Wharton Health Care Management Program—a curriculum designed to produce, among other things, graduates who had both MD and MBA degrees.
Dr. Kissick was chair of the Faculty Senate during 1995-1996. He retired in 2001.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Dr. Kissick earned his BA, MD, MPH and PhD from Yale University.
Dr. Kissick is survived by his wife, Priscilla Dillingham Kissick; and his children, Will, Rob, Jon and Liz; and grandchildren, Carrie and Eliza Kissick and Emma and Samuel Richards.
Donations may be made to the Dr. William Kissick MD Scholarship Fund at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 3620 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104. |
Mr. Makadon, Law
Mr. Arthur Makadon, a lecturer at the Law School and former member of the Penn Law Board of Overseers (1997-2003) and the Penn Board of Trustees (1996-2007), died July 24; he was 70.
One of the most prominent litigators in Philadelphia, Mr. Makadon was chairman of the Center City law firm Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll LLP from 2002 to 2011, where he developed the firm’s premier litigation practice. He was a principal adviser to Ed Rendell as mayor and governor and also served as chief assistant district attorney to Arlen Specter.
Mr. Makadon graduated from Penn Law cum laude in 1967, served as editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and was a member of the Order of the Coif. He earned his undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1965.
The Arthur Makadon Appellate Advocacy Program at the Law School was established in his honor by Ballard Spahr. It helps fund faculty who teach appellate advocacy as well as students who compete in national moot court competitions.
Mr. Makadon focused his legal practice on litigation, white collar defense, and internal corporate investigations. At the Law School, he taught a course on Conducting Internal Investigations as recently as last spring.
Mr. Makadon is survived by his daughter, Claudia Makadon Sauerteig, chief resident in the department of psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine; a brother, Harvey Makadon; and his longtime companion, Naomi Wyatt.
Donations can be made to the Temple University School of Medicine, 3500 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140, or the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 295 John Morgan Building, 3620 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104. |
Dr. Perry, Biochemistry and Biophysics
Dr. Robert P. Perry, former professor of biochemistry and biophysics in the School of Medicine, passed away July 15 at age 82.
Dr. Perry was also professor emeritus and the founding chair of the Stanley P. Reimann Chair in Oncology Research at the Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC), where he retired from in 2006.
He became a professor at Penn in 1973 and served as an adjunct from 1976 until 1995.
While in the US Army Reserve, Dr. Perry acted as an Italian translator. In addition, he was a former president of the UNESCO-based International Cell Research Organization.
Some of his key discoveries have helped explain how the genetic blueprint is translated into the active cell products—enzymes and other proteins—that carry out the cell’s functions. This process invariably involves transcribing the DNA’s chemical messages into RNA, which ultimately sends orders to the cell’s protein-making factories, called ribosomes.
Dr. Perry was the recipient of the Stanley P. Reimann Honor Award from FCCC and a Guggenheim Fellow (1974-1975). He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1977.
He graduated from Northwestern University with a BS in mathematics in 1951 and earned a PhD in biophysics at the University of Chicago in 1956.
Dr. Perry is survived by his wife, Zoila; a son, Rocco; daughters, Monique and Adele Perry Danziger; seven grandchildren; and a brother.
Donations may be sent to the William J. Clinton Foundation, www.clintonfoundation.org. |
Ms. Smith, American Civilization
Ms. Rosie “Rose” Smith, retired Penn staff member, died July 13 at Penn Hospice at Rittenhouse, at the age of 74.
Ms. Smith joined Penn in 1966 as an administrative assistant in the American civilization department, chaired by Dr. Murray G. Murphey, until her retirement in 1994.
She attended Temple University (1957-1959) majoring in elementary education; graduated from Apex School of Cosmetology in 1960; earned a BA from Penn in 1978, majoring in sociology and a MS in education from Penn in 1986 with a major in psychological health.
At Penn, she was active in the A-3 Assembly (now the WPPSA) and the African-American Association. She volunteered at the Peoples Emergency Center and was an advocate for education.
Dr. Leila Zenderland, professor of American studies at California State University, Fullerton, noted, “Rose found ways to defy all the obstacles around her and remained strong, honest, and powerful in ways that influenced everyone who knew her.”
She is survived by two daughters, Yvette and Michelle; a son, Kyle; three grandchildren, Kyle, Kyra and Brandon; a great-granddaughter, Kaelyn; and former husband, Plee Smith. |
Ms. Wakely, Penn Museum
Ms. Gillian Wakely, retired Merle-Smith Associate Director of Education in the Penn Museum, passed away of colon cancer on August 14; she was 66.
Ms. Wakely officially retired on her birthday, December 31, 2011—40 years after she began her career, in 1971, as a Museum docent in the education department. In the intervening years, she held various titles and responsibilities, including coordinator in charge of education, associate director for programs, and, at retirement, the Merle-Smith Associate Director of Education.
She was responsible for a host of initiatives, including the development and fundraising for an extensive Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Outreach Lecture Program and the International Classroom Program. Ms. Wakely also served as liaison between the Museum’s curatorial staff, teachers and curriculum specialists in the Philadelphia School Districts.
She was a long-time member of the board of Philadelphia’s award-winning Wilma Theatre.
Ms. Wakely is survived by her brother, Robin Worman; sister-in-law, Gaynor; nephew, Philip; niece, Diana; and grand-nephew Elliot.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday, August 29 at the Wilma Theater.
Donations may be sent to the Wilma Theater for the Gillian Wakely Scholarship Fund. |
To Report a Death: Almanac appreciates being informed of the deaths of current and former faculty and staff members, students and other members of the University community. Call (215) 898-5274 or email almanac@upenn.edu However, notices of alumni deaths should be directed to the Alumni Records Office at Room 517, Franklin Building, (215) 898-8136 or email record@ben.dev.upenn.edu
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