Obituaries

Jay Leavitt, a computer scientist who helped to lead UB into the computer age during the 1980s, died Feb. 25 in Caldwell UNC Health Care in Lenoir, N.C. He was 85.

Every institution of higher learning develops a character, a uniqueness that reflects the place, the time and most of all the people who’ve shaped it. Few have done more to mold the ethos of UB School of Law than Professor Kenneth F. Joyce.

Walter Simpson, who served as UB’s energy officer for 26 years, died Feb. 2 in Buffalo General Medical Center. He was 73.

Francis William Lawvere, a longtime member of the UB mathematics faculty, died Jan. 23 in Chapel Hill, N.C., after a long illness. He was 85.

John R. “Jack” Davis, an industrialist and the largest individual donor to the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, died Jan. 23 after a long illness. He was 89.

Robert “Bob” Hoeing, associate professor in the Department of Linguistics, died unexpectedly Jan. 19. He was 67.

Grace Dean, a professor in the School of Nursing, died Jan. 10. She was 66.

Joseph J. Tufariello, professor emeritus in the Department of Chemistry and former dean of UB’s Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, died on Nov. 28 in Eugene, Oregon, where he had moved to be near family. He was 87.

Charles E. Carr, a professor in the School of Law for 28 years, died suddenly Dec. 6 in his sister’s home in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Lois J. Baker, a longtime member of University Communications, died Dec. 1 in Harris Hill Nursing Facility from complications from dementia. She was 77.

Nagesh S. Revankar, professor emeritus in the Department of Economics and a UB faculty member for more than 50 years, died Oct. 23. He was 86.

David M. Mark, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geography and an internationally recognized leader in the field of GIScience, died Sept. 24 after a brief illness. He was 74.

Debabrata “Debu” Talukdar, professor of marketing in the School of Management, died Sept. 23. He was 59.

Thomas B. Burrows, who spent two decades leading the Center for the Arts and molding the performance venue into an important piece of Western New York’s arts and cultural scene, died Sept. 18 in Lewiston. He was 88.

Claes E.G. Lundgren, longtime UB faculty member and SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physiology, died June 12. He was 91.

J. Ronald Gentile, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus in the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology, Graduate School of Education, died April 20.

The School of Law and the Gender Institute will celebrate the life and legacy of longtime faculty member Isabel Marcus at a service on campus on May 11.

Isabel Marcus, a School of Law faculty member for more than 35 years and an internationally recognized champion for human rights, died Oct. 31 in Los Angeles after a period of declining health. She was 83.

Frederic J. Fleron Jr., professor emeritus of political science and an internationally renowned specialist in comparative politics focusing on the Soviet Union/Russia, died on June 2. He was 83.

Longtime UB faculty member Jorge J. E. Gracia died July 13 surrounded by his family. He was 78.