In Memoriam

Otherie Love ’41, Dearborn, Mich., July 2, 2021, at age 101. A trail­blazing educator, Love became the first Black student teacher in the Evanston school system, while studying education at Northwestern. After graduating in 1941, she became one of the first Black high school teachers in Chicago Public Schools. In 1943 Love moved to Detroit, where she taught elementary school math. She later became an administrator for the Detroit Public Schools, which in 1989 honored her for distinguished service in education. She retired in 1991. In 1992 she moved back to Evanston and at age 82 earned a certificate in human services from Oakton Community College, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. She came out of retirement to work at H&R Block as an enrolled agent, the highest credential awarded by the IRS, until the age of 90. Love served as a peer counselor in Evanston and volunteered at Great Opportunities Adult Day Services in Skokie, Ill. In 2008 she received an award from the Evanston nonprofit Family Focus honoring her accomplishments and contributions to the community. After returning to Michigan, Love was named poet laureate of her Dearborn retirement community in 2021. She is survived by her daughter, Jeri; sister-in-law, Ruby; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

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

Robert “Bobby” Whiteside ’64, Madison, Tenn., April 21, 2021, at age 79. A singer, producer and songwriter, Whiteside worked alongside artists such as Barbra Streisand and Johnny Mathis. Whiteside co-wrote hit songs such as “Comin’ In and Out of Your Life” and “When the Lovin’ Goes Out of the Lovin’” and also released his own album, Bittersweet Stories, in 1974. He spent 40 years in the commercial advertising business, writing and producing jingles for Harley-Davidson, McDonald’s, 7UP and others. He won three Clio Awards. He also had a passion for fishing and boating. Whiteside is survived by his wife of 54 years, Brenda; his daughter, Wendy; his sons Terry and Tarrey; four grandchildren; and his sister, Mary Whiteside Schuette ’60. 

Louis R. Magor, ’67, ’74 MMus, Seattle, April 11, at age 75. An acclaimed musician, conductor and teacher, Magor began teaching choral music to middle and high schoolers in the Chicago area while he was a student at Northwestern. He arranged music for various choral groups in Chicago at the encouragement of choral professor William Ballard, and soon after earning his master’s degree in music, Magor became the first director of the prestigious San Francisco Symphony Chorus when he was 28 years old. Margaret Hillis, the renowned conductor of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, had recommended Magor for the position, and numerous members of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus wrote letters to then-conductor Seiji Ozawa insisting that Magor be hired. Magor held the position for a decade, after which he replaced Ballard as conductor of the San Francisco Boys Chorus and led them on a national tour in 1985. In 1990 Magor moved to Seattle and became a well-respected elementary school music teacher for 31 years. He served as an accompanist to Seattle’s Total Experience Gospel Choir, as the music director at Wallingford United Methodist Church and as conductor for the Seattle Bach Choir and the West Seattle Children’s Chorus. Magor is survived by nine cousins.

Patricia Hoftiezer Simms ’69 of Madison, Wis., April 5, at age 75. After graduating from Northwestern, Simms spent her entire 42-year career reporting for the Wisconsin State Journal, where she started two columns. Her “Snoop” column, which ran from 1989 to 1998, compiled gossip, insider news and watchdog reporting. In 2007 she launched a consumer advocacy column called “SOS” that continues to this day. During her time at the State Journal, Simms covered five governors and the 1970 bombing of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Sterling Hall. Simms’ newsroom team was named a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for their breaking news reporting on the 2011 protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol in response to Gov. Scott Walker’s Act 10, an anti-union law. Simms continued to freelance for the paper after her retirement in 2011. She was also the first woman journalist in Wisconsin to demand and receive maternity leave. Simms is survived by her two children, Sara Lander and Joseph Simms, and her six grandchildren.

Photo: Courtesy of Wisconsin State Journal

Elizabeth “Betty” Urbanowski Hibben ’60, Northbrook, Ill., March 28, 2021, at age 83. Hibben was one of the first women to be inducted into Northwestern’s N Club, an alumni organization for former Wildcat athletes. She played intramural softball, basketball, volleyball and tennis as a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She became co-owner and manager of the Ivy Racquet Club in Peru, Ill., and coached the Illinois Valley Community College women’s tennis team, for which she received the National Junior College Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year award. A flautist, Hibben was also a member of the Northwestern University Marching and Band Alumni. She is survived by her children, Kenneth, Timothy and Nancy; and four grandchildren.