In Memoriam

To submit a notice for In Memoriam, email pittmag@pitt.edu.

Clarence “Butch” Adams Jr. EDUC ’72G, December 2021, age 73, of South Park, Pennsylvania, formerly of Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. He earned a master’s degree from Pitt’s School of Education and spent 37 years teaching English in the Steel Valley School District in Pittsburgh’s South Hills. An avid Pitt fan and longtime supporter of the athletics department, he also was a coach for the Thomas Jefferson High School softball team, a wrestling referee for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association and an umpire for the McKeesport Daily News League. He is survived by his wife, Sharon; three children; and four grandchildren. 

Michael McNaughton Ban LAW ’13, May 2022, age 36, of Pittsburgh. He went to Georgetown University after graduating from North Allegheny High School. He excelled at every sport he played but put rowing above the others­­­­—winning a national championship in the men’s quad in high school and racing on the men’s lightweight team in college. He was a Jonas Salk Health Activist Fellow and earned a certificate from Pitt’s Health Law Program along with his JD. As an attorney, he worked at Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network. He published a children’s book, “Adventures at the Hospital” (Mascot Books), to comfort young patients and celebrate the people he met in hospitals. He is survived by his wife, parents, brother, sister-in-law, and countless friends. 

Nicholas F. “Nick” Burnett A&S ’89G, December 2021, age 65, of Sacramento, California. He grew up in Augusta, Maine, before attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication studies and met his wife of 38 years. After teaching at Emerson College in Boston, he came to Pitt, where he earned a PhD. During his 30-year career at California State University, Sacramento, he served as a debate coach, professor, department chair and associate dean before retiring in 2017. An accredited orchid judge through the American Orchid Society, he served on the Sacramento Orchid Society’s board. 

Thomas J. Davies GSPIA ’62, December 2021, age 82, of Oakland, California. 

Sidney Deutsch BUS ’54, SOC WK ’65, July 2022, age 88, of Pittsburgh. He served in the Air Force before beginning his career with the United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh. Moving to Kansas City, he helped found the area’s first Jewish day school, now called Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy. Then back in Pittsburgh, he owned a recycling plant until his retirement. He was involved with Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh, Young Peoples Synagogue, Congregation Poale Zedeck, Shaare Torah Congregation and the Kollel Jewish Learning Center. Preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Carol Liener Deutsch, he is survived by his siblings, five children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

Robert E. Dunkelman ENGR ’52, May 2022, age 91, of Pittsburgh. A native of Wilmerding, Pennsylvania, he studied industrial engineering at Pitt. After working in accounting for Westinghouse Electric Corporation and serving in the military, he returned to his alma mater in 1958 and launched a 44-year career at Pitt. Among the positions he held were vice provost for resource management, interim senior vice chancellor for business and finance, secretary of the Board of Trustees, and special assistant to the chancellor. When he retired, he became the only former board secretary to be named secretary emeritus by Pitt’s Board of Trustees. He served as an elder of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church, president of the Pitcairn-Crabbe Foundation and a member of the Board of the Pennsylvania Organization for Women in Early Recovery. He also was a 33rd-degree Mason and was active in the Pittsburgh Children’s Dyslexia Center. He is survived by his wife of almost 56 years, a daughter and a granddaughter. 

Margaret “Peggie” Miller Dunklin A&S ’88, December 2021, age 55, of Pittsburgh. She grew up in Cranberry and studied communications at Pitt. She worked at her alma mater for 33 years and held roles in the Office of University Communications and Marketing and the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. During her nine-year tenure as director of budget and human resources, Pitt saw significant growth in undergraduate enrollment. She earned a Human Resources Law Online Certificate from Pitt’s School of Law in 2020. She is survived by her husband and their children. There is an EngagePitt fundraising campaign for the Peggie Miller Dunklin Memorial Fund, started in her honor. 

James Murray Egan LAW ’51, November 2021, age 95, of O’Hara Township, Pennsylvania. He practiced law for more than 65 years, both as a partner with Weller, Wicks and Wallace and, after the practices combined, with Metz Lewis Brodman Must O’Keefe. The capstone of his career came at age 90, when he navigated the closing of a substantial sale of western Texas mineral rights for the benefit of a Pittsburgh-based charity. He was a co-founder of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and a co-trustee of the Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust, where his stewardship benefited organizations serving children with intellectual disabilities in Western Pennsylvania. 

Edward G. Ferrang SCI ’76G, March 2022, age 71, of Grovetown, Georgia. A Pittsburgh native, he received a master’s degree in library science from Pitt before continuing his education at the University of South Carolina and DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Business. Work in education and library and book services took him to high schools, universities and libraries in Pittsburgh, rural Pennsylvania, South Carolina, New Mexico, Arizona and finally Georgia, where he worked as a media services librarian. He was the owner/director of Oxford Learning Center in Evans, Georgia. He served on the boards of charitable, tourism and commerce organizations and enjoyed traveling and singing. He is survived by his wife, two children and four grandchildren. 

George Howard Foster Jr. A&S ’74, October 2021, age 73, of Orlando, Florida. He was born in Munhall, Pennsylvania. After moving around, his family returned to the Pittsburgh area and settled in West Mifflin. Throughout his career, he held project-management roles at PNC Bank and other major companies in the United States and Canada. An Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War, he had a keen interest in military history. His other hobbies included hunting and technology. He is survived by his wife and stepson, as well as a brother and three sisters. 

Lawrence Marshall “Larry” Gilford A&S ’55, MED ’59, August 2021, age 88, of Brookville, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Pitt with bachelor’s and medical degrees, he interned at Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pennsylvania, and completed a pediatric residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. As a physician in the Army, he served as chief of pediatrics and assistant medical director at a military hospital in Orléans, France. He loved to learn, leading him to accept roles in emergency care and geriatrics. He found his dream job at Clarion University in Pennsylvania, where he was director of medical services from 1969 to 1990. Known for his dedication and work ethic, he recieved Clarion University’s Distinguished Service Award and the Army Commendation Medal. He is survived by his wife and three of their four children. 

Claudia Gollop SCI ’93G, May 2022. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in New York City, where she grew up. After earning a doctorate from Pitt, she headed to the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Information and Library Science. Before she retired from UNC after 25 years, she served as a distinguished tenured faculty member and associate dean. Her research focused on the acquisition and dissemination of consumer health information, particularly among older adults. In 2007, she launched a new line of inquiry into cardiac rehabilitation referral practices to improve the health of women and minorities. Her accolades include an award from the Association for Library and Information Science Education for her contributions to the field.

Edward A. Guzik BUS ’75G, January 2021, age 78, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, formerly of Pittsburgh. He attended Villanova University, then served in the U.S. Army’s Medical Service Corps and was honorably discharged as captain in 1969. He then moved to Pittsburgh to attend Pitt’s executive MBA program and work at the University Health Center of Pittsburgh Central Clinical Chemistry Laboratory. In 1978, he became the first risk manager for Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and later became vice president of professional services. He was appointed a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives in 2007.  

Fred James Hann ENGR ’60, BUS ’66G, March 2022, age 83, of Pittsburgh. He earned a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering and a master’s degree in business from Pitt. While attending Pitt, he met his wife, Kathleen Sacco EDUC ’61, with whom he built a family of three sons and two granddaughters. He worked as the head of quality control at the U.S. Steel Edgar Thomson Plant. He enjoyed fishing, boating and camping and he considered nature "one of God’s blessings." He loved attending Pitt events—especially football games—and established an endowed scholarship.  

Joan C. Hoffman A&S ’54, May 2022, age 90, of Pittsburgh. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology after switching her major from chemistry when an aptitude test revealed she was too sociable to work alone in a lab. She later proved that to be true. She served 30 years as administrative assistant for three Pitt chancellors. Beloved by coworkers and devoted to the University, she opted for an "early" retirement at 80. She is survived by four children (three of whom are Pitt graduates) and two grandchildren. 

Nancy Lane GSPIA ’69, March 2022, age 88, of New York. She held positions with the National Urban League, Chase Manhattan Bank and Johnson & Johnson and broke race and gender barriers as a Black woman in leadership positions. She was a board member for several organizations, including the Studio Museum in Harlem, where she was the longest-serving board member. 

Alvin Markovitz A&S ’54, MED ’58, August 2021, age 89, of Los Angeles. He played basketball at Pitt and, after earning his bachelor’s degree, attended the University’s School of Medicine, where he studied under polio vaccine developer Jonas Salk and pediatrician Benjamin Spock. He then interned at the University of California Medical Center and San Francisco General Hospital and completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. Following a hematology fellowship at the University of Utah, he went to Germany, where he served with the Army Medical Corps for two years. When he returned to California, he opened a practice in West Los Angeles and frequently volunteered at Venice Family Clinic. He is survived by his wife and children. 

Julius Pegues ENGR ’59, March 2022, age 86, of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He came to Pitt from Booker T. Washington High School, where he earned statewide attention for basketball. The first Black student to play for Pitt men’s basketball, he was awarded an athletics scholarship after an impressive first season and started on the team for the next three years. After graduating with a degree in engineering, he went to Missouri to study meteorology at Saint Louis University. He served in the Air Force as a weather forecaster before returning to Tulsa, where he held roles at Douglas Aircraft, American Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration. He was an advocate for Black Tulsans, Black history and Black culture. He is survived by his wife and three children. 

Helen Marie Sandor SCI ’76G, January 2022, age 90, formerly of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. She was a proud Air Force veteran with degrees in education and library science and worked as a teacher and librarian. A devout Catholic, she liked to travel to places with sacred sites and relics. Preceded in death by her 10 siblings, she is survived by many nieces and nephews. 

Norton “Nort” Seaman A&S ’60, EDUC ’62, May 2022, age 84, of Westtown, Pennsylvania. Born in Calcutta, India, he began his decades-long education career at Lower Merion School District’s Harriton High School in 1969. He retired as principal in 1998. He served as acting principal after retirement, filling the role at Harriton High School, Gladwyne Elementary and Lower Merion High School. He is survived by 4 children and 12 grandchildren. 

Juanita Lee (Ryzner) Signs SOC WK ’68G, December 2021, age 78, of Saint Joseph, Michigan. She worked in social services for 53 years and was licensed in Michigan and Indiana. She had many pets over the years and asked that memorial donations go to the Animal Placement Bureau in Lansing, Michigan. 

Thomas F. Staley A&S ’63G, March 2022, age 86, of Austin, Texas, formerly of Tulsa, Oklahoma. After graduating from Pitt with a PhD in English, he studied as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Trieste in Italy. He spent 25 years at the University of Tulsa, where he was a literature professor and the founding editor of the James Joyce Quarterly, now considered the flagship journal of international Joyce studies. During his tenure, he also served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and university provost. In 1988, he became director of the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. For nearly three decades, he worked to grow the center’s archives and secured the work of writers including Don DeLillo, Norman Mailer and David Foster Wallace. He is survived by his wife, four children and six grandchildren. 

Deirdre Baird Watkins A&S ’45, June 2022, age 98, of Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania. She graduated with honors from Pittsburgh’s Peabody High School before coming to Pitt, where she studied art history. Her creative drive and passion for learning led her to the Art Students League of New York. While in Manhattan, she lived at International House and formed many lasting friendships. When she returned to Pittsburgh, she worked as an English teacher at Falk School and Winchester Thurston School before becoming the assistant curator of crafts at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. She and her husband, Franklin, met through the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh (she a singer, he a pianist), and they had four children.  

Joseph S. Wilkoski BUS ’81G, October 2021, age 69, of McMurray, Pennsylvania, formerly of Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania. He worked at Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory (PTL) as a high school student before attending Pitt. Beyond professional success at PTL, it was also where he met his wife of 40 years. After reaching the position of assistant treasurer at PTL, he became chief financial officer of Watson Standard Company, a role he held for more than 20 years. A devoted husband, father, uncle and friend, he had many outdoor hobbies and was known for his skills as a do-it-yourself enthusiast. 

Stephen William Zanardelli A&S ’00, April 2022, age 44, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Bethel Park High School in 1996, where he was co-captain of the varsity basketball team and received the Bob Watson Memorial Award for most valuable player, as voted by his teammates. At Pitt, he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in mathematics and a certificate in accounting. After graduation, he became a certified public accountant and worked for several accounting firms in the Pittsburgh area. During that time, he spent three months in Australia studying international financial accounting. A senior vice president of accounting for a local bank, he was a member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair. He was a connoisseur of fine watches and clothing and enjoyed watching Pittsburgh sports—especially Pitt basketball. He is survived by his parents and his son, whom he loved dearly. 

To submit a notice for In Memoriam, email pittmag@pitt.edu.

This story is from Pitt Magazine's Fall 2022 issue. It was published on October 10, 2022.