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In Memoriam

In memoriam is a page to read featured obituaries of Northwestern alumni, faculty and staff. Visit Remembrances to read memorials of Northwestern community members submitted by their family or peers. Please send obituaries to alums@northwestern.edu.

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David C. Horowitz

David C. Horowitz ’61 MS, Los Angeles, Feb. 14, 2019, at age 81. A consumer reporter, Horowitz hosted the Emmy-winning Fight Back! With David Horowitz, a syndicated program on which he investigated product defects, tested claims made by advertisers and confronted companies about customer complaints. He campaigned to remove sulfites from salad bars and to make rear-window collision-avoidance lights a requirement. Horowitz joined a campaign to outlaw realistic toy guns in California after being held hostage during a broadcast by a man with an empty BB gun. In 1997 Horowitz was inducted into the inaugural class of the Medill Hall of Achievement. He is survived by his wife, Suzanne; daughters Amanda and Tori; and two grandchildren. Photo courtesy of Northwestern University Archives

Lawrence J. Onesti

Lawrence J. Onesti ’62, Bloomington, Ind., July 9, 2018, at age 79. Mr. Onseti enjoyed a distinguished athletic and academic career. An All-American linebacker at Northwestern, Mr. Onesti also earned Academic All-America honors during his senior season in 1961. He was inducted into the Northwestern Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996. After graduating from Northwestern, Mr. Onesti played four seasons for the Houston Oilers before returning to graduate school. He earned his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and later joined the faculty at Indiana University Bloomington, where he taught for 23 years, eventually becoming a full professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. He received fellowships from NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech and the Goddard Space Flight Center. A geologist who specialized in hydrology and sedimentation, Mr. Onesti presented research and pursued projects in Russia, China, Mexico, Japan and throughout the United States, including consulting the Navajo Nation on mine restoration in Tsaile, Ariz., and evaluating avalanche activity for the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company in Anchorage, Alaska. Mr. Onesti is survived by his wife, June Skowronski Onesti ’61; their children, Nina, Alex, Nick and Anthony; a sister, Brenda Copenharve; and brothers Paul and Frank. Photo courtesy of University Archives

Mitchell L. Slotnick

Mitchell L. Slotnick ’63, ’64 MBA, ’68 PhD, Northbrook, Ill., May 10, 2018, at age 76. A longtime financial consultant for PepsiCo, Mr. Slotnick taught in the MBA program at Loyola University Chicago for more than 20 years. He developed metrics for Pepsi that led to a shift in the bottling business model from a volumetric focus to a focus on marginal contribution ­dollars. The concept became a core part of the company’s financial management system and was taught in more than 100 countries. In 1969 Mr. Slotnick and his wife, Valerie, launched Educational Tours Inc., which at its peak brought more than 50,000 students each year to Washington, D.C., and other historic U.S. sites. The pair also started two smaller travel companies: Ridgebrook Travel and OmniTours. Mr. Slotnick led philanthropic and foundation work focused on fostering interfaith dialogue and enriching the lives of people who have disabilities. He launched the Northern Suburban Special Recreation Association Foundation and served on the board for the Center for Enriched Living. Mr. Slotnick was a passionate fan and supporter of Northwestern Athletics. He and Valerie were charter members of the Otto Graham Society. In 2015 they made a $5 million gift to Northwestern Athletics to support the construction of the Mitchell and Valerie Slotnick Family Atrium, located inside the new Ryan Fieldhouse. In addition to his wife, Mr. Slotnick is survived by his sons, Barry ’93, ’00 MBA and Jay; a daughter-in-law, Natalie; a sister, Barbara; and grandchildren Ben and Carly.

James H. Cone

James H. Cone ’63 MA, ’65 PhD, New York City, April 28, 2018, at age 79. Rev. Cone was a founder of black liberation theology. He spoke out against racial inequality in the forms of economic injustice, mass incarceration and police shootings. In 1969 Rev. Cone wrote the first of his 12 books, Black Theology & Black Power. An African Methodist Episcopal minister, Rev. Cone joined the faculty at the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 1969. He was promoted to professor four years later. In April Rev. Cone was elected to the 2018 class of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Earlier this year he won the Grawemeyer Award in Religion for his latest book, The Cross and the Lynching Tree. His memoir, Said I Wasn’t Gonna Tell Nobody: The Making of a Black Theologian, is expected to be published in late 2018. In 2010 Rev. Cone won the Eliza Garrett Distinguished Service Award from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He is survived by his sons, Michael and Charles; his daughters, Robynn and Krystal; a brother, Charles, and two grandchildren. Photo by Filip Wolak. Ⓒ Union Theological Seminary

kevin moore obituary Kevin M. Moore ’68, ’71 MS, Wilmette, Ill., April 11, 2018, at age 71.

A celebrated journalist, Mr. Moore worked at Chicago’s two largest newspapers for more than 30 years. He spent 12 at the Chicago Sun-Times, starting as editor of “Weekend Plus” in 1974. He was also the Sunday features editor and opinion section editor. In 1986 he moved to the Chicago Tribune, where he edited the Friday section and helped move the newspaper’s entertainment coverage into the digital realm. He created the online “Beat Siskel” Oscar selection contest that pitted readers against famed movie critic Gene Siskel. Mr. Moore retired from the Tribune in 2008 as the paper’s deputy entertainment editor.

Born in Cleveland, Mr. Moore grew up in Texas and Missouri and spent his summers working as an apprentice lion tamer and cotton candy vendor at a circus owned by his family.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications and enlisted in the U.S. Army. Mr. Moore served for two years in Vietnam, where he saw ground combat action and suffered a serious ankle injury. He was awarded a Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. Mr. Moore returned to Northwestern, where he earned a master’s degree in journalism.

After his retirement Mr. Moore studied at Northwestern’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He is survived by his wife, Constance.

Justin Allen Zivin

Justin Allen Zivin ’67, ’70 MS, ’71 PhD, ’72 MD, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., Feb. 17, 2018, at age 71. Dr. Zivin dedicated his career to identifying treatments for stroke, specifically the use of tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, for treatment of ­ischemic stroke when appropriate. He encouraged the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to change the paradigm for clinical stroke research, organizing a study that required a complete rethinking of how stroke care is managed. His work on tPA paved the way for Food and Drug Administration approval, and tPA is ­currently the only internationally approved treatment for this condition. He published his first paper on the use of tPA in Science in 1985. The drug was first approved for stroke in 1996. He co-wrote tPA for Stroke: The Story of a Controversial Drug (2010) with John Galbraith Simmons ’71. Dr. Zivin is survived by his wife, Reni-Zoe; two daughters, Kara and Leslie; four grandchildren; and a sister, Linda.

michael witwer obituary Michael Witwer ’67 MD, ’73 GME, Santa Rosa, Calif., Sept. 25, 2017, at age 76.

A battalion surgeon in the Vietnam War, Dr. Witwer received a U.S. Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V” for providing medical support to his unit under fire. He also earned a reputation as a “battlefield stork” for delivering babies and providing medical care to local villagers.

After returning stateside, he began a medical career in infectious diseases. He ran a private practice and taught at the University of California, San Francisco.

Despite serious leg injuries from Vietnam, Dr. Witwer became a long-distance runner, completing more than 100 marathons and 50 ultramarathons. He also co-founded a charity run for cancer research that raised $300,000 over a decade.

He is survived by his wife, Carol; children, Julia, Michael, Vincent and Elizabeth; brothers Samuel and David; and a sister, Carole.