2025: Stanford remembers

Members of the Stanford community remember those who have passed away in 2025.

December

Thomas Fogarty, MD, inventor of the balloon catheter, among other medical devices, and a former professor of cardiovascular surgery at Stanford, died Dec. 28 in Portola Valley.

Bahram Beyzaie, the Bita Daryabari Lecturer in Iranian Studies, an award-winning Iranian filmmaker, theater director, playwright, educator, and scholar of the history of Iranian theater, died Dec. 26.

Antonius VanKessel, director of respiratory care, staff emeritus, died Dec. 26.

Michael J. Flynn, professor emeritus of electrical engineering, a pioneering computer architect, died Dec. 24.

Paul Wiggin, BA ’56, MA ’59, College Football Hall of Famer, former Pro Bowl defensive lineman who played 11 seasons for the Cleveland Browns before going on to a lengthy coaching career in the NFL and Stanford (1980-1983), died Dec. 12.

David C. Weber, a longtime director of the Stanford University Libraries, whose career at Stanford spanned from 1961 to 1993, died Dec. 9 in Irvine, California.

Alice Segers Whittemore, professor emerita of epidemiology and population health, who used mathematics to answer real-world questions about cancer, died Dec. 2 in Palm Desert, California.

November

Earl Gene “Gene” Kershner, who retired in 1991 as associate director of Facilities Project Management after a 34-year career at Stanford, died Nov. 30.

Sridhar Seshadri, president of the Stanford Medicine Cancer Center, died Nov. 26 at Stanford Hospital.

Joel Peterson, the Robert L. Joss Adjunct Professor of Management, former chairman of JetBlue who sowed the seeds of principled leadership and entrepreneurship for generations of students and alumni, died Nov. 25 in Woodside, California.

David Montgomery, the Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing, Emeritus, an entrepreneur and culture-builder who helped shape the field of business marketing, died Nov. 14 in Denver.

Jonathan Bendor, the Walter and Elise Haas Professor of Political Economics and Organizations, Emeritus, at Stanford Graduate School of Business, an “intellectual omnivore” who inspired generations of students and colleagues, died Nov. 6.

October

Bruce B. Lusignan, associate professor emeritus of electrical engineering, died Oct. 27.

Helen Lieberman, BA ’52, MA ’55, teacher and volunteer in local schools and widow of former provost and professor of statistics and of operations research Gerald Lieberman, died Oct. 23 at Stanford.

Thomas Metzger, senior fellow emeritus at the Hoover Institution, died Oct. 17.

Patricia Engasser, BA ’59, MD ’62, former clinical associate professor of dermatology and Stanford volunteer who was awarded the Gold Spike for her exceptional leadership service to the university, died Oct. 12.

Daniel Vernon Madison, professor of molecular and cellular physiology, a neuroscientist and electrophysiologist whose expertise in studying brain cell activity generated discoveries in learning and memory, died Oct. 9.

Nolan Williams, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, a neuroscientist known for pioneering rapid treatments for severe depression, died Oct. 8.

Richard Luthy, the Silas H. Palmer Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, an expert in the sustainable management of water resources, died Oct. 6 at Stanford.

Robert Kessler, clinical professor emeritus of urology, died Oct. 4.

September

Bernard “Bernie” Widrow, professor emeritus of electrical engineering, a foundational figure in adaptive signal processing and neural networks, died Sept. 30

Todd Smith, professor (research) of physics, emeritus, who performed pioneering low-temperature research at the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory and was a member of the Stanford team that developed the free-electron laser, died Sept. 24.

Tad Taube, BS ’53, MS ’57, a Bay Area business leader and longtime Stanford philanthropist, died Sept. 13.

Phyllis Gardner, professor of medicine–clinical pharmacology, known for her cystic fibrosis research, died Sept. 10 on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

James C. “Jim” Van Horne, the A.P. Giannini Professor of Banking and Finance, Emeritus, renowned for his teaching and mentorship at Stanford Graduate School of Business, died Sept. 1.

August

Dixie Camardo, who worked as a librarian in Government Documents, died Aug. 17.

July

Gerald Gillespie, professor emeritus of German studies and of comparative literature, a renowned scholar who wrote on masters including James Joyce, Thomas Mann, and Marcel Proust, died July 20.

James R. Doty, MD, professor of neurosurgery, and founder and director of the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, died July 16.

William H. “Bill” Neukom, LLB ’67, Microsoft’s first general counsel and former CEO of the San Francisco Giants, a trusted advisor to six Stanford Law School deans and generous benefactor to the law school, died July 14 in Seattle.

Peter A. Johnson, BA ’50, reference librarian in Meyer and Green libraries, 1966-93, died July 9, 2025.

June

Antony Fraser-Smith, research professor emeritus in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Geophysics, whose work included groundbreaking insights into the fields of radio seismology and electromagnetic methods of submarine detection, died June 16.

Janet Ruth Wright, BA ’55, former administrator in the departments of Computer Science and Geology, died June 15.

Charles P. Bonini, the William R. Timken Professor of Management Science, Emeritus, at the Graduate School of Business, a pioneering scholar in the field of decision sciences, died June 6 at Stanford.

May

Aradshar Chaddar, a sophomore who planned to pursue political science and international relations, died May 31 at Stanford.

Patricia Cross, teaching professor emerita of structural biology, died May 24.

Dennis Carter, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering whose work illuminated how biomechanical forces shape bone growth and, perhaps most memorably, helped determine the bite strength of a Tyrannosaurus rex, died May 12.

April

Donna Robertson, director of donor relations, emerita, in the Office of Development, who who helped host countless donors and dignitaries on campus throughout the course of four presidencies, died April 13.

Philip Sunshine, MD, professor emeritus of pediatrics at Stanford Medicine, a founding practitioner of neonatology who shaped how premature babies’ lives are saved, died April 5 in Cupertino.

Nancy Huddleston Packer, the Melvin and Bill Lane Professor in the Humanities, Emerita, and former director of the Creative Writing Program, died April 1.

March

Michael Friedman, the Suppes Professor in Philosophy of Science, Emeritus, in the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences, known for his study of Immanuel Kant through the lens of the natural sciences, died March 24 in Palo Alto.

Leslee ThuyVi Nguyen, PhD student in biochemistry, died March 19 at Stanford.

John H. Flavell, the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, in the School of Humanities and Sciences, world renowned for his work in young children’s cognitive development, died March 13.

Jean “Jeannie” Lythcott, former clinical professor of science education at Stanford Graduate School of Education, died March 1 in Palo Alto.

February

Inder Perkash, MD, professor emeritus of urology who advanced treatment for patients with spinal cord injuries, died Feb. 28 at Stanford.

Andreas “Andy” Acrivos, professor of chemical engineering, emeritus, one of the foremost scientists in the field of fluid dynamics, died Feb. 17 at Stanford.

James “Jim” Ferguson, the Susan S. and William H. Hindle Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences, Emeritus, and professor of anthropology whose research explored development and modernity in the lives of southern Africans, died Feb. 12.

James B. D. Mark, MD, the Johnson and Johnson Professor of Surgery, Emeritus, an innovative thoracic surgeon, died Feb. 7.

January

William P. “Bill” Mahrt, PhD ’69, associate professor emeritus of music, an expert in Gregorian chant and medieval performance, and longtime director of Stanford’s Early Music Singers, died Jan. 1.