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OBITUARIES
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
OBITUARIES
Daniel J. Edelman ’40, ’41J, Public Relations Pioneer
dian Lenny Bruce brought him to
public attention. In 1980 Kuh, then
in private practice, was hired by
the family of Martha “Sunny” von
Bülow to prosecute her husband,
Claus, on charges that he tried
to kill her with insulin injections.
As D.A., Kuh established the sexcrimes
unit. He authored Foolish
Figleaves Pornography in — and out
of — Court (1967) and contributed
to other periodicals. Kuh, who
lived in Greenwich Village, was
a founder of the Village Independent
Democrats. He is survived
by his wife, Joyce Dattel Kuh; son,
Michael; and daughter, Jody. His
brother, Joseph ’39, ’43 P&S died
on November 16, 2012.
1942
Elliott C. Levinthal, physicist,
inventor and professor, Palo
Alto, Calif., on January 14, 2012.
Levinthal was born in Brooklyn on
Daniel J. Edelman ’40, ’41J holds his
street sign during ceremonies honoring
him in Chicago in 2000.
Daniel J. Edelman ’40, ’41J, a pioneer in
the public relations field and chairman
of the international public relations
company Edelman, died in Chicago on
January 15, 2013. He was 92.
Edelman was known as a staunch advocate of
the public relations profession who established
high standards and a code of ethical practices,
many of which now are standard in the field. He
also was active in public service, working for such
causes as Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS
(now GBCHealth) and Save the Children.
Edelman was born in New York City on July 3,
1920, and attended DeWitt
Clinton H.S. He graduated Phi
Beta Kappa from the College
and, after earning an M.S.
from the Journalism School
in 1941, became sports
editor and reporter for a
Poughkeepsie, N.Y., newspaper.
He was drafted into the
Army in 1942, and while in
the service produced a daily
newspaper that reported on
the latest war developments.
He later served as an analyst
of German propaganda, after
which he earned a commission
in Germany and served
in the U.S. Army Information
Control Division in Berlin.
After leaving the service,
Edelman was a news writer
for CBS and a publicist at Musicraft Records in
New York before moving to Chicago in 1947 to
become PR director of the Toni Co., which sold hair
styling products. He expanded on the company’s
successful advertising campaign, which used
twins to compare its product to those of competitors,
by conducting the first modern media tour
and sending six sets of twins to 72 U.S. cities.
In 1952, Edelman launched his eponymous
company in a small office in the Merchandise Mart
in Chicago. Toni became his first client, followed
by brands such as Sara Lee, KFC, Microsoft, Pfizer,
General Electric, Wal-Mart Stores, Abbott Laboratories,
Samsung, Royal Dutch Shell, Kraft, Johnson &
Johnson and Unilever. Some of Edelman’s greatest
marketing successes were establishing the Butterball
Turkey Talk-Line and helping Advil to switch
from prescription to over-the-counter medicine.
Edelman also is known for creating the Mail Preference
Service, an opt-out
list for people wishing to
avoid marketing solicitations,
in 1970.
Today, Edelman is the
world’s largest public relations
firm; it encompasses
66 offices and more than
4,500 employees worldwide,
with affiliates in more
than 30 cities. It has earned
numerous awards for being
a top agency, including from
magazines such as Adweek,
PRWeek and Advertising Age.
Edelman was presented
one of the College’s John
Jay Awards for distinguished
professional achievement
in 1990 and the Journalism
School’s first annual Dean’s
Medal for Public Service in 2005.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Ruth
Ann Rozumoff Edelman; sons, Richard and John;
daughter, Renee ’80L; niece Cornelia S. ’86L; and
three granddaughters.
Karl Daum ’15
April 13, 1922. He earned an M.S.
from MIT in 1943 and a Ph.D. from
Stanford in 1949 under the direction
of Felix Bloch. His dissertation,
on the magnetic resonance of the
hydrogen atom, was part of Bloch’s
Nobel Prize-winning discoveries.
In 1948, Levinthal joined Varian
as a founding employee and was
research director and director of
the company. In 1953, he founded
Levinthal Electronics Products,
developing some of the first defibrillators,
pacemakers and cardiac
monitors. In 1961, Levinthal joined
the genetics department of Stanford
School of Medicine. During a twoyear
leave Levinthal was director
of the Defense Sciences Office at
the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency. He returned to
Stanford, becoming a research professor
in the mechanical engineering
department and director of the
Stanford Institute for Manufacturing
and Automation, then associate
dean of research at the School of
Engineering. Levinthal was active
in philanthropy and politics and
traveled to all seven continents. He
is survived by his wife of 67 years,
Rhoda; children, David and his
wife, Kate, Judith and her husband,
Randall, Michael and Daniel; and
seven grandchildren.
William A. Mazzarella, retired IRS
employee, Oceanside, Calif., on
January 2, 2012. Mazzarella was
born in Oakland on December 31,
1919. He served in China and Korea
with the Marine Corps in WWII.
Mazzarella was a life member of
the 1st Marine Division Association,
the Chosin Few, the China Marine
Association and the Veterans of Foreign
Wars. He retired from the IRS
in 1978 after 30 years. Mazzarella
also gave more than 3,000 hours as
an auxilian for the Tri-City Medical
Center. In 2006, he received a
Diamond Trophy from the Tri-City
Hospital Foundation and an award
as a charter member of the Towers
of Faith from the St. Thomas More
parish. An avid hunter, shooter
and ammo maker, he was a patron
member of the NRA and a life
member of the California Rifle and
Pistol Association and the North
American Hunting Club. Mazzarella
was predeceased by his wife of
57 years, Rita, and daughter, Judith.
Surviving him are his companion,
Marguerite Moore; children, Rita
M. Gray, Patricia C. Larson, William
Nicholas and Wendy; son-in-law,
Timothy Nichols; six grandchildren;
and six great-grandchildren.
1943
Sidney Warschausky, retired educator,
Ann Arbor, Mich., on April 9,
2011. Warschausky grew up in the
Bronx and earned a B.A. (Phi Beta
Kappa) as well as an M.A. (1949) and
Ph.D. (1957), the latter two both in
philosophy from GSAS. He served
as a lieutenant in the Army Air Forces,
1943–46. Warschausky’s last 10
months of service were spent in the
Occupation Force in Japan, where he
taught English to the villagers. He
later taught at Illinois for three years,
at Mount Holyoke for two years
and at Michigan for 33 years, where
he chaired the humanities department
several times. After retirement
Warschausky was a weekly
volunteer discussion leader of a
literary group at the JCC for 18 years.
He was a member of the Chaverim
B’Shirim choir at the JCC. Poetry also
was a passion and he was collating
his for publication. Warschausky is
survived by his wife of 57 years, Lorraine
Nadelman; children, Seth and
his wife, Sandra Finkel, Judith and
her husband, Gary Childrey, and
Carl and his wife, Laurie McCollum;
sister, Thelma Solomon; and eight
grandchildren.
1948
Robert B. Mellins, physician professor
emeritus, New York City, on
December 12, 2012. Born in Brooklyn,
Mellins earned an M.D. from
Johns Hopkins and subsequently
returned to Columbia to be trained
in pediatrics, cardiology and pulmonology.
He was an internationally
recognized authority on childhood
asthma. Mellins established the
Pulmonary Division of the Department
of Pediatrics at P&S and was
president of the American Thoracic
Society, the Fleischner Society and
the Louis Augustus Jonas Foundation
as well as v.p. of the American
Lung Association. He received the
Physicians and Surgeons Distinguished
Service Award in 2012.
Mellins also was an accomplished
musician, skier, figure skater and
gardener as well as an avid reader.
He is survived by his wife, Sue;
children, Claude Ann and David
Rustin; son-in-law, Michael Conard;
and three grandchildren. Memorial
contributions may be made to the
Louis Augustus Jonas Foundation
in support of Camp Rising Sun or
the Arnold P. Gold Foundation in
support of Humanism in Medicine.
Richard Stang ’48
Richard Stang, professor emeritus,
St. Louis, on December 14, 2011.
Stang was born on July 3, 1925, in
Brooklyn, N.Y. At 18, he joined the
Army, fighting in the European
Theater. He then earned a bachelor’s
in chemistry and biology as
well as a master’s (1949) and Ph.D.
(1958), both in English literature,
studying under Lionel Trilling
’25, ’38 GSAS. Stang specialized
in 19th-century English literature,
particularly the Victorian period.
He was an instructor at the University
of Washington from 1953–54, a
lecturer at the City College of New
York from 1954–58 and an assistant
professor at Carleton College from
1958–61. He joined the faculty of
Washington University in St. Louis
in 1961 as an associate professor of
English, was named full professor
in 1964 and became professor
emeritus in 1997. Stang’s publications
include The Theory of the Novel
in England 1850–1870 (1959) and
Discussions of George Eliot (1960). He
also co-edited Critical Essays: Ford
Madox Ford (2002). In addition to
his wife, Susan Hacker Stang, he is
survived by a daughter, Elizabeth
Anton; sons, David and Sam; and
three grandchildren. His first wife,
Sondra, died in 1990.
1950
Richard D. Cushman, retired v.p.
and general manager, Auburn,
Calif., on November 9, 2011. Cushman
was born February 14, 1929,
in Norwich, N.Y. Drafted into the
Army, he served from December
1952–June 1954, receiving an honorable
discharge as a first lieutenant
in the Finance Corps. He remained
on reserve duty with the Army
until 1964. In 1957, Cushman began
a 28-year career with Diamonds
International Corp., retiring as v.p.
and general manager of the Western
Retail Division. In 1988, he began a
Peter B. Kenen ’54, Economist, Former Provost
Peter B. Kenen ’54, a leading international
economist and University Provost from
1969–70, died on December 17, 2012,
at his home in Princeton, N.J. He was
80. Kenen, who was an expert on the Eurozone,
taught economics at Columbia from 1957–71,
chairing the department from 1967–70.
Born in Cleveland, Kenen moved with his family
to New York, where he attended Bronx Science.
He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta
Kappa with a B.A. from the College and earned an
M.A. (1956) and a Ph.D. (1958) from Harvard. From
1956–57 he was a research
student at the London School of
Economics.
Kenen was appointed provost
after the protests of the late
1960s. He opposed the Vietnam
War and was an alternate
delegate for Eugene McCarthy
at the Chicago Democratic
National Convention in 1968 but
also opposed the student occupations
of Columbia campus
buildings and took part in a
small faculty counter-protest.
Nonetheless, he strongly opposed
the use of police force to
remove the students and helped
tend to injured students at a
hospital near campus. In 1977,
Columbia awarded Kenen the University Medal for
Excellence. After leaving Columbia he taught at
Princeton from 1971–2004, and continued to teach
part-time until 2011.
Kenen authored and co-authored numerous
books and monographs, including British Monetary
Policy and the Balance of Payments: 1951–57,
second career as a volunteer with
the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide
program, helping seniors fill out
their tax forms. A year later, he
became the program coordinator
and also joined the Literacy Support
Council as a tutor. He also helped
the program achieve nonprofit
status and acquire grants. Cushman
was named the 962nd Point of Light
by President George H.W. Bush in
1992. He is survived by his wife of
57 years, Pamela; daughters, Cynthia
Louise Hickman and Melissa
Cushman Banczak; sisters, Sara
Bouchonville and Cynthia Whited;
and five grandchildren. Memorial
contributions may be made to the
Literacy Support Council, PO Box
5291, Auburn, CA 95604-5291.
1955
Philip D. Bleser, sales manager,
Bonita Springs, Fla., on October 28,
2011. Bleser was born on May 6,
1933, in Schenectady, N.Y. He earned
a B.S. in 1956 from Engineering
and was a member of Sigma Chi.
Bleser traveled abroad and lived
in Mexico and Venezuela. He was
a founding member of the Naples
Columbia University Club as well as
an avid fisherman and boater. Bleser
is survived by his wife of 56 years,
Ellen (née Hadley); children, Philip
and his wife, Carol, Steven, Susan
Copeland, Scott and his wife, Sally,
and Laura; brother, David, and his
wife, Gail; and seven grandchildren.
Stuart M. Kaback, retired scientific
adviser, Cranford, N.J., on February
13, 2012. Kaback was born in Elizabeth,
N.J., and moved to Brooklyn,
N.Y., where he spent his childhood.
He earned an M.A. (1956) and a
Ph.D. (1960), both in chemistry and
from GSAS. Kaback joined Esso Research
and Engineering Co. in June
1960 and retired in 2002. He held
numerous patents, was published
frequently and was internationally
recognized as an expert in his
field. Kaback is recognized for his
winner of the David A. Wells Prize at Harvard for
1958–59. His textbooks International Economics
and The International Economy were standards for
generations of undergraduates entering the field.
He was a founding member of the Group of Thirty,
an organization that seeks to deepen understanding
of international economic and financial issues,
and a member of the Bellagio Group, an international
group of academics and public officials from
finance ministries and central banks. He also was
a member and former fellow of the Council on
Foreign Relations as well as a consultant to the
Council of Economic Advisers,
the Office of Management and
Budget, the Federal Reserve, the
International Monetary Fund,
the U.S. Department of the Treasury
and the Economic Advisory
Panel of the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York.
Kenen is survived by his wife
of 57 years, Regina H.; children,
Stephanie, Joanne and her
husband, Ken Cohen, Judith and
her husband, Jim Gordon, and
Marc and his wife, Leslie Fisher-
Katz; and five grandchildren,
including Zachary Natan Cohen
’13 GS/JTS. Memorial contribu-
PHOTO: COLUMBIA DAILY SPECTATOR tions to benefit undergraduate
financial aid may be made to the
Columbia College Fund, Columbia Alumni Center,
622 W. 113th St., MC 4530, 3rd Fl., New York, NY
10025. Donations also may be made to Secure@
Home of the Jewish Family & Children’s Service
of Greater Mercer County, 707 Alexander Rd., Ste
1-A, Princeton, NJ 08540.
Elena Hecht ’09 Barnard
significant contributions in polymer
science and engineering patent
information with the American
Petroleum Institute, Chemical
Abstracts Service, Derwent Information,
Questel-Orbit and the Kirk-
Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical
Technology. Kaback was a member
of the American Chemical Society
and won many awards for his work
in patent information, including the
prestigious Herman Skolnik Award.
He had been a member of Temple
Beth-El since moving to Cranford in
1966, serving as its president, chair
of its board of education and in a
number of other capacities. Surviving
are his wife of 56 years, Marilyn;
children, Robin and her husband,
Jim, and Gilbert and his wife, Deborah;
and five grandchildren.
1968
John R. Tait, attorney, Lewiston,
Idaho, on February 1, 2012. Tait was
born in Toledo, Ohio, and was an
Eagle Scout before winning a full
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