IN REMEMBRANCE | SPRING 2023 | 79 Lehigh alumnus Bruce D. Fritchman ’60 ’61 ’63G ’67 PhD, professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering and a former department chair, passed away Dec. 9, 2022. He was 84. Fritchman, who earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics as well as a bachelor’s of science, master’s of science and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Lehigh, joined the university faculty in 1969. Prior to his career in academia, Fritchman worked in advanced engineering and research in the Communication and Electronics Division of Philco-Ford Corporation. His area of focus included the application of coding and statistical detection techniques in communication channels having memory. He also managed a laboratory responsible for the development of advanced data transmission techniques. At Lehigh, Fritchman rose from assistant professor to associate professor (1972) and became a full professor in 1981. He taught courses in information technology and digital signal processing, authored many journal articles, and was a consultant to several large corporations. He was chair of the ECE department from 1998 until his retirement in 2008. During his tenure, he also served as the university’s assistant vice president of computing and communication services (1986-1995). He helped develop (and served as Lehigh’s representative to) the Pennsylvania Research and Economic Partnership network (PREPnet), a highspeed data communications network implemented by a consortium of research institutions in the state, with support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Bell of Pennsylvania. In a November 1991 Brown and White article detailing a multimillion-dollar joint venture between Lehigh and IBM to install new computers across campus, Fritchman was credited with seeing the need to move away from the use of workstations coupled with larger mainframes and develop more sophisticated, high-speed network connections. Fritchman was a member of IEEE and its honor society, Eta Kappa Nu. He served as reviewer for IEEE Transactions on Communications and IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, and was a former vice president of the Philadelphia section of the IEEE Information Theory Society. 2022. Mr. Cressler served the U.S. Army in Korea. He taught chemistry and mathematics at Phillipsburg High School before moving on to work in quality assurance at Johnson & Johnson. His son, Michael Cressler, is a member of the Class of 2001. Barbara (Wright) Roper M.Ed. ’74, Bethlehem, Pa., Nov. 6, 2022. Ms. Roper taught nursing at Northampton Community College for many years. Her late husband, David Roper, also held a graduate degree from Lehigh. William M. Gallagher M.Ed. ’76, Valley View, Pa., Sept. 17, 2022. Dr. Gallagher was a medic in the U.S. Air Force. He was a special education teacher, principal and superintendent of the Saint Clair School District. Samuel D. Westmoreland M.A. ’78, Shillington, Pa., Oct. 24, 2022. Professor Westmoreland taught at Kutztown University in the sociology department, with special interests in deviancy/delinquency and the sociology of sports. Bob D. Jonjo M.A. ’80, Sierra Leone, Aug. 28, 2022. Dr. Jonjo co-authored several articles on African development issues. He worked at IBM and other companies in the United States before returning to Sierra Leone in the late ’90s to work in various capacities in President Tejan Kabbah’s administration. W. David Saltzer M.Ed. ’82 Ed.D. ’87, Whitehall, Pa., Oct. 9, 2022. Dr. Saltzer was a licensed psychologist, specializing in crisis intervention and young adult counseling. He maintained a private counseling practice for many years and served as an adjunct professor for The Pennsylvania State University. Brian A. Brooks M.Ed. ’83, Quakertown, Pa., Oct. 13, 2022. Mr. Brooks was a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He spent most of his career in law enforcement before becoming a real estate agent. Robert D. Kneeland MBA ’83, Sutton, Mass., Oct. 21, 2022. Joseph S. Becker MBA ’84, Schnecksville, Pa., Dec. 20, 2022. A veteran of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War era, Mr. Becker worked as a metallurgical engineer at Air Products and Chemicals Inc. for 25 years. Lois A. Kaercher M.Ed. ’85, Bethlehem, Pa., Oct. 10, 2022. Ms. Kaercher worked as a social worker for the Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh before moving to Bethlehem and taking an administrative role at Lehigh for 20 years. John J. Scassellati D.A. ’91, Greensburg, Pa., Dec. 4, 2022. Dr. Scassellati was a veteran of the U.S. Army National Guard. He retired as an assistant professor of chemistry from Westmoreland County Community College. Marjorie A. Gehman M.Ed. ’94, Telford, Pa., Sept. 20, 2022. Ms. Gehman worked as a teacher for Pathway School in Jeffersonville, Pa. Harriet L. Parmet Ph.D. ’97, Allentown, Pa., Oct. 24, 2022. Dr. Parmet was a professor at Lehigh for 20 years. Her children, Howard Parmet ’77 and Jonathan Parmet ’81, are members of the Lehigh family. Alan P. Chmelewski M.S. ’02, Fleetwood, Pa., Sept. 3, 2022. Mr. Chmelewski worked for a number of manufacturing companies before launching his own business consultancy firm, Alan Chmelewski Consulting. Robbie F. (DaVault) Johnson M.S. ’04, Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Oct. 7, 2022. Ms. Johnson was an engineer for Emerson Electric in St. Louis for many years, receiving several patents for her design work there, as well as serving as the resident engineer at Emerson’s largest motor manufacturing plant. REMEMBERING Bruce D. Fritchman A Devoted Educator Bruce D. Fritchman rose to department chair in his nearly 40 years at Lehigh.
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