IN REMEMBRANCE | FALL 2023 | 77 worked as a chemical engineer before becoming a realtor. Philip R. Colwell ’64, Littleton, Colo., June 17, 2023. Colwell was a Gryphon, as well as a member of the swim team and the Marching 97. He worked for IBM for over 30 years. Michael D. Feit ’64, Livermore, Calif., June 29, 2023. Feit had a 45-year career as a research scientist in optical physics, lasers and optical fabrication at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. James S. Montgomery ’64 ’65, Centerville, Ohio, July 18, 2023. Montgomery worked for Daniel Environmental Industries for 30 years, retiring as vice president. John S. Choberka ’65, Las Vegas, Nev., May 1, 2023. A Kappa Alpha member, Choberka worked for AEP. Ronald F. Farina ’65 M.A. ’68, Boulder, Colo., Aug. 7, 2023. A Kappa Alpha member, Farina served in the Peace Corps in Brazil and the U.S. Navy in Vietnam. He was a professor at the University of Denver. John G. Hughes Jr. ’65, Lower Saucon Township, Pa., July 9, 2023. A member of Delta Tau Delta and a veteran of the U.S. Army, Hughes made his career in office machine supplies. He volunteered extensively with Lehigh, serving on the LUAA Board of Directors and as a visitors desk volunteer for many years. Ray B. Sykes Jr. ’65, Pensacola, Fla., June 20, 2023. Sykes made his career in the railroad industry, with leadership roles at Peaker Services and Rail Systems. He was a member of the Tower Society. Joseph W. Jacobs ’66, Tallahassee, Fla., April 18, 2023. Jacobs was a law professor at Florida State University for 25 years. He then became CEO of Gulf Atlantic Insurance Company. L. Gene Hartzell ’67, Lititz, Pa., June 1, 2023. A Sigma Phi Epsilon member, Hartzell was also a member of the Marching 97 and concert band. He worked for Armstrong Flooring for 50 years. He interrupted his career to serve in the U.S. Army Coating & Chemical Lab. Ross H. Sherwood ’67, Pittsford, N.Y., June 25, 2023. Sherwood was a Kappa Alpha member. He made his career in human resources for Rochester and Buffalo area companies. Richard K. Lehman ’68, Lansdale, Pa., July 3, 2023. Lehman was a member of Alpha Tau Omega, as well as the Marching 97 and the concert bands. He worked as an electric power grid systems consultant for Leeds & Northrup and Macro. John A. Mihalik ’68, Bloomsburg, Pa., May 10, 2023. A Gryphon and member of several honor societies, Mihalik was a law partner at Hummus James & Mihalik. Gerald O. Stoops ’68, Tinton Falls, N.J., Aug. 4, 2023. Stoops was a member of the Marching 97. He made his career as an electronics engineer at Fort Monmouth, N.J. Robert W. Eakle ’69, Bloomington, Ind., May 31, 2023. Ray Schmalz ’69 ’70, Mill Valley, Calif., June 26, 2023. Schmalz was a Kappa Alpha member and sang with the Glee Club. He made his career as an accountant, retiring as vice president of cash, investments and risk management for AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah. As an alumnus, he wrote the class column in this magazine for 54 years. For his service, he was honored with the Alumni Award in 1984. 1970s Scott I. Alexander ’70, Sweet Valley, Pa., July 25, 2023. A Theta Chi member, Alexander spent 25 years working with RCA before joining Verizon. John L. Wilson, professor emeritus in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), passed away May 30, 2023, at the age of 82. Wilson, who retired from teaching in 2017, played a critical role in advancing Lehigh’s CEE research into the digital age through the development of new computer tools and research processes. He helped make large-scale structural engineering projects possible as a member of the leadership team behind Lehigh’s Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems (ATLSS) Engineering Research Center. He served as associate director for research at ATLSS for about 10 years, working alongside then-director John W. Fisher. As a researcher, Wilson developed software at the interface of structural design and fabrication. His work was a precursor to current Building Information Modeling Systems. He spent eight years developing the Hypermedia Bridge Fatigue Investigator, a software package—built on Fisher’s extensive experience studying steel-structure failures—that directed inspectors “to the most critical locations of a bridge instead of treating every aspect of a bridge equally.” Wilson later served as the CEE department’s graduate program director and leader of the structural engineering faculty. Michael R. Notis ’60 ’63G ’69 Ph.D., professor emeritus in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and a world-renowned archaeometallurgist, passed away June 20, 2023, at the age of 84. Notis was a dedicated professor and research scientist of metallurgical engineering. Passionate about his career, he mentored countless students and authored hundreds of scholarly articles that are still cited today. After graduation from Lehigh, Notis earned his Ph.D. in materials science while working at Western Electric Bell Labs. REMEMBERING John Wilson & Michael Notis Trailblazers in Engineering Wilson was part of the leadership team behind ATLSS. Notis was a world-renowned archaeometallurgist. John L. Wilson
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