Obituaries

Philip Coppens, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Chemistry, died June 21. He was 86.

Rabbi Shay E. Mintz, a Jewish educator and spiritual leader who served as director of Hillel at UB for more than a decade, died June 3 in Jerusalem. He was 80.

Ellen Volpe, assistant professor and researcher in the School of Nursing, died June 8 in in a car accident on the Thruway. She was 45.

Peter Ayers Nickerson, a professor emeritus of pathology and anatomical sciences who played a significant role in both the UB and statewide Faculty Senates, died Feb. 2.

Louis Lazar, a longtime family practice physician and one-time chair of UB’s Department of Family Practice, died April 28 in his North Buffalo home. He was 98.

Ronald Elmer Batt, an internationally recognized physician, clinical researcher, medical historian and clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UB, died April 25 in his Lancaster home after a brief illness. He was 83.

Paul S. Guinn, a European historian and associate professor emeritus at UB, died April 22 in Mercy Hospital after a long illness. He was 88.

Mary B. Cassata, a longtime faculty member of the Department of Communication who was a leading authority on the academic analysis of soap operas, died Monday after a brief illness.

A celebration of the life of longtime UB faculty member Brian Henderson will be held at 4 p.m. March 11 in the Center for Tomorrow, North Campus.

Donald Henderson, a leader in the field of noise-induced hearing loss and professor emeritus of communicative disorders and sciences, died Feb. 1 after a long illness. He was 78.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Feb. 11 in Westminster Presbyterian Church for Margaret MacGillivray, a pediatric endocrinologist and longtime UB faculty member who died Sept. 17 from Alzheimer’s disease. She was 86.

Donald R. Brutvan Sr., a longtime UB faculty member and dean of Millard Fillmore College, died Dec. 30 under hospice care at Kenmore Mercy Hospital. He was 92.

Carmelo A. Privitera, a research scientist and professor emeritus of biological sciences, died Dec. 11 in Albany after a short illness. He was 93.

Rosemary Mecca, a retired international scholar adviser in the Office of International Education, died Oct. 23. She was 69.

Victor Doyno, longtime UB faculty member and one of the country’s foremost Mark Twain scholars, died Nov. 16 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Jiyuan Yu, professor of philosophy and director of UB’s Confucius Institute, died Nov. 3 in Hospice Buffalo after a battle with colon cancer. He was 52.

A remembrance will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. Nov. 8 in the UB Newman Center, 495 Skinnerville Road, for Karen Lee Nemeth, a longtime counselor in the Office of Career Services who died Oct. 10 in her Buffalo home after a short illness. She was 59.

Albert J. Ermanovics, a longtime UB staff member and active member and officer for United University Professions, died Oct. 10 after suffering from congestive heart failure. He was 73.

Harold R. Ortman, a dentist and longtime faculty member in the School of Dental Medicine, died Oct. 14 under hospice care in Wesley Rehabilitation Center, Getzville, after a short illness. He was 98.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Oct. 8 at North Presbyterian Church, 300 North Forest Road, Williamsville, for Brenda P. Haughey, associate professor emeritus in the School of Nursing who died Sept. 19. She was 75.