In Memoriam

Jeannie Peterson ’62 ’63 MS, Cardiff by the Sea, Calif., Feb. 19, 2024, at age 84. Peterson was best known for her contributions to reducing the risk of global nuclear war. As editor of Ambio: A Journal of the Human Environment from 1972 to 1983, she commissioned and published research by scientist Paul Crutzen that explored the negative effects of nuclear war on the environment. That research inspired Carl Sagan and other scientists to develop “nuclear winter” theory which describes the potentially disastrous effects of nuclear war on the atmosphere. In 1995 Mikhail Gorbachev, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, said nuclear winter theory convinced him to pursue peaceful relations with the United States. Peterson became director of the Public Information Center for the Consequences of Nuclear War in Washington, D.C. In 2022 she won a Future of Life Award for lessening the risk of nuclear war. Peterson worked for the United Nations in various roles across Europe from 1986 to 2001 before moving to Vermont. There she served as a member of the Vermont Council on World Affairs while pursuing her passion for photography. She exhibited her nature photographs across the state before moving to California. She is survived by her brothers, Mark and Paul, and their families.

Dan L. Burk ’87 MS, Irvine, Calif., Feb. 4, 2024, at age 61. An expert in technology law, including intellectual property, gene patenting, digital copyright and more, Burk was a founding faculty member of the University of California, Irvine, School of Law (UCI Law), where he was Distinguished and Chancellor’s Professor of Law and faculty director of the AI Global Public Policy Institute. Burk studied molecular biology and biochemistry at Northwestern and became interested in the intersection of law and science after learning of the first criminal conviction in the U.S. based on DNA profiling evidence, in 1987. He received two Fulbright Scholarships, in 2011 and 2017, and he was selected for a Leverhulme visitorship to the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2015. Burk taught intellectual property law at Bocconi University in Milan, the University of Toronto, Sciences Po in Paris, the University of Haifa and Humboldt University of Berlin. Before joining UCI Law, Burk taught at the University of Minnesota Law School and Seton Hall University School of Law. Burk is survived by his wife, Laurie, and his daughter, Rayne.  

Photo Credit: UCI Law 

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.