In Memoriam

Norman “Norm” Howard Kragseth ’53, St. Louis Park, Minn., Jan. 22, at age 91. Kragseth attended Northwestern on a football scholarship. He was a three-year letter winner as a punter, place kicker and offensive end, and earned an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention his senior year. After he earned his undergraduate degree in education, Kragseth was active in the Northwestern Alumni Association and served as president of the Northwestern Alumni Club of the Twin Cities. He received the University’s Alumni Service Award in 1973. While at Northwestern, Kragseth participated in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps and later accepted an appointment to Navy Reserve Officer Candidate School. He served two years active duty during the Korean War. After he returned stateside, he started a teaching and coaching career in Minnesota. He officiated for 10 years for the Big Ten and then became the first NFL official from Minnesota. He officiated the first NFL game held in the Metrodome in Minneapolis and worked Super Bowl XIV before becoming an instant replay official in 1988 and, later, an NFL scout and observer. Kragseth was inducted into the Northwestern Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000. He is survived by his wife, Phyllis; children Susan, Steve and David Kragseth ’81, ’86 MA; grandchildren Connor, Taylor, Steven, Elias, Sheridan, Hartleigh and Atticus; and sisters Janice and Eleanor.

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 

Richard S. Oldberg Jr. ’61, Estes Park, Colo., Dec. 27, at age 83. A talented hornist, he studied the French horn during his college years at Northwestern until a lip injury forced him to turn to premedical studies. That break, however, was only temporary, and in 1962 he received an invitation to play as an extra horn with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO). In 1964 Oldberg was promoted to third horn and remained with the CSO for 29 years. Oldberg often performed as a soloist in pieces such as Strauss’ Second Horn Concerto and Schumann’s Konzertstück for Four Horns. Oldberg also served on Northwestern’s faculty for many years. Even during retirement, Oldberg played with the Boulder Philharmonic in Colorado and led its annual performances of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. He is survived by his son, David.

Photo Credit: Rosenthal Archives of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association

Richard Lerner ’60, ’02 H, La Jolla, Calif., Dec. 2, 2021, at age 83. A prominent biochemist with more than 400 published scholarly works, Lerner studied the human immune system and the function of antibodies and DNA in the treatment or detection of arthritis, cancer and diabetes. His fundamental research that led to the development of Humira, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, and Benlysta, an immunosuppressive drug to treat lupus. Lerner served as director and president of the Scripps Research Institute from 1987 to 2012, tripling the size of the institute and guiding it to become one of the world’s leading centers for life sciences. He is survived by his wife, Nicky; and three children, Danica, Arik and Aaron. 

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. 

Theo Ahrends Kenyon ’44, Peoria, Ill., Nov. 19, 2021, at age 99. Kenyon worked on her high school newspaper and developed a passion for journalism that turned into a lifelong career. She became the first woman edi- tor of The Daily Northwestern in 1943 and, after graduating from Northwestern, returned to her hometown in 1944 to work for The Peoria Star (later renamed The Journal Star), where she was on staff for 66 years. While many women journalists in that era wrote for the women’s pages, Kenyon covered hard news, reporting on presidential visits and the local arts community. She played a key role in the newspaper’s fight to unionize in the 1950s and served as president of the Peoria Newspaper Guild twice. Kenyon is survived by several cousins. 

Louise Love ’76, ’79 MA, ’84 PhD, Nov. 6, 2021, Evanston, at age 77. A lifelong learner with 30 years of experience working in higher education administration, Love began her Northwestern education as a part-time student, earning her bachelor’s degree in philosophy and master’s degree in English over the course of 17 years. She went on to earn her doctorate in English with a specialty in English Renaissance drama from Northwestern in 1984, after which she accepted a position at Northwestern’s School of Professional Studies (SPS), then called the Division of Continuing Education. She spent 16 years working her way up to become vice dean of SPS before joining Roosevelt University as associate provost in 2000. She later joined Columbia College Chicago, where she held various positions until retirement. She received an Alumni Merit Award from the Northwestern Alumni Association in 2003 and was one of the founding members of the Association of Northwestern University Women. She is survived by her husband, Ernest Love ’94 MA; daughters, Mary Love ’94 and Sarah Love Penzell ’90, ’10 MA, an assistant clinical professor in the Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders; and granddaughters, Alex and Ella.