A Passion for Science - Columbia College - Columbia University

Columbia CollEgE Today CLASS NOTES
Class notes
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Columbia College Today
Columbia Alumni Center
622 W. 113th St., MC 4530
New York, NY 10025
cct@columbia.edu
howard n. Meyer ’34, ’36L, a retired
New York lawyer and two-time
Pulitzer Prize-nominated author,
discussed challenges of immigration
and civil rights in terms of the 14th
Amendment. A product of the Civil
War, the amendment made citizens
equal before the law.
Howard has written more than
70 articles and books, and in his
Pulitzer Prize-nominated book
from 1973, The Amendment that
Refused to Die: Equality and Justice
Deferred: A History of the Fourteenth
Amendment, he reflects on the
beginnings and current significance
of the amendment. Howard
believes that because of new
developments in the Arizona U.S.
Senators’ attempts to repeal the
14th Amendment, more specifically
the effects the repeal would
have on the children of Mexican
nationals because their entrance
into the country was not in accordance
with the law, the nation
will eliminate the rights of people,
and people will begin to forget the
importance of equality and justice
values.
Reading books such as Thomas
Wentworth Higginson’s Army Life
in a Black Regiment opened Howard’s
eyes to the contributions of
minorities such as women, African-
Americans and other groups that
have been omitted from textbooks
in American history. Howard’s
most recent book, The World Court
in Action: Judging Among the Nations,
was published in 2002 and also was
nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. In
it, he writes about the International
Court of Justice and international
law.
Howard moved to Bolinas, Calif.,
in 2009 to be closer to his sons, Jon-
Class Notes are submitted by
alumni and edited by volunteer
class correspondents and the
staff of CCT prior to publication.
Opinions expressed are those of
individual alumni and do not
reflect the opinions of CCT, its
class correspondents, the College
or the University.
athon and Franklin. He continues to
follow current events about justice
and equality nationally and internationally.
david perlman ’39, ’40J writes,
“At 92, I’m still science editor of
the San Francisco Chronicle, covering
everything except medicine —
anthropology, seismic goings-on,
cosmic universes, planets and so
on.” [Editor’s note: CCT profiled
Perlman in November/December
2009: college.columbia.edu/cct/
nov_dec09.]
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robert Zucker
29 The Birches
Roslyn, NY 11576
rzucker@optonline.net
Sad to report that Joe coffee, one
of our most outstanding class
members, passed away in January
shortly after his 92nd birthday.
Joe was our class president; voted
most likely to succeed; a member
of student board; a regular attendee,
with his wife, Margaret, at our
annual Arden House reunions; and
a good friend. After graduation,
he joined the Navy and served on
the President’s staff, was executive
officer on a destroyer escort that
was sunk and then commanding
officer of another destroyer escort.
He was assistant to the president
of Columbia and on its Board of
Trustees. Joe was president of
Eisenhower College and was the
patriarch of a large and loving family.
A memorial service was held at
Columbia on April 28. [See March/
April Obituaries.]
On a happier note, I spent Christmas
week in Costa Rica with Fran
Katz’s family, where I zip-lined,
white water rafted, kayaked and
hiked in the rainforest, including
five bouncing suspension bridges.
In February I took my family of 26,
including 12 great-grandchildren, to
Club Med in Ixtapa, Mexico.
Ken Hechler ’40 GSAS, my last
instructor in college, stayed at my
house for two nights and lectured
on April 8 at the Roslyn Library
and then at C.W. Post (LIU). He
wrote the book (also was a movie)
The Bridge at Remagen and many
other publications, was a colonel
in the army, a long-term (and still)
college professor and was President
Truman’s speechwriter and
adviser. He was a congressman
for 18 years, secretary of state in
West Virginia, and still lectures
and writes.
Let me know what you are doing.
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MAY/JUNE 2011
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Melvin hershkowitz
22 Northern Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
DrMelvin23@gmail.com
On January 14, The New York Times’
obituary section carried a memorial
tribute to franklin gerald bishop
’43E, who died on January 14, 1996.
Gerry’s widow, Evelyn, has faithfully
published this annual tribute
to Gerry since he succumbed to
his final illness 15 years ago. This
writer met Gerry at a freshman beer
party in September 1938 in John Jay
Hall, where we gathered around a
piano to sing raunchy limericks and
Roar, Lion, Roar. Gerry later became
a good friend. He was a brilliant
mathematician and engineer. He
had a successful career as an engineer
and management consultant,
and finally as CEO and president
of Matrix Corp. At our Homecoming
football game in 1995, Gerry
came up to the Remmer-Maniatty
Alumni Lounge above Wien Stadium
in his wheelchair to watch the
game and visit with classmates. He
already was very ill but perfectly
alert and able to converse with us.
That was the last time I saw him. At
Columbia, Gerry was Dean’s Day
chairman, and a generous financial
supporter of the College, a tradition
that Evelyn has continued through
the years. We join Evelyn in remembering
Gerry’s impressive professional
accomplishments and his
lifelong devotion to Columbia.
The New York Times of January 24
reported the death of clarence
Eich ’43E on January 8. After WWII
service in the Navy, he was a mechanical
engineer at Combustion En-
gineering. In 1962, Clarence joined
the Foster Wheeler Corp., where he
was issued several patents for new
designs and products for power
generation and rose to the position
of e.v.p. before his retirement in 1984.
At Columbia, Clarence was an active
and widely respected classmate.
He was a member of Sigma Alpha
Epsilon, the Glee Club, the Van Am
Society and the Debate Council. He
earned silver and gold crowns, and
was elected to Nacoms. He attended
all of our significant landmark
reunions and our Homecoming
games at Wien Stadium. After his
retirement, Clarence traveled widely
with his wife, Ellen, enjoyed his golf
games and was a skilled gardener.
He won awards for his flowers and
developed several new varieties of
gesneriads. In 2001, Clarence was
named Volunteer of the Year by the
State of New Jersey Division of Parks
and Forestry for his work on behalf
of the Canal Society. He is survived
by his wife; children, Mary, Robert
and Claire; two grandchildren; and
two great-grandchildren. We mourn
the loss of such a distinguished
classmate, and we extend our condolences
to his family.
The annual Dean’s Scholarship
Reception, honoring donors to
named scholarships, was held in Alfred
Lerner Hall on February 3. Two
of the finest members of our Great
Class of 1942 are honored in perpetuity
by memorial scholarships:
charles f. “chic” hoelzer Jr. and
Dr. herbert Mark. The Hoelzer memorial
scholarship was established
in 1978, the year of his untimely
death, by this correspondent and
Chic’s widow, the late Dorothy. The
Mark memorial scholarship was established
by Herb’s widow, Avra ’45
Barnard; his sons, Peter, Tom and
Jeremy; his cousin, Reuben Mark;
and this correspondent after Herb’s
death in 2006. In 1939–40, Herb
was my Livingston Hall roommate,
and thanks to Columbia, became
my friend for 67 years. I encourage
classmates who remember Chic and
Herb to contribute to their memorial
scholarship funds. Please contact
the Columbia College Fund’s
Eleanor L. Coufos ’03, director of
annual giving programs, at 212-851-
7483 for further information.
I was sad to receive notice from
our Alumni Office on February
19 that werner rahmlow died in
Camden, Maine, on January 3. In
April 2009, Werner sent me a long
autobiographical letter from his
winter residence in Lady Lake, Fla.,
including reminiscences about his
years at Columbia. Like Columbia’s
most generous financial supporter,
the late John W. Kluge ’37, Werner
was born in Germany; he emigrated
to the United States in 1932
and became a U.S. citizen in 1942.
He settled in Leonia, N.J., where
he attended the local high school.
Werner’s high school principal
took him to the Columbia campus
for a personal visit (could that ever
happen today?), and Werner was
eventually admitted with a full
scholarship to study engineering.
He commuted to the campus by
trolley, 125th Street ferry, subway
and on foot for three hours daily,
five or six days each week, and still
found the time to train and run
for Columbia under track coach
“Canny Carl” Merner (Werner had
been an undefeated half-miler in
high school). With his demanding
engineering studies and long com-