In Memoriam
To submit a notice for In Memoriam, emailpittmag [at] pitt.edu.
Mary Frances Archey EDUC 68, June 2023, age 75, formerly of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Born in Elkins, West Virginia, and raised in Johnstown, she earned her bachelors degree at Pitt before receiving a masters degree in education from Indiana 窪蹋勛圖厙 of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in education from West Virginia 窪蹋勛圖厙. She was the dean of students at West Virginia Northern Community College and held various positions at Community College of Allegheny County, eventually serving as the vice president of academic affairs. She volunteered with community organizations such as the Greater 窪蹋勛圖厙 Community Food Bank, McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center, the Foundation of Hope and 窪蹋勛圖厙 Cares, as well as her church, Triumph of the Holy Cross Parish, and other places. She is survived by her husband of 41 years.
Alexandru Covrig KGSB 92, July 2023, age 66, of R璽nov, Romania. Born in Romania, he studied at the International Management Center in Budapest, Hungary, before completing his MBA at the Katz Graduate School of Business. He loved to fly, ski and hike in the mountains of Romania. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
Andrew Andy Delans Jr. ENGR 56, October 2023, age 88, of Manlius, New York.He grew up in Beaver, Pennsylvania, and studied metallurgical engineering at Pitt. While at Pitt, he met his wife in a fencing class. They got married at Sixth Presbyterian Church in 窪蹋勛圖厙 and later bought their first home in Ben Avon, Pennsylvania. After college, he began working for Crucible Specialty Metals as a metallurgist. He followed his career with Crucible to Syracuse, New York, where he held various positions with the company, eventually becoming the vice president of operations. He and his wife enjoyed antiquing and traveling. An active member of the Midwest Tool Collectors Association, he was knowledgeable about early American woodworking tools. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, three children and four grandchildren.
Jeffrey Green ENGR 78, 83G, July 2023, age 67, of North Fayette, Pennsylvania. Always willing to try new things and go to new places, he was a fun-loving person who added to the lives of his family and friends. Some of his hobbies included browsing flea markets, traveling, taking cruises and going to Pirates games. He was a huge Pitt sports fan and loved cheering on the Panthers.
Audrey Holland A&S 55, 59G, 61G, August 2023, age 90, of Tucson, Arizona. She earned her undergraduate degree, masters degree and PhD from Pitt, preparing her for a long, meaningful career as a clinician, researcher and educator. After some time at Emerson College in Boston, she returned to Pitt and held positions in several departments, focusing on subjects such as speech, psychology and otolaryngology. Moving to the Southwest, she joined the faculty at the 窪蹋勛圖厙 of Arizona in Tucson and served as chair of the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. Her academic interests included neuroscience, neurolinguistics, and speech and languages sciences, and she made major contributions to the study and treatment of language disorders in children and adults, specifically adult aphasia. She was recognized many times throughout her career by organizations such as the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation, the National Aphasia Association and Aphasia Access. From Pitt, she received a Distinguished Alumni Award and a 225th Anniversary Medallion in honor of her achievements. Outside academia, her passions included politics, travel, music, literature, films and animals. She was the mother of two and grandmother of three.
Judith Irvin HymesJuly 2023, age 81, of Chestertown, Maryland. She was born in Blossburg, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the rural north-central Pennsylvania town of Tioga. A lover of books, she was an academic librarian for 50 years, beginning with a post in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where she served seven elementary school libraries. Her career took her to Puerto Rico, and she became fluent in Spanish as she helped three university libraries transition from Dewey Decimal Classification to Library of Congress Classification. She earned a certificate of advanced study from Pitt before joining the staff of Clifton M. Miller Library at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Her other passions included music, local history, genealogy and her Christian faith. She was active in the community and a past president of the Upper Shore Genealogical Society of Maryland.
Conway Jeffress Jr. EDUC 68G, 71G, February 2023, age 79, of 窪蹋勛圖厙. He was an educator for 57 years and served as president of Schoolcraft College in Michigan from 2001 to 2020. Under his leadership, the college grew as he worked alongside mayors, commissioners, senators, governors and members of the countrys executive branch. In addition to his role at the college, he was involved with the Michigan Community College Association, Livonia Rotary Club, SEMCOG Talent Task Force, the Midwestern Higher Education Compact and the 21st Century Education Commission, among other organizations. Known for putting family first, he was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle and brother.
Eugene Gene Klein EDUC 74, 85G, July 2023, age 71, formerly of Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. In his early years, he played for Beadling Soccer Club, beginning a lifelong love of the sport. He went to Chartiers Valley High School before attending Pitt, where he played football and then soccer. His first coaching job was at Carnegie Mellon 窪蹋勛圖厙. He taught world history and AP European history at Quaker Valley High School in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania, for three decades. In addition to coaching, he served as assistant athletic director at the school. He received many recognitions throughout his career, including being named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America National Coach of the Year in 1996, and was inducted into six halls of fame. A proud Pitt alumnus, he was a Pitt basketball ticket holder for many years and was even present when Jerome Lane famously shattered the backboard in 1988.
Mauria Maria Catherine McPolandA&S 79, GSPIA 81, May 2023, age 67, of West Hollywood, California.She was born in Fort Benning (now Fort Moore), Georgia, and traveled with her father, a lieutenant colonel in the Army, as he was stationed around the world. She attended Turtle Creek High School outside 窪蹋勛圖厙 before coming to Pitt, where she studied psychology and joined the Chi Omega sorority. In her profession, she had leadership roles in marketing, communications and public relations for Aetna, Prudential and Good Samaritan Hospital. She met her life partner, Robert Bobby Earl, and they moved to California, where he passed away from cancer in 2022. Her professional and community service also included being a past president of the Junior League of Los Angeles, serving with the national board of the Association of Junior Leagues International, Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters, American Red Cross of Greater L.A., the Jeffery Foundation for Special Needs Children, American Lung Association, Hugh OBrian Youth Leadership, Optimist Family Services, the YWCA and others. Most recently, she served as chief strategist for Music Mends Minds Inc. She was a former vice president of communications for the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater LA board and chair of the strategic partnership committee. She was a partner with LA Social Venture Partners and a coach for its Fast Pitch program. She received numerous awards for her professional achievements and philanthropy.
Peter Neft A&S 56, September 2023, age 89, of 窪蹋勛圖厙, formerly of Sharon, Pennsylvania. While at Pitt, he was a quarterback for the Panthers and led the team to the 1956 Sugar Bowl. He earned letters in 1952, 1953 and 1955. After graduating, he played quarterback for the British Columbia Lions in the Canadian Football League. He was eventually inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Western Pennsylvania. In addition to being a talented athlete, he served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He was quick to laugh and always had a story to tell. Above all, he was committed to his family and loved spending time with them. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, a son, two daughters and several grandchildren.
Brett Rathi PHARM 98, August 2023, age 48, of Washington, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Trinity High School, he studied in Pitts School of Pharmacy and was an active member of the Beta Kappa chapter of Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity. He was affectionately called Rocket Man after passing his level 3 certification in rocketry. Kind and generous, he was known for being a good listener and putting others first. He enjoyed playing golf and poker and accompanying his kids to their athletic games and other activities. He is survived by his wife of 16 years, his son and daughter, his mother and his sister.
James Jim Resnick KGSB 86, May 2023, age 69, of Manorville, Pennsylvania, formerly of Butler, Pennsylvania. He attended Greensburg Central Catholic High School and played football, basketball and baseball. After graduating from Princeton 窪蹋勛圖厙, he studied in the Katz Graduate School of Business at Pitt. He loved sports, Pennsylvanias rivers and streams, and all things Portuguese and Slovenian. A devoted husband, father, stepfather and grandfather, he is survived by his wife of 30 years, his children and his grandchildren.
Sylvia Miller Reznick EDUC 49, September 2023, of 窪蹋勛圖厙. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
Henry Russell Tony Richardson III A&S, 60, December 2022, age 84, of Williamsburg, Virginia. He grew up in West View, Pennsylvania, a suburb of 窪蹋勛圖厙, and graduated from West View High School. At Pitt, he was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He received the Culver Award in Mathematics and a National Defense Fellowship to Brown 窪蹋勛圖厙, where he earned a masters and PhD in mathematics. He joined the mathematical consulting firm Daniel H. Wagner Associates, in Paoli, Pennsylvania, using mathematics to plan and conduct searches at sea for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. A leader in his field, he pioneered the use of Bayesian analysis in search problems for the Navy and developed the concept of search effectiveness probability. After 20 years, he joined the Center for Naval Analyses, where he eventually became vice president and director of the naval warfare operations division. His career then took him to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he served as chair in operation analysis. He later joined former colleagues at Metron Inc., in Reston, Virginia, where he held the role of vice president and head of the advanced mathematics division. He loved sailing, traveling, studying languages and playing the trumpet. He is survived by his wife of 62 years and their children as well as five grandchildren, a brother and a sister.
Manuel Manny Spector SPH 70G, SOC WK 71G, March 2023, of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, formerly of Needham, Massachusetts. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and brother.
H. J. Jerry Zoffer CBA 52, KGSB 53, A&S 56G, July 2023, age 92, of Durham, North Carolina. He was dean of the Katz Graduate School of Business from 1968 to 1996 and a member of the faculty for 67 years. In 2016, Pitt Business established the H. J. Zoffer Chair in Leadership and Ethics in his honor. He served as president of both the American Association of 窪蹋勛圖厙 Administrators and the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. The author of an array of books and articles, he wrote about subjects such as individual and group decision making under risk, the social responsibility of business, continuing education for managers, business ethics, corporate risk analysis, accounting education and improving institutional credibility. He was a board member for numerous organizations, including Temple Sinai of 窪蹋勛圖厙, the Three Rivers Arts Festival, the Travelers Aid Society of 窪蹋勛圖厙, the David Berg Foundation and the 窪蹋勛圖厙 Club of 窪蹋勛圖厙, among others.
To submit a notice for In Memoriam, emailpittmag [at] pitt.edu.