Evelyn Appell Lipkin, AM ’46, died on March 1, 2015. She began her career in social work in adoption and foster care placement at the Jewish Children’s Bureau. Later in her career, she became a counselor in private practice and a professor at George Williams College. She was among the founders of Women Strike for Peace. She was also a member of the League of Women Voters, the Urban League, and the NAACP. In Chicago she was an organizer and a volunteer, helping to bring the first tot lots to Hyde Park and volunteering for after school programs at the Hyde Park Study Center and with teen mothers on the West Side of Chicago.

Betty Buchmann Paul, EX ’48, had fond memories of SSA, her daughter Barbara writes. She had a long career as a social worker for Arlington County, VA, working in foster care and adoptions. She was 93.

Mary Norton-Kindig, AM ’64, of Madison WI died on September 13, 2017 in St. Paul, MN. She was 77. She decided to become a social worker at age 12. Jane Addams and her grandfather, William J. Norton of Detroit, who was a social worker, were her role models. Her daughter, Laura Temali, recalls that she worked on a study about food deserts on the South Side of Chicago during her time at SSA. After graduating from SSA, she spent the next 30 years working in a variety of agencies including a counseling organization, a senior center, and a county planning office. She also worked at a veterans hospital and the Geriatric Clinic at the University of Wisconsin Hospital, both in Madison. She co-authored a book titled Coping with Alzheimer’s Disease and other Dementing Illnesses. 

Lynn Urwitz Drew, AM ’68, age 76, lost her 13-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease on November 21, 2017. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, she served children for over 30 years as a member of the University of Chicago Child Psychiatry Department. During her tenure, she also taught a graduate level course at SSA and supervised fieldwork students. After her own battles with infertility, she founded the first local chapter of RESOLVE, an organization providing support and resources for couples trying to start a family. Drew was a passionate mother, whose proudest accomplishments are her daughters, Leah and Anya.

Marilyn Koss, AM ’55, passed away in May 2017.

Jane Levenberg Gerber, AM ’59, a psychotherapist, was cofounder of Chicago’s Oasis Center, the Gestalt Institute of Chicago, and the Midwest Satir Institute. She died March 31, 2017, at the age of 98. Gerber was an early member of the Human Potential Movement and went on to become a psychotherapist with specialties in Gestalt and family therapy.

Gordon S. Weniger, AM ’59, died on June 20, 2017. He was a retired school social worker for the York City Schools, York, PA. 

SSA has recently learned of the deaths of Edrith (Rohwer) Currie, AM ’59, in August 2016; Patricia Riley Johnson, AM ’69, in January 2017; and Frances Gathings, AM ’70, in July 2017.

Rick Kleinman, a second-year Extended Evening Program student, died August 4, 2017, due to complications from a heart attack. He was 59 years old. Kleinman, an attorney with a private practice providing legal mediation services, was in the clinical concentration at SSA. His colleagues in the legal field commended him for his work in the Reentry Court, John Marshall Law School, and the Lawyer’s Assistance Program. Rubén Castillo, the Chief United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, said, “Rick’s work for our program was outstanding in every respect.”

Michael Schoder, a first-year, full-time master’s student, died in January. In his short time at SSA Mike contributed in both the classroom and beyond and made a tremendous impact on his cohort. He will be fondly remembered and greatly missed.