In Memoriam

Constance Lorraine Hairston Morton ’42 MA/MS, ’08 H, Sept. 8, 2018, Evanston, age 99. A civil rights champion and a longtime educator, Morton became the first African American mayor of Evanston in 1993. She served four terms, retiring in 2009 as the city’s longest-­serving mayor. After a brief stint in Tuskegee, Ala., Morton and her husband, James T. Morton Jr. ’35 MA/MS, ’42 PhD returned to Evanston in 1953. A public school teacher, Morton broke the color ­barrier at Nichols Middle School in 1957, when she became the first African American to teach at a ­majority-white Evanston school. After 36 years in District 65 schools, Morton was elected alderman for Evanston’s 5th Ward in 1982. Evanston’s city hall was renamed the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center in her honor. In 2014 Morton donated her public papers to Northwestern University Archives. Morton, who died just three months before her 100th birthday, is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth Morton Brasher; and two granddaughters, Elizabeth and Constance. Photo courtesy of University Archives

Charlotte Rae ’48 Los Angeles, Aug. 5, 2018, at age 92. A beloved figure on Broadway and television for more than 60 years, Ms. Rae’s performances were whimsical, heartfelt and poignant. “To think of Charlotte Rae,” wrote one critic, “is to smile.” At Northwestern she performed for three years in the Waa-Mu Show. After moving to New York City in 1948, she landed the lead role in the 1954 Broadway revival of The Threepenny Opera. That role helped launch her career, and she went on to earn Tony Award nominations for best actress in Pickwick (1966) and Morning, Noon and Night (1969). She would become best known as the matronly Edna Garrett on the sitcom Diff’rent Strokes and its spinoff The Facts of Life. Ms. Rae, whose earlier sitcom credits included Car 54, Where Are You?, earned two Emmy Award nominations. In addition to her work on the stage and screen, Ms. Rae published an autobiography, recorded a satirical album and made appearances in movies and on children’s television. She is survived by a son, Larry; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Photo courtesy of University Archives

Victor J. Danilov ’46 MS, Evanston, July 26, 2018, at age 93. After graduating with a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern, Mr. Danilov worked at newspapers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois, including a stint at the Chicago Daily News. He taught journalism at both the University of Kansas and University of Colorado and published 28 books. To Chicagoans, though, Mr. Danilov is best known for leading the city’s Museum of Science and Industry. He joined the museum in 1971 and became its director in 1972. Under his guidance, MSI became one of the city’s top attractions, welcoming millions of visitors each year. His success in developing hands-on exhibits, most notably a $10 million center devoted to the exploration of space, led Mayor Richard J. Daley to appoint him chair of the city’s first arts council in 1974. Mr. Danilov continued his work on the council under three other mayors, including Harold Washington ’52 JD. In 1987 Mr. Danilov retired and moved to Boulder, Colo., with his wife, Toni Dewey, though they returned to the Chicago area in 2005. He is survived by his two children, Duane and Denise, as well as a stepson, Thomas Dewey. Photo courtesy of University Archives

Peter G. Peterson ’47, ’80 H, New York City, March 20, 2018, at age 91. The son of a poor immigrant from Greece, Mr. Peterson became a billionaire financier and philanthropist. At 34 he was named president of Chicago-based manufacturer Bell & Howell. Two years later he became chairman and CEO, positions that he held until 1971. Mr. Peterson served as a presidential assistant on international economic affairs under President Richard Nixon before becoming secretary of commerce in 1972. The following year he left Washington, D.C., to become chair of Lehman Brothers. He led Lehman to five consecutive years of record profits. In 1985 Mr. Peterson co-founded the Blackstone Group with $400,000 in capital. It grew into a major player on Wall Street, managing more than $88 billion by 2007. A longtime critic of Social Security and Medicare, Mr. Peterson was the founding president of the Concord Coalition, a citizens group that advocated for budgetary accountability. In 1994 he was appointed by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform. Mr. Peterson was chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (2000–04) and chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations (1985–2007). Survivors include his third wife, Joan Ganz Cooney ’12 H; a brother, John; five children from his second marriage, John, Jim, David, Holly and Michael; two daughters-in-law, Tara M. Peters ’93 and Patricia; and nine grandchildren, including Steven C. Peterson ’15. Photo by Kaveh Sardari

Elizabeth “Betty” Stuart Rodgers Jeffreys ’44, Glenview, Ill., Feb. 23, 2018, at age 95.

From her first childhood Brownie camera, Mrs. Jeffreys had an interest in photography. As a student at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications she would spend her free time taking pictures of fellow students and later photographed weddings.

Throughout her career, Mrs. Jeffreys never used the camera’s viewfinder, preferring to envision the frame in her mind. She engaged the people she photographed to ensure natural, candid shots.

In 1945 Mrs. Jeffreys opened the Betty Stuart Studio, a photography business in Evanston. The business, renamed Stuart-Rodgers Studio after she married John Boyd Rodgers in 1946, remains open today as Stuart-Rodgers Photography.

Mrs. Jeffreys photographed dozens of famous people, from presidents to Hollywood stars. She also ran a photography school in Evanston in the 1960s and hosted workshops by top photographers, such as Ansel Adams. She later returned to Northwestern to teach photography at Medill.

Mrs. Jeffreys is survived by her daughters, Holly and Betsy; her sons, Scott and Chip; and 12 grandchildren.

Helen Sloane Dudman ’46, ’46 MS,  Blue Hill, Maine, Feb. 19, 2018, at age 93.

Best known for her work in journalism and public relations, Mrs. Dudman worked as the publicity director of the National Symphony Orchestra from 1962 to 1965 before editing the Washington Post’s women’s section from 1965 to 1969. After working for the Post and for the company’s broadcasting division, she was a vice president for PBS.

During the Vietnam War, Mrs. Dudman’s husband, Richard, was captured by Viet Cong forces while covering the war as a journalist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She used her contacts among the Washington, D.C., press corps and in diplomatic circles to bring attention to her husband’s case. She is credited with helping to secure his release.

Mrs. Dudman is survived by her two daughters, Martha and Iris; and four grandchildren.

Erving Wolf ’46, ’50 JD, Palm Beach, Fla., Feb. 6, 2018, at age 91.

An oil and gas pioneer and art collector, Mr. Wolf practiced law in Cheyenne, Wyo., but was soon drawn to the oil and gas industry. In 1951 he founded the Wolf Land Co., which later became the Inexco Oil Co. Under his leadership, Inexco discovered Wyoming's 4 trillion-cubic-foot Madden Gas Field, one of the largest natural gas reserves in the United States, and the Key Lake Uranium Mine in Saskatchewan, Canada, which once produced 15 percent of the world’s uranium.

Before attending Northwestern, Mr. Wolf served as an officer in the U.S. Navy while stationed in Guam during World War II. He later attended Notre Dame and earned a law degree from Northwestern.

Mr. Wolf and his wife, Joyce, assembled an art collections that includes 18th- and 19th-century American paintings, drawings, sculpture and furniture, as well as Chinese porcelains. In 1980 they endowed The Erving and Joyce Wolf Gallery at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The gallery, located on the first floor of the American wing, is for the display of special exhibitions of American art. In 2001 the museum made Mr. Wolf an honorary trustee.

The couple also loaned and gifted sculpture to the Denver Art Museum and to the National Gallery of Art in honor of their late daughter, Diane. Mr. Wolf and his brothers were the lead donors for the Leon and Dora Wolf Law Building, named in honor of their parents, at the University of Colorado School of Law.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Wolf is survived by two sons, Daniel and Mathew; five grandchildren; and a brother, Marvin E. Wolf ’52.