In Memoriam

Louis A. Simpson ’58, Naples, Fla., Jan. 8, 2022, at age 85. A trustee, benefactor and generous friend of Northwestern, Simpson and his wife, Kimberly Querrey, have provided support to the University in countless ways, including more than $250 million in total “We Will” Campaign giving. The Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center, named in recognition of their generosity, officially opened in June 2019. Also in 2019, the couple gifted funding to create the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, to facilitate collaborations at the intersections of engineering, science and medicine. Simpson joined Northwestern’s Board of Trustees in 2006 and became a life trustee in 2010. In 2016 he was appointed senior fellow and adjunct professor of finance at the Kellogg School of Management. He received the Northwestern Alumni Medal in 2018. An expert investor, Simpson devoted more than 30 years of his career to Geico Corp. During his 17-year stint as president and CEO of Geico Capital Operations, Simpson produced portfolio returns that consistently broke industry records. In addition to his wife, Simpson is survived by his three sons, Irving, Kenneth and Edward “Ted” ’96 MBA; his five grandchildren, Allie McGuire, and Tyler, Kennedy, Palmer and Beckett Simpson; his three great-grandchildren, Lachlan, Clementine and Hamish; his nephews Andrew and Robert Querrey; and his “naughter,” Melissa Querrey, a student in the dual-degree Medical Scientist Training Program. 

Photo Credit: Jim Prisching 

Allan Rechtschaffen ’56 PhD, Chicago, Nov. 29, 2021, at age 93. Rechtschaffen conducted ground-breaking research on the biological purpose of sleep and the effect of retinal stimulation on dreams. After earning his doctorate, he taught psychology at Northwestern and worked as a research psychologist at the Veterans Administration before moving to the University of Chicago, where he directed the University of Chicago Sleep Laboratory for more than 40 years. In 1983 he published his most notable study, which showed the negative effects of sleep deprivation in rats, identifying sleep as an essential function for life. Rechtschaffen is survived by his wife, Karen; his stepdaughters, Laura, Katherine and Amy; and four grandchildren. 

Robert Allen Gardner ’54 PhD, Reno, Nev., Aug. 20, 2021, at age 91. A psychology professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, Gardner received worldwide acclaim for his groundbreaking research on cross-fostered chimpanzees (chimps raised by humans). With his late wife and research partner, Trixie, Gardner taught Washoe the chimpanzee American Sign Language in the 1960s. Washoe learned approximately 130 signs throughout his life. At their home laboratory, the Gardners created an enriching environment where they replicated their success with four additional infant chimpanzees. Their findings marked a new method for two-way communication between chimpanzees and humans and generated a wave of cognitive research. They gave lectures around the world and visited Jane Goodall in Tanzania to observe chimpanzees in the wild. Gardner continued to publish scholarly articles after his retirement in 2010. 

Richard Stolley ’52, ’53 MS, Evanston, June 16, 2021, at age 92. A trailblazer of celebrity news coverage, Stolley played a major role in the magazine industry during his six-decade career as a journalist. In 1963 Stolley acquired the Zapruder film footage of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination for Life magazine, where he had worked for a decade. After leaving Life in 1972, Stolley became the founding editor of People, where he spent eight years as the magazine’s managing editor. During his tenure there, People reached a circulation of 2.35 million readers and became the most profitable magazine in the U.S. Stolley went on to become an editorial director as well as an adviser at Time Inc. Magazines until his retirement in 2014. Stolley is survived by four daughters, a stepson and seven grandchildren. Photo: © Wire Images / Jason Kempin

Edward M. Tunnicliff ’50, Kingsford, Mich., May 4, at age 95. A Northwestern football legend, Tunnicliff scored the game-winning touchdown in the Wildcats’ 20-14 win over the University of California, Berkeley, at the 1949 Rose Bowl. Tunnicliff carried a Bears defender the final 7 yards, surging into the endzone for the 43-yard score. Looking back on that moment, he recalled thinking to himself, “I’m going to get to that goal line if I have to carry the whole stadium.” Tunnicliff attended Northwestern with assistance from the GI Bill after serving in World War II. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and decorated with a Purple Heart. After graduating in 1950, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles but instead chose to coach high school football. In 1957 he began working as a life insurance salesman. Tunnicliff is survived by four children and 10 grandchildren.

Photo: Courtesy of Northwestern University Archives

Richard Pepper ’53, Barrington, Ill., Jan. 28, 2021, at age 90. A longtime Northwestern benefactor and respected construction industry leader, Pepper was president and chairman of the Chicago-based Pepper Construction Group. He and his wife, Roxelyn “Roxy” Miller Pepper ’53, met at Northwestern in 1949. They married as students in 1952 and shared 69 years together. At the McCormick School of Engineering, the couple established the Stanley F. Pepper Chair in Civil Engineering in 1978, and in 2020 they endowed the Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Family Chair in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Their philanthropy has supported undergraduate research. The Pepper Family Foundation Civil Engineering Wing of the Technical Institute was dedicated in 1998. Their giving has also funded research in audiology, speech, language and learning at the School of Communication. They made a leadership gift in 2013 to support the renovation of Rocky and Berenice Miller Park, the home of the Northwestern baseball team. The name of the park honors Roxy Pepper’s father, former Northwestern president J. Roscoe Miller ’30 MD, ’31 GME, and her mother, Berenice. Richard Pepper received the Alumni Merit Award in 1986 and the Alumni Service Award in 1987. He is survived by his wife; five children, Stan, Lynda, Richard, Lisa and Scot; 18 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren. Pepper was preceded in death by his son Dave and daughter-in-law Katy.

Baron Wolman ’59, Santa Fe, N.M., Nov. 2, 2020, at age 83. As Rolling Stone’s inaugural staff photographer, Wolman captured iconic images of Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, the Who and the Rolling Stones — before they were legends. His best-known photos include those of Jimi Hendrix performing at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium in 1968. In shooting Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, Wolman noticed — and later broke the story — that the musician was missing a finger, a previously well-kept secret. Wolman later worked as a photographer for the Oakland Raiders and founded a publishing company. He is survived by his sister, Susan, and brother, Richard.

Photo Credit: © Tony Bonanno