In Memoriam: Beacons Magazine Fall 2023

NELSON YUAN-SHENG KIANG 

An internationally recognized scientist known for his influential research into speech and hearing, Nelson died in March at the age of 93 at his home in Boston. Born in Wuxi, China, he arrived at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1955, and was professor emeritus at MIT, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1958, he founded and until 1996 directed the Eaton-Peabody Laboratory of Auditory Physiology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Known for his passion for educating and mentoring young scientists, researchers, and clinicians, he established a PhD program in speech and hearing bioscience and technology at the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Science and Technology in 1992. Nelson was a member of the UMass Boston Board of Visitors, and he and his wife, Barbara (Norris) Kiang, have been longtime, generous donors to the Asian American Studies Program and the Institute for Asian American Studies at UMass Boston. 

RUTH KROCK ANDERSON ’39 

Ruth died in March at her home in Naples, Florida. She was 104. After two years teaching math in the Boston school system, Ruth became a mathematician, working on MIT’s radar technology for World War II. She then joined the Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake, where she met and married Lowell “Andy” Anderson, a physicist from Cornell. They relocated to Washington, DC, where Ruth worked for the U.S. Bureau of Standards and their daughter Karen was born. When Andy retired to Cape Cod in 1974, Ruth became an information systems consultant and started a company making dresses for older women. After Andy’s death, Ruth settled in Naples, Florida, where she was active in the UMass Boston alumni community. During the pandemic, Ruth was featured in the national and local news for her volunteer work sewing masks. Her daughter has established an endowment at UMass Boston in Ruth’s honor. 

MARY DOUCETTE DUSEAU ’57 

Mary passed away peacefully in April at the age of 87. She worked for the Weymouth school system her entire teaching career. Mary was a very loyal and active alumna, attending many annual Teachers College luncheons and reunions. She served on the Board of Visitors and was a member of the Boston Teachers College Scholarship Steering Committee. She volunteered at the Weymouth Food Pantry and was very active at her parish, Saint Francis Xavier Church. Mary enjoyed reading, playing bridge, watching Boston sports teams, and going to White Horse Beach with her family. Mary is survived by Paul, her husband of 65 years, their four children and their spouses, their children, and many nieces, nephews, friends, colleagues, and former students, all of whom loved her dearly. 

ALUMNI 

Karen Anderson ’77 

Ruth Krock Anderson ’39 

Brenda Koplow Angie ’59 

Joseph G. Ayube ’71 

Salvatore V. Bellistri ’67 

Jeanne Pierozzi Benoit ’84 

Michael J. Blasi ’84 

Paul G. Bronk ’02 

Siobhan Buckley G’08 

Virginia M. Carr ’65 

Stephen Cheng ’00 

Joy Clancy ’73, G’76 

Elizabeth S. Clark-Adams ’07 

John R. Clifford ’74 

Mary Rafuse Comer ’68 

Robert J. Condon ’70 

Mary Doherty Cormier ’61 

Vernon C. Dailey G’94 

John A. Dearn ’74 

Stanley N. DeHaan ’68 

Jean Fiske D’Espinosa G’92 

John W. Deveney ’61, G’66 

Gail A. Douglas ’68, G’88 

John J. Downey ’60 

Marina A. Dubois ’81 

Robert E. Dunn Sr. ’73 

Mary Doucette Duseau ’57 

Thomas E. Eggers ’77 

Lawrence S. Finklestone ’71 

Richard P. Flaherty ’05 

Janet Kirley Grant ’61 

Robert J. Gregory ’87 

Mildred Bunch Griffith ’46 

Elaine Chaisson Hackett ’64 

William P. Hafferty G’99 

Warren R. Handren ’70 

Lloyd A. Haynes ’93 

Nancy Reed Hellberg ’56, G’61 

Gary G. Hicks G’96 

Jean McCormack Hill ’52 

Hilary Hopkins ’71 

Judith A. Hughes G’95 

Marilyn L. Hyder ’68 

Janet Hickey Jervinis ’59 

James F. Johnson G’63 

Virginia A. Jonas ’75 

David A. Kanter ’81 

Alison M. Kealy G’97, CER’98 

Maureen T. Kelley ’72 

Patricia M. Kelly ’78 

William M. Kendricken ’01

Frances Keyes ’47

Doris Kickham ’57 

Christopher W. Laidler ’10 

Lisa Ann Lancaster ’10 

Dorothy Collins Larson ’69 

Mary T. Leary ’86 

Mary Roddy Lee ’48 

Priscilla Aker Little G’93 

George F. Lombard ’75 

Chris W. Lupo ’96 

Rocco J. Malfitano G’60 

Helen Lamoron Marche ’84 

James F. Mawn ’63, G’65 

Donald R. McComb G’69 

Marie L. McDonald ’67 

Francis A. McGeough ’51 

Gerald E. McGrath G’63 

John J. McGrath ’73 

Joseph E. McGurn ’72 

Rita McMahon McKenna ’46, CER’89, CER’92 

Richard J. Medicke ’96 

Edwin F. Miller ’72 

John J. Moore ’64 

John R. Moreschi ’81 

Helen Delaney Mulhern ’80 

Rebecca C. Mutali ’22 

Thomas Nawn ’61 

David Neuner ’01 

Mary H. O’Leary ’64 

Edward M. O’Malley ’80 

Timothy A. Page ’97 

Stephen J. Peregrim ’79 

Muriel Brown Porter ’55 

William T. Power ’61 

Robert M. Reebenacker ’69 

Thomas M. Reilly G’60 

Lawrence K. Roland G’98 

Kaylin Rose ’08 

Jean O’Brien Rowan ’61 

William J. Rowan ’62 

Constance A. Ryan ’79 

John S. Sanford ’69 

Erin H. Sawyer G’05 

Pamela S. Sawyer ’88 

Martin Schumacher ’71 

Sister Elizabeth Ann Shea, D.C ’51 

John H. Simonds ’81 

Maurine E. Spieldenner ’78 

Hermine Spiewak CER’88 

Janice M. Stapleton ’65 

Lorraine F. Stigas ’66 

Bruce Stokley ’79 

Harold J. Sullivan ’00 

Ann M. Sweeney ’82 

Anthony F. Taiani ’76 

Marie Tedischi ’58 

Ernest M. Thomas ’73 

Adam D. Toronto G’09 

Joseph D. Travalini ’64 

James E. Travis ’69, G’91 

Joseph A. Trovato G’61 

James A. Vaccaro ’66, G’69 

David Vagos ’69 

Carol Vienneau G’20 

Helen Maslov Visnick ’73 

Marcia Reynolds Ward ’61 

Cassandra Warshowsky ’76 

Charles Weeks ’78 

Eleanor M. Weiner CER’94 

Thomas A. Wetherall ’74 

Una Fallon Whitcomb ’61 

Adam T. White ’19 

Douglas R. White G’81 

Stephen C. Wildes G’18 

Adrienne T. Williams ’58 

George F. Windisch ’79 

John A. Wyatt ’69, G’73 

Judith A. Joyce Wyman ’73 

Tucker G. Zenski ’06 

FACULTY AND STAFF 

Professor Roswell P. Angier 

Professor Emeritus Leonard A. Catz 

Professor Emeritus Richard H. Eckhouse 

Patricia Flannery-Gibson 

Professor Polly Kaufman 

Professor William Lee 

Professor Harold P. Mahon 

Professor Ann M. Michaud 

John D. Nee 

Professor Edmund Traverso 

Professor Gordon M. Webb 

FRIENDS 

Clifford Adelman 

Susanne Arnold 

Cameron Robert Barlow 

Marc A. Charlestra 

Joseph Charyk 

Jessica Doktor 

Laura V. Dowd P’15, P’22 

Diana Duggan-Mobarak P’22 

Louis J. Garr 

Roswell L. Gilpatric 

Ellen O. Grant 

Eleanor Hart 

Barbara Hayes 

Barbara C. Hyland 

Peter G. Katsigianis 

Thomas J. Keohane 

Nelson Yuan-Sheng Kiang 

Charlene M. Kinneavy 

Morris Levy 

Marion Lipson 

Dora Marcus

G. F. Markham

Rose A. Markham 

Edward J. Mayotte P’91 

Douglas Munsey, MD P’26 

Tyre Nichols 

Donald H. Ramsbottom 

Stephen H. Sachs 

Roger A. Saunders 

Nancy C. Sohon 

Janet E. Taylor 

Kerry-Anne White 

George Vanderheiden