Remembrances

Cathy Smith Martin ’70 MS passed away on May 24, 2024, in West Des Moines, Iowa. She began working for Northwestern in 1967 in the registrar’s office, eventually retiring as the Associate Dean of Speech in what is now the School of Communication in 2002. She was born January 24, 1944, in Live Oak, Calif., and received her bachelor’s degree at Bemidji State University.

In her retirement, she enjoyed reading and spending time with her children and grandchildren. She remained a Northwestern fan, always watching the Wildcats on TV or reminiscing about the many illustrious students she knew during her time in the School of Communication, several of whom are now successful actors and entertainers.

She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Wayne, who also retired from Northwestern after ten years in the engineering department; her daughter Carolyn (John) and four grandchildren.  

Henry “Hank” Stephen Bangser ’71 MS, ’77 PhD passed away on March 12, 2024. He is survived by his beloved wife, Sara; their three children, Jill Fioravanti (Marc), Marc (Gina), and Matt (Abby); and their seven grandchildren, ages 4 to 15 (Albert, Simon, Camilla, Jackson, Penelope, Elyse, and Margo). Sara, Jill, Marc, Matt, their spouses and their children will always remember the vibrance and warmth of “Grandpa Hank” and strive to exemplify his character and values.

Hank grew up in Westchester County, N.Y., and graduated from Mamaroneck High School in 1966. He received a bachelor of arts in economics from Williams College in 1970, a master of arts in teaching from Northwestern in 1971 and a PhD in educational leadership and administration from Northwestern in 1977. His educational career began at New Trier East High School in Winnetka, Ill., and spanned nearly five decades, including classroom teaching, educational leadership positions and superintendencies in six public school districts across New York, Illinois and California. Perhaps most noteworthy were his more than 20 years spent with New Trier High School District 203, where he worked first as a social studies teacher and assistant principal, and then returned to serve for 16 years as superintendent. Hank was inducted into the Mamaroneck High School Hall of Fame in 1999, and upon his retirement from New Trier in 2006, the administration building at the Northfield Campus was renamed the Henry S. Bangser Administration Building.

Hank’s legacy touched thousands of teachers, administrators, staff and students. One current superintendent said, “Hank was the single most important influence in my professional career, and there’s no way I would be where I am now without his guidance and support. The world just lost an incredible man.” A longtime former assistant for Hank added, “My heart is broken right now. Hank was just such an unbelievable person to me, professionally and personally — he will never know just how many people he has impacted along the way.”

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Hank reveled in playing, discussing and watching sports. He played varsity football and baseball in high school and collegiate football at Williams College, and coached New Trier football. For his entire adult life he was an avid golfer who carried a single-digit handicap, using his exceptional short game and silky-smooth putting stroke to tame some of the most challenging courses from coast to coast. 

Hank and Sara celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in April 2023, surrounded by family in a wonderful celebration of their milestone. He was immensely proud of his children and beamed whenever he talked about his grandchildren, and he went out of his way to attend soccer games, dance recitals and band and orchestra concerts, and loved every video and picture sent his way. “Grandpa Hank” fit him perfectly.

Hank will be dearly missed by all who had the good fortune to know him throughout his almost 75 years, and his family knows that the many memories shared with Hank will resonate for years and generations to come.

A graveside service took place on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Ridge Lawn Cemetery, 5736 N Pulaski Rd, Chicago, IL 60646.

Paul Nicholas “Nick” Pitz ’71 MA of Bettendorf, Iowa, born Feb. 2, 1947, in Indianapolis, died on Nov. 24, 2023.

Nick graduated in 1964 from Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, where he placed first in an Exercise in Knowledge competition. He graduated from Wabash College in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in German and English after having studied abroad his junior year at the Philipps-Universität in Marburg, Germany.

After graduation, Nick entered the U.S. Army and ultimately served in a military position in Worms, Germany. After his discharge, he earned a master’s degree from Northwestern University and finished coursework and the qualifying exam for the PhD program. He met the love of his life, Barbara Waters, in August 1973, and they were married a year to the day after they met. A month later, they moved to Toronto and eventually to the Iowa Quad Cities. In the meantime, they welcomed daughter Megan and son Andrew.

In Toronto Nick discovered his love of teaching and was convinced that his most enduring and natural contribution to education would be as a high school teacher. He earned a teaching degree at the University of Toronto and spent the next 11 years teaching at high schools in and near Toronto as well as teaching Saturday German language classes. Nick also spent several years teaching skiing as a Canadian Level II instructor in Canada and Iowa and coached high school basketball in Canada.

Over the course of his more than 40-year teaching career, Nick was perhaps best known and loved for his 23 years at Moline High School, where he accompanied students to Germany every other year.

After retiring in 2014, he continued to teach part-time at various Quad City high schools until his second retirement in 2021. Never losing his interest in academic competition, he coached the Moline High School scholastic bowl team to the Illinois State Championship in 1999, and then Team Illinois to back-to-back National Championships in 2007 and 2008, eventually being inducted into the Illinois Scholastic Bowl Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

With his outgoing approach to life, Nick became involved at various levels of community affairs, serving on the Board of Directors of the German American Heritage Center, where he was an active volunteer and reading-group discussion leader. He took joy in his Stammtisch friends, who met once a week to speak German over a beer, and he and Barbara spent three weeks during the summer of 2023 driving through Germany.

Nick is survived by his wife, Barbara; daughter, Megan (Jake Viano); son, Andrew (Elora); brothers Mike Pitz (Fay) and John Pitz (Jill); sisters Janeann Pitz (Reinhard Pollach) and Marylynne Pitz (Mark Weitzman); granddaughters Addison Nicole Pitz and Annabelle Rebecca Nicole Viano; and several cousins, nieces and nephews.

Cheryl Lee Ross ’78, 65, of Buckeye, Ariz., passed away on March 5, 2022.

Cheryl was born on February 11, 1957, to Ron and Frankie Ross in Columbus, Ohio.

After Cheryl graduated from Whetstone High School in Columbus in 1974, she went on to achieve her bachelor’s degree at Northwestern University, master’s in business at UCLA and her graduate degree in IT at Northwestern University.

After a graduate degree in business administration, she started her first job at Frito Lay as a brand manager, kickstarting a 30-year career in marketing, product management and consumer research. Throughout her career, Cheryl served as the brand manager at Kraft Foods, director of marketing at Spiegel/Eddie Bauer, senior marketing consultant at Accenture, and director of merchandising and sales development at Sears Roebuck & Co.

In 1984 Cheryl met Jim Lacey at Lakeshore Athletic Club in Chicago. Cheryl and Jim went on to raise their two children, Jason and Christie in Glen Ellyn, Ill.

In 2012 Cheryl retired from her rewarding business career and spent her time swimming, hiking, dancing, participating in book clubs, cultivating deep relationships with friends and traveling throughout the west and overseas. She was a lifetime student and had a voracious thirst for knowledge. Cheryl was more interested in getting to know others than talking about herself. She was a critical thinker and was known for her thought-provoking questions. She looked for the best in everybody and was always impeccable with her word. Cheryl exuded friendship and goodwill. She was a dear friend to many and had a contagious laughter and a beaming smile that lit up the room. Cheryl loved bright colors in her clothing, her home’s interior decoration and the flowering plants blooming in her Arizona yard. May her memory be for a blessing.

Cheryl was predeceased by her parents, Ron and Frankie Ross. She is survived by her husband, James Lacey; children, Jason Lacey and Christie Lacey; a sister, Robin Ross Lang; and several in-laws, cousins, and nieces and nephews.

Tilde Sankovitch ’73 PhD, died Feb. 27, 2022, at the age of 86. Tilde was born in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1935, daughter of Anna Otten Janssens and Joseph Janssens. She graduated from the University of Leuven in Belgium, where she met the love of her life, Anatole Sankovitch, on Dec. 15, 1952, in a philosophy class. She married Anatole (“Tola”) in 1957, and that same year they moved to the United States. They eventually settled in Evanston, where their three daughters, Anne-Marie, Natasha and Nina, were born.

In 1968, Tilde began postgraduate studies, earning a PhD in French Literature at Northwestern University in 1973. After completing her PhD, she began to teach at Northwestern and became the Harold H. and Virginia Anderson Professor of French and Italian, receiving tenure in 1978. She served as chair of the French and Italian Department for a number of years and was also director of Women’s Studies from 1994 to 1996, having been involved in the program from its inception as a member of various committees and as a professor. Tilde was beloved by faculty, staff and students, and was a cherished friend to many. She was a brilliant scholar, an engaging and popular professor, and supportive and respectful of every person she ever met. She was a proud feminist and advocated for equal rights for all genders and races.

Tilde was the author of numerous books and articles, including French Women Writers and the Book and The Poems of The Troubadour Bertran de Born, which she co-wrote with William Paden Jr., professor emeritus of French, and Patricia H. Stäblein.  

After retiring from Northwestern in 1999, Tilde moved with her husband to New York City where she lived until her death. Tilde read to — and with — her daughters throughout their lives, and they were inspired by her bravery, kindness, curiosity, intellect and open-hearted generosity. Her grandchildren also adored her, and she loved spending time with them. And her husband, Tola, loved her with unbounded devotion, dedicating his memoir to her with the inscription, To Tilde, My Life.  

Tilde is survived by Tola, her husband of almost 65 years; her daughters Natasha and Nina; her brother Peter Janssens; her grandchildren Meredith, Peter, Michael, George and Martin; great-grandchildren Charlotte and William; and nieces and nephews in England and Belgium. Tilde was predeceased by her parents, her sister Friedel and her daughter Anne-Marie. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Tilde’s name to the Central Park Conservancy in New York City. Tilde spent countless happy hours in Central Park and her spirit will always be found there, especially in the Conservatory Garden, where there is a bench bearing the name of her daughter Anne-Marie. Engraved on the bench are Anne-Marie’s own words, “For who can end in despair, when there is such beauty in the world?”

Richard (Rich) Kreisman, 64, died peacefully on October 7, 2021, at home in San Francisco after a courageous two-year battle with lymphoma. His loving partner, Jack Fahy, and their dog, Gemma, were by his side.

Rich spent his first ten years in Philadelphia and then moved to Rockville, Maryland, where he graduated from Robert E. Peary High School. After majoring in journalism at Northwestern, he worked as a reporter and editor. Rich then created a consulting business specializing in digital content licensing and content acquisition. He collaborated with Outsell, where he was VP and Practice Leader of Science, Technology and Healthcare. Outsell CEO Anthea Stratigos wrote, “Rich worked on an amazing number of projects, and never did he deliver one that didn’t meet or exceed the client’s expectations. That is who Rich was — caring and complete in whatever he did.”

Rich enjoyed tutoring adults who needed help with reading. He was also an exceptional advocate for his mother and others at the facility where she lived. Rich had many, many close friends who cherished him for his charm, wit and sense of humor. He was uniquely able to “dig in deep” and “get real,” allowing everyone to feel seen, heard and loved.

Rich is survived by his partner, Jack; his sister, Sandy Kreisman, her husband, Robert Buganski, and their son, Sam Buganski; his uncle, Harold Borushok, and his wife, Judy; and several cousins. He was pre-deceased by his parents, Renee and Irv Kreisman, and three dogs: Penny, Otto and Franny.

James A. Kohlstedt ’71, 71, of La Grange, Ill., born June 1, 1949, in Evanston; died peacefully Oct. 10, 2020, surrounded by family.

Jim grew up in Evanston and attended Evanston Township High School. Jim’s father, August Kohlstedt, was the lead maintenance engineer in Northwestern’s Technical Institute building in the 1950s. That experience exposed Jim to the school and handiwork at a young age. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern, where he was president of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He received his JD and MBA from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where he met and married Pat, his wife of 43 years. 

Jim loved traveling (all seven continents!), practicing law, hiking, skiing in Colorado and Canada as “Jake” and “Hans,” telling jokes, and spending time with family and friends. He was skilled in helping others and making space for the occasional joke while practicing commercial real estate, transaction and estate planning law. He was a mentor and friend to many, and a proud third-generation school board member for 20 years at Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Ill. Jim took exceptional pride in his three children and two children-in-law who received degrees from Northwestern, though it may have just been an excuse to attend more Wildcat football games and tailgates as a longtime season ticket holder. Jim’s greatest joy in life was his grandchildren, whose lives he enriched immensely.

He is survived by his wife Pat; children Katie Kohlstedt '01 (and Francisco), Matt Kohlstedt '02 (and Sarah), Lindsey Kohlstedt Meyer (and Devin Meyer '13 MBA) and Kevin Kohlstedt '17 MBA, '17 MS (and Karly); grandchildren Kai and Teo Portillo Kohlstedt, Benjamin and Zoe Kohlstedt, William, Luke and Emily Meyer, and Avery Kohlstedt; and ski chairlift jokes awaiting punchlines.

He was preceded in death by his parents, August and Deloris Weichelt Kohlstedt.

Jim tried his best and encouraged others to do the same.