Remembrances

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?”

Born Diane Margot Cody, Diane Beaurline ’68 grew up in Scarsdale, N.Y. She attended Northwestern University, graduating in 1968. In her freshman year she spotted Alan Beaurline in a class with her and asked for a date. They were married in 1969 and lived in Denver and Evanston before moving to northern Minnesota to open a cafe. After three years they moved to Helena, Montana, to open an award-winning Italian restaurant in 1978. In 1985 they sold the restaurant and moved to Maui.
On Maui, they built a house and then opened Kihei Wine & Spirits in 1991. They moved the store to Wailea and renamed it Wailea Wine in 2006. In 2012 they sold the business to Ed Mikesh but continued to work there until 2018.
Her love of food and her creative cooking abilities provided for over 50 years of wonderful food and successful businesses. She and Alan shared a special relationship by always working together and maintaining very private lives outside of their businesses. She was known for her radiant smile and her love of hugs. She loved to walk, swim, read and cook.
She loved dogs, and she loved life.
She suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke on Nov. 9 and died later that day without regaining consciousness. She was loved dearly and is terribly missed by her husband, Alan.

Lloyd John Peterson ’65, ’69 MD, a long-time resident of Greensboro, N.C., passed away on Oct. 25th, 2021, at the age of 78. The beloved only child of second-generation Swedish immigrants, Lloyd Frederick and Lois Emma Peterson, he was born on July 15, 1943, in Oak Park, Ill.  In 1951 the family moved to Itasca, Ill.

Lloyd was salutatorian of his graduating class at Lake Park High School in Medinah, Ill. The first member of his family to attend college, Lloyd earned a BA in chemistry from Northwestern University, where he was a member of the Phi Lambda Upsilon Honorary Chemical Society and the Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity. In 1969 he graduated “with distinction” from Northwestern University Medical School where was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.

Lloyd completed a fellowship in surgical pathology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., before he started as a surgical intern and junior resident in general surgery at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C. He finished his time at Duke as a urology resident and fellow. In addition to his clinical training, he was active in basic research. He published numerous articles, made multiple presentations, and received several research prizes.

From 1975 to 1977, Lloyd served as a major in the U.S. Army and was a staff urologist at Letterman Army Medical Center, The Presidio, San Francisco. He received The Army Commendation Medal.  Following his Army service, Lloyd became an assistant professor of urology at Washington University School of Medicine and performed research at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis.  In 1979, Lloyd moved to Greensboro and joined the urological practice of Garvey and Hunt (which later merged with other practices to become Alliance Urology), but remained involved with clinical research throughout his entire career.  Lloyd served as chief of surgery, president of the medical board, and sat on the board of trustees for Moses Cone Health System. He also chaired numerous hospital committees at both Moses Cone and Wesley Long Hospitals in Greensboro.  Lloyd retired from practicing medicine in 2012.

During his years of medical practice Lloyd cared deeply about his patients, the nurses, and staff. With his wonderful sense of humor, he tried to keep things light even in the most serious situations. Many patients recall what he said to them to help them relax as they were about to undergo a procedure. His staff always valued his friendly, endearing demeanor and warm smile.

Lloyd also served as senior warden of the Vestry at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church and was on the boards of the Greensboro Country Club, the Wellspring Life Care Community, and the Wellspring Foundation.

Lloyd and his wife, Jane Houston Peterson, met at Northwestern University as freshmen. They married in 1967 in Kansas City, Mo., and honeymooned in San Francisco following Lloyd’s second year of medical school.  Lloyd and Jane lived in Chicago for the remaining two years of medical school and then relocated to Durham for his internship and residency at Duke University, where their daughter, Kristin, and son, Kirk, were born.

Lloyd was first and foremost a gentleman and a devoted son, husband, father, and grandfather.  He was proud of his children and grandchildren and loved participating in their activities, attending sporting events, getting to know their friends, babysitting, helping with schoolwork, running errands, cleaning, building and fixing things, mentoring and generally offering his loving service in any way he could.

Lloyd was a dedicated fan of the Northwestern Wildcats, Chicago Bears and Cubs and the Duke Blue Devils.  A love of golf was instilled by his father, and Lloyd cherished the camaraderie he found on the links throughout his life. Lloyd had several weekly golf groups at Greensboro Country Club with close friends. For 20 years, Lloyd and Jane traveled, dined and laughed endlessly with the couple’s golf group, the Easy Ryders.  He started taking his family on annual ski trips in the early 1980s which led them to Colorado, Utah, Vermont and Europe, often in the company other families. Lloyd loved to travel the world and found joy in taking pictures that he used to create photobooks which he shared with fellow travelers. While living in San Francisco, he caught the “jogging” bug while running across the Golden Gate Bridge and became an avid runner and competed in dozens of races including the New York City Marathon in 1985. Lloyd and Jane learned to sail together when they lived in San Francisco and being on the water was always one of Lloyd’s great joys. For many years he sailed and raced his yellow Lightning, Sneak A-Tack. He sailed with friends from Beaufort, N.C., to Bermuda.  Later he delighted in captaining their Scout outboard at Figure 8 Island, where he often pulled his kids and grandchildren on tubes and water-skis and was affectionately named Captain Lloyd.

He was an intellectual, a voracious reader, a jokester with a quick wit, a stylish dresser who could be found on the dancefloor at every party. He was known for his loving, humorous, and poetic rhyming toasts that he gave at birthdays, anniversaries and graduations. Lloyd belonged to the NNBC (No Name Book Club) for decades and appreciated the intellectual conversations they had trying to solve the world’s problems.  He adored walking and playing fetch with his black Labrador, Aiko, and his “grand-dogs” Stella, JoJo, Dixie and Maisie. Lloyd was a music aficionado, a collector of records, CDs and ultimately audio files.  He was thrilled to finally see The Rolling Stones and John Prine in concert with Jane in 2019.

Lloyd unexpectantly became ill in March of 2020 with a very rare, rapidly progressing form of Alzheimer’s and succumbed to the disease 19 months later.

Lloyd is survived by his beloved wife of 54 years, Jane; his daughter, Kristin Peterson Edwards; his son, Kirk Houston Peterson; a daughter-in-law, Kimberly Bolick Peterson; and five cherished grandchildren, Hayden, Lucie, and Gretchen Edwards, and Van and Louisa Peterson.

Barbara Kuhlmann ’88 MS, ’91 PhD leaves a legacy of fierce intelligence, only matched by her fierce loyalty and kindness to her loved ones. 

Barbara passed away Oct. 12 after a lifetime of adventure. Born and raised in Recklinghausen, Germany, Barbara grew up skiing in the Alps and swimming in the Black Sea. From the age of nine, Barbara took advantage of school vacations to volunteer to work on farms owned by family friends. She learned to plow, plant, and harvest. This love of helping farmers never left her and would eventually become an integral part of her life’s work.

In the late 1960s, Barbara immigrated to the United States, living with her Tante Lizzi and her family for several months until she left to make her mark on her new country.

Barbara worked hard to achieve an education and graduated with her doctorate in physical organic chemistry in 1991. She went to work for Exxon in their Research and Development Laboratories. Combining her love of chemistry and love of helping farmers, she spent much of her career developing oil-based pesticides. She worked directly with orchardists in the development and testing of products.  Along the way, Barbara co-authored many technical articles and was published in the Journal of Organic Chemistry. Barbara was also an inventor and is listed as a co-inventor on multiple patents.

Barbara never met a stray dog or cat she would not care for; taking many into her home for a life of care and love.  Her love of animals and nature resulted in her purchase of an expanse of land in Texas where she designed and created a beautiful home overlooking the hill country to achieve her dreams.  It was here she shared and nurtured the land with the animals on her beloved retreat.

For those of us who knew and loved her, we are forever grateful she was in our lives.

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.

Shana Helen Stein ’12 MA passed away on Sept. 20, 2021, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. She was a therapist, artist, mother, sister, daughter, friend and partner who dedicated her life to building community, pushing people to be their best selves and welcoming new adventures in many forms.

Shana attended Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts - Boston (‘94), where she completed a BA in Child Development and BFA in Fine Art. A few years later, she completed her Masters of Fine Arts at Cranbrook Academy (‘00) outside of Detroit, where she studied Print Media and developed a series of psychology-informed interactive art installations. Shana then embarked on a period of art production and taught art at all levels, from preschool to university. Her students remembered her as a supportive yet critical teacher and a fierce advocate for their creative voices. After moving to Milwaukee, Shana ran the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), which paired first-generation college students with research faculty and co-taught the Research Seminar. 

As a lifelong learner with a deep interest in psychology, Shana transitioned careers from academia to mental health and attended Northwestern University, earning a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. She loved working with individuals and couples (as a Gottman Certified Therapist) on various challenges, including communication and parenting. In recent years, she started and ran a bustling private practice called Chicago Relationship Counseling. 

Deeply committed to community, Shana helped establish the first dog park in Milwaukee, served as the president of The Parent Circle in Evanston, revived the Smith Park Neighbors Association, and co-formed a consultation group of local therapists. As an enthusiastic connector and networker, she helped new graduates and colleagues alike.

Shana loved to laugh. In facing her cancer diagnosis, Shana started a Facebook Group called Laughter is the Best Medicine, where friends and family could post jokes and memes. Throughout the pandemic, the levity offered by the group members raised Shana’s spirits and made the isolation more bearable for all. The group is still active.

A committed partner and mother, Shana leaves behind her spouse, Mathew J. Rappaport, and two daughters, Aviva and Liora, with whom she had many adventures. She was a devoted daughter of Carrie (Arthur) Stein and daughter-in-law of Shelley (Robert) Rappaport, dear sister of Juliana (Howard Wolosky) Stein and Benjamin (Nicole) Stein, and brother-in-law Andrew S. (Stacey) Rappaport.

I recently read an article from the Daily Northwestern about the passing of Gaspar Perricone ’50 in 2020 due to complications from COVID. He was a halfback and a valued member of the Wildcats’ Rose Bowl–winning team of 1949. Today, I read of the passing of one of Mr. Perricone’s teammates, Edward M. Tunnicliff ’50. I wanted to write to let you know that one of the team’s best linemen has also died: Rudolf “Rudy” Cernoch ’51. He was one of the men who opened the holes in opposing lines to allow both Mr. Perricone and Mr. Tunnicliff to run freely through opposing defenses.

Rudy was a friend of mine and we shared our Wildcat roots, his from 1951 and mine from 1973. He was a gentle, quiet man who loved his family, his friends and any dog that happened by, including mine. We lived two doors down from Rudy in a retirement village in Surprise, Ariz., and he wore the purple proudly until the day he died, including a ballcap I gave him from the Rose Bowl in 1996. I was there when the Cats lost to USC, and Rudy and I talked about that game, and the one in 1949, frequently.

He was a gentle giant and a good man.

Thanks for your attention.

Frank Joseph Fara '73