In Memoriam

Clinton Krislov ’71, Wilmette, Ill., Feb. 1, 2024, at age 74. An attorney known for taking on Chicago’s City Hall, Krislov crusaded against the city’s controversial parking meter deal, championed consumer rights and fought on behalf of retired city workers. He ran for office six times — notably against former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin — but was never elected. Krislov sued the city of Chicago in 1983, accusing it of delaying state-mandated payments to city employee pension funds. He recovered $35 million for retirees. Krislov also attempted to void deals to lease Chicago’s parking meters and sell four underground garages to private companies. His work on behalf of consumers won refunds for Black customers who were charged higher prices at hair salons and incarcerated people who were overcharged at a state prison commissary. His class-action lawsuits benefited family members who donated their loved ones’ bodies only to have those remains mishandled. He later won a settlement from General Electric on behalf of dishwasher owners after several fires were caused by an alleged defective switch. He also fought for ballot access and absentee voters’ rights. Krislov is survived by his wife, Dale; children Carson, Taylor and Nick; and several grandchildren. 

William “Bill” F. Hayes III ’49 MMus, Studio City, Calif., Jan. 12, 2024, at age 98. A daytime TV actor, singer and Broadway performer, Hayes is best remembered for his role as Doug Williams on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. Beginning in 1949, he made appearances on Fireball Fun-For-All and Your Show of Shows before joining the cast of Days of Our Lives in 1970. His character would become one of the longest-running characters on the show, appearing in more than 2,000 episodes over the next 53 years. He also earned two Daytime Emmy nominations during that time. He and his wife, Susan Seaworth Hayes, who played Hayes’ on-air wife, Julie, on Days of Our Lives, received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Daytime Emmys in 2018. In 1955 Hayes also sang a rendition of the “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” the theme song for the show Davy Crockett. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Carolyn, Margaret, Thomas and William; 13 grandchildren; and 30 great-grandchildren. 

Photo Credit: Michael Ochs 

Roger Thomas Ward ’68, ’70 MS, Evanston, Dec. 15, 2023, at age 76. A skilled biomedical engineer and researcher at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in Los Angeles, Ward investigated biochemical factors for individuals with sickle cell anemia. Earlier in his career, Ward was recruited by IBM and also worked as an aerospace engineer intern at the Rand Corp., Jet Propulsion Lab and Hughes Aircraft. He received a football scholarship to Northwestern, where he studied math and physics and participated in the 1968 Bursar’s Office Takeover. He earned his doctoral degree in engineering from UCLA in 1978. Ward is survived by his brother, Guy; his former wife, Devyanne Ward; four children, Jocelynn Harrod Ridley ’03 MS, Jeffrey, Sarah and Amber; his former wife, Vivian; 11 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and additional relatives and friends. 

George Cohon ’61 JD, Toronto, Nov. 24, 2023, at age 86. Cohon was best known for introducing the McDonald’s Big Mac to Russia. Born on the South Side of Chicago, Cohon received a bachelor’s degree from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, then earned his law degree at Northwestern in 1961. Cohon borrowed $70,000 to purchase the rights to operate his first McDonald’s franchise, which he opened in London, Ontario, in 1968. He eventually became the chairman of McDonald’s in Canada and Russia. In 1997, Cohon, with co-author David Macfarlane, published his memoir, To Russia with Fries: My Journey From Chicago’s South Side to Russia’s Red Square — Having Fun Along the Way. He was awarded Northwestern's Alumni Merit Award in 1987 and the Alumni Medal in 1992. Cohon is survived by his wife, Susan Cohon ’60; sons Mark Cohon ’89 and Craig; sister, Sandy Raizes; and three grandchildren, including Amber Cohon ’23.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Kenneth Cornwall ’58, Alameda, Calif., Nov. 4, 2023, at age 93. A scenic painter, designer and technical director at Cahn Auditorium for 40 years, Cornwall was known by the Northwestern community as an all-around tech wizard with an encyclopedic knowledge of theater. After earning his bachelor’s degree in communications, he returned to Northwestern as technical director and became a mentor to generations of theater and music students. By the time he retired in 2000, Cornwall had contributed to nearly 50 Waa-Mu Shows — as an undergraduate student and staff member. With a sharp eye for set-building, prop selection and theater upkeep, he meticulously maintained Cahn Auditorium, as well as Guild Lounge, an event space in Scott Hall where he built original display cases using leftover wood from Cahn stage sets. Cornwall was honored with a Waa-Mu Wall of Fame plaque in the Cahn Auditorium lobby. The Ken Cornwall Award — a Waa-Mu Show award presented annually by Northwestern’s theater department — honors students who show excellence in technical theater. Cornwall is survived by his husband of 25 years, Kenneth Walsh.

Melvin Sembler ’52, St. Petersburg, Fla., Oct. 31, 2023, at age 93. Known for his business acumen, Sembler founded The Sembler Company, a shopping center development firm in St. Petersburg. In 1976 Sembler and his wife, Betty Schlesinger Sembler ’53, whom he met at Northwestern, founded a drug treatment program that operates today as the Drug Free America Foundation. Sembler also became involved in Republican politics. He served on President George H.W. Bush’s first presidential campaign and was appointed U.S. ambassador to Australia and Nauru following Bush’s election in 1989. Upon his return to the U.S. in 1993, Sembler served as finance chairman for both the Republican Party of Florida and the Republican National Committee. He was then appointed U.S. ambassador to Italy by President George W. Bush in 2001, a position he held until 2005. Sembler is survived by his sister, Delores; his sons, Martin, Brent and Greg; 12 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. His wife died in 2022. 

Photo Credit: Fairfax Media 

Marilyn Faye Katz ’68, Chicago, Oct. 26, 2023, at age 78. Katz dedicated her life to social and political activism. As a Northwestern student in the mid-1960s, she joined Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), then left her studies to organize against the Vietnam War. In 1966 she marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in Chicago’s Marquette Park to protest housing segregation. At age 23 Katz served as SDS’s security director to protect antiwar protesters during the turbulent 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. She was a member of numerous women’s rights organizations and an advocate for reproductive rights. After serving as a media consultant for Harold Washington ’52 JD during his successful 1983 mayoral campaign, Katz founded MK Communications, a progressive public relations firm, in 1984. She helped organize a rally in 2002 with Chicagoans Against War in Iraq, at which Barack Obama ’06 H was a featured speaker. She later worked for Obama as a consultant and strategist during his presidential campaigns. Katz co-wrote three books, produced multiple films and served on several boards, including Human Rights Watch Chicago. She is survived by her husband, Scott Chambers, and children, Halley and Grady.